When the first rescue team rushed into the Investigation Bureau Headquarters, the pungent stench of corpses instantly filled their nostrils.
The captain suddenly raised his hand, his tactical glove drawing a sharp arc in the air. The team members behind him immediately stopped, their guns pointing straight at the dark corridor.
The beam of the powerful Flashlight pierced the darkness, illuminating the corpses lying haphazardly on the ground.
"This..." The vice-captain's voice caught in his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
His gaze was fixed on a corpse not far away. It was a young woman, huddled in a corner, her hands still in a defensive posture, her knuckles white from the strain.
Further away, a security guard in uniform lay face down on the ground, his legs still in a running position, as if he was trying to escape something in the moment of death.
There were no bullet holes, no signs of an explosion, and no indication of a struggle.
Only death.
"All personnel on alert!" the captain barked, his finger already on the trigger. "Two people per group, check every room! Look for survivors!"
His voice echoed in the empty corridor, sounding particularly pale. They had come to provide a rescue, but when they arrived at the scene, they found that the situation had already reached its worst point.
Are there really any survivors?
No one could understand what had happened here. After all, this was the Headquarters of the Investigation Bureau!
Although the Supernatural Investigation Bureau is a newly established organization, it is still a government department. The fact that so many people have died at once is a very serious terrorist attack!
Not long after, the forensic team's van pulled up in front of the Headquarters building.
The forensic doctor conducted an autopsy on the body.
"The cause of death is the same for all of them." The chief medical examiner removed his blood-stained rubber gloves, his face so grave it was almost dripping with worry. "Extensive cellular necrosis, but no signs of external injury or poisoning."
He opened the autopsy report and pointed to the data, "What's even more bizarre is that the rate of decomposition of these bodies is significantly different from that of ordinary people."
The rescue team leader frowned. "So... what does this mean?"
"You probably don't know, but the Investigation Bureau has a superhuman named Zhang Suyuan." The forensic doctor's voice was soft, yet it sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.
"I reviewed the experimental records. When we tested Zhang Suyuan's superpowers on death row inmates, the state of their deaths was completely consistent with the state of death of the people killed by the Investigation Bureau, and it perfectly matched the characteristics of the deaths caused by Zhang Suyuan."
"Furthermore, if I remember correctly, when the Director of the Investigation Bureau, Mu Xingrui, appealed for help, he said that Zhang Suyuan had suddenly died, then risen from the dead and was indiscriminately attacking everyone. Our autopsy results are very consistent with this description."
"So your conclusion is..."
"The murderer is Zhang Suyuan," the forensic doctor replied. "To be precise, it should be Zhang Suyuan's body; at least that's what the report should say."
Although the autopsy results appear logically consistent, there are still some points that remain questionable.
For example... why did the surveillance cameras malfunction at the time of the crime?
The most bizarre thing was Zhang Suyuan's own corpse.
The body was found in the same corridor as that of Mu Xingrui, the director of the Investigation Bureau, with only five meters between them.
Zhang Suyuan's body was highly decomposed, with his skin turning bluish-black and some areas even revealing his white bones. It can be inferred that the interval between Zhang Suyuan's death and the attack on Headquarters was no more than 24 hours.
And the most terrifying thing about Zhang Suyuan's body was his jet-black arm—
It vanished without a trace.
During the subsequent investigation, investigators found Mu Xingrui's cell phone next to his body.
The investigator, wearing gloves, lightly touched the screen with his fingertips; the tiny cracks reflected lines under the light. The phone screen stubbornly lit up, displaying the last 5% of battery remaining. He cautiously swiped to unlock it and discovered that the device was not password protected.
The notes app is prominently displayed on the homepage. Upon opening, the entire interface displays only one record with three bold, black text characters:
[Wen Jingyan]
It should be a person's name.
The finger continued to swipe, entering the photo album. The most recent photo was taken at 22:47, roughly the same time as Mu Xingrui's death.
The photo was clearly taken in a hurry; the image is blurry and out of focus, but the location is still recognizable as this corridor, with the broken fire hydrant and the number on the wall clearly visible in the background.
In the center of the photo, a young man in a long black trench coat stands sideways. His face is well-defined, his brows are slightly furrowed, and his right hand is in the trench coat pocket. Spiderweb-like black lines are faintly visible on his exposed wrist.
"Immediately conduct facial recognition to screen for the name 'Wen Jingyan'." The team leader in charge of the investigation stared at the screen, his voice low.
Technicians quickly connected to the database, and the system began comparing it with the national population information database and the internal records of the Investigation Bureau.
On the other side, the real mastermind, Hu Jiu, was toying with a copper coin.
The copper coin in his hand twirled nimbly between his fingers, its rusted surface occasionally reflecting a dim, iridescent light.
"Wen Jingyan?" Hu Jiu curled his lips, uttering the name with a peculiar rhythm. He never expected that yet another Local Ghost Tamer would appear in his field of vision in this way.
Compared to Tian Guanglu, Wen Jingyan was undoubtedly much stronger. He was a master, having survived Hu Jiu's attack in one move.
Unfortunately, this expert was talkative and nosy.
"Why rush to die when you could live a hundred years?"
Hu Jiu turned and walked to the liquor cabinet, poured himself half a glass of wine, the amber liquid swirling in the glass, reflecting his thoughtful expression.
Most of the Investigation Bureau's personnel were killed by his curse, and he chose to kill them in the exact same way as Ghost Hand.
Meanwhile, the photos and the three characters "Wen Jingyan" on Mu Xingrui's phone were also left by Hu Jiu.
Zhang Suyuan's Ghost Hand was taken by Wen Jingyan, so he can't expect to escape unscathed.
Since you've done a good deed, how can you not leave your name?
Hu Jiu decided to lend him a hand; if he was willing to meddle, he could continue meddling to the end.
With the Supernatural Revival, more Local Ghost Tamers may emerge in the future, and information about Fierce Ghosts and Ghost Tamers will likely not be kept secret for long.
Fortunately, Hu Jiu is about to make a big move, so these trivial matters don't matter to him.
"The true age of the Supernatural is about to begin..."
The tragedy that occurred at the Investigation Bureau shocked the national government.
Although a massacre had occurred in Shanque City before, it was a small, remote county town. No matter how many people died, unless you witnessed it yourself, it was just a number.
What is the Headquarters the Supernatural Investigation Bureau?
It was built in the capital, the country's economic, political, and cultural center, and was destroyed without warning. Although the death toll was only a fraction of that of Shanque City, the shock it brought was no less than that.
Since the manifestation of the power of the extraordinary side, many people in the know have had unrealistic expectations and speculations.
In many novels, comics, and films, officials are protected by the nation's destiny, emperors by the dragon's aura, and virtuous people by gods and Buddhas. Demons, monsters, and all kinds of misfortunes cannot harm them. Even if they are unfortunately caught up in disasters, they will turn bad luck into good.
However, it turns out that none of these "protections" exist.
The tragedy at the Supernatural Investigation Bureau served as a wake-up call for everyone.
Fantasy and reality are different.
A person is just a person; regardless of their status, if they are killed, they will die.
Within twelve hours of the incident, Cheng Linzhou had already taken office as the new director of the Investigation Bureau.
Regarding this, Cheng Linzhou had a string of 'shit' in his mind that he didn't know whether he should say or not.
I used to think that the new organization, the Supernatural Investigation Bureau, was a good place to work. It offered opportunities for advancement, good benefits, and access to supernatural powers. Who knew when I might have a serendipitous encounter?
Now it seems like this is a deadly job!
Mu Xingrui died not long after taking office. Even as the bureau chief, he had no security. Thinking of this, Cheng Linzhou was filled with resentment.
But since things had come to this, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.
The first thing to do is to clean up all the mess left by the Investigation Bureau.
Although many members of the Investigation Bureau died, not all of them perished; a small number of survivors remained.
Cheng Linzhou picked up the list of survivors and flipped through it. Two people on the list— Feng Qian and Meng Hongyu —caught his attention.
Because the Supernatural Investigation Bureau was established relatively recently, Cheng Linzhou had already reviewed the Investigation Bureau's files before taking office, gaining a basic understanding of all the major and minor events that had occurred within the Investigation Bureau.
He knew the special nature of Feng Qian and Meng Hongyu; one had gained extraordinary abilities, and the other Rejuvenation.
Especially Feng Qian, before he gained extraordinary abilities, his physique was very special, as if he were blessed by a lucky koi, always turning bad luck into good.
"Are there really such lucky people in this world?" Cheng Linzhou had some doubts about this.
Sometimes, insiders can be lucky; the enemy won't actually target them, and might even invest in them, allowing them to rise through the ranks.
This wasn't Cheng Linzhou being overly suspicious; it was merely a reasonable guess. As of now, almost all extraordinary events have been harmful to humans, with Feng Qian being the only exception. Not only was he not harmed, but he also gained something from each extraordinary event he experienced.
If Feng Qian is indeed the mole, then what is manipulating Feng Qian from behind the scenes...?
"Call Feng Qian over here; I have something to ask him."
"Knock knock--"
Not long after Cheng Linzhou gave the order, there was a knock on his office door.
"Come in."
Feng Qian dragged his weary body into the office. His condition was visibly poor; his golden pupils flickered, and he had large dark circles under his eyes, exuding an aura of dejection.
Cheng Linzhou was startled by his ghostly appearance, but then he realized that it was normal for him to be in a bad mental state after so many people in the Investigation Bureau had died and gone through such a thing.
"Director, what can I do for you?" Feng Qian asked first.
"Sit down. I wanted to ask, after Zhang Suyuan came back to life yesterday, how exactly did you lead a group of survivors to survive?" Cheng Linzhou said.
Feng Qian shook his head. "I didn't do anything, I just ran away and went into hiding."
"At that time, Zhang Suyuan's corpse was killing people everywhere. I got separated from the others, but because I am a superhuman, some people felt that I would be safe around them, so they followed me and hid, waiting for rescue."
"We hid in a bathroom, and nothing happened until the rescue team arrived. That's when we found out that everyone else... had died."
Cheng Linzhou frowned. So it really was all just luck?
He didn't dwell on the topic any further; if Feng Qian really had a problem, he wouldn't tell the truth.
"Regarding Zhang Suyuan's resurrection after death, what are your thoughts as a fellow extraordinary being?" Cheng Linzhou asked again.
Feng Qian shook his head again. "I haven't even figured out my own abilities, let alone know anything about Zhang Suyuan."
"The idea of a corpse rising from the dead and indiscriminately killing people might be an exception. There's another superhuman's body in the Investigation Bureau's lab. Her Zhao Chuxia. She was discovered by the Investigation Bureau even before Zhang Suyuan, and she never showed any unusual behavior after her death."
Hearing this, Cheng Linzhou frowned even more. Feng Qian knew nothing about the matter. In the past, he would have already cursed such a subordinate.
But the thought that Feng Qian was a superhuman made Cheng Linzhou suppress his anger, and he said gently, "Alright, since you don't know much either, go back first. I'll let you know if anything comes up later."
Feng Qian silently turned and left.
Cheng Linzhou became even angrier, thinking that this person who came from an unorthodox background and was suddenly promoted was simply impolite and didn't know the rules.
Cheng Linzhou then summoned other survivors to his office for questioning, showing them little courtesy.
The fact that these people were all in a daze and talking incoherently made Cheng Linzhou furious, and he vented his anger in the office.
"A bunch of useless trash. As the lucky survivors, they didn't even manage to gather a single piece of useful information. They're utterly worthless..."
Cheng Linzhou complained that the survivors of yesterday's incident from the Investigation Bureau were all brilliant minds but useless, and they hadn't even prepared a welcome ceremony for the new director.
He felt he needed to come up with a way to bring all the staff he was used to working with into the Investigation Bureau, since there were currently many vacant positions there...
However, he was unaware that the survivors from the Investigation Bureau, after leaving his office, also gathered together to cricket at him.
Having just experienced such a tragedy, those who were lucky enough to survive were all greatly traumatized; it's a testament to their mental fortitude that they didn't go insane.
Some of them were resting at home, silently licking their wounds; some went to the hospital to see a psychologist; and some cried and made a scene to vent their emotions.
Cheng Linzhou summoned everyone back with a single phone call, asked them some pointless questions, and gave them a lecture.
We already said everything we needed to during the previous investigation, and they genuinely knew nothing. Why bother going through all that trouble again?
In their view, this was simply a new bureau chief showing off his power.
Compared to the previous director, this new director seems to have a stronger bureaucratic style.