Chapter 567: Fabricated Civilization

Li Banfeng returned to his residence, greeted his wife, and went straight to Room Nine.

Hong Ying looked at Chang Ji, saying, "Xiaowan, Seven-kun has been acting strangely lately. As soon as he comes home, he rushes to Room Nine!"

Chang Ji smiled indifferently. "Let him run. Why would I need to be jealous of that slut Honglian?"

Hong Ying glanced at the door, then leaned close to Chang Ji. "Xiaowan, the martial world is dangerous. There are some things one must guard against."

Chang Ji asked, "Guard against what?"

Hong Ying lowered her voice even more. "Honglian has seven openings, and her dealings are more extensive than all of ours combined."

"Pfft!" Chang Ji spat at Hong Ying. "You're never serious! I don't know what you're thinking in that head of yours. I think you haven't been chastised enough!"

Hong Ying looked aggrieved. She sat down at the dressing table, picked up the blush, dabbed it twice, and put it back down. "Xiaowan, I'm doing this all for you. How could you treat me like this? Xiaowan, you—"

Where did Chang Ji go?

Hong Ying pushed open door after door, only to find Chang Ji sprawled at the entrance of Room Nine, peeking through the crack in the door.

Chang Ji was furious, cursing silently to herself: "This madman, always getting physical! He and this Honglian are truly up to no good."

Li Banfeng held ten elixirs, gently caressing the lotus heart as he asked Honglian, "Do you recognize these ten pills?"

Honglian calmly replied, "I recognize these elixirs. They are refined from the iron fibers of Iron-Tendon Bamboo."

Li Banfeng chuckled, "Didn't you say yesterday they couldn't be refined?"

"I said they couldn't be refined into introductory medicinal powder. I *can* refine these elixirs. The first batch of iron fibers the peddler made, I refined them into elixirs."

"How come I never heard you mention this?"

"You never asked, either."

What Honglian said was indeed correct; Li Banfeng had never asked before. But now, he needed to inquire thoroughly: "To produce introductory medicinal powder, must the iron fibers first be refined into elixirs?"

If this step was truly necessary, then the peddler must possess at least one more Honglian.

Honglian said, "Initially, yes. But later, the peddler used some unknown method. He no longer needed my help to refine elixirs and could produce the medicinal powder himself. From then on, the peddler and the people from above had a falling out."

"How can these elixirs be turned into powder?"

"Choose any three from them and refine them again, and they will become the introductory medicinal powder for a specific sect. However, as for the exact refining method, or which three elixirs correspond to which sect, I don't know."

Honglian's answer was consistent with Sun Tiecheng's, but this didn't mean she had told the complete truth without reservations.

Li Banfeng continued stroking the lotus heart, asking, "Were those people from above male or female? What exactly did they look like?"

Honglian thought for a long time, then sighed, "I can't remember if they were male or female, nor can I recall their appearance. I only remember they were exceedingly beautiful, even more beautiful than Zhao Xiaowan."

Li Banfeng chuckled, "That's pure nonsense. Is there anyone in the world more beautiful than my wife?"

Honglian tightened her lotus leaves, pinching Li Banfeng's finger. "Have you seen your wife?"

"Yes, she's in the main hall."

"Do you know what your wife looks like?"

"Of course I do. Even if you threw her into a crowd, I'd recognize her at first glance."

"I'm not talking about her current appearance. I'm talking about her original appearance."

Li Banfeng stood up and declared, "No matter what my wife looks like, there's no one in this world more beautiful than her."

After saying that, Li Banfeng returned to the main room.

Chang Ji had already rushed back to the main room and stood at the doorway, her speaker covered in dew.

Li Banfeng asked, "Wife, is that sweat?"

"Ah, yes, it's sweat. Just now, I wanted to cook noodles for my husband, but I couldn't decide whether to make thick or thin noodles, and I got so anxious I broke out in a sweat." His wife's singing voice was still captivating, though slightly hoarse.

"What's there to be anxious about?" Li Banfeng chuckled. "Just make thick noodles then; I like thick noodles too."

"My dearest, do you prefer your noodles with soup or dry?"

"Soup noodles, please."

"My darling, the noodles will be ready soon. Change your clothes first, and your humble servant will wash them for you."

"No need to rush with the washing. I'm going to Outer Prefecture soon and will have to cross two lakes."

"My dear husband, when you come out of the lake, hurry home and change your clothes. Make sure you don't catch a cold!"

Hong Ying sighed from the side, saying, "Xiaowan, when have I ever seen you treat anyone so well?"

After eating the noodles, Li Banfeng immediately hurried to Yue Prefecture. He needed to investigate several matters:

How deeply has Outer Prefecture researched Iron-Tendon Bamboo? Is there a connection between the Dark-Ability user's catalyst and the bamboo?

To what extent has Snowflake Harbor infiltrated Outer Prefecture? Does the Darkstar Bureau have any of their people?

Back at the Darkstar Bureau, Li Banfeng called Tangyuan, who had never heard of Iron-Tendon Bamboo.

If even she hadn't heard of it, let alone Zhong Er and Deng Pao, perhaps the only person in the Bureau who knew about Iron-Tendon Bamboo was Shen Jingye.

Li Banfeng dialed Shen Jingye's number but only heard a busy signal. Shen Jingye's landline was constantly occupied as he was in his office taking a call from higher-ups.

The caller was Guan Zhengyang, who was slightly younger than Shen Jingye and held a position a bit higher than Du Wenming's.

"Director Shen, the document instructed your bureau to focus on investigating Li Qi. What have you done? What's the difference between the report you submitted and his previous verbal statement?"

Shen Jingye was already prepared. "Precisely because there's no difference, it proves the investigation results are true. Li Qi is a science enthusiast. Out of his love for science, he went to Yuezhou University to attend an academic exchange conference. The conference that day had no tickets; anyone could attend as an observer. Before the conference, Yuezhou University did a lot of promotional work, which is why Li Qi appeared at the scene of the incident that day."

Guan Zhengyang was displeased. He felt that Shen Jingye was simply quibbling. "Darkstar Bureau personnel attending an academic conference during work hours? Do you think it's reasonable for something like this to happen? Do you think this is the result we want?"

Shen Jingye's tone became more serious. "Li Qi went to the academic conference after following the proper leave procedures. He has the right to acquire knowledge during his vacation. I think this matter is very reasonable. If you think it's unreasonable, please tell me what he *should* do during his vacation to be considered reasonable? Furthermore, if you believe our investigation results are not what you want, please inform me of your preferred results, and we will conduct the investigation to match them. How suitable would that be?"

Guan Zhengyang remained silent for a long time, unable to say a word. He was often praised as young and promising, highly learned, and an an excellent speaker.

Shen Jingye knew very well the reason he was so outstanding was that few could outmatch him.

Guan Zhengyang raised his voice. "Director Shen, please mind your tone! The Darkstar Bureau's performance in many recent operations has shown obvious problems. Many issues have yet to be definitively classified!"

*Is this supposed to scare me?*

Shen Jingye was not intimidated. "Whether it's a problem with the Bureau or a personal issue of mine, as long as the facts are true, I am willing to accept criticism and consequences."

"Your issues will definitely be dealt with. This case will now be immediately transferred to the Dark Matter Research Department."

The Dark Matter Research Department, an organization that sounded highly scientific, was in reality very similar in nature to the Darkstar Bureau and was highly likely to replace it after some time.

This was standard procedure, as the Darkstar Bureau itself didn't have a long history.

Shen Jingye would not blame himself for losing the trust of his superiors, nor would he be anxious about the change in the Darkstar Bureau's status. "I know about this," he said. "I received the document the day before yesterday."

Guan Zhengyang said, "Once you receive the document, act quickly. Hand over all suspects and related materials promptly."

"They were handed over yesterday morning. The suspects, related materials, human witnesses, and physical evidence have all been transferred. The handover procedures are complete."

Shen Jingye knew clearly that bringing up something from the day before yesterday again today was an anxiety management tactic, an old trick. The purpose was to make Shen Jingye feel anxious and self-reproachful.

In the past, this trick would indeed have worked. But Guan Zhengyang didn't know that Shen Jingye had changed, and changed drastically.

The current Shen Jingye would not blame himself for losing the trust of his superiors, nor would he be anxious about the Darkstar Bureau's changing status. He only needed to confirm one thing: "Among the suspects handed over, does that include Li Qi?"

"That's still under review. You'll have to wait for the document." Guan Zhengyang couldn't answer. Li Qi was a Balancer, a very powerful Balancer. If such a person was handed over to the Dark Matter Research Department, they simply couldn't handle him.

Shen Jingye hung up the phone, picked up his notebook, and flipped through the notes he had just made.

Since he started working, Shen Jingye had used countless notebooks. Notes were taken during meetings, during phone calls, and even more so during face-to-face work reports. Every instruction, every task, required notes.

How important were these notes to him?

In fact, they weren't important at all.

Most of Shen Jingye's notes were scribbled carelessly. The content didn't matter. What mattered was the act of taking notes; the more demonstrative the act and the more serious his expression, the higher the perceived level of importance.

Of course, there were some important things in his notebook as well. He flipped past a stack of haphazard notes, found a page with a matrix, pulled a stack of blank paper from the printer, and began solving a problem at an extremely fast pace.

This was part of his cultivation.

He wrote with lightning speed. He used more than a dozen sheets of scratch paper. The matrix was quickly more than half solved. Li Banfeng watched for a while and asked, "What level of Calculator are you?"

Shen Jingye wasn't surprised or flustered. He was used to it. He casually tidied up his scratch paper, looked up, and said, "I am a Problem Solver, which is what they commonly call a Calculator in Pruo Prefecture."

Li Banfeng smiled. There was a big difference between a Problem Solver and a Calculator. Li Banfeng had recently discovered the fundamental difference between the two by reviewing some materials.

When a train passed by, a Calculator could, through their surroundings and their own conditions, calculate the best way and best time to stop the train. They could also meticulously plan a series of processes like robbing cargo and disposing of stolen goods afterward. Li Banfeng had experienced this at Huangtu Bridge.

However, a Problem Solver did not possess similar abilities. They wouldn't know how to stop a train. If given a ready-made plan and all known conditions, and asked to verify if the plan was feasible, a Problem Solver *could* provide an answer. Their ability and core revolved around problems. Without a problem, a Problem Solver's ability could not be utilized.

Was Shen Jingye a Calculator or a Problem Solver? This still needed to be verified.

Li Banfeng came to see him because he wanted to meet someone. "Professor Yu Yaoming is still at the Bureau, right?"

Shen Jingye shook his head. "No, he's not. He was picked up by personnel from the Dark Matter Research Department yesterday. If you want to see him, you'll have to communicate and coordinate with the Research Department, but I doubt they'll cooperate with you."

Li Banfeng didn't think so. "We're all comrades on the same front. Don't think the worst of people. Give me the Research Department's address, and I'll go talk to them."

"I don't know their address yet. I'll definitely tell you once I find it." Shen Jingye wasn't joking; he was serious. His disposition had undergone a significant change, a change that seemed irreversible.

There was something there, but it couldn't be called willfulness, let alone giving up. Shen Jingye still had ambitions. He was diligently cultivating and was aware of risk avoidance. In his dealings with superiors, he was more clear-headed than ever before.

What kind of change was it? Li Banfeng thought for a long time, only able to describe it with one word:

Authenticity.

Shen Jingye had become more authentic than before.

"Director Li, I also need to caution you about something. The Research Department was only recently established, and its hardware facilities aren't fully equipped. However, it has many high-level Dark-Ability users among its members. It would be best to be patient during your discussions."

Li Banfeng frowned. "What do you mean by that? Do you think I'm an impatient person?"

Shen Jingye shook his head. "I'm worried about *their* patience. They are all seventh-level Dark-Ability users. I'm concerned that if they get provoked, you might instantly kill them."

"I'm only at the fifth level. How could I instantly kill someone at the seventh level?"

Shen Jingye quickly calculated. "Considering calculation errors, I'd say at most two blows."

As the two chatted idly, Shen Jingye's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and directly pressed the speaker button.

The call was from Du Wenming. "Director Shen, something has happened at the Dark Matter Research Department. An emergency meeting needs to be held now. Please attend."

In the past, Shen Jingye would have immediately agreed and then speculated on the meeting's content.

But today, he didn't want to play guessing games. "Director Du, what happened? Why do I need to attend an emergency meeting of the Research Department?"

Du Wenming was silent for a moment. "The professor who was transferred from the Darkstar Bureau to the Research Department has been abducted."

Li Banfeng was stunned. Who acted so fast?

Shen Jingye was extremely displeased. "Director Du, why are you emphasizing that he was transferred from the Darkstar Bureau? We already handed the person over to the Research Department yesterday. Now you're asking me to attend a meeting; are you trying to make me take the blame?"

Shen Jingye was right. Calling him to the meeting this time indeed had the intention of making him consider the bigger picture and share responsibility.

But Shen Jingye's attitude surprised Du Wenming too much. He had directly laid out the facts, and Du Wenming couldn't say much more, only able to tell Shen Jingye the meeting time.

"Is the meeting location at the Research Department? You need to tell me the Research Department's address."

Du Wenming gave the address to Shen Jingye. After hanging up the phone, Shen Jingye thought about having his secretary prepare some materials, but after calling the secretary in, Shen Jingye sent him back.

"Writing materials is useless, no matter how much you write. I definitely won't take the blame today, and there's no need to be so indirect when talking to them—" Muttering to himself, Shen Jingye hastily scribbled a few pages in his notebook. Seeing that it was almost time, Shen Jingye took a car to the meeting.

Two hours later, Shen Jingye returned and went directly to Li Qi's office.

Li Qi put down the documents he was holding and asked, "How did it go? You didn't take the blame, did you?"

Shen Jingye shook his head. "I didn't take the blame, but it's *our* problem now."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that losing Yu Yaoming isn't our fault, but we still have to figure out a way to get him back."

Li Qi frowned. "Why should *we* look for him?"

"The higher-ups said that Yu Yaoming's disappearance is a public security issue caused by dark abilities, and it falls under the jurisdiction of the Darkstar Bureau's Public Security Team."

"Nonsense! Where did it happen? Wasn't it at the Research Department?"

"It was the Research Department, but the situation is quite special." Shen Jingye took a hard drive and copied three video clips onto Li Qi's device. These were the surveillance footage of Yu Yaoming being abducted.

Yu Yaoming was in the interrogation room at the time. A Research Department agent was interrogating him and taking notes when, suddenly, a man appeared by the wall of the interrogation room.

The man was not tall, had a large head, and wore a big brown hat. A blue ribbon was wrapped around the hat, with a feather tucked into it.

Beneath the brim of his hat, a mop of golden curly hair fell onto his face. Through the curly hair, one could see his deep blue eyes, which were large but lifeless.

Below his eyes was a very long nose, its tip covering his upper lip. He wore a yellow shirt and black shorts, and a pair of large, round-toed leather shoes with neatly tied laces.

Li Banfeng recalled a famous fairy tale he had read as a child, "The Adventures of Pinocchio."

*Could this person be named Pinocchio?*

Neither the agent nor Yu Yaoming noticed the man. The man stood by the wall for a moment, then walked sideways towards Yu Yaoming.

Li Banfeng asked, "Why is he walking sideways?"

Shen Jingye said, "Keep watching; there's a clue further on."

The man stood by Yu Yaoming for a moment. He seemed to be observing the restraints on Yu Yaoming's hands and feet.

The agent suddenly looked up, and the man's figure disappeared.

Li Banfeng pressed the pause button, repeatedly observing how the man had disappeared.

The footage flashed frame by frame; in one frame, the man was still standing by Yu Yaoming, and in the next, he was gone.

Shen Jingye shook his head and sighed. "Their hardware equipment is indeed subpar. This is the limit of the surveillance equipment."

The agent asked two more questions, then lowered his head to take notes. Li Banfeng asked, "Why is there only one agent in the interrogation room? There should be at least two, right?"

Shen Jingye said, "The Research Department's explanation is that Yu Yaoming's mental state is unstable. In crowded situations, he wouldn't cooperate with interrogation and might even attack the interrogator."

"Has such a situation occurred at the Darkstar Bureau?"

"Yu Yaoming does get agitated, but it doesn't seem to have much to do with the number of people. He's caused trouble even when there were few people."

After the man stood by Yu Yaoming for a moment, the most crucial clue appeared.

He slowly raised his left arm, or more accurately, his left upper arm. His forearm swung seemingly limply below his elbow.

After swinging for a moment, all the restraints on Yu Yaoming's hands and feet disappeared.

A sound came from his feet. The interrogating agent finally looked up and discovered the man beside Yu Yaoming. The man grabbed Yu Yaoming, still moving sideways, and quickly rushed towards the interrogation room door.

He easily smashed open the door and took Yu Yaoming into the corridor.

"This is the crucial moment." Shen Jingye played the second video, which was from the Research Department's corridor.

The man, with Yu Yaoming, rushed sideways into the corridor, crashed through the corridor wall, burst out of the building, hovered in the air outside the building for a moment, then fell down.

"Note this key point," Shen Jingye pressed pause. "According to the responsibility division at the meeting, Yu Yaoming's disappearance *inside* the building is the Research Department's responsibility. But Yu Yaoming's escape *outside* the building is the Darkstar Bureau's responsibility."

"Is that even logical?" Li Banfeng raised his hand, wanting to slap Shen Jingye.

Shen Jingye stepped back. He maintained a relatively safe distance from Li Banfeng. "I think, logically speaking, this definition of responsibility is not problematic. The Research Department was just established, and issues outside the building are indeed not their responsibility."

Li Banfeng said, dumbfounded, "Is that how logic is used?"

"Let's watch the rest of the video first." Shen Jingye played the third video, which was surveillance footage from the road outside the building. Played at one-fifth speed, the figures of the man and Yu Yaoming could finally be seen clearly on the screen.

The man continued to walk sideways, his body showing almost no undulation.

His shoulders were always hunched. His major joints, like his knees and elbows, gave a strange sense of incoordination.

Shen Jingye said, "Can you tell? It's a marionette."

Li Banfeng nodded. "It certainly looks like it. Your implication is that the abductor of Yu Yaoming is a Craftsmaster."

"That's not what *I* mean. This was the analysis during the meeting. They believe a Craftsman made and controlled this marionette, which broke into the Research Department and abducted Yu Yaoming. But the key issue is that the Research Department's agents are all seventh-level Dark-Ability users, yet they showed no ability to resist this marionette. To what extent do you think this Craftsman is powerful?"

"He's so powerful that he's not a Craftsman at all." Li Banfeng turned to look at Shen Jingye.

Shen Jingye blinked. "I know, there's a difference between a Craftsmaster and a Craftsman. This is definitely a high-level Craftsmaster. I just didn't want to get hung up on their titles."

This was the authentic Shen Jingye; he wasn't even willing to conceal anything further.

But his deduction was correct. If a mere puppet was so powerful, how strong must this Craftsmaster be?

"It won't be easy to get Yu Yaoming back from him."

Shen Jingye nodded. "I know it won't be easy. The responsibility for losing Yu Yaoming isn't ours, so even if we can't get him back, it won't be our fault. We'd just lose an opportunity to earn merit."

Li Banfeng looked at Shen Jingye. "Do you want to earn merit?"

"Very much so." Shen Jingye still answered very candidly.

"Didn't you say before that you've become indifferent to promotions?"

"When there were no opportunities, I certainly became indifferent. But if I can seize an opportunity again, perhaps I won't be so indifferent anymore."

The two looked at each other for a moment. Li Banfeng smiled. "Little Shen, your straightforwardness is quite endearing!"

Shen Jingye's eyes showed eagerness. "Director Li, let's both be straightforward then. If we want to succeed in this matter, I'll need your help. What kind of reward do you want?"

Li Banfeng said, "Don't rush about the reward. Let's first see if there's a chance to succeed. Regardless of how powerful the opponent is, Yu Yaoming is already lost. Finding him again would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where do you plan to start looking for clues?"

Shen Jingye was also a professional by background, so he naturally had a plan. "First, let's find the motive. What was this person's motive for taking Yu Yaoming? The first possibility: Yu Yaoming founded an organization or gang. This Craftsmaster is either a member of that gang or was hired by them to rescue Yu Yaoming. The second possibility: Yu Yaoming possesses extremely advanced scientific knowledge. Some organization wants to utilize his scientific achievements, and therefore kidnapped him from the Research Department. The second possibility is greater. After all, this is a civilized society. No matter how deep a gang member's feelings for Yu Yaoming might be, they shouldn't challenge an institution like the Research Department."

"Are you mocking Pruo Prefecture?" Li Banfeng chuckled. "Perhaps what we call civilization is all fabricated."

"I wasn't mocking Pruo Prefecture, I was just trying to say— Did you just say that civilization is all fabricated? What do you mean by that?"

The fact that Shen Jingye could say this sentence completely proved that he was not a member of Snowflake Harbor.

Li Banfeng said, "I just said it casually. You can treat it as a philosophical question and ponder it thoroughly when you get back. I think your speculation is correct. The opponent's most likely motive is that they valued Yu Yaoming's research findings. Considering Yu Yaoming's own condition—that he possesses certain dark abilities—the organization that kidnapped him should be related to dark abilities."

Shen Jingye nodded. "That's what I thought too. The opponent is a Dark-Ability user organization with considerable strength. Among the organizations we are aware of, how many can afford to hire a Craftsmaster of this level? How many organizations would dare to challenge the Research Department?"

"That narrows down the scope considerably," Shen Jingye thought for a moment. "Based on the information I currently have, within Huan Kingdom, only the Birch Hermitage Society could achieve this."

Li Banfeng said, "Following up on the Birch Hermitage Society, we should also include their derivative gang, the Ferrymen Gang."

Shen Jingye thought again. "If we trace back from the Ferrymen Gang, we can also find another powerful organization: Snowflake Harbor. The Ferrymen Gang was jointly created by Snowflake Harbor and the Birch Hermitage Society."

Li Banfeng nodded. "So, none of these three organizations can be let off the hook. Do you have any information on them?"

Shen Jingye pursed his lips. "You must have seen the Bureau's files, right?"

Li Banfeng chuckled. "When I said civilization was fabricated, this is what I was talking about. Those files inherently contain little valuable information, and a lot of the content is fabricated."

Shen Jingye stood up. "I'll go get some information and bring it to you shortly."

Li Banfeng said, "Don't rush. There's another detail we can't ignore. Before this, you told me you didn't know the Research Department's location."

Shen Jingye nodded. "Yes, I didn't know—"

After a moment of silence, Shen Jingye suddenly realized.

*I didn't know the location, so how did that puppet know? There's an inside man!*

Li Banfeng said no more. Shen Jingye returned to his office, sat behind his desk, and kept repeating Li Banfeng's words:

"Civilization is fabricated, civilization is fabricated—"

He picked up the landline, then put it back down.

He picked up his cell phone and jotted down a number.

He took out a special cell phone, one from the early 1990s, its size comparable to a brick.

This phone had been specially modified, making it difficult to eavesdrop on.

He made a call using the phone.

"Old Shen, why are you calling me from this number?"

Shen Jingye said, "I have something I need your help with. Could you investigate Du Wenming's resume and his recent movements? Focus specifically on his schedule for the past three days."