Chapter 161 - 135: The Dark Forest Version of the Extraordinary World

When Li Kang entered the captain’s office, he found Chu Bamboo sitting in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling with a dejected air.

"...What’s wrong?"

"I can’t figure it out. Something that should have been mine... when I woke up, it was gone..." Chu Bamboo’s mood was sour. ’Who the hell misappropriated my Fushui?’

"Did a thief get you?" Li Kang’s gaze sharpened. After a moment’s thought, he turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Although Chu Bamboo hadn’t moved from the chair, he sat up straight.

"I’m going to get the patrol officers from the Search Division to help you find it! What else would I be doing?" Li Kang rolled his eyes, his tone suddenly turning aggressive. "Stealing from our Special Operations Brigade... Hmph, that thief has a death wish!"

"If he’s still in the Third District, I’ll dig up his entire family tree... no, I’ll dig up his ancestors’ ashes!"

"...Never mind! It wasn’t anything that valuable, really." Chu Bamboo choked for a second, then waved his hand dismissively.

"?" Li Kang thought for a moment and sighed. "You’re still too kind-hearted! Then again, I should’ve known. If you really wanted to find it, you wouldn’t need patrol officers. With a single command, the folks in the shantytown redevelopment area would probably mobilize and dig three feet deep for you!"

Chu Bamboo: "..."

"But wait!" Li Kang looked Chu Bamboo over, confused. "Are you planning to see Miss Lu today?"

"? No, why?" Chu Bamboo was baffled.

"Then why are you all dressed up? I don’t remember you having that habit."

"?" It dawned on Chu Bamboo. His expression turned inscrutable. "Could it be that..."

"Captain!" Ning Linglong suddenly burst in. "I was on duty at the Search Department today and found something off! There’s an unsolvable case over there involving Kung Fu... uh, I mean, the Extraordinary! The alarm never went off, which means the person hid their abilities well. They probably didn’t reveal their Extraordinary nature to the victim. But shouldn’t we be the ones to handle this kind of Extraordinary crime? I’ve already taken the case!"

"I’m going to head over there and investigate! If any other Extraordinary cases requiring a memory wipe come up, just have Wall Announcements handle it... Huh? Uncle Zhu, good morning... Ah?!"

Ning Linglong glanced at Chu Bamboo and gave a small nod. She had just turned her head away when she suddenly sensed something was wrong. She whipped her head back to stare at Chu Bamboo in disbelief, then gasped.

"Wait! Un-Uncle Zhu, you-you-you... you’ve become a Cultivator?!"

The texture of his skin, the explosive increase in his charisma over such a short period—she had experienced it all firsthand. The contrast was especially stark since she had just seen Chu Bamboo yesterday.

Li Kang: "???"

’What?’ Li Kang thought he had misheard. He stared at Chu Bamboo, dumbfounded, then turned his stiff gaze to Ning Linglong.

’A Cultivator?’

’Is... Is that even possible?!’

"Is this not normal?" Chu Bamboo tilted his head, a smile in his voice. He steepled his fingers under his chin, striking a certain commander’s classic pose. "Is there anything I’ve set my mind to that I haven’t been able to achieve?"

Li Kang: "...?"

’We’re all friends here, don’t be like this.’ Li Kang’s face scrunched up. ’This is painful. So, so painful!’

’Besides, as much as what you said makes perfect sense—and he had to admit it, recalling the past—the problem is, how could it make sense!’

’Where did you get a Cultivation Technique? Weren’t you just trying to figure out the path to Cultivation? I didn’t notice anything different yesterday!’

’What about your master’s guidance? The teachings of your predecessors? The resources for training? Dammit, how does it seem like you just leveled up in your sleep?’

’Wait!’ Li Kang gasped. ’No, it couldn’t be... a divine blessing, could it? Is this divine blessing... it, ahem, *she*... legit?!’

Ning Linglong tried to look serious, but her gaze kept darting toward Chu Bamboo out of the corner of her eye.

"If you want to look, then look your fill!" Chu Bamboo spread his arms wide, declaring magnanimously, "There’s nothing about me I’m ashamed to show the world!"

"..." Ning Linglong’s expression stiffened for a moment. She spun around abruptly. "Well, Captain, I’m heading out on my mission now!!"

The room fell into a brief silence.

"Why are you teasing her now?" Li Kang stared at Chu Bamboo with a helpless expression.

"What do you mean, teasing!" Chu Bamboo got angry. ’This guy doesn’t know how to talk.’ "This is clearly an elder guiding a junior!"

"...And this ’guidance’ of yours, is it the proper kind of guidance?" The moment the words left his mouth, Li Kang regretted them. He saw Chu Bamboo’s shocked expression—

—even though he knew with absolute certainty that Chu Bamboo was just putting on an act.

"I never imagined you were that kind of person! What on earth goes through your mind all day..." Chu Bamboo looked utterly heartbroken.

"Stop, I was wrong!" Li Kang raised his hands in surrender, his face stiff. He suddenly remembered something, pulled a phone out of his pocket, and pushed it in front of Chu Bamboo. "I almost forgot. I kept saying I’d get you one of these!"

"Normally, an Honored Guest Elder wouldn’t have the authorization for this, but considering you’re still the head of the Management Department... I pulled a few strings for you! The application was approved." Li Kang then pressed his palms together and gave Chu Bamboo a small bow.

"Thanks for the trouble." Seeing this, Chu Bamboo didn’t press the issue any further. After all, he was a man of principle. ’Take the bribe and shut up!’

After fiddling with the phone for a moment, Chu Bamboo’s expression grew inscrutable.

When he first met Li Kang, the phone Li Kang used still had a counterpart in the Real World—the Guozi phone, and the Guozi-brand tablet!

But after he changed the timeline a few times and the butterfly effect kicked up a storm, phones had also changed dramatically. For example, the one in his hand right now...