Shocking Reversal, "Talent"?!

Night had fallen, eleven o'clock.

The Resting Mausoleum, which was packed with people during the day, was now completely deserted and silent everywhere.

A figure arrived quietly.

Bai Zhou held a bouquet of flowers and slowly crouched down before Section Chief Liu's grave.

He wasn't here to lay flowers in remembrance.

It was just that if someone discovered him and asked what he was doing, he could produce the flowers and say he was visiting Section Chief Liu.

He could even claim that visiting deceased Old Acquaintances at night was a tradition in their Evening City.

Although Evening City actually had no such tradition at all.

But in reality—

Bai Zhou was here to dig up a grave!

With no Last Will to be found anywhere, a massive doubt had been hanging in the back of Bai Zhou's mind.

Who had moved the Corpses of Section Chief Liu?

There must be something abnormal about this.

If it were anyone else, Bai Zhou might have chosen to avoid unnecessary trouble.

But since this person was Section Chief Liu, that was not an option.

...Before coming, Bai Zhou had even practiced his recent studies, drawing a concealment ritual on his chest with red ink.

It was a very minor ritual, primarily used to lower one's presence, making it harder to be discovered while hiding.

It was a pity he had already handed in his Ring; otherwise, it would have been even more effective when paired with optical stealth.

"Can't wait any longer..."

The surroundings were silent. Bai Zhou set down the bouquet and slowly pulled a brand-new Bench Leg from behind his back.

After his initial resistance, he had begun to realize that this thing was actually quite practical.

It was easy to source, and taking it out at any time wouldn't arouse suspicion; it was the best natural disguise.

Yet, it could be used for anything.

It could be used to hack at people, and with a slight modification, it could even serve as a crowbar.

For instance, right now.

"Clack—clack—"

Using the Bench Leg to slowly pry open the gap in the cement slab sealing the urn, he shifted a corner of the slab and reached his hand inside to grope around.

Soon, he pulled out a small box covered by a Federation Flag.

He took the flag off and set it aside. On the heavy black box, Brother Liu's black-and-white photo stared back at Bai Zhou with an awkward grin.

The two of them just stared at each other like that.

Eyeing the square-jawed face in the photo, Bai Zhou couldn't help but think of the scene when he last met Brother Liu.

Is this the surprise you wanted to give me too?

"Brother Liu, no offense intended..."

Muttering to himself, Bai Zhou pried at the urn with a series of "crack" sounds.

...To be honest, the moment he pulled the box out, Bai Zhou regretted it.

Because he could tell by the weight that there was definitely something inside.

But what could be in here if not ashes...

Stealing a corpse in the dead of night—if the Special Management Department found out, it probably wouldn't be as simple as dragging him to the hospital.

His behavior was even more abnormal than the Blood Worship Cultists!

But Things Have Come To This, he couldn't leave empty-handed.

He had to at least take a look.

I'm already here, after all!

With a "click!"

The urn was successfully pried open by Bai Zhou.

Bai Zhou dropped the Bench Leg with a clatter, shoved the lid aside, and fixed his gaze inside.

There were indeed ashes inside, it seems I...

Bai Zhou's expression suddenly stiffened, and he blinked in disbelief.

Where are the ashes?!

What met his eyes was nothing but damp, filthy mud and sand, carelessly packed into the urn.

The sand was moving.

It turned out to be several scarlet earthworms churning and arching through the grit, leaving behind trails of viscous, slimy residue.

There were also countless black beetles, whose names he did not know, nimbly weaving through the gaps in the sand and crawling all over the interior of the small urn.

"...What is this?"

Just holding such a disgusting, hair-raising "bug box," Bai Zhou felt goosebumps erupt across his arms, and he nearly threw it away.

His stomach churned, followed by a powerful sense of absurdity and the feeling of being played for a fool.

Beneath the Sanctuary of Rest, where the Hero Commissioners were buried, there were no ashes, just a pile of sand infested with worms?

Had they all spent the entire day saluting and mourning, only to be doing so for something like this?

It was laughable.

It looked as if someone had simply grabbed a handful of dirt and sand and shoved it inside!

No wonder he couldn't see any Last Will; it would be a miracle if he could see a Last Will from this piece of junk!

Then... what about the others?

Bai Zhou then looked around him.

Were the other tombstones the same underneath?

The question was, where had Section Chief Liu's ashes gone?

Where had everyone's ashes gone?

Bai Zhou could not understand.

Doubt and anger surged within him.

He wanted to know who was desecrating the Corpses of Section Chief Liu and the others.

But he truly could not imagine who would steal a box of ashes, or for what motive.

What could one possibly do with mere ashes?

It wasn't as if they were mixing them into milk powder to supplement their calcium, right?

But after a moment of reflection, a sliver of unrealistic hope sprouted in his heart...

What if Section Chief Liu wasn't actually dead?

Perhaps he had only faked his death, changed his name, and been sent off to execute a grueling mission.

Bai Zhou had read stories like that in Evening City.

In the story, there was someone called Ms. Snow White who faked her death, lay in a coffin, and was mailed to a very famous terrorist organization, the Seven Dwarfs.

When those people curiously opened the coffin, Ms. Snow White jumped straight out and heroically detonated the explosives strapped to her body to perish with them.

—As it turned out, this Ms. Snow White was an elite of the Black Robe Organization, and she had devised this ingenious plan to maintain the peace of Evening City.

Bai Zhou had seen this little story in the recruitment brochure for the Black Robe Youth Training Corps, and he remembered it vividly to this day.

It was clear that faking one's death shouldn't be an especially rare occurrence in certain secret organizations...

"Click—"

Suddenly, a faint sound came from beside him.

It sounded like footsteps, but exceptionally light.

In the abnormally quiet environment, this sound made the already highly vigilant Bai Zhou jump in alarm.

At this hour, who would come to the Resting Mausoleum?

Bai Zhou immediately closed the urn and looked toward the source of the sound.

A quiet tombstone stood silently not far away.

"?"

Bai Zhou almost thought he had misheard.

Because the sound from just a moment ago seemed to have come from there.

Had a corpse come back to life?

That couldn't be right; they were all colleagues.

The next instant, Several more extremely faint sounds came from below, and there was even the vague sound of voices.

Then, the cement slab sealing the urn compartment in front of that Silver White tombstone began to shake.

"Something's wrong!"

Bai Zhou immediately rose to run, but there were no obstacles around, and the only place to hide was...

Grabbing the Federation Flag from the ground, Bai Zhou, clutching the urn, jumped without hesitation into the grave pit that should have held Section Chief Liu's urn.

Then, he reached up and pulled the cement slab back, covering it until it was perfectly sealed.

The Resting Mausoleum returned to silence, devoid of any further anomalies.

--But the next second, the concrete slab was quietly pulled aside again.

A hand reached out, groping around until it found the bench leg left outside, then snatched it back in a flash.

The concrete slab covered the opening once more, and everything was as it had been.

Only a tiny sliver of a gap remained.

A pair of eyes hid in the darkness behind that gap, cautiously observing the outside.

"..."

Bai Zhou hugged the urn, hunched over and squatting in the pitch-black, cramped tunnel, his nerves stretched to the breaking point.

The pit meant for the urn was neither too big nor too small; lying down would be difficult, but squatting was just right.

A space exceptionally spacious for an urn felt incredibly narrow when a living person was stuffed inside.

Perhaps no one would ever imagine that a single-occupancy grave could one day become a double.

After all, no matter how much one missed the deceased, one wouldn't go so far as to lie in there to sleep together...

It was pitch black and very cramped, but warm and somewhat cozy; the experience was alright—but he would never come back again.

Not long after, a crisp sound came from outside, drawing Bai Zhou's attention.

In front of a tombstone not far away, the concrete cover was completely opened.

A group of people emerged from within.

First their heads, then their shoulders.

Then, the heads and shoulders of this group rose and fell, slowly ascending.

--Were there stairs down there?

Bai Zhou was dumbfounded, looking down at the solid, earthen pit he was sitting on.

It was completely different.

How could there be an underground passage beneath the Resting Mausoleum?

In the blink of an eye, all of these people had come out.

Several of them carried large suitcases, dispersing vigilantly among the forest of tombstones.

Others wore sunglasses, squatting on the ground with their legs spread wide.

Although they all wore the same suit uniform, the way they wore them was vastly different.

Some had their sleeves rolled high, revealing Red Spider Tattoos on their arms.

Some had their suit collars wide open, exposing bare chests, and others had simply cut the bottom half of their suits off...

They had managed to turn black suits into bizarre, eccentric attire.

Only the man in the lead wore his suit in a proper, upright manner, but the bald head atop his shoulders was the most eye-catching of all.

--They came from the outside!

The moment he saw them, Bai Zhou confirmed this fact.

Had the Blood Worship Cult broken in ahead of schedule?

It didn't seem like the Blood Worship Cult was this... sloppy?

Bai Zhou hugged the urn tightly in the pit, hunching his back and holding his breath, his nerves wound tight.

But how could outsiders know about this secret passage...

"Boss, we snuck through that tunnel for half a day just to come to this place?"

The lackey grumbled with some dissatisfaction, simultaneously pulling a cigarette from his pocket and offering it to Baldy with both hands.

"Making it so mysterious, and making us wait so long..."

"Who the hell is it, that they have such big faces?"

Smack—

The cigarette flew to the ground.

A slap landed hard on his forehead, knocking him straight to the ground.

"You don't know a damn thing!"

The bald man glared, roaring in a low voice:

"For this matter, ask less, talk less, and just do the work!"

"If you keep yapping, even I can't protect you!"

The lackey clutched his head, groaning as he stood up:

"Yes..."

The group felt a chill in their hearts, and the lackeys who had been squatting immediately stood up.

"--It's here."

Suddenly, Baldy turned serious.

Everyone instinctively straightened their backs, pulling down the sleeves of their Suit Uniforms to cover the Spider Tattoos on their arms.

Following their line of sight into the distance—

Several Muscle Men in Black Suits, possessing an aura distinctly different from the group here, were slowly walking over while surrounding one person.

As the distance closed, that person's figure gradually became clear.

Twitching whiskers, a bulging large head, and bright, piercing eyes...

A chubby, righteous-looking Black Cat Detective Doll was held in that person's arms.

A man in a Military Uniform with a face as delicate and feminine as a woman's appeared before the crowd.

"...?!"

Hidden in the shadows, Bai Zhou was struck with alarm.

Deputy Han?

How could he be here!

Deputy Han, the "backer" and long-time colleague trusted by Section Chief Liu, who had told Bai Zhou just that day that he thought highly of him and was fighting for his promotion...

Why would he be meeting a group of outsiders here at this time?

Could it be that he had betrayed the Major and was planning to sell out the organization?

But... why?

He held a high and powerful position at the base, second only to one; could it be that the organization hadn't given him enough?

Bai Zhou covered his mouth, not daring to make a sound, not even daring to breathe loudly.

He realized that he might have inadvertently stumbled upon a crucial secret.

"..." Casually eyeing the leading Baldy, Deputy Han furrowed his brows slightly:

"Where is Little Li?"

"Brother Li was assigned elsewhere by the superior. I am the new guy, Little Wang; I will be responsible for these types of handovers from now on."

Baldy smiled and handed over a business card, his demeanor extremely respectful.

Glancing at the card, Deputy Han was noncommittal and tucked it away.

"What are you standing there for?"

Baldy turned around and glared at his Subordinates.

"Yes!"

The Subordinates immediately brought over several suitcases, which were carefully received by Deputy Han's own Subordinates.

"...No issues."

They opened the suitcases, performed a quick count, and nodded crisply to Deputy Han.

"Very good."

The corners of Deputy Han's mouth curled up slightly as he handed over the Black Cat Detective doll in his arms.

"This is the 'talent' for this time."

"Inspect the goods."

He spoke softly and concisely, appearing quite practiced.

Baldy cupped his hands and carefully took the Black Cat Detective doll.

The cute and righteous-looking Black Cat Detective, with its chubby, bulging appearance, looked—

To the eyes of the Man in Suit, it seemed to carry a chilling terror.

He held his breath, swallowed hard, and with trembling hands, pulled the zipper on the doll.

Zipper sound—

The cotton one would expect was not there.

Inside the abdominal cavity of the "Black Cat Detective" was a transparent glass window with exceptionally smooth edges.

Through the window, a suffocating scene came into view:

In a pale yellow Nutrient Solution, a heart the size of a fist was beating steadily and powerfully, with countless Blood Vessels connecting the heart to many organs below.

These organs, which seemed to have been streamlined and modified, were densely packed into the abdominal cavity of the "Black Cat Detective," yet they still maintained normal operation.

They formed a miniature, precise circulatory system, absorbing nutrients and metabolizing waste through repeated blood transfusions and metabolic processes.

—And from the heart upward, many Blood Vessels led directly into the doll's head.

From bottom to top, one could vaguely see at the very top of this container a living human brain.

Gray-white folds and gullies crisscrossed, and the sparks that occasionally flashed across the gullies seemed to prove... that this brain was still capable of thought.

Inside this black-and-white, adorable Doll that symbolized justice, a "living person" was packed away.

His life was still being sustained, his brain could still think and feel, and his biological systems were still running, yet he no longer required food or breath.

Beneath the quiet Nutrient Solution, however, lay the most vivid and turbulent surge of a life.

It was hard to imagine that Deputy Han had been holding onto something like this the entire time.

But Baldy knew that this was the subject of his transaction this time.

--"Talent"!

Baldy's stomach suddenly churned, and he raised a hand to cover his mouth.

At this moment, a pale-faced underling dry-heaved in a low voice, unable to help but mutter:

"This thing is so disgusting..."

"Hmm?"

Deputy Han's gaze shifted over.

His calm eyes looked as if he were staring at a dead man.

Behind him, several men in suits stirred restlessly.

The atmosphere dropped to freezing point.

It wasn't until Baldy walked over, bowing and smiling apologetically, that it broke:

"The higher-ups told me to send their regards. If we take the 'Talent' back today, the Magic Potion you requested will be delivered by tomorrow!"

Only then did Deputy Han's expression soften.

"It is not disgusting, nor is it some 'thing'."

Slap.

A hand gently patted the round, chubby head of the Black Cat Detective.

Deputy Han's stroking motion was extremely tender, his voice tinged with a hint of intoxication.

"Actually, I don't even like the name 'Talent' that you people always use."

"Because it is the most perfect Art Piece, a symbol of the miracle of life."

"...Therefore, please call it by its name when you refer to it."

Deputy Han's voice carried a touch of nostalgia, as if he were looking at an old friend.

He said:

"--His name is Liu Zhen."