Otherworldly Affairs Office
Chapter 50 - s: The Truth of the Bizarre Incident

Chapter 50: 50 Chapters: The Truth of the Bizarre Incident

Six aquariums, each approximately four meters tall and ten meters long, were slowly pushed into the transmission hall under the trailer’s tow. The first four aquariums housed two or three graceful mermaids, swimming and frolicking. Occasionally, a mermaid would leap out of the water, perfectly embodying the concept of a "lotus emerging from water."

The upper bodies of these beautiful mermaids were not clothed. Some mermaids leaned directly against the edge of the aquariums, proudly displaying their figures, blinking large eyes curiously at the surrounding office staff, causing Pei Yan to blush.

The scene in the two aquariums behind left Pei Yan puzzled. Unlike the glass structures in front, these two aquariums were encased in thick metal. Only from above could Pei Yan see that they were filled with a pitch-black liquid, which emitted a faint fishy smell from afar.

"Brother Wang, don’t those mermaids need confinement rings?" Pei Yan first pointed at the front aquariums and asked.

Wang Wenze clapped his hands dismissively and said, "Hey, not every creature wants to cross over to harm us. Some creatures just stumble in accidentally. Take these poor souls, for instance. They were living peacefully until a dimensional rift inexplicably opened next to them and brought them here. You know our world’s pollution; they don’t want to stay a moment longer and are eager to return. For such cooperative creatures, our investigation bureau treats them hospitably and sends them back respectfully when the time comes."

"Oh! Then what kind of creatures are inside those two big black tanks at the back? Could it be giant squids?" Pei Yan nodded in agreement after hearing this and pointed to the last two aquariums.

Wang Wenze, hearing this, glanced sideways at Hu Wenjun. Seeing that Hu remained silent, he coughed twice to change the subject: "Don’t ask, the investigation bureau has a lot of secrets. You’ll naturally know when it’s time for you to know."

Seeing this, Pei Yan did not probe further. The three silently watched as the first four aquariums, under the staff’s control, floated in mid-air and drifted through a door from the same dimension as the Minotaur’s. The other two aquariums were pushed into another door, bursting with vibrant colors.

"How do you keep ordinary people from discovering such large creatures?" After a long silence, Pei Yan, watching more dull and varying-sized monsters entering one after another, voiced his inner doubt.

Wang Wenze didn’t immediately answer but took out his phone, handed it to him, and said, "Don’t you have the ability to control electronic devices freely? Try taking photos and videos of these creatures with my phone."

Pei Yan took the phone, infused it with his ability, and took a few photos of the scenes below. Then he turned through them, puzzled, and said, "What’s wrong? They’re quite clear!"

"What did you say?" Hu Wenjun, who had been silent beside them, snatched the phone from Pei Yan’s hands and flipped through it, while Wang Wenze ran forward, incredulous, to take a closer look.

"Is this what you captured after infusing the phone with your ability?" Hu Wenjun asked sternly, holding the phone.

Pei Yan, confused by their serious expressions, said, "Yes, is there a problem?"

Hu Wenjun said nothing. He pocketed Wang Wenze’s phone and told him, "Explain it to him, and I’ll keep your phone for now. Once things are settled, take him back to the dormitory." With that, he hurried across the corridor, ran down the stairs, and promptly left through the exit, leaving Pei Yan bewildered.

"Stop staring dumbfoundedly, let me explain why!" Wang Wenze waved his hand in front of Pei Yan’s eyes and said, "When creatures from different dimensions first arrive through a rift into our world, they carry the energy scent of their original dimensions, making them invisible to the naked eye of ordinary people."

As Hu Wenjun departed, Wang Wenze visibly relaxed, leaned on the railing, and leisurely explained, "By this stage, for most cases, our intervention work is already complete. Occasionally, some creatures are lost or escape and, after adapting to this world, people can only vaguely see them like misty clouds because they fundamentally don’t belong to our world, which naturally repels them."

"If it’s already like this for humans, it’s even more so for machines. We’ve tried various photography and video recording equipment, and the images left are either extremely low in resolution, plagued by lots of static, or directly come with mosaics."

After hearing this, Pei Yan suddenly understood, "So that’s why the photos and videos of those bizarre events in the world are so blurry!"

"Yes, although most images are fakes created in post-production, some dimensional travelers indeed get photographed unintentionally. In today’s highly globalized and information-rich world, concealing such a big event from everyone entirely is nearly impossible. Hence our work has become much more difficult than before, and who knows how long this secret can be kept. It might just make the front page of every newspaper tomorrow," Wang Wenze sighed deeply, expressing his feelings.

Then, seeing Pei Yan hesitating to speak, he turned and patted his shoulder to comfort him, "Don’t overthink what just happened. Some things are beyond your control now; when the time is right, they’ll explain everything."

Pei Yan pursed his lips, seemingly understanding, and asked, "Brother Wang, what mission do we have the day after tomorrow?"

Wang Wenze stretched lazily and said, "It’s easy, just a surveillance mission for half a month. When you get back to the dorm, prepare some clothes and toiletries."

"Okay!" Pei Yan replied excitedly, tapping the railing. It’s his first mission, and it’s a long one — half a month! Surveillance mission, meaning he’ll get to tail like a spy in the movies. Thinking about the magical equipment in his ring, Pei Yan couldn’t help feeling thrilled.

Just then, a sudden gust of cold wind blew from below, jolting Pei Yan from his delightful daydream. He tightened his coat and looked down. What he saw made his legs cramp and his teeth chatter.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Wenze followed his gaze downward. Then, staring intently at Pei Yan’s pale face drenched in cold sweat, he asked with a frown, "Are you, are you afraid of ghosts?"

"They, they, they’re really ghosts? Are there really ghosts in this world?" Pei Yan’s voice immediately rose several octaves, quivering as he responded to Wang Wenze’s question.