Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Aberrant Safety Inspection Bureau

New text unfurled in Feng Ling’s mind, crisp as if it had been engraved behind her eyes:

[“Killer Bee”: After marking any living being with pheromones, you can locate and track the target. Tracking speed increases as distance shortens, up to ten times faster.]

[“Mantis”: You can rapidly alter bodily traits, transforming limbs into sharp bone blades. Speed and burst power increase, but the card bearer is prone to losing reason and tends toward insectification.]

So that was it.

The fire extinguisher hadn’t worked because she’d already been marked. That was why the aberrant could swing at her even with its eyes coated—why it could still find her through the crowd, through the chaos.

As long as the mark remained, it didn’t need sight.

Now she had those two Ability Cards.

Did that mean she could use those abilities herself?

The thought had barely formed when the text shifted.

[“Killer Bee” has been digested.]

[“Mantis” has been digested.]

[Deck growth detected.]

[Corruption: 3%.]

[You have gained the ability to mark any living being. Mark duration: 12 hours. Please name your new skill.]

[A new arm has grown within your body and can rapidly transform into a sharp bone blade. Please name your new skill.]

Feng Ling went still.

Digested?

Corruption?

And why did she need to name anything?

None of the posts online mentioned this. People talked about pulling Ability Cards, trading them, hoarding them—nobody talked about digestion or decks or having to name skills like she was setting up a character sheet.

It was just a marking ability. Calling it “Mark” would be fine. And bone blade was bone blade. Why make it complicated?

The prompt pulsed again, impatient:

[Please name your new skill. The skill will only activate after naming is complete.]

Feng Ling’s mouth twitched. The situation was absurd. Her brain still felt bruised from the aftershock of last night, but something in her couldn’t resist turning it into a joke.

“If you’re going to call me the World Mother,” she murmured, “then let’s lean into it.”

She thought for a beat, eyes narrowing with dark amusement.

“Marking… that’ll be ‘Mother’s Longing.’ And the bone blade…”

Her smile sharpened.

“‘Mother’s Whipping.’”

The text updated instantly:

[Skill naming complete.]

Feng Ling let out a short laugh. The sound skimmed over the blood-stained river and died with no answer.

Minutes later, sirens wailed on the embankment. Drones buzzed overhead like angry insects.

Feng Ling lifted her eyes, squinting at the lights.

“So,” she muttered, “I can claim the bounty now… right?”

Feng Ling was taken to the Qing Jiang City Aberrant Safety Inspection Bureau branch.

The building’s eleventh floor had full medical facilities. They put her in a special ward.

A doctor stitched her shoulder. A nurse hung a transfusion bag. Another nurse brought juice and small snacks. Three or four medical staff hovered around her as if she were a VIP guest instead of a battered civilian.

Feng Ling lay back and watched them, mildly bewildered. She didn’t feel hospitalized. She felt checked into an expensive hotel with overly attentive service.

A man in uniform entered the ward. Early thirties, thin-rimmed glasses, clean and refined features. Even his voice was gentle.

He asked the doctor, “How serious is it?”

The doctor’s eyes were practically shining. “If an ordinary person took a wound like this, they’d need at least half a month. But her cells’ mend ability is extremely strong. I’d say she can be discharged in a few days.”

The man smiled faintly and turned to Feng Ling.

“Hello. My name is Su Yu Qing. I’m an inspector with the Aberrant Safety Inspection Bureau, under the Ministry of State Security. We need you to cooperate with an investigation. Don’t be nervous—this is routine.”

Feng Ling studied him.

She’d read plenty of threads about inspectors. Supposedly, every inspector had extraordinary abilities, and they operated in small squads tailored to their powers, clearing aberrant creatures from assigned zones.

Seeing one in real life hit differently.

Su Yu Qing waited a moment, then softened his tone further when she didn’t speak. “If you’re still unwell, I can come tomorrow. But we do need your cooperation soon. We have to report this up the chain, and the colleagues in the news department are pressing hard.”

“How do I cooperate?” Feng Ling asked.

“I’ll ask a few simple questions,” Su Yu Qing said. “Answer honestly.”

Feng Ling nodded.

The medical staff finished up and filed out, leaving Feng Ling and Su Yu Qing alone.

Su Yu Qing looked at her steadily. “We reviewed the subway station surveillance. The aberrant’s target was extremely clear. Do you know why it attacked you?”

Because it sensed I had Ability Cards? Feng Ling thought.

Out loud she said, “Maybe I looked easy to kill.”

Su Yu Qing didn’t react, just continued. “The aberrant’s primary cause of death was being cut in half by a kite line. Was that line set by a person?”

Feng Ling nodded. “I set it.”

Even though he’d likely guessed, hearing her confirm it made Su Yu Qing’s expression shift—surprise flickering under the calm. In that kind of situation, for a girl to build a trap and land a kill wasn’t just lucky. It took nerve and timing.

He asked, “After it died, did you see anything like Ability Cards? Based on the road camera footage, it should have had at least two.”

Feng Ling paused.

She didn’t know what the drones had captured. But lying would only make the cards’ disappearance harder to explain.

Su Yu Qing lowered his voice, earnest now. “Feng Ling. You can trust me.”

She weighed him for another second, then said, “One ‘Killer Bee.’ One ‘Mantis.’”

Su Yu Qing inhaled quietly. “Feng Ling… it really is a miracle you survived.”

He held her gaze. “On behalf of the Aberrant Safety Inspection Bureau, I’m formally inviting you. Would you be willing to join the bureau and become one of those who fight aberrants and uphold order?”

Feng Ling lifted her brows. “That’s it?”

Su Yu Qing blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I thought there’d be a test,” Feng Ling said. “Or an interview. Something.”

“Two Ability Cards are enough to pass the interview,” Su Yu Qing said with a polite smile. “After you join, you’ll be arranged training and assessments to improve your ability.”

He leaned forward slightly. “Do you have any questions?”

“Yes,” Feng Ling said immediately.

Su Yu Qing straightened, clearly bracing for something serious.

Feng Ling asked, “When can I claim the bounty?”

Su Yu Qing froze for a beat, like his brain needed to reboot. “…The bounty can be claimed anytime. The base reward for killing an aberrant is 1,000,000. If the target is on the local government’s wanted list, there will be additional rewards.”

He paused. “What’s your online bank account number?”

“683263950,” Feng Ling said without hesitation.

Su Yu Qing took out his phone and began working. “I’ll submit the application now. The money should arrive in three to seven business days.”

He glanced up with a faint smile. “I thought you’d ask about aberrants.”

“I’ve read some things online,” Feng Ling said, unbothered.

“Oh? Where?” Su Yu Qing asked.

“Aberrant discussion groups,” Feng Ling said, thinking. “And a forum called Alienstar Forum. There’s a big shot there who collects aberrant info from across the internet and organizes it into posts for people to search. Some of it’s even internal inspection bureau information.”

Su Yu Qing nodded. “I know it.”

The forum was notorious—and useful. Back when the bureau first formed, parts of its structure had even borrowed from suggestions floated by forum users.

Feng Ling’s gaze sharpened. “There is something the forum couldn’t answer.”

“What is it?” Su Yu Qing asked.

“Can you tell aberrants apart from normal humans?” Feng Ling asked.

Su Yu Qing’s expression tightened. After a moment, he said quietly, “Regrettably… no.”

Feng Ling didn’t let it go. “Can aberrants tell the difference between ordinary humans and humans holding Ability Cards?”

“Yes,” Su Yu Qing said, heavier now.

He spoke carefully, like the words tasted bad. “We still don’t know how aberrants login to human bodies. Research teams tried to develop devices to detect whether someone has been logged in, but there’s been no progress. Right now, aside from a very small number of inspectors with detection abilities, we have no effective method to distinguish humans from aberrants.”

“But aberrants can pick out Ability Card holders in a crowd,” Feng Ling said.

Su Yu Qing nodded once.

Feng Ling’s voice stayed calm, but her meaning was a blade. “We can’t find them. They can find us. Every inspector is a superpowered person holding Ability Cards. The bureau is a target.”

“That’s true,” Su Yu Qing said, “but in most cases, aberrants avoid direct conflict with inspectors. They need to operate in society as humans. Exposure creates trouble. Unless…” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Unless the Ability Cards on an inspector are tempting enough that they’ll risk it to steal them.”

Feng Ling fell silent, turning the thought over.

Su Yu Qing watched her. “Feng Ling, any human holding Ability Cards faces danger—whether or not they join the bureau. I hope you think carefully and make the right choice.”

“I refuse,” Feng Ling said.

Su Yu Qing blinked. “Why?”

Feng Ling’s answer was simple. “I don’t like being a target.”

Su Yu Qing looked faintly confused, but he didn’t push. After a pause, he said, “You don’t have to decide immediately. Think it over. It’s late—rest. I’ll come tomorrow.”

Feng Ling nodded.

Su Yu Qing left the ward. He still had meetings, and as he headed toward the elevators, he ran into a nurse escorting a woman Feng Ling didn’t recognize.

“Captain Su,” the nurse said quickly, “Feng Ling’s mother came to see her.”

Su Yu Qing’s phone rang. He answered, nodded politely to the woman, and stepped into the elevator.

The call was from a colleague in Human Resources. “Captain Su, are you done? How did it go?”

“Yes,” Su Yu Qing said. “She’s young, highly cautious, and doesn’t trust us. She refused recruitment.”

“She refused?!” The voice on the other end spiked with alarm. “How can she refuse? Captain Su, should we send someone else to persuade her? Or talk to her parents? Our city only has you and Brother Zhou left as inspectors. Aberrants are increasing—if we don’t absorb new members, we’re going to have a disaster!”

The “family” angle made sense—except something about it felt wrong.

Su Yu Qing thought of the woman he’d just seen. A chill slid down his spine.

He pulled up Feng Ling’s file on his phone.

His face went bloodless.

“Shit…”

“What?” the colleague demanded.

Su Yu Qing slapped the elevator door-open button like it could fix reality. “She doesn’t have parents,” he said, voice tight. “She’s an orphan.”

Then who was that woman?