Chapter 61: The Day the Inspector Vanished
🏛️ Act I: A Surprise Visit
It began with a scroll.
Not just any scroll — this one arrived in a golden tube, sealed with the sigil of the Divine Oversight Committee, a group so ancient and mysterious that even Lord Xian stood a little straighter when their name was mentioned.
Ne Job unrolled the scroll with trembling fingers.
> Notice of Inspection
> The Bureau of Minor Miracles will be inspected tomorrow by Senior Auditor Inspector Qiu.
> All departments must be in perfect order.
> Any irregularities will result in immediate restructuring.
Ao Bing groaned. "Restructuring means we get reassigned to the Department of Celestial Plumbing."
Taiyi Zhenren paled. "I once spent a week there. The pipes hum Gregorian chants."
Ne Job squared his shoulders. "Then we'd better prepare."
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🧹 Act II: Operation Sparkle Scroll
The Bureau buzzed with activity.
Ne Job led the charge, clipboard in hand. "Right! Ao Bing, polish the miracle orbs. Taiyi, audit the scroll shelves. Pippa, organize the sprite files by glow level."
They scrubbed, sorted, and spell-checked every corner of the Bureau. Even Twinkle helped, humming as it hovered over dusty ledgers and zapped cobwebs with tiny sparks.
By sunset, the Bureau gleamed.
Lord Xian inspected the work with a nod. "Acceptable."
Ne Job beamed. "We're ready."
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⏳ Act III: The Inspector Who Never Came
Morning arrived. The Bureau stood at attention.
Scrolls floated in perfect alignment. The tea urn dispensed exactly 72°C jasmine blend. The miracle registry glowed with divine precision.
But Inspector Qiu never arrived.
An hour passed. Then two.
Lord Xian frowned. "This is unlike them."
Ne Job checked the Divine Transit Logs. "No record of arrival."
Ao Bing peeked into the Cloud Dock. "No celestial carriage."
Taiyi Zhenren tapped his foot. "We're being tested. It's a meta-inspection."
Ne Job wasn't so sure. "What if something's wrong?"
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🕵️ Act IV: The Search for Qiu
Ne Job assembled a search party: himself, Ao Bing, Taiyi Zhenren, and Pippa.
They began at the Cloud Dock, where a single feather lay on the platform — not from any known divine bird.
Pippa sniffed it. "Smells like… ink and thunder."
They followed the trail through the Hall of Echoes, where whispers of past inspections murmured from the walls.
"Qiu always arrives early," one echo said.
"Never late," said another.
In the Department of Lost Time, they found a scroll half-written:
> "Arrived at Bureau. Took wrong corridor. Found… something odd. Investigating further…"
Ne Job frowned. "They're trapped."
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🌀 Act V: The Corridor That Shouldn't Exist
The team traced the scroll's timestamp to a forgotten wing of the Bureau — the Annex of Abandoned Procedures.
The corridor was dim, lined with doors labeled things like Form 88-Z: Teacup Calibration and Protocol 9: Emergency Filing in Zero Gravity.
At the end was a door marked "Do Not Enter Unless You're Absolutely Certain."
Ao Bing grinned. "Well, that's inviting."
Inside, they found a maze of floating desks, looping hallways, and a single glowing orb — a containment field.
Inside it: Inspector Qiu, sipping tea and reading a scroll upside-down.
"Ah," Qiu said calmly. "I seem to have triggered a recursive audit loop. Fascinating."
Ne Job blinked. "You're stuck?"
Qiu nodded. "Until someone files the correct override form. But that form was discontinued in the last celestial update."
Taiyi Zhenren groaned. "Typical."
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🧠Act VI: Ne Job's Workaround
Ne Job sat cross-legged and thought.
"If the form doesn't exist," he said slowly, "we'll make a new one."
He pulled out a blank scroll and began writing:
> Form 88-ZZ: Emergency Override for Recursive Audit Loops
> Filed by: Ne Job, Licensed Divine Intern
> Purpose: Rescue of Inspector Qiu from procedural paradox.
He stamped it with all seventy-seven stamps from his licensing trial.
The scroll glowed, then vanished.
The containment orb flickered — and popped.
Qiu stepped out, brushing off their robes. "Impressive. Improvisation within regulation. Rare."
Ne Job grinned. "We do our best."
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🏅 Act VII: The Real Inspection
Back at the Bureau, Qiu conducted the inspection — now with a faint sparkle of amusement in their eyes.
They examined scrolls, tested miracle orbs, and even sampled the tea.
At the end, they turned to Lord Xian.
"This Bureau," Qiu said, "is in excellent condition. But more importantly, it adapts. It solves problems. It empowers interns."
They handed Ne Job a small pin — a golden quill with wings.
> "For Initiative Beyond Expectation."
Ne Job blinked. "Thank you."
Qiu smiled. "You've passed the real test."
---
🍵 Epilogue: A New Door
The next morning, a new door appeared in the Bureau — small, round, and labeled:
> "Ne Job's Office (Intern, Licensed, Trusted)."
Inside: a desk, a teacup, and a scroll that read:
> "Use this space wisely. And keep it tidy." — Qiu
Ao Bing peeked in. "You've got your own office!"
Taiyi Zhenren nodded. "Don't let it go to your head."
Ne Job smiled. "I'll just let it go to my scrolls."
Twinkle hummed in agreement.