Now, Hao Zhengyi was completely different from the person I had known before. He looked around in confusion, repeatedly asking, "Who am I? Can any of you tell me who I really am? Do you know me? Please tell me, who am I..."
Sun Fatty took a step back and glanced at Yang Xiao, saying, "Not to put it that way, but last time when you were pulled out of The Endless Naraka, was it like this too?"
Yang Xiao frowned and replied, "No. When I came out, other than feeling intense fear, nothing else was different."
While Sun Fatty and Yang Xiao were talking, I had already crouched down in front of Hao Zhengyi and asked, "Do you remember when you came here?"
Hao Zhengyi blinked a few times, thought for a long moment, then shook his head timidly and said, "I opened my eyes and saw this place. I can't remember anything else. Can you please tell me who I am?"
At that moment, several investigators passed by. When they recognized Hao Zhengyi's face, they all showed expressions of surprise. If it weren't for Sun Fatty's imposing presence, they would have come over to ask all sorts of questions. Even so, some still kept pointing and staring at Hao Zhengyi until Sun Fatty scolded them and chased them away.
"This is no place for talking," Sun Fatty said, glancing at the backs of the investigators who had been driven off. "Lazi, Director Hugo, give me a hand carrying him. Let's find a quieter place, check his physical condition first, and deal with everything else later."
Sun Fatty chose the third underground level as the quiet place. Hao Zhengyi's condition was better than we expected — he basically walked all the way with us to the director-level exclusive medical room on the third basement floor. Soon, Wang Lu, a nurse by training, arrived. After a thorough examination, apart from some emotional fluctuations, there were no problems with Hao Zhengyi's physical health. Even Sun Fatty, whose blood pressure was usually high, started envying him a little.
While Hao Zhengyi was undergoing the checkup, Hao Wenming somehow got wind of the news. Barefoot, he ran all the way from the dormitory. Upon seeing his brother, he immediately burst into tears: "I thought I'd never see you again in this life..."
Even though he had lost his memory, Hao Zhengyi was still himself. He suddenly jumped off the bed, stared wide-eyed at his younger brother, and said, "You know me! Please, tell me who I am!"
Hao Wenming was stunned for a moment, then shouted at Sun Fatty, "Deputy Sun, you have to explain what's going on!"
Sun Fatty widened his eyes, spread his hands helplessly, and said, "Hao Tou'er, I swear on heaven and earth, this isn't my fault. When we found your brother, he was already like this..."
The appearance of Hao Zhengyi marked a somewhat fitting conclusion to this tragic incident at the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. His memory didn't return for a long time afterwards, but as Sun Fatty said, it was better this way — forgetting all the unpleasant things. At least now, he wouldn't have to blame himself for Gao Liang's death at his hands.
As for how Hao Zhengyi ended up at the Bureau, both Sun Fatty and Yang Xiao suspected it was the work of Gui Bugui, but that old man never showed up again to confirm anything. This matter soon became an unsolved mystery.
Originally, I wanted to ask Wu Ren'di for information. Even with his temper, maybe I could get some hints from him to figure out the situation. But after searching every corner of the Bureau, even down to the fifth basement level, I couldn't find any trace of Wu Ren'di. Later, it was Yang Jun who reminded me: "Looking for Wu Mian? Give up. No one has seen him lately. At least not for the next thirteen days."
Only then did I realize that Wu Ren'di had entered his three-year period of weakness. This was something I had been told about when delivering medicine to Guang Ren before, but after the Bureau's recent upheaval, I had completely forgotten.
For quite a long time afterwards, Hao Wenming stayed by his elder brother's side every day, telling Hao Zhengyi all the stories they had experienced growing up. Hao Wenming spoke in great detail — so much so that over a month later, when I brought some fruit to visit the brothers, Hao Wenming was finally telling Hao Zhengyi about the time he set ghost fire at school when he was in elementary school.
In the days that followed, the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation gradually returned to normal operations, but Sun Fatty's workload only grew heavier. I had known him for a long time, yet had never seen him this busy before. However, what he was busy with wasn't exactly aboveboard — during this period, Deputy Director Sun was using every possible means to fiercely suppress the Taiwan Religious Affairs Commission's influence.
No matter the region, whenever the Commission received a mission, Sun Fatty would send Bureau agents to intercept and sabotage it. His goal was clear: he didn't care if the Bureau solved the cases, he only wanted to mess up the Commission's efforts. He even sent Yang Xiao to Taiwan, where for a time a white-haired, baby-faced man was often seen lurking around the Commission's vicinity. This caused some veteran elders who knew Yang Xiao's background to either take leave or flee abroad. Coupled with the chaos already sown during Hao Zhengyi's tenure as chairman, which had severely damaged the Commission's foundation, Huang Ran was left overwhelmed, barely holding things together.
During this time, Huang Ran tried every method to contact Sun Fatty, but the deputy director refused all meetings. Huang Ran vented his frustration loudly in Taiwan — I heard he even flipped a table and angrily cursed Sun Fatty, pointing towards the mainland and yelling that this kind of bullying was unbearable! Even I thought Sun Fatty's actions were underhanded; hadn't he already accepted their money and goods?
After more than two months, Sun Fatty finally agreed to meet Huang Ran, out of respect for Blind Jin. The meeting took place at the same club in the capital where they had met previously. Because of the Commission's past underhanded tricks, this time Sun Fatty brought not only me but also two Yangs. The three white-haired men standing behind Sun Fatty clearly overshadowed Huang Ran.
Blind Jin didn't show up this time. Huang Ran sat alone opposite Sun Fatty, his hair even grayer than before. As soon as Sun Fatty appeared, Huang Ran glared fiercely at him.
Once seated, Huang Ran went straight to the point, making exaggerated gestures as he said, "Director Sun, could you please explain what your Bureau has been doing recently? For a full 51 days, our Commission has accomplished nothing. If it were due to incompetence, we would accept it, but why is it that every time we handle an event, your Bureau agents always show up?"
He paused and stood up, counting off on his fingers as he continued, "Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand... whenever Commission personnel appear, your Bureau agents follow. What did that investigator named Xiong say? You're 'learning from Lei Feng, serving the people'! They're all capitalist countries, mind you! What kind of service do they need from you?"
"Old Huang, can't you just talk normally? What's the point of yelling?" Sun Fatty gave Huang Ran a sidelong glance and continued, "Besides, do you think shouting will win over me? Buddy, I'm serious — from now on, we'll curse at each other for two hours straight. If I repeat even one sentence, it means I didn't respect my teacher enough and my skills are lacking."
Sun Fatty's naturally roguish style made Huang Ran sigh helplessly. He slumped back into his chair, took a sip of water, and his anger cooled down. Looking at Sun Fatty, he said weakly, "Director Sun, we already agreed last time to wipe the slate clean between us. Our Commission isn't without sincerity — since the third year of the Republic, you've taken nearly half our collection. And I even gave you a personal check for 100 million, not in yen or won, but a check for 100 million RMB…"
Before he finished speaking, someone interrupted: "Wait a moment, Sun Fatty, what's going on here?" It was Yang Xiao. When Huang Ran mentioned the 100 million cash check, Yang Xiao's expression changed. He walked over to Sun Fatty with a half-smile and said, "Why is it that when he gave it to you, it was 100 million, but after you kept it for a while, the check you gave me was only 2 million?"
Yang Xiao's words reminded me of the scene — Sun Fatty had put Huang Ran's check into his left pocket, while the check he handed to Yang Xiao came from his right pocket. Turns out, Sun Fatty was too greedy — he pocketed 100 million but only gave Yang Xiao two percent of it... Yang Jun understood the situation too and bit his lip to keep from laughing.
Sun Fatty gave an awkward chuckle to Yang Xiao and said, "Details, just details. We'll talk about it slowly later. Don't worry, at most it stays with me for two days — what's yours is yours. We're all on the same side here; internal issues should be handled internally. Don't let outsiders laugh at us."
Yang Xiao glanced back at Huang Ran and reluctantly returned to stand behind Sun Fatty.
This little episode stunned Huang Ran. He stared at Sun Fatty like he was looking at a monster. Once the interruption ended, he didn't wait for Sun Fatty to speak and took the initiative: "Director Sun, give me a straightforward answer — how exactly can you let our Commission go?"
Sun Fatty was completely unfazed by the earlier incident. Smiling faintly, he looked at Huang Ran calmly and said, "Disband your Commission."