Inside the highest-level conference room of the W City SAVE Branch.

“Director, the outcome of this incident is already very obvious, isn’t it?”

Qin Zhizhi slammed both hands onto the conference table.

Due to her height, even though she tried hard to stand on her tiptoes, this action still didn’t look like she was applying pressure. Instead, it looked like a child seeking attention.

“If the Intelligence Processing Division hadn’t found out the location of Qingchuan Public in advance, the Special Operations Division could never have arrived in time!”

She pointed her thumb firmly at herself, flashing an arrogant smile.

“This is a massive victory for the Intelligence Processing Division!”

“Yes, yes, yes…”

The middle-aged man sitting at the head seat continuously wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

The man looked to be in his forties, his hair slightly thinning, and the fatigue on his face was hard to conceal. He wore a meticulously neat uniform, and hanging on his chest was a nameplate reading Director of the W City SAVE Branch and Division Chief of the General Administration Division, displaying his name, Luo Wenzhou.

He was the nominal top person-in-charge of the entire W City SAVE Branch, and currently the one who looked the most like a normal person in this conference room.

“The Intelligence Processing Division did indeed render a great service this time. I have already read the report…”

“Since we rendered a great service, shouldn’t our funding be increased a bit?”

Qin Zhizhi immediately seized the opportunity to push her luck.

Luo Wenzhou’s sweat-wiping motion froze.

“Well…”

“Director, you have no idea what kind of life we live in the Intelligence Processing Division.”

Qin Zhizhi looked deeply pained.

“Our members are braving risks in the field! My trusted right-hand man, the Team Leader of Team 7, was even injured because of this incident and is now recuperating at home! Director, you can’t chill the hearts of the grassroots employees!”

Luo Wenzhou’s mouth twitched slightly.

“I vaguely know a bit about that. That Team Leader of yours, it seems he was injured after leaving his post in violation of the rules…”

Qin Zhizhi played deaf and dumb, acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

“The Intelligence Processing Division employees stay up all night doing analysis and work overtime writing reports. After all that, they’re tortured to the brink of a nervous breakdown by the workplace gossip from other divisions. Yet, their salary is less than a fraction of the Special Operations Division’s field allowance. Is this reasonable? Is this fair?”

“Hmm… Personally, I think that whether it’s the overtime or the workplace rumors, it probably has more to do with you as the Division Chief of the Intelligence Processing Division…”

Around the round table in the conference room, the other Division Chiefs sat in their respective seats with varying expressions.

But watching this ridiculous argument between Qin Zhizhi and the Director, they did not say a single word, as if they had long grown accustomed to this scene.

Just as Luo Wenzhou was left sweating profusely by Qin Zhizhi’s relentless remarks, the conference room doors suddenly opened.

“Looks like I came at just the right time?”

A gentle, smiling voice rang out.

Everyone looked up to see Bai Yu walk into the conference room.

She wore a dark trench coat with thin-framed glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, wearing a smile that was so gentle it was almost harmless.

“Director, you still don’t know how to deal with an unreasonable person like Qin Zhizhi.”

The moment Luo Wenzhou saw Bai Yu, his eyes practically lit up as if he had just seen his savior.

Qin Zhizhi immediately bristled.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Bai?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

Bai Yu took her seat with a beaming smile.

“Every time you ask for funding, the Director’s hair gets a little thinner.”

Luo Wenzhou subconsciously touched the top of his head, his expression becoming even more pained.

“That’s enough, you two…”

He quickly coughed twice, forcibly bringing the topic back on track.

“Since everyone is here, this emergency meeting is officially underway.”

The atmosphere in the conference room finally settled down bit by bit.

Normally, the SAVE Branch would occasionally hold ad hoc meetings.

But a meeting like this one, with all the Division Chiefs of the Containment and Management Division, Special Operations Division, Intelligence Processing Division, General Administration Division, Calamity Research Division, Equipment and Logistics Division, and Medical Rescue Division present, hadn’t happened in many years.

The last time a meeting of this scale was held was many years ago when an S-Class Calamity warning occurred in W City.

Luo Wenzhou put away his handkerchief, the fatigue on his face replaced by seriousness.

“It is a special period right now, and it wasn’t easy to gather everyone. I believe you all know why you are sitting here, so I won’t waste words.”

He looked at Bai Yu.

“The first agenda item. Bai Yu, you report on the findings from the X City operation first.”

“Understood.”

Bai Yu nodded slightly, raising her hand to tap the desktop control screen a few times, projecting several photos into the center of the conference room.

The photos showed several completely destroyed underground facilities, incubation pods, shattered glass containers, twisted corpses, and a strange symbol on the wall that was mostly burned away.

“First, let me explain the reason for this trip to X City.”

Bai Yu’s voice was unhurried.

“W City is the core city of the surrounding region, with the strongest SAVE force deployment. Previously, the X City Branch sent us a request for backup, stating that a Mutant Incident had occurred locally that they could not handle independently.”

“Based on the Calamity readings and on-site footage received at the time, the target’s threat level was estimated to reach High B-Class, or even border on A-Class.”

“Therefore, I led a team to X City to provide support. During this operation, we cleared three potential Mutant Incidents in X City, destroyed two branch strongholds of the organization behind them, and confirmed one thing.”

The projection switched, and an emblem made of black lines, resembling both a cocoon and a heart, appeared before everyone.

“The organization responsible for this series of Mutant Incidents is called the Metamorphosis Society.”

Some of the Division Chiefs’ expressions turned a bit peculiar, and Qin Zhizhi even laughed out loud.

Bai Yu smiled wryly.

“Of course, everyone already knows this intelligence by now, but there were more gains over in X City.”

The photos on the screen continued to switch.

“The Metamorphosis Society’s influence in X City runs deeper than we anticipated. They didn’t just infiltrate recently; they’ve been operating there for at least several years. The two bases we destroyed were merely outer strongholds.”

“Residual data recovered from one of the bases indicates that the Metamorphosis Society’s headquarters is very likely hidden in X City, and they are currently conducting Mutant manufacturing experiments.”

“And internally, the Metamorphosis Society refers to their leader as ‘The Doctor’.”

“But aside from this title, all data regarding The Doctor has been artificially erased. We know absolutely nothing else.”

The Division Chief of the Calamity Research Division pushed up his glasses and muttered to himself:

“Being able to completely erase themselves from SAVE’s intelligence network means the other party isn’t like the usual ordinary Calamity-worshipping cult lunatics. Interesting…”

Qin Zhizhi bit down on her cigarette candy, pondered for a moment, and said,

“In that case, the enemy’s original plan might have been to pull a tactical base trade with us.”

“First, they intentionally expose their X City stronghold to lure W City’s main force away. After all, X City is a territory they have been operating in for years; even if they lose a few peripheral strongholds, it wouldn’t cripple them.”

“Then, taking advantage of W City’s weakened defenses, they would attack Qingchuan Public. There are many highly talented students in Qingchuan Public’s Ability Class. If they captured them, not only would the Metamorphosis Society obtain high-quality experimental materials, but they might also use the opportunity to establish a foothold in W City.”

Bai Yu did not refute this, simply stating calmly:

“Looking at the outcome, my decision to take the main force of the Special Operations Division away played right into the enemy’s hands. This was my error in judgment. If it weren’t for the Intelligence Processing Division, we would have suffered a massive loss this time.”

Luo Wenzhou shook his head.

“The issue of who is ultimately responsible can be discussed later. Let’s move on to the second item on the agenda.”

He looked at Qin Zhizhi.

“Why don’t you give the report on the aftermath of the Qingchuan Public attack incident?”