Chapter 67 Regret

# Chapter 67: Regret

The Bureau’s field operations team wasn't solely comprised of Lin Jianyuan and his gadgets.

There were also agents who had been stationed there previously.

—Strictly speaking, they were even Lin Jianyuan's seniors.

But there was no denying it—Lin Jianyuan was now an "A."

This granted him the authority to coordinate all Bureau members in the vicinity.

He immediately rushed to the Bureau's covert outpost on Taoran Street.

On the surface, this outpost appeared to be a Luckin Coffee, and indeed, it was a Luckin Coffee.

When there was no active mission, they sold coffee.

After all, most field operatives were part-timers.

They genuinely sold coffee during normal hours.

But now, things were different.

Lin Jianyuan burst into the nearest Luckin Coffee, and sure enough, it was a scene of controlled chaos.

The baristas in their aprons were no longer their usual unassuming selves.

Everyone moved swiftly, their expressions grave.

They were expertly evacuating the crowd and administering Sobering Potion to those affected by mental pollution.

Yet, despite their training, the sheer volume of work was overwhelming.

The small Luckin Coffee shop couldn't possibly accommodate so many people!

Lin Jianyuan stormed into the shop, shouting, "I'm an A! What's the situation now?"

The operatives: "?"

Operative A: "Another one."

Operative B: "Why does his call-out sound different? Isn't it supposed to be [Regret]? It's not [Delirium]... Whatever, just spray him first!"

Operative C: "I can't take it anymore, we're swamped with orders, ahhh!"

Seeing a group of operatives approaching with ten bottles of Sobering Potion, looking as if they were sharpening their knives, Lin Jianyuan roared, "I'm an A-Class Operative! The 'A' for Senior Professional Title!!"

*Can't you fucking understand abbreviations?!*

The operatives: "?"

Ohhh, *that* kind of A... We thought...

Lin Jianyuan didn’t need to worry about revealing classified information by stating his identity because, at that moment, apart from the lucid operatives, all the other customers in the coffee shop had lost their minds.

They had all become like Xianglin's Wife, endlessly lamenting, "I was so foolish, truly, if only I had known, I shouldn’t have..."

Lin Jianyuan quickly got a briefing from his field operations colleagues.

The colleagues had already received an emergency alert about the potential appearance of [Regret], but since the Mark fragment had appeared for such a short time, it was highly likely to be a false alarm.

On top of that, it was Sunday, the tail end of summer vacation, and Taoran Street was hosting an event, leading to heavy foot traffic.

Dispersing such a large crowd for no apparent reason could easily cause panic and generate more negative emotions.

Now, things had truly escalated.

However, the decision had been made by higher-ups, and the frontline personnel were only responsible for execution.

Lin Jianyuan, who had been a corporate drone just two days prior, naturally empathized deeply with these beleaguered frontline workers.

He immediately said, "Continue evacuating the crowd and clear the entire street as quickly as possible. Leave [Regret] to me."

The baristas nearly stumbled in shock.

"L-Leave it to... you?" Barista A, who had just been using the informal "you," now switched to the respectful "you." The astonishment on his face was beyond words. "But that's an S-Class! Lin, Lin..."

He seemed about to call Lin Jianyuan "Captain Lin," as A-Class operatives typically led teams on missions.

But Lin Jianyuan, oddly, had no teammates. He had come alone.

Barista A could only say, "Brother Lin, you should be careful! The contamination level of an S is too high! Even drenching ourselves in Sobering Potion won’t be enough to withstand it!"

This was true.

When Lin Jianyuan first entered the shop, he had heard Barista A mutter, "Damn, if only I’d known, I wouldn’t have taken this job."

But he only muttered it once.

The well-trained Operative A immediately snapped out of it and doused himself with three liters of Sobering Potion on the spot.

Only then did he recover.

Lin Jianyuan said, "I know you can’t handle it. That’s why I’m here."

All the baristas silently watched him.

But the stare lasted only a brief moment before everyone returned to their urgent tasks.

"Received!" Barista A suddenly shouted loudly.

The others also responded in turn: "Received!"

Lin Jianyuan turned and left the coffee shop.

On the brightly lit, antique-style pedestrian street, shops hung electric red lanterns, casting a festive glow over the area.

Field operations team members and gradually recovering police officers were quickly evacuating the crowd.

From time to time, people were being supported, dragged, or mumbling deliriously as they passed by Lin Jianyuan.

So this was what they called a "mass mental pollution event."

Lin Jianyuan had never seen such a scene before.

But for some reason, he was taking it in stride.

Probably from being overworked.

After all, under that moron Jiang Chen's leadership, their company's live streams were just as chaotic.

Just on a smaller scale.

But the level of chaos was no less intense.

Lin Jianyuan curled the corner of his lips.

He moved quickly against the flow of the crowd.

Now he faced several problems.

First was evacuating the pedestrians. There were too many people on the pedestrian street; even with the Management Bureau and police working together, they couldn't evacuate everyone immediately.

That would take at least 30 minutes.

Second was communication. He had just tested it—the communication signals across the entire pedestrian street area were being jammed, making it impossible to contact the Management Bureau.

Fortunately, the mobile terminal still had local network functions.

Lin Jianyuan could still reach other members within the same area while on the pedestrian street.

But to contact the Management Bureau, he had to go to that Luckin Coffee at the entrance of the pedestrian street.

Additionally, the communication interference meant that [Regret] was still nearby.

It hadn't just dumped the contaminants and fled. Ordinary contaminants wouldn’t be enough to paralyze the Bureau’s communications.

So it had to be that [Regret] itself was still in the vicinity.

That made the solution simple.

Find [Regret].

Beat it up.

Contain it.

As long as the source of the problem was dealt with, everything else would fall into place.

Lin Jianyuan glanced at the panicked crowd around him.

Many were carrying contaminants, and as they evacuated quickly, they kept contaminating each other, causing those who had just been sobered up by the Sobering Potion to slip back into a confused, Xianglin's Wife-like state.

This isn’t working.

Their own personnel would suffer losses this way.

Lin Jianyuan stopped in his tracks and decisively picked up the communicator: "Tell the Management Bureau to send a helicopter! Spray Sobering Potion!"

The barista on the other end: "Huh?"

A second later, it clicked. "Oh! Got it!"

The barista was efficient. Half a minute later, he reported back: "The Management Bureau has received the message! The helicopter is expected to be in position within 15 minutes for large-scale spraying!"

Lin Jianyuan gave a quiet "Mhm" and continued observing his surroundings.

The pedestrian street was still the same pedestrian street, brilliantly lit with decorative lights. There were all kinds of shops and stalls along the roadside, bustling with activity.

But the current bustle was not the same as before.

Gradually, some people fully regained their senses and screamed in panic, "What are you doing? Who are you? Where are you taking me?"

Then they grew even more terrified by the chaotic scenes around them.

Making the situation even more chaotic.

Still, the crowd on the pedestrian street was indeed being evacuated.

The entire pedestrian street stretched two kilometers, with many branching paths.

Lin Jianyuan had never been here before and wasn’t familiar with the layout.

Luckily, there was a map sign by the roadside.

Lin Jianyuan tossed out the angel eyeball.

Understanding his intention, the eyeball flapped its wings, copied the map, and projected it into the upper left corner of Lin Jianyuan’s field of vision.

"Smart," Lin Jianyuan said with a faint smile.

The eyeball: "~~"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

In the Management Bureau’s internal affairs department, the entire office area was brightly lit.

Everyone was swamped. Keyboards clacking, phones ringing, printers whirring—it was nonstop.

It was clear that once again, some people wouldn’t be clocking out tonight.

And not just a few—a lot.

A whole lot.

The Containment Department wasn’t idle either.

Most of the combat personnel stationed at the Management Bureau were gathered in the Containment Department.

For one simple reason.

Two S-class entities were fighting.

[Evil Domain] versus [Hesitation].

Although [Evil Domain] far outmatched [Hesitation] in combat power, the problem was that both were S-class, both possessing incredibly powerful true forms.

Simply put, they could only beat each other half to death—not all the way.

And because they couldn’t finish each other off, [Evil Domain] was growing increasingly furious.

Couldn’t kill it, couldn’t absorb it.

[Evil Domain’s] rage was almost palpable.

Everyone was on edge, worried that the two of them fighting might bring the entire Management Bureau crashing down.

Therefore, everyone was fully armed and on high alert for any contingency.

As for the Field Operations Department...

"Director!"

The subordinate put down the comms device and reported hurriedly, "The helicopter is fully loaded with Sobering Potions and has departed! Estimated arrival at the target location in 11 minutes!"

The director said in a deep voice, "Send ten additional squads over!"

"Ten?!" the subordinate exclaimed in surprise, "That many! But what about the Containment Department—"

The director replied, "Lin Jianyuan cannot be allowed to be compromised."

The subordinate, recalling the chaos in the Containment Department, responded, "...Understood!"

Immediately, additional personnel were urgently dispatched!

Lin Jianyuan was still figuring out how to locate [Regret].

After all, he was unfamiliar with it.

He didn’t know, the Bureau didn’t know, and even the group of Class-A rejects in his hands didn’t know.

No one knew what [Regret] looked like in its true form—whether it was human, spirit, animal, or plant.

"It should be humanoid," the squeeze toy suddenly peeked its head out of the pocket. "Didn’t your Bureau’s training say that the higher the class of anomaly, the more they resemble humans? So [Regret] should also be humanoid. Just like [Delirium]."

Lin Jianyuan asked, "Then what about my wife?"

The squeeze toy fell silent, stumped by his question.

Right. Why has [Evil Domain] always appeared as a digestive system?

The squeeze toy actually didn’t know much about Class S anomalies either. After all, the gap between them and Class S was just too enormous.

They rarely encountered them.

Honestly, before [Evil Domain], it had never even encountered another Class S!

The saying "the higher the class, the more human-like" was something it had only learned while sitting on Lin Jianyuan’s desk during his training sessions.

The squeeze toy anxiously flicked its antennae. "Then what should we do? Your mobile terminal’s down too..."

It was indeed problematic.

Lin Jianyuan raised his wrist and glanced at his mobile terminal.

The anomaly readings still displayed: 0.

Just as Xie Yu had said, if a Class S anomaly wanted to conceal themselves, the mobile terminal would never be able to detect them.

But.

Lin Jianyuan glanced at the squeeze toy and remarked casually, "Since when have I ever relied on the mobile terminal to capture you all?"

The squeeze toy: "..."

Little Stone and the other anomalies: "..."

True... true...

Though no one knew why, Lin Jianyuan was a fierce individual who could subdue Class A anomalies unassisted.

Lin Jianyuan had already covered the entire stretch of the pedestrian street.

The crowd had mostly been cleared.

But there was still no trace of [Regret]. Lin Jianyuan couldn’t find anyone or anything that appeared anomalous.

He raised his mobile terminal and took another look.

Comms remained offline. That meant [Regret] was still here.

Where exactly was this thing?

Scowling, Lin Jianyuan slowed his pace and began walking back slowly.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the Bureau and the military police units, the crowd had been largely evacuated. The main thoroughfare of the pedestrian street was now empty.

The shops and stalls lining the street were still brightly lit, but abandoned. The ground was littered with cigarette butts, half-finished boba tea cups, single flip-flops, and all sorts of trash.

It was as if all the humans had been selected, cut, and pasted.

Pasted somewhere safe.

Lin Jianyuan slowly made his way toward the Luckin Coffee at the entrance of the pedestrian street.

Passing by the central fountain, he cursorily glanced at it.

There were several bronze sculptures there—adults and children, a cheerful family of five.

There was also a despondent middle-aged bronze sculpture sitting by the fountain, its head in its hands.

The sculptures' meaning was ambiguous.

'A middle-aged corporate drone working hard to support the whole family?'

'Why am I still thinking about corporate drones?'

'Oh, maybe because I’m pulling overtime myself right now.'

'Maybe because my wife is also working overtime at another location.'

'Alright, alright.'

'Guess I’ve absorbed the overtime mentality from my wife too.'

The corner of Lin Jianyuan’s mouth lifted slightly as he was about to continue walking.

But then, he suddenly heard a low, guttural mumbling in his ear.

"I shouldn’t have come here, I shouldn’t have done these things. Had I known, I wouldn’t have come. But if I didn’t come here, where would I have gone..."

Jolted, Lin Jianyuan turned to look.

It was that corporate-drone statue sitting by the fountain!

Aha! I knew there was something recognizable about you!

So it's the daily grind!

So you're an internet-famous street performer NPC disguised as a bronze statue!

Lin Jianyuan immediately radioed for backup: "There's still someone here at the central fountain! An NPC playing a bronze statue! Come quick and escort them out!"

"Roger that!" came the response over the communicator.

Lin Jianyuan didn't want to waste time and continued forward after giving the order.

However, after covering the rest of the street, he still found nothing.

Where the hell is [Regret]?!

What the hell! Who the hell goes to the night market to cause trouble instead of sleeping at this hour!

Why don't these anomalies find a damn job instead of screwing around all day!

—Now he and his wife are stuck working overtime!

Lin Jianyuan glanced at the time and grew even more furious.

One o'clock!

It's 1 a.m.!

Shit! It's only the first day of work! And we're already working this late!

And both he and his wife are working overtime!

And it's already one and we still can't clock out!!!

This job is bullshit!

It's only the first day! What kind of job is this??

Lin Jianyuan instinctively glanced at the palm of his left hand.

His palm was pale, making the faint bite mark clearly visible.

How's it going on [Hesitation]'s end?

[Hesitation] hadn't come to find him, which meant things there definitely weren't finished yet.

Is [Hesitation] that hard to deal with?

Isn't it just a matter of picking her up and pounding her into the ground like Hulk beating up Loki?

Why isn't it done yet? Did something else go wrong?

This is really enough...

Why is it so hard?

[Hesitation] has also successfully gotten a taste of the daily grind.

Though it could be told as a joke, Lin Jianyuan actually felt terrible inside.

After all, [Hesitation] used to be so free...

She's not even human, why should she have to suffer the hardships of this world!!!

So annoying.

If he hadn't taken that first call, maybe none of this would've happened.

This sucks.

One thing leads to another without end. Should’ve just let [Hesitation] smash the mobile terminal to pieces.

Unbelievable.

In the end, it's all because of him.

If he hadn't said it was too hot that day and wanted to go out to eat, if he hadn't chosen that mall, if he hadn't been tempted by a mere government job and agreed to work for the Bureau...

If it weren't for him.

[Hesitation] would probably still be happily gnawing on his head right now.

And falling asleep together with him.

If only he'd known...

If only he'd...

Lin Jianyuan stopped walking.

Without realizing it, he had returned to the central fountain.

He looked up and saw that the bronze statue NPC was still sitting by the fountain.

Hands still covering his face, hiding in his palms and whimpering.

"I shouldn't have come here... but if I didn't come here, where else could I go? What can I do? No, whatever I do, I'll regret it. Might as well do nothing... but doing nothing is also a waste of time. What should I do... Ahh, sitting here agonizing is also a waste of time. Can't keep going like this... I shouldn't have come here, sitting here for half the day, should've done something else instead. Anything would be better than sitting here like this..."

The NPC's rambling made Lin Jianyuan's blood pressure spike.

He immediately strode forward, reaching out to grab the man, and said furiously: "Why are you still here! What are you doing here! Get out of here! Didn't you hear the evacuation announcement—"

Before he could finish the word "announcement."

A sudden shock jolted through his hand!

Lin Jianyuan's heart leaped, and he stared in disbelief at his right hand.

His arm went numb.

Along with the entire right side of his body.

But that wasn't the weirdest part.

The weirdest part was—he had unconsciously taken a big step back!

He had been repelled!

At the same time, the little toys in his pocket suddenly went haywire again.

"Damn it! I shouldn't have, I really shouldn't have had impure thoughts about a human from [Evil Domain]!"

"Why did I have to go to that studio? If I hadn't gone, I wouldn’t be in this situation. If I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have…"

"It's not me, it's not my fault—I was born to be a roadblock. How could I regret it? No, I don’t regret it. My destiny from birth was to be a roadblock…"

Lin Jianyuan’s pupils contracted sharply as he stared in disbelief at the man before him.

That was no bronze sculpture, nor was it just an NPC playing the role of one!

That was [Regret]!

The man sitting by the fountain with his hands covering his face—

was [Regret]!!!