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nBryant was feeling quite frustrated.

nBefore he even arrived in New York, his proud disciple had been arrested by the police.

nUpon his arrival at the bookstore, he had immediately clashed with Wes from the 13th Bureau.

nThe next day, despite not having done anything, and even contemplating protecting William and the others from Travis’s persecution, he found himself being thoroughly beaten by Zoey and taken away.

nAfter being detained in a small dark room overnight, Wes came to ask him what he intended to do with William.

nBryant had protested his innocence, insisting that he wanted to protect William and Alice.

nBut Zoey had given him another thorough beating, and in a few moments, without any caution, even knocked him unconscious.

nWhen he came to, the first thing he saw was Zoey standing in front of him again.

nBryant, huddled in a corner of the bed in the dark room, pleaded pitifully to Zoey, “Miss! I was wrong! Truly wrong! But could you at least tell me where I went wrong?”

nZoey ignored him, and Wes stepped forward, saying, “Bryant, I forgot to mention earlier, the person standing in front of you is the Director of the 13th Bureau. You should probably tone down your arrogance from now on.”

nBryant nodded repeatedly, “Deputy Director Wenzel, you are right, I will definitely keep a low profile from now on. The altercation at the bookstore was purely a verbal dispute; there’s no need to treat me like this.”

nHis spirit was practically broken. He remembered the previous Director of the 13th Bureau, Garcia, who usually turned a blind eye as long as Soulmancers didn’t cross the line and rarely intervened.

nNow, he had no idea who had promoted Zoey to Director of the 13th Bureau, wasn’t this spelling doom for them, the Soulmancers?

nThis is a human-shaped weapon! Back when Director Garcia was around, this weapon, at least, had a sense of measure. As long as Director Garcia didn’t allow her to take action, she seldom did.

nNow that Zoey was the Director of the 13th Bureau, any Soulmancer who was slightly arrogant or crossed the line might face a severe beating.

nBryant was considered a master among the intermediate Soulmancers, but Zoey beating him was like an adult beating a newborn, trampling at will. It was incredibly harsh.

n“Bryant, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t personal,” Wes coughed lightly and said, “Actually, it was William who called me, saying you were following him with malicious intentions, that’s why I brought Zoey here.”

nAt this point, Wes wasn’t overly serious. If he maintained a stern face and interrogated the Soulmancers alongside Zoey, it would be hard to get to the bottom of things.

nThe previous Director Garcia had also stated that the 13th Bureau didn’t advocate violence; it couldn’t solve everything.

nUpon hearing Wes’s explanation, Bryant opened his mouth wide, clenched his fists, took a couple of deep breaths before grinding his teeth and saying, “That kid is too wicked! I swear, I had absolutely no malice towards him. I told you, I found out yesterday that Travis was planning a murder and robbery. That’s why I stepped in. Alice is Charles Turner’s granddaughter, and Charles Turner and I have been good friends for many years. How could I possibly stand by and watch someone harm his granddaughter?”

n“After verifying the facts, it appears you weren’t lying,” Wes pondered for a moment and said, “Bryant, we can say we’ve met through conflict. From now on, Zoey and I will be in charge of the matters of the 13th Bureau. You know Zoey’s temperament; I apologize on her behalf. I’m truly sorry.”

n“So… does that mean… everything is settled?” Bryant narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Then we really need to settle this matter. I am innocent, right? Has the 13th Bureau now become so unreasonable? There’s no principle at all; resorting to violence without a conversation?”

n“This…” Wes asked, “What compensation do you want?”

nBryant sneakily glanced at Zoey, who was next to him, and said, “Apologize!”

nWes took a deep breath and turned to look at Zoey. He could already feel the temperature in the room dropping significantly. Bryant was playing with fire!

nFrom Wes’s understanding of Zoey, this old fellow was likely to get beaten up again.

n“I’m sorry! We brought you in without thoroughly checking,” Zoey’s voice came from behind.

nBryant couldn’t help but laugh, and as he laughed, the wounds on his face ached, making him wince, “And what about you hitting me? How will that be settled?”

nZoey lifted her eyelid and coldly said, “Why don’t you hit back?”

nAs she spoke, the temperature in the room dropped even further. Zoey’s anger was evidently reaching a critical point.

n“Cough!” Bryant coughed awkwardly and didn’t dare to retort. He said to Wes, “Deputy Director Wenzel, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”

nWes nodded, “Ah, yes, Charles Turner has passed away; let’s go and pay our respects together.”

nHearing this news, Bryant shivered all over, then let out a long sigh, “Let’s go together.”

nOn the way, Zoey asked, “Bryant, when you have time, could you test William?”

n“William? Why test him?” Bryant seriously suspected Zoey was attempting entrapment.

n“I suspect he is a Soulmancer.” 𝒷𝒹ℴ𝓿𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂

nBryant frowned, “That kid is a Soulmancer?”

nZoey said, “I think so.”

n“If I give him a beating, you guys won’t intervene, right?” Bryant was now grinding his teeth in hatred towards William. That kid was thoroughly wicked. By now, he had come to his senses. He had never seen Alice without makeup; who knows, maybe she was naturally very beautiful?

nAnd how could his apprentice have been caught by the police?

nIt might very well have something to do with that troublemaker William.

nZoey said, “As long as you don’t kill or maim him, do as you please.”

nWes spoke with some apprehension, “Zoey, this doesn’t seem quite by the book.”

nZoey responded, “If William really is an ordinary person, we can just bring Bryant in and detain him for a couple of days.”

nBryant: “…”

nWas this something a normal person would say?

nAnd could you not say such things in front of me?

nClearly, they were treating him like a tool.

nWes, glancing at Bryant in the car through the rearview mirror, couldn’t help but retort, “After hearing what you said, do you think he would dare to cause trouble for William?”

nZoey asserted, “He definitely will.”

nSitting in the car, Bryant was so furious that he clenched his fists. They have already figured out all of his thoughts.

nIn the end, all of this was because of that guy William filing a false report, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been beaten so badly by Zoey.

nHe didn’t dare to hit Zoey, but was it not allowed to give William a beating?

nAt worst, he would be locked up for a couple of days; after all, Zoey was behind all this. Being in detention meant having food and drink; it wasn’t a big deal.

nBryant and Zoey seemed to be in agreement, reaching a consensus.

nOn the other end, William had posted a hiring notice on the bookstore door. As soon as he finished, Nelson appeared at the entrance. Seeing the notice, his eyes lit up with excitement.

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