I write obituaries for the gods.

Chapter 27 F Council

Half an hour later, at my doorstep.

Lin Chen looked at Li Zhanyi, who was wearing a school uniform and a beige overcoat, and couldn't help but complain:

"Is an overcoat standard issue for your department?"

"Hmm? Yeah, doesn't it look good?" Li Zhanyi lowered his head and shook his trench coat. "This trench coat has a bulletproof lining. It can withstand two 7.62 rounds without any problem. Any larger caliber and I might get hurt."

So authoritative?

Lin Chen looked at the stylishly tailored trench coat in disbelief and said:

"This trench coat... is it issued to everyone upon joining the company?"

"There will be one or two easy-to-change clothes, and you can choose the color yourself. This beige one is for when I'm not on field duty, and the other one is black for field duty, which is more resistant to dirt."

As the girl spoke, she lifted her foot back and tugged at the heel of her loafers.

"Let's go," she said. "Old Jiang is waiting for us downstairs."

The two took the elevator downstairs together, and sure enough, Jiang Zhengge's car was already waiting at the door.

The section chief was leaning against the car, smoking with one hand and scrolling through his phone with the other.

The weather was quite nice today. Pale golden sunlight shone on the puddles by the roadside, and the dampness after the rain, along with the scent of grass, gave Lin Chen a sense of vitality.

"Good morning, Lao Jiang!" Li Zhanyi waved and immediately ran to the back door. "Lin Chen, you sit in the front!"

"How did you sleep?" Jiang Zhengge glanced at Lin Chen.

"generally..."

Lin Chen opened the passenger door and got in.

Jiang Zhengge got into the driver's seat, glanced at Lin Chen who was fastening his seatbelt, and chuckled:

"It's normal to not adapt to an unfamiliar environment quickly. The clothes sticking to your clothes must have given you quite a bit of trouble, right?"

"Old Jiang! What nonsense are you spouting!" Li Zhanyi's eyes widened. "I'm very quiet at home!"

"It's not because of the stains on my clothes," Lin Chen chuckled, "I was just thinking about something."

He couldn't very well say that he hadn't slept because he had been watching Qingtian's dating memories all night, could he?

"..."

Jiang Zhengge didn't say anything more. He started the engine, and the sports car drove out of the residential area and headed towards the Investigation Bureau building two streets away.

The district where the Investigation Bureau is located is Xiwang District, west of Yudu. It is situated on the edge of Yudu, and the traffic is not too congested in the morning.

During the drive, Jiang Zhengge turned on the car radio:

"...The foundation's official response to the Optimus Prime rampage incident: It was an accident..."

Upon hearing the broadcast about Qingtian, the three of them immediately focused their attention and listened to the entire broadcast.

"This is terrifying... to think they could even come up with this PR angle..." Li Zhanyi muttered, "They actually packaged Qingtian's death as a sacrifice, and even gave this 'British Captain' a boost in the process..."

"Hmph, they even responded to the public opinion about Huihui during the bridge incident," Jiang Zhengge chuckled, "portraying Qingtian as a down-on-his-luck hero 'feeling guilty for failing to save someone'..."

"But wasn't the recording played yesterday?" Lin Chen felt a little uncomfortable.

An incident of this magnitude was handled with remarkable ease by the foundation, and almost every point of contention was addressed.

"The video footage is long gone online," Jiang Zhengge said. "The foundation's public relations capabilities are outrageous. To put it bluntly, mainstream social media has long been controlled by the F Council behind the foundation. The bosses behind those media outlets are basically all people cultivated by the council and are very obedient."

"The F Council?" Lin Chen caught the key phrase.

"It's normal not to know. The F Council is the shadow government of Yudu, and also the high-level body of the Foundation," Jiang Zhengge explained. "There are six members in total, all of whom are demigods."

Shadow government... Demigod council... These keywords immediately reminded Lin Chen of the shadow he had seen through Qingtian's memories last night:

"Is there a demigod in the F Council named 'Eldest Brother'?"

Jiang Zhengge turned his head and looked at Lin Chen with some surprise.

"That's right," he said, sizing up Lin Chen. "How did you know?"

"My hearing is pretty good..." Lin Chen laughed it off.

"He has a secret, a big secret," Li Zhanyi said from the back row. "He's actually an agent planted in the Investigation Bureau by the Foundation..."

"The 'eldest brother' can be said to be the main executor of the F Council," Jiang Zhengge said, turning off the radio. "He is the center of power, second only to the leader. Basically, the entire council listens to him, and he is responsible for overseeing most of the major decisions made by the foundation on a daily basis."

"Under one person?" Lin Chen noticed Jiang Zhengge's words.

"My elder brother claims to be the agent of the 'benevolent father,'" Jiang Zhengge said, "but so many years have passed, and that 'benevolent father' has hardly ever shown his face in reality."

"Kind Father..." Lin Chen sensed a hint of authority and ominousness in this title.

"The foundation's public relations skills are terrifying," Lin Chen said in a low voice.

"I'm used to it, it's basically the same every time," Jiang Zhengge smiled. "But this time, we've caught a big fish, and they won't be able to do whatever they want anymore soon."

"This big fish probably doesn't refer to Qingtian, does it?" Lin Chen said.

"Of course not, Qingtian is just one link in the chain," Li Zhanyi interrupted from the back row. "I'll introduce you to it after you join the company!"

"We don't need to rush to introduce such a big case to him," Jiang Zhengge glanced at the rearview mirror. "He needs to slowly understand our world."

Our world.

Lin Chen looked out the car window at the street scene: the Xiwang District, which had come alive after the rain, was bustling with activity. Homeless people came out of the awnings and alleys, picking up colorful leaves scattered on the street; commuters on their way to work flowed into the subway station; children jumped and skipped in the dirty water by the roadside, picking up fallen leaves floating on the surface and holding them up in the sunlight.

That ordinary yet busy world seemed to have vanished from Lin Chen in the span of a single day.

A bizarre and fantastical world gradually unfolded before him, like a distorted reflection of a city in a puddle.

"..."

Soon, the car stopped in front of the Investigation Bureau building.

"Zhanyi, take him to report for duty, get his equipment, and do his onboarding training," Jiang Zhengge said. "I'm going to park the car. Then the director needs to see me, so I won't be coming to the office this morning."

"Okay!" Li Zhanyi said cheerfully, "Shall we have lunch?"

"No need to wait for me. Take Xiaolin to check out the cafeteria. Remember to get along well with your colleagues."

"good!"

Li Zhanyi got out of the car, then took small steps to the passenger side and opened the car door for Lin Chen:

"Come on, newbie, today's your first day at work, let me give you an onboarding ceremony!"

"You're clearly younger than me..." Lin Chen smiled, got out of the car with Li Zhanyi, and walked into the Investigation Bureau together.

"..."

After registering at the front desk in the lobby and receiving his ID card, Lin Chen hadn't even had a chance to read the words on it when Li Zhanyi pulled him towards the door:

"Come on, let's go to the shooting range to get a gun, and then fire a few shots."

"Are you just going to get a gun? Aren't you going to your workstation first?"

"Why are you reporting in? Our department has flexible working hours. Let's get our guns first! I promised I'd teach you how to shoot, let's go!"

......