C11 It Was Hard to Believe

Pain enveloped his body like a dense fog. Struggling to open his eyes, he was immediately shrouded in discomfort.

"Was all that just a dream?"

As he was about to exit the room, his phone buzzed with an odd message.

"What's this about?" Zhang Bufan stared at his phone's display, a sense of abandonment washing over him.

"What's wrong, man?" The others were still in the dark about the situation.

"I need to go. There's something I must figure out." With a tinge of regret, Zhang Bufan departed, leaving behind a brief goodbye. A new challenge had emerged, and this time, he was walking away with a substantial reward.

"You!"

Upon closer inspection, it was the same people and the same van, albeit parked in a rather questionable spot.

The same group made the decision for him to re-enter the vehicle. After some discussion, he realized a new mission was underway. He could now openly engage in an affair, assured that assistance would come without the promise of a disclosed outcome.

The folder in his hands this time appeared far more official than before, suggesting the issue at hand was far from trivial.

Curiosity piqued, Zhang Bufan opened the folder, and its contents left him utterly astonished.

"When did I unwittingly join this department? Are you planning to keep this up? If my cover as a counterfeit staff member is blown, what will become of me?" Chao Yang was ready to return, preferring to leave the money on the table rather than endure such turmoil.

"Zhang Bufan, think it through. This is a golden opportunity. Success here could aid your future, but if you turn us down, you know what's at stake."

The man in black spoke earnestly as he drove. They were just following orders, but the intentions from above were inscrutable.

Zhang Bufan mulled over the situation. There might be a puppet master pulling strings, yet he was always skirting the fringes, never penetrating the heart of the matter.

Zhang Bufan was simply a son-in-law who had intended to pursue his interests after marriage. Unexpectedly, he found himself entangled in a web of unprecedented events, many of which were beyond remedy.

Yet, he didn't put up a fight. That's just who he was. To confront these people would not only bring harm upon himself but could also pose a traffic hazard.

After hours on the road, he arrived in a new city, only to be greeted by an official from a relevant department. "Mr. Zhou, we've been waiting for you. We need your assistance this time. I'm aware of your unique skill set. I'm the head of this department; you can call me Director Zhao."

Director Zhao exuded vitality, and despite his age, his capabilities were evident to Zhang Bufan. With a firm handshake, Zhang found himself whisked away to the scene, amidst a flurry of diligent workers.

The gravity of the situation was clear: it was a critical moment demanding resolution. "Let me introduce you to someone," Zhao said, guiding Zhang into the heart of a case investigation team bustling with professional staff.

Feeling out of place, Zhang wondered how he, an average Joe, ended up amidst strangers he had no desire to meet. "Hello, my last name is Bao, but you can call me Steamed Bun," one of them said.

Oddly enough, the mention of 'Steamed Bun' made Zhang's stomach growl with hunger. "You've been given a nickname too. Since I'm Steamed Bun, you'll be Dumpling. What do you say? Shall we try collaborating? I know you're not officially part of our department yet, but as the saying goes, 'Since you're here, make yourself at home,' right?"

Though the situation was more complex than he'd anticipated, Zhang couldn't just stand idly by. His curiosity was piqued by a particular case, and while the team had mostly unraveled it, there was still work to be done in tying up loose ends.

Upon reviewing the case files, Zhang Bufan couldn't help but feel a sense of dismay. He had braced himself for the challenge, yet the complexity of the task at hand was more than he had anticipated.

He had been thrust into the fray without a final confirmation, diving into work that had already begun. Fortunately, his prior review of some case summaries meant that his efforts were not entirely off the mark.

With the supervisor gone, these individuals were now his responsibility, with the expectation that he would dive straight into the work.

"I won't go through the introductions for everyone. You'll get to know them in time. Right now, you need to focus on wrapping up the remaining tasks," the supervisor had said.

Calm was swiftly restored among the team. Steamed Bun took Zhang Bufan under his wing to delve deeper into the backstory of each case. It was clear that they were on the cusp of a significant breakthrough, and any delay could lead to an even more astonishing phase.

"We'll need to conduct field observations soon; otherwise, we won't have the chance to get to the bottom of recent developments," Steamed Bun explained.

The strategies Zhang Bufan had been considering were gradually dissipating, signaling the start of a fresh chapter.

"Okay, I was over there assisting others with their problems, and now I find myself here with you all. I'm at a loss as to what you're all thinking. I mean, I'm just a newbie. Why entrust me with such a task?" Zhang Bufan pondered with genuine curiosity.

His curiosity stemmed from the fact that those who typically handled such tasks were on leave. There was a gap to be filled, and by happenstance, the person in charge had chosen him, making him the one to remember.