Dude, something's really wrong with your abilities.

Chapter 11 Wall Slam and Blade

Group 5 Office.

"You mean, someone in the bureau has been watching you a lot lately? And with a really intense gaze?" The fat man clearly didn't believe him.

"Really, it was that kind of look in his eyes, fiery, piercing, and quite intimidating," Chen Shi explained.

After listening for a while, Wang Jianlou shook his head and went to stand guard, clearly not believing it either.

Chang Biao walked in at this moment: "Xiao Shi, do you know what? I went to the restroom just now and passed by the Ninth Group office. Everyone in their group was talking about you. One girl even asked me what brand of shampoo you use."

Pang Daqiang asked, "So what was your answer?"

"I said I didn't know. She said it smelled like mint, and I said it wasn't shampoo, it was the cooling balm he used to treat mosquito bites."

The fat man and Chen Shi both fell silent.

Chang Biao continued, "Later, their group leader also came out and stopped me to ask several questions. She asked Xiao Shi what he usually likes to eat, what his favorite color is, and even asked about my zodiac sign. I said I didn't know what my zodiac sign was, and she said it didn't matter, she could find out herself."

The fat man and Chen Shi exchanged a glance.

Team Nine is responsible for on-site negotiations within the bureau, and all members are psychic ability users. Their team leader, Lu Xue, is a very prominent figure within the bureau. Pang Daqiang describes her as a "seductive smiling tiger," always smiling, with bold and fiery eyes that many find irresistible. Sun Tiemei's assessment of her is even more concise: "Too talkative."

In the afternoon, Chen Shi went to the archives to retrieve follow-up materials for Lao Yuan's case. As he passed the Ninth Group office, he saw Lu Xue standing in the corridor, explaining something to her group members. She was wearing a very figure-hugging dark blue suit today, with her hair loosely pinned up behind her head. When she saw Chen Shi approaching, her eyes lit up, she shoved the documents into her group members' hands, and came to greet Chen Shi.

"Little Chen Shi—" Lu Xue's voice was languid and alluring, as if she were calling someone she had known for a long time, "What a coincidence, I was just about to go find you, and you've delivered yourself to my door."

Chen Shi was frozen in place by the phrase "sent to his doorstep".

"Team Leader Lu." He stood against the wall, trying to maintain a normal social distance.

Lu Xue slowly approached Chen Shi, the intoxicating scent of her perfume filling his nostrils. "You look much more energetic in person than in the photos. They didn't take a good picture of you in your file; you're quite pleasing to the eye in person, and your shoulders are quite broad." She lightly touched Chen Shi's shoulder with her finger before withdrawing it. "Have you been working out lately?"

"...No. I haven't passed the physical fitness test yet."

"Physical ability isn't a big deal," Lu Xue said, covering her mouth and chuckling. "A truly capable person relies on their brain and their words, not running." As she spoke, Lu Xue took another half step forward. Chen Shi had nowhere left to retreat, so he could only move sideways against the wall.

"Team Leader Lu, is there something work-related you need to discuss with me?"

"It's work-related, of course." Lu Xue handed him the document she had been holding. Her fingertips brushed against Chen Shi's fingers as they touched. Her voice was tinged with amusement. "This is the recording of your conversation with Lao Yuan last time. I don't quite understand the analysis of the dialogue mechanism on it. Do you have time to come to my office and explain it to me?"

"Professor Zhuang should know this better than I do. I was just making things up when I was at the time."

"Zhuang Wen, he talks too dryly. I prefer listening to stories." She spoke the last word very softly, like a gentle breeze deliberately blowing into Chen Shi's ear.

Chen Shi opened the file and found a group entry intention form for Group Nine tucked inside. It wasn't a formal application form, but one of those intention forms that you could easily get from the administration department. However, it was already mostly filled out. The name field read Chen Shi, the ability field read "Mental Interference System," and the recommender field read Lu Xue.

"Team Leader Lu, what's going on?"

"Don't be nervous, it's just for fun." She smiled and pulled the form back. "But if you ever get tired of Group Five, I can give it to you again." She ran the form along Chen Shi's sideburn. "Let me tell you, Group Nine doesn't have any physical training, it's very comfortable."

"Team Leader Lu."

"Call me Sister Xue. Team Leader Lu is too formal, I don't like it."

Just as Chen Shi was wondering how to respond, a clear, cold voice came from behind him.

"Team Leader Lu is quite attentive to the people in Team Five."

Chen Shi turned around. Sun Tiemei emerged from the stairwell, her steps steady and composed. She was wearing a trench coat today, the hem swaying gently in the wind, and Chen Shi felt the air around him grow a little cooler. She stopped beside Chen Shi, her gaze passing over him and landing on Lu Xue.

The atmosphere between the two women was somewhat serious, but mostly cold.

"Chen Shi is an assistant in Group Five," Sun Tiemei said. "His official position is with Group Five. If you need to borrow someone, you need to submit an application; if you need to transfer someone, you need to go through the procedures. Once the procedures reach my desk, I will approve them."

"Then will you approve it?"

"Not approved."

Lu Xue's smile did not fade; her crescent-shaped smiling eyes remained unchanged.

"You know his skills are better suited for negotiation."

"What his abilities are suited for is a matter for our Group Five," Sun Tiemei said, then turned to Chen Shi and said, "Aren't you leaving?"

Chen Shi followed closely behind Sun Tiemei, walking at a brisk pace.

He glanced back at Lu Xue, who was still standing there, raising an eyebrow at him and winking her right eye. Chen Shi quickly turned back around.

Back in the Fifth Group's office, the story of "Group Leader Lu pinning Chen Shi against the wall" was already circulating in the 500-person group chat. It was easy to imagine that Chen Shi's fame within the bureau would surge once again.

The fat man looked at Chen Shi: "Lu Xue is a very persistent person. Back when Wei Sheng was around, she mentioned to our group leader once that she wanted to borrow you. The group leader's exact words at the time were: 'People from Group Five are not lent out.'"

After get off work, Pang Daqiang went home to be with his wife, Chang Biao went to a baking class, and Chen Shi went to a newly opened shopping mall in the east of the city alone.

He didn't particularly want to buy anything, but he had nothing else to do, so he just wandered around. There was a smart appliance section on the second floor of the mall, selling small appliances and daily necessities with novel functions and exquisite designs. He stopped in front of the electric toothbrush shelf, picked up a white one, and flipped it over to read the instructions on the back.

"This is for adults."

Chen Shi lowered his head. A little girl with pigtails, about five or six years old, stood beside him, carrying a small schoolbag with a green dinosaur hanging from it. She looked up, her expression serious, as if conveying a very important message.

"I am an adult," Chen Shi said.

"Adult toothbrushes are no good, they have no flavor at all." The little girl pointed to the toothbrush. "Children's toothbrushes have strawberry flavor."

"Strawberry flavor?"

"Mine is strawberry flavored. Strawberry-flavored toothbrushes taste strawberry even without toothpaste. Your toothbrush requires toothpaste, and it's not strawberry flavored."

Chen Shi squatted down and put the white toothbrush back on the shelf: "You're right. Are you here to buy a toothbrush too?"

"No. I'm waiting for my mom." She pointed towards the cashier, where a group of people were queuing to pay.

The little girl looked at Chen Shi and asked, "Uncle, what's your name?"

"Call me brother."

"Okay, Uncle."

Chen Shi was speechless for a moment, then teased her, "So what's your name?"

"Tang Xiaoguo," she said, then added proudly, "I'm already in kindergarten."

Just as Chen Shi was about to pat the little girl's head, a scream erupted from the crowd on the second floor, followed by the sound of shelves overturning.

Chen Shi instinctively stood up and pulled the little girl behind him. He saw a disheveled man standing by the cashier, holding a cleaver. It wasn't a fruit knife, but a thick-backed cleaver, the blade reflecting a blinding light under the lamplight. His hair was matted in clumps, his face was covered in patches of black and yellow, indistinguishable as to whether it was mud or something else, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He kept repeating the same phrases over and over: "They're all watching me," "Let me go," and "Don't force me," without any logical coherence. The crowd surged toward the exit, and several customers fell to the ground, only to be pulled up by those behind them.

Chen Shi took out his phone and quickly dialed Pang Daqiang's number, explaining the situation. Then he reached out to pull the little girl behind him, wanting her to help him escape, but he grabbed nothing; the little girl had disappeared.

Chen Shi turned around, and the man began to brandish a machete, muttering words Chen Shi couldn't understand. Then he suddenly grabbed a figure next to him.

Chen Shi's heart jumped. The girl who was arrested had pigtails and a green dinosaur hanging on her schoolbag.