Just when Wu Shitong was wishing for a hole to crawl into, the door suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man came in.
"Shitong, didn't I ask you guys to invite Mr. Lin over? Who allowed you to use force?" said the middle-aged man who entered, his face dark and his tone cold.
Wu Shitong, still stunned by the recent blow, was thus silent for a moment, offering no retort.
The middle-aged man approached Lin Chen with a grin, a sycophantic smile spreading across his face: "Mr. Lin Chen, it's all the fault of my subordinates for not treating you well, and I apologize to them."
Seeing the middle-aged man who had burst in, Lin Chen felt somewhat displeased. He thought to himself, I was just getting comfortable, and you barge in —what the hell?
Lin Chen said with a stern face, "Who are you people, and why have you brought me here? Please give me a reasonable explanation."
The middle-aged man smiled and replied, "This isn't the place for a discussion. Please come to the reception room."
Lin Chen followed a few people to the reception room, where the middle-aged man introduced himself with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Lin, let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Chao, the deputy director of Huaxia's 118 Bureau, and these people are all under me."
Wang Chao then glared at Wu Shitong, "Shitong, haven't you apologized to Mr. Lin yet?"
Wu Shitong glanced at Lin Chen, and recalling the recent events, a hint of shyness touched her eyes.
Lin Chen, seeing Wu Shitong's awkward expression, said, "The comrade just now provided excellent treatment. I am very satisfied and should thank her instead. Keep up the good work next time."
Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, Wu Shitong's cheeks flushed a deep red.
Although Lin Chen's words were meant as praise, they sounded extremely grating to her.
"What do you mean 'very satisfied'? What's this 'keep up the good work next time'? You want a next time?" Wu Shitong cursed silently, gritting her teeth.
Seeing that Lin Chen wasn't angry, Wang Chao continued, "Mr. Lin, let me first introduce the 118 Bureau."
"The 118 Bureau is a special task force established by the Huaxia government twenty years ago. Its full name is the Special Energy Exploration and Development Research Group. Our goal is to find special energies and superpowers for the country. This group is under direct high-level leadership, so not many people know about it," Wang Chao explained with a smile.
"118 Bureau? You must be joking; why should I believe you?" Lin Chen asked coldly.
Wang Chao just smiled lightly. "I've just settled this with Elder Long. I'll be borrowing you for a while."
"What?" Lin Chen couldn't help but pause.
Wang Chao pressed a button in his hand, and Elder Long appeared on the TV screen, wearing a beaming smile.
Elder Long said with rosy cheeks, "Little Chen, I've told Xiao Wang that we're lending you to them for a while. Their mission is also in Shanghai, so it doesn't conflict with yours. You should cooperate with them actively."
As if anticipating Lin Chen's reaction, Elder Long continued before he could object, "Recently, things haven't been so peaceful in Huaxia. There's a lot to deal with, and we're very busy. Let's chat some other time, you and I!"
With that, Elder Long shamelessly turned off the video.
Damn it, Lin Chen cursed inwardly, angered. This old guy had just sold him out without any discussion.
Seeing the expression on Lin Chen's face, Wang Chao chuckled, "Mr. Lin, we're not just seeking your help but looking to cooperate with you."
"Cooperate? What could I possibly cooperate with you on? I'm not interested in being your lab rat," Lin Chen replied coldly.
In Lin Chen's eyes, these guys must be after his Tianyan, which was his biggest secret—one that he wouldn't reveal to anyone.
Wang Chao laughed heartily. "Rest assured, we won't treat you like a lab rat. Although we're curious about your Tianyan, we have bigger fish to fry, targets that align with yours. Aren't you always looking to solve the mystery of your identity? What we're after might be closely linked to your origins."
"A bigger goal related to me?" Lin Chen looked puzzled at Wang Chao.
Wang Chao nodded and said, "We're looking for the origin of superpowers, in other words, to unravel the secret of superpowers."
"Hold on, what does this have to do with me? Sorry to disappoint, but I don't want anything to do with you. I have enough problems of my own," Lin Chen said, waving a dismissive hand.
Wang Chao gave a knowing smile. "No, no, I believe you'll be interested."
Wang Chao turned on the projector, and a series of images appeared on the computer: "These images were found in an ancient ruin. Take a look at this one."
As he spoke, Wang Chao enlarged one of the slides and pointed to an image, saying, "Look at this person in the painting, doesn't he resemble you a lot?"
Lin Chen's gaze fell on a relief sculpture that was extremely lifelike, realistically crafted in every detail.
On the relief, a boy in ancient dress was holding a staff. The boy was young, but his handsome face was incredibly familiar to Lin Chen—it looked very much like himself.
Are you kidding me? Am I some kind of mythological figure? Lin Chen thought, looking at the image in disbelief. "This might just be a coincidence—there are many people in the world who look alike."
Wang Chao smiled. "It's possible that it's a coincidence that you two look alike. Of course, you can't be him; that relic has been around for thousands of years. But could you be his descendant?"
After hearing Wang Chao's words, Lin Chen's interest was piqued, and he quickly asked, "Where is this ancient relic?"
Wang Chao shook his head with a wry smile, "It's a relic that one of our action teams discovered in the desert. However, after they sent these images, we lost contact with them and haven't been able to reconnect."
Lin Chen's eyes remained firmly fixed on that image, and suddenly his gaze sharpened; he'd spotted something special in the painting.