Odd Containment Specialist.

Chapter 976 Confidential and Hidden Projects (4K)

Back in the office, Xia Shou expected a cheerful atmosphere, but the few people there were all busy and serious.

Xiao Li (Li Ming) works in the far corner of the office, surrounded by stacks of file boxes and paper documents that form a wall as tall as a person, leaving only a narrow passageway leading outside.

Against the wall, Xiao Gao was fast asleep on his makeshift bed on the floor, presumably still engrossed in his game in his dreams.

Kehen was not there, Baihe had not returned, Moying and Wulang, who had gone on a business trip early, were also not there, and Huangfu was nowhere to be seen. Only Charles was sitting at Wulang's workstation eating his lunchbox, the plastic lunchbox lid next to him covered with water droplets.

"Where is the minister?" Xia Shou asked.

"Seriously injured and hospitalized." Charles ate his rice in large mouthfuls.

"How could this be!?" Xia Shou looked shocked. "Shouldn't all the injuries have healed immediately after returning from the old history?"

“That’s how it should be, but the reality is that Shangguan’s injuries haven’t healed. No one knows why, but there’s no need to worry too much. His condition has stabilized, and the injuries are only serious in the normal sense. He should recover soon,” Charles replied.

Hearing this, Xia Shou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as he relaxed, Xia Shou immediately guessed the reason why Shangguan Yan's injuries could not be healed.

It is Sprite's royal status!

Even battles that occurred in the past are considered to have occurred in the present world as long as the injuries are inflicted within the domain. This is the first application of the [Cracked Royal Authority].

Thinking about it that way, Sprite is really scary.

He was a historical figure, yet he possessed an irrational power that threatened people in the present world.

Fortunately, although the minister lost, at least his life was not in danger.

Since Charles said it was a normal serious injury, there shouldn't be any aftereffects after recovery.

How much longer until the minister wakes up?

“It should take a while,” Charles said.

Xia Shou looked left and right, unsure of what to do.

“Take a break. Have you eaten? There are still a few lunchboxes left,” Charles said.

At this moment, Murong Shangjin entered carrying a silver tray containing Lin Yanxue's head.

"Mr. Xia Shou, you truly lived up to your reputation, you really did it." Lin Yanxue said on the tray, "However, there are still a few crucial steps before we succeed. We need your cooperation in the aftermath, since this level of disaster must be kept secret."

According to organizational procedures, I need to explain to you in detail why it needs to be kept confidential and the necessity of confidentiality.

Charles interjected, "I don't think Xia Shou needs to understand the principle of secrecy; he won't care."

Lin Yanxue said, "Although I also feel that there is no need to explain to him why I did this, after all, other people may ask you about it in the future, and some people still care about their reputation."

After all, they have accomplished a great cause to save the world, but no one knows the outcome. It would be unfair for any normal person to feel this way. In the past, the organization had problems because it did not do a good job in psychological counseling, so this process can no longer be skipped.

"Mr. Murong, please put me down."

Lin Yanxue was placed on the table.

Xia Shou sat down on the empty chair next to Charles, and Su Weiyu also casually pulled up a chair and sat down.

Xia Shou thought for a moment and said, "Keeping it a secret is also to protect me, right? The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind. Even the strongest person has weaknesses. If someone with ulterior motives targets me, it will cause losses to both me and the Bureau of Control, right?"

"Yes, that's one of the reasons. It seems you've already thought about it yourself."

I'll just give a perfunctory, casual remark.

Protecting the individual is indeed one of the biggest reasons. Superhumans are very vulnerable. Just as we were able to defeat the writer and Spreader together, if an organization really wanted to kill you, they could do so as well.

The best way to protect a person is to make those who might harm them believe from the very beginning that there is no need to harm them. Therefore, the Bureau of Control does not create a savior persona unless absolutely necessary.

Secondly, it is to prevent imitators.

In reality, this is unlikely to happen in the short term. However, just as many people who seek to be named today speculate on the merits that can be attributed to them based on ancient texts and history, thus implementing their own naming plans, if events of Sprite's magnitude are not kept secret, they will become a very reliable teaching case in the eyes of other people who wish to be named in the future.

To prevent those who wish to use their names from following suit and imitating those who almost succeeded, all matters involving names are kept confidential or vague as much as possible, unless they occur under the noses of the whole world like the Divine Law incident, in which case it is impossible to keep them secret.

Third, it is also to prevent the occurrence of messianic worship.

The creation of gods and the reliance on hero worship can be said to be human instinct, but at least... well, at least the current control bureau believes that this kind of worship will affect the potential of a group in extreme events.

While we can verbally proclaim that "everyone is a hero," and have heroes publicly declare, "Don't remember me, everyone is me," such slogans cannot change the public's mindset. Therefore, our current approach is to equalize and diversify heroic achievements, creating a vast number of role models to demonstrate that anyone with faith and effort can become a hero.

"That sounds so reasonable!" Xia Shou exclaimed, thinking to himself that governing social attitudes is indeed an art, and there are so many intricacies behind a simple public relations effort.

Su Weiyu: "So, actually I'm quite frugal. The bureau doesn't even need to do any public relations for me."

“Uh…” Xia Shou was momentarily at a loss for words.

This is a truly absurd joke; if Wei Yu hadn't said it herself, it would have been considered a personal attack.

"If this incident is kept secret, it will be encrypted with a double description and included in the SS top secret file, just like what was done to Mrs. Natasha," Lin Yanxue said casually.

Xia Shou suddenly looked at Charles. He remembered that when Charles was in Twilight City, he called the coffin behind him by this name.

Charles stroked his thick, gray beard and smiled sheepishly: "Why bring this up all of a sudden? It's been a long time, and Natasha certainly doesn't care about these empty titles."

After saying that, Charles looked at Xia Shou: "My wife, like you, saved the world, but unfortunately she wasn't as lucky as you and sacrificed herself in that incident."

Lin Yanxue continued, "However... it's hard to determine your reward, Xia Shou."

"What reward?"

"As for the bonus, it seems like you haven't touched the bonus in your account, right? It seems like you don't have any spending needs."

"Well, I'm actually quite unambitious," Xia Shou smiled. In fact, he wasn't short of money at all, and of course, he didn't really pursue material enjoyment. "That's the problem. The Bureau's employee benefits are in the form of material rewards and employee welfare, but there's no information about your family in the records. If we follow the procedures based on your contributions, even if we raise your personal benefits to the highest level applicable to your current rank, it still won't match your contributions."

Other organizations might provide channels for members to enhance their supernatural powers, but we are a protective organization, not one that pursues breakthroughs in individual power, so we do not support such rewards.

Miss Shiana and Father Charles have submitted their guarantees for your promotion to Level 5 Finisher, which should be approved soon. At that time, your privileges and priority for accessing forbidden items will be increased accordingly.

But the director and deputy director both felt that you had made such a great contribution, and the organization should provide you with assistance in terms of personal enjoyment.

"Well... as for material comforts, your bonus is more than enough right now, so I suppose you don't have any other ambitions. Therefore, as is customary, this is for you. If you need anything, feel free to contact me anytime; there's nothing to worry about."

After he finished speaking, a semi-transparent document suddenly appeared in the air. As it fell, it gradually became opaque and, when it landed in front of Xia Shou, it had become a real object.

Charles raised an eyebrow when he saw the thin sheet of paper: "Is it that?"

“That’s it,” Lin Yanxue said with a smile, “the Bureau of Control’s hidden service.”

Xia Shou picked up the paper out of curiosity and glanced at it briefly.

This special service is included in the benefits terms. The Authority can provide special services to members who do not require general benefits.

Because of differences in personal desires, extraordinary individuals often have unspeakable fetishes. Although this is normal for them, it exceeds the constraints of secular ethics and morality, forcing them to suppress their desires and causing psychological problems.

Therefore, the regulatory authority can, while ensuring the individual's social image and interpersonal relationships, satisfy permitted niche hobbies that do not exceed the limit, such as:
If the person in question has a particular preference for a particular gender, the regulatory agency can provide the perfect environment for a clandestine relationship, allowing you to embrace your desires without being influenced by societal prejudices…

Xia Shou watched, his brows slowly furrowing.

He now knew what this hidden service was.

After learning about this service, he understood even more why so many people were willing to join the Control Bureau. Perhaps some people were not only doing so because of their families, but also because of the conflict between their outdated ideas and their desire for openness.

These few sheets of paper list many niche hobbies. The first ones are actually the most moderate, and the later ones list many very unorthodox ways of playing, such as battle royale games.

Some superhumans, though kind-hearted and righteous, unfortunately enjoy the brutal entertainment of battle royale. Their nature and hobbies create a strong conflict that makes them unable to be satisfied.

The control bureau can summon criminals, promise them benefits, and get them to make a deal. Then, they can set up special places to meet the needs of these superhumans and release their psychological repression.

Of course, all services must be assessed by the Control Bureau before it can be determined whether they meet the requirements. In particular, for some unhealthy activities, the Control Bureau must determine that if the desires are not released, the superhuman's mental state will deteriorate and that this unhealthy mentality is temporarily incurable. Only when multiple conditions are met will the service application be approved.

Perhaps in order to allow those who see this document to lower their guard and be more open, the various services listed on the paper, ranging from small to large, each have their own "highlights," some of which are quite extreme.

A more moderate approach involves finding an ideal girlfriend, much like Zhuang Yan in "The Three-Body Problem," where the Bureau of Control would be responsible for finding the ideal opposite-sex partner desired by the individual.

Some of the more shocking cases involve people who wanted to taste a celebrity's excrement but had no other way to do so and were afraid of being exposed, so they resorted to this service.

Some people enjoy experiencing various near-death sensations, but find this hobby too frightening and cannot perform it without an assistant, so they entrust the control bureau to perform cesarean section and then suture it back to health.

In addition, there are some strange examples. One example is that someone asked to tell a colleague that he is a pervert, but the colleague must not reveal the secret, so as to enjoy the pleasure of the other person's unnatural gaze without exposing himself.

Such services that don't torment oneself but torment others are commonplace, and the regulatory authorities also provide satisfactory compensation to the "victims."

"Your welfare contribution value is very high, and no family members will spend your contribution value, so even if all the regular welfare programs are fully implemented, there will still be a lot of surplus."

This special service is a great way to splurge.

"For example... if you have physical needs that you need to release, but also want to maintain your single persona, we can meet those needs too. The Bureau of Control's confidentiality will absolutely not be compromised, and you can trust our professionalism," Lin Yanxue said.

"I think I probably don't need it."

"I understand. Just contact me if you need anything."

"It's really not necessary."

"I see."

Xia Shouben was about to explain when he suddenly paused, as if he had realized the special use of this function.

Since even so many strange requests can be fulfilled, if he uses this to request leave, wouldn't the control bureau be able to arrange suitable work to transfer him away from his post? That way, he could temporarily escape the minister's exploitation!
It's totally feasible! Thinking about it that way, this hidden service is really a good thing!
"It's just a small matter this time, so I won't disturb your work any longer. Please trouble Mr. Murong to take me back," Lin Yanxue said.

Murong Shangjin picked up the plate and left, and the office returned to its usual quiet.

After finishing his boxed lunch, Charles casually took out his maintenance tools and began to apply oil to the coffin he carried with him.

On the other side, behind the mountain of documents, Li Ming was typing furiously on the keyboard.

Xia Shou glanced at Li Ming through the gap in the mountain of documents. The boy, who looked like a junior high school student, was silently handling his chores with an expression that shouldn't be there for his age, as skilled as a corporate slave who had been working for thirty years.

"Xiaoming, can you handle all these documents by yourself?" Xia Shou asked with concern.

"Most of it isn't urgent. With the work schedule in place and Smith's assistance, it should be finished soon. Although it looks like a lot, the workload isn't actually that heavy. Compared to you guys, it's nothing." Li Ming stared at the computer screen, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Xia Shou stared at Li Ming's face for a while and was surprised to find that the kid really didn't seem tired!
Xia Shou looked at Jiang Wengao, who was sleeping on the side, and felt a deep sense of emotion.

Xiao Gao is one thing, after all, he has a talent for superpowers. But Xiao Ming joined the Control Bureau and was initially just a errand boy and a janitor. Now he can single-handedly handle such a huge amount of administrative work, which is simply astonishing!
This is a perfect example of being born to be a working person!

The younger generation is truly formidable.

"By the way, Brother Shou, there are some things I'd like to ask you about," Li Ming suddenly said.

Then, Xia Shou heard Charles chuckle softly beside him.

Xia Shou looked at Charles suspiciously, but Charles shook his head mysteriously.

Suddenly, Xia Shou had a bad feeling.

"Why are you looking at me? Aren't you going to help him solve his problem?" Charles lowered his head again to wipe the oil.

Xia Shou frowned, got up, and walked into the cramped mountain of documents.

Then, five minutes later, he knew where his ominous premonition came from.

(End of this chapter)