Li Rui felt a bit strange.

He looked at Zhuo Feilong, the Minister of the Superpower Division, who was calmly staring at him as if waiting for an answer, though he hadn’t actually asked a question.

Song Yao stared at the table in front of him, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"Can I ask if finding this person’s whereabouts is related to the Holy Judgment High Court’s actions?"

Li Rui looked at Zhuo Feilong again, keeping Song Yao in his peripheral vision.

"Currently, there’s no connection."

Minister Zhuo replied, "But if the investigation shows there’s a relation, who knows."

"Understood."

Li Rui kept the doubt in his mind to himself.

After leaving this rarely visited office, he kept pondering in his mind.

He felt these two old men definitely had some "plot," but given their high ranks, it was normal for some secrets not to be disclosed. Since he noticed something was off, he couldn’t help but feel curious.

"Maybe we’ll find some clues during the investigation. We’ll see then."

...

The short upcoming days were all holidays; most participants in the Secret Realm battlefield were resting where they were, waiting for the final results before returning to their usual organizations.

Tired of wandering around, they simply stayed at their place playing Mahjong, and Li Rui, who had never been involved with Mahjong, quickly became interested.

"I won!"

Nan Jiumei revealed her tiles with a smug smile and then began her usual chatter, "The results will be out in the next two days, and I can finally get out of here."

Always restless, playing Mahjong while cooped up was the only option; he was already bored of it.

"But thinking about it, going back isn’t necessarily better. I’ve asked our department people, and there’ve been no incidences of realm overlapping these days. Probably nothing to do when I go back either."

Zhang Hujun, looking rough and burly, was an old hand at this, chatting as he played, "You’ll definitely be transferred when you go back."

"Transfer to what?"

Nan Jiumei waved dismissively, "I’m already in a special department in the provincial branch, maybe at most get a promotion."

Dong Sanchuan, with his arms crossed, watched from the side and casually said, "Among us here, Li Rui is probably the only one who might get transferred. He’s in the city branch; the rest will have to see."

"Yeah, you might be transferred to the division."

Nan Jiumei continued to chatter, "I bet you will, how can you not at least become a provisional advisor."

Li Rui was sweating profusely, too focused on trying to figure out his tiles to join in, much like Cheng Mingyue; both of them were more into the game than good at it.

"Hey, maybe you’ll directly become an advisor." Zhang Hujun also completed his hand, leaving only the two novices at the table.

Dong Sanchuan said, "By convention, members of city-level organizations usually go through the provincial level before being promoted to the Superpower Division, staying in the province for a year or so if the circumstances aren’t special; otherwise, they might become provisional advisors."

At this moment, Cheng Mingyue drew a tile and shouted, slapping it onto the table, "Undersea! Hahaha, I’m full!"

Li Rui glared at the other three: "It’s all your fault for distracting me with your chatter."

Nan Jiumei smirked, "It’s not because you’re unlucky."

At this, the others laughed, but Li Rui furrowed his brow: "Unlucky? Isn’t it because I’m bad at this?"

Dong Sanchuan spread his hands, "In the end, it’s a game of luck. You’ve indeed been quite unlucky these past few days. It’s not always something skill can fix."

After speaking, he glanced at Cheng Mingyue, "She’s the only one genuinely bad at this."

".....Just you wait!"

Cheng Mingyue shoved the tiles into the table hole, "Once I learn, I’ll beat you!"

"Brother Chuan, how about a few rounds while I take a break."

Li Rui silently moved aside.

He didn’t step away because he was tired; as an Extraordinary, he wouldn’t feel fatigued from such minor energy consumption.

He was just puzzled about one thing in his mind.

Since getting the mark and becoming a Secret Realm agent, his luck in the real world had noticeably improved, though still slightly below average compared to normal people. But overall, it was within the normal range.

Yet these days he seemed to be losing constantly. Initially, he thought it was due to poor skills, but hearing Dong Sanchuan’s comment made him realize it was a streak of bad luck.

He thought of the disappearance of the Eternal Entries.

A few days ago, many people had already noticed this, causing a brief stir in the Extraordinary World.

Experiments showed items once effective only in the Secret Realm could actually be used in the real world now.

The influence of this wasn’t minor but not revolutionary either. The real world already had many Extraordinary Powers, now merely further enhanced, so the commotion quickly subsided. The related departments in various organizations were studying the potential impacts of this change; others just had to wait for instructions.

And now, Li Rui realized his streak of bad luck seemed to be back, a trait only he was aware of.

"Could it be that the integration of the Secret Realm and reality involves more than just the traits of equipment?"

"If my unlucky constitution is a standard, does that mean more things have merged?"

"Oh no, I can’t fly again."

While Li Rui pondered, a figure walked through the tea room door.

"Yo, Brother Gui, what brings you here?" Nan Jiumei greeted loudly, only to be met with a cold shoulder.

Initially, Dong Sanchuan and the others were only acquaintances with Guan Gui, knowing of him but not particularly familiar. However, through Li Rui, they got to know him better.

"It’s out, the result."

He habitually used concise language, mainly looking at Li Rui while speaking.

"Really? Let me see!"

The others hurriedly logged onto the internal network to check for the notice.

"Whoa, it’s really out! Don’t crowd, let me see."

Nan Jiumei took over the entire screen, delivering the news to everyone.

"Sister Cheng, your uncle is now a preparatory committee member of the Strategic Organization Committee. Don’t forget us when you make it big."

"Brother Kong is now an assistant to a committee member at the Cangyun Association, just as I expected."

"Quick, check ours," Zhang Hujun shouted.

"What’s the rush? Let me see... Brother Chuan, you’re going to the Operations Department, Brother Gui to the Intelligence Analysis Department."

These weren’t unexpected updates. Dong Sanchuan was skilled in combat operations, so naturally assigned to the force-needing Operations Department; Guan Gui, with his adaptive nature, fits well in the Intelligence Analysis Department too.

"And me, what about me?" Cheng Mingyue tried to pull him away to see.

"You..... It only mentions a promotion to Senior Specialist, no specific assignment."

Cheng Mingyue’s mood visibly dropped.

"Surely they’ll decide soon," Dong Sanchuan chuckled awkwardly.

"Yeah, they wouldn’t just leave you aside; you haven’t done anything wrong."

Nan Jiumei continued to look downward before blinking in surprise, "Wow, Li Rui, you’re an advisor now."

"What?"

Cheng Mingyue pushed him aside, "Really?"

"This is unprecedented, moving from a city-level organization to the Superpower Division, jumping from a regular position straight to an advisor with so many steps skipped."

They all looked at Li Rui.

"Why don’t you seem even a bit surprised?"

"Me? I knew long ago."

Li Rui had no reason to be surprised; his source was the Minister of the Superpower Division.