Chapter 302
As Ch'en Chen nodded expressionlessly to Nana and stepped aside, Nana tilted her head and sat up straight, watching the pink-haired, black-dressed mouse-like girl follow behind.
"Miss Lin Yuhsia? Officer Chen... you brought her to our operations base... this is..."
"That means she will also be involved as a support staff member."
Seeing Nana's clearly puzzled expression as to why the Guard Bureau would associate with gangsters, Lin Yuhsia, with slightly dark circles under her eyes, stepped forward, her hands trembling slightly, whether from emotional excitement or Feline Fear Syndrome.
"I have received full authorization from the 'Rat King,' and will now join you all in the fight against terrorists and cults... I apologize for not trusting you before due to issues with evidence, but I now know everything from Ch'en Hui-chieh, and my connections and gang members can cooperate with you in this operation."
After listening to Lin Yuhsia's explanation, Nana remained silent for a moment. Clearly, 'Gray Lin' was no ordinary gang... The Black Gloves of Lungmen?
Despite the plausibility of the guess, it would be too disrespectful to say it directly... Nana simply nodded, then steered the conversation back to the results of yesterday's investigation in Texas:
"So, Chen, have you seen the Texas report?"
"I've seen it... The Guard Bureau has taken action, but it's not ideal... That's why Lin Yuhsia and her social groups were involved in the operation..."
Seeing Ch'en's furrowed brows, which looked like they could trap a fly, Nana weakly added a guess:
"... Could it be that the operation failed and left us empty-handed?"
"No, it's worse than that... The detectives and the K9 (police dog) unit tracked down the truck, but didn't catch any of the Shanhai Congregation. They had set up a delay spell in the vehicle. Two detectives were seriously injured, and two K9 police dogs that were nearby also died on the spot... The other side knew that there was a police dog unit accompanying them, and deliberately used a magical explosion instead of Originium explosives... It's almost like... it's like there was an inside agent in the Guard Bureau."
Hearing this, Nana sighed and stopped looking at Ch'en's face.
It seems this operation was deliberately conducted outside of Rhodes Island, probably to avoid having an inside agent within a loosely organized international group like Rhodes Island Shanhai Congregation... but ironically, by eliminating Rhodes Island, the inside agent was confirmed to be in the Guard Bureau.
Should I say 'thank goodness' or 'how despicable'...?
After all, Rhodes Island isn't the loosely organized group that outsiders imagine, but this is something that only Rhodes Island employees who join core action teams rather than civilian staff would realize... Hopefully, the Guard Bureau will learn from this experience.
The involvement of the Black Gloves gang, whose members are more familiar with each other, in the investigation is probably also due to the issue of the Shanhai Congregation within the Guard Bureau... After all, if the Black Gloves are to take action, the subtext is to activate the military units hidden within the gang... This is the only reason that Nana can think of that Lin Yuhsia had to appear before her.
"... So, the investigation into the Shanhai Congregation is still making no progress... Although this is not the enemy that we agreed to hand over to Rhodes Island to deal with, I still have to remind you to pay close attention to the Customs warehouse."
"Swire is keeping a close eye on things over there, so there shouldn't be any problems... I, Hoshiguma, and Lin Yuhsia will keep track of the situation and exchange information with you about the movements of the Shanhai Congregation."
"So, the 'Trauma Team' will continue screening the shantytowns?"
Seeing Ch'en Hui-chieh nod, Nana led everyone to the map and pointed to the place where Jiu Ling Wu San had abandoned Yi Shan yesterday:
"So, let's talk about what we found in the areas cleared by the Guard Bureau."
PS: Waaaaaaah!
Although it's not quite what I expected, you can definitely think of Nana's shoes as looking like this. ↑
PSS: Ready to start the second round of the slum chicken dinner competition.
9th Lungmen Seafood: 346 Seaborn, do you find the Infected hard to chew?
"Yesterday's battlefield? The word 'discovery' might not be quite right... As for that building, 'excavation' would be a more appropriate description."
As she spoke, she took out a thick stack of documents from her briefcase. As Nana read them, a red dot lit up in the center of her pupils, and the headpiece of her combat suit connected to PRTS to scan the documents simultaneously... As Nana quickly finished reading the entire report, not only Thunder and Starlight Squad, but also Rope, who only had a PRTS phone, and the Doctor was far away in the main city, were able to receive the intelligence simultaneously.
After all, compared to the uneven quality of individual soldiers in the Guard Bureau, and even the presence of traitors within the Shanhai Congregation, Rhodes Island's main team, which relies on PRTS for information integration, still has to rely on its own information platform.
Leaving aside the detailed process of the Guard Bureau and Fire Department members searching from the buildings all the way to the lower levels of the Mobile City, Nana quickly asked about the key point she was concerned about:
"The Guard Bureau's report didn't mention any follow-up to the large amount of Seaborn flesh that was cleaned up from the battlefield. How does Lungmen plan to deal with that stuff? Surely no one would have so much meat that it would be too time-consuming and laborious to process it all, so they'd just do something as stupid as reusing it?"
When Nana said that last sentence, it was clearly a joke. But if this joke were to become a reality, it wouldn't just be a hellish joke; it would mean that Lungmen would definitely become hell.
Fortunately, the gathering of the Seaborn, the Demons Shanhai Congregation at Lungmen was already outrageous enough. The Lungmen Government, which was only one declaration away from a state of impending war, was not so foolish as to be confused about such a dangerous matter.
"Not at all. For the treatment of the twisted flesh that has been Pollution and modified by Seaborn, Lungmen followed Ms. Kal'tsit's suggestion and temporarily rented Rhodes Island's the Infected body disposal system... First, the body fluids and the flesh itself were cryogenically freeze-dried and pulverized. Then, the powder was sent into a special incinerator for high-temperature sintering. Only after confirming that the remaining powder contained only inorganic salts or similar substances was the treatment considered complete."
"The remains will now enter Lungmen's body disposal system to await the victims' families to claim them... Although, after being transformed into that kind of thing by Seaborn, the identities of the deceased are difficult to confirm, and most of the victims were either single or died suddenly as a family unit, the remains of more than twelve households remain unclaimed to this day. Sending the final sintered remains as ashes into the burial process is the limit that our Guard Bureau can do."
"Thank you for your hard work. So... regarding the inspection of the building's pipe connections mentioned in the report... I see that this was delegated to the K9 Canine Unit?"
Although she didn't know why Nana's expression was somewhat serious, Ch'en Hui-chieh still nodded honestly and said affirmatively:
"After all, K9 is the Guard Bureau's most capable search unit... We've recalled all personnel on leave and military dogs, and now there are over four-figure search units working overtime to patrol Lungmen... Among them, about a thousand K9 teams are active in the shantytown, sealing off the surrounding area. More than six hundred of them directly participated in yesterday's battlefield search, and now there are also three hundred military dogs patrolling the lower levels of the Mobile City."
"I should have said that the Pollution of Seaborn is comprehensive. Have you considered the possibility that military dogs could be infected by inhaling spore-like substances through their respiratory tract?"
"Well... we didn't all wear breathing masks yesterday either... but we received them when we came today."
Seeing Ch'en pat the mask pouch on the side of his thigh, Nana, noticing that the police superintendent seemed oblivious to Rhodes Island's preparations, decided to give her a rundown of the preparations their side had made for the battle against Seaborn:
"Because yesterday's battle was essentially an encounter, and the reconnaissance team quickly withdrew from the battlefield, everyone will be fine as long as they have regular medical checkups."
"Although I haven't specifically mentioned it before, we entered the battlefield of the Seaborn with considerable awareness. It would be bad if our actions caused any misunderstanding within the Guard Bureau, so I'd like to reiterate the relevant points here."
"Based on Rhodes Island's current understanding of Seaborn, and considering that its main mode of infection is through bodily fluids and mucous membrane contact, I recommend that the Guard Bureau personnel involved in Seaborn -related operations should wear at least Level C protective suits."
(Level C protective equipment consists of a small number of splash-proof chemical protective suits—also known as dust and liquid-dense chemical protective suits, a type of splash-proof clothing equipped with a full set of protective devices that completely cover the face and filter the entire garment.)
"The predecessor of the Thunder Team was the Blacksteel BPRS, which stands for Biohazard Response Personnel. Although they do not have specific magical protection, their equipment is designed according to the C-level protection standard and can be upgraded to B-level at any time with the help of equipment and spells."
(Compared to Level C, Level B chemical and biological protection is known as a large-spray protective suit, which has more specialized equipment, such as a professional positive-pressure air respirator. However, compared to the highest level of protection, Level A, Level B is still not completely sealed.)
"As for the Starlight Squad, since they are going to participate in more intense battles, they already have B-level magic protection. As long as they put on their personal protective equipment, they can immediately upgrade to a more comprehensive A-level protection... Of course, since it is not a purely physical equipment mode, this A-level is somewhat exaggerated."
(Level A protective suits are the highest level of airtight protective suits. They are completely sealed and have all the necessary protective features, including a positive pressure respirator. They are also completely airtight and completely isolated from the outside world. As long as the equipment is not damaged by 'Pollution', the wearer will not be injured. Therefore, they are classified as the highest level of protection.)
"But as a combat unit that has been fighting against Seaborn from the very beginning, I had B-level magic protection during yesterday's battle, and now, with the upgraded equipment, I meet the normal A-level protection standard."
As Nana explained the equipment configuration of their own personnel in detail, Ch'en hadn't discussed similar topics in depth before, listened attentively and then nodded, saying:
"Don't worry about that. When the Guard Bureau and the Fire Department came to help yesterday, everyone was wearing protective gear."
"It's good that the personnel are all protected, but... what about the military dogs? If humans are infected and feel unwell, they will naturally go to a medical point for examination and recuperation, but military dogs cannot clearly express themselves."
"Yesterday during our battle, we saw many Seaborn that were probably pets or stray animals that had been modified. We wasted most of our ammunition on them. It's a minor issue if well-trained military dogs are controlled by Seaborn ... The important thing is that before the animals are completely modified, there is a window period where some of them are controlled by Seaborn and their appearances do not change significantly... During this time, we are completely unprepared... We are even relying on them to search for Seaborn."
Don't you think it's dangerous?
After saying this, Ch'en Hui-chieh's expression quickly fell. Seeing Superintendent Chen rush to the bedside, grab her phone, and begin a barrage of calls to confirm the situation, Lin Yuhsia, who was preparing to join the operation with her 'childhood sweetheart,' twitched her lips speechlessly.
"It's likely that the Guard Bureau is still subconsciously applying the operational models used for searching for dangerous chemicals and similar drug searches to the Seaborn... Moreover, military dogs usually wear protective gear with goggles, so it's not impossible that the Guard Bureau commander subconsciously thinks that wearing protective gear is sufficient."
"Regardless, as long as the military dog hasn't ingested any of Seaborn's bodily fluids, the probability of it directly entering transformation is still very low... Moreover, K9's trainers are definitely more concerned about the safety of the military dogs than we are. Hopefully, the members of the search team themselves have taken good care of their 'colleagues'."
After making these two remarks, Nana looked at Hoshiguma, who was being Croissant small items by Hoshiguma:
"Getting back to the main topic, we'll continue our search along the route the 'nest' took through the pipes yesterday. 'Thunder' and 'Starlight,' please continue to upgrade your equipment and be ready to join the battle at any time."
As usual, before setting off, she checked with the Doctor to see if there were any instructions, and after giving a routine report on the movements and whereabouts of the front-line teams, Nana called to Ansuo, whose Rope had improved considerably, and they prepared to go out.
"Although I know that splitting forces under the current crisis is tantamount to a suicidal move, compared to yesterday's operation which was largely based on luck, the situation we are facing now is simply the complex pipeline system of the Mobile City itself... Tracing the source of the existing Pollution is more reliable than drawing lots."
"The Guard Bureau has already sent the map of the pipeline connections to PRTS, and the operation has begun with the K9 search team as the main force. Although I am a little worried that the military dogs and Seaborn are not compatible... with their help to seal off the perimeter and shrink the inspection network, we can go straight to the most suspicious place and eliminate the possibility of it continuing to infect Lungmen."
"Considering that the operation may involve a large number of interactions with uninfected citizens and the special environment of the shantytowns, please ensure that you have the most basic self-protection capabilities and work with suitable undercover personnel."
"For example, I'm not familiar with the people in the shantytown, so I work with Rope... while Texas and Exusiai are locals here, so this combination works fine."
"Superintendent Chen, you'd better travel with Ms. Lin Yuhsia. This will maximize the legality of your operation and gain the cooperation of the people in the shantytown."
Although, as the leading gang, acting alongside the Guard Bureau would certainly be a blow to the gang's prestige... this matter was beyond Nana's own considerations.
So since Lin Yuhsia didn't refuse, the matter of any potential disobedience from members of the gang should be left to the Lungmen members to handle themselves.
Thus, the reconnaissance team members quickly split into several small groups, Nana planned to search for the anomaly in groups that night.
However, because of the special case of Nian and Jingzhe's team refusing to separate, although Nian insisted on staying with Nana, in order to maximize the efficiency of searching for Seaborn and make good use of Jingzhe's combat power... Nana took advantage of Jingzhe's reluctance to let Nian get too close to foreign organizations like Rhodes Island, and semi-forcefully separated them to strengthen the combat power of the 'Kong, Croissant' team.
Although Nian still looked quite dissatisfied when he left, since Sora, as an idol, was also part of the film and television industry, and Croissant was eloquent... while Nana changed back into her own shoes and went out, Nian was already happily chatting with the idol about the future direction of film and television production.
We're supposed to be an elite combat group assembled to deal with a catastrophe like the enemy of civilization?
"That kind of thing doesn't really matter anymore, your revealing outfit is good enough for A-level protection... As a member of the combat team, what's it to you if I chat with my teammates about the film industry before the battle?"
Seeing that Nian Na still seemed somewhat bothered, Nana quickly tugged at her slyly smiling Rope and prepared to leave... And walking at the front were the 'superintendent & local gang' combination that had left first.
Because they were going to take a detour through the tunnel, Nana and her companion nodded as they passed by, which was considered a greeting... However, just as the assassin was about to leave, she remembered another question:
"Speaking of which, when can I get my Tactical Unit back?"
"Ah... that thing seems to still be stored in that warehouse..."
"Can't we just send it back to Rhodes Island? Because it's been disassembled, I want to perform at least one maintenance before using it again."
Hoshiguma touched his nose sheepishly at Nana's comment.
"The current situation is that the area itself is Pollution by Demons, so we simply locked down the entire area and waited for the Pollution to dissipate... But if we were to move people, it would not only increase the number of Pollution people, but also raise the question of whether additional Pollution would occur along the route from Customs to Rhodes Island."
"For this kind of thing... as long as we send more people to clear the route beforehand, and then clear it again after the transport is complete... we can just dismantle the Pollution in modules and dump them in a place where they won't get in the way, right?"
What Nana described was exactly the method Rhodes Island used to deal with the Exploration Vehicle returning from the Snowfield, and it was very effective.
But that was achieved through the combined efforts of thousands of Rhodes Island personnel, at the cost of Rhodes Island itself being almost shut down for two weeks.
For Lungmen, this method seems to work, but --
"I'm sorry... we... we don't have any spare staff right now..."
Recalling what Ch'en had said earlier, that even the entire K9 unit had been mobilized, Nana nodded helplessly:
"Well, let's just leave it there for now... You guys shouldn't make another blunder like the Ministry of Works did, right?"
Having stated an affirmative answer in the form of a question, Nana, now back in her Rhodes Island work jacket, took Rope's hand, bid farewell to the three officers in the police unit, and returned to the streets of the shantytown with her phone in hand.
With the assigned location guiding her along the route, Nana smiled at Rope, who seemed somewhat nervous about being separated from the main group.
"Then let's get started."
Although Rope quiet and inconspicuous during the main group's operation yesterday, her status as a minor celebrity in the shantytown became apparent whenever she was alone with Nana.
"Hmm! I know this place... it's the Infected community. Seaborn... he shouldn't complain about the stones in his body because they feel uncomfortable, right?"
Although she appeared cheerful, Nana could still sense the worry in the girl's slightly tightened hand... But if it's the Infected community, then driving a Rhodes Island car is fine.
Nana started the vehicle and, carrying the Rope, headed directly towards the target location.
PS: Waaaaaaah!
PSS: I'm running out of illustrations qaq
9th Lungmen Seafood: 347 Nana is charging up.
On the way to the so-called 'The Infected community', Nana took a quick look at the shantytown nowadays... Although Rhodes Island had done its best to suppress the battle across the area, news that the Guard Bureau had begun to seal off the old town seemed to have started to spread.
After all, whether it's the helicopters suddenly heading to the old city, or the gunfights that are ten or even nine times more lively than Penguin Logistics in the past... even if people don't pay attention to the atmosphere around them because of the trivialities of life, the fact that the Guard Bureau started setting up checkpoints on the artificial river bridge, the lower section of the Mobile City in the old city fell, and even the pipelines quietly switched to internal circulation, the local residents must have noticed it to some extent.
As Lin Yuhsia also begins to take action, the local gangs will sooner or later realize that what is happening in the old town is not just a little 'restlessness,' but a disaster where victims are randomly selected and innocent lives are indiscriminately chewed up and swallowed.
But... people are sensitive, yet also insensitive.
Although the residents of the old city, who already struggle to make ends meet, maintain the traditional Yan saving habits, it's unlikely that they would flee at the slightest disturbance like frightened animals. This is something that Yan, who have lived in a peaceful environment for a long time, would do.
The last time Lungmen was attacked was decades ago when Talulah was kidnapped by Koschei, and even then, it wasn't something that became known to the whole world.
The local residents perceive Lungmen as a very safe and friendly city. They believe that the Lungmen Government will handle everything properly, and even if the Governor's Office fails, 'Lin,' who maintains order in the underground, will always be able to manage.
This trust and popular support are undoubtedly a plus under normal circumstances. Relying on the superior credibility of foreign countries, Lungmen can devote a large amount of manpower to searching for and intercepting the Shanhai Congregation, and Rhodes Island can therefore continue its current Seaborn extermination without hindrance.
As for the term 'The Infected community,' Lungmen didn't originally have this concept. It's a borrowed term, but as the number of the Infected increased year by year, some old urban communities began to become devoid of ordinary people, so they were given the name of foreign areas specifically for housing the Infected.
The Great Yan Law are responsible for the lives and safety of everyone and treat everyone equally. As long as the Infected register legally and report their health status on time, they can naturally live a normal life in the designated area.
In Lungmen, the Infected live in the entire old city. In terms of work, in addition to the large number of laborers needed by the underground factories of the Mobile City built in the old era, intensive manual labor jobs such as docks are also popular places for the Infected to legally earn wages.
Nana and Rope headed to a residential area near the docks.
Just like yesterday's screening of suspicious areas, we need to check places where there should be people but no one, places where there should be water but no water, and places where there are both people and water need to be checked first... If someone goes there and finds no one there, then the investigators who should be going to that area will be terrified.
This community, connected to the Seaborn 'warehouse' pipeline, is not only densely populated, but also has a large flow of goods. A large number of the Infected laborers and their families live here, creating a large amount of daily necessities. Merchants who have heard about it have also seized the business opportunity to purchase real estate, and various basic facilities such as vegetable markets and cold storage are readily available.
Although it's called 'Old City', this area was undoubtedly the core area of Lungmen in the beginning... It's just that as the years have passed, Lungmen has been adding new Mobile City modules almost every few years.
With the rise of international trade, more people with the means gradually moved to the new city... This place gradually became the despised 'old city,' a symbol of poverty, and was given the so-called 'The Infected community.'
But for Nana, regardless of how the locals in Lungmen divided the land, after seeing too many settlements that were, to put it nicely, just wilderness pioneering cities that were, to put it bluntly, just places to survive in the wilderness, the old city of Lungmen, no matter how unpopular it was, was still a valuable Mobile City... Here, it felt as familiar to Nana as coming home.
Driving like this on a road with little cover, crunching over potholes and patches of pavement, until the road signs disappeared, and further ahead, there were no traffic lights, not even lane markings.
Along with various tricycles and vans, they weaved freely through the crowd, slamming on the brakes several times to deal with children running around on the road and people who seemed to be trying to scam them... Just before Nana's road rage flared up and the countdown began, the two finally arrived at the mission location in Lungmen during the evening rush hour.
"... This is it, Kowloon Walled City."
Hearing Rope's slightly nervous voice, Nana glanced at the obviously hostile gazes around her with a smile but with icy eyes, and smoothly turned off the car. "Looks like the atmosphere here isn't good... Rope, don't leave my side later."