The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

If Chen Su questions the source of the report, it would be tantamount to admitting that headquarters had conducted the same taboo research.

If he tacitly accepts it, it would be tantamount to admitting that the Rongshi Special Policy Department has made groundbreaking progress in the field of taboo research, while what the headquarters has obtained is nothing more than a "renovated version" of the mess they messed up back then!
"The report... is very detailed."

Chen Su practically gritted his teeth as he uttered those words, each one carrying immense weight: "Headquarters will remember the efforts of Minister Li and the Rong City Research Department. This material is of great value for understanding supernatural phenomena and strange individuals. Make a copy, and we'll take it back to our base for detailed study."

His teammates immediately stepped forward and silently began copying the data.

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely strange. Everyone in Rong City knew what was going on and secretly rejoiced at the headquarters' humiliation.

"correct,"

Chen Su forcibly suppressed his turbulent emotions and looked sharply at Deng Yuqi. "How is Captain Shen Ge's tracking mission progressing? Also, regarding Comrade Zhang Hong, who was rescued from the Australian incident... how is he doing now? Headquarters is very concerned about his follow-up treatment and resettlement. If possible, I hope Minister Deng can take us to check on Comrade Zhang Hong's condition now."

He mentioned Zhang Hong seemingly casually, as if it were just a superior showing routine concern for a subordinate, but in reality, their main purpose for this trip was to find a way to bring Zhang Hong back to Dajing.

Deng Yuqi had anticipated this, and said in a solemn tone, "To be honest, Comrade Zhang Hong's condition is not very optimistic. Therefore, we have arranged for him to be placed in the highest-level supernatural containment room at the Quanlongshan base, where Professor Jiang and his team will personally handle Comrade Zhang's alienation problem. I believe that with Professor Jiang's authority in the field of supernatural research, he will definitely be able to cure Comrade Zhang successfully."

The decision by the Rong City Special Affairs Department to send Professor Jiang, their "ace," was made after careful consideration. Professor Jiang and Jiang Peiwen originally came from the Dajing Research Institute, but were "poached" by Li Xiang.

This incident infuriated the senior executives at the Dajing headquarters, but they couldn't force Old Jiang to stay in Dajing.

When Jiang Lao was in Beijing, he was extremely authoritative. If Chen Su raised any objections to Deng Yuqi's words, it would be tantamount to questioning Jiang Lao's authority.

Chen Su's gaze sharpened, clearly realizing that Deng Yuqi had set a trap for him.

……

While Chen Su was still pondering how to break the deadlock, at the same time, in a secure office in the headquarters building of the Special Affairs Department.

Shen Ge sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, as if in deep meditation.

But in the virtual projection before him, countless tiny points of light twinkled like stars. Each point of light represented a fragment of real-time monitoring footage and audio transmitted by a blood spider "proliferated" from the Crimson Mist Armor. Xiao Qi's powerful information processing abilities integrated, filtered, and amplified these fragments of information.

The conversation between Chen Su and his group in the "Rongjiang Pavilion," every subtle expression in the conference room of the research area, and every seemingly ordinary question flowed into Shen Ge's perception like water.

When Chen Su's last words, "Regarding Comrade Zhang Hong, who was rescued during the Australian incident..." reached Shen Ge's ears, his eyes seemed to twitch very slightly beneath his tightly closed eyelids.

Xiao Qi's voice rang directly in Shen Ge's mind: "Master, highlight target 'Chen Su'. After the data handover is completed, proactively mention the code name 'Zhang Hong'. Considering his tone and micro-expressions, the motivation for mentioning 'Zhang Hong' is much stronger than other routine inquiries, and it carries a clear intention to obtain information. His wording 'Headquarters is very concerned about his follow-up treatment and placement' contains a logical contradiction: Zhang Hong's treatment report has been submitted to headquarters regularly according to procedures. If it were only out of concern, there would be no need to deliberately emphasize it at this time and place."

Xiao Qi's analysis instantly saw through Chen Su's pretense. Concern? When would headquarters show such "eager" "concern" for an ordinary agent who has fallen into a deep and almost irreversible state of eccentricity? Especially after just experiencing an information exchange?
Xiaoqi continued her report: "Correlation analysis: Among the personnel accompanying the task force, the member codenamed 'Zhao Lan' briefly accessed a non-standard communication frequency band while in the hotel with her encryption device, attempting to conduct deep encryption transmission, but the signal direction was unclear."

"The transmitted content could not be cracked, but the timing of the transmission was right after Chen Su and Minister Deng first mentioned Shen Ge's whereabouts. At the same time, the team member's personal file showed that before being transferred to the Special Operations Bureau, she had served for a long time in the 'Special Biological Sample Research and Control Center' directly under the headquarters."

The Special Biological Sample Research and Control Center... Isn't Zhang Hong's current state precisely that of an extremely special "special biological sample" with extremely high research value?

"The name is quite good, but isn't it just research on weirdos?" A slight smile slowly curved the corners of Shen Ge's lips.

The headquarters task force, ostensibly working on the "Strange Person Research Report" and Australian data, is using the pretext of assisting in the investigation of the Strange Person Organization.

But one of their real targets, perhaps even their primary target, is Zhang Hong, who was rescued by Shen Ge from the core of the multiple bizarre spaces and is now strictly isolated in the highest-level containment chamber of the Quanlong Mountain base, on the verge of becoming a monster.

They are not here to help, nor are they simply here to request information.

They came to "receive" Zhang Hong, this "living monster sample"!

Shen Ge turned his gaze back to the images fed back by the Blood Spider in the Special Operations Department, wanting to see how Chen Su would deal with Deng Yuqi's excuses.

A barely perceptible shadow crossed the depths of Chen Su's eyes.

Professor Jiang!
This name stood like an invisible barrier in front of him. This leading figure, whom Li Xiang had "poached" to Rong City, possessed academic authority and a past status at headquarters. Any public questioning of his research plan was tantamount to self-humiliation and could even be interpreted as a denial of the headquarters' past decisions. After all, failing to retain Professor Jiang was a lingering regret for some at headquarters.

He paused for a few seconds, then forced a smile of relief onto his face: "It's naturally best that Professor Jiang has taken action personally. Headquarters has absolute confidence in Professor Jiang's abilities. However..."

He then changed the subject, his tone becoming "earnest" and "heavy": "Comrade Zhang Hong's situation is special. He met with misfortune while carrying out a mission to support the fight against the Australian plague. The entire headquarters is deeply saddened by this and bears an unshirkable responsibility."

"The highest command has instructed that all headquarters resources must be used to provide Comrade Zhang Hong with the best treatment and the safest possible resettlement. While the facilities at Quanlong Mountain are top-notch, the headquarters' 'Cradle of Life' project core laboratory possesses the world's most advanced technology for reversing psychopathic transformation and stabilizing mental states, and has gathered top experts from multiple fields. We believe that transferring Comrade Zhang Hong to the headquarters core laboratory, where global resources can be mobilized to tackle this challenge, may give him a greater chance of survival."

Chen Su's words were quite grand, raising the banners of "responsibility," "care," and "world-leading technology" in an attempt to exert pressure on both moral and technological fronts.

Deng Yuqi's inward sneer deepened, but her outward expression revealed just the right amount of "moved" and "hesitant": "Director Chen's sincere concern is truly touching. We, the Rongshi branch, deeply appreciate the headquarters' care for our frontline comrades. However..."

But then she sighed, looking troubled: "Comrade Zhang Hong's current condition is extremely unstable, with repeated episodes of freakishness, accompanied by intense mental storms and spatial disturbances. Professor Jiang's team is trying an extremely precise 'mental anchoring' therapy, and we are in the most critical 'window period'."

"...Any form of movement, even the slightest spatial disturbance or environmental change, could trigger unpredictable mutations. At best, all previous efforts would be wasted; at worst, Comrade Zhang Hong could completely lose control, even endangering the safety of the transferred personnel and himself. Professor Jiang repeatedly emphasized that maintaining the absolute stability of the existing environment is the primary prerequisite for successful treatment at this stage." She described the "risk of movement" as extremely serious, once again prioritizing Professor Jiang's professional judgment. At the same time, the phrase "endangering the transferred personnel" was a veiled reminder to Chen Su: if you force them to come, you'll be responsible for any consequences; don't try to shift the blame to us.

Chen Su's face darkened completely. Deng Yuqi was a wall that was too high and too thick, impervious to reason.

Zhao Lan, standing behind him, couldn't help but step forward, her voice tinged with urgency: "Minister Deng, we can provide the most advanced 'deep consciousness stabilization chamber' and space shielding equipment to ensure the transfer process is foolproof. Headquarters' technology..."

“Comrade Zhao!” Deng Yuqi interrupted her, her tone gentle yet carrying an unquestionable authority: “Technology is cold, but the patient’s condition is dynamic and complex. Professor Jiang’s judgment is based on in-depth monitoring of Comrade Zhang Hong’s real-time vital signs, mental fluctuation patterns, and the path of his monstrous transformation. It is the result of countless simulations and deductions.”

"I believe that at this stage, no one understands Comrade Zhang Hong's situation better than Professor Jiang, and knows better what is in his best interest." Deng Yuqi once again firmly attached the label of "professional authority" to Professor Jiang.

Chen Su knew that continuing the stalemate would only make the headquarters appear unreasonable and interfere with the treatment.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging anger, his voice slightly hoarse: "Minister Deng is right. We naturally respect Professor Jiang's professional judgment. In that case, we hope to arrange a 'visit' to Comrade Zhang Hong as soon as possible, at least to allow the expert team from headquarters to understand his condition on-site, and to provide first-hand information for possible subsequent collaborative treatment or... other arrangements. This is both the responsibility of headquarters and an explanation to Comrade Zhang Hong and his family."

Chen Su, settling for second best, emphasized "visiting" and "understanding the situation," the purpose of which was self-evident: he was worried that the Rongshi Special Affairs Department had already begun research on Zhang Hong's strange behavior.

Deng Yuqi understood that this was a temporary concession by the other party, but they had not given up.

She readily nodded: "That's only right. I will immediately coordinate with Professor Jiang's team to arrange a safe remote visit. Considering Comrade Zhang Hong's special condition and isolation requirements, directly entering the core containment area is too risky. We will provide the task force with real-time high-definition images and vital signs data through a multimedia system with multiple encryption and shielding. Please understand, Director Chen, that Comrade Zhang Hong's life safety and the stability of his treatment environment are the highest priorities."

Remote visitation!

Still through a screen!

Chen Su almost clenched his fists, but he understood that this was the biggest "concession" Deng Yuqi could offer under the guise of "cooperation".

If they push their luck any further, things will completely fall apart.

"……it is good."

Chen Su practically spat out the word through gritted teeth, "Then I'll trouble Minister Deng to make the arrangements as soon as possible."

At this moment, in the office, through the images fed back by the Blood Spider, Shen Ge saw Chen Su's face, which was trying to suppress his anger, Zhao Lan's unwilling eyes, and Deng Yuqi's watertight response... Shen Ge almost burst out laughing.

As expected, professional matters should be left to professionals. Deng Yuqi truly deserves to be a disciple of the current Tai Chi master; her Tai Chi skills are impeccable.

In every sense!

At this moment, Xiaoqi marked a special briefcase that Zhao Lan was carrying on the screen—

The internal structure of the box is highlighted, with the core being an extremely complex columnar container that shimmers with a ghostly blue light, surrounded by a high-intensity energy suppression field and a neural signal capture array.

"Master, core analysis of target 'Zhao Lan's' personal device is complete. It has been confirmed that the device she carries is a 'Special Deep Consciousness Suppression/Guidancer (Prototype)'."

"Functional speculation: 1. Powerful mental suppression, capable of instantly plunging high-level sources of mental pollution or freakish individuals into a deep state of 'stasis';"

2. Guiding and capturing specific energy fluctuations, potentially for stimulating samples or targeted activation;

"3. Built-in high-capacity bio-information storage unit, suspected to be used for the extraction and preservation of 'consciousness slices' from live samples."

Based on some research reports from headquarters recently given to it by Deng Yuqi, Xiaoqi made accurate predictions after summarizing the information.

"The energy characteristics of this device are highly correlated with the core laboratory equipment of the 'Cradle of Life' project mentioned by Chen Su. Its design goal is clearly aimed at the 'safe capture' and 'information extraction' of high-value living freak samples."

Shen Ge nodded. He understood perfectly well that what headquarters wanted was never to save Zhang Hong.

They want a living specimen of the monster.

A unique living research sample originating from the core of multiple bizarre spaces, deeply corrupted by the power of the monster organization, yet retaining human consciousness.

"Prepare for a 'visit'."

Shen Ge's voice was completely flat: "Notify Elder Jiang to proceed with 'Plan B'. Have Zhang Hong... become a little more 'active'."

Xiaoqi: "Command confirmed. Connecting to the monitoring system of the S-class containment unit 'Silent Chamber' at Quanlongshan Base. Activating 'Strange Energy Fluctuation Simulator', preset template: Deep Monsterization Agitation Period (Moderate), accompanied by mechanical spatial ripples."

"At the same time, we enhanced the shielding layer inside the containment unit to ensure that no external detection signals could penetrate it, and that only the 'customized' images and data streams provided by us were transmitted."

Shen Ge stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at Rong City, which was tinged with the blood color of the setting sun. His fingers unconsciously traced the cold windowpane.

"Since they're so eager to see... then let them see just how 'tempting' a precious sample on the verge of 'getting out of control' really is." (End of Chapter)