Chapter 41 Idealists Deserve Overtime

Chapter 41 Idealists Deserve Overtime

While the Evil Domain munched on late-night snacks in the psychiatric hospital,

across the city, within the massive underground facility of the Management Bureau,

the early morning hours echoed with hurried footsteps through its usually empty corridors.

The Management Bureau was always busy.

However, unlike usual, today’s footsteps were not only hurried but chaotic,

interspersed with countless communication calls.

"Report! A widespread incident has occurred near No. 37 Huayuan Road Barbecue Shop! A brief [Mad Dog] Mark was detected on-site. The target is Class-A. Three squads have been dispatched for containment!"

"Report! There’s a Class-B anomaly near No. 121 South Hubin Road! It’s an unregistered and unidentified Mark; its true form cannot be identified! Tracking and identification in progress!"

"Report!"

"Report!"

The reports were incessant.

As a Class-A combatant with acute hearing, Shi Shaoning felt his eardrums were about to burst from the electromagnetic noise.

"...Damn it. Will this ever end?!"

He irritably threw down his headset.

"Captain Shi..."

His subordinate dared not speak.

Shi Shaoning’s demeanor clearly indicated another severe flare-up of his work aversion syndrome.

Fortunately, their mission for the day was complete, and it was time to clock out.

Just as the subordinate was feeling relieved, a clamor of shouts erupted from behind.

"Make way, make way, everyone make way!"

A medical team passed by.

...Wait, was that a medical team?!

The subordinate stared, dumbfounded. The group before him wore the Bureau’s special white protective suits and ID badges, but what they were carrying wasn’t stretchers.

It was forklifts.

No, no, they weren’t "carrying" forklifts.

They were "driving" them.

Colleagues in white protective suits sped past everyone on forklifts,

shouting continuously, "Make way, make way! Medical Department emergency transport of wounded. Please make way!"

Only then did everyone realize that what was being carried on the forklifts weren’t goods.

They were bone-white sculptures.

Life-sized and even wearing the combat uniforms of the field team,

these sculptures were actually the "wounded"!

Black, tight-fitting combat suits encased the bone-white figures. Their facial expressions were lifelike, but their bodies were frozen solid and immobile, transported by forklifts like heavy cargo.

The scene was incredibly bizarre.

Everyone felt a chill down their spines.

"My God, how did they end up like this?"

"Damn, this is terrifying. What kind of heretic is this? So twisted. It can actually turn living people into sculptures..."

"Can they still be saved? This is too scary. I can’t imagine how their loved ones would react when they find out. A perfectly fine person goes out to work and ends up like this..."

Just as everyone was discussing with shared unease, a calm, detached voice came from behind.

"They can be saved."

Everyone froze and turned to look in unison.

It was Captain Shi Shaoning, notorious for his intense work aversion, bending down to pick up the communication headset from the ground and putting it back on his ear.

His sharp, cold eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his flawlessly handsome face, which could easily grace a movie screen, was now etched with disdain for work.

"They can be saved," Shi Shaoning said coldly. "Just catch the [Bone Instrument] and beat the crap out of it."

Everyone: "!"

If they can be saved, then no big deal.

Upon closer inspection, these "wounded" hadn't actually lost their lives.

They were merely stiff and unable to move, transformed into sculptures.

Dressed in combat suits, faces obscured by black gear, and holding weapons, they maintained their battle stances from the moment they were petrified.

Standing on the forklifts, they passed by everyone imposingly.

Not gonna lie.

It was kinda cool.

Like a parade of NPCs from a post-apocalyptic wasteland theme park.

"Cool my ass!"

One of the sculptures suddenly spoke in frustration and anger, "We can’t even clock out like this!"

Everyone: ?

Oh right!

With bodies like this, how could they face their families?

Never mind violating confidentiality agreements—in this state, they couldn’t even shower, eat, or lie down to sleep.

So they could only remain as oversized figurines, waiting for others to capture and contain the "Bone Instrument"?

That's just tragic.

Messing up at work is one thing; being paraded around the unit on a forklift is... barely acceptable, I guess.

But not being able to get off work?

That’s just too miserable!

I can't take it anymore.

Everyone could relate.

They couldn’t help but let out sympathetic laughter.

Someone said with feigned sympathy, "Since you can’t get off work, how about you take the night shift tonight? I’ll head out first."

"That makes sense. I’m leaving too."

"Me too."

Everyone left, biting back sympathetic laughter.

The figurines on the forklift: "..."

The subordinate watched his colleagues gradually leave, then looked at Shi Shaoning’s gloomy expression.

He felt a bit guilty, but the urge to get off work overpowered the guilt.

"Captain Shi, maybe we should too...?"

A vein throbbed at Shi Shaoning’s temple. He gritted his teeth and said, "You can get off work, but I can’t."

"Because I have to attend the middle-management meeting."

The subordinate: "..."

Pfft.

Sorry. You have it rough too.

But it’s also pretty funny, hahahaha.

Ten minutes later, at the Administration Bureau's agency-wide middle-management meeting.

As it was an emergency meeting, the process was brief and straight to the point.

"Starting from 15:21 two days ago, heretics worldwide have suddenly begun collective unusual activity. As you’ve likely noticed, their movements have been more frequent than usual..."

The director stood on the stage, quickly reviewing the major incidents of the past two days.

"Most notably, the abnormal behavior of the Class S heretic 【Evil Domain】 three hours ago."

Shi Shaoning, when his name was called, stood up, visibly annoyed. Before the director could cue him, he swiftly stepped up to the podium and began his report.

"Three hours ago, around 10:30 last night, I encountered the Class S heretic 【Evil Domain】 near Jiangchuan Square..."

Last night, during the storm, Shi Shaoning expected a fierce battle. To his surprise, "Evil Domain" had no interest in fighting and merely said arrogantly and impatiently:

"I have business to take care of. Out of my way."

Shi Shaoning immediately concluded: Such urgency must mean he’s up to something big! What’s in that plastic bag? I have to stop him!

Shi Shaoning went all out.

However, "Evil Domain" couldn't be bothered to fight.

The only counterattack came at the moment when the plastic bag in its arms was about to be snatched by Shi Shaoning.

"Evil Domain" immediately became enraged. A crimson wave instantly surged, and the massive impact sent everyone stumbling back.

Even Shi Shaoning was knocked off balance.

Such abnormal behavior only solidified Shi Shaoning’s judgment.

Whatever was in that plastic bag must be extremely important!

The inexplicable global agitation among heretics must be hiding some major hidden secret!

Unfortunately, the heavy rain made tracking difficult, so they lost track of where "Evil Domain" ultimately went.

"Although we lost him, there’s still good news."

Shi Shaoning concluded flatly.

"—We’ve collected another sample of 【Evil Domain】's Mark. With one more encounter, we expect to obtain the final sample of 【Evil Domain】's Mark."

The announcement caused a stir in the room.

The final sample of a Class S Mark!

Understand that a Mark is equivalent to a heretic’s fingerprint, or a unique identifier.

Every time a heretic acts, they leave behind more or less Mark fragments at the scene. This is especially true for lower-level heretics, who lack intelligence and thus don’t know how to conceal their traces—often leaving behind numerous Mark fragments.

By analyzing scene samples to obtain the final Mark, large-scale tracking and apprehension of that heretic becomes possible.

Simply put:

—"Found you."

The Administration Bureau’s classification of heretics considers Class B the threshold.

Heretics below Class B lack intelligence, while those Class B and above are usually adept at covering their tracks.

This is especially true for high-class heretics like "Evil Domain," who are highly humanoid.

Of course, "Delirium" is an exception.

Because "Delirium" is a rare Class S moron.

...In any case, obtaining the Mark of a Class S heretic like "Evil Domain" is usually very difficult.

High-class heretics also actively avoid contact with the Administration Bureau.

"Only 【Evil Domain】 is different."

On stage, a vein throbbed at Shi Shaoning’s temple.

He recalled the scene from last time when he ran into "Evil Domain" after work without his gear.

Running into it was one thing.

The key point was that he was shaken down for a kickback!

Is that for real?

Although higher-level heretics tend to be highly humanized,

dragging two Class A heretics along and immediately demanding a kickback—that’s just way too damn human!

Is that even acceptable?!

What does a heretic need cash for anyway?! Grocery shopping?!

I’m seething. My fists are clenched.

Shi Shaoning’s temples bulged with a vein,

the more he thought about it, the more he felt he’d been played.

Shi Shaoning said coldly: "The last place Evil Domain was seen was Jiangchuan Square, and it was moving north at the time. The northern part of Jiangchuan District has a large concentration of hospitals, which have always been high-risk areas for heretic infiltration. Therefore, we planned to deploy more personnel to conduct comprehensive screenings of medical institutions such as A City People's Hospital, A City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, A City Mental Health Center..."

"Why ‘plan’? Why haven’t you already deployed personnel?"

In the first row below the stage, a provincial leader frowned, rapping his knuckles heavily on the table three times. "It’s been three hours since you encountered Evil Domain! What have you been doing these three hours? Since you already knew Evil Domain was highly likely to be hiding in a hospital, why didn’t you immediately arrange for personnel to urgently investigate?"

Shi Shaoning: "."

The director of the A City Management Bureau watched as a vein bulged on Shi Shaoning’s temples and hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "Leader, it’s like this—there’s a red storm warning today, and the Mark’s traces have been washed away. You know how Class S heretics are—once they decide to hide their tracks, without a Mark sample in hand, the Field Operations Department simply has no way to start investigating..."

Unfortunately, the leader wasn’t having any of it and said sternly: "These are all excuses, just making excuses for your own incompetence! Since you already encountered the heretic on-site, even if it fled, you should have given chase while you had the upper hand, instead of..."

The director tried to speak up for him, but Shi Shaoning let out a cold snort.

"Why? I’ll tell you why!"

Shi Shaoning suddenly rushed down from the podium and smashed the nameplate on the leader’s table with one punch!

"Because I had to rush back for your fucking mid-level management meeting!"

"Because Jiangchuan Square is in the fucking north of the city, and the Management Bureau headquarters is in the fucking south!"

"Because I’ve already been on duty for 12 hours straight! I was supposed to be off work by now, but instead I’m here at your fucking meeting!"

"Because your fucking manpower is insufficient! Half the damn Field Operations Department are part-timers! Do you know what part-time means?! It means they have another fucking job to work! They only have time to come after their shift!"

"Even I, a team leader, was sweet-talked into this shitty part-time gig!!!"

"And now you’re asking me why I didn’t continue pursuing and investigating? Why I didn’t mitosis into two people—one rushing back for the meeting and the other staying on-site to work overtime, chasing leads under a fucking red storm warning?!"

"Fucking why?!"

"Look me in the fucking eyes! You tell me! Why?!!!"

The speech was 100% laced with "mother" insults.

This outburst left the provincial leader struck speechless.

The leader’s face turned green then red. The director had initially intended to smooth things over, but on second thought, Shi Shaoning was right.

The manpower shortage was a fact.

It was necessary to feedback the city bureau’s staffing issues to the higher-ups.

You can’t always make the lower-level staff work overtime.

If all the employees are worked to death, who’s going to do the job?

The director decisively chose to play dead.

With no one stepping in to smooth things over or offer a way out, the provincial leader was instantly caught in an awkward standoff.

What’s with young people these days?

The provincial leader thought angrily—is this what they call "young people straightening up the workplace"?!

The provincial leader narrowed his eyes and said in a low, threatening voice: "Young man, I warn you, don’t think that just because you’re young and promising you can do whatever you want. If you don’t want to do this job, there are plenty of others who would..."

The intimidating words immediately created a tense atmosphere, and the entire conference room fell silent.

Unexpectedly, instead of getting nervous upon hearing these threatening words, Shi Shaoning’s face lit up, his eyes sparkling as he asked: "Are you firing me?"

That would be great!

He’s long wanted to quit this damn job!

The provincial leader was taken aback.

The director beside him, however, was instantly horrified. He jumped up with a bang and screamed: "Leader! Absolutely not!"

Shi Shaoning was the most capable person he’d conned into joining—no, recruited!

The most stubborn yet soft-hearted idealist!

How would he survive without Shi Shaoning?!

Even if he grumbled while working, he still got the job done!

And he did it extremely well!

...

In the end, Shi Shaoning unfortunately ended up not getting fired.

Not only did the provincial leader’s threat fail to get support from the director, he was even forced to listen to a 10-minute glowing praise of Shi Shaoning.

At this point, not only the provincial leader,

but even Shi Shaoning couldn’t take it anymore.

"I’m done. I’ve had it with you. Alright, stop the flattery, I’m busy. I’m clocking off first."

Shi Shaoning left the conference room muttering curses.

But everyone clearly saw the corners of his mouth curling upward uncontrollably as he walked away.

Everyone: "..."

That's our Captain Shi for you.

The pillar of the institution! The core cadre!

Cursed out the superior and still got praised!

A true role model for us corporate office drones!

Shi Shaoning, Reputation +99.

The provincial leader watched as awe filled everyone's eyes and couldn't help but turn to glare furiously at the city bureau chief: "Is this how you discipline your subordinates?"

The chief grinned obsequiously: "Hehe. Hehe."

Times are tough when bosses have to suck up to their subordinates.

Hear that, leader? You hearing this?

Even I, as the bureau chief, am playing a humble role here!

The provincial leader stared at the chief’s honest, simple face, fury welled up uselessly inside him.

Just as he was about to stand up and leave, a sudden alarm blared overhead!

"Highest-level alert, highest-level alert!"

"Class S heretic [Delirium]—containment breach! rapidly escaping!"

"All combat personnel, proceed to the scene immediately! Location at the intersection of Zone A, passages 03-04!"

"Repeat! Class S heretic [Delirium] is rapidly escaping! All personnel must carry Sobering Potions! Avoid mental pollution! Repeat! Class S heretic [Delirium] is rapidly escaping! All personnel must carry Sobering Potions! Avoid mental pollution!!!"

The crimson alert echoed throughout the entire administration.

At the meeting site, all mid-level cadres stood up in unison! They rushed toward the target location in orderly discipline!

As the highest-ranking commanding officer on-site, the provincial leader naturally hurried to Zone A as well.

While speeding there, he caught sight of Shi Shaoning, who had turned back.

Shi Shaoning was still wearing his black combat suit, looking sharp and imposing,

his face etched with exhaustion, irritation, and killer intent,

yet he was charging toward the scene faster than anyone else.

"!" The provincial leader was inwardly shaken.

Shi Shaoning? Why is he still here?

Didn’t he say he was clocking out?

The provincial leader couldn’t help but feel surprised and glanced back at the chief.

The chief gave a simple, honest smile.

What did I tell you? This is what I call an idealist—tough on the outside, soft on the inside.

Never truly off duty—that’s the fate of responsible idealists who talk tough but have soft hearts!