Victim Theory

Xue Ming returned to the familiar police station, while Ye Bei made an extra trip to come back and try to bail him out.

The good brother from Tian Tong's department had repeatedly contacted the intelligence and action teams to preserve the old house on Guangyuan Middle Road, but Jiang Xueming completed the demolition work without hesitation, which put the Tian Shu team members in a difficult position.

When faced with his helpful older brother's request for assistance, Jiang Xueming's response was very straightforward.

"I'm sorry, I can't do it."

"To deal with spirits in such a confined space, without harming innocent civilians, and at the same time protect cultural heritage, this task is far too difficult for me."

Sima Yao asked, "Why did you drive a bulldozer in?"

Jiang Xueming stated frankly, "When I went to the construction site of Xinjia Garden New World in Nancheng, there were four foremanships sleeping. I originally wanted to bring a crusher, but I don't know how to use that kind of large construction vehicle, so I borrowed a bulldozer from them, which cost me more than four thousand yuan. You didn't give me my law enforcement officer's credentials, so I couldn't temporarily requisition the vehicle. Can this expense be reimbursed?"

The three people present simultaneously slapped themselves on the forehead.

Ye Bei, Sima Yao, and Tian Tong's colleagues all looked utterly dejected.

More than this matter, Xue Ming was concerned about the Vita Imprint —judging from the KTV's ledger, the Terror Artist could infect at least 180 people with this chronic disease every month, with a 100% mortality rate. If nothing unexpected happened, a large number of people had already contracted this incurable disease.

"Brother Ye Bei, I want it."

"I know, I understand how you feel," Ye Bei interrupted. "We've already sent people to work on preventing the Vita Imprint."

"That's good." Jiang Xueming didn't feel anything was wrong, but he was a little disappointed. "One hostage died. The target's soul power was terrifying. I was terrified at the time."

Sima Yao: "Are you terrified?"

Jiang Xueming: "Yes, I was terrified. That guy turned into a blood and flesh fusion monster right under my nose. I didn't know if he would have a chance to turn back, so I immediately drove the bulldozer and crushed him."

Qiongqi immediately stood up. "Well done! Kid! You're something else! I can't detect any guilt or remorse in you!"

"Perhaps I could have handled it better, but the situation was urgent, and I couldn't use my own body to verify whether this terrifying ability could be transmitted through bodily fluids." Jiang Xueming truthfully told his true feelings, "After killing him and the first target, I went into the shop and wiped out all the flesh-and-blood creatures inside. I hope the comrades from Tian Shu can properly clean up the battlefield; it's safe there now."

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Xueming returned the wrecked Jiaolong gun and Lei Fengheng's gun barrel, whose rifling was almost completely worn down.

"This task is too difficult for me. I can't properly preserve the lives of the hostages, nor can I properly preserve the cultural heritage. Brother Ye Bei, I want to know how you would handle this Spirit Calamity if you were in my shoes."

Ye Bei first reviewed the events that occurred at the scene with Sima Yao and his colleagues from Tian Tong who were assisting in the investigation. He then spoke privately with the mentally unstable players, the survivors A Xiang, Qianqian Feibo, and the passerby woman about the situation.

In the end, Brother Ye Bei returned to Xue Ming's interrogation room, seemingly unable to think of a better solution.

He Xue Ming, "If we weren't short of money, I'd slip some money to get rid of the irrelevant people—and then we'd figure out how to deal with the monster in the store."

Xue Ming said expressionlessly, "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

Ye Bei: "It's okay, I understand."

Xue Ming continued, "For me, the Vita Imprint was the main trigger that Bailu closest to death in her life. Just like a narcotics officer seeing drug dealers, the moment I saw the Madness Butterfly freeze-dried powder, I was already furious and wanted to catch them off guard with a surge of adrenaline—speed is of the essence, and surprise is necessary. I had no choice but to survive."

Ye Bei tried to reassure his younger brother. "Okay, I know, I know."

"Did I do something wrong, Brother Ye Bei?" Xue Ming crossed his arms and kept rubbing his right arm. The new arm felt unfamiliar to him, and he felt a strong sense of unease.

Ye Bei wasn't as aggressive as the officers in Tian Tong's department.

He only wanted to reassure Xue Ming, hoping it wouldn't burden Xue Ming psychologically. "Don't worry too much about the dead hostage. It wasn't your fault."

Jiang Xueming replied, "I almost forgot about him if you hadn't brought it up."

The investigator from Tian Tong's department had just taken a sip of water when he heard Xue Ming's answer and immediately spat out his tea.

This kid seems to have absolutely no psychological burden; he's so healthy he's almost unbelievable.

Jiang Xueming, on the other hand, was quite troubled. "I hope to be provided with a mentally sound, professional, and efficient intelligence agent. This temporary worker, Sima Yao, is not only late, but also provides very limited information—if the subsequent Spirit Calamity files are all like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to continue completing these tasks, Brother Ye Bei."

Sima Yao blushed deeply and didn't dare to speak for a moment.

Initially, her investigation into the Terror Artist's Spirit Calamity was a complete disaster, almost directly leading to the embarrassing situation where Xue Ming and the other players immediately drew their guns and started fighting as soon as they entered the store.

Around the Ghost Festival, Ye Bei's intelligence agent, Su Xingchen, simply didn't have time to be stationed in Hengyin City —and Sima Yao, as a scapegoat, was already doing a great job just to be able to work at the grassroots level. Ye Bei didn't have the face to make any more demands.

In previous years, the seasons when Spirit Calamity occurred were either the cold winter months when people were more likely to die, or the traditional festivals of the Ghost Festival and the Double Ninth Festival. Usually, without intelligence teams, it was the reckless men of armed action teams who bravely and fearlessly rushed to the scene of the Spirit Calamity.

Jiang Xueming's performance was outstanding. He reduced the spiritual energy disaster to a minimum. Apart from the renovation of the old building, he wiped out all the harmful demons and monsters inside.

Sima Yao stammered, "I'm sorry... I... I'm not good at this."

"It's alright." Jiang Xueming seemed to have thought of something and immediately asked, "Brother Ye Bei, is it because Tian Shu's intelligence agents are extremely rare that this situation has arisen?"

Ye Bei nodded. "Yes."

Jiang Xueming: "Brother Su Xingchen is your intelligence agent. He doesn't have spiritual Inspiration. I've been wondering if Tian Shu can't find people with exceptionally high Inspiration. There probably aren't many people like Brother Xingchen. After all, he can't even see spirits, so how can he provide effective intelligence for your armed operations team?"

Ye Bei sighed, "He's an exception. Generally speaking, Tian Shu wouldn't want someone without Inspiration."

"Truly impressive," Jiang Xueming finally realized that Tian Shu must also be facing a shortage of talent. A special force like this, dedicated to dealing with spirits and deployed across the entire city, requires a huge investment of manpower and resources to manage, count, and govern the Spirit Calamity arising from seven million people. It is simply beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

There is another explanation--

Those with the skills look down on this line of work, while those without the skills can't do it.

The Ming De, and virtuous nature of the characters, who cherish talent as if it were their own life, is also competing with Tian Shu for talent in the talent market of the surface world in order to build its Abyssal Railway.

This psionic disaster perpetrated by the Terror Artist is definitely not like what Brother Chen described, which involved "starting with the simplest task" and was simply due to insufficient manpower and negligence in oversight, resulting in the discovery of such a large, dead fish.

Thinking of this, Xue Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

At least the last two tasks shouldn't be too difficult.

Jiang Xueming continued, "I can continue working, Brother Ye Bei. Hurry up, I'll go get the equipment and then get back to work."

"I have one request! I only have one request." Ye Bei quickly stopped him. "When we manage Spirit Calamity, there's actually a prerequisite called the victim theory. Xue Ming, are you aware of this?"

Jiang Xueming didn't understand. "Explain it to me."

Ye Bei patiently explained, "Generally speaking, aside from the extreme case you encountered today, my work usually involves helping people solve their problems."

Jiang Xueming: "Solve your worries and difficulties?"

Ye Bei nodded and continued, "Think about it, there are so many people in this place who have been murdered or killed, or so many naturally born spirits and monsters. We can't just wipe them all out with one stroke—most spirits are victims. Only those who have failed miserably in real life have the opportunity to meet us in our work, right?"

Jiang Xueming thought about it carefully, "That's indeed the case."

"I will reason with them." Ye Bei stuffed the Worry-forgetting Tea from his bundle into Xue Ming: "Invite them to have some tea, let them vent their anger, investigate the cause of their deaths, and let them fulfill their wishes. That will naturally resolve the Spirit Calamity."

Jiang Xueming brought over a can of tea. "Is that how it is?"

"Of course, this doesn't include the deal you just closed!" Ye Bei quickly explained, afraid that Xue Ming might misunderstand something. "If you encounter an extremely autistic monster who doesn't listen to reason and starts yelling to kill you right away, of course you can use a spirit-destroying bullet to reason with such a spirit, but, Ah Ming, we need to take it slow."

Jiang Xueming: "Why take it slow?"

Ye Bei: "Let's have some tea first. This tea has a special power, it's my soul power—it can repair damage to the spirit and restore mental strength."

Jiang Xueming: "Oh"

Ye Bei: "So, when you pour tea on the spirits, they drink the tea and return to normal. Whether they were hit by a car, had their heads smashed open, or were torn apart by five horses, they can become peaceful and no longer suffer the agony of their flesh being torn apart before death—perhaps it can restore their senses, and if there are any victims, their grievances can be redressed."

Jiang Xueming: "I understand. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Ye Bei: "Also, we shouldn't always be using bulldozers to solve problems."

"Brother Ye Bei, don't worry, I won't do it again. It was really dangerous if I could find another suitable vehicle." Jiang Xueming also looked shaken.

Ye Bei nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, for a small workshop like the Terror Artist's, don't you have some projectiles? Put some tear gas in there, or pour in a few buckets of excrement and dog blood, and set up a blower to send in Hot Wind. I guarantee the monsters inside will immediately reveal their true forms."

"It was my oversight," Jiang Xueming said truthfully. "Brother Chen also told me to carry throwables, but I didn't know the specifications of Tian Shu's throwables. I have too much ammunition on me, and if I were to travel in civilian clothes, I couldn't carry that much stuff."

"Never mind, I haven't really used these things much anyway." Ye Bei blushed and waved his hands frantically. "I mainly rely on words to resolve Spirit Calamity, appealing to emotions and reasoning with people. Our position, like that of the local police, isn't a special operations force. Most of the time, we're doing the work of neighborhood committee aunties. If we really have to go into battle, we'll have to call on our good brothers from other armed action groups to help, minimizing casualties as much as possible."

Jiang Xueming: "Okay. I understand."

Seeing Xue Ming's determined look, Ye Bei decided to let the kid give it a try.

Although he certainly didn't know what Xue Ming meant by "I understand," since the kid had promised not to use bulldozers to solve problems anymore, he would surely be much gentler.

Xue Ming returned to the paper shop, got a new gun, replenished his ammunition, and immediately began his next mission.

Compared to the description of the Terror Artist's mission, the second mission does indeed look much more difficult in terms of its written format.

Arriving at the industrial park on Yangliu Road, we found the site of a former steel plant. Later, the steel plant became a sunset industry, so the company started developing tertiary industries to make use of its remaining resources. Otherwise, the old employees of the steel plant would have nowhere to go, and it would have been impossible for tens of thousands of families to be laid off along with their heads of households.

A brief overview of the Spirit Calamity in the Terror Artist, focusing on the recent unusual phenomenon of students experiencing mental breakdowns.

The second Spirit Calamity scroll describes something much more serious.

The story goes that after the steel mill closed down, a homeless man climbed over the wall to steal scrap iron and raw steel, only to find that there were still "people" working in the blast furnace and sintering ore workshops. The homeless man was caught red-handed by the "workers" and was severely beaten.

But here's the problem.

The factory has been shut down for a long time, so where did the workers come from?

According to Sima Yao's investigation, factory accidents occurred year after year in the early years. Where in the heavy industry can you find a job with zero work-related injuries? Machines are merciless, especially in units where the production environment involves tens of tons of weight and thousands of degrees of temperature. It is an absolutely high-risk industry.

Compared to the battery factory where Xue Ming once worked, people employed in the steel mill needed stronger nerves and more robust muscles to withstand the Third Squad shifts and endure one night after another filled with nicotine and static noise.

Therefore, Sima Yao concluded that the people working in the factory were likely those who had died in industrial accidents, in the furnace, in the workshop, in the molten iron, or in the rotating shaft.

The difficulty of this Spirit Calamity is ranked after that of the Terror Artist because it caused actual human injury. The homeless man who stole the iron is still recovering from his injuries; his nose and right toe were broken.

Sima Yao drove and talked with Xue Ming as they drove.

"I've seen the spirits here before, this intelligence is definitely true! Those spirits are not easy to talk to! Be careful! I'm going to reason with them."

Jiang Xueming just smiled foolishly and didn't reply.

Sima Yao blushed with embarrassment. "There were more than twenty of them! They actually took off their pants and showed off their genitals together! They shamelessly peed in front of me! And they wanted to chase me away! It's outrageous!"

Jiang Xueming just kept grinning foolishly, watching the vehicles rush into the familiar factory road, the weighbridge plate covered with a thick layer of grease.

Everything felt so familiar, it made me as happy as if I were back home.

Sima Yao: "Hey, are you listening to me? Why are you just laughing all the time?"

"Hehehehehe," Jiang Xueming chuckled, pointing at the weighbridge. "The scale is malfunctioning, stuck at the 50-ton load mark. Whether it's the gypsum truck from the desulfurization and environmental protection department or the large trucks transporting steel—my pyroxene is glowing, I can sense it. There must be dump trucks nearby that haven't left yet."