Hearing Bai Yuling’s answer, Yan Qi froze for a moment before asking,
“Auntie Bai, you’re the director of Fengcheng City’s Anomaly Bureau?”
“Yes, though the bureau hasn’t officially started operations yet,” Bai Yuling replied with a smile as she looked at Yan Qi.
“If you’re the director, then that means you’re also a superhuman, right?”
“Of course. If I weren’t a superhuman, I wouldn’t be in this position.”
As if to prove her words, Bai Yuling didn’t hesitate to release the aura of a peak one-star superhuman.
Sensing the energy radiating from Bai Yuling, Yan Qi—who had transformed into a two-star peak fox-eared loli—confirmed that she was indeed a superhuman and couldn’t help but think to herself:
“I never would’ve guessed Auntie Bai was a superhuman. When we met before, I didn’t notice at all… Oh, right, I was just a normal person back then. That explains it.”
After releasing her aura, Bai Yuling carefully observed the changes in Yan Qi’s expression.
Noticing that the girl’s expression remained largely unchanged, Bai Yuling realized that this seemingly adorable little one was far stronger than her.
“Well? Can you confirm now that I’m a superhuman?” she asked, retracting her aura.
“Yeah, I can confirm it now,” Yan Qi answered before pausing and adding,
“Auntie Bai, you came to the hospital to wait for me, right? It wasn’t just to say hello, was it?”
Bai Yuling chuckled.
“You’re right. I didn’t just come to see you—I also wanted to have a friendly exchange with you and the superhuman friends you know, to build a simple friendship.”
“Just a friendly exchange and building friendship? Not to recruit us into the Anomaly Bureau?”
“Of course. At least until we understand your backgrounds, the bureau won’t be inviting you to join.”
“Even if my friends and I are very powerful superhumans?”
“Even if you and your friends are very powerful superhumans.”
Hearing Bai Yuling’s answer, Yan Qi didn’t think she was lying. After a moment of consideration, she continued:
“Auntie Bai, you said you want to have a friendly exchange and build a friendship with us. Where do you plan to start?”
“I’d like to invite you and your friends to participate in some of our operations—combating superhuman crime and hunting magical beasts. If you agree, the bureau can also share classified information about superhuman abilities, the Abyss, and Abyssal beasts that you might not know.”
Yan Qi, who had already obtained key information, ignored the latter half of Bai Yuling’s words and focused on the first part:
“Hunting magical beasts? You mean Abyssal beasts?”
“Exactly. After all, they pose a tremendous threat to humanity.”
Recalling her past experiences hunting Abyssal beasts near dimensional rifts with her colleagues, Bai Yuling’s tone grew slightly solemn.
After hearing her answer, Yan Qi realized that hunting Abyssal beasts was currently the fastest way to upgrade her transformation cards. However, not wanting to appear too eager to cooperate with the authorities, she replied carefully:
“Auntie Bai, we can accept your invitation to combat superhuman crime and hunt magical beasts—but only if everyone in our group agrees. I hope you understand.”
“Is that so? Understood.”
Bai Yuling smiled, having expected this response.
Having cured Wu Qingqing’s leukemia and learned about the Anomaly Bureau’s stance toward superhumans, Yan Qi remembered her parents waiting at home and decided it was time to leave.
“Auntie Bai, I’ve finished what I needed to do here, so I should head out now. We’ll meet again if there’s a chance.”
“Wait—you haven’t given me a reliable way to contact you yet!”
Not knowing how to reach Yan Qi or her friends, Bai Yuling quickly stopped her.
Turning back, Yan Qi said,
“Don’t worry. Once I get back, I’ll let Sister Ji Zige know, and a very special messaging app will appear on your phone. You can use it to contact us directly. Bye!”
With that, Yan Qi slung her giant gourd-shaped artifact over her shoulder and left Wu Qingqing’s hospital room under the curious gazes of doctors, nurses, and patients.
Watching her go, Bai Yuling trusted that Yan Qi wasn’t lying and didn’t call out to her again, silently watching until she disappeared from sight.
…..
Returning to the spot where she had first arrived at the hospital, Yan Qi switched her transformation card and reverted to her digital diva form before dissolving into data and entering the internet.
After checking the hospital’s surveillance system and confirming that no traces of her presence remained, she finally relaxed and returned home.
“Phew, I’m finally back. Mom and Dad didn’t come upstairs while I was gone—looks like my luck’s holding today.”
Dispelling her transformation and returning to her original appearance, Yan Qi looked around her unchanged room and sighed in relief.
Picking up her new phone, she checked the time and saw that it was almost lunch.
With nothing else planned, she settled back into her daily training routine, striving to awaken her true magical abilities as soon as possible.
“Any luck tracking where that little fox girl went?”
Standing in front of a computer where surveillance footage was being reviewed, Bai Yuling—who had left the hospital room and assigned someone else to watch over Wu Qingqing—asked her subordinate urgently.
The subordinate quickly replied,
“Director Bai, there’s missing footage in the hospital’s surveillance records. I’ve tried multiple methods but couldn’t recover it. I’m sorry—I don’t know where that beast-featured superhuman went.”
“Then where was the last place she appeared before disappearing?”