Palpitation

Jiang Mian secretly memorized the string of numbers, her mind teeming with guesses. Could it be some kind of secret contact information?

After all, wherever there were people, there was society. Even if Aberrants were shunned in this world, they still made up a sizable group.

She had once looked through some public case files. Among the Aberrants, some hid themselves away in solitude, some cautiously blended into the crowd, and others... huddled together in the darkness to keep warm.

Otherwise... how were those inferior versions of the Suppressor being made and circulated?

Where there was demand, a market would arise. Since even she could easily find this kind of Suppressor, it meant one thing:

Even if there were far fewer Aberrants than Awakened, their numbers had still grown to a considerable scale over the years.

If only I could get cheaper Suppressors through those Aberrants who huddle together...

For Jiang Mian, finding the Mobile Black Market was no easy task, and it could easily draw the Public Security Bureau's attention. Having a steady supply channel was essential.

As she pondered, Jiang Mian finished labeling the items in her hands. Old Zhang put away his logbook and told her to take off her cold-weather suit and get ready to head to the processing room.

The massive incinerator rumbled deeply. The air was scorching, filled with the smell of something charred.

"Keep an eye on things. Just follow the procedure I taught you, and don't get too close."

Old Zhang gave her a reminder, then went to inspect the equipment.

Jiang Mian pushed the cart, looking at the "people" lying quietly there. They were all her "kind," and in the end, they would turn to ash in this merciless furnace...

She decided to give it a try after all.

After all... she had come here to look for "Fuel."

When the first body was sent into the furnace, Jiang Mian still felt conflicted, but she released a wisp of her power.

In a blind spot of the surveillance cameras, a faint orange-gold glimmer slipped into the body. An ordinary person like Old Zhang would never notice it.

The bodies were fed into the furnace one by one, and then the temperature inside gradually rose.

"Strange..."

Old Zhang scratched his head in confusion, staring at the control panel.

"Why's it working so fast today? I didn't even adjust the power..."

Jiang Mian lowered her head, pretending to be busy as she continued bringing the "customers" waiting in line to the waiting area beside the furnace.

Her flames were mixed in with the furnace fire, so of course they burned faster.

And that was with her deliberately holding back. At full power, she could burn them to ash in seconds.

Jiang Mian quietly sensed the feedback from her ability. Perhaps because they had been dead for some time, this batch of "Fuel" had not made her flames grow much stronger.

The remains of around forty Aberrants... about as much as two First Order Calamities?

Once this batch was processed, she made a rough estimate. It wasn't much, but at least she had made some progress.

She had to admit, secretly adding fuel to the furnace really was an effective method.

Just one day later, Jiang Mian was only five First Order Calamities' worth short.

She had arrived at just the right time: the previous group had left, and their bodies had not yet all been processed.

If she had come just a few days later, there probably wouldn't have been nearly this much.

Ordinary Aberrants might be mentally unstable, but they weren't stupid, and they weren't so easy to kill. Opportunities to process so many bodies at once didn't come every day.

The next afternoon.

Thanks to Jiang Mian's discreet meddling, the incineration process had become much more efficient.

What would normally have taken three days was finished in less than two.

Just as Jiang Mian finished processing the last batch, the supervisor—the weary-looking middle-aged man who had interviewed her—arrived at the Second District.

"Jiang Mian."

The supervisor's voice was still listless, revealing no hint of emotion.

"Supervisor Chen."

"East City will be sending over a batch of Calamity remains shortly. We need someone to receive and check them. Get ready and come with me to the First District."

The First District? Calamity remains?

Jiang Mian's heart skipped a beat, but she replied obediently:

"Okay, Supervisor Chen."

She took her personal belongings from the locker and followed the supervisor down the corridor.

The closer they got to the First District, the stronger the aura of Calamities became.

To humans, it might have smelled like something rancid and fishy. But to Jiang Mian's senses, it was more like stinky tofu or Luosifen, with a strange, irresistible appeal.

The doors to the First District stood open. Not long after Jiang Mian arrived, a black transport truck entered the facility and pulled up beside the loading platform.

Two people climbed down. One was lean and sturdy, with a composed expression; the other looked very young, even a little green, and seemed to be around Jiang Mian's age.

They were Cheng Qiao and Ye Chenyang.

Supervisor Chen stepped forward and shook hands with Cheng Qiao.

"Captain Cheng, thanks for making the trip."

"No problem. It didn't take long to drive here."

Cheng Qiao waved his hand.

Originally, as captain of the South District Public Security Bureau's action team, this sort of task wasn't his responsibility.

But something had happened in the East District in the early hours of the morning. Large numbers of low-order Calamities and Mist Creatures had gathered outside the city.

After a whole morning of fighting, they had mostly been killed. The transport teams and cleanup crews were now being reassigned there.

The South District team had spent the morning fighting and had just returned from East City. They had taken a slight detour to deliver this batch of remains.

"These were cleared out in an emergency this morning. Get them processed as soon as possible. Several more batches will be arriving shortly."

Supervisor Chen nodded in understanding, then turned and handed Jiang Mian a list, explaining, "Xiao Jiang, use this to collect the useful materials."

"Okay, Supervisor Chen."

Jiang Mian took the list and glanced over it.

In this world, Calamities were a threat, but their cores and other body parts could also be used as special materials. After being processed, they could be made into special weapons, protective gear, or equipment.

The job suited her perfectly. Even through her gloves, she could discreetly plant a Fire Seed inside whenever she touched a specimen, then activate it when the time came to destroy the remains.

Following Supervisor Chen's lead, Cheng Qiao turned his gaze to Jiang Mian.

The girl still had a hint of childishness about her, and seemed completely out of place in this environment.

"New here?"

"Yeah. She just started the day before yesterday."

Supervisor Chen sighed before continuing, "Not many people from the old city are willing to do this kind of work for us. We can't find enough staff.

"The younger ones usually quit after two or three days. We have no choice but to lower our standards..."

"I see..."

A pretty young woman like Jiang Mian, who was willing to work hard and stick with the job, was indeed a rare sight these days.

But... why did Jiang Mian's appearance seem a little familiar?

Cheng Qiao thought carefully.

In the Self-immolation Case a few days ago, the woman who reported it had mentioned that a delivery worker had come by before the incident.

The delivery platform hadn't shown her information, so they could only investigate bit by bit. In the end, they managed to narrow down a general location.

Since he didn't have any backlog of cases for the time being, Cheng Qiao had brought people to investigate yesterday, but they had found nothing.

"Young lady, how old are you this year?"

Cheng Qiao asked out of habit.

"...Eighteen."

Jiang Mian had already started sorting the materials. Cheng Qiao had been standing beside her like a sentry for so long that she found it a little strange.

Did I give myself away?

No way...

Just as Cheng Qiao was about to ask something else, Ye Chenyang had finished helping the employees unload the cargo.

He walked over, his gaze drawn to Jiang Mian despite himself.

There seemed to be something about her... that made the power within him stir for a moment?