Chapter 55 His Brain Belongs to Me

Malice, intense malice.

However, this wave of malice flashed by in just an instant. When Zhou Mo tried to locate its source, it had already vanished without a trace.

After briefly posing for a group photo with the members of the City Guard, Chen Xi pushed a bank card and a black license embossed with the word "Detective" across the desk toward Zhou Mo.

"This is your double bonus, totaling 120,000. It's a special salary card issued in your name, and you can set your own PIN when you get back. Also, this is your detective license."

To Zhou Mo at present, 120,000 was quite a substantial sum of income. However, his mind was entirely occupied with pondering the source of the malice he had just sensed.

Keeping a calm and unruffled expression, Zhou Mo tucked the bank card into his jacket pocket and opened the detective license to take a look. It bore his photograph and an official seal, but what caught his eye was a sentence printed inside the license:

*Permitted to legally carry controlled weapons.*

Curious, Zhou Mo asked, "What does this include under controlled weapons? Can I carry a gun?"

Chen Xi smiled and shook his head. "Only full detectives are allowed to carry firearms. You are currently just a reserve detective, which means you are permitted to carry certain controlled edged weapons or even crossbows and bows."

"However, I would strongly advise you to stick with melee weapons. When dealing with subconscious monsters, ranged weapons and even firearms are not particularly effective. Hand-to-hand combat and certain close-quarters weapons are far more practical."

A sudden realization dawned on Zhou Mo, and he nodded. "I understand. Thank you for the guidance, Chief."

Chen Xi looked at Zhou Mo with an appreciative gaze. "Keep up the hard work. I still have a press conference today to announce the results of the Brain-Eater case, so I won't stay here to keep you company."

"Xia An, personally drive Zhou Mo home and tell him to take a couple of days off before coming back to work."

With a reluctant expression on his face, Xia An muttered, "I still have loose ends to tie up at the funeral parlor..."

A smile appeared on Chen Xi's face. "I wasn't asking."

Xia An shivered, quickly snapped to attention, and barked, "Understood, Chief!"

After Chen Xi left, everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief. Zhang Huai'an stepped forward with a smile and patted Zhou Mo on the shoulder. "From now on, we're all family. Remember to treat me to dinner sometime."

Zhang Huai'an and Zhou Mo had been through life-and-death situations together, so naturally, the two of them were much closer.

Sun Yue blinked at Zhou Mo. "Count me in for that dinner too. After all, I'm the best doctor in the team, and I'm also a Deep One—a Deep One whose family has practiced medicine for eight generations."

"Even psychological disorders are no problem; big sister here will soothe your wounded soul."

Zhou Mo flashed a smile that met everyone's expectations. "No problem! Once you guys are done with your busy work in a couple of days, I'll treat."

Xia An lit a cigarette, pulled out a pair of sports car keys, and tossed them from hand to hand. "Let's go, I'll drive you home and tell you a bit about the duties of a detective along the way."

Zhou Mo nodded and followed Xia An out of the City Guard headquarters. Once they got into Xia An's sports car, Xia An said, "You're a reserve detective now. I won't lecture you on what you should or shouldn't do, but just remember one thing: from now on, you are assisting the City Guard."

"Since you inherently possess the ability to independently handle subconscious monsters, handle them yourself whenever you encounter them if you can. If you can't, call us at any time to assist you."

Zhou Mo scratched his head. "Is it really that simple? This job sounds quite straightforward."

Xia An rolled her eyes. "That's only because you're bizarre. Other reserves break their backs and still struggle to solve even a single case."

Zhou Mo shrugged. "Just sheer luck, I suppose. So, does this mean I can now conduct my own investigation regarding... the matter of my brother's missing brain?"

However, Xia An shook her head. "No. Your jurisdiction for investigation only covers cases assigned to you by the City Guard—meaning, authorized by me."

"Otherwise, even if you manage to uncover something, it will still be considered a rule violation. Confiscation of bonuses and fines are the least of your worries; at worst, your license will be revoked, and you could end up in prison."

Zhou Mo frowned slightly, not expecting there to be so many restrictions.

That group from the Primordial Truth hid themselves deeply and had infiltrated society extensively. At the very least, it currently seemed that members of Primordial Truth existed across all walks of life, and even his predecessor—a freshly graduated student—had been dragged into it.

If he couldn't have a free hand to investigate, when on earth would he ever recover his brain?

"Then how can I be promoted to a full detective?"

Resting her chin in one hand and steering the wheel with the other, Xia An replied, "You'll probably need about 10 credited cases. Because you hadn't obtained your license yet, none of those previous cases count."

A look of exasperated agony crossed Zhou Mo's face. "It's actually this troublesome..."

"What should I do next then? Should I help you investigate the missing research materials case?"

Xia An hadn't had much time to look into this case, and there didn't seem to be any progress so far. Zhou Mo figured Xia An would probably agree if he volunteered.

To his surprise, however, Xia An shook her head decisively. "No need. I'll investigate this case myself. I can't rely on you for every single case; it would make me look utterly incompetent."

Xia An seemed to possess a stubborn persistence of her own, seemingly determined to prove her own capability.

Zhou Mo twitched the corner of his mouth, genuinely wondering if this woman had some kind of serious mental issue.

"But—"

"All right, we've arrived. I won't walk you up."

With a stomp on the brake pedal, Xia An abruptly cut the conversation short.

Zhou Mo frowned slightly, but found it difficult to say anything further, especially since Xia An was his immediate superior.

Perhaps the previous topic had left Xia An feeling irritated, as she wore an unpleasant expression as she reached into the back seat, pulled out a document folder, and shoved it into Zhou Mo's arms. "If you're interested, go and investigate that art gallery case."

Without even waiting for Zhou Mo's reply, she rolled up the car window and sped away with a rev of the engine.

Zhou Mo sighed, turned around, and began walking toward his apartment building. "Forget it, it seems impatience is useless. I'll just investigate slowly."

What Zhou Mo did not know was that Xia An drove all the way to a quiet, secluded spot and lit a cigarette.

At that exact moment, two pitch-black arms suddenly stretched out from the car's dashboard.

They were unmistakably the arms of the subconscious monster that had killed Sun Zhongwen!

These two arms rested on Xia An's shoulders, and soon, a subconscious monster featuring a rotary dial telephone crawled out from inside the car.

Its sharp fingernails gently stroked Xia An's cheek, and she reached out to pick up the receiver, placing it against her ear.

"Hello, you'd better keep a low profile lately. If this keeps up, there's a risk of exposure."

Xia An's voice traveled through the phone, yet it gradually transformed into the vocal timbre of Sun Zhongwen.

From the other end of the line, a cold voice asked, "Was it you who took Sun Zhongwen's brain?"

Xia An blew an elegant smoke ring. "I have no interest in it. Besides, the higher-ups don't want a brain frozen into ice either; you're the only one obsessed with his brain."

"Is that so? How strange then. Those missing brains have nothing to do with us—who on earth could be doing this?"

Xia An pinched the tip of her cigarette with her fingers. "I don't know, but it's likely related to Zhou Mo. He's been present at every single incident, though Chen Xi is shielding him right now, so I can't use my authority as a City Guard officer to investigate him."

The voice on the other end fell silent for a long moment. "Can you confirm whether he really has amnesia?"

Xia An let out a bewitching laugh. "Does it matter? Even if he hasn't lost his memory, he wouldn't dare say a word anyway. But I honestly didn't expect his brain to be this sharp; he's truly given me a new perspective."

"Then what are you waiting for instead of taking action? If he really manages to track us down..."

Xia An ran her tongue over her lips, looking at her freshly done manicure with a smile. "No rush. Let me turn everything you people have done into an ironclad case before I deal with him. Besides, we have to wait for the recent public scrutiny to die down first."

Chuckling like an old witch, Xia An said, "I still want to play with him for a bit longer. Let's make one thing clear first...

His brain belongs to me."