This actor is full of tricks.

The atmosphere immediately became awkward after those words were spoken. Bai Yao awkwardly touched his nose and said, "This time it was indeed my fault, and I will take full responsibility."

"Take responsibility? Thousands of lives, what makes you think you can take responsibility?" Xiao Lin said expressionlessly, "Headquarters already knows about this. You'll have to vouch for it yourself at the ministerial meeting later."

"I will take responsibility myself. No matter what punishment I am given by the higher-ups, I will not have a single complaint." Bai Yao's face was also a little ugly after being scolded. However, someone had to be held accountable for the deaths of thousands of people, even though the incident was an unexpected event that exceeded everyone's expectations.

“Old Bai, I’m not trying to criticize you, but you’re one of the veterans of the Inspection Division. You joined the Inspection Division before me, so you’re my senior. You should consider all possibilities before doing anything. If it were me, I would definitely evacuate the surrounding residents when dealing with such a dangerous enemy.”

Xiao Lin sighed, looking disappointed in him.

Bai Yao opened his mouth: "But if we evacuate the residents, we'll alert the enemy, which would be a golden opportunity to wipe out the Black Chess General of Sanjiang..."

"Is opportunity more important or human life?!" Xiao Lin's eyebrows shot up, and his voice suddenly rose.

Bai Yao fell silent. Everyone has different thoughts, and they make different choices when faced with the same situation. It's hard to say whether it's right or wrong.

Lin Jue and his two companions wanted to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but things took an unexpected turn. Although they wiped out most of the Black Chess Generals, they also paid a heavy price, and someone had to be held accountable.

Xiao Lin's choice was more cautious, but it might mean missing an opportunity. At that time, New World was already creating chaos in Sanjiang. Their goal was to capture Sun Jiankang, but if they discovered that Sun Jiankang was a fake, those crazy people might do something even more outrageous.

Lin Jue shook his head, stopped standing there, and sat back down in his seat, taking a sip of the water on the table.

Xiao Lin could have blamed Bai Yao in the meeting or in private, but instead, he suddenly launched an attack right after Bai Yao finished his introduction. Lin Jue himself wouldn't believe that this wasn't directed at him.

Since the other party was so disrespectful to him, Lin Jue felt there was no need for him to fawn over them and let them continue to make veiled insults.

He did need to cultivate a good relationship with the Inspection Department, but he couldn't afford to be unfriendly. He could simply continue fighting alone, as before, since his own mysterious allies were quite capable.

Xiao Lin noticed Lin Jue's actions, and her expression darkened slightly. However, she knew that Lin Jue was just a free agent who was not under the jurisdiction of the Inspection Department. She could reprimand Bai Yao, but she could not reprimand Lin Jue.

"Zhou Yue, right?" She sat down opposite Lin Jue, opened the file Bai Yao handed her, and then threw it back at him. "Old Bai, do you really think I didn't check before I came? Trying to fool me with fake information? This Zhou Yue is clearly dead, so why does your file show that he is still alive?"

"Huh? You're dead?" Bai Yao feigned shock as he looked at Lin Jue. "Then what are you now?"

"Who said I'm dead? Your director must have made a mistake. He must have found some fake information." Lin Jue said, running his hands over his body. "How could a grown man sitting here be faked?"

“Yes, Director, although I haven’t had much contact with Mr. Zhou, we’ve met a few times. He also participated in the operation this time. He doesn’t look like a dead man at all.” Bai Yao cooperated with Lin Jue, and the two of them kept steering the conversation toward the fact that Zhou Yue was not dead, without mentioning at all that the Zhou Yue in front of them was someone else in disguise.

Xiao Lin's aura was very low. After taking a deep breath, he continued, "Who you are isn't important. You just need to answer a few questions truthfully." "Okay, ask away." Seeing that the other party didn't continue to dwell on the issue of identity, Lin Jue's expression relaxed slightly. He really didn't want to strain his relationship with the Investigation Department if it wasn't necessary.

When did you first activate your Spirit Realm, and what were the specific steps involved?

Upon hearing Xiao Lin's question, Lin Jue replied without hesitation, "I can't remember exactly when, but it was about half a year ago when a mist descended and I was corrupted by a monster. It took a lot of effort to escape from that monster, and then I passed out. When I woke up, I found that I had gained extraordinary abilities."

In just six months, he went from barely activating his Spirit Realm to being able to contend with a fourth-tier being? Who would believe that? Even eating rare fertilizer wouldn't have made him that fast!

Xiao Lin naturally didn't believe Lin Jue's words. Take herself as an example. She was known as the youngest director of the Inspection Division. At the age of thirty, she had already reached the fifth level. But all of this was achieved by her desperate battles against powerful monsters and teetering on the edge of losing her rationality time and time again.

The Spirit Realm doesn't rely on talent at all; it relies on hard work and relentless effort. Moreover, the stronger you are, the more times and intensity of contamination you need. The time required to cleanse the contamination and recover your sanity also increases. Breaking through to the third rank is already extremely difficult, let alone reaching the fourth rank in just six months. Six months is simply not enough time for your sanity to recover.

However, Xiao Lin did not raise any questions. In the interaction just now, she had roughly figured out that this guy was like a donkey that only responds to gentle persuasion and not to force.

The other party wasn't considered an enemy, and although Chen Fu and Bai Yao had kept it well hidden, as the director, she had naturally received some information, including about the other party's mastery of some very powerful and mysterious abilities. Therefore, she didn't want to offend the other party for no reason.

Having already displeased the other party at the beginning, Xiao Lin's attitude improved considerably afterward, and he asked Lin Jue a few trivial questions.

Lin Jue gave nonsensical answers, and Xiao Lin naturally knew this. When she asked the last question, her expression became serious: "One last question, I hope you will answer truthfully. This is related to my report to headquarters and will also affect headquarters' attitude towards you in the future."

Xiao Lin's tone was very sincere: "I came here on orders from headquarters. Perhaps we can reach a long-term cooperation agreement in the future."

“Okay, no problem.” Lin Jue nodded. As long as the other party didn’t ask any questions that touched on his bottom line, he could answer truthfully.

He's not an unreasonable person; he won't be stubborn as long as the other party softens their attitude.

"If Bai Yao and Chen Fu were in danger, would you choose to help them?" Xiao Lin stared intently into Lin Jue's eyes. The question seemed to be about Bai Yao and Chen Fu, but it was actually a test of Lin Jue's attitude towards the Investigation Department.

"Of course." Lin Jue smiled. "I will help anyone who is a friend to me."

Xiao Lin looked into Lin Jue's eyes, and after a long while, she smiled with a serious expression. She stood up and extended her hand to Lin Jue: "This question was asked to me by a king. From now on, even if you are not a member of the Inspection Department, you can enjoy ministerial-level privileges. You can access all the information within this privilege."

(End of this chapter)