“From now on, everyone is a comrade-in-arms. Working together to solve cases is what matters most. Past grievances end here. I don’t want anyone bringing personal grudges to work under me.”
Qin Yue clapped her hands, resolving He Xiaoyi’s awkward predicament with a single sentence:
“Master He, Chen Ping, what do you think?”
“Alright, Section Head Qin.”
Chen Ping didn't mind. He had been muddle-headed before, not even realizing when he harmed someone, so how could he remember He Xiaoyi?
Seeing him now, he felt at most a bit annoyed, which hardly counted as a grudge. As a working-class drone, who didn’t have a couple of annoying coworkers?
Seeing Chen Ping's reaction, He Xiaoyi let out a sigh of relief, his expression visibly relaxing.
“The reason I kept everyone behind is for the Green Ti New City Fire Haunting Case. What we saw in the meeting just now was only a summary. Zhang Yue, hand out the more detailed files to everyone.”
Qin Yue stood up and massaged her temples with a touch of exhaustion:
“Everyone take a look at the materials first... I'm going to the restroom.”
—She hadn't closed her eyes for nearly eighteen hours.
The others could naturally see Qin Yue's fatigue.
Zhao Daxian reclined on the sofa and gave a low whistle.
Impressive. Such a heavy burden, yet Section Head Qin took it on without hesitation. He heard she had even signed a military pledge with higher-ups during the meeting, saying that if she couldn't handle being section head, she’d strip off her uniform!
As expected of the ruthless Qin Yue. If it were him, he probably would have thrown in the towel long ago.
...
Inside the restroom, Qin Yue scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on her face.
The cold water brought a trace of chill, quenching some of the unspoken anxiety and restlessness in her heart.
She had never felt this anxious before.
She had once gone undercover beside vicious drug traffickers, licking blood off the blade's edge and walking a tightrope.
She had also hunted down frenzied human traffickers in the deep mountains who fought to the bitter death.
She had even personally shot dead armed thugs who had taken hostages and made desperate demands in crowded city streets.
Qin Yue had shed blood, killed people, and witnessed death; the scars on her body, large and small, were beyond count.
Yet this was the first time she felt truly powerless.
Like throwing a punch into soft cotton.
Who was their enemy? Unknown.
How could they protect the public? Unclear.
The Special Incident Investigation Section was like a blind person crossing a river by feeling the stones in the dark of night.
Not only did they have to watch out for undercurrents, but they also had to avoid stones and submerged branches that could trip them up.
In the past, when working a case, if a wrong decision was made, there was still room to correct it and adjust their strategy.
But now, if her decision had even the slightest flaw or an operation went awry, what they stood to lose might be human lives and the public's trust.
The overhead lights flickered faintly. In the mirror, the short-haired woman's eyes burned like torches.
Are you afraid of dying?
Not knowing who was asking, Qin Yue subconsciously voiced her true thoughts:
“Afraid of death? If I was afraid of dying, I wouldn't have become a cop in the first place. I'm more afraid of letting Director Ma down, of letting the organization down...”
Before the words fully left her mouth, a sudden shiver ran down her spine.
—Who had asked that question just now?
The restroom was empty. In the cramped, confined space, the only sounds were the rush of running water and the rapid, heavy thud of her own heartbeat.
Qin Yue slowly looked up.
Without her realizing when, mist had suddenly risen in the restroom.
The vast white mist, as if seeping out from beneath the floor, was thick as milk, swallowing the restroom inch by inch.
The chill in the air grew increasingly palpable. Droplets of water on the mirror froze into ice, hanging along the glass edges.
Feeling the ambient temperature plummet, the hairs on Qin Yue's exposed forearms stood on end, goosebumps popping up in rapid succession.
Someone... or rather, something, had entered.
...
The instant the white mist appeared, Chen Ping, who was chatting with everyone in the reception room, suddenly froze.
This familiar sky-filling dark qi.
This familiar oppressive aura.
And this living, palpable dread...
She's here! That Greater Ghost is definitely here!
He almost screamed out loud, but a voice roared in the depths of his mind: Don't make a sound, or you'll die! You'll die, you'll die, you'll die, you'll die!
Chen Ping huddled on the sofa, completely motionless like a wooden dummy.
...
Qin Yue grew increasingly calm.
She reached out, wiped away the water stains on the glass, and finally caught sight of this uninvited guest in the mirror:
It was a woman.
Her face was shrouded beneath layers of white mist, revealing only a fair, rounded chin.
She wore ancient purple robes, and hanging at her chest was an antique heart-protecting mirror etched with the pattern of a Vermilion Bird.
The woman seemed to have no feet, floating intangibly in midair.
She simply hovered there, gazing quietly at Qin Yue.
“Are you not afraid of death?”
The woman spoke once more.
Her voice resonated like the clinking of gold and jade, drawing out buzzing echoes in the narrow room.
The white mist thickened, swirling as if alive before the woman to unveil the face of a classical beauty.
Cloud-like coiffure, fragrant cheeks, crimson lips, and gleaming white teeth—set upon a lotus-like face, her phoenix eyes were slightly upturned.
The face was breathtakingly beautiful, yet its excessive perfection lent it an eerie, non-human uncanny quality.
It was as if a figure from an ancient court beauty painting had come to life, not resembling a living human at all.
Despite the different attire, Qin Yue recognized her instantly.
This woman was the “Target B” who had guided Chen Ping with the yellow chicken during the haunting at Hongxing Mansion!
Making no sudden moves, Qin Yue probed cautiously in response to the woman's question:
“If I feared death, I wouldn't be a cop.”
“I only fear dying without purpose, only fear failing to accomplish the missions entrusted to me by the organization.”
The white mist swirled, layer after layer of water vapor gathering on the restroom mirror.
As the temperature dropped lower and lower, Qin Yue could even hear her own teeth chattering.
“Ah... you people, even after hundreds of years, you still possess this very same temperament...”
The woman let out a faint, melancholic sigh. Her gaze was filled with a complex swirl of emotions that Qin Yue couldn't decipher: nostalgia, guilt, attachment, pity...
Who on earth was she? How did she bypass the security forces to enter the experimental area?
The Special Investigation Section's monitoring department had personnel on duty around the clock. Why hadn't anyone raised the alarm?
Furthermore, what did she mean by “you people”? Had she truly lived for hundreds of years?
The questions in Qin Yue's heart snowballed, tangling into a knot she couldn't unravel.
“Don't be nervous, little demon suppressor. I am here to deliver orders on behalf of your Lord Commissioner.”
The woman gave a soft chuckle, tilting her head slightly. Her wide-open eyes felt entirely unnatural, bearing an uncanny resemblance to an enlarged porcelain doll:
“Tonight, anomalies stir within the Ghost Building, and evil ghosts emerge into the world. By order of the Kuizhou Circuit Demon Suppression Commissioner, the demon suppressors are commanded to proceed to the Ghost Building tonight at the hour of the Rat to arrest the evil ghosts and bring them to justice, safeguarding the peace and well-being of the people, without fail! Violators shall face military punishment.”
Crack!
As the woman's words fell, a sharp crack sounded from the restroom mirror. Countless fractures spiderwebbed across the surface, the adhering vapor freezing instantly into ice—
The glass shattered into myriad small mirror shards, reflecting tens of thousands of the woman.
Just as suddenly as it had arrived, the white mist vanished completely.
Only the woman's words seemed to echo in Qin Yue's ears:
“By order of the Kuizhou Circuit Demon Suppression Commissioner, the demon suppressors are commanded to proceed to the Ghost Building tonight at the hour of the Rat to arrest the evil ghosts and bring them to justice, safeguarding the peace and well-being of the people, without fail! Violators shall face military punishment!”
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