High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

Shen Chang'an parked his car and swiped his access card at the main gate.

The old gatekeeper, who had been dozing in the guard booth, suddenly stood up straight as soon as he saw the listless boy and gave him a perfect salute.

Shen Chang'an nodded as a greeting and strolled into the building.

It was still early, but there were already quite a few uniformed staff members leisurely warming up and chatting in the lobby and corridors on the first floor.

Most of these people were hired through connections to gain experience or simply coast along in peripheral clerical positions. After all, even the most back-end, low-paying positions in the Night Watch Division were considered secure government jobs. This kind of thing is unavoidable in any organization.

Shen Chang'an went straight to the third floor and pushed open the door to room 302.

This is the true core command center of the Qingzhou District branch.

Old Zhao hasn't come to work yet, but there's a young girl on duty in the office area.

She looked to be in her early twenties, wearing a crisp dark blue uniform, and had a pretty face, but with dark circles under her eyes from just finishing a night shift.

Shen Chang'an didn't recognize her; he guessed she was a recently recruited peripheral clerical staff member.

He didn't pay any attention and went straight to the workstation by the window and sat down, even though he, as the person in charge, could only sit there a few times a year.

But it was wiped very clean.

After searching all night, Shen Chang'an was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. He yawned, casually pressed the power button on his computer, and prepared to finish writing the report and handing in the demonic energy.

"Hey? That student in the school uniform."

Xie He walked over with a water glass, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, and looked Shen Chang'an up and down. "Did you come to the wrong office?"

She looked at Shen Chang'an with suspicion. You see, it took her father a lot of connections and resources to barely get her into this core department as a duty officer.

She knew very well that there were many young masters and ladies in this building who got in through connections to gain prestige, but those people were usually assigned to sinecure departments on the first and second floors. The third floor was not a place that just anyone with connections could get into.

"You didn't go to the wrong place."

Shen Chang'an stared at the system starting up on the screen, his eyelids drooping.

"I have something to take care of, you go ahead with your work."

To Xie He, these words were utterly arrogant.

She watched as Shen Chang'an prepared to operate the internal computer, and suddenly became anxious, reaching out her hand directly.

With a "snap," the monitor in front of Shen Chang'an was turned off.

Shen Chang'an was taken aback, raised his head, and turned to look at her with a puzzled expression.

"I'm warning you, don't touch the office equipment here. If you do it again, I'll call security!"

Xie He reprimanded him with a stern face.

"This is the core confidential room of a special agency, not your school's computer lab! Judging from your appearance, you probably got in here through connections, right? You stay in the office you've been assigned to, and don't wander around!"

Looking at the young girl in front of him who was protecting the computer like a mother hen, Shen Chang'an was not angry at all, but found it rather amusing.

Although his attitude was a bit poor, he was at least vigilant and didn't let outsiders touch the official system casually, so he was a hard worker.

Shen Chang'an was too lazy to explain to a young girl, nor did he want to delve into the matter. He leaned back in his chair, took out his phone from his pocket, and dialed Old Zhao's number.

The call had just connected.

"Ring ring—"

In the quiet corridor outside the door, a loud old-fashioned cell phone ringtone suddenly sounded.

Immediately afterwards, the door to room 302 was pushed open.

A middle-aged man in his thirties with a stubble beard walked in, wearing a faded uniform.

He was holding a stainless steel thermos filled with goji berries.

Old Zhao ignored Xie He beside him, walked straight to Shen Chang'an's desk, and greeted him with a smile:

Good morning, Chang'an!

Good morning.

Shen Chang'an smiled and his gaze fell on Old Zhao's thermos.

"How have you been feeling lately? Have your hidden injuries flared up again?"

"That's it, he won't die, and he can still contribute something."

Then Zhao Changfeng looked at Xie He beside him: "Let me introduce you, this is Team Leader Shen, the top person in charge of Qingzhou District."

Xie He, standing to the side, was completely petrified.

She widened her eyes.

Is this the top official in Qingzhou District?! I just forcibly turned off his monitor and scolded him for wandering around?!

Old Zhao, being as shrewd as he was, glanced at Xie He's almost-crying expression, then looked at the black screen in front of Shen Chang'an, and instantly guessed most of what was going on.

"What just happened?"

Old Zhao asked the question knowing the answer already.

"It's nothing."

Shen Chang'an yawned and replied casually.

"I just think our new colleague in the branch has a very serious work attitude and deserves praise."

Old Zhao put the thermos on the table, turned around and waved to Xie He: "Alright, Xie, your night shift is over. Pack up and go home to rest."

Seeing Xie He's flustered state, Old Zhao turned to Shen Chang'an and explained, "This girl just finished her training a couple of days ago and was transferred here. The information and photos of our core personnel are top secret and cannot be circulated casually, so she doesn't know you. Don't mind."

"Yes, it's nothing."

Shen Chang'an waved his hand, not taking it to heart at all.

Xie He felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She grabbed her bag, lowered her head, and walked out.

"etc."

Old Zhao suddenly called out to her, his previously cheerful tone now carrying a hint of admonition.

"Don't forget the rules. Don't go around talking about it after you get out. Your father must have specifically reminded you before he sent you in that everything in this office is top secret."

"I...I understand!"

Xie He nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice, then bowed respectfully, "Goodbye, Director Zhao! Goodbye, Captain Shen!"

With a "bang," the door slammed shut.

The camera then moves to the hallway outside the door.

As soon as Xie He stepped out the door, she leaned against the wall as if all her strength had been drained.

She covered her face in anguish with both hands, screaming internally, "What have I done?! I actually blocked my boss's screen! Xie He, have you gone crazy from staying up all night?!"

She was on the verge of tears, and ran downstairs as fast as she could, with only one thought in her mind: pray that the big shot wouldn't stoop to the level of a newbie like her.

Old Zhao casually pulled up a chair and sat down next to Shen Chang'an, took a sip of goji berry water from his thermos, and said casually, "That Xie He from earlier is the daughter of District Chief Xie. She just graduated this year, and Old Xie dotes on his daughter, wanting to find her a stable and respectable job, so he used his connections to get her here. But from what I've seen these past two days, the young lady is quite efficient and doesn't have the typical spoiled princess attitude."

Shen Chang'an nodded, showing no interest in such social niceties, and directly steered the conversation back on track.

He unzipped his shoulder bag, took out the glass container filled with black primordial demonic energy, and gently pushed it in front of Old Zhao.

Upon seeing the thick black gas twisting and colliding inside the glass tube like a living thing, Old Zhao's smile vanished instantly.

"Is this what happened last night? What exactly happened?"

Shen Chang'an briefly explained what happened last night.

"Fortunately, it wasn't a spatial rift that leaked out."

Hearing this, Old Zhao breathed a long sigh of relief, his tense shoulders visibly relaxing: "That's good, that's good. As long as it's not a crack, it's manageable. Did you see any clues at the scene?"

No leads.

Shen Chang'an shook his head.

"It's a basement in an old industrial area that's been abandoned for almost ten years. The surrounding surveillance cameras have long been broken. As for the specifics, we'll have to see if the logistics team and the police station can find any useful information."

Old Zhao nodded and carefully placed the glass container into a specially made storage box.

"Alright, I'll leave the task of handing over the materials and writing the follow-up report to you."

Shen Chang'an stood up, picked up the guitar case, and slung it over his shoulder again.

"I've been up all night, I need to go back and get some sleep."

"Okay, leave it to me."

Old Zhao stood up to see him off.

"Thanks for your hard work."

At nine o'clock in the morning, the sun was shining brightly.

Shen Chang'an rode his motorcycle back to Guanlan Prefecture.

As soon as I arrived at the lawn in front of the villa, I saw Zhang Hai dressed in a white training uniform, practicing a set of powerful military boxing.

"Good morning, Uncle Zhang."

Shen Chang'an parked the car in the garage and then walked over.

"Hey, you're back. How's that car? Has the power improved a lot?"

Zhang Hai stopped his punching stance, smiled, and leaned closer to ask.

Shen Chang'an sighed helplessly: "The power is strong, but the exhaust pipe is too arrogant. When I drove it out at dawn, I was cursed at as a 'ghost fire kid' the whole way, and I almost got pulled over by the traffic police."

Zhang Hai touched his nose somewhat awkwardly: "Ahem...maybe the noise reduction module wasn't working properly. I'll go and readjust it for you later. Alright, look at your dark circles, go take a shower and catch up on some sleep."

Shen Chang'an nodded, without much formality, and went straight upstairs.