The woman's gaze swept across the members of the Special Operations Section before finally landing on Ling Xun. "We have come here today in the hope of collaborating with the Amber City Investigation Bureau. Our primary objective is to rescue our trapped companions."
"Secondly, if conditions permit, it would be best to excise the cancer that is Qingshan Sanatorium once and for all. It is not far from Amber City; surely your bureau would not want such a threat lurking nearby for long?"
Ling Xun did not immediately respond to the proposal of cooperation. Instead, he went straight to the core of the issue. "Are you certain your priority is only to save people? I must remind you that simply rescuing someone from Qingshan Sanatorium is a completely different concept from destroying the supernatural domain or containing the Director. The risks and methods are worlds apart."
He slightly emphasized his tone. "The former can perhaps be achieved through a cautious, indirect strategy, avoiding provocation of the Director as much as possible, which yields a relatively higher success rate. The latter... will inevitably involve a violent, direct confrontation that will likely infuriate him. If that happens, your companions' chances of survival will immediately drop to zero—they might even die faster. Have you truly thought this through?"
The woman glanced toward Su Yuanhe. Although he remained expressionless, she seemed to receive some form of instruction and confirmed, "Yes, Section Chief Ling. We are very clear on the difference. Saving our people is our primary and explicit goal."
Ling Xun nodded. "Very well. Once the objective is clear, we can formulate the most appropriate plan."
The atmosphere in the conference room eased slightly. Ling Xun activated the electronic sand table and database, presenting a detailed 3D map of Qingshan Sanatorium and its surrounding area to the group.
"Since the goal is rescue, the core of the operation lies in 'precision' and 'speed,' avoiding a full-scale conflict with the supernatural as much as possible," Ling Xun deployed the strategy calmly.
"Step one: intelligence gathering. We need the Glory Association to provide the last known positions of your missing personnel..."
Yue Shi was absent-minded, unable to focus on Ling Xun’s long-winded explanation.
Ling Xun quickly finalized the plan. The details were thorough and appeared flawless.
"Excellent." The glamorous woman with long curly hair looked at Su Yuanhe, her tone questioning. "Shall we begin the operation now? What do you think, Mr. Su?"
"Proceed," Su Yuanhe replied with only two words. He was the first to stand up and leave the conference room, his face devoid of emotion.
Throughout the entire discussion, he hadn't uttered a single word.
The others stood and left one after another. Yue Shi and Ling Xun were the last to remain.
"Let’s go. We’re moving to another operations room where we can watch the real-time progress of this mission," Ling Xun suggested.
Yue Shi followed silently, lowering his voice to ask, "Why collaborate with the Glory Association?"
Ling Xun didn't stop walking, only replying flatly, "They gave far too much."
In another operations room downstairs, the massive main screen had lit up, though it was currently blank. Technical staff were busy at the consoles below the screen.
Yue Shi found a seat. For this operation, the Investigation Bureau had not dispatched its main combat personnel. Instead, they had sent Wei Jianxian and Aunt Gu, who possessed special auxiliary abilities.
The primary combat power was provided by the Glory Association.
The screen was soon divided into multiple feeds. One was a high-altitude bird's-eye view showing three different vehicles driving out of the Investigation Bureau's parking lot. One was a white van-style containment vehicle. A helicopter provided overhead vision as they sped toward Qingshan Sanatorium.
Another feed switched to an interior vehicle view as the convoy drove through the dilapidated streets of the Chaos Zone.
The operations room fell silent, save for the faint sound of technicians tapping on keyboards.
Yue Shi wondered how this group from the Glory Association intended to handle a tough nut like the Director. One had to remember that the Director was far from the only terrifying supernatural creature inside Qingshan Sanatorium.
After a long while, the convoy reached its destination. The main screen locked onto Qingshan Sanatorium ahead. The building looked deathly and sinister under the hazy sky, radiating an ominous aura.
As soon as the vehicles stopped, several people stepped out. These were the transcendents prepared to attack Qingshan Sanatorium.
A low murmur rippled through the conference room. Technicians quickly operated the controls, zooming in the main image and focusing on a window on the fourth floor of the sanatorium.
The Director was standing there. The expression on his face was no longer his usual violent cruelty; instead, it held a sense of absurd compassion as he looked down from afar at the uninvited guests.
At that moment, the screen shifted to the white containment vehicle. The doors slowly opened with a heavy hydraulic hiss.
Vroom—
Once the doors were open, three metal containment pods were revealed, arranged side by side.
Each containment pod was connected to a multitude of tubes and monitoring equipment. The pod doors were made of thick, transparent specialized glass.
Through the glass, one could clearly see the contents—three monkeys of bizarre form that inspired dread in all who saw them!
These three monkeys were similar in size to an average human, covered entirely in dark red fur. They were not asleep but held in a peculiar state of stillness.
Their postures were all different.
The first monkey had its claws clamped tightly over its mouth, its face filled with terror.
The second monkey used its long, furry arms to block its ears, its head bowed low.
The third monkey held its claws firmly over its eyes, its body slightly curled.
An ominous aura drifted around them. Even through the screen and the containment pods, they instilled a faint sense of unease.
Just then, the screen captured the window on the fourth floor. The compassionate smile on the Director's face faded slightly, replaced by an expression of intrigued inquiry. He didn't move to stop them, simply watching quietly.
"This is?" Ling Xun asked, curious.
"A-rank supernatural creature 【Three No Monkeys】. The distorted manifestation of 'speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil,'" Su Yuanhe spoke up, a rare occurrence.
Ling Xun stared at the screen for a few seconds before suddenly realizing something. "You intend to use the supernatural to fight the supernatural?"
Su Yuanhe nodded. "You have a good eye, Mr. Ling."
Ling Xun’s brow furrowed slightly. "Will this work?"
The method of "using the supernatural to control the supernatural" was a containment measure that had largely been phased out.
According to historical records, when supernatural incidents first began in the previous era, this method had indeed played a significant role.
However, it was only effective against mindless supernatural creatures that couldn't think.
As time passed, more and more high-level supernatural creatures appeared. They could think, and some were even more intelligent than humans.
Humans would drive two high-level supernatural creatures into one place, attempting to make them counter each other. The result, more often than not, was that the two creatures would team up to take out the humans first.
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