On the Front Lines of the Special Affairs Bureau

The next day, in the underground garage of the Special Affairs Bureau's Ghost City Branch.

Three black SUVs, understated on the outside and specially modified within, were already running.

Captain Wang stood beside the lead vehicle, his expression far graver than it had been yesterday. He had led the team through an inspection of the city's warning systems then. Today, he was taking them outside the city to check its early-warning facilities.

Behind him stood several key members of the Third Operations Squad of the Executive Department: Sun Haoran, an expert in sensing and tracking, an early-stage Spirit-Nurturing Realm cultivator rated B-rank, with the ability [Spirit-Tracking Nose]; Zhao Tiezhu, who excelled in defense and strength, also at the early stage of the Spirit-Nurturing Realm, rated C-rank, with [Body Enhancement]; and Zhou Mingyu, who handled mobile support and was skilled with equipment, likewise an early-stage Spirit-Nurturing Realm cultivator rated C-rank, with the ability [Metal Affinity].

They were all experienced veterans, yet curiosity and scrutiny showed in their eyes as their gazes kept drifting toward the unfamiliar young man beside Captain Wang.

The young man wore the black training uniform issued by the Special Affairs Bureau. He looked a little slight, but stood perfectly straight.

His face showed little expression, and his eyes were so calm they seemed almost cold—a sharp contrast to the seasoned, hard-edged team members around him.

Most striking was the brand-new, one-of-a-kind embroidered emblem on his chest: a pale butterfly drawn in simple lines, its wings poised to spread, with a small, dark "S" beneath it.

This was "White Butterfly."

A codename operative with exceptionally high clearance in the internal system, shrouded in mystery.

Sun Haoran and Zhao Tiezhu exchanged a glance. Both saw the other's surprise.

They had imagined all sorts of possibilities: a genius kept hidden by a great family, an ace sent down from headquarters, even the successor of some reclusive old monster... Never had they expected the man himself to be someone who looked barely out of school, with such a... distant air.

"Everyone's here."

Captain Wang broke the silence, his voice steady. "The mission briefing has been sent to your terminals. This is a routine inspection, focused on the aging security facilities along the edges of Districts Seven, Nine, and Twelve."

"White Butterfly is joining the team for the first time today to learn our field procedures. Everyone, stay on the highest alert. Report any anomaly immediately. Do not act on your own. Understood?"

"Understood!"

The team answered in unison. They stopped sizing up the newcomer and returned to work, though their eyes still strayed toward the silent White Butterfly.

Hua Yin could feel their gazes, but he merely gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Both Elder Li and Captain Wang had told him to watch more and speak less.

For now, he was taking it all in: the overt or faint traces of spiritual energy coming from the team members, the garage air thick with the smell of steel and motor oil and a hint of tension, and the slight quickening of his heartbeat in unfamiliar surroundings.

Hua Yin had to admit he was a little nervous.

The convoy left the branch, merged into the daytime traffic, and headed toward the outskirts.

Brief confirmations and traffic reports occasionally sounded over the vehicle comms. Most of the ride was quiet.

The inspection point in District Seven lay near the ruins of an old city wall.

The spiritual-energy watchtower there was rusted on the outside, but after Sun Haoran's careful inspection, aided by Zhou Mingyu's instruments, they confirmed that its core rune array was operating normally. Its energy output had declined slightly, but only within the range of ordinary wear.

Zhao Tiezhu kept watch over the surrounding area, which was overgrown with weeds.

Hua Yin followed the team, silently observing everything.

He watched Sun Haoran close his eyes and concentrate, his nostrils twitching as though he were catching the faintest lingering scents in the air.

He watched Zhou Mingyu deftly remove an equipment casing and touch the components inside with specially gloved hands. The metal seemed to grow more obedient beneath his fingertips.

He also watched Captain Wang stroll about as if at ease, while his hawk-sharp gaze swept every corner where danger might hide.

This was daily life for the Special Affairs Bureau's field personnel.

There were none of the earthshaking battles Hua Yin had imagined. Most of the work was this kind of meticulous, tedious, even cumbersome inspection and maintenance.

Yet everyone gave it their full attention. They knew these unassuming devices were the first line of defense against the beasts beyond the city.

The inspection point in District Nine was at the outlet of a drainage channel beside an abandoned factory.

The surroundings were dirtier and more complicated.

This time, they found a problem almost at once.

"Captain Wang!"

Zhou Mingyu called from a metal maintenance shaft half-hidden by weeds, his voice grave.

"Something's wrong with the Leyline Sensor Stake here! There are signs the casing was pried open, and the core spirit patterns inside... they've been destroyed!"

Everyone converged on him at once.

Captain Wang crouched and examined the metal stake Zhou Mingyu had hauled up from the shaft. It was about as thick as an arm, its surface covered in intricate runes.

At the stake's midpoint, runes that should have formed one unbroken pattern had been visibly severed and twisted as though scorched, as if some brutal force had eaten straight through them.

"Sabotage?"

Zhao Tiezhu's voice rumbled as he clenched his fists.

"It doesn't look like natural wear. And a beast collision wouldn't have done this."

Sun Haoran leaned in and carefully sniffed the break, his brow furrowing. "There's a very faint lingering smell... some kind of rotting plant mixed in. Strange. It doesn't belong to any common beast."

"And whoever did it knew what they were doing. They cut straight through a critical node in the spiritual-energy circuit."

Captain Wang's face darkened. He immediately opened an encrypted channel. "Headquarters, this is the Third Operations Squad of the Executive Department, codename Anvil."

"At checkpoint C7 in District Nine, we found Leyline Sensor Stake DL-309 deliberately sabotaged. The damage was precise, and an unusual scent remains. Request immediate access to all surveillance and spiritual-energy fluctuation records for the area!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the damp, muddy ground and the edge of the drainage channel.

Sun Haoran had already begun widening his search without needing to be told.

Soon, he made an even more alarming discovery.

"Captain Wang! There are tracks here! More than one kind!"

Sun Haoran pointed to the soft earth beside the drainage channel and a patch of flattened weeds.

"Look at these clawprints... Rotten-Toothed Rats. Quite a few—at least a small colony. And this drag mark... it looks like a Rockhide Pangolin's scales scraped the ground. There are fresh bite marks on those shrubs over there, too. Nocturnal Deer!"

A chill entered his voice. "All these tracks are fresh, no more than forty-eight hours old. And they all came from outside the city, through this area... which an intact sensor stake should have monitored and raised an alarm for!"

What that meant was obvious.

The damaged security equipment had left a blind spot.

And within the past day or two, more than one group of low-level beasts had slipped through that opening and entered Youcheng undetected!

The Jade-Bladed Mantis was likely only one of them. It might even have been drawn in by, or followed, these earlier arrivals!

"Damn it!" Zhao Tiezhu muttered.

Zhou Mingyu went pale. "This was planned... Who did it? The Tongming Association? Or those lunatics?"

Captain Wang did not answer. His face was livid as he reopened the channel, his voice urgent and heavy. "Headquarters, the situation has escalated! We've found fresh tracks from multiple types of beasts around the sabotage site. We believe small groups have already entered the city through the breach!"

"Repeat, beasts have already entered the city! Request an immediate Level Two alert, additional search teams, and emergency reinspection of every perimeter checkpoint!"

He closed the channel and drew a deep breath. He looked at his team, his gaze finally settling on Hua Yin, who had been watching in silence.

The young man still showed little expression. But the damaged Spirit-Pattern Pillar and the chaotic beast tracks were reflected in his calm eyes, and deep within them, a pale spiritual light seemed to flicker.

"The mission has changed."

Captain Wang's voice was firm. "Zhou Mingyu, see if you can repair the facility. Sun Haoran, extend your tracking range and determine roughly where the beasts went and what kinds they are. Zhao Tiezhu, stand guard here! White Butterfly... come with me to the next site."

The engine growled to life again, carrying the silent young man toward the perilous outskirts.

Hua Yin's first field assignment had brought him face-to-face with the bloody reality of this new world far sooner than he had expected.