Chapter 292

Just as Nana saw that Superintendent Chen was merely standing defensively in front of the victim and was about to call for Exusiai to issue a shooting permit, the Artifact Fiend who had chased Bai Xue to the top of the wall, upon seeing the large group of people surrounding him, displayed a remarkably human reaction... and turned and ran.

"Ah?"

Compared to Exusiai, who had just taken a step to chase after Chen Huijie but then remembered to follow Nana's instructions and looked back, Lin Yuhsia, who was holding Bai Xue's left hand, was furious at Ch'en Hui-chieh for not moving at all.

"Ch'en Hui-chieh! Bai Xue has been taking care of us since we were kids, how can you be so cold-hearted?! Fine... Call the brothers in the gang, go and deal with that thing!!"

Seeing the gang members who had gathered around disperse, Ch'en initially wanted to curse, but upon seeing Bai Xue with bandages wrapped around her body, he swallowed his words and instead lowered his voice to say:

"... The Guard Bureau is currently conducting a joint investigation; ordinary citizens should not get in the way."

"Okay, go tell that to your Aunt Wen Yue!"

"You?! I meant I have something more urgent to attend to, didn't I?!"

"What could be more serious than your own family member getting hurt?! Whose surname is it anyway, yours or mine?!"

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly tense as the two talked about topics that no one else could get a word in, Nana had no choice but to signal to Hoshiguma, who gave a silent salute and then tried to join in.

Finally, after asking the gang members nearby about the ambulance and learning that professional medical personnel would be arriving soon, Nana, having completed the first aid treatment, took off her disposable medical gloves.

Regarding the group of people from the novel "Shanhai Congregation," Nana also wanted to ask Bai Xue, the person involved, how she ended up so badly injured. Was it because she possessed some crucial evidence that she was being hunted down by the Artifact Fiend? Keep in mind, this is a metropolis. Putting aside the implications of the Qi Chang's existence, which made the Prosecution Office frown, the mere fact that a non-human monster was being sent to roam the city is highly unusual. Regardless of the outcome, the subsequent investigation will certainly not be relaxed.

But after all, the other party is a wounded soldier, and is currently under anesthesia administered by Nana herself. Even an organization like the ICA, which is extremely sensitive to intelligence, wouldn't rush to urgently wake a seriously injured soldier from anesthesia... After all, Nana isn't some kind of demon.

The two individuals, suspected to be relatives of the injured, are inexplicably at odds. Nana calms the Penguin Squad members, stating that the pursuit of the Artifact Fiend will be temporarily handled by other local gangs, before approaching the unusually quiet Nian.

"Regarding the Artifact Fiend, as the on-site technical support, could you offer some advice?"

"... I thought you wanted to ask something more in-depth... Well, the Artifact Fiend itself isn't anything special. In the end, it's just a piece of porcelain that moves on its own. The solution is simple: just smash it harder, and it'll break eventually."

"So, the key issue is still the meaning it represents?"

With that same cat-like smile on her face once more, Nana tilted her head slightly to look at Jingzhe, who had been staring at her since earlier:

"Is this a topic I can explore?"

"... You'd better not..."

"I see... Well then, I only have one thing to say. A week ago, Superintendent Chen and I eliminated a hidden Artifact Fiend in the Customs warehouse... It was also tainted by Demons."

Seeing that the two of them had suddenly become serious, Nana gestured for them to calm down and continued:

"The origins of its Demons... well, it's a case of Great Yan bringing trouble upon itself. However, the main Pollution parts are in the underground warehouse of the Customs, and the Artifact Fiend's accomplices are theoretically unrelated to our joint operations. It doesn't matter whether the subsequent investigation is conducted by Great Yan's professional team or a local gang..."

Nana's smile seemed somewhat cold to Jingzhe at that moment, but she still clearly understood what Nana, the commander, meant:

"The key is to prevent these guys from linking up?"

She nodded in agreement, but then shook her head... Watching Lin Yuhsia, accompanied by several black-robed guards who had appeared out of nowhere, escort Bai Xue into the ambulance, Nana sighed as she looked at Ch'en Hui-chieh, who was being comforted by Hoshiguma.

"The situation is now quite complicated. I was thinking that given our target's situation of being chased all the way to Lungmen, they would definitely be careful to keep a low profile even if they wanted to cause trouble... But if there is another terrorist organization besides the Church of the Deep, and both sides are aware of each other's existence, then their coordinated actions could be advantageous to us."

After all, Nana hadn't forgotten that Gladiia was also investigating the Church of the Deep and preparing to infiltrate it. Let's not even mention the role the Abyssal Hunters would play in it... Even if the Church and the Shanhai Congregation joined forces, it would only mean sending out stronger forces to suppress them for the Great Yan and Lungmen Rhodes Island allied forces... But what Nana was worried about now was a different situation.

"... If they recklessly engage in a bloody battle at Lungmen, coupled with the Demons Pollution sealed off by Shanghai... that chaotic scene of demons running rampant is perhaps what should be avoided the most."

After listening to Nana's explanation, Exusiai suddenly realized:

"Is that why we didn't pursue that monster? But..."

After a slight hesitation, Exusiai continued:

"However, if those bad people want to harm others, no matter whether we put pressure on them or not, victims like the one we just saw will inevitably appear... whether it's the church or the Shanhai Congregation... Wouldn't that make us hesitant to act against them?"

Yes, that's exactly right.

At this point, the situation is basically clear... As Lin Yuhsia's men gradually withdrew, the police officers who were called in spoke with Ch'en Hui-chieh, marked a few bloodstains symbolically, and then left immediately. With investigators already attacked, the Guard Bureau could not knowingly invest additional, ineffective manpower in this increasingly chaotic battlefield.

"So, what do we do next? Are we really just going to Artifact Fiend alone?"

The issue of Kong, who was being led by Rope, was also a concern for many. Nana glanced around before looking at Texas:

"We can't completely ignore it. Even with the help of 'Gray Lin,' establishing battlefield control still requires our own reliable intelligence channels... Texas, you and Exusiai should go and check with Lin Yuhsia's people. Although I estimate we won't find anything, we still need to know what Miss Lin Yuhsia's people have investigated... That's your mission for today."

"No problem. Exusiai, cover me."

"Hey, the war hasn't even started yet!"

Despite saying this, the two, already familiar with each other, jumped out of the park one after the other, following the trail of blood from where Bai Xue had come. Then, Nana looked at the distraught Chen and Hoshiguma beside her:

"Actually, Chen, you could go and keep that ninja company..."

Naturally, Superintendent Lungmen, who had maintained his principles of fairness and justice in front of Nana from beginning to end, immediately refused:

"This operation is even more important... Bai Xue... I'll speak to Aunt Wen Yue myself later."

"... Okay, hopefully work won't become a burden for you and your family... Anyway, let's continue talking about our original goal, the Church of the Deep. Didn't you talk a lot with that Boss Dong before? Was there anything worth noting?"

Following Nana's waving hand, Ch'en Hui-chieh took the canned oolong tea that Hoshiguma had bought from the street stall, and then the group returned to the Scale Ball Snacks Shop and sat down.

Although Nian was still fiddling with her camera, the Dragon Lady seemed somewhat distracted. As for Jingzhe, she had been holding her phone since the beginning, seemingly making a barrage of calls to someone.

Sora, a support character with relatively weak combat abilities, stayed with Rope while holding An Croissant. Although this person, codenamed Bread, had been wandering around various stalls thoughtfully since Lin Yuhsia left, and was now at least twenty meters away from Nana... Fortunately, they managed to stay within Nana's perception range for the time being.

"Although I do often ask Uncle Dong for information, he's getting old, and most of the things he cares about are from the perspective of the shop owners..."

"... For example, personnel changes among various local forces... and the division of operational areas?"

Watching Nana carefully choose her words, Chen pursed his lips slightly, seemingly wanting to laugh but unable to.

"Just say you're worried about whether gangs will interfere with your business... However, in my opinion, the shantytown area itself has a lot of foot traffic, and with frequent gang activity, it's probably difficult to find any usable patterns."

Seeing Chen take out a small notebook and open it while speaking, looking at the scattered notes inside, Nana showed no sign of underestimating him and took out her phone to scan and transmit the data to PRTS:

"It's alright, every activity leaves a trace... Even if we can't come up with a detailed analysis right now, we can leave it to the strategists at the command center for consideration..."

As she said this, Nana also took a quick look at the shopkeeper's statement in the slum area. Just as Officer Chen had said, the content consisted of information about various gangs' hot topics and seemed disorganized.

Basically, aside from the fight between XXX and XXX, and XXX occupying XX street, the rest are mostly about who XX district should pay protection money to... At first glance, it really makes people not know where to start, and it's even impossible to tell whether it's effective or not.

However, as PRTS marked these indistinguishable facts on a map, much like creating a mind map, people began to grasp the chaotic nature of the Lungmen shantytown by looking at the densely packed gang power map.

Just as everyone was at a loss, holding their phones or tablets, Croissant returned with Sora and Rope:

"Ugh~ It's so hot, so hot... Wait, they're already saying that?"

She picked up the herbal tea offered by the fish ball shop owner and gulped it down in one go. Then, meeting everyone's gaze, Croissant refilled her cup and pouted at Rope.

As Croissant finished his drink in one gulp, and looking at Rope still standing coldly beside Kong, the bread man tugged at his vest and coughed:

"Don't just stand there, say your lines..."

"Hey, me?!"

"You're the one who went to ask those fishermen, that's a credit, of course you should do it yourself..."

"Fishing guy?"

"They're those guys who have nothing to do most of the time but spend all their time fishing to sell... These people often spend the entire day by the artificial waterway. Luckily, Rope reminded us, so we managed to ask them when they changed locations... Let Rope explain in detail."

Seeing the expectant looks in Nana's and the others' eyes, he Rope tapped his fingers and said:

"Well... Senior Medic said that the enemy is a force that relies heavily on water resources... I remembered that I used to often look for river shrimp in artificial waterways. Those things are actually quite delicate. Later, with the increase in Lungmen immigrants, I couldn't find anything edible in the waterways for many years... Then the Pollution Discharge Act was enacted, and some algae and transparent shrimp reappeared... This is just the impact of Pollution from urban surface water. The illegal modifications of this type will definitely have a significant impact on the Scale Beast, so I asked those people who fish all day long if there was anything worth noting..."

"Hmm, very good. Rope, you're quite perceptive... So, what did those people answer?"

"Most anglers said they didn't notice anything unusual... However, some night fishermen mentioned that their baited spots weren't getting any bites, and then complained about whether someone was dumping dirty water on the ground again..."

As Rope recounted her story, PRTS gradually marked the unusual points according to the Little Bunny's description... Some said the bait wouldn't bite, some said they saw Water Monkey in the river, some said they accidentally wandered into a fairyland while fishing and were whipped and banished, losing all their fishing gear in the process, and some said they caught unusually large or numerous fish, only to be corrected Croissant with a laugh, who said those people's Scale Beast were probably bought from the market...

The fisherman's messy affairs were just as chaotic and disorganized as the stories Ch'en Hui-chieh heard from Uncle Dong.

However, the advantage is that these events all occur in riverside branches... Compared to the chaos that can extend from the surface to the maintenance layer of the Mobile City, the fishermen in Lungmen don't yet have the saying that if they can't catch fish, they'll dive and bait the area themselves. These anomalies, whether true or false, all happen on the surface of the city.

Seeing Nana take out the PRTS Terminal tablet with a serious expression and start drawing on the map with the stylus, Rope asked with some curiosity:

Did I... help?

"Hmm~ Of course, don't doubt it, every piece of evidence is crucial right now..."

Listening to what Nana said, Sora, who seemed to have endured the urge to complain for a long time, pointed at the label of 'Water Monkey':

"Does this even count? The official science channel of the Great Yan has clearly stated many times that the Water Monkey does not exist."

"... But the old man said it with great certainty."

"That's true... So he's just bragging, or did he misread something else?"

Nana connected the gang conflicts on the same street to Kong and Rope's rambling discussion, looking at this street where "fights are over, but no one comes to inform who will pay the protection money afterward." Nana made a decision:

"Then let's find out the truth today... Is it just a mistake, or is there really something unusual going on?"

Pressing the speed dial button to call the Thunder Squad, Nana led everyone to get into the Guard Bureau's car.

Although new Shanhai Congregation arose before the start, Nana simply ignored them... Now it's the fisherman who lied or the gang that was really messed up that's going to be sweating buckets.

After all, Jessica, wearing thick armored steel protective gear, also set off after a final check of her equipment. Whether it's true or not, we'll find out by going to see for ourselves.

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PSS: I feel like I'm on the verge of death... I'm going to sleep for a while, otherwise I won't be able to get up for tonight's deadline.

9th Lungmen Seafood: 333 Just arrived, let's blow up the toilet first.

In Lungmen's shantytowns, the concept of 'night' arrives earlier than in the city center.

Compared to the 'commercial district' where nightlife continues into the night, the shantytowns are deserted by 10 p. m., which is usually when gangsters start their activities.

Even gangs that have long occupied the upper echelons of the shantytown ecosystem wouldn't harbor any ill intentions towards the Guard Bureau car filled with people if they were in the right mind. Although the Lungmen Guard Department's several plans to move into the shantytown in recent years have failed for various reasons, that was ultimately just the result of the confrontation between the abstract concepts of 'Guard Bureau' and 'shantytown gangs'.

If anyone truly believes that if a member of the Guard Bureau... especially one accompanied by a member of the Guard Bureau's Senior Inspectorate, were to have an incident in the shantytown, and things could still be resolved with a 'step back' as before... then 'Gray Lin' would definitely drag the person involved, their entire family, and even their nine generations of relatives to the Guard Bureau, in order to maintain the fragile balance between the Lungmen.

As luck would have it, something seems to have happened to 'Gray Lin' today. His subordinates, as if possessed, have wreaked havoc on several streets' of merchants along a certain route.

While everyone's attention was focused on Miss Lin Yuhsia, Nana led the investigation team to this street near the river, which was described by vendors and fishermen as the most unusual place recently.

The vehicle everyone was riding in was an armored riot control vehicle that Hoshiguma had driven from the Guard Bureau. This police service vehicle, which was modified from Ford F550 SUV chassis, was about seven meters long and had previously only appeared at the scene of various extreme violent incidents. It was the exclusive vehicle of the Lungmen Rapid Response Force. Because it was quite conspicuous when it was driven on the street during the day, it violated the requirement of the 'Trauma Team' to operate discreetly during the reconnaissance phase.

However, given that the enemy may possess a large amount of advanced Iberia and even Aegir weaponry, and that the Trauma Team... especially the reconnaissance team lacking full-body protection, was being transported in ordinary vehicles, Nana really felt that she wasn't treating her men like human beings.

Considering that the reconnaissance team was accompanied by Senior Inspectorate throughout, they would inevitably be exposed under the observation of those with ulterior motives... From Rhodes Island's perspective, the Kitty Killer accepted the Guard Bureau's offer. After all, a seven-ton armored vehicle wouldn't be easily sent to the sky by simple magic or a roadside bomb, thus ensuring the safety of technical personnel like Kong, Rope, and Nian.

However, since they have enjoyed the benefits of increased security, they must also bear the drawbacks of their rather conspicuous objectives.

Everyone in Lungmen knows that the Guard Bureau's riot control vehicles aren't just driven out randomly; the very presence of such a vehicle carries significant political implications.

After everyone got out of the car, seeing how the guards would hurriedly retreat back to their shops upon seeing the arrival of the Guard Bureau vehicles, or simply have someone else wait anxiously at the door, Ch'en Hui-chieh sighed and said to Nana:

"So... why here? If it's the Guard Bureau, we should start with Lin Yuhsia... that girl, she definitely knows something, and Bai Xue's injury might be because she commissioned something..."

Is this some kind of telepathic connection between childhood sweethearts?

In response to Nana's teasing, Ch'en Hui-chieh pursed her lips, her already stern face, which she always wore at work, seemed to darken even further.

"My relationship with her... is rather complicated... because of some conflicts during university, our relationship... has always been somewhat strained... but I think I still understand her. Although I disagree with many of her methods, I can tell from her reaction that she's definitely hiding something from me... Also, please stop subtly probing into my private affairs, okay? Tell me why you chose to investigate from here... In my opinion, gangs move around too quickly here. With such a large and high-speed flow of people, even locals might not be able to gather any information."

Seeing Ch'en's expression, which was both overt and covert, implying that he wanted her to get down to business, Nana led the group along the deserted cement road, glancing at the various gazes around her, some open and some furtive, as she replied:

"This is probably where the thinking of a national regular army differs from that of a corporate PMC like ours. After all, for the Guard Bureau, long-term residents are the more trustworthy and protectable targets, and if something happens below, it's always right to start by arresting the largest group."

"Even if it wasn't the other party who did it, as long as we start the investigation from them, we can always find some clues... There's no problem with that. It's just that compared to this kind of comprehensive and thorough approach to clarifying the incident, we, as outsiders, are better at directly tracking the 'anomaly' itself."

Watching Nana stop at the only remaining open convenience store, talking as she bought a lot of ice cream with great interest, and then hand one to everyone in the group... Ch'en Hui-chieh, eyeing the boxed ice cream that had been shoved into her hand, felt out of place amidst the atmosphere of everyone around her, who seemed to be on vacation rather than on a mission. Reluctantly, she opened the box, took a bite with a wooden spoon, savoring the electrifyingly cool and sweet sensation, and then looked around at the empty streets.

"So, is there anything unusual here?"

There's nothing here... isn't that unusual enough?

As she said this, Nana looked at the trembling convenience store clerk in front of her, took out a 1000 Lungmen Dollar blue note from her pocket, slammed it on the table, and pushed it in front of the clerk:

"So, this street was recently embroiled in a bloody conflict? Who's in charge now?"

"... This... I'm just an employee..."

"Those who work should know even better who to pay protection money to... See these two officers behind me? If we can't find you later, we'll have to invite you to the station for a while."

"Even if you say that... we really haven't had anyone come to collect protection money before."

Seeing that the girl with the single ponytail Liberi, seemed to have nothing to hide, Nana smiled and pushed the Lungmen Dollar towards her, continuing to ask:

"Is this normal? Usually, after a battle, shouldn't the victor be announced to the shops immediately, and then you and the people collecting money be made to recognize each other?"

"... Indeed, as you said."

After accepting the large bill that might have been the other person's monthly salary, the shop assistant's tone became much smoother, but perhaps because the topic was related to those violent elements, Nana could tell that the other person was still worried about something.