Chapter 162: World-Destruction Level

Qin Zhixia's thoughts fluttered.

From a frazzled criminal police officer in Jiang Hai City, to a broken, sand‑sunk failure, and now the Core Captain who stands alone in the Federal Weird Investigation Bureau.

She has walked this path for less than a year.

Yet it feels as if a lifetime has passed.

"I have no idea how many days off we can get on this trip back home..."

A timid voice came from beside her.

The young girl beside her, fiddling with a white Hand Ring, muttered softly.

"By the way, does this thing actually work? It looks like a smart watch; it's not another test gadget from the Technology Department trying to fool us front‑line staff, is it?"

The girl, named Gu Li, is one of the team members Qin Zhixia brought to Bu Lie Dian this time, and also her personally promoted deputy.

Her greatest talent is Super Memory; she can recreate anything she has seen or heard down to the pixel level, essentially a walking database.

Her biggest flaw, however, is a fear of death, plus a maxed‑out sarcasm attribute.

Qin Zhixia withdrew her gaze, looked at the lively treasure beside her, and helplessly massaged her brow.

"Gu Li, take your claws off the Weird Detection Instrument."

Her voice was cool and crisp, devoid of emotion.

"It's not a toy; it's the latest equipment from the Technology Department, our future Life‑saving Talisman."

"Weird Detection Instrument? That's such a tacky name!" Gu Li pursed her lips, "Can't it have a fancier name?"

Qin Zhixia, expressionless, explained: "Its principle is based on the iron rule that Weird entities mutually affect and repel each other. It can detect and quantify the strength of Weird influence on reality; when Weird is nearby, the Hand Ring immediately sounds an alarm and displays the exact influence value."

Gu Li's eyes lit up as she clutched the Hand Ring tighter.

"Wow, that's really great! No more worrying about meeting love around the corner—ah, scratch that, meeting a ghost around the corner!"

Qin Zhixia nodded and continued, "Its detection ceiling is high; theoretically, it can even monitor Weird Entities above Nation‑Destruction Level."

She paused, her tone gaining a hint of gravity.

"That is, the legendary ones that haven't yet been officially classified..."

"World‑Destruction Level."

Gu Li's face collapsed instantly.

"Detecting it would be useless then, Qin Team."

"If we truly encounter something of that tier, whether we live or die depends on its mood, right? At most, this instrument just lets us die a clear death."

Qin Zhixia said nothing further, merely turning her gaze back to the window.

World‑Destruction Level.

Just the name alone is enough to plunge anyone into despair.

The plane landed in Jiang Hai City.

She neither went home nor to the Investigation Bureau's temporary base.

Qin Zhixia drove to a Special Prison on the city's far outskirts, encircled by high walls and layers of electric nets.

Behind thick soundproof glass, Qin Zhixia saw her father, Qin Yongchang.

The once imposing, unflinching City Bureau chief now wore a gray prison uniform, his hair more than half white.

"Zhixia..."

Qin Yongchang picked up the phone.

Qin Zhixia didn't mention what she was currently doing, only said she was fine.

"Dad, I've found the path I need to walk."

Her voice was calm, yet carried an unprecedented strength.

"I'm doing well now, everything's going smoothly, and I'm doing what I've always wanted to do."

She looked into her father's eyes, each word clear as crystal.

"I am practicing my ideals."

Qin Yongchang stared at his daughter.

He saw in her Crimson Phoenix Eyes a resolve and fervor that had never existed before, burning like fierce fire.

It was a steel‑like will, stripped of confusion and weakness, forged through countless trials.

He knew his daughter had truly succeeded.

That realization made the once‑hard man unable to hold back, tears spilling from his eyes.

"Good... good..."

Through the glass, he stared at his daughter, repeating only that word, crying like a child.

"Good..."

Leaving the prison, Qin Zhixia drove back to that familiar yet strange place.

Jiang Hai City Police Department.

Just as she entered the Criminal Investigation Team's gate, Xiao Zhang shouted and rushed over.

"Qin Team! You finally made it back!"

"How old are you now, what do you look like!"

A resonant, forceful rebuke rang out.

Zhou Weiguo stepped out of the office, looking at Qin Zhixia, his eyes full of pride and emotion.

The woman before him now possessed a temperament entirely different from when she left.

If the former Qin Zhixia was a blade drawn from its sheath, its edge exposed.

Now she is a divine weapon hidden in its sheath, all sharpness restrained, yet even more unfathomable.

"Just being back is enough."

Zhou Weiguo patted Qin Zhixia's shoulder, his words brief but full of elder's concern.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the former colleagues roughly understood her current situation.

Whether it was Xiao Zhang or Zhou Weiguo, they were both delighted by her present achievements.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Qin Zhixia sat back in the car, took out her phone, and hesitated for a moment over a number she hadn't contacted in a long time.

In the end, she still pressed the call button.

She was going to meet someone.

A… friend who had once given her a "great inspiration".

It was that person, who, in the most extreme way, completely shattered her former worldview, allowing her the transformation she has today.

In a sense, she ought to thank him.

In Jiang Hai City, inside an elegantly styled Western restaurant.

Soothing piano music floated.

Qin Zhixia sat at a window‑side seat, looking at the man opposite her.

His features were handsome and refined, lines soft, exuding a scholarly, gentle aura.

Gold‑rimmed glasses, meticulously kept black short hair, and pale, slender fingers elegantly swirling the red wine in his glass.

Chu Che.

Just as in memory, warm and jade‑like, perfect beyond any flaw.

"I never expected you'd take the initiative to contact me."

Chu Che set his glass down, nudged his glasses, the lenses reflecting the restaurant's soft lighting.

He smiled, his tone sincere.

"From the look of you, you seem to have been doing well lately."

"Thanks to you."

Qin Zhixia lifted her knife and fork:

"I have indeed gone through a lot and have come to understand many things. The words you said back then greatly inspired me. So today, I came specifically to thank you."

Chu Che's smile remained gentle, "As long as I could help you, that's enough."

Qin Zhixia raised her eyes, "If in the future you need any help, feel free to ask."

Her tone was very earnest.

"Now I might be able to lend a hand a bit."

Chu Che elegantly sliced the steak on the plate, speared a small piece, placed it in his mouth, and chewed slowly.

Then he smiled before replying.

"Understood."

"However, not needed for now."

The meal ended in a harmonious atmosphere.

The two chatted merrily, truly like old friends catching up after a long time.

At the restaurant entrance.

"Well then, farewell," Chu Che said with a smile as he bid goodbye.

"Farewell," Qin Zhixia nodded.

Chu Che turned and walked toward his car parked by the roadside.

His car happened to be parked next to Qin Zhixia's unremarkable official vehicle.

Inside the car, Gu Li was idly scrolling short videos, humming an off‑key tune.

Chu Che's figure passed across the car body.

At that instant.

Buzz—!!!

A near‑burning, mournful shriek burst violently from Gu Li's wrist!

The sound was so sharp it could pierce a person's eardrum!

"Ah!"

Gu Li trembled all over, dropping her phone onto the ground.

She lowered her head in terror.

The silver‑white detector on her wrist instantly filled its screen with a blinding, dazzling blood‑red hue!

In the center of the screen, the needle indicating Weird Intensity thrashed wildly at a pendulum‑like frequency, slamming hard toward the over‑limit endpoint!

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out; the needle even snapped cleanly from the excessive impact!

The device emitted a strained, as‑if‑about‑to‑explode wail.

And on that blood‑red screen.

Three terrifying black characters formed of data streams slowly emerged.

【World-Destruction Level】