American comic: From Beijing with Love, starting with a mutant.

"Bang!"

The door to the archives was blocked by Stephen Chow's back.

He grabbed the door frame with his backhand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"This kid... he's incredibly ruthless when he investigates dirty accounts."

Zhou Xingxing muttered to himself as he pulled out the first round of follow-up visit record from under his armpit.

He bit the end of his pen and wrote a line of large characters in the special notes section at the bottom.

[From weapon to corporate slave, the stench of the office is unbearable! This employee has adapted to the bureaucratic system of slacking off and categorization, but suffers from severe financial obsession! It is recommended that they be banned from entering the bureau's finance office within 50 meters! Otherwise, the bureau chief's slush fund and my lifelong food allowance will be ruined!]

The last period was drawn, its force penetrating the paper. I finally felt relieved.

He put down his pen and looked at the next name on the form.

Nina Stewart.

Alright, I should go to the security department and check on that little devil who can see through the Grim Reaper's red line.

First floor, security department monitoring hall.

Stephen Chow stood outside the half-open door, pondering how to appease the socially awkward little girl he had rescued from an American laboratory.

After all, that girl had been imprisoned so badly before that she trembled at the sight of someone in uniform.

Before his hand even touched the door, the noise coming from the crack in the door made him stop in his tracks.

A vibrant animation was playing on the giant screen that monitors the important entrance to Bureau 749.

A pink cartoon pig shaped like a hairdryer is jumping up and down in a mud puddle.

Upbeat background music played from the speakers.

"I'm Paige, and this is my brother George..."

In front of the big screen, four or five security guards with muscular bodies and tattoos of tigers descending the mountain and dragons crossing the river on their arms were gathered around a small coffee table covered with a pink floral tablecloth.

Leading the group was Zhang Tiehan, the security captain.

This burly man was 1.9 meters tall with a face full of scars; he could take down a wild boar with his bare hands.

At this moment, the tough guy was speaking with his pinky finger raised, using a high-pitched, affected voice that could kill someone on the spot.

"Little Nina, Uncle cracked this macadamia nut open for you with his iron fist, and not a single crumb fell out!"

"Ah~ Open your mouth, Uncle will feed you."

A bald, burly man next to him was displeased. He was holding a comb and stamping his feet in frustration.

"Old Zhang, get out of the way! Can't you see I'm braiding the little princess's hair into pigtails? Your hands are covered in calluses, don't scratch our precious baby's face!"

Another burly man was holding a thermos with Sailor Moon printed on it, pouting his thick lips and blowing air into the rim of the cup.

"The water temperature is 45 degrees Celsius, just right! I added some local honey, it's sweet and delicious, and won't make you feel hot or bothered!"

Zhou Xingxing, standing outside the door, nearly popped his eyes out of their sockets; he simply couldn't believe his eyes.

Fuck!

These rough men, who were usually big and tough and never listened to anyone, and who would go to the playground to practice their skills at the drop of a hat, have now all turned into mothers with lisp-like voices.

Zhou Xingxing rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, pushed open the door, and walked in with a stern face.

"What are you doing? Gathering to slack off, huh? Do you think the bureau's surveillance system is just for you to show cartoons? I bet you want your performance bonuses docked."

The burly men were startled. Turning around and seeing who it was, they quickly put away their delicate hand gestures, stood up straight, and pressed their hands tightly against their trouser seams.

Zhang Tiehan coughed twice, trying to salvage his image as the fierce Zhang Fei.

"Well, Director Zhou, we are thoroughly implementing the bureau's care policies! We are providing comprehensive, multi-faceted, and immersive protection for the mental health of our valuable overseas talents!"

Nina, who was sitting in a pink beanbag chair, looked up when she heard the sound.

Her heterochromatic eyes, one blue and one gold, lit up immediately when she saw Stephen Chow: "Uncle Chow, you're here!"

Just a second ago, Stephen Chow had a stern face, but now he smiled and pulled out a handful of White Rabbit candies from his pocket, stuffing them into Nina's hand.

"Hey, Ni'er, how have you been lately?"

"Come on, tell Uncle Zhou something. Did these burly guys bully you? If so, just say so, and Uncle will teach them a lesson!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tiehan became anxious and quickly came over.

"Director Zhou, your words are hurtful! Our security department is now doing everything Nina's way!"

"This child is very well-behaved, but he doesn't talk much and is a bit aloof."

"Your opinion doesn't count," Zhou Xingxing patted Nina's head. "Nina, tell me, have you discovered anything these past two days? Or is there anything that's bothering you?"

Nina chewed on the candy, hesitantly asking, "Can I really tell you...?"

"Speak freely, you can say anything. Speak without hesitation, I'll take care of anything for you!"

Nina nodded, staring at Zhang Tiehan with her big eyes for a while.

Then, she began to reveal her secrets.

"That Uncle Zhang has a pink thread attached to him, which connects him to Widow Li, who sells jianbing guozi at the snack stall."

Widow Li was a woman in her thirties who still retained her charm, and her stall always did very well.

Several burly men turned to look at Zhang Tiehan, whose dark face was flushed red.

"I...I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"

"Holy crap! Old Zhang, you've been hiding this for a long time, you're a lifelong bachelor!" the bald, burly man next to him exclaimed.

"So that's why you rush to buy pancakes every morning, without scallions or cilantro, and always with two eggs. Turns out you've got your eye on the shop owner."

Before the bald man could finish laughing, Nina turned her head and pointed her little finger directly at him.

"Uncle Baldy, there's a gray thread on you that's connected to the metal box behind the toilet tank on the second floor."

"There was two thousand yuan inside."

The bald, burly man froze, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Grandma! I beg you! Please stop! That's my secret stash of money I've saved up for half a year! My wife will kill me if she finds out!"

The monitoring room was in complete chaos.

The security team members' secrets were all exposed, and cries of agony filled the air.

Stephen Chow was overjoyed and slapped his thigh, laughing hysterically.

"Hahaha! Good! Excellent!"

"Our security department's early warning consultant, it turns out, is specifically there to warn you single guys about potential romantic troubles and hidden stashes of money!"

"Old Zhang, you haven't kept this a secret! They've seen right through you!"

This mutation ability is truly amazing!

It's practically the ultimate tool for gossiping in the workplace!

Chow Sing-hung, engrossed in enjoying the gossip, stood up smugly and straightened his tie.

"Come, come, little Nina, help your uncle have this blessed too."

"Look at Uncle's grand life plan, is there any golden thread connecting it to promotions, wealth, and the pinnacle of life?"

Nina, chewing on a milk candy, looked up and stared at Stephen Chow for a long time.

Her eyes turned strange.

Uncle Zhou.

"The thread of financial loss has already been connected."

Stephen Chow's smile vanished completely, but he still asked, clinging to a sliver of hope, "What do you mean?"

Nina pointed to Old Zhou's pocket: "There's a broken gold thread in your pocket, connected to the door of the finance office upstairs."

A broken gold thread?

Connected to the finance office?

Isn't this basically implying that his reimbursement is completely out of the question?!