At four in the morning, inside the Ningcheng docks' warehouse district, Buck and a few others were dousing a warehouse with fuel from gas cans.
“Boss, it’s all poured. We even got the adjacent warehouses,” said a short-haired woman standing behind Tang Yongyun.
Hearing this, Tang Yongyun placed a cigarette in his mouth. Seeing this, the short-haired woman behind him quickly pulled out a lighter to light it for him.
“Jiang Nan, call back. Get more men, and get more guns,” Tang Yongyun said with a flat expression.
His wings had already retracted into his body, making him look completely normal on the outside.
He had been pondering this for a long time. If they wanted to deal with the investigation team on the Nanming Kingdom's turf, relying on just the few of them would be far too difficult.
“Boss, if we mobilize people on such a large scale, the others in the Syndicate will definitely find out. The assassins might come after us then,” Buck said instinctively.
Tang Yongyun didn't say anything, but Jiang Nan, who was standing behind him, wore a playful smile. “Buck, do you really think the Boss is still afraid of them? If it weren't for Lord Zhao's orders, the Boss probably would have gone back and dealt with them that very night.”
Hearing this, Buck scratched his head. “That's true. I still haven't gotten used to this shift in identity. But going up against the Nanming Kingdom is certainly dangerous and exciting.”
“Phew...” Tang Yongyun took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled a long trail of white smoke.
He aimed at the warehouse and gave the cigarette a gentle flick. It flew four or five meters before landing right on a patch of fuel.
Buzz!
A spark of flame flared up, rapidly expanding and spreading across the entire warehouse. Following the trail of fuel, the fire quickly swept toward the surrounding warehouses as well.
In just moments, the three neighboring warehouses were engulfed in a roaring blaze, incinerating the corpses inside.
“Let’s go,” Tang Yongyun said, casting a final glance before turning to leave.
The warehouse security guards had already been thrown into the sea, so no one would be calling the fire department anytime soon.
As time passed, the fire grew larger and larger. By the time the fire engines arrived, nearly a third of the entire warehouse district had been burned to the ground.
Just as dawn broke, the emergency lines inside the Ningcheng Inspector Bureau were ringing off the hook.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
“Hello?! I just saw several dead bodies over on Dayan Road! Their stomachs have been ripped wide open! Send someone quickly!” a panicked voice cried out from the receiver.
The young woman handling the calls had gone completely numb. She spoke rapidly, “Please remain calm. Our inspectors will be dispatched to the scene shortly.”
With that, she hung up, but not even a few seconds passed before—
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The phone rang once more.
She had no choice but to pick it up again. “Hello...”
Across the entire dispatch room, the phones of over a dozen operators never stopped ringing.
Wang Pingcheng stood behind them, his expression grim as he stared at the phones.
“Chief, as of right now, we’ve received sixty-three reports. We’ve confirmed over a hundred casualties, and all the victims have had their internal organs completely hollowed out!” a young man standing behind him reported in a trembling voice.
“I understand. Have we identified the monster yet?” Wang Pingcheng turned to look at him.
The young man’s expression turned strange. “We did. He’s actually a former colleague of ours from the branch bureau. He was just dismissed a short while ago. No one expected him to turn into... this.”
“Forget it, put that aside for now. I originally thought the appearance of such a monster was just an isolated incident, but now that so many have popped up, we must deploy all available inspectors to search for them.” Wang Pingcheng shook his head.
He had already reported the situation to the mayor. How they would proceed next depended on the mayor's instructions.
Throughout that entire day in Ningcheng, the sirens of ambulances and law enforcement vehicles echoed everywhere.
Yet when the sun came up, those monsters seemed to vanish into thin air. No matter how thoroughly they searched, none could be found.
At the same time, a peculiar strain of the flu began to emerge.
This flu was highly contagious, but because there were no fatalities in its early stages, it was completely overlooked by the authorities in the face of the massive wave of homicides.
...
Morning arrived.
In the heart of the Nanming Kingdom sat a massive metropolis. This was the Capital, the seat of the Emperor and the Parliament.
Right in the center of the Capital stood a hundred-story government skyscraper.
Inside the thirty-eighth floor.
A handsome young man wearing a formal suit uniform, his hair parted to the left, walked briskly down the hallway.
“Detective Zhang, you’re here,” a female secretary in the hallway greeted him immediately upon seeing him.
Zhang Yi nodded in response. “I took a flight over the moment I received the message last night. I shouldn't be late, right?”
“It’s still a minute before eight o'clock, so you made it just in time,” she teased.
She then opened the door beside them and gestured for him to enter.
Zhang Yi strode inside and swept his gaze across the room. Around a white conference table sat four men and women.
Everyone looked over the moment Zhang Yi walked in.
A woman with glasses and a bob cut stood up, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “I didn't expect this emergency mission would actually bring in the famous Detective Zhang himself!”
“And you are?” Zhang Yi looked at her in confusion.
At two o'clock the previous night, he had received a joint invitation from the Security Bureau and the Inspector Headquarters, stating that there was a special case that required his attention.
Tap, tap, tap!
Footsteps echoed from behind, followed by an authoritative voice. “She is Tong Lin, a computer expert from the Security Bureau. She was reassigned for this emergency mission.”
Hearing this, many questions flashed through Zhang Yi's mind. He had no idea what kind of case would involve personnel from the Security Bureau.
Turning around, he saw a middle-aged man in a black military uniform, with three golden crows on his shoulder epaulets.
“Zhang Yi, we’ve met once before. I am Lu Senyu from the Security Bureau,” the middle-aged man said, extending his hand.
Hearing his name, the confusion on Zhang Yi's face deepened. “Even Minister Lu, the head of the Security Bureau, has personally made an appearance? Are we catching spies?”
Lu Senyu gestured with his hand. “Take a seat first. I know you aren't the only one with these questions; everyone else here is in the same boat.”
Seeing this, Zhang Yi had no choice but to sit down next to Tong Lin.
Lu Senyu walked over to the head of the table and sat down. Looking at the group, he said, “Before we begin the meeting, let me introduce everyone to each other.”
He pointed to the first person on the right, a muscular young man about 1.9 meters tall with a buzz cut. “Duan Chebin, first place in the military-wide martial arts tournament, holding the rank of Major. He will be responsible for helping you coordinate with local forces and ensuring your personal safety.”
“Behind him is Captain Fang Jian from the Inspector Headquarters. He has extensive experience in solving major cases and will assist you in coordinating with local inspector bureaus.”
Zhang Yi looked at Fang Jian, a quiet middle-aged man around forty years old.
Next, Lu Senyu looked toward the right side of the table, where Zhang Yi, Tong Lin, and a young man with a ponytail were seated.
“I don't think Zhang Yi and Tong Lin need any introduction. The one next to them is Feng Shaojun, representing the Parliament.” Lu Senyu's introduction of Feng Shaojun was very brief.
Feng Shaojun gave a slight nod in return.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Yi spoke up, “Minister Lu, what kind of case is this? To gather colleagues from so many different departments, it must be extremely serious, right?”
“I'm quite curious as well. The old man at home practically chased me out of bed early this morning to get me here. Stop keeping us in suspense, Minister Lu, and just tell us,” Feng Shaojun said with a faint smile.
Though the others remained silent, they all kept their eyes on Lu Senyu, waiting for his explanation.
Instead of answering immediately, Lu Senyu wore a mysterious look as he asked, “Before we discuss this, let me ask you a question first. Do you believe that non-human entities exist in this world?”
Rate on N.U.
