"...That’s how it is with ordinary cases. The Combat Department takes anything valuable."

Wei’en glanced sideways. "Then what’s an extraordinary case?"

"Cases assigned from above. For instance, the ones Lisi showed you before are pretty special."

Marco picked a large chunk of flesh out of the garbage heap and said excitedly, "Quick, look! Look what I found."

"What is that? It’s disgusting."

Wei’en stared in confusion at the chunk of unidentifiable tissue, which was coated in a yellowish-brown pus.

"Aberration flesh. A trophy the guys from the Combat Department missed."

Marco explained enthusiastically, "The bodies of all aberrations are almost completely filled with corrupting power. Their flesh is deformed and extremely contaminating."

"But not all flesh that contains corrupting power is valuable. Only certain parts are—like this."

He was wearing contamination-proof gloves. He scraped away the pus, revealing a dull, lifeless eye. "The eye is the most valuable part of most aberrations. It can sell for at least two gold pounds."

"Two gold pounds?" Wei’en’s eyes were drawn to the eyeball. "So, our haul this time is pretty good?"

Marco gave him a helpless look. ’All you care about is money, isn’t it?’

"It should be enough for you to pay me back what you owe."

"I guess that works."

’At least it’s much better than the two of us splitting one gold pound.’

"Marco, there’s something I don’t quite understand."

Looking around the now-clean textile workshop, Wei’en asked, "Why does the Secret Investigation Department separate the Investigation Department and the Combat Department? In practice, this division just adds an extra step."

’From my perspective, the Combat and Investigation Departments could easily be merged.’

’That way, they could just divide the Secret Investigation Department’s combat personnel into balanced teams, which would greatly improve everyone’s safety.’

’It’s like that mission in the slums. If our team had someone with enough combat strength to take on Clelia, we might have been able to capture her right then and there.’

’And what happened this morning would have never occurred.’

Marco paused. "Huh. I’m surprised you’d ask that." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Why? Is it a strange question?"

"Not really," Marco said, scratching his head. "Actually, the Secret Investigation Department used to be structured that way. Everyone was assigned to teams based on the principle of balanced strength. But..."

"Then, some things happened. They ended up separating the Extraordinaries with significant combat power and forming the Combat Department, which specializes in dealing with aberrations and evil Extraordinaries."

"What sort of things?"

Wei’en gave him a puzzled look. ’Leaving aside the advantages in team combat, even just from an investigative standpoint, balanced teams are clearly more efficient.’

"The reason is actually quite simple,"

Marco lowered his head slightly. "If I told you that we Investigators only exist to buy time for the Combat Department... that we’re just bait..."

"...would you want to quit the Secret Investigation Department?"

"I would."

Wei’en’s reply was blunt.

’Huh?’

’Wait,’

"Marco... that’s not actually the reason for the division, is it?"

’If you think about it from the perspective of being bait, it actually makes perfect sense.’

’To put it nicely, our job as Investigators is to survey the scene and gather intelligence.’

’But from another perspective, it just means we’re the first ones into a dangerous situation.’

’If we manage to escape and report back, it means the enemy isn’t that strong. Then the Combat Department moves in...’

’Fuck, the more I think about it, the more certain I am that’s exactly what it is!’

"Yeah. It is."

Marco admitted it outright. "Ever since the last Director and most of our heavy hitters were sacrificed, the Secret Investigation Department restructured the departments."

"The new focus is ’intelligence first.’ They put our Investigation Department on the front lines. When we run into a problem we can’t handle, the Combat Department moves in for a forceful suppression."

"Not only that, the department also strengthened its ties with other Extraordinary Organizations and churches. In special situations, it will form joint operations to resolve the issue."

Wei’en recalled what Lisi had said before. "Was that the time the forbidden artifact lost control?"

"Right, that’s the one," Marco sighed. "Ever since then, the personnel turnover in our Logistics Department has become even more frequent."

"Well, that explains it."

Wei’en now understood why his initial interview had seemed like such a joke.

’It wasn’t that the Investigation Department was unprofessional. It was that Yegor and the others had no real hope that I’d survive.’

’Or rather, they had no hope for *any* of the new Investigators...’

"But you can relax now. You’ve been through two missions and even got a Class-Two reward for one of them. You’ve already earned the department’s approval."

Seeing his expression, Marco comforted him, "From now on, Yegor and Lisi will pay more attention to you. They’ll step up your training."

"By assigning me more missions, for example?" Wei’en said grimly.

Marco gave a dry laugh. "Er, it could also be training assignments and things like that."

In truth, he didn’t know much about it. His mind was always on Nocturnal City; he didn’t have the time to pay attention to how the Logistics Department trained its rookies.

Wei’en nodded, letting the matter drop.

The two of them gave the place one last quick search, took their loot (garbage) to the reclamation station to exchange for one gold pound, and then returned to the Secret Investigation Department with the chunk of aberration flesh.

On the way, Wei’en didn’t dwell on the fact that the Logistics Department had hidden the truth from him.

’For one, I’ll need a lot more money for the foreseeable future to trade for Wizard knowledge and increase my power.’

’At the same time, I need the Secret Investigation Department’s intelligence to complete my missions as an Intelligence Officer for the Ghost Soul School.’

’And for another, as long as I don’t run into a case that kills me instantly, I can still get substantial rewards from the panel.’

’It creates a strange but effective feedback loop, doesn’t it?’

Therefore, Wei’en decided to maintain the status quo for now.

’Yes, at least until I advance to the rank of Wizard, nothing will change.’

...

...

"Officer Lisi, we’re back."

Lisi was leaning back in her high-backed chair, one leg crossed over the other to reveal a voluptuous thigh. "How’d it go?" she asked lazily. "Did those bastards in the Combat Department play nice?"

Marco pushed open the office door, a smile on his face. "The haul wasn’t bad this time. Look, they even left us an eye."

’Huh??’

’Not bad?’

Wei’en stared as Marco lied through his teeth. He opened his mouth to reveal the truth...

"Santiago, that bastard!"

Lisi’s expression soured. "A level-two aberration, and this is all that’s left? He’s getting more and more out of line."

Marco shrugged. "You know he was in charge of this case. The guy’s just doing this to force you to bow down and submit to him."

’Santiago?’

’Is that the guy I met in the Property Management Department on my first day?’

’The Spirit shock...’

Wei’en shot Marco a glare. ’So much for ordinary cases bringing in so little,’ he thought. ’He really knows how to spin a yarn...’

PS: Two more Chapters will be posted sometime after one o’clock, they’re not done yet... Don’t stay up late, everyone. You can read them tomorrow morning when you wake up.