"But there should be very few other Calamity Beast that you can't find, right?" Han Ling looked at Shen Heng.
"It's rare, but we can't rule it out," Shen Heng nodded.
"What do we do now?" Han Ling asked.
Shen Heng didn't speak, but turned to look at Wang Hai.
Wang Hai for a moment, then slowly said:
"Let's conduct another manual search of this area first."
Shen Heng nodded. This was indeed a safer approach, at least it would confirm that there were no Calamity Beast visible here.
Led by Fan Hong, the group began searching the seafood market.
During the journey, Shen Heng seemed to have thought of something.
He silenced the footsteps of the group and then pierced into the ground.
A moment later, after confirming that there were no Calamity Beast underground, Shen Heng caught up with the others again.
The light from flashlights shone throughout the seafood market.
In the shadows beneath the stalls, at the ventilation duct openings in the corners of the ceiling, behind the abandoned water tanks...
Half an hour later, Shen Heng paused, his gaze fixed on Fan Hong, who had suddenly stopped in front of him.
"This way leads to a back door, which is used by the management personnel of the seafood market."
"As I told you before, the person who went missing from the seafood market went down from this side, and hasn't been seen since."
Shen Heng held a flashlight and shone it down the stairs, then onto the side corridor, finally stopping at a surveillance camera flashing red at the end of the corridor.
"The surveillance footage did capture him going downstairs, right?"
"Yes, that's right." Fan Hong nodded.
"Where are the surveillance cameras located next?" Shen Heng continued to ask.
"This way down is the back entrance to the seafood market. It's surrounded by walls on three sides, and one side leads to the road. The surveillance cameras only start appearing on the road," Fan Hong.
"So, that person disappeared from the section where they went down to the road?" Han Ling asked.
"Yes, that's right." Fan Hong nodded, then looked at Wang Hai, " Captain Wang, should we go down and take a look, or continue searching the second floor?"
"Let's go down and take a look," Wang Hai said in a deep voice.
Fan Hong nodded and led the way down.
Wang Hai followed closely behind, with Han Ling and Le Gu Nan behind Wang Hai, and Shen Heng bringing up the rear.
The flashlight beam swept across the stairwell.
It was a very ordinary, no, it should be said that it was a very normal staircase, with nothing on it... Shen Heng's gaze carefully swept over the inside of the staircase, and apart from normal weathering and wear, there were no suspicious traces.
The group went down from the second floor to the first floor and then exited through the back door.
The back entrance is a narrow path sandwiched between two buildings, enclosed by a wall on the left and leading to the road on the right.
The group carefully searched the alleyway leading to the back door, but still found nothing.
"This... are you sure the surveillance cameras on the street didn't capture any trace of that person?" After searching around, Han Ling looked at Fan Hong with some confusion.
"Yes, that's right. The situation with the other missing persons is similar," Fan Hong confirmed.
"Not even a trace?"
"No, no."
"Did that person just disappear?" Han Ling was puzzled.
She had only heard Fan Hong say that she didn't know much about the situation, but now that she was there in person, she was truly puzzled.
How can a person suddenly disappear without a trace?
Even Third Tier Calamity Beast, which ordinary people can't fight back against, should at least bleed a little, right?
The same question filled Shen Heng's mind. He moved the flashlight and looked around the alley.
If it weren't for the large number of missing persons, he believes the probability of it being caused by human intervention is higher, at least...
Shen Heng's gaze followed the beam of the flashlight to the intersection.
It's all done manually; all you have to do is drive the car in and then drive it away. The surveillance cameras will only capture the car driving away; they won't capture anything else.
"Can it burrow underground like Golden Rat?" A gentle voice sounded beside me.
Shen Heng glanced at Le Gu Nan, who had quietly walked up to him, and said:
"That's possible, but I just explored underground and didn't find Calamity Beast."
"Although the Calamity Beast may have gone elsewhere, it's certainly not here right now."
Le Gu Nan nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"Alright, come in and take another look," Wang Hai said.
Finding no useful clues, the group had no choice but to return to the seafood market to continue their search.
After another half hour, and after confirming that they had not seen the Calamity Beast anywhere in the seafood market, the group headed back to the main gate.
"Captain, what do we do now?" Han Ling looked at Wang Hai with a headache.
Although no trace of the Calamity Beast was seen, the entire situation told everyone that this incident was definitely caused by Calamity Beast!
But what kind of Calamity Beast could make someone disappear without making a sound?
Wang Hai paused for a moment, then slowly said, "If all else fails, let's stake out the location."
"Hmm... it seems like this is the only way." Han Ling rubbed her temples.
There were no images, no traces, and even when the person disappeared was only discovered later when the search failed.
They were truly helpless against this Calamity Beast.
The only clue that's still somewhat useful is that at least the targets of this Calamity Beast had all been to the seafood market.
Staying here and waiting seems to be the only useful method right now!
Shen Heng walked at the back, nodding slightly, still pondering what kind of Calamity Beast might be coming this time.
" Shen Heng." A soft voice rang out.
Shen Heng glanced at the short-haired girl who had stepped back to his side. "What's wrong?"
"Do you think this time's Calamity Beast might be like the Spore Person from the school incident?" Le Gu Nan looked at Shen Heng.
"The host organism stays in one place, then produces pheromones like spores to parasitize other organisms."
"The parasitic pheromones can observe the surrounding environment, and when they find the right opportunity, they will erupt and devour the person whole."
Shen Heng pondered for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then the main body should be at the seafood market, but we haven't found it yet, have we?"
"Then..." Le Gu Nan for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Could its true form be similar to what happened at the Haiguang Sub-Bureau, capable of parasitism?"
Shen Heng was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and his mind quickly began to think.
He hadn't really considered this possibility. Both the original body and the separated pheromones could parasitize, and could the separated pheromones even observe their surroundings?
No, something that can observe its surroundings can no longer be simply called pheromones; it's more like a clone. So...
Seeing that Shen Heng remained silent, Le Gu Nan continued somewhat uncertainly:
"It's just that this kind of Calamity Beast isn't in the Calamity Beast Illustrated Guide. I don't know if it exists even if it's not listed. This is just my own speculation."
"That's enough." Shen Heng gathered his thoughts and looked at Le Gu Nan. "We can't be omniscient forever. In this situation, some speculation is necessary, at least to make our work more comprehensive."
Hearing Shen Heng's words, Le Gu Nan breathed a sigh of relief.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Heng called out to the two people in front of him to stop.
"Team leader!"
Wang Hai and Han Ling stopped and turned around to look at them.
" Le Gu Nan just mentioned an idea..."
Shen Heng repeated what Le Gu Nan had just said and proposed corresponding countermeasures.
"Although this type of Calamity Beast is not recorded in the Calamity Beast Illustrated Guide, we cannot guarantee that it does not exist."
"Therefore, we can first test the staff who have been working in the seafood market to rule out the possibility that they may be infected by the Calamity Beast."