I Went Crazy Killing in the World of Gods and Demons - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The lobby on the first floor of the office.

Ye Anran was furiously scribbling away, copying the Work Guidelines ten times along with a ten-thousand-word self-criticism; Dai Xingyu was tapping on his keyboard, responsible for writing the post-mission summary; Yu Wei sat on the sofa, holding a soft cloth and meticulously polishing his palm-wide broadsword.

Light and shadow fell silently upon them as the three quietly attended to their respective tasks without any interaction or disturbance to one another.

Only Ye Anran’s increasingly erratic handwriting betrayed her inner turmoil.

Seriously, why was it always her!

Why did she have to write a ten-thousand-word self-criticism and copy the Work Guidelines ten times!

Aside from when she first joined the department and wrote numerous self-criticisms and copied the Work Guidelines repeatedly due to ignorance of the rules, Ye Anran had since become so cautious that she rarely made mistakes and naturally avoided penalties.

Who would have thought that with the arrival of a newcomer, Ye Anran would instantly revert to her novice days, reliving the terror of being forced to copy texts endlessly.

At this point, Ye Anran no longer felt like calling Xie Qingling “little cutie.” Having participated fully in the battle, she deeply realized that this seemingly innocent, model-student-like newcomer was actually an out-and-out madwoman.

And, come to think of it, the department head was a devil too.

Originally, the Work Guidelines had only ten clauses, but after he took office, he directly expanded them to fifty, increasing the word count tenfold from three hundred to three thousand words.

Copying it once was torture, let alone ten times…

The thought of how much she still had to copy and the unfinished self-criticism made Ye Anran want to faint on the spot.

Gritting her teeth, she continued writing furiously.

Her handwriting, wild and flamboyant, vividly illustrated what it meant to be perfunctory and silently furious.

For a while, the only sounds in the lobby were the frantic scratching of her pen and Dai Xingyu’s keyboard clattering.

Suddenly, the typing paused. Dai Xingyu shifted his gaze from the computer screen to Ye Anran and said, “She’s awake.”

Naturally, “she” referred to Xie Qingling.

Ye Anran capped her pen and sighed. “I’ll go check on her.”

As the female senior and medic of the team, the duty of caring for the injured naturally fell to Ye Anran.

Before Xie Qingling could descend to the second floor, she saw Ye Anran’s face peeking from the stairwell.

“You’re awake.” Spotting Xie Qingling, Ye Anran hurried over to greet her. “How are you feeling?”

Professional instinct kicked in; despite having much to say, Ye Anran’s primary concern was Xie Qingling’s current physical condition.

“Much better.” Xie Qingling asked, “Were you taking care of me yesterday?”

In truth, she already knew the answer without Ye Anran’s reply.

Upon waking, she found herself cleansed of bloodstains and in fresh clothes. Given that Ye Anran was the only known female member of the team, Xie Qingling naturally deduced that this was Ye Anran’s doing.

Xie Qingling smiled, her eyes curving warmly, and thanked her: “Thank you, Senior Anran.”

“…She looks so well-behaved.”

Ye Anran pursed her lips, her initial urge to vent her dissatisfaction fading considerably.

This time, writing a self-criticism wasn’t something Xie Qingling had deliberately caused, and she herself wasn’t entirely without responsibility. Bringing up the punishment specifically would make her seem petty and narrow-minded.

As a senior, she naturally needed to project a magnanimous and dignified image otherwise, it would be quite unbecoming.

After some internal deliberation, Ye Anran decided that for the sake of maintaining that lofty senior image, she would quietly endure the agony of writing the self-criticism rather than complain to Xie Qingling.

So, Ye Anran patted Xie Qingling’s shoulder and said approvingly, “That’s good. I specially blended this Benzoin it’s excellent for clearing the mind and promoting blood circulation!”

Xie Qingling recalled the incense burner she’d seen by her bedside when she woke up.

That coiled incense with its curling blue smoke and faint medicinal aroma clearly had significant origins.

During her unconscious state, she had truly been well taken care of.

Xie Qingling consequently behaved even more obediently and earnestly, asking Ye Anran, “I don’t have any clean clothes to change into. Are there any clothes here I could wear for now?”

Her previous outfit was definitely unwearable.

It had been torn to shreds and soaked in bloodstains. Even if it hadn’t been discarded, it couldn’t be used again. Wearing it outside would frighten people they might even mistake her for some deranged serial killer.

Xie Qingling realized that in her line of work, clothing attrition was remarkably high.

Could this expense be reimbursed?

The clothes she wore to eliminate the Carrion Ghoul were still new, barely worn.

Would her future salary all go toward buying clothes?… Xie Qingling suddenly felt the familiar anxiety of working just to pay off debts.

Ye Anran looked her up and down. Having Xie Qingling meet others in pajamas was indeed inappropriate. She said, “Come with me.”

The two arrived at the end of the second-floor corridor and opened the door seamlessly embedded in the wall.

After scanning her fingerprint and opening the door, they revealed a room filled with an array of items.

Ye Anran brought Xie Qingling to one of the cabinets, slid open the door, and said, “Here, choose your team uniform.”

Inside hung rows of black garments with varying styles, though overall the cut and material were quite similar.

Black, form-fitting, made of a material that resembled leather but wasn’t quite leather, like fabric but not exactly fabric. Each set had elastic straps with buckles for attaching accessories.

With a quick glance, Xie Qingling noticed the cuts distinguished male and female designs.

The female clothing clearly featured feminine contours, with lower garments including both pants and skirts all in black.

Ye Anran explained to Xie Qingling, “These are specially designed outfits produced by the Technology Research and Development Department. The material has excellent elasticity, so sizes aren’t differentiated. Most importantly, they’re highly stain-resistant nothing shows up on them.”
No wonder Xie Qingling noticed that the other department members wore similar outfits, always spotlessly clean without a speck of dirt this was the reason.

For ease of movement, Xie Qingling ultimately chose a black pantsuit.

“All set,” Xie Qingling said.

Ye Anran nodded. “Hurry up and change. I’ll take you downstairs to meet the team. The director said we need to build rapport with you.”

“…Mm.”

Xie Qingling was naturally tall with excellent proportions a slender waist, long legs, and delicate limbs. Wearing this outfit made her appear even taller.

The petite Ye Anran couldn’t help but click her tongue in admiration. “Long legs really are something… No wonder you could run so fast when those spirits were chasing you. Those legs are impressively long.”

Xie Qingling didn’t quite catch it. “What did you say?”

“Nothing. Let’s go downstairs.” Ye Anran replied.

Five minutes later, Xie Qingling and Ye Anran appeared before Yu Wei and Dai Xingyu.

Yu Wei had already met Xie Qingling before.

Upon seeing her, Yu Wei paused from polishing his broadsword, glanced up at her, and gave a slight nod as greeting.

Dai Xingyu, however, was meeting Xie Qingling for the first time.

Hugging his laptop while still typing rapidly, he fixed his eyes on Xie Qingling for several moments before breaking into a beaming, toothy grin. “Hello there, newcomer! I’m Dai Xingyu, your senior here. I’m responsible for collecting and analyzing information in the department, along with coordinating cleanup operations. You can call me Brother Xingyu~”

“…” Xie Qingling’s face subtly paled.

She could call the scruffy-bearded Yu Wei “Brother Yu” it’d be impolite not to but calling Dai Xingyu “Brother Xingyu”… How nauseating.

Besides, with that baby face of his, was he even an adult?

Before Xie Qingling could finish wrestling with this, Ye Anran mercilessly exposed him. “Don’t listen to him! He’s only 21, younger than you! Calling him ‘brother’? More like ‘little brother’!”

“Hello, just call me Qingling,” Xie Qingling said with relief, addressing Dai Xingyu directly.

Dai Xingyu protested loudly, “Sister Anran, why’d you have to ruin my moment?! We finally get a newcomer in our department, and you just spoil all the fun!”

Xie Qingling remained silent but raised an eyebrow slightly.

Spoil what fun?

Dai Xingyu sighed deeply. “I thought with a newcomer, I wouldn’t be the youngest anymore. Turns out she’s a year older than me. When will I ever escape the bottom of the food chain?!”

Ye Anran rolled her eyes. “What, not satisfied? That’s easy to fix fight her and let the outcome decide who’s the ‘little brother’ and who’s the ‘sister.'”

“Your post-mission report should be almost done, right? And you’ve reviewed her capabilities?” Ye Anran adopted a posture of someone waiting for entertainment.

Dai Xingyu’s typing fingers stilled. He turned away and muttered under his breath, “Bullying a mere ‘Herdsman’ what’s the point of that?”

“If you can’t win, just admit it. Why make excuses?”
Ye Anran turned and introduced to Xie Qingling: “Dai Xingyu, a bratty little brother, is also the ‘Herdsman’ of our department. The so-called ‘Herdsman’ is actually a scout. He’s responsible for gathering information and clearing paths, with strong survival and escape abilities, but no offensive capabilities whatsoever completely useless in a fight. Usually, the director arranges for him to provide support from the rear.”

“Generally speaking, the most direct and commonly used ability of a ‘Herdsman’ is that they can sense the presence of ghosts and are responsible for exploring areas we haven’t yet investigated. Others need to rely on tools or methods to see ghosts like the Killing Field of Ksitigarbha,” Ye Anran said. “So we usually depend on the ‘Herdsman’ to determine where ghostly resurgences are occurring. Every city’s Special Events department is equipped with a ‘Herdsman.’ Since Future City doesn’t have frequent incidents, our staffing is lighter, with only one.”

Xie Qingling nodded, thinking to herself that although she wasn’t a Herdsman, she seemed able to detect ghosts too, even if she couldn’t see them…

Dai Xingyu protested again: “What bratty little brother… Sister Anran, you’re undermining me again! I’m an Innate Spirit!”

“Yeah, yeah, isn’t being a ‘Herdsman’ just a common talent among Innate Spirits? Better focus on your work before the director returns and punishes you with a written self-criticism!”

Dai Xingyu fell completely silent, though the noticeably louder clacking of keyboard keys conveyed his lingering indignation.

“As for my abilities, I won’t elaborate since you already know them,” Ye Anran said. “Let’s talk about Old Yu instead.”

“Old Yu is our department’s oldest employee. He comes from a Special Forces background and, though he’s an Acquired Spirit, his combat skills are formidable. He usually handles monster elimination and damage output.”

Hearing himself mentioned, Yu Wei who had remained quiet until now looked up again and gave a gentle smile: “The newcomer is impressive. I think she could take over my role, since I’m getting old and will be retiring soon.”

Xie Qingling smiled back. “I’ll look forward to your guidance.”

With three people present in the hall, Xie Qingling had now met everyone here.

By headcount, aside from Director Ling Fang whom she’d already met, there should be one more member she hadn’t encountered.

Xie Qingling asked, “There should be one more person in our department I haven’t met, right?”

Ye Anran said, “There’s one more, named Shen Huaizhou. He’s out on field duty with the director today you’ll see him tomorrow.”

“What kind of person is he? What are his abilities?” Xie Qingling pressed.

At this question, all three in the hall simultaneously paused their actions, exchanging knowing glances with slightly peculiar expressions.

Ye Anran looked conflicted and said, “Well… you’ll find out for yourself when you meet him tomorrow.”