Chapter Seventy-One: The Bronze Player

Wang Zixuan said, “He’s always causing trouble for me, almost every other day. This morning, I didn’t get anything done—I spent all my time chasing him around. I’ve got cases to handle, fugitives to catch, business to manage, and I still have to keep an eye on him. I can’t take it anymore, you know?”

Gu Weimin replied, “That’s exactly how it should be.”

Wang Zixuan retorted, “Exactly, my foot!”

Gu Weimin pulled Wang Zixuan aside and said, “When a person feels mentally and physically exhausted, it means he’s climbing the uphill road of life. Think about it—isn’t that true? If you can handle even colleagues like Hao Yingjun, who never stops scheming, and keep him under control, making him work for you, that proves you’ve got real ability. Isn’t that right?”

Wang Zixuan nodded, “That makes a lot of sense. But frankly, you just don’t want to deal with him. Next time he tries anything funny, I’ll drag him straight to Dr. Bai and get his brain removed. That’ll save me the trouble—peace and quiet for the whole world.”

Wang Zixuan was about to leave when Gu Weimin grabbed him back.

Gu Weimin said, “Hey, hey, hey, I never said I’d stop helping. Give me three more days. I’ll come up with a solution. How about that? Here, have some cola, cool off, take a break. Take care of your own business. Relax. Trust me.”

He patted Wang Zixuan’s shoulder and returned to his office, made tea, hung up his jacket, stretched his old arms and legs, and took out his keyboard to start matching up a game.

On the other side, Hao Yingjun was fawning over Xiao Deng, greeting him, “Brother Deng, I’d like to ask you something. How do we signal intelligence or surveillance methods?”

Xiao Deng replied, “Didn’t you read the intern manual? It’s all in there.”

Hao Yingjun said, “But I heard all the non-humans are our informants. That’s not in the manual!”

Xiao Deng didn’t even look at him, continuing to process supermarket shipments.

Xiao Deng said, “That’s nonsense.”

After a brief pause, Xiao Deng turned to Hao Yingjun, “You want to know how Big Sister figured out you were trying to escape, right? CCTV.”

Hao Yingjun exclaimed in surprise, “The national television station? Are you serious?”

Xiao Deng replied, “Closed-Circuit TV. In plain language, it’s the surveillance system—an integrated security setup. The whole city’s covered in cameras. Wherever you go, Big Sister just checks in with the monitoring room. It’s easy for her to know exactly where you are. It’s practically TV!”

Hao Yingjun seemed to be pondering something.

Meanwhile, Gu Weimin hadn’t finished his game when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller, took a deep breath, and gave a mysterious smile.

Gu Weimin answered, “Hello, Director Song.”

Director Song snapped, “Director Song, my foot! The quarterly evaluation of the investigation center system—your division’s performance is dead last again. Your turnaround is still abysmal. You’ve really lived up to everyone’s expectations. There are only three divisions in the whole province and the neighboring province. No matter what the event is, yours is always third. How do you even show your face?”

The criticism was in full swing when Gu Weimin cut in.

Gu Weimin said, “Comrade Dabao, I am deeply, deeply sorry. We absolutely will—”

Director Song interrupted, “I’m telling you, if your efficiency doesn’t improve, you can expect to be cut off from the internet and power.”

Gu Weimin replied, “We will thoroughly reflect on our shortcomings.”

Director Song said, “All you do is play League of Legends. After years, you’re still stuck at Bronze. Just quit already.”

And with that, the call ended, leaving Gu Weimin fuming at his desk. Before long, he left the office to vent his frustrations on his subordinates.