Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 582 Using a Permission
Bai Shi led Lin Yilin and Fan Zhonghong back to the Xixi Keke branch of the processing bureau.

Compared to the luxurious Little White House on Nolan Street, the branch office on Xixi Keke Street seemed much more ordinary. From the outside, it probably looked more like a library, and perhaps not even as big as some university libraries.

Shiraishi led them to a nicely decorated reception room: "Make yourselves at home, what would you like to drink?"

"Water is fine," Lin Yilin said.

“Do you have milk tea?”

Bai Shi and Lin Yilin turned to look at Fan Zhonghong together.

Fan Zhonghong: "I was just joking."

Bai Shi said, "You can order milk tea; there are milk tea shops on the street next door."

Fan Zhonghong picked up his phone: "Then let's order."

So you weren't actually joking.

Bai Shi ordered the milk tea in the end. After the three of them sat down, Bai Shi said, "The uproar over the bank robbery hasn't died down yet, and now they're directly attacking people in my jurisdiction. I just don't understand what those guys are thinking."

“If someone dares to reach out to Hong Yijia, they must be either truly out of their mind or confident that they won’t be caught red-handed.” Lin Yilin tapped her fingers lightly on the table.

"In short, I will give a report at the upcoming rally."

"A gathering? Has something happened recently?" Lin Yilin asked upon hearing Bai Shi's words.

"I don't know, it was a meeting convened by the central government. But if I'm not mistaken, it's probably related to the recent activities of the Pure White Society."

After a pause, Shiraishi looked at Lin Yilin and gave up on hiding it, saying directly, "In my judgment, another crisis is about to strike. And unlike the impact of the earthquake, it will be much stronger and will come directly from the outside."

"A water world... or a black world?" Lin Yilin stated the two most likely possibilities.

However, through Zheng Fan's observations, she could easily deduce that the Water World was likely a wingman for the Dark World.

Ultimately, it all traces back to the dark world.

"It's just speculation. The Water World has a history of such incidents, and the Black World has been under constant vigilance in Dadu for a long time. We'll have to wait and see what happens at the meeting." Bai Shi sighed, "Knowing there's a crisis looming, yet we have to watch the Society, which we should be relying on, fall into disarray. It's really frustrating. If Old Niu were still here... well, that's impossible."

"Does it refer to Professor Niu Qianliu?" Fan Zhonghong asked immediately, curious.

Bai Shi nodded: "He was your teacher, so we have some connection. Lao Niu and I were classmates before, and we have many memorable things from our university life."

As he spoke, Shiraishi's usually composed expression softened slightly.

After some thought, Lin Yilin decided to ask her question here: "Um, Chief Shiroshi, why did Teacher Niu Qianliu leave the Pure White Society? What is the connection between that and the Water World impact?"

Shiraishi looked at her and said in surprise, "You know so much?"

"A little investigation."

Shiraishi didn't pay attention to that, and instead succinctly explained: "During the Water World Impact, he served as the command representative of the Pure White Society, a key strategist who controlled the overall situation. However, due to his misjudgment, unnecessary losses occurred during the Water World Impact, and one of our classmates disappeared from Dadu forever. Although Dadu was eventually able to weather the flood smoothly, he probably chose to withdraw out of self-blame or further reflection... Originally, he was also a sharp and radical figure with a keen eye for talent."

Shiraishi's account was very understated, offering little further commentary on the distant past.

"I knew Teacher Niu Qianliu looked like a decadent master with a story to tell," Fan Zhonghong muttered to Lin Yilin.

Lin Yilin didn't respond to him, but simply nodded to Bai Shi: "Thank you for letting me know."

"It's alright, it's all in the past. There's no harm in telling you about it."

Just then, Bai Shi's personal phone rang. It turned out that the takeout had arrived. Fan Zhonghong wanted to go get it, but Bai Shi got up and went to get it himself.

The delivery guy stood at the front desk of the processing bureau without any apparent discomfort. For laymen, it's quite common for people at the processing bureau to order takeout; it's not unusual at all.

He wasn't very busy today, so he took the opportunity to play on his phone while delivering takeout.

Soon the footsteps drew closer.

"Chief Shiraishi." Then the receptionist greeted him respectfully.

The deliveryman looked up and saw Shiraishi, a tall man with a serious and imposing expression.

What the hell!

I've never seen this before.

The fact that the neighborhood's top customer orders milk tea and picks up the delivery himself... I don't know about other neighborhoods, but it's definitely not common in Xixi Keke.

Shiraishi returned carrying milk tea.

Bai Shi ordered a large, satisfying bucket of standard sugar with lots of toppings, while Lin Yilin and Fan Zhonghong ordered simpler ones. Looking at the small bucket in front of Chief Bai Shi, they couldn't help but marvel at how this chief had such a somewhat contrasting hobby.

"I really like this restaurant; they're very generous with the condiments." He even gave a very serious review.

"Ahem, Chief Shiraishi, we have something else we'd like to ask for your help with," Lin Yilin then explained the original purpose of her visit.

Bai Shi looked at Fan Zhonghong: "It's related to him, isn't it?" "Yes."

With all eyes on him, Fan Zhonghong didn't hesitate and recounted Li Miaosheng's story.

"The Bureau of Investigation and Handling this matter can't easily intervene. Normally, the Bureau can't handle the Society. For crimes committed by the Society within its jurisdiction, they can only establish a case by catching them in the act and obtaining irrefutable evidence. Let alone this kind of internal action by the Society under the guise of research," Shiraishi said.

“We understand, so what we want to fight for is search warrants for individuals,” Lin Yilin said. “The society itself is still under investigation recently, and that’s what we want. Apart from that, we will be responsible for the entire operation ourselves and do not need the Bureau’s help.”

"So that's how it is, exploiting this loophole." Shiraishi took a big gulp of milk tea, but apart from his lips, there was hardly any movement of his mouth.

"In order to avoid being directly labeled as a criminal by the association and subjected to an official crackdown, it is advisable to obtain a reasonable identity beforehand, so that there will be room for maneuver when facing such tactics... This is indeed a way to protect oneself and reduce pressure."

Although a search warrant isn't a panacea, a warrant is equivalent to bringing Lin Yilin and her group into the capital, making it an internal problem. Even if the school pursues them afterward, there are more ways to deal with it.

But if you rush in directly, regardless of the outcome, you'll be at a disadvantage if you learn to label criminals without their knowledge.

"So you mean you're using the Bureau of Handling Affairs as a backup?" Shiraishi concluded.

After all, it was the Bureau that granted the search warrant, so if they did, they had to vouch for Lin Yilin.

Normally, if someone suddenly comes out and says they want to take down the Society, and asks the Bureau of Justice to vouch for them to avoid trouble, Shiraishi wouldn't even bother with it.

But after all, she is Lin Yilin.

Even setting aside the personal relationships between Shiraishi and Lin Yilin, Lin Yilin's agency has provided considerable assistance to the Xixi Keke Management Bureau.

As for the assistance provided to Lin Yilin by the Bureau of Justice, it was basically just normal assistance within its authority, such as providing clues and doing favors, and could not be considered a favor.

Lin Yilin's sudden request, made out of personal favor, is indeed excessive, but Bai Shi has no reason to refuse.

“Sure, I can try to get you a search warrant, but it’s not guaranteed. Even though the Pure White Society is currently under investigation, we’re not the ones in charge… but I can give it a try,” Shiraishi said.

"Thank you very much," Lin Yilin said quickly.

Fan Zhonghong also stood up and bowed, being very considerate, since it was all to help him.

Bai Shi shook his head: "No need, it's just a small favor. You've helped us so much lately. Besides, it's worth it to deal with the Pure White Society and make them quiet down. The Pure White Society has committed crimes in my jurisdiction twice in a row, so my application shouldn't be difficult to get approved."

After they finished speaking, the three of them simply chatted while drinking milk tea.

Regarding Lin Yilin's recent work, Fan Zhonghong's family background, and some old stories about Baishi.

When a call came in and Shiraishi came to work, he got up to end the conversation, picked up his large bucket of milk tea, and left.

Lin Yilin and Fan Zhonghong left the processing bureau, and now they were waiting for Bai Shi's response.

"That person is such a kind person, agreeing so easily," Fan Zhonghong exclaimed. "He even treated us to milk tea."

“Chief Baishi is that kind of person; the more you get to know him, the more you discover his noble character. I’ve also received a lot of help from him,” Lin Yilin said.

"Has the talk been settled?" Zheng Fan chimed in at this moment.

Fan Zhonghong was startled, while Lin Yilin was used to it: "Yes, everything went smoothly. Now we just need to wait."

She briefly recounted the conversation, without asking Zheng Fan what he had gone to do after disappearing without a word, or whether he had gone to find Hong Yijia.

Zheng Fan laughed and said, "Then there shouldn't be any problem."

Although Bai Shi didn't give a definitive answer, Zheng Fan felt there was definitely no problem. After all, he had learned from Niu Qianliu that Bai Shi had a glorious past that was no less impressive than Niu Qianliu's.

Even though he's now so down on his luck that he can only be the chief of the five major gray district clusters, he must still have some influence and power within the organization.

"What's next?" Zheng asked rhetorically.

“We need to make some preparations and investigate where Li Miaosheng is most likely to be... But before that, Fan Zhonghong, do you want to go back to the university for a visit?” Lin Yilin suddenly turned to Fan Zhonghong and asked.

Fan Zhonghong was taken aback: "Now?"

"It's been a few years, after all. I wonder if Teacher Niu Qianliu is still around." She looked at Zheng Fan.

Zheng shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either. Ever since Jiang Wen Street took Niu Qianliu to help Xiao Lu, he hadn't gone to see Niu Qianliu again.

It seems that Lin Yilin intends to go find Niu Qianliu.

"Let's go take a look then." Fan Zhonghong hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to go anyway.

For him, looking back at the university might be filled with memories of Li Miaosheng.

Is my current state of mind just self-inflicted torment or a sign of strengthened resolve?
"By the way, Mr. Illusion, if the Academy really starts collecting Pure White Factors on a large scale, please remind Miss Doris and the others to be careful recently," Lin Yilin reminded Zheng Fan again.

Those were all seeds of light, though not fully grown, but with a high degree of maturity. Even though Doris herself was corrupted by Zheng Fan, the purity of her pure white part was not diminished; it was just that there were more impurities.

Even if it's a copy, it's uncertain whether it will be noticed by the Academy and the Lighthouse, which are now free to act.

(End of this chapter)