Once, I wanted to be a good person

That night, when Fang Ze returned to the dormitory after dinner, Wang Hao was already back.

He sat on the bed, lost in thought. There was confusion written all over his face.

Although Fang Ze was prepared to go to bed early and enter the Late-Night Investigation Room to check on the collection of Awakening materials, after washing up, he still couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked tentatively, "Are you alright? Did the Security Bureau look for you today?"

Wang Hao came to his senses at Fang Ze's words.

The task assigned by everyone by the Security Bureau was that in order to act real, they could answer any questions, except that they could not reveal Fang Ze's identity. They also had to get along with Fang Ze like they were colleagues.

However, today's conversation was too sensitive.

Thus, he hesitated, then finally shook his head and said, "N-nothing."

Seeing Wang Hao like that, Fang Ze knew something was up.

However, Wang Hao didn't say anything, so Fang Ze couldn't ask further.

Furthermore, he was still in a hurry to find out about the "purchasing" of Awakening materials today, so he couldn't use his identity as the "mysterious man" to ask Wang Hao.

Therefore, Fang Ze only silently remembered this matter and thought that he would look for Wang Hao to test him in a few days.

Just like that, one of them was thinking about something and the other was in a hurry to sleep. Thus, after a quick chat, both of them lay down on their beds and fell asleep.

The stars moved west. When Fang Ze woke up again, he was in the Late-Night Investigation Room.

Settling into his own chair, he tapped his right index finger on the table a few times and activated the summoning list.

However, to his surprise, Miao Miao was not on the list…

This surprised Fang Ze a little.

He flipped through the list. Miao Miao's three-dimensional image really didn't appear.

Fang Ze recalled the three conditions required to summon a person.

First, he needed to have physical contact with the person.

Secondly, the summoning had to happen late at night.

Thirdly, the summoned person had to be asleep.

Actually, in addition to these three conditions, there was a fourth hidden condition, that the summoned person was still alive.

Thinking of this, Fang Ze's heart tightened. Could something have happened to Miao Miao?

He thought about how this girl had lived for more than ten years with difficulty, but nothing had happened to her. In the end, something happened when he arranged for her to go out and do something… To be honest, Fang Ze wouldn't believe it if it wasn't because of him.

Thinking of this, Fang Ze thought, "Did I give Miao Miao too much money?"

Even though 3,000 Rini of supplies and cash wasn't a lot for an agent, it was still a lot of money in the slums.

Perhaps this money had caused some trouble.

As he thought about it, Fang Ze began to worry about this unlucky girl and his future.

However, he had no other way to verify Miao Miao's safety, so he could only wait anxiously.

And so, the minutes passed.

Fang Ze paced around the Late-Night Investigation Room.

Because there was no clock in the Late-Night Investigation Room, Fang Ze had no idea how long he'd been waiting. All he could do was count the number of laps he'd taken.

When Fang Ze counted to 70, a three-dimensional image suddenly popped up at the top of the summoning list. It was Miao Miao's image.

Fang Ze froze, then looked at the image in surprise.

Moments later, he sprinted to the chair. Then, he switched on the lamp and began to set up the environment of the Late-Night Investigation Room.

…

Five minutes later, looking at the girl's figure slowly appearing on the charred ground, Fang Ze, who was sitting high on the dark throne, suppressed his worry. Then, he said in a low voice, "You're too late."

Hearing Fang Ze's words, Miao Miao, who was crawling on the ground, flinched. Then, she looked up and said weakly, "Mr. Devil… I… I couldn't sleep."

Fang Ze could clearly feel the grievance and fear coming from Miao Miao. For a moment, he couldn't even be angry.

He looked at Miao Miao "coldly," then asked, "Why?"

Miao Miao lowered her head and whispered, "I… tried hard to sleep, but the harder I tried, the more I couldn't fall asleep, so I couldn't sleep."

Fang Ze was silent.

Fang Ze had really thought of many possibilities, but he hadn't thought of this.

However, just as he was feeling amused by his worries, he suddenly heard a faint and intermittent inner voice from Miao Miao.

Fang Ze frowned slightly and listened carefully.

After a moment, he looked up at Miao Miao and then asked, "Did someone follow you? Is that why you couldn't sleep the more you wanted to?"

Miao Miao was surprised to hear these words from "Mr. Devil." She looked up at Fang Ze weakly with her big eyes, then nodded and whispered, "Yes…"

With that, she quickly took a bundle from beside her leg and opened it. Then, as she pulled several items out, she explained, "Mr. Devil. I have almost everything you asked me to prepare."

"These are the rococo flowers, the laurel leaves, the silver knife, and the candles…"

"All the items are here."

"The only item I haven't bought is the blue crystal."

"That thing seems to be a little precious. The owner of the crystal shop said they've sold out this month. Next month's batch won't arrive until tomorrow, so he asked me to come back tomorrow."

"Furthermore, after I came out, someone seemed to notice and followed me all the way back to the street."

"That's why I'm a little afraid."

Listening to the girl's explanation, Fang Ze roughly guessed what had happened.

Most likely, the girl had been buying things everywhere. She had leaked her wealth and been targeted.

As for this world, because the Federation had only been established for a few decades, the systems of the various states were relatively chaotic. In addition, the social development level of the low-leveled cities was relatively low, and there was no high-tech equipment like surveillance.

Therefore, the handful of poor people or ordinary people were simply too inconspicuous. They might even be sent to the Investigation Department without being tried.

That thought made him look down at the girl kneeling there. He hesitated, and then he said in his voice-changing, hoarse voice, "Since you're working for me, I have to keep you safe too."

"Tell you what."

With that, Fang Ze waved his hand, and instantly, a muddy puddle flew out from his shadow.

Then, he waved his hand again, and the muddy object flew into the girl's shadow and melted into it.

Miao Miao blinked her big eyes and looked at "Mr. Devil" in confusion, wondering what had happened.

Actually, Fang Ze considered it seriously.

According to the information he'd received, the shadow warrior was as good as an elite soldier.

Although it was useless against Awakened people, it should be possible for Lady Knife to protect an ordinary person, right?

Right now, Fang Ze was in no danger from the task force. Even if he was, the shadow warrior would be useless against the Security Bureau.

Therefore, it was better to lend the shadow warrior to the girl first to ensure her safety, so that Fang Ze could obtain the last awakening ingredient, the blue crystal, tomorrow.

It was a consideration that maximized the benefits.

Thinking of this, and seeing the girl's confused eyes, Fang Ze said in a low voice, "This is a clone of one of my shadow warriors. She can keep you safe."

The girl looked down at her shadow. It was just as it should be. She couldn't tell that there was any difference.

"Is that strange puddle a clone of a warrior?"

"Can it keep me safe?"

The girl was a little puzzled.

However, the person in front of her was the gentle and considerate Mr. Devil.

Thus, even though she didn't believe him, she didn't ask. She just nodded silently.

Fang Ze heard her thoughts, but he didn't say anything.

Honestly, Fang Ze wasn't sure what the shadow warrior was capable of.

Logically, the information given by the investigation room should be accurate.

However, Fang Ze was a little worried about the shadow warrior's strength when he saw her hacking at the wall yesterday.

After all, besides the evaluation that the shadow warrior was as strong as an elite solider, the investigation room also evaluated it as the weakest disaster creature.

Thus, if he couldn't use it, it might be for the best.