I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 46

During the May Day holiday, Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t idle at all. In fact, she was quite busy.

She spent the holiday studying the books and materials that Xing Tianqing had brought her.

As an unofficial member of the Strange Affairs Bureau, Guan Xiaoxuan had the same rights as full-time staff, except she earned less—no base salary, no year-end bonus, and no social insurance. But according to the rules, every time she took part in a mission, she could earn bonuses and points based on her contribution.

The bonuses were obviously her basic income for living in this world.

The points could be exchanged for money or saved to redeem items and weapons at the Points Exchange Center.

So during this holiday, Guan Xiaoxuan stayed home, carefully studying the information about the Points Exchange Center. If she learned everything well in advance, it might save her life someday.

It was Saturday, the last day of the holiday, and Xing Tianqing was planning to take Guan Xiaoxuan to the Points Exchange Center to get familiar with how it worked.

Guan Xiaoxuan wore jeans and a white denim jacket, carrying a backpack. When she saw Xing Tianqing waiting by the car downstairs, she quickly ran over.

The young girl ran like a summer breeze. Xing Tianqing’s heart skipped a beat as she watched Guan Xiaoxuan approach—something she rarely felt, even when facing strange and dangerous situations. But for this much younger girl, her heart still fluttered.

“Xing Dui!” Guan Xiaoxuan called out with a smile. “I came down as soon as I got your message. Hope I didn’t keep you waiting?”

Xing Tianqing smiled softly. “Not at all. Let’s go, get in.”

Guan Xiaoxuan quickly hopped into the front passenger seat, buckled her seatbelt, and hugged her backpack. Curiously, she asked, “You said you were taking me to the Strange Affairs Bureau today. Do we have classes?”

Xing Tianqing gripped the steering wheel and replied, “Not exactly classes. It’s just to get you familiar with the place and introduce you to the substitute teachers. From now on, you’ll go on your own every Saturday because I probably can’t always give you a ride.”

“I’ll manage,” Guan Xiaoxuan said confidently. “I saw the schedule you gave me. Shooting practice in the morning, Points Exchange Center classes in the afternoon—so only two teachers?”

“If you mean the practical classes, then yes, just two teachers,” Xing Tianqing explained. “The shooting instructor is a specialist and pretty strict. You might have to endure some hardships, but it’s for your own good. The afternoon classes are taught by Lin Weiwei, mainly about how to use items from the exchange. That part is easier—I’ve already told her not to be too hard on you.”

Guan Xiaoxuan chuckled. “Thanks, Xing Dui, but you don’t need to cut me any slack. These are life-saving courses. If the teachers are strict, maybe I’ll live longer.”

Xing Tianqing was surprised by how sensible Guan Xiaoxuan was. She smiled and said, “Well then, I’ll tell the teachers to raise their standards. Who knows? Maybe after you graduate, you can officially join the Strange Affairs Bureau.”

Guan Xiaoxuan smiled brightly, her eyes curved with joy. “If I get the chance, I’ll go for it.”

They chatted more during the drive. Xing Tianqing explained which buses to take to the bureau, the time of the last bus, and what to do if she missed it—like riding a shared bike back to the city since taxis weren’t easy to catch there.

Because it was still holiday time, Guan Xiaoxuan wouldn’t meet the theory teachers until Monday night’s online class.

That meant she would have three teachers giving one-on-one lessons until the course ended.

Leaning back in her seat, Guan Xiaoxuan couldn’t help but feel that the bureau really was generous—even as an unofficial member, she got one-on-one tutoring.

Lin Weiwei was already familiar; Guan Xiaoxuan had met her when Xing Tianqing first brought her to the bureau. This time, the main purpose was to meet the shooting instructor.

The shooting teacher was a retired local soldier named Zhang Tong, in his forties. He used to be a sniper in the special forces but retired due to injury and now taught shooting.

Guan Xiaoxuan greeted him. Zhang Tong looked average but was muscular all over—even his cheeks were strong-looking, like someone who could pack a punch.

Luckily, today was just a meet-and-greet. After Zhang Tong and Lin Weiwei introduced the upcoming courses, they said it would take about two months to complete everything.

In total, there were 8 shooting classes, 8 points exchange classes, and 24 theory lessons.

Guan Xiaoxuan spent a little time at the shooting range doing basic drills and got to handle real guns. But since she was only 19, Zhang Tong didn’t let her shoot just yet—he wanted to wait for the official classes to start.

At the Points Exchange Center, Lin Weiwei mainly helped Guan Xiaoxuan get familiar with how to use the points and items. Without guidance, it would be completely confusing to just exchange stuff on her own.

Because Guan Xiaoxuan’s rank was still too low, she could only use C-level and D-level items. To use B-level or above, she had to reach a certain contribution score to apply.

As for A-level items, unless she became the deputy team leader or the team leader of the Weirdness Bureau, she basically wouldn’t have access to them.

Lin Weiwei saw Guan Xiaoxuan’s curious expression and smiled. “Don’t overthink it. Actually, for dealing with most weird cases, C and D-level items are enough. If something really strong shows up, you just call Captain Xing to handle it.”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked up from the counter where the points exchange items were displayed and asked Lin Weiwei, “Is Captain Xing really that strong?”

“Of course,” Lin Weiwei said without holding back. “If she weren’t so young, she’d be even higher rank by now.”

Then Lin Weiwei looked at Guan Xiaoxuan, stroked her chin, and said curiously, “Xiaoxuan, I heard from Xiao An and the others that you and Xing Tianqing are seeing each other—is that true?”

Guan Xiaoxuan chuckled. “Director Lin, where did you hear that rumor? Captain Xing and I are just friends.”

Lin Weiwei didn’t believe her. She narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “Is that so? Your personal business is your own, but Xing Tianqing is a great woman. If you really like her, you’d better make a move.”

Guan Xiaoxuan gave a nervous laugh but didn’t answer.

Luckily, Lin Weiwei wasn’t too nosy, and soon they switched to talking about how to use the items and their principles. Guan Xiaoxuan listened carefully.

Time passed quickly. After handing Guan Xiaoxuan over to Xing Tianqing, Lin Weiwei said, “Come to my class on Saturday afternoon. It’ll be longer, about four hours, with a half-hour break. You’ll finish at 5 p.m.”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded. “Thanks, Director Lin. I’ll remember.”

Lin Weiwei tilted her head toward Xing Tianqing. “Are you going to pick her up every week?”

Xing Tianqing glanced at Guan Xiaoxuan and said, “When I have time. You know I’ve been pretty busy lately.”

“What could you two be busy with?” Lin Weiwei said. “But it’s none of my business. The traffic here isn’t great, or I’d drop Xiaoxuan off downtown after work. The buses only come once an hour here—missing one is so frustrating.”

“Wouldn’t that be inconvenient?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked. “I saw some shared bikes at the intersection. I can just scan and ride.”

“You’d need 30 or 40 minutes to get to the city that way,” Lin Weiwei laughed. “But whatever. Since I’m going back to the city anyway, I might as well take you. I’ll drop you off in town but won’t really see you home.”

With that said, Guan Xiaoxuan felt it was polite enough to accept and agreed.

On the way back, Guan Xiaoxuan stared out the window, feeling thoughtful.

At first, she had been crawling around in the morgue, scared of those living corpses. Now she was part of the Weirdness Bureau.

Life really changed unpredictably.

Xing Tianqing didn’t disturb her, quietly driving. They chatted a little here and there, and soon they reached the residential area.

“Don’t forget your online theory class Monday night,” Xing Tianqing said as Guan Xiaoxuan got out of the car. “Your online teacher’s last name is Fang. She’s strict. Don’t be late, okay?”

“Got it, thanks for the reminder, Captain Xing.” Guan Xiaoxuan noticed Xing Tianqing wasn’t getting out and asked curiously, “Are you going somewhere else?”

“Yes,” Xing Tianqing said. “There are things to handle at the bureau, so I won’t go upstairs with you.”

Guan Xiaoxuan knew the Weirdness Bureau was in the suburbs, and there was a downtown office where Xing Tianqing and most of the team worked. She hadn’t been there much but knew Xing Tianqing was busy handling everything.

“Okay, then go ahead and take care of things. Be careful on the road.” Guan Xiaoxuan waved as Xing Tianqing stepped on the gas and disappeared from sight.

During the last day and a half of her break, Guan Xiaoxuan studied the remaining materials.

When classes started Monday, her schedule was full, but luckily no evening classes. After dinner, she tidied up and sat at her desk before 8 p.m., logging into the website and waiting for the theory teacher to appear.

Just after 8 o’clock, the screen flickered, and a woman’s face appeared.

The woman looked to be in her thirties, her hair pulled back tightly. The light above made her forehead shine.

The woman blinked and said, “Hello, Guan Xiaoxuan, right? I’m your theory teacher, Fang Gu. You can call me Teacher Fang.”

“Okay, Teacher Fang.” Guan Xiaoxuan sat up straight, feeling like she was in an online interview.

Fang Gu looked at Guan Xiaoxuan on the screen and said, “This is our first official class. I heard you’ve already met Teacher Zhang Tong and Director Lin?”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded, “Yes.”

Fang Gu lowered her eyes to some documents and said, “Good. I won’t waste time. Have you finished reading the books I sent?”

“All done.”

“Great. Next, I’ll send you some real cases from the bureau as classroom examples.”

Fang Gu moved the mouse and said, “These are internal bureau files. Please don’t share them—that would cause big trouble. Understand?”

“Understood.” Guan Xiaoxuan accepted the files, which downloaded quickly to her desktop. She opened them and saw several Word documents with names on them.

Fang Gu said, “Theory classes aren’t just about textbooks. From now on, every class will use past cases to teach you about different types of weirdness and how to deal with them in real situations.”