Containing monsters? Call me 749 the God of Slaughter!

After hearing Zhang Jiuxuan's words, Li Haotian's eyes turned slightly cold.

Fire and lightning don't lurk in the shadows and attack people on their own initiative!

Those bizarre, bloodthirsty instincts are completely out of control!

Back in his dorm, he took a shower and lay down on his bed.

So much happened today.

Meeting Chu Shanhe, reading the original owner's sister's file, the first mission, disobeying orders to kill the infant spirit, gaining new abilities, hearing about the factional struggles within the bureau...

And there's that increasingly clear contradiction:

The authorities need to contain them, but the system needs to eliminate them!

He needs to find a balance, or... choose a side.

Just then, the communicator rang.

It was a message from Chu Shanhe: "Come to my office tomorrow morning. There are some details we need to discuss regarding your task tonight."

Li Haotian stared at the message, his eyes darkening slightly.

......

At this time.

The entire recording of tonight's mission has been retrieved from the 749 Bureau's monitoring center.

Deputy Director Zhao Wenbin sat in front of the screen, watching the scene of Li Haotian killing the infant spirit, his fingers lightly tapping the table.

He pondered for a moment, then picked up the mission report about the infant spirit incident and looked at a certain line:

"The infant spirit attempted to ambush Li Haotian. In the midst of the crisis, Li Haotian subconsciously launched a counterattack and killed the infant spirit."

Zhao Wenbin leaned back in his chair, his eyes slightly narrowed.

He analyzed as if talking to himself: "Before the infant spirit launched its sneak attack, that kid had already found the object the infant spirit was attached to and severely injured it."

"Although he hesitated for a moment, his action of raising his gun clearly indicated from the beginning that he intended to kill, not contain."

A glint flashed in Zhao Wenbin's eyes: "Chu Shanhe, this little guy you recruited is quite interesting."

He retrieved Li Haotian's file and entered a few words in the "Behavioral Assessment" section:

[Tendency: Killer-oriented; close observation required.]

The light from the screen shone on his face, making his expression unreadable.

......

Early the next morning.

Li Haotian stood outside Chu Shanhe's office and gently knocked on the door.

The door opened, and Chu Shanhe stood inside.

He was still wearing the same white shirt and black trousers, and the scar on his face was particularly noticeable in the morning light.

"Come in." Chu Shanhe turned and walked back behind his desk.

Li Haotian followed him inside and closed the door.

There were only the two of them in the office, and the air was so quiet that they could hear their own heartbeats.

Chu Shanhe didn't speak immediately, but took a document from the drawer and pushed it across the table.

Li Haotian saw that it was last night's mission report, with Chen Feng's signature on the cover.

"Sit down," Chu Shanhe said, gesturing to a chair.

Li Haotian sat down, his back ramrod straight.

"I've read the report." Chu Shanhe opened the document, his eyes scanning the text. "I've also reviewed the surveillance footage from the surrounding streets at the time."

Li Haotian's heart tightened.

Is there surveillance footage in that alley?

Chu Shanhe closed the file, leaned forward, and placed his hands crossed on the table: "Tell me the truth."

"You fired the shot because the situation was so critical that you had no choice but to kill it."

"Or...did you intend to kill it from the start?"

The question was as blunt as a knife.

Li Haotian fell silent.

Chu Shanhe was an experienced investigator.

If he had seen the surveillance footage, he would definitely be able to figure it out.

Given the circumstances at the time, although the infant spirit's attack was sudden, it wasn't so critical that it had to be killed.

Li Haotian had plenty of time to dodge, and then sprinkled a handful of salt to weaken the infant spirit.

If he delays for even a moment, Chen Feng, who is already prepared to contain the infant spirit, can launch the containment net, which has a very high chance of capturing it.

Instead of shooting the infant spirit like he did!

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Simulated sunlight from outside the window filters through the blinds, casting alternating stripes of light and dark on the table.

"I..." Li Haotian finally spoke, "I feel it's safer to kill it."

Why?

"Because it is dangerous and possesses the cunning of an intelligent being."

Li Haotian met Chu Shanhe's gaze and said in a deep voice, "That infant spirit begged me for mercy through mental fluctuations, so I hesitated for a moment."

"But it was at that moment that it suddenly attacked me."

"Director Chu, I don't know what caused that infant spirit to turn into a monster."

"Perhaps it had a tragic past, or perhaps it was once an innocent and carefree child."

"But the fact is, it has now become a monster."

"I asked Sister Yu if the department had any way to purify the resentment on a creature after it turned into a ghost, and Sister Yu said no."

"The strange creatures can only be imprisoned or killed; they cannot be turned back to their original form."

"Furthermore, it is very difficult to completely contain spiritual entities and monsters. Even if they are brought back to the bureau, there is a risk of them escaping."

"Who knows if it will cause additional casualties?"

Chu Shanhe stared at him, without immediately refuting him.

After a long while, he slowly said, "What you said makes sense."

"In fact, the department has cases of containment breaches every year, and the resulting injuries and deaths do exist."

Li Haotian was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Chu Shanhe to admit this.

"But," Chu Shanhe changed the subject, "if we choose the simplest kill option every time we encounter an anomaly, how can Bureau 749 continue its work?"

"The purpose of establishing Bureau 749 is to study anomalies, control anomalies, and ultimately find a way to coexist with them."

"Killing should only be a last resort, not a first choice."

At this point, Chu Shanhe paused, his eyes flickering slightly: "Li Haotian, you're quite familiar with Zhang Jiuxuan. That kid's a big mouth; he must have told you about the faction and the combat faction within the bureau, right?"

Li Haotian nodded: "Zhang Jiuxuan said that you are a practical person, while Deputy Director Zhao is a confinement person."

Chu Shanhe nodded slightly, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes: "To be honest, I used to be a member of the containment faction."

Li Haotian glanced at him in surprise.

Chu Shanhe smiled bitterly: "To be honest, those guys in the containment faction are actually much more hard-hearted than us practical guys."

Li Haotian asked in confusion, "Why?"

Chu Shanhe gently shook his head: "Because containment means high risk."

"This means that when facing those monsters, we may have to pay a greater price and suffer more casualties."

"Undeniably, the more research samples we have, the more we will understand about those strange creatures."

"In the long run, the significance and value of containment and research do indeed outweigh those of killing."

"But..." A hint of pain flashed in Chu Shanhe's eyes, "When I watched as people I knew died at the hands of those monsters, I started to ask myself..."

"Was it really worth sacrificing so many lives to study those monsters?"

Chu Shanhe took a deep breath and looked at Li Haotian: "Only those who have witnessed death can feel its weight."

"So from then on, I went from being a confinement advocate to a practical one."