Otherworldly Affairs Office

Chapter 1035: Strange People

Unlike Yuan Shaoqing, who was standing there with a stiff face and things on his mind, Engineer Li and the team he led, waiting to depart to the side, were all barely able to contain their joy. The moment he got Gu Shenghui’s notice, he agreed to the trip before the other side even finished talking. The group bound for the Daoist Plane gathered in force in front of the teleportation passage, like a tour group about to set off, staring with curious, expectant eyes as they waited for the order to depart.After the teleportation passage flashed a few times, Mei Simiao was the first to walk out of the Space Passage, followed by the entourage behind him. Among this group, the most eye‑catching figure was "Moira," shackled hand and foot and looking utterly exhausted, and the one in charge of escorting her was none other than Pei Yan’s older sister, Pei Jin.

Seeing everyone step out of the Space Passage, Yuan Shaoqing hurried forward and saluted his old superior. Mei Simiao nodded and asked, "Everything ready?"

"All ready. Yu Chu has already started coordinating personnel transfers with the various departments for the people you asked for, and we can gather them in the shortest time. It’s just that some of them have never dealt with cross‑plane incidents before, so explaining things is a bit of a hassle." Yuan Shaoqing leaned closer to Mei Simiao’s ear and replied in a low voice.

"We’ll get to the explanations after we start working. Once this matter is handled, we’ll see what people want. If they’re willing, keep them on to work in the Bureau." Mei Simiao finished speaking and stopped chatting with Yuan Shaoqing. He strode over to Engineer Li, reached out his hand, and said with a smile, "Engineer Li, you’ve already gotten the notice, I see."

"Ah, yeah! Just as you guys come back, we head over. How are things looking over there?" Engineer Li shook Mei Simiao’s hand, then glanced at the prisoner behind him and said worriedly, "No safety issues, right?"

"Don’t worry. Once we get there, we’ll do everything we can to guarantee your safety." As he spoke, Mei Simiao still couldn’t help reminding him, "The situation is much more relaxed now than when we first arrived in the Daoist Realm. But even so, there are still plenty of factions harboring ill intent toward us. I know that once you all get to the Daoist Realm, besides work you also want to look around and have some fun. The Bureau has made arrangements for that too, but I have to stress this: you must follow the arrangements of the team over there. There will be people specifically accompanying you on outings to ensure your safety. Move as a group; don’t wander off alone."

"Got it, got it! Before we left I’ve already repeatedly emphasized the rules on this. We absolutely won’t cause trouble for comrades in the Bureau." Engineer Li nodded again and again, then pointed at the Space Passage with a grin and said, "Looks like you’ve got things to deal with too, so I won’t hold you up from official business. We’ll head out now."

"Alright, stay safe and have a smooth trip."

Waving as he watched Engineer Li and his team’s figures disappear into the Space Passage, the smile on Mei Simiao’s face gradually faded. His expression returning to its usual seriousness, he turned back, beckoned to Yuan Shaoqing, and ordered, "Let’s move out."

"Yes, sir!"

After this brief exchange, the group headed toward the parking lot outside the field, where a row of vehicles that had long been parked there were quietly waiting for the arrival of this team. Among them, one reinforced, blast‑proof truck was the most conspicuous.

Before long, that truck welcomed the main target it was meant to carry this time. "Moira," heavily shackled, was carried onto the truck under Pei Jin’s escort. During this process, a small incident occurred: one agent who had returned from the Daoist Realm with them and was responsible for the escort kept stumbling along the way and almost fell several times, only to be caught just in time by the person beside him each time, and in the end he boarded the truck together with everyone else.

"Captain Sun, that brother back there, he okay?" Lin Nan, a new recruit to the Investigation Hall who’d gone through special training and taken part in a few operations, and who’d been lucky enough to be selected for this mission, silently observed every detail of this escort. After getting into one of the escort vehicles behind, he smiled and asked his captain.

"Don’t even bring it up. Xiaoliu’s had the worst luck in eight lifetimes. While he was guarding the prisoner, she tried to escape and ambushed him. From the looks of his injuries, he still hasn’t recovered. Over there they’re swamped right now getting ready for the individual finals that are about to start; they don’t have the time or manpower to look after him, so they sent him back." The captain started the car as he spoke, sounding a bit annoyed. "Given the time difference between the two planes, the individual matches over there will kick off tonight. Who knows if we can finish the mission and make it back to the training space in time to watch our Hall’s finals. Damn it, why’d they have to draw us for this run today of all days?"

"Yeah, I really want to see whether Pei Yan can take the championship for this tournament." Someone in the car immediately chimed in.

"Hey, right! The woman they were escorting just now looked like that Magic Realm contestant Moira who fought Pei Yan, didn’t she? How come she’s being transferred from the Daoist Realm over to us?" Li Nan cut in.

"Hey, now that you mention it, she really does look like her." The other team members who’d also watched the matches immediately snapped back to attention and pressed, "Captain, why’d they bring her back here under guard?"

"If it’s something you shouldn’t be looking at, don’t look. If it’s something you shouldn’t be asking about, don’t ask. You’ve been in the team this long and still don’t get that?" Driving behind the escort convoy, Captain Sun’s face darkened when he heard this, and he reprimanded them.

After that, everyone in the car quieted down at once and didn’t talk more about it. Only Lin Nan’s gaze never left the direction the truck in front of them was heading.

It wasn’t until the convoy drove into the Teleportation Array and transferred again to the newly established Secret Prison that the journey could be called uneventful. Once they arrived, all the personnel responsible for the escort were forbidden to get out of the vehicles. Only the group returning from the Daoist Realm personally handled escorting "Moira" into the Secret Prison. However, at the moment Moira got off the truck, Lin Nan seemed to see a completely unfamiliar face beneath that messy long hair. This discovery shocked him so much that he immediately used his ability to lock onto that face and observe it carefully.

This "Moira" seemed unaware that anything was off. After the bumpy ride, she tilted her head back to breathe in the fresh air outside the truck. It wasn’t until Pei Jin, who’d noticed something was wrong, jabbed her in the small of the back that she snapped to attention and lowered her head at once. In the instant she lowered her head, that unfamiliar face changed back into Moira’s appearance again.

This startling discovery left Li Nan utterly shaken. With his heart racing, he watched the team escort their target through the gates of the Secret Prison. Amid the cheers in the vehicle about getting to finish the mission early and go back to watch the matches, he forced a smile and blended in, without telling anyone what he had seen.

And all of these changes were clearly taken in through the rearview mirror by Captain Sun, who’d been secretly watching. He said nothing about it, merely pulled out a cigarette and clamped it between his lips in silence, then turned the wheel and led the convoy out of the Secret Prison’s perimeter. Whatever came next no longer had anything to do with him.

Everything in the Keystone Plane was proceeding in an orderly way according to plan. Meanwhile, back in the Daoist Realm at Yirong Pavilion, Pei Yan had just been given a good pounding by his group of delinquent buddies until he begged for mercy. Only then did he grab the hand of the newly arrived Engineer Li and excitedly start catching up.

"Man, I watched your matches! Didn’t expect it, really didn’t expect it! In such a short time you’ve grown this much."