Special Search Team

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Special Search Team (特搜队)
Alias(es)	Special Affairs Investigation Team
Affiliation	National Guard; described as a special organization directly under the Presidential Office
Occupation/Role	State special law-enforcement and extraordinary-incident response organization
Status	Active
First Appearance	113

Background & History

The Special Search Team was formally established in Year 25 of the Republic, when the country faced widespread supernatural threats. Its earliest members were selected from battle-tested martial artists and soldiers and equipped with the era's best modern weapons for special operations. 376

Its predecessor was the National Martial Arts Academy, founded in part by Ma Jianguo's grandfather and other martial-world figures. The Ma family once held broad influence in the organization: Ma Jianguo's father rose to deputy director, and his disciples and former subordinates were spread throughout the Team. 376 434

Early operations against aberrants with unusual abilities caused severe casualties, particularly against mental-type enemies. An entire Century was once deployed to eliminate an Eastern Island aberrant capable of creating illusory realms. 376

Over time, a divide emerged between the traditional martial artist faction and the Technological Reformation Faction, whose members favor experimental Human Modification and drug-assisted enhancement. 434 435

Mandate & Authority

The Team handles supernatural incidents, non-human monsters, and Ability User criminals beyond the capacity of ordinary police forces. Its duties include preventive measures, arrests, investigations, and elimination operations. 122 223

Authority / Function	Details
Operational jurisdiction	Can mobilize local government departments to support operations and keeps extraordinary cases concealed from the public. 223
Use of force	Reportedly has the authority to execute first and report afterward; even major conglomerates and influential families are wary of it. 223
Investigations	Investigates supernatural crimes, anomalous energy, hostile organizations, and cases involving monsters or Ability Users. 436 447
Intelligence	Maintains extensive archives and is regarded as Xia Country's largest intelligence center for extraordinary incidents. 575
Internal security	Uses stringent political, psychological, and biological screening to prevent aberrants, hostile agents, and antisocial recruits from infiltrating the organization. 594 658

Personnel

Senior Leadership

• Ling Shaofeng — Chief and highest-ranking officer. He prioritizes ability and temperament over family background in recruitment decisions. 604
• Shi Chengyi — Former Minister of the Operations Department; previously led the investigation into the Guangwu Gate shooting case. 447
• Gao Jin — Operations Department captain and Senior Investigator; known as a tough, highly trusted officer who opposes evil and protects his subordinates. 197 371 659
• Wei Zheng — Affairs officer and Shi Chengyi's former student; recruits and guides promising martial artists, including Fang Cheng. 433 435 658
• Director Qin / Qin Wenxuan — Equipment Department director involved in recruitment testing and the Western Mountains ruins operation. 604 605

Known Field Personnel

• Luo Ge — Veteran field agent who led the recovery mission for the Red Tiger Gang's out-of-control Experimental Subject. 113
• A Jian — Rookie agent partnered with Luo Ge during the Experimental Subject mission. 113
• Cheng Le Yi — Surveillance specialist who monitored Fang Cheng and later acted as bait during an operation against the serial killer known as “Shark.” 189 343
• Lin Xu Hao — Cheng Le Yi's teammate; loud and crude in manner but attentive to her safety. 189 343
• Zhou Liang — Gao Jin's subordinate and leader of an operations squad. 318 407 659
• A Li — Gao Jin's subordinate and member of Zhou Liang's squad. 284 407 659
• Ma Donghe — Spring recruitment hire and Fang Cheng's associate. 639 658
• Hou Peng — Spring recruitment hire who hoped to enter the Intelligence Department. 658

Departments & Internal Structure

Department / Unit	Known role
Operations Department	Conducts frontline investigations, arrests, eliminations, and large-scale pursuit operations. Shi Chengyi formerly served as its minister; Gao Jin is a captain within it. 447 659
Medical Department	Part of the Logistics Department; Fang Cheng joins through this department and is initially posted to the Sanatorium. 575 659
Equipment Department	Develops and operates specialized technology, including the Soul Suppressing Bell testing system. 604
Intelligence Department	Produces mission intelligence and is a desired posting for recruits such as Hou Peng. 113 658
Internal Affairs Department	Oversees internal investigations; its section chief is Lu Tianming. 640 658
Special Operations units	Deploys armed squads such as Dagger Squad and Sharp Blade for high-risk field missions. 418 419

Equipment & Methods

Field Armament

• Special Effect Anesthetic Gun — Incapacitates a ten-ton elephant within three seconds with a single shot. 113
• High-Voltage Stun Gun — Delivers two hundred thousand volts to induce muscular spasms and prevent further attacks. 113
• Attack helicopters — Used for insertion, ground-fire support, and extraction; can carry heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. 113
• Combat uniforms and masks — Standard field agents may operate in combat uniforms with concealed identities. 113
• Search Hounds — Captured and specially controlled Predator-types used to locate targets concealed among civilians. 203

Special Technology

• Soul Suppressing Bell system — An Equipment Department system derived from decades of research into an anomalous underground object. Its “Child Bell” guides a candidate's consciousness into the Other Shore World, while the buried “Mother Bell” receives and records mental fluctuations. 604
• Illusory Realm Test — A recruitment assessment conducted through the Soul Suppressing Bell system. Candidates are stripped of their real-world memories and suppressed to ordinary human capability, allowing the Team to judge their instincts and character under terror. 604
• Biometric registration — New personnel undergo iris scans, ten-fingerprint collection, blood sampling, and confidentiality processing before receiving their identification cards. 658

Recruitment

The Team's selection process is notably severe, including Hell Week, survival assessments, psychological tests, combat trials, written examinations, interrogation-style interviews, Illusory Realm testing, and Fitness Tests. 358 594 604 605

Special-duty applicants face particularly intense scrutiny because they are expected to become the Team's future core field personnel. The recruitment system screens for infiltrators, hidden antisocial tendencies, and candidates planted by outside forces. 594

The Fitness Test in the Western Mountains covertly served another purpose: locating an entrance to Ancient Civilization Ruins through a candidate with a rare high-dimensional-affinity constitution, referred to as a “Guiding Light.” 605

Despite these precautions, assassins and Black Tide operatives infiltrated the examination process, suggesting that elements within the Team may have provided protection or support. 608 610

Headquarters

The Eastern Capital headquarters is a massive hollow-square complex occupying several hundred acres. Its thirty-story main building is guarded by armed sentries and marked by national emblems and flags. 586

The headquarters includes underground interrogation rooms, a viewing hall for the Illusory Realm Test, logistics facilities, and departmental offices. 594 604 658

Major Operations

Chapter	Operation / Incident	Outcome
113	Recovery of a Red Tiger Gang Experimental Subject	Luo Ge and A Jian arrive after Fang Cheng has already killed the subject. They recover its body and withdraw rather than confront Fang Cheng.
189	Surveillance of Sleeve Building	Cheng Le Yi and Lin Xu Hao observe Fang Cheng; the team plans to withdraw after forty-eight hours if no anomaly appears.
197	Investigation of Jiang Chen's death	Gao Jin identifies the masked “White Owl” as a dangerous killer demon after a missile strike kills the Ghoul Leader.
309	Demon Hunting Plan	The Team identifies actor Cheng Jiashu as the likely “Smiling Devil” and prepares to capture him during a visit to an orphanage.
343	Operation against “Shark”	Cheng Le Yi acts as bait while her teammates surround the target area.
407	Noah Organization infiltration	Zhou Liang, A Li, A Yang, and Xiao Jie remain behind to establish a defensive line so others can attempt an escape.
605 608 610	Western Mountains Selection Exam	The exam doubles as a search for Ancient Civilization Ruins, but is compromised by assassins, mercenaries, and Black Tide's summoning-array scheme.
658 659	Spring recruitment onboarding	Fang Cheng, Ma Donghe, and Hou Peng formally report for duty and complete registration procedures.

Fang Cheng's Association

Fang Cheng first encountered the Special Search Team during its recovery mission at the Red Tiger Gang warehouse. He allowed Luo Ge and A Jian to take the dead Experimental Subject, judging the Team to be an official force not worth antagonizing. 113

He later considered joining to obtain an official identity, protect his family, access extraordinary-case intelligence, and investigate the Guangwu Gate shooting case connected to his father's death. 575 582

Shi Chengyi accepted Fang Cheng's conditions for recruitment: he would be registered as a traditional martial artist, receive flexible working hours, and be assisted in investigating the Guangwu Gate case. 582

Fang Cheng passed the spring recruitment process and entered the Medical Department under the Logistics Department, with an initial temporary assignment at the Sanatorium. 639 659

Internal Issues

• The Team faces a continuing conflict between traditional martial artists and the Technological Reformation Faction. 434 435
• Some personnel rely on drugs to forcibly stimulate the body, a practice Ma Jianguo considers contrary to traditional martial arts principles. 434
• Its immense independent authority and armed resources led to the creation of the Life Science Ethics Committee as a political counterweight. 533
• The Western Mountains examination revealed possible internal corruption, as killers with hostile intentions had somehow passed the Team's background and psychological screening. 608
• Black Tide's infiltration and the Internal Affairs Department's subsequent investigation further exposed the organization's tense internal atmosphere. 610 640