Chapter 607: Dark Star Fluctuation (This Chapter Is Nuclear)

After the meeting concluded, Li Banfeng returned to his office, pondering Shen Jingye's whereabouts.

Did Shen Jingye really go to Calabash Village?

People who go to Calabash Village have all experienced unbearable suffering in their lives. What suffering did Shen Jingye endure?

He was the head of the Dark Star Bureau; someone even had to hold the elevator door open for him. If he dared to claim suffering, then 99.9% of people would be unable to cope with life. Li Banfeng called Chen Changrui to his office: "What's the story with Shen Jingye's facial scars?"

"Director Li, which scars are you referring to?"

"Just a couple of days ago, his face was bandaged, and he told me his wife squeezed a bump on his face until it broke." "I'm not too familiar with that..."

Li Banfeng frowned: "Director Shen has disappeared, and you're still playing coy with me?"

Chen Changrui carefully considered his words: "I did see it when Director Shen was changing his dressing—a rather long knife wound. According to my guess, it must have been inflicted by his wife."

"Does this happen often?"

Chen Changrui nodded slightly: "We talked about this last time. His wife has a mental illness; this isn't the first time she's injured Director Shen." Li Banfeng now had a general idea: "Gather all personnel and conduct a city-wide search. Work in three shifts daily; the search cannot be interrupted."

Chen Changrui was stunned for a long time before saying in a low voice: "Director Li, if Director Shen really entered Calabash Village, we won't be able to find him in the city."

Li Qi frowned: "Who told you he went to Calabash Village? What did I say in the meeting? Director Shen was tracking down the whereabouts of Calabash Village and became trapped in an unnamable place.

You should know what an unnamable place is, right? I don't know what you call it in other provinces. In any case, if you find the unnamable place, you'll find Director Shen. Start the operation immediately!"

Chen Changrui quickly gathered his people and left.

How does one find an unnamable place? Chen Changrui didn't know how to find one either.

Incorporeal space, dark dimensional space, antimatter space, vector space, and asymmetrical space could all be called unnamable places. In other provinces, there was no clear definition for an unnamable place.

Fortunately, Chen Changrui understood Li Qi's intention. The key task now was to create a big stir.

Only by making a big fuss could the higher-ups know that the Dark Star Bureau was actively searching for Shen Jingye, not just waiting for him. It was very likely that Shen Jingye hadn't entered Calabash Village. As for whether he actually went or not, they would have to check Calabash Village themselves.

Li Banfeng left the Dark Star Bureau, found a quiet street, took off the jade pendant from his neck, and held it in his hand. Aiyi had said that as long as he let go of current matters, he could find the entrance to Calabash Village.

Current matters were all short-term. As of now, Li Banfeng didn't feel there was anything worth worrying about. Yet, after two attempts, Li Banfeng couldn't enter Calabash Village.

What's going on? Who am I worrying about here?

He tried hard to adjust his mindset, trying to forget current matters. After six attempts, he finally saw the road leading into the village. A cold wind blew, carrying whiffs of gunpowder smoke. It seemed something major had happened in the village.

Li Banfeng walked quickly into the village and saw A-Long fishing in the river. A-Long held a fishing spear, looking calm and composed, as if nothing serious had happened. In the distance, many farmers were tilling and working as usual.

Boom! A loud bang echoed, and the ground trembled slightly. Li Banfeng asked A-Long, "What happened?"

A-Long replied, "The village chief and his wife are fighting!" Li Banfeng was startled: "It's gotten this bad?"

A-Long's expression was indifferent: "They're often like this. The village chief drives a tank, trying to blast his wife to death, while his wife goes into a tunnel and looks for opportunities to take potshots at him."

Li Banfeng sighed: "What could be so irreconcilable between a couple that they have to use a tank?"

A-Long also found it unreasonable: "Exactly! Last time my wife and I fought, I threw two grenades and she fired a burst from a submachine gun, and after that, we made up. Isn't that just how couples are?"

After a brief chat, Li Banfeng met A-Yun: "Has anyone named Shen Jingye come to Calabash Village these past few days?"

A-Yun nodded: "Yes! This person has quite an air about him. Judging by his demeanor, he seems to have been an official, but his rank shouldn't be as high as our village chief's.

On his first day here, he signed the contract and has already moved to Calabash Waist."

"He already signed the contract?"

Little Shen's situation was not quite what Li Banfeng had imagined.

A-Yun led Li Banfeng to Shen Jingye, who was fetching water from the well. He didn't notice Li Banfeng, but Li Banfeng could tell that Shen Jingye had never done this kind of work before. He was a cultivator, probably with considerable cultivation, but he couldn't keep his balance while carrying water, spilling quite a lot.

A-Yun whispered: "Fetching water isn't even the worst of it. You should see him farming; he's so clumsy, it's unbearable to watch. That's why someone like him could never become the village chief."

This was no fault of Shen Jingye; how could the Director of the Dark Star Bureau have ever farmed?

Seeing his face still bandaged, he likely was injured by his wife again before leaving. It was probably his suffering at the hands of his wife that led to him being chosen by Calabash Village.

A-Yun asked Li Banfeng: "Do you want to say something to him?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "No, there's no point." Then he asked, "How many days has he been staying here?"

"Today is the fifth day."

There were still ten days left until half a month was up. Whether to stay or leave, it was up to Shen Jingye to decide; no one could force him.

"Where did Shen Jingye enter from?"

A-Yun flipped through a ledger: "He left a mark when he entered. He must exit from the same place he entered. I can take you to see it later."

Shen Jingye entered through the entrance of a restaurant on Yunsheng Road in Jiada District. Li Banfeng looked around the roadside and saw Lu's Bookstore.

"Is this Mr. Lu's business?"

He sent Little Fatty into a wormhole; Little Fatty had already told Li Banfeng about this.

To be honest, Mr. Lu couldn't be blamed for this. If Li Banfeng were tracked by a stranger who saw something they shouldn't have, Li Banfeng wouldn't go easy on them either.

But Yu Yaoming was in Mr. Lu's hands, which Li Banfeng hadn't expected.

Should he go into the bookstore to take a look?

Just as Li Banfeng was about to push the door open, the Projector flickered: "Director Qi, you have a call, hehe!"

"A call is a call, why are you laughing?" Every time he went to Calabash Village, the Projector's state seemed abnormal.

Li Banfeng found a secluded corner and answered the call.

Inside the bookstore, Mr. Lu tore up a manuscript and threw it into the wastebasket.

The sequel to "Rust Frost Collection" was clearly not well written; Mr. Lu himself couldn't get into it. He looked out the window and muttered to himself, "Should I show him the manuscript? Did Zhang Xiuling really receive guidance from him?"

Li Banfeng was on the phone. The call was from Deputy Director Wang: "Director Guan asked me to inform you that the higher-ups have formed a working group to conduct a special investigation into Shen Jingye's situation. Director Guan will serve as the team leader, and you will need to report your work to the team leader regularly."

Deputy Director Wang had always been obsequious in front of Shen Jingye, but today he spoke with remarkable arrogance.

It seemed someone had promised him that if Shen Jingye was overthrown, a good position would likely be reserved for him.

Li Banfeng didn't get angry and responded calmly: "Please wait, I'll report the work progress to Director Guan shortly." "Anyway, you should be careful," Deputy Director Wang said before hanging up.

Li Banfeng put his phone into the Projector's film compartment: "Let me briefly outline the script for you first." "No need for the script," the Projector chuckled, "I'm familiar with the Dark Star Bureau's drama!"

"I'm entrusting you with the task of reporting the work. Once every two hours, non-stop, for twenty-four hours."

The Projector thought for a moment: "Once every two hours makes our work attitude seem less diligent. Let's change it to once an hour. I enjoy interacting with Director Guan more often." Li Banfeng calculated the time: "Alright, but try to keep each report under twenty minutes. Try to leave Director Guan some extra time to rest."

By 3 PM, the Projector replied: "Director Qi, Director Guan has blocked our number." Li Banfeng frowned: "That's an unacceptable work attitude. Change the number and keep calling."

"Director Qi," the Projector continued, "after so many contacts with Director Guan, his phone and mine have become friends—the kind of friends who aren't very close, of course.

I can't make too many demands on him, but getting him to unblock my number isn't too difficult. Once it's unblocked, if I add some suitable disguises, I believe Director Guan won't refuse to answer."

"Alright, do it!"

The Projector could make friends with phones on the other end, even through a call.

After two trips to Calabash Village, the Projector seemed to have evolved quite a bit. At 3:30 AM, Guan Zhengyang's phone rang.

He saw the number and it was from a superior leader. Ordinarily, Director Guan should immediately sit up in bed, and after adjusting his mental state and voice, then answer the call.

But two hours earlier, his phone had shown this same leader calling, but when he answered, it was Li Qi. Guan Zhengyang didn't know if it was a phone malfunction or a communication signal issue.

Should he answer or not? He couldn't risk it.

What if it really was the leader calling? Not answering this call could haunt him for life! Guan Zhengyang still answered the phone.

"Little Guan," Li Qi's voice began, "let me tell you about the latest work progress. During our search and rescue of Director Shen, we made another significant discovery." It was Li Qi's voice again!

Guan Zhengyang was furious!

"Director Li," Guan Zhengyang burst out, "do you know what time it is? You have to be..."

"Little Guan, mind your attitude," Li Qi interrupted. "You need to understand the responsibilities of the working group and your mission. From the moment you became team leader, you must abandon any thoughts of seeking comfort..."

The next morning, Guan Zhengyang announced the suspension of the working group's related activities. The Dark Star Bureau would be responsible for Shen Jingye's search and rescue, with Li Qi overseeing the specific tasks within the Bureau. Guan Zhengyang's inability to tolerate the harassment was a secondary reason; the main reason was that the higher-ups wanted to resolve the issue.

Shen Jingye's disappearance had too significant an impact. To find Shen Jingye, Li Qi was their best choice.

Li Qi was indeed a responsible person. He first had his secretary write a recent work summary, stating that the main reason for the ineffective search and rescue was the overall lack of capability among the public security team members. To further enhance the professional foundation and competence of the team members, he signed a document to distribute 300 units of harmonizing agent to each member.

Three hundred units, equivalent to a Golden Yuan Pill, could equivalently replace a hundred days of cultivation. Once the document was issued, however, the Pharmacy Department only provided one hundred units.

Li Banfeng was angered and called the head of the Pharmacy Department: "What's the meaning of this? The document has been issued, why isn't it being implemented? Do you think my words have no effect?"

Yan Zhipeng, the head of the Pharmacy Department, quickly explained: "Director Li, that's not what we meant. We have a regulation stating that the amount of agent distributed to the same person within one month cannot exceed one hundred units. Exceeding this amount requires approval from higher authorities."

Wait for approval from higher authorities? Who are they trying to fool?

Li Banfeng had asked Tang Yuan about it: ever since Shen Jingye changed his working methods, the Dark Star Bureau had increased incentives for frontline personnel. Zuizi of the public security team, for instance, received 500 units of harmonizing agent at