The office door was pushed open.

The rest of Team 7 walked in one after another.

And behind them followed a person wearing a full face gas mask.

The person was completely wrapped in a dark gray hazmat suit. Their gloves, boots, and collar were all tightly sealed, and they carried a metal box on their back.

The lenses of the gas mask were pitch black, making it entirely impossible to see the expression underneath. Only the faint sound of the breathing filter could be heard.

When Tang Xiaoman saw him, she shrank back behind Lin Han.

Qin Zhizhi maintained what she considered to be a very imposing Commander Ikari pose1 and said:

“Let me introduce you. This is someone from the Containment and Management Division.”

Everyone in Team 7 immediately showed a “so that explains it” expression.

Then it wasn’t surprising at all.

As everyone knew, the Containment and Management Division was the largest gathering place for weirdos in SAVE.

After all, a department that had once seriously proposed in a combat meeting, “Since we cannot contain high-risk Calamities, we might as well carry out a tactical nuclear strike on the target area,” felt more like a terrorist group cloaked in legality than an official organization.

And the most terrifying part was that they had actually written a 300-page feasibility report.

Rumor has it that the employee from the General Administration Division responsible for reviewing the report nearly fainted halfway through reading it.

Sometimes Lin Han couldn’t help but wonder: if the Containment and Management Division were left unchecked, whose destructive power would be greater, theirs or the Calamity’s?

The person wearing the gas mask shook hands with Lin Han. Their voice came from beneath the mask, accompanied by a slight electronic static.

“Containment and Management Division, Field Agent No. 3. You can call me No. 3.”

Tang Xiaoman asked in a low voice,

“E-excuse me, why are you wearing a gas mask?”

“It’s because of my working environment. I’ve gotten used to it.”

Tang Xiaoman immediately shut her mouth, trembling all over in fear.

“Alright, everyone is here. Let’s get down to business.”

Qin Zhizhi picked up a remote control and turned on the large screen on the office wall.

A photo appeared on the screen.

In the photo was a man secured to a specialized hospital bed.

Half of the man’s body still had remnants of grayish-black chitin, and his neck was covered in black markings. His face was pale and his eyes were cloudy, making him look like someone who had just been resuscitated from drowning.

“This is the Mutant individual contained during the West Business District Incident. To be precise, a former Mutant individual.”

Zhou Ran was stunned for a moment.

“Former Mutant?”

“Yes.”

Qin Zhizhi nodded.

“The Containment and Management Division used some special methods to briefly awaken a portion of his consciousness. Although his Mutant transformation hasn’t been completely undone, he can no longer be considered a Mutant in the strict sense.”

Zhou Ran was dumbfounded.

Lin Han could easily understand Zhou Ran’s stupor. It was also his first time hearing that someone who had undergone Mutant transformation could regain their sanity.

Zhou Ran asked cautiously, “By special methods, you mean…?”

“You guys should all know about ‘Calamity Gear’, right?”

Calamity Gear, its official name given by the Containment and Management Division was “Calamity Harmless-Application Gear.”

Though whether it was truly harmless was still up for debate…

Compared to other extraordinary equipment within SAVE, Calamity Gears, which were developed and supervised by the Containment and Management Division, were tools created by turning Calamities or Calamity remains—things that would normally harm humans—into items that humans could use to a limited extent through various means.

This was undoubtedly an epoch-making creation, but Calamities were, after all, not so easily controlled.

Calamity Gear would pollute its users; even low-level Calamity Gear could cause terrifying side effects such as mental abnormalities and physical mutations.

At best, it changed a Calamity from “kills at any time” to “might not kill if used according to the manual.”

Normally, SAVE staff who wanted to use Calamity Gear had to go through multiple levels of approval, and after using it, they had to undergo a lengthy pollution assessment before returning to work.

Therefore, upon hearing Qin Zhizhi mention the term “Calamity Gear,” the members of Team 7 tacitly refrained from asking any further questions.

It seemed that the people from the Containment and Management Division had used some “stimulating” methods involving Calamity Gear on that pitiful former Mutant.

No. 3 followed up on Qin Zhizhi’s words, saying:

“Although he regained a little consciousness, his language system is severely chaotic, and what he says is akin to sleep talking. We at the Containment and Management Division tried to analyze it, but failed to sort out any useful information.”

Qin Zhizhi pressed the remote control again, and the large screen began to play an audio clip—

Amidst a mass of meaningless groans, these were the only recognizable words.

Listening to those phrases, Lin Han’s eyes gradually darkened.

These two sentences almost completely overlapped with what the man in the sewer had said last night.

Although it had been confirmed many times already, the feeling of the “game’s” content connecting with reality once again still made Lin Han’s heart heavy.

“This information isn’t enough, we need more clues,” Qin Zhizhi said indistinctly, crunching loudly on the candy cigarette. “So, it’s time for you experts to step in.”

“I know you guys have a way.”

The Containment and Management Division was located on the third basement floor of the SAVE Branch.

This was perhaps the most mysterious place in all of SAVE. Getting in required layers of approval and passing through countless overt and covert security mechanisms.

Unlike the bright, neat office areas above, which were full of the aura of corporate drones, the atmosphere of the third basement level became oppressive the moment the elevator doors opened.

Cold white lighting.

Windowless, silver-gray metal walls.

Every now and then, one or two staff members wearing full face gas masks, just like No. 3, would walk down the corridor.

Heavy isolation doors appearing at regular intervals.

And warning signs visible everywhere on the walls.

Behind every warning, whether serious or absurd, lay precious lessons likely paid for with human lives.

“T-Team Leader…”

With every sign she saw, Tang Xiaoman’s face grew a shade paler, looking like a death row inmate heading to the execution grounds.

She followed closely behind Lin Han, trembling as she clutched the hem of his shirt.

Zhou Ran, on the other hand, looked around with great interest, as if he were here on a tour.

“We don’t usually get the chance to come to a place like this.”

“If you could come here often, you’d probably be no different from the things locked up in here.”

Lin Han said casually, but then wondered if his remark was a bit impolite to their colleagues in the Containment and Management Division.

Just as he was about to apologize, No. 3, who was leading the way for Team 7, suddenly chuckled twice, as if Lin Han’s words had struck his funny bone.

The laughter came out somewhat muffled through his mask, making it sound very eerie.

“We’re here.”

After walking for quite a while through the labyrinthine Containment and Management Division, No. 3 arrived in front of a heavy, silver-white quarantine door and came to a halt.

The screen next to the door displayed a string of text.

“The containment subject is right inside.”

Just then, Shen Qingshu, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly spoke up.

“The Team Leader and I will go in.”

Everyone was taken aback, and Lin Han turned to look at her.

Shen Qingshu’s expression remained perfectly calm, as if she were proposing something completely ordinary.

“The rest of you stay outside.”

Tang Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief, only to immediately feel guilty for doing so.

Zhou Ran scratched his head.

“I don’t need to go in either?”

“No need.”

Shen Qingshu looked at No. 3.

“Also, during our interrogation, the Containment and Management Division is not allowed to send anyone to monitor us. All cameras and recording equipment in the room must be turned off. No visual or audio data is allowed to be leaked.”