Chapter Two: Gao Yue’s Token of Gratitude

Li Xueshu said,
“Since your injuries are no longer an issue, come with me. We’re going to see Dr. Zhou Wei to assess your mental state. Only she can unlock the Source Restriction Ring…”
Lin Lei raised an eyebrow, then nodded.
He followed Li Xueshu out.
“Team Leader, do you know what the relationship is between Zhou Ru and Dr. Zhou Wei?”
Li Xueshu paused slightly, turned to Lin Lei, and nodded.
“They’re related by blood. Zhou Wei may be young, but she’s from an older generation—two generations above Zhou Ru, if I remember correctly…”
“I also heard Zhou Ru was the first to join the Investigation Bureau and recommended Dr. Zhou Wei for recruitment afterward…”
Lin Lei nodded in realization and asked, “Then do you know if there’s any connection between Dr. Zhou Wei and Advisor Huo?”
Li Xueshu shook her head. “That I’m not sure about. I’ve only been with the Bureau for less than three years. Dr. Zhou Wei and Huo Qi are both veterans of at least five years…”
Lin Lei arched a brow.
Li Xueshu’s words were always enigmatic—perhaps she did know, but simply thought it inappropriate to tell Chen Fan.
…
The silver metallic door slid open at both sides.
Li Xueshu led Lin Lei into the room.
Zhou Wei was still furiously typing at her keyboard, brow furrowed, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead as if faced with some urgent crisis.
But Lin Lei, catching the faint glow reflected in her glasses, realized she was just playing a game.
Li Xueshu, seeing this, did not rush forward. Her brows knitted slightly. “Let’s wait a moment.”
Lin Lei hesitated, but said nothing.
About ten minutes later, Zhou Wei finally let out a long sigh, slumped back in her chair, and removed her hands from the keyboard.
Only then did Li Xueshu approach. “Dr. Zhou—”
Before she could finish, Zhou Wei stood up.
“I’m already up to date on the situation.”
She stretched, turned lazily toward Lin Lei, and said, “Come over here.”
Lin Lei approached.
“Hold out your arm.”
Lin Lei raised his arm. Zhou Wei grasped it, arching an eyebrow. “Your source energy has increased at an astonishing rate…”
Li Xueshu, standing by, narrowed her eyes. “He had his breakthrough in the Restricted Zone, after all. A little abnormality is to be expected.”
Zhou Wei shook her head and once again produced the pocket watch-like source device, handing it to Lin Lei to hold.
Watching the needle twitch across its face, a flash of bewilderment crossed Zhou Wei’s expression. She stared fixedly at Lin Lei.
“There’s something wrong with you!”
Lin Lei froze.
Li Xueshu frowned deeply. “Dr. Zhou, are you sure? Lin Lei’s mental state seems just fine to me…”
“I’m not talking about his mental state…”
Zhou Wei shook her head, turning her gaze back on Lin Lei.
“Your mental state is stable—some fluctuations, but all within normal range. The corruption is not severe, in fact, it’s extremely slight.”
“That’s precisely the problem. Your source energy has risen so much in such a short time. No matter how strong your will, the degree of corruption shouldn’t be this low!”
At these words, Li Xueshu let out a breath.
So long as Lin Lei wasn’t overly corrupted, that was enough.
Lin Lei coughed, spreading his hands in helplessness and feigning ignorance. “I have no idea either. Maybe it’s because… my constitution is special?”
“You know, Dr. Zhou, everyone’s physical makeup is different.”
Zhou Wei stared intently at Lin Lei, as if determined to see straight through him.
“I’m not reassured. From now on, you’ll come see me once a week. I want to conduct regular checks on your source energy and mental state…”
“Uh…” Lin Lei was momentarily dumbfounded.
Li Xueshu quickly stepped forward.
“Dr. Zhou, Lin Lei is a frontline investigator. He’s often on missions, and he has school on top of that—he’s plenty busy. Weekly visits aren’t realistic. How about this: I’ll have him report to you once a month. Would that work?”
Dr. Zhou nodded slightly. “That’s fine. A week is indeed too short to discern any abnormal changes.”
Lin Lei felt both relief and helplessness.
So Zhou Wei, who usually spent her days slacking off, had suddenly become so diligent.
“Dr. Zhou, if you’re sure Lin Lei’s mental fluctuations are normal, please remove his Source Restriction Ring…”
Zhou Wei turned, glanced at Lin Lei, then stepped forward and removed the ring.
…
With the Source Restriction Ring gone, Lin Lei immediately felt much lighter.
By the time he bid farewell to Li Xueshu and left the Investigation Bureau, the sun was already sinking in the west.
Lin Lei drove his newly repaired white SUV toward home.
He looked radiant and energetic, his face clear and unblemished, with no trace of injury.
But when he parked downstairs in his apartment complex, he narrowed his eyes.
A silver sedan was parked below.
It was the latest model from Langboni, several times more expensive than Chen Ning’s “Bullmaster”—an extremely high-end car.
Such a vehicle was a rare sight in Lin Lei’s run-down neighborhood.
He parked his car, feeling a vague sense of unease, but shook his head and went upstairs.
Before he’d reached the sixth floor, he heard laughter from the apartment opposite his own.
It was the voices of Qi Fangyan and another woman.
Only then did Lin Lei breathe a sigh of relief. As he reached the fifth floor, he saw a tall, suit-clad man standing like a lamppost outside Qi Fangyan’s door.
The man stiffened at the sight of Lin Lei, a flash of apprehension crossing his face.
Lin Lei raised an eyebrow. “And you are…?”
Judging by the man’s reaction, he clearly recognized Lin Lei and knew he was not to be trifled with.
The man took a deep breath and offered his hand, exceedingly polite. “Mr. Lin, hello. I’m Miss Gao Yue’s bodyguard. We’ve come to thank you personally!”
Lin Lei finally understood and shook his hand.
Back when he saved Gao Yue, Li Xueshu had mentioned that with the Gao family’s background, they would surely show their gratitude to both Lin Lei and herself.
But so much time had passed that Lin Lei had nearly forgotten the matter, and only now had they come.
Though the bodyguard seemed a bit nervous, Lin Lei could sense a certain pressure emanating from him.
This was no ordinary bodyguard.
“He’s probably a source energy user too…”
For a wealthy family like the Gaos to have ties to supernatural organizations, or to hire such individuals, was nothing unusual.
They might even cultivate source energy users themselves.
Lin Lei nodded to him, then knocked on Qi Fangyan’s door.
“Lei Lei, you’re back! Your friend Miss Gao Yue is here for you. I asked her to wait in my apartment.”
Qi Fangyan quickly opened the door, and Haha, who she was helping to look after, bounded out excitedly, rubbing against Lin Lei’s legs.
The fact that Lin Lei had friends was something that made Qi Fangyan genuinely happy.
Lin Lei nodded to her, gave Haha a pat on the head, and stepped inside.
In the living room, Gao Yue sat on the sofa in a beige dress, her hair in a simple ponytail. Next to her was a short-haired, capable-looking woman in her thirties, likely another bodyguard.
As a young woman, Gao Yue wouldn’t always have a male bodyguard at her side; for close protection, a female bodyguard was more appropriate.
When Lin Lei had saved her, she’d been emaciated and clearly malnourished. Now her health had improved greatly, and the simple ponytail made her look fresh and refined—far more pleasant than the “fake Gao Yue’s” gaudy beauty.
As Lin Lei entered, the once gentle and graceful Gao Yue suddenly stood, blushing furiously, her eyes bright with emotion.
“Lin… Lin Lei, I finally get to see you again…”
Lin Lei coughed and stepped forward. “Miss Gao Yue, you should have let me know in advance you were coming.”
A look of fluster crossed Gao Yue’s face. “I… I was just discharged and wanted to thank you right away. Sorry, I was a little impatient…”
Seeing her like this, Lin Lei quickly waved his hand. “It’s fine, really. I was just asking in passing—no need to worry.”
Clearly, her emotions hadn’t fully recovered yet.
Considering what she’d been through, it was only natural that her mental state would be affected.
Gao Yue nodded, took a deep breath, but kept her gaze fixed unwaveringly on Lin Lei.
Feeling a bit awkward under her stare, Lin Lei said, “Did you come all this way just to say thank you?”
Hearing this, Gao Yue seemed to remember something. Blushing, she quickly produced a black box from beside her and handed it over.
“This is my token of gratitude. I hope you’ll accept it.”
The box was about the size of a cellphone package.
Lin Lei accepted it with a smile, a subtle look flickering across his face.
He sensed a faint pulse of source energy from within.
Instinctively, he tried to activate “Gluttony”—tried to “plunder” the box—and found it would take over a hundred points of his gluttony energy to do so.
Whatever was inside, it was likely a source device, and probably not a low-grade one.