“A food processing plant? Skinless corpses?” Bai Wanyang’s sleepiness vanished instantly, his expression turning grim. “It's not related to that skin-peeling supernatural freak again, is it?”
Ling Xun nodded heavily.
Yue Shi didn't say a word. He pulled the car door open and sat inside.
Bai Wanyang followed silently.
Other investigators, carrying various instruments and equipment, quickly boarded the vehicles behind them.
The convoy cut through the night, racing toward the west of the city.
The atmosphere inside the car was stifling. An Intelligence Department staff member opened his laptop and began briefing Yue Shi and Bai Wanyang.
He tried to remain professional, but a hint of tension and gravity still leaked into his voice.
“Gentlemen, our target for this operation is the ‘Wei Zhen Xiang’ Food Processing Plant in the west. They primarily produce various meat snacks like jerky, meat floss, and sausages.”
The intelligence officer pulled up a floor plan of the factory.
“About three hours ago, we received an anonymous report from a worker at the plant. They claimed to have found suspected human tissue in the factory’s cold storage.”
“Suspected?” Yue Shi asked calmly, his eyes on the streetlights flashing past the window.
“The whistleblower was extremely traumatized and in a poor mental state; their description was quite chaotic.” The officer swallowed hard and continued, “The local police arrived first. After securing the scene and conducting a preliminary check, they immediately reported it to us.”
“Our team arrived within ten minutes. It’s been confirmed that they found four human corpses in the cold storage with their skin completely removed, along with... a large amount of suspicious fragmented meat of unknown origin.”
“Fuck!” Bai Wanyang couldn't help but curse from the back seat. He was wide awake now, his stomach churning.
The officer took a deep breath. “Based on our brief questioning of the factory owner and some workers, here is how things likely played out—”
“An old worker was the first to notice something wrong two days ago. He saw the bodies and was terrified, reporting it to the owner immediately. But that corrupt bastard was afraid the factory would be shut down and his profits affected if the news got out. He used a mix of bribes and violent threats to silence the old man and the few workers who knew. He even tried to... handle the matter himself.”
“How?” Yue Shi pressed, his voice betraying no emotion.
The officer’s face paled, his throat dry. “Based on the leads from the workers, we suspect the owner originally intended to mix those... things into the raw meat scheduled for processing next week and dispose of them that way.”
“Ugh... blech!” Bai Wanyang finally gagged, his face turning green. “Dammit, is that owner even human? He should be dragged out and shot for five minutes straight!”
Yue Shi remained unmoved, listening quietly.
The officer continued with difficulty, “Fortunately, the worker who first found the bodies still had a conscience. He pretended to go along with the owner and didn't resist the restrictions placed on him. Tonight, he finally found a chance to sneak a call to the police.”
“Once we received the news, we immediately ordered the entire factory to halt production. We've also alerted the Market Supervision Department to track down and pull all recent batches of products from this factory for recall and testing.”
Yue Shi was silent for a moment. “What's the current situation in the cold storage? Besides the complete corpses, how much fragmented meat is there? Is there a preliminary estimate?”
“The cold storage has been cordoned off. We're waiting for the Technical Department to conduct a thorough investigation and for you two to provide final confirmation from a supernatural perspective,” the officer said hoarsely.
“The four relatively intact skinless corpses are currently kept in a large freezer at the factory. As for the suspected human tissue fragments, they're scattered near different raw material bins and processing tanks. We can't estimate how many bodies they came from yet, but the number of victims might be far higher than what we've already found...”
Those words seemed to drop the temperature a few more degrees.
Bai Wanyang was completely speechless. He stared out at the dark night, his fists clenching involuntarily.
For the rest of the trip, a deathly silence filled the car, broken only by the roar of the engine and the sound of tires on the pavement.
After some time, the car slowed down. Through the window, they saw a factory complex illuminated as bright as day by harsh police lights and Bureau searchlights.
The “Wei Zhen Xiang Food Processing Plant” sign looked exceptionally pale under the lights.
Multiple layers of yellow caution tape had been put up. Uniformed Bureau field agents were strictly guarding the scene. The air was thick with an invisible tension.
Yue Shi pushed the door open, met by a blast of cold night wind.
He straightened his collar and looked toward the factory's cold storage.
Bai Wanyang also got out, forcing himself to focus. He walked to Yue Shi's side, his face etched with gravity.
The insulated door of the cold storage was slowly pushed open, the metal hinges letting out a dull scraping sound. A chill far more piercing than the outside air rushed out, instantly enveloping everyone at the entrance and causing goosebumps to erupt on their skin.
The group stepped into the massive freezer. The air felt like it had solidified into a translucent mass, weighing heavily on their shoulders.
Rows of towering metal shelves filled their vision, neatly stacked with various sealed bins of raw meat covered in a thin layer of white frost. The refrigeration units hummed low and constant, sounding particularly clear in the silent night.
Although this was where the skinless corpses were found, there was no stench of rot. Instead, there was only the complex, unique aroma of a meat processing plant—the cold scent of iron, a faint smell of grease, and the slight residue of disinfectant and various chemicals.
The smell itself wasn't necessarily foul, but at this moment, the mere thought that these shelves might hold a mix of skinless or even fragmented remains caused a powerful wave of psychological nausea to surge up their throats.
Bai Wanyang instinctively covered his nose, his brow furrowing tightly.
On the inner edge of the cold storage door, a yellowed and tattered old piece of paper was stuck. The handwriting was blurry, seemingly outlining safety operating procedures and management regulations—the kind of thing found in any factory workshop.
No one lingered on the paper. They ignored it and continued walking inside.
The further they went, the colder it became, a chill that seeped into their very bones.
Even wearing the Bureau's windbreakers, they could feel the pervasive cold rapidly stripping away their body heat.
Someone couldn't help but shiver, complaining in a low voice, “Hiss... why is this damn place so cold?”
“It's a cold storage unit in the middle of the night. What do you expect? Just get to work. You'll warm up once you start moving,” someone nearby replied, rubbing their hands together.
Rate on N.U.
