Chapter 136: The Delicate Big Bear

"Hello, we are from the Public Security Bureau."

Katerina spoke these words with polite, measured grace. Combined with her beautiful appearance and elegant demeanor, it was easy to win people over.

"Oh, so you're officers," the elderly gatekeeper said, already half-convinced after hearing her out. "My supervisor mentioned that if anyone from the Public Security Bureau arrived, I should let you through."

Why do people always say that humans are sensory creatures? The exact same words, when spoken by Uncle A and Uncle B, had been dismissed outright. Clearly, in the eyes of the gatekeeper, a lovely young woman was far more trustworthy than two suspicious, greasy-looking middle-aged men. One wonders if Uncle A and Uncle B would cry themselves to sleep in the restroom if they knew about this.

"By the way, Officer, do you have any official identification? I'd like to take a look."

"Please don't misunderstand. I don't mean to doubt your status; it's just my job."

"Of course, of course." Katerina pulled a document from her bag and handed it to him. It was a standard-issue ID card that every officer possessed to verify their identity. It featured Katerina's name and photo, complete with an official Bureau stamp that looked quite convincing at first glance.

"It really is an officer. Please, come right in!" With his doubts dispelled, the gatekeeper enthusiastically opened the gate and welcomed them inside.

Once they had parted ways with the gatekeeper, Chang Yu asked, "How do you have a police ID?"

"It's not real. I had someone forge it," Katerina replied, leaving Chang Yu's jaw on the floor. "It just looks indistinguishable from the real thing. It would fall apart under close scrutiny, but it's enough to fool an average person."

"I never would have expected..." Chang Yu sighed sincerely, "that someone as law-abiding as you would commit such a crime."

"These are extraordinary times; we must use extraordinary measures," Katerina said calmly. "Our comrades' lives are still at stake. We don't have time to waste on useless formalities. If things reach a point of no return, we must wipe away the traces of the battle before the teachers and students discover the anomalies in the restroom. Otherwise, it will easily trigger panic and lead to mass chaos."

As they spoke, they reached their destination. Looking at the massive public restroom, which was filled with a pungent, stifling odor, everyone covered their noses.

"What do we do now?" Chang Yu looked at Katerina. "This is the men's room. Isn't it inappropriate for a woman like you to go inside?"

Chang Yu's expression was quite strange as he said this. Even if it were for a mission, it wouldn't look good if word got out that Katerina had entered a men's restroom. "Why don't you... wait outside for us? The rest of us can go in."

Katerina rejected his suggestion immediately. Chang Yu realized once again that while she might be a bit rigid, she was far from inflexible. She was a woman who did not let petty details stand in the way of a greater goal. When she was determined to accomplish something, worldly constraints and boundaries were no longer a cage for her.

Without further persuasion, Chang Yu led the way into the men's room. He knew his role well; if every member of the squad had a position, he was the warrior. And in games, warriors are often the ones who charge to the front, facing death head-on.

Walking alongside him was Shi Chengjin. As one of the two S-class investigators at the Disaster Investigation Bureau—and a disciple of the Evil God—he had all sorts of bad habits and a tendency to put on airs. Yet, there was no doubt about his loyalty to his friends and comrades. Chang Yu had once been saved by him. He might not be the most likable person, but he was a staunch friend and partner. Facing unknown dangers, he had once again chosen to stand by Chang Yu's side to confront the peril ahead. Although, like Chang Yu, he was essentially a "tank" character.

Like many schools, this one had a large outdoor restroom that could accommodate nearly a hundred students at once. Chang Yu suppressed the urge to gag at the pungent stench and searched every stall, hoping to find some useful clues. To his disappointment, the entire place was empty. Uncle A and Uncle B seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving no traces behind—no blood, no signs of a struggle, and the facilities were completely intact, as if nothing had happened at all.

Looking at Katerina standing confidently in the men's room, Chang Yu felt a bit awkward. He fought back his discomfort and said, "Could we have the wrong place? It doesn't look like anyone's been here. If they really went missing here, there should be some evidence."

Katerina frowned in thought. "The information from the Bureau shouldn't be wrong." She reached into her bag and pulled out a cute, bizarre... fairy wand. It had a heart at the top and a pair of small, spread wings above the handle.

Curious, Chang Yu took a few extra glances. The more he looked, the more it resembled the magical transformation prop from the cartoon *Balala the Fairies* that Yang Yang often watched. It was overflowing with pink, girlish charm. In short, magical girls usually used a wand like this to transform. It was a classic trope.

"What, are you planning to transform?" Chang Yu asked, his brain short-circuiting. Especially when he saw the wand flashing with red light and emitting a *beep-beep* sound, his judgment solidified. "Is it time for... a transformation? Are we in that much of a hurry?"

"I never thought Comrade Guihua would be a magical girl who could perform transformations! I thought the stuff on TV was all fake; I've really learned something today."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Katerina's pretty face turned blacker than charcoal. "This isn't a toy for magical girl transformations! This is a detection device developed by the Bureau's R&D team, specifically for tracking signs of disaster. Even if it looks like a joke, its functionality is very sensitive. Once it detects the presence of a disaster, it flashes red and makes a noise."

"Since it's reacting, it proves that a disaster really has been here," Shi Chengjin concluded. "Uncle A and Uncle B must have come here; they disappeared in this exact spot. We didn't come for nothing."

Katerina looked disgusted as she shoved the flashing, beeping fairy wand into Feng Sanpao's arms. Clearly, she felt that holding the wand was incompatible with her cold, aloof persona. "You hold onto this for now," she said, suppressing her inner shame. Every time she had to use this thing in public, she wanted to find a hole to crawl into—it was just too embarrassing! The R&D team must have been kicked in the head by a donkey. Why did they have to design it like a fairy wand? Such terrible taste...

"Huh?" Feng Sanpao, dressed in a Qin Dynasty general's armor, stared at the fairy wand in his arms, falling into deep contemplation. The contrast between the antique, solemn, and murderous armor and the innocent, lively fairy wand was... indescribable. It was like a clumsy grizzly bear holding a corn cob with great interest—or perhaps a grizzly bear so weighed down by heavy armor that its legs were trembling as it walked. It was completely jarring.

"This thing is great. I like it!" Feng Sanpao declared, shocking everyone. Chang Yu and the others stepped back, distancing themselves from him, terrified of being associated with him. As expected, the wiring in Feng Sanpao's brain could not be judged by conventional logic.

"Let's check elsewhere. We can't rule out signs of disaster activity in other areas," Katerina said, heading toward the exit. "It's fortunate that everything looks normal here with no signs of a fight; otherwise, cleaning up the mess alone would give us a headache."

Just as Chang Yu turned, a large, striped mosquito buzzed over and landed on his neck. He waved his hand a few times to shoo the annoying creature away. Inadvertently, he glanced down and saw several squashed mosquitoes lying on the floor near his shoes. He didn't think much of it, only sighing, "Why are there so many mosquitoes here?"

No one present noticed what was happening on Chang Yu's side. Even if they had, no one would have suspected a tiny mosquito. After being shooed away, the mosquito circled in the air before quietly landing on Chang Yu's shoulder. As the person involved, Chang Yu remained completely oblivious.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone suddenly realized that Chang Yu had gone missing.

"Strange, where did Sasuke go?" Feng Sanpao rubbed his nose, voicing what everyone else had been thinking but hadn't dared to say.

"We were too busy talking; nobody noticed what happened to Chang Yu," Shi Chengjin said, his face grim.

"Could it be that Sasuke... fell into the pit of the men's restroom?" Feng Sanpao guessed boldly. In his mind, a tragic and desolate image surfaced: Chang Yu struggling alone in a pit of filth, his clothes and face covered in yellow sludge. He was floating there all alone, thrashing his limbs in a desperate attempt not to sink. He shouted his teammates' names in despair, hoping someone would hear him and pull him out... but they had already walked too far away.

"Something must have happened," Katerina said, ignoring Feng Sanpao's ridiculous speculation. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have disappeared from right in front of us without a sound."