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Zhongzhou, Liming City Airport.

The wide runway was currently surrounded by various vehicles. Police airships hovering in mid-air cast down pale spotlights, illuminating the entire area like a giant operating table.

Red fire trucks were stationed on both sides of the passenger plane. The high-pressure water cannons had been retracted, but the hoses still trailed across the ground.

Ambulances were lined up with their doors wide open, as paramedics performed preliminary checks on the passengers being evacuated from the aircraft.

In the center of the cordon formed by these vehicles sat a passenger plane. Thick billows of smoke were still pouring from the middle of the fuselage; the acrid, scorched smell of the grayish-black smoke drifted in the wind, only to be replenished by fresh plumes.

The landing gear had completely snapped from the violent friction with the runway and lay discarded to the side. The cabin door hung limp outside its frame, its hydraulic rods broken at the joints, the door panel skewed to reveal the pitch-black interior of the cabin.

Several people in white protective suits stood at the cabin door, interrogating every passenger as they disembarked.

They held scanners in their hands, sweeping them over the passengers. Occasionally, someone would be pulled aside for further isolation and inspection.

Outside the Liming City Airport lounge, a police officer leaned against the wall, holding an electronic device. The screen displayed video footage recently copied from the airport's surveillance cameras.

He pressed the play button, and the footage began to run.

This was surveillance footage from a few minutes before the plane landed. The lens was aimed at the sky at the end of the runway, showing the passenger plane hurtling toward the airport in an abnormal posture.

The nose was diving, the fuselage was tilted, and the tail fin trailed a long streak of black smoke. There was no sound in the video, but the sense of silent falling was more suffocating than any noise could be.

The officer pressed fast-forward, skipping to the last few seconds before the plane hit the ground.

While the plane was still in mid-air, the cabin door was kicked open from the inside. The broken door tumbled through the air several times before disappearing off-camera.

Then, a figure appeared at the cabin door. The person stood at the very edge of the frame, with the high altitude below and the smoke-filled cabin behind. The wind whipped his hair into a frenzy.

And then, that figure appeared in the footage for less than a second before vanishing off the edge of the screen.

The officer pulled the progress bar back and watched it again.

He pressed pause, freezing the frame at the moment the figure appeared.

He zoomed in. The pixels became blurry, but he could make out a person with very long hair, dressed in dark clothing, cradling something furry in their arms—it appeared to be a pet.

“Freaky...” the officer muttered, turning off the screen and stuffing the device into his pocket.

He adjusted his expression and pushed open the door to the lounge.

Inside the lounge sat over a dozen passengers. Some were drinking water, some were on the phone reporting that they were safe, and others sat staring blankly, wrapped in blankets.

There were smoke stains on their clothes and soot on their faces, and the terror of their narrow escape still lingered in their eyes.

The seriously injured passengers had already been sent for medical treatment; these were the ones who had remained uninjured during the incident.

Several paramedics moved among them, taking blood pressures, asking questions, and making notes.

The officer walked up to a middle-aged man who seemed relatively stable and pulled out a notebook.

“Hello, I’m with the Liming City Local Public Order Management Bureau. I have a few questions for you, if that’s alright?”

The middle-aged man nodded, his voice slightly hoarse. “Go ahead.”

“What happened on the plane?” the officer asked.

At the mention of this, the middle-aged man’s eyes widened, something flashing in his pupils. He remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. “A strange man suddenly appeared on the plane. I swear, he just materialized out of thin air.”

He gestured wildly with his hands. “One second there was no one there, and the next second he was standing right there, like a magic trick.”

The officer recorded this information and continued, “Tell me more about what happened then. Briefly describe the person who suddenly appeared.”

“He was likely a man, very tall, with long hair.” The middle-aged man’s speech became faster and faster. “He didn’t look like a bad person, but he was holding a snow leopard. A live one, the kind that was actually moving.”

The officer paused. “A snow leopard?”

“Yes, a silver-grey one. It must have been a snow leopard cub, about this big.” The man gestured a size with his hands. “It was nestled in his arms, looking very well-behaved.”

The officer continued, “Did he say anything?”

The middle-aged man thought for a moment. “He asked what year it was. I wasn’t that close at the time, so I didn’t hear him very clearly.”

“Did anyone tell him?”

“Yes, a young man nearby was quick to speak and told him directly. Then the man’s expression changed—he looked quite unhappy.” The middle-aged man swallowed hard.

The officer’s brow furrowed slightly. “Anything else?”

The middle-aged man lowered his voice. “He also asked about a place—Forging City. He asked us about the recent development of Forging City.”

The officer’s hand trembled slightly. He looked up and stared at the middle-aged man. “Are you sure it was Forging City?”

“I’m sure.” The middle-aged man nodded. “That’s exactly what he said—‘Forging City.’ I remember it clearly because I’d heard of that place before. It seems like a city that was destroyed decades ago...”

“Thirty years ago,” the officer corrected solemnly.

Forging City was one of the few high-risk danger zones within Zhongzhou. Currently, no transportation routes led there; the surrounding areas had been designated as forbidden zones, with all access points completely severed by the Zhongzhou authorities.

Because as early as thirty years ago, Forging City had become a wasteland filled with supernatural contamination.

The middle-aged man had a realization. “Right, right, Forging City was gone thirty years ago.”

The officer continued, “Why did he ask about Forging City?”

The middle-aged man looked speechless. “How could I possibly know? After he asked about Forging City and learned the year, he didn't say anything else.”

“What happened after that?”

The middle-aged man’s expression became strange, a mix of fear and confusion. “Then, for no apparent reason, many of the passengers lost their minds. Everyone started attacking the people next to them. They all went insane.”

At this point, the middle-aged man’s voice began to tremble. “I could feel it myself—something was very wrong. I had this uncontrollable urge to unleash malice toward others. It wasn't long before the plane started spinning out of control.”

The officer frowned deeply. “What about the flight crew?”

The middle-aged man said, “They were affected too. They attacked each other, and one person even tried to destroy the cabin door.”

“Fortunately, the plane was already about to land. I don’t know if the pilot wasn’t affected or if his willpower was just stronger, but he managed to land the plane successfully. Otherwise, we all would have died.”

The officer asked a few more questions but didn't gain any more information. None of the other passengers had anything to add, so he had to end the interview.

“Thank you all for your cooperation.”

He walked out of the lounge, through the corridor, and into the airport lobby.

The lobby was teeming with people—staff, paramedics, and reporters were all bustling about. It was a scene of orderly chaos, with everyone attending to their duties.