S-Class File! Mortals Must Not Touch Taboos

Wei Kang glanced at the reactions of his colleagues. Seeing that everyone seemed frightened, he felt an inexplicable sense of superiority. He had seen this photo before, after all. With some mental preparation, he did not lose his composure upon seeing it again.

He swept his gaze around the room and chuckled.

"This is the true form of the Blood Moon that citizens have been discussing online. Our equipment happened to capture it, and although the image isn't very clear, you should all be able to tell what it is. It's an eyeball."

"Gasp..."

Someone sucked in a breath.

"The Blood Moon... was actually an eyeball?"

"What terrifying power. Was it also created by that Burial Venerable?"

"There's a figure beneath the eyeball. That should be the Burial Venerable, right?"

"..."

Professor Bai merely nodded lightly, signaling for the assistant to continue switching images.

Several more photographs flashed onto the screen in succession, some blurry and some clearer. They were photos of the Dread Demon Eye after reaching its complete form, several photos of Old Huang after his mutation, and finally, the psychiatric hospital reduced to ruins.

After viewing those photographs, the conference room fell into a rare silence.

After a long while, a red-haired girl curled her lips and muttered,

"That eyeball looks like something pieced together from an angel and a demon."

"Hong Ying, you're right."

Professor Bai agreed with the girl. He focused his thoughts and said,

"Zhou Jian mentioned in his final report that the Burial Venerable he faced was very likely a taboo... cough... a Forbidden Entity..."

"I'd like to ask what you think of his judgment after seeing these photos."

After a moment of silence, a specialist from the logistics department asked,

"What were the results of the residual spirituality readings?"

Professor Bai shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"The technology we currently possess is still far from sufficient to detect every type of spirituality. It also cannot handle values that are too high. After the detector attempted to measure the spirituality of that eyeball, it exploded on the spot..."

Gasp...

Fear could faintly be seen in the logistics specialist's eyes.

Seeing that no one was willing to say more, Professor Bai rapped the table, his voice carrying unquestionable authority.

"Since none of you are speaking, I'll give my opinion."

"Judging from what was left at the scene, the evil aura was dense, and the methods were exceptionally cruel. It did resemble the work of a dark overlord who wielded dark magic...

"Even if it was not a Forbidden Entity, it was not something the River City Special Section could contend with.

"Moreover, according to the Ministry of Technology's analysis report on the body fragments, most of the deceased were cultists from the Ghoul Cult, including some contaminated patients and medical staff. Not a single survivor was left at the scene. That alone shows how powerful the being calling itself the Burial Venerable was.

"Such an existence is ultimately not something we can touch... Though the Special Affairs Department's mission is to protect the city's safety, there is something else you must remember: mortals must not touch taboos!

"Besides, the Burial Venerable only killed cultists. Let this matter end here..."

The red-haired girl from earlier still seemed dissatisfied. She pouted and was about to speak when Professor Bai lowered his arm and spoke again.

"Hong Ying, stop throwing a tantrum. Touching taboos will not only get you killed; even the civilization humanity painstakingly rebuilt after the Great Cataclysm could collapse because of it..."

Hong Ying clenched her fists and lowered her head. The specialists from the other departments likewise bowed their heads in silence, and the atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze in an instant.

Professor Bai sighed softly and solemnly announced,

"The matter of Jiangyuan Psychiatric Hospital ends here. Fortunately, the Burial Venerable did not enter into direct conflict with us. I do not want anyone to continue investigating it.

"Xiao Wang, make sure the logistics department files this incident as an S-class record. Without my authorization or the signatures of at least two colonel-level specialists, no one may access it alone. Violators will be dealt with under military regulations!"

A refined man in a black suit and glasses wrote something in his notebook with a serious expression, then rose to his feet.

"Yes!"

Hong Ying lowered her head, unwillingness flashing through her eyes. Her sense of justice had been overwhelming since childhood, or she would never have joined the Special Affairs Department.

Yet today's meeting had shattered the department's towering image in her heart.

Tonight was destined to be anything but ordinary in River City. Apart from the Special Affairs Department's blockade of Jiangyuan Psychiatric Hospital, a group of men and women dressed in gray-black clothing stood in a line inside an abandoned factory in the southern district, staring fixedly at the people before them.

Opposite them stood another line of men and women in identical attire. At their head was a refined man wearing glasses.

"Li Kangming, what is the meaning of this?"

A fierce bald man glared at him.

Li Kangming was precisely that refined man with glasses, and Director Li's full name.

Rage had taken on Director Li's former appearance and brought thirty-six Evil Spirit Marionettes to this hideout.

Rage wasted no words. His cold eyes stared ahead as he spat out a single icy word.

"Kill!"

"Li Kangming! You've got some nerve!"

Before the bald man could finish speaking, his pupils trembled as he watched what unfolded before him. The faces of the cultists brought by the Rage Knight were engulfed in black flames, revealing skull-like heads beneath, with two masses of black fire flickering in their eye sockets.

"Th-this... this..."

Cold sweat streamed down the bald man's forehead. He could not understand how perfectly normal people had turned into skull-headed monsters in the blink of an eye.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Evil Spirit Marionettes stepped forward one by one. Each step struck the floor like a heavy hammer, producing a dull boom. The ground beneath their feet cracked, while the gray-black robes enveloping them burned away into tatters. Clusters of flame ignited over the exposed veins and muscle tissue.

"Y-you... you..."

The big man instinctively took a step back. The cultists following him trembled like sieves, their faces pale with fright.

"Don't be afraid of them! They're just putting on an act! The Ghoul God protects us! Kill!"

The big man shouted fiercely despite his fear. Pieces of skin peeled from his face, exposing veins beneath. His nails lengthened as he and the cultists transformed into Ghouls. Just as they were about to charge forward, the Rage Knight rushed ahead first, carrying the imposing momentum of an ancient general leading thousands of troops.

Halfway through his charge, specks of black fire ignited across Rage's gray-black robe, making him appear bewitching and powerful beneath the moonlight.

With a whoosh, the flames surged and engulfed his entire body, slowly forming a suit of black armor. At the same time, his head turned skeletal. After the fire in his eye sockets flickered once, a helmet immediately covered it, making him resemble a hellish demon god lurking in the darkness.

"Kill!"

The low, gloomy voice echoed through the factory, yet it carried unquestionable authority and killing intent that could shake heaven and earth!

The Ghouls and Evil Spirit Marionettes collided, and the sounds of weapons clashing echoed without end.

Under Rage's command, this army of evil spirits swiftly broke through the enemy formation. The immortal Evil Spirit Marionettes swung their Hellfire Whips, scattering flesh and blood everywhere. Mottled traces of black fire scorched every wall and patch of ground, while the Ghouls' screams rang out incessantly.