The Bureau of Investigation building was located near a residential area of the city, with the Bureau's sign hanging prominently above the entrance.
Whether you knew of the world's hidden side or not, this place welcomed anyone seeking help when facing danger or insurmountable problems.
From trivial disputes and arguments to various cold cases and homicides, everything fell under their purview.
Around a rectangular conference table, several people took their seats one after another. The last person to enter gently closed the conference room door, shutting out the noise from the hallway outside.
The man sitting closest to the blackboard was the captain of the Special Investigation Unit team gathered in this conference room.
He was a tall, erect young man, likely around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, dressed in a black combat uniform with his sleeves rolled up, revealing his sleek, well-defined forearms.
His face was cold and stern, with a faint scar on his brow bone stretching from the peak of his eyebrow to the corner of his eye. Rather than ruining his features, it added a sharp, oppressive edge to his appearance.
The captain looked up and scanned the people around the table, confirming everyone was present. “Everyone is here. Let’s begin the meeting.”
As his voice fell, a projection screen descended. A young investigator wearing black-rimmed glasses, sitting on the left side of the conference table, turned on the projector.
He pushed up his glasses and began briefing the other investigators, aligning his words with the projected slides.
As for the paper copies of the presentation materials, a packet had already been placed at everyone's seat.
“Captain, everyone. At six o'clock this morning, a sanitation worker found a male corpse in an alley in the old town area of the city center.”
“The deceased is Si Diyi, twenty-eight years old, unemployed. He was confirmed dead this morning.”
On the projection screen in front of them, a manhole deep in the alley was clearly visible. Crucially, it was missing its cover.
The slide changed to a close-up photograph of the area. Some gravel and dirt were scattered around, and dark bloodstains could be faintly seen inside the shaft.
“The Regular Investigation Unit rushed to the scene to conduct an investigation immediately after receiving the report.”
“Their preliminary assessment is that the direct cause of death was an accidental fall into the uncovered manhole while walking at night. His head struck a protruding rock inside, resulting in a skull fracture and death from excessive blood loss.”
The Bureau of Investigation was primarily divided into two departments: the Regular Investigation Unit and the Special Investigation Unit.
The Regular Unit specialized in handling normal, everyday cases. Whenever an incident was reported, they were always the first to investigate the scene.
If their investigation revealed supernatural or anomalous forces at play, the case would be transferred directly to the Special Unit.
If it was just a common accident, a natural mishap, or simple human trouble with absolutely no anomalous influence involved, the Regular Unit would close the case themselves.
Of course, to the general public who knew nothing of the world's hidden side, there was no distinction between the Regular Unit and the Special Unit.
In official public announcements, the two were never explained separately. They were always lumped together under a single name, so the public regarded them as one and the same, with no clear distinction ever made between them.
Only those in the know or internal staff within the Bureau understood the specific division of labor.
“The Regular Unit retrieved surveillance footage from around the alley and the deceased's recent areas of activity.”
“The footage shows the deceased entering a bar at around ten o'clock last night and leaving alone at one in the morning. When he left, his gait was unsteady, indicating he was clearly intoxicated and not fully lucid.”
“Additionally, after an investigation, the person who stole the manhole cover was identified as a repeat offender with a history of stealing municipal facilities. He has already been detained by the Regular Unit.”
“After verification, we found that he had no connection whatsoever to the deceased, Si Diyi. Stealing the manhole cover was purely an impulsive crime.”
As soon as the investigator in glasses finished speaking, a young investigator sitting at the far end of the table couldn't help but mutter.
Having just joined the Special Unit, he was young, hot-blooded, and eager to prove himself. Finding himself dealing with nothing but trivial matters had left him impatient and frustrated by the gap between his expectations and reality.
“Captain, isn't this just a pure accident?”
“A drunk guy fell into a manhole, and they even caught the guy who stole the cover. Why was this transferred to our Special Unit? The Regular Unit should be able to handle this on their own.”
The Special Unit was responsible for cases involving unnatural forces—such as vengeful spirits, evil entities, and anomalous infections. Why were they taking over an accident that seemed so clear-cut?
Thinking this, the young investigator looked at his colleagues' faces, hoping to see them share his reaction.
But when he looked at the veterans on the team, they were either chuckling, looking amusedly exasperated, or staring at him as if he were a foolish child.
The mentor responsible for training him had even turned his face away, clearly unable to look.
Did he say something wrong?
A female investigator spoke up. “Silly kid, do you think the Regular Unit's detection equipment is just for show? Or do you think our Special Unit is a dumping ground that accepts whatever scrap is thrown our way?”
The captain tapped the table twice, drawing everyone's attention back.
The investigator in glasses continued, “During their on-site investigation, the Regular Unit's equipment detected traces of residual anomalous energy.”
“There was a faint trace of residual resentment around the deceased's body, and the target of this resentment was highly specific: the deceased, Si Diyi, himself.”
“The Regular Unit doesn't have the authority to handle cases involving vengeful spirits, nor can they determine whether this resentment is related to the victim's death. Thus, they transferred the case to our unit, suspecting that a vengeful spirit might be at work.”
He paused, then added, “As soon as we took over the case, Sister An Shu and I went to retrieve Si Diyi's file.”
The female investigator who had just spoken nodded. She was indeed An Shu, the team's administrative officer. Writing investigation reports, coordinating file retrieval, and similar tasks fell under her purview.
“We found some red flags in Si Diyi's background.”
“He has an older sister named Si Nian, originally named Si Niandi. She was scheduled to get married a year ago but suddenly fled before the wedding. She went missing after that and her whereabouts remain unknown to this day.”
Several more images were displayed. The investigators all stared at the projection screen, while the young investigator, his face flushed red, focused intently on reading the information.
For a moment, a brief silence fell over the conference room.
Sensing that enough time had passed and everyone had finished reading, the captain tapped the table a few more times to bring their attention back.
He looked up at the group. “Tell me your thoughts.”
A slightly chubby investigator was the first to speak, his tone confident. “Captain, I think there's a very high probability that Si Nian's vengeful spirit has come to claim his life.”
“Si Nian has been missing for a year with her whereabouts unknown; she might have already met with foul play. Si Diyi was highly likely involved in his sister's disappearance, either by withholding information or directly participating in it.”
“If Si Nian is indeed dead and became a vengeful spirit to seek revenge on Si Diyi, that would perfectly explain the residual resentment at the scene.”
“We've encountered many cases of vengeful spirits seeking retribution, especially between family members, where the resentment tends to be even stronger.”
Rate on N.U.
