Otherworldly Affairs Office-Chapter 108: Deliveryman Wang Wenze

"Cen Hall, how is it?" After Cen Xiaoran completed the hexagram and closed his eyes to ponder for a long time, Gu Shenghui finally couldn’t help but quietly ask.

There was no answer, and after a while, Cen Xiaoran let out a sigh. A red mist slowly emerged from his mouth, and the elderly man, who was sturdy and upright a moment earlier, suddenly slumped, exhausted, into his office chair.

"Elder Cen, are you alright?" Gu Shenghui and Mei Simiao hurriedly moved past the desk to support Cen Xiaoran and check his condition.

This centenarian, who experienced the war and witnessed the founding ceremony of the nation, is one of the few remaining first-generation investigators from the Bureau’s inception. According to the researchers’ analysis of the physical quality of the supernaturally skilled, living beyond normal human levels should not be an issue for them. Their most optimistic speculation is that supernaturals can extend their lifespan to over two hundred years.

However, due to the hardships of the Bureau’s establishment and the many historical documents about innate abilities that were explored and accumulated, which during turbulent times were either lost or damaged, that generation of supernatural pioneers struggled tremendously, blindly exploring and trying, leaving many hidden injuries on their bodies.

Additionally, with the Bureau’s initial chaos and everything needing urgent attention—from building archives to setting rules, and through establishing their own transportation system by connecting with other dimensions—the workload further strained these investigators’ physical potential. Many physically enhanced supernaturals couldn’t bear it and died prematurely, let alone those like Cen Xiaoran, whose abilities required tremendous sacrifice.

Normally, elders like Cen Xiaoran would retire to a nursing home for cadres to enjoy their later years, but due to the turbulent and treacherous situation among supernaturals lately, the nation needed a wise, reliable powerhouse like a stabilizing force to deter the wrongdoers, forcing them to call him out from retirement.

Cen Xiaoran took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes, waving his hand to signal for the two not to worry before saying, "It’s nothing and unrelated to the hexagram, just a slight slip in stirring up a hidden injury when using my ability. Call Lin Rui to smooth the meridians for me later."

"Alright, I’ll go get Elder Lin now." Mei Simiao said and gave Gu Shenghui a glance, the two nodded at each other and Mei Simiao turned to leave the office.

Watching Mei Simiao ignoring her status to dash out of the office, Cen Xiaoran turned his neck to look at Gu Shenghui beside him and asked, "Have Wang Wenze and Liang Qian’s team returned?"

"Almost, within an hour or two. Do you need me to rush them?" Gu Shenghui replied after glancing at his watch.

Cen Xiaoran shook his head: "No need, go inform Engineer Li to move the equipment prepared for Pei Yan after boosting his abilities to the Bureau. Have Wang and Liang load them in the storage ring when they return, head to the incident site, and deliver them to Pei Yan; then don’t come back, stay there for the mission."

"Understood. You mean Pei Yan might undergo a breakthrough in ability, but is there really a need to rush? Or..." Gu Shenghui paused and raised his eyebrows before continuing, "Could he be in danger? Elder Cen, do we need to send more people? Hu Wenjun and Jiang Feiyang are both in the Bureau now, and there is a new team assembled....."

"Blessings and calamities, calamities and blessings intertwine; it’s both a risk and an opportunity. Sending more will spoil it, the current setup is just right, just right." Cen Xiaoran interrupted Gu Shenghui again by waving his hand, saying "just right, just right," and slowly closed his eyes.

That startled Gu Shenghui a great deal; he eyed Cen Xiaoran for a while until he heard the old man’s snoring, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the office door opened, revealing the swift-returning Mei Simiao along with Elder Lin. Seeing the situation, Gu Shenghui gestured for silence, and the two lowered their voices and footsteps as they approached Cen Xiaoran. Elder Lin placed his hand on his wrist and remained silent.

After that, the two nodded indicating no major issues, signaling towards the office entrance. Once Lin’s arrival assured Mei and Gu, they calmly left the office.

In the hallway, Gu Shenghui pulled Mei Simiao into a secluded spot and quietly repeated what Cen Xiaoran said, asking for his opinion.

Mei Simiao touched his nose and lowered his head without speaking for a moment, then asked back, "Gu Chu, what do you think?"

"Cen Hall is directing this with a purpose, but we must ensure foolproof preparation, so I’ve decided to dispatch someone for covert support afterward." Gu Shenghui, seeing his counterpart playing evasively, laid out his opinion candidly.

Mei Simiao agreed and then added, "I think so too, but the person must remain calm, controlled, and shouldn’t interfere unless absolutely necessary at the last moment, avoiding disrupting Elder Cen’s prediction and altering the course of events."

"Agreed, that’s why I think Hu Wenjun could lead the team; he has substantial experience and knows the original squad’s capabilities, understanding when to step in."

Hearing Gu Shenghui’s suggestion, Mei Simiao outright rejected it, stating, "No way, precisely because of his familiarity, he can’t go. One’s emotions will cause biases; should Pei Yan and the others hit danger, Hu Wenjun, even if he doesn’t act for Pei Yan, may lose rationality for former colleagues’ sake. I find it hard to trust him to make sensible judgments."

Gu Shenghui nodded after a moment’s thought and asked, "Then who do you propose?"

"Yuan Shaoqing; he thoroughly understands Pei Yan’s team’s data. He’ll lead a small squad to covertly wait for orders, disabling all electronic equipment and using abilities for real-time communication, continuously reporting the situation ahead."

"Sounds good!"

Thus, four hours later, when Wang Wenze and Liang Qian returned from their mission and took on a new task equipped with Pei Yan’s needed gear, they appeared before everyone. As Pei Yan, busy with cleaning after a meal, witnessed their dusty arrival, he was shocked.

"Got any food?" Wang Wenze asked, swallowing as he eyed the leftover dishes on the table.

"Yeah, there are some leftovers! Are you eloping with Liang Qian, Wang Shenpo?" Ye Jiumu quipped as he led them inside, ready for a night fishing after dinner.

Wang Wenze and Liang Qian, too busy to rebut, plopped down at the dining table and grabbed chopsticks to begin eating. On the table remained sautéed garlic scapes with pork, scrambled eggs with chives, and chilled bean sprouts—dishes prepared by Shangxing from fresh vegetables and frozen meat in the kitchen.

This earned Pei Yan’s admiration, recalling his father’s many years working as a chef, Shangxing’s cooking skills were hardly inferior.

Although Pei Yan boasted about helping, it was practically boasting, having seldom cooked at home, and seeing Shangxing bustling around, he finally found something he could do: making rice! Thankfully, it was an electric cooker, for if it were a stove, he would’ve been useless.

At that moment, Pei Yan realized just how lacking his self-sufficiency skills were; he resolved to improve them once back in the Bureau, aiming for more independent living.