Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

Tianjin, North China Regional Headquarters.

Xu Si threw himself into the old leather swivel chair, propped his legs up on the desk, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his eyes fixed on the flickering fluorescent light on the ceiling, radiating an indescribable agitation.

The desk was piled with three laptops, five folders, two landline phones, and seven or eight half-empty coffee cups. The mess was so chaotic that anyone with OCD would want to call the police.

"Could you put your legs down?" Xu San walked in from the doorway, holding a folder in his hand. Looking at his younger brother's behavior, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly. "What will it look like if someone comes in later?"

"At a time like this, why bother with these formalities?" Xu Si didn't move, not even blinking. "Everyone knows we're in a bind right now—barely able to save ourselves, we're trying to avoid trouble."

Xu San did not refute, but silently walked to his desk, sat down, opened the folder, which contained the records of the on-site investigation in the early hours of the morning and several photos.

Zhang Xilin's grave is in an inconspicuous little village on the outskirts of the city. The tombstone is the cheapest kind of cement one, and the grass on the grave mound has grown very tall.

This ordinary grave was completely ransacked last night; the coffin lid was ripped open, and the body inside was nowhere to be found.

No valuable traces were left at the scene; the method was clean and efficient, clearly done by a seasoned professional.

There will be no one else but Quanxing.

"Is it confirmed?" Xu Si finally put his legs off the table and asked in a rare serious tone.

"It's confirmed." Xu San pushed the photo over. "The grave was dug up between 10 p.m. last night and 2 a.m. No one in the village noticed, and the nearby supernatural monitoring point did not trigger any warnings."

If I'm not mistaken, there are at least three people involved, and at least one of them must be a master of earth magic or teleportation techniques; otherwise, it would be impossible to move the entire coffin without alerting anyone.

Xu Si picked up the photo and looked at it. His lips twitched, whether he wanted to laugh or curse, but in the end he said nothing and threw the photo back on the table.

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Xu San lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled.

He doesn't usually smoke, only when he's under a lot of pressure will he have one.

"The matter of the files isn't over yet, and now the grave has been dug up." Xu San's voice sounded relatively calm, but those who knew him well knew that he was forcibly suppressing something, especially at times like this. "If headquarters finds out that we've made mistakes time and time again..."

"Headquarters already knows," Xu Si interrupted his brother. "You answered that phone call this morning, and Zhuge Qi is arriving the day after tomorrow."

Upon hearing the name "Zhuge Qi," Xu San visibly paused in his smoking motion.

Of course he knew Zhuge Qi.

The head of the Extraordinary Persons Affairs Department, Zhao Fangxu's favorite, and the most promising young cadre in the head office in recent years.

Most importantly, Zhuge Qi was a member of the Zhuge family.

The Zhuge family of the Wuhou School, renowned for their magical arts and whose influence was deeply entrenched.

Even among the seasoned leaders at head office, this kind of person is someone everyone would take a second look at.

But he chose this particular time to come to North China.

With files stolen, graves robbed, and the Quanxing sect stirring with malice, Zhang Chulan's side is another ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.

The North China division is now like a dilapidated house with drafts coming from all sides, and Zhuge Qi is the headquarters specialist who was sent to "inspect the house's quality".

"What's he here for? To supervise the battle? Or to take over directly?" Xu Si's tone revealed a hint of resentment. "Let me tell you, Third Brother, if he's here to reap the rewards, I don't care who he is from the Zhuge family. I won't give him that kind of face."

"He didn't say he would take over, he said he would assist." Xu San stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, his tone unusually calm. "And the call was made by his secretary, who was very polite and emphasized twice that it was not supervision, but assistance."

"Tch." Xu Si scoffed. "You believe that kind of talk? Don't you know how those people at headquarters operate? They say they'll help, but aren't they all just here to boss us around?"

"Dad is currently hospitalized and can't help us. His last request was that we must keep Zhang Chulan alive and in North China."

"If the other party is trying to take over Zhang Chulan, we absolutely cannot let them succeed."

Xu San was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't think he's an enemy."

"Because he's from the Zhuge family?" Xu Si glanced at his brother.

Xu San looked at Xu Si and said seriously, "Do you remember last year when we had a conflict with the East China region over that border crossing case, who spoke up for us at headquarters?"

Xu Si paused for a moment, then frowned and tried to recall: "It seems like... someone spoke up for us, but I didn't pay attention to who it was."

"It's Zhuge Qi," Xu San said.

Xu Si opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

He really didn't know.

"So his arrival might not be a bad thing; it might represent President Zhao's attitude," Xu San concluded. "We really have a lot of messes up right now, and without someone to lend a hand, we really can't clean them up properly."

Xu Si was silent for a while, then put his legs back on the table, picked up the unlit cigarette again, and mumbled, "Fine, whatever, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. We're the ones they can do whatever they want with now."

Xu San couldn't help but laugh, but there was a hint of bitterness in his smile.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in." Xu San regained his usual calm demeanor.

The person who pushed open the door was Old Ma, who was in charge of intelligence work in the North China Division. He was a veteran employee in his forties who had worked in the North China Division for more than ten years. He was reliable, but a bit easily startled.

"Director Xu, Deputy Director Xu," Old Ma greeted the two men, then quickly walked up to Xu San and said in a low voice, "There's new information about Zhang Chulan."

"Speak." Xu San leaned forward slightly.

"This morning, Zhang Chulan went to the cemetery," Lao Ma said. "He must have received the news. He took a long-distance bus there alone, stood in front of the grave for about half an hour, and then came back."

"Is there anything unusual?"

"No, he just stood there, neither speaking nor crying, just standing there," Old Ma described. "After he finished standing there, he left. But..."

"But what?"

"However, our men discovered traces of another group near the cemetery," Lao Ma said. "The Quanxing people are also keeping an eye on Zhang Chulan."

Xu San and Xu Si exchanged a glance.

"They made their move?" Xu Si asked.

"No," Old Ma shook his head. "They just kept an eye on things, but didn't get close. Our people weren't exposed either; they were just watching from a distance on both sides."

Xu San pondered for a few seconds and said to Lao Ma, "Keep an eye on them, but don't alert them. Zhang Chulan's safety is our top priority. If Quanxing makes any unusual moves, report to me immediately."

"Understood." Old Ma nodded, turned around and left.