Tang Zhuhe extended a finger, gently caressing the human skin. Her movements were cautious, her fingertip tracing Xiao Ya's 'cheek' as she slightly lowered her gaze.
In that instant, Ling Xun, standing respectfully by her side, suddenly experienced an extremely subtle illusion—as if an indescribable, invisible power was emanating outwards from Director Tang, like a stone dropped into a bottomless ancient well, sending out faint ripples that then quickly vanished, as if they had never been there.
No one knew what Tang Zhuhe had done, nor could anyone even be certain if it was an illusion. She simply continued to caress the human skin, her eyes profound, her thoughts inscrutable.
After a moment, she gently set down Xiao Ya's skin, her tone calm and indifferent: “I understand. Go assess the eyewitnesses' condition and the potential public impact, then handle it as appropriate. Have the assistant investigator outside come in to provide all the details.”
“Yes, Director,” Ling Xun replied.
...
About an hour later, Yue Shi returned to the Investigation Bureau. His expression was as indifferent as ever, showing no emotional fluctuations, only a slight travel-worn air about him.
Ling Xun immediately found him and asked, “What’s the situation? Did you catch that ‘human skin monster’?”
He used the term “human skin monster” instead of Boss Pi.
Yue Shi had initially reported Boss Pi's existence to the Investigation Bureau, though his method of reporting was a bit peculiar. Now, he could only pretend to know nothing, saying calmly:
“That monster has strong life-saving abilities, especially adept at using crowds and the environment. I chased him for a long time, but he still got away…”
Yue Shi omitted many details, focusing only on the various incredible abilities the “human skin monster” had displayed.
Ling Xun listened quietly, a hint of regret on his face, but no surprise. He patted Yue Shi’s shoulder: “You’ve worked hard. Supernatural creatures with rare abilities are inherently troublesome. The fact that you keenly discovered him and forced him into a desperate escape is already quite an accomplishment.”
Changing the subject, Ling Xun added, “Given the severe impact of this incident and the numerous eyewitnesses, the Investigation Bureau has urgently issued a wanted order for the ‘human skin monster’.”
Hearing this, a flicker of surprise passed through Yue Shi’s eyes. He reached out and took the electronic wanted order Ling Xun handed him.
Attached to this freshly issued wanted order was a blurry silhouette photo, seemingly one of Boss Pi's many forms captured by a phone from a distance. It was labeled as a “high-risk humanoid supernatural creature,” temporarily named: Human Skin Monster.
Its characteristics were described as “suspected of possessing the ability to peel human skin and use it to disguise as a human, extremely dangerous,” with a high bounty amount.
However, this wanted order was incomplete, lacking information on Boss Pi’s two most core and important abilities: first, the ability to “bestow” human skins upon others, even allowing other supernatural creatures to disguise as humans; and second, the bug-level life-saving divine skill of actively molting to remove all damage and curses.
Yue Shi looked up at Ling Xun, his tone unreadable: “I thought the Bureau would try to suppress information about this type of special supernatural creature.”
Previously, when he reported Boss Pi to the Investigation Bureau, the Bureau hadn’t leaked a single word after receiving the tip-off note; even internal staff were unaware of Boss Pi’s existence.
After all, he had written on the note that “Boss Pi can strip other supernatural creatures of their source,” and such a unique ability should indeed be kept secret. So why was he suddenly publicly wanted now?
Ling Xun wore a formulaic, helpless smile. “When you were pursuing the human skin monster, you caused too much of a commotion. Countless people at the commercial plaza witnessed him ‘molting’ on the street and transforming, the scene, on-site videos have probably already circulated on some online platforms, and it’s impossible to suppress them.”
“Since that’s the case, it’s better to issue a limited wanted order. This can both demonstrate the Investigation Bureau’s response efficiency and, to some extent, alert the public to be vigilant, preventing more innocent people from being harmed.”
Yue Shi’s gaze swept over the deliberately simplified ability descriptions on the wanted order again.
Ling Xun noticed his puzzled expression and explained, “This is for the sake of social stability. If the public knew that a supernatural creature could not only disguise as a human but also put this ‘disguise’ on others like clothing, and even be nearly impossible to kill, the resulting panic would be catastrophic, detrimental to Amber City’s long-term development and security management.”
He paused, then added, “This wanted order is mainly for external consumption. There will be more detailed records in internal archives and high-level mission briefings.”
Yue Shi indifferently shifted his gaze. “You don’t need to explain so much to me. I don’t care.”
He didn’t care what reason the Investigation Bureau had for concealing information. He just wanted to get rid of that disgusting thing that coveted his skin as soon as possible.
“Oh, right,” Yue Shi said, as if just remembering something. “When that monster escaped, it got desperate and forcibly put several human skins on innocent passersby. I brought all these victims back to the Bureau. They’re in the reception room now; please deal with them quickly to avoid further complications.”
Ling Xun’s expression became serious. “I’ll arrange for personnel to examine them immediately. You should go back and rest.”
Yue Shi nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
Ling Xun took a deep breath, suppressing the rising irritation in his heart, and strode towards the Investigation Bureau’s reception room.
As soon as he entered the reception room, the first thing he saw was Mrs. Li, looking utterly desolate, sitting in a corner while a female clerk softly comforted her.
Ling Xun felt a pang of pity and didn’t want to look further, so he turned his gaze elsewhere.
What he saw next almost made his mouth twitch.
Seven people were either standing or sitting, and judging purely by their appearance, every single one of them was a handsome man or a beautiful woman. Their body proportions were perfect, their physiques well-balanced, and their features outstanding, making them quite a striking sight.
However, their behavior was extremely incongruous with their excellent looks, appearing quite strange.
One man, wearing a tight T-shirt and possessing sculpted, perfect abs and pectorals, was constantly stroking his chest and abdomen, and even lower, with a lewd, captivated expression, as if he had just met his own body;
A girl with a delicate, doll-like face held a small makeup mirror, staring obsessively at her reflection, occasionally making various affected expressions;
Another man, a cool and handsome type, stood by the window with his head tilted, greedily admiring his sharp jawline in the glass reflection.
Ling Xun immediately understood that these were the “victims” Yue Shi had spoken of, forcibly given a new layer of skin by the human skin monster.
However, judging by their current behavior, it seemed they didn’t feel like victims at all.
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