Everyone saw the van crash into Chen Zhixing.
Soone also found four deford bullet slugs in the van. They had clearly struck an incredibly hard object, failing to penetrate and becoming misshapen as a result.
But Chen Zhixing and Zhang Yuan’s work uniforms weren’t even torn!
Everyone stared at the two n with disbelief, even a hint of fear—an instinctive human reaction to the unknown.
Only the checkpoint station chief’s eyes were shining with excitent.
"Stop all the wild speculation. I know what’s going on," the station chief said.
"Huh?" Everyone spun around in shock.
The chief continued, "I’ll explain later. For now, everyone get back to work and deal with the situation. Old Chen, Old Zhang, go get checked out, just in case."
"Yes, sir!" the team responded seriously.
There was still a lot to do: collecting evidence from the van and its contents, taking the driver and passenger into custody, processing the accident scene, inspecting the rest of the convoy...
By the ti everything was handled, two hours had passed.
But no one felt the least bit tired. Even Chen Zhixing skipped picking up his daughter, joining the others to work after his check-up with Zhang Yuan, eagerly awaiting the chief’s explanation.
Facing everyone’s intense stares, the station chief felt a little helpless, but at the sa ti, his heart burned with excitent.
"eting, now!"
"Sir!"
Everyone sat in neat rows in the conference room.
"Old Chen, Old Zhang, feel your new work IDs," the chief said.
Chen Zhixing and Zhang Yuan were confused. They reached out and felt their new work IDs. Chen Zhixing looked up. "It seems fine. It’s not broken."
Zhang Yuan, however, noticed a difference. "Did it get flatter?"
The chief nodded. "If it’s flatter, that’s right. It ans it worked, but its function has been used up."
No one there was an idiot. They instantly understood the implications and all reached for their own work IDs.
"This thing can save your life?"
"It can stop bullets?"
"You can get hit by a car and be fine?"
"Oh, wait, not just fine, you can stop the car with your body?"
"Holy cow!"
"An energy shield?"
"Or a plasma electromagnetic shield?"
"This is so sci-fi stuff!"
"So, puffed up ans fully charged, and flat ans the energy’s been used?"
"Does it need a new battery, then? Or a recharge?"
"Will a phone charger work? Or is there special charging equipnt?"
They all chattered at once. A few of the more curious ones even tried to pry their IDs open. "It’s sealed pretty tight. You think it deactivates automatically if you open it?"
"It must be confidential. Didn’t you see how they kept it a secret even from us until now?"
"The technology is too advanced to be displayed."
"But they still issued them for our safety. Guess they really value us, hahaha!"
"Things are looking up for us! We’re getting to use top-secret high-tech!"
’It’s not top-secret high-tech. It’s religious taphysics that’s been around for hundreds, even thousands of years...’
The chief put a hand to his forehead. ’If they knew the ID just contained a folded Taoist Yellow Talisman, their worldviews would probably shatter.’
’When my superiors first told , my own worldview shattered. I thought they had all gone mad.’
The team saw the chief rubbing his forehead and quieted down, waiting for him to continue.
"As for the specifics, don’t ask," the chief sighed.
’I have orders from above. The details might be a little hard to swallow, so it’s classified for now. If I wasn’t in charge of a checkpoint, I wouldn’t be qualified to know the truth myself.’
’Then again, why bother? Even if I told them the truth, how many would actually believe ?’
’Of course, that’s assuming the Yellow Talisman hadn’t worked!’
"This yel... uh, this protective shield is a one-ti-use consumable. Once used, it’s useless. Old Zhang, Old Chen, give your old IDs. I’ll get you new ones, but it’ll probably take three to five days. Be careful in the anti," the chief said.
"Yes, yes, of course!" Chen Zhixing and Zhang Yuan nodded eagerly, quickly handing over their IDs.
Having had a near-death experience, a chilling fear now settled in them. They might make the sa choice again, but that didn’t an they wouldn’t be terrified.
But seeing their rattled state, no one in the room looked down on them. Instead, their eyes were filled with respect.
One had shielded his partner from a bullet, the other from a car. This was a bond forged in the face of death.
After collecting the IDs, the chief reminded them, "Don’t go blabbing about the work IDs."
"Yes, yes!"
"Understood!"
"It’s classified stuff, we get it!"
"Puffed up ans fully charged, flat ans it’s spent," the chief reminded them again. "Sotis, you might activate the shield without realizing it. So, if you ever notice your ID has been used up, co to for a replacent."
’When the ID went flat, it ant the folded Yellow Talisman inside had turned to ash.’
"Yes, sir!" Everyone nodded.
"Now, about the shield’s functions." The chief thought for a mont before continuing, "You’ve just witnessed its main purpose: to block fatal physical Attacks, like gunshots, explosions, car crashes, and so on."
"It can also protect you from fire and drowning for a short ti. Plus, you’d survive a fall from a great height." The chief thought for a mont, then joked, "You could try jumping off a cliff and see if you find any Martial Arts manuals."
Everyone roared with laughter. "You think this is so wuxia novel, where the hero jumps off a cliff, doesn’t die, and even finds a legendary technique?"
The chief just smiled without a word. ’Reality isn’t a wuxia novel, that’s true. It’s quickly evolving into a cultivation novel.’
"In any case, these are to save your lives. But you still need to be careful. Don’t get reckless just because you have one. After all, it’s a one-ti-use item, and it only works for about a minute."
The chief’s expression turned serious. He scanned the room, eting their eyes. "If you’re still in danger after that minute is up, you’re on your own. Understand?"
Everyone stood and replied in unison, "Understood!"
"Alright, since everyone understands..." The chief clapped his hands. "eting adjourned."
With that, the chief turned to Chen Zhixing. "Go on, hurry and pick up your daughter."
Then he said to Zhang Yuan, "You’re off too. Take your son over to Old Chen’s place for dinner, and while you’re at it, you can arrange their marriage."
The room erupted in laughter. The team mbers left the conference room, teasing Chen Zhixing and Zhang Yuan as they went back to work.
Chen Zhixing shot a sideways glance at the grinning Zhang Yuan and warned, "You make it clear to your son. They can date, but no funny business before they graduate from college!"
Zhang Yuan nodded emphatically. "I’ll tell him!"
’Whether he’d listen was another matter entirely.’
Watching the team leave, the chief put away the two used IDs. He made a call on the internal line, then headed out to his car, ready to report the incident.
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