After returning to his office, Fu Zhi pulled the little puffball out of his pocket.

"You were there when the doctor was killed, weren't you?"

More than that. I was the one who killed him.

Ruan Xing pretended not to understand and looked at Fu Zhi with a blank expression.

Fu Zhi asked again, "Where did you get the mycelium on you?"

Ruan Xing widened his eyes. It was only then that he realized the mycelium had not been on him since last night.

Right then, the mycelium poked out from Fu Zhi's sleeve and loudly complained about the man's behavior last night and how it got caught.

Even though Ruan Xing only caught a few key words, he was able to piece together what happened. So that tiny movement at the dinner table had still been noticed by the sharp-eyed man, who had then waited in ambush that night.

Ruan Xing shook his head.

Fu Zhi looked a bit disappointed.

There had been no surveillance there, so they couldn't see who really killed the doctor. But whoever did it definitely used thread, which was very likely the mycelium.

And as far as Fu Zhi knew, the only person who could control this particular pollutant was Ruan Xing.

Fu Zhi pressed his lips together. If it really was Ruan Xing, then why hadn't he come back to them? Where could he be?

That afternoon, Chen Yihang reported a new mission about a newly discovered polluted zone.

"I never went into the city. I was only circling the outskirts, and the whole place is full of trees—tons of them! I saw a lot of people too. It looked like they were acting out a stage play. Their movements were stiff. I wasn't affected, but I have no idea what my teammate saw. As soon as he saw those people, it was as if he were seeing his own family. He went completely nuts and charged forward."

"And then their faces changed. After he touched them, they actually turned into people he knew. Even some of our deceased teammates were among them. I was scared out of my mind. And then, I saw his parents. God, his parents died decades ago! But the moment he reached them, he turned into a puppet. His joints became wooden, and even his pet turned into a wooden toy. And after that, he actually called me over to join them!"

"I'm not an idiot! Of course I ran!"

"But after I got back to the city, I started feeling weird. I kept having dreams. In the dreams, I saw him and his parents. I have never even seen his parents before! The only time I saw their faces was when the puppets turned into them. Then they just showed up in my dreams like that. And each day, they get closer and closer to where I am in the dream."

"So I rushed over to find you guys. I went through hell getting here just to deliver this message—"

The screen went black. Chen Yihang picked up the tablet. "That mercenary is still at the Quarantine Center. But mentally, he is not doing well. The pollution has affected his brain. He is showing extreme stereotyped behavior. Almost puppet-like. We've started targeted treatment. From the CT scan of his brain, we found tiny foreign matter that looks a lot like plant seeds."

"Plant seeds?"

"Yes. Since they were found in the brain, the pollution may be affecting his cognition. We can't even confirm whether the 'teammates' or 'puppets' he mentioned are real."

Fu Zhi nodded. "Go on."

Chen Yihang's face turned serious. "This incident happened in Province C. It is a bit far from here. The place is—"

Pei Ye asked, "Is there something unusual?"

Chen Yihang looked up. "Third Squad lost an entire unit there once. Ruan Xing's father died in that mission."

In the pocket, Ruan Xing froze.

His mind immediately went to that diary. Before this mission, Ruan Zhi might have already known something was wrong. He might have known he wouldn't come back.

Luo Shi had once admitted that he did play a part in Ruan Zhi's death. But he'd only assigned him the mission remotely and had little knowledge of its specifics. His only goal was to achieve his own objective.

"I'll handle this mission," Fu Zhi said.

Pei Ye was shocked and turned his head to look at him: "Didn't the Tower assign you to go to another province with someone?"

Fu Zhi replied, "The partner they assigned is Pei Yi."

Pei Ye instantly went speechless, like a strangled duck.

"Alright then, I'll change the name on the assignment to the captain,' Chen Yihang said, glancing at Pei Ye before marking the form.

From the narrow opening of the pocket, Ruan Xing looked toward Fu Zhi. He could only see the man's slightly downturned mouth.

Why was Fu Zhi going to that polluted zone?

Was it because of "Ruan Xing," or because he didn't want to deal with someone who had the same surname as Pei Ye?

Fu Gui shook his head. [This is love~~~]

As they were leaving the office, Chen Yihang called out, "The siblings we met in the outer city want to speak with you."

—

Outer city. District 113.

Ming Chen twisted the edge of her shirt, looking up at the tall man nervously. Her older brother stood beside her, but instead of looking uneasy, his eyes sparkled with excitement, like he was meeting his idol.

After his sister returned, the boy finally realized just who they'd gotten in touch with. This was Fu Zhi!

If he could gain Fu Zhi's favor, wouldn't that take him one step closer to his dream?

Ming Chen spoke timidly, "Um, sir, have you seen my friend? It—"

Maybe to protect her brother, she didn't say everything. But when she thought of that little black puffball, she steeled herself.

"It looks like a moldy steamed bun. I'm not sure if you have seen it. If you found it, could you please return it to me?"

In truth, Ming Chen had already searched everywhere and couldn't find a trace. She was fairly certain that the Investigation Corps either took it or killed it. She did not want to think about the second possibility.

When she learned Fu Zhi had left his contact info, she decided to take the chance and reached out.

If the Corps had captured it… she did not even want to imagine what might happen to the little puffball.

The boy only knew his sister had lost something. He had not expected it to be something like that and panicked. "Isn't that a pollutant? You must be mistaken!"

"No," the girl replied, her nervous tone turning firm. "If you found my companion, could you return it to me?"

The boy looked alarmed. He could feel the air pressure around Fu Zhi suddenly drop.

"Major, my sister is fully human! She is not colluding with any pollutant—"

"I know," Fu Zhi interrupted him. "What does it look like?"

The girl nodded. "It is black, like a lump of coal, and fuzzy."

Ruan Xing felt Fu Zhi's fingers gently wrap around him inside the pocket. His thumb and index finger stroked him lightly.

Ruan Xing started to panic. He did not want to go with this sibling duo again. Every time he stayed with the girl, she seemed to encounter bad luck. Besides, he had more important things to do now. He must go with Fu Zhi on the mission and find a way to return to his original form.

He heard the man say, "Sorry, I have not seen it."

Ruan Xing tried to poke his head out, but Fu Zhi pushed him back down.

The girl froze, not expecting that kind of response. She looked lost.

"If you ever encounter non-human creatures, like the one you described, report it to the Quarantine Center right away. Or tell me. These are likely pollutants and must be closely monitored."

Ruan Xing listened to Fu Zhi lying to a child and felt strange inside.

Was he also being "closely monitored" right now?

The girl mumbled, "I will."

Fu Zhi nodded seriously. "There was just an S-class pollutant at the base. What you saw might have been one too. If you see it again, contact me immediately."

The boy's face turned pale. "We will definitely report it!"

The girl became even paler. "O-okay."

Fu Zhi's tone softened. "I heard about your situation. Here, take this."

He handed over two documents and a small box.

When the boy saw them, his eyes lit up.

"The recommendation letter should let you enter this round of exams." The boy held the documents in his hands. Ruan Xing recognized it. They were the same forms he had used to join the recruitment exam.

The boy's breathing quickened. This was a letter of recommendation from the major! Who in the entire base could get that kind of honor?!

Before the girl could speak, he pulled her down into a deep bow.

"And this medicine, I prepared some for you. If you need more later, contact Chen Yihang. You should already have his number."

His sister's health had always been the boy's greatest worry. Fu Zhi's thoughtfulness stunned him. This was no different than giving her another chance at life.

The boy held the small box, eyes misty. "Thank you!"

Finally, Fu Zhi asked, "What are your names?"

The boy wiped his eyes. "My sister is Ming Chen. I am Ming Rui, Major." (TN: 明晨 (Míng Chén), 明銳 (Míng Ruì))

Ruan Xing watched as the two siblings walked away. The sister kept turning back to glance at him. He clicked his tongue inwardly. Fu Zhi lied to children so easily and without a hint of guilt.

Fu Gui: [Even as a ball, Master is still a total heartthrob.]

The mycelium squeaked twice in agreement.

—

Province C was far from the base. Normally, it would take five or six days to drive, but flying made it much quicker.

Ruan Xing sat inside a small box made especially for him, his stomach churning.

He had not expected that even in ball form, he would still get motion sickness.

The little puffball let out an uncomfortable gurgle. Fu Zhi, wearing aviation headphones and sunglasses, spoke a bit loudly, "There's a motion sickness medicine in the storage case. Want some?"

Ruan Xing shook his head. He already tried it and it didn't work, so he just tried to distract himself.

He focused on the lower half of Fu Zhi's face. The helmet covered his hair and upper face, revealing only a sharp, handsome nose and well-defined jaw. The microphone was angled at his cheek, and he looked very focused.

Ruan Xing could feel the plane descending. They were almost there.

It was not what Ruan Xing had imagined. The outskirts of the city were overgrown with an endless array of plants, and the climate was warm and humid.

Even inside the city, collapsed buildings were covered in thick vines and moss. The entire place resembled a vast botanical garden.

As they prepared to land, the city seemed to awaken at the sound of the plane. From the dense trees, a massive vine stretched out like it wanted to catch them.

The vine was thick with green thorns. The turbulence disrupted their flight path, and the plane shook violently.

Fu Zhi quickly adjusted, tilting the plane 90 degrees to dodge the attack. Ruan Xing's already pale face became even worse.

The vine flailed but couldn't hit them. In fact, it ended up tangling itself and becoming immobilized.

Two missiles dropped from the plane.

A loud explosion followed, and the vine shriveled up like it had lost its roots, going limp and lifeless.

"So cool~" Fu Gui whistled.

While they searched for a landing spot, the city fell quiet again, and no unexpected events occurred.

They landed in an open field. The downwash from the aircraft rustled the plants, which scattered many leaves.

After disembarking, Fu Zhi had already changed into his gear. A bird perched on his shoulder, the black puffball stuffed into his front pocket. With a white blade, he slashed through the plants blocking their path as they made their way to the city's edge.

The air was thick with humidity, filled with the scent of vegetation. It felt like walking through a sea of plants. Spores of other species even stuck to them along the way. After brushing them off, they continued forward.

Oddly, there were no animals. Usually, a place with this much plant life would be filled with birds and insects. But here, it was too quiet. It felt more like a fake city—an artificially made ecological park.

"Let's rest for a bit. We can check it out later."

Fu Zhi was strong, but never reckless.

Ruan Xing nodded.

Fu Zhi pulled out a big pack of food from the plane and handed out a bag of rations to both Fu Gui and Ruan Xing.

Ruan Xing looked down at the apple in his hands, then at the compressed biscuit Fu Zhi held. He puffed up his cheeks and offered the apple forward.

"Biscuits give energy faster. You eat the apple," Fu Zhi said, rejecting the offer.

Ruan Xing stared at the apple, not taking a bite. Only the sound of Fu Gui munching on chips filled the air.

[Can you chew a little quieter?]

Fu Gui, aggrieved: [Who eats chips without crunching?]

Ruan Xing pulled open his stash and handed over a bun. [Eat this instead.]

Fu Gui: I am just craving, not hungry...

But he didn't dare to say that out loud.

As they rested and ate, Fu Zhi suddenly stopped, tilting his head toward the bushes behind them.

A rustling sound came, and a thin figure stumbled out.

The person was wearing an Investigation Corps uniform and appeared disheveled. Their black hair was messy, and their dark green eyes were slightly upturned. Those eyes were wet and foggy, filled with fear. But when he saw Fu Zhi, they lit up.

"Captain! You are here?!"

Fu Zhi shot up. "Ruan Xing?!"

Meanwhile, the black puffball: Let me see who is pretending to be me.

And Fu Gui: Ugh, OG skin, stop trying to ride the popularity wave, okay?