Qiu Rui's mother's eyes lit up, and she quickly pointed to the fish tank on the far right and said:
"Then this grouper is the best choice. The meat is very tender and nutritious, making it perfect for nourishing the body."
Shen Heng nodded. "Then let's go with this one."
"Alright!" Qiu Rui's mother deftly scooped up the fish, weighing it as she said enthusiastically, "Would you like me to clean it for you? Remove the innards and scales."
"Thank you for your trouble," Shen Heng replied politely.
The fish was quickly processed.
Shen Heng took the bag of fish, but instead of paying the price Qiu Rui's mother had quoted, he paid a little more.
He didn't leave immediately, but looked at Qiu Rui and asked casually:
" Qiu Rui, are you free? How about we go out and talk somewhere tonight?"
Qiu Rui's body stiffened, and his heart, which had relaxed after seeing Shen Heng buy fish, jumped again.
His throat tightened as he asked:
"What... are you going to talk about?"
"Let's talk about cultivation, or about your place here, or about the team you're in," Shen Heng said calmly.
Qiu Rui did not reply; his body was trembling slightly.
He looked up at Shen Heng, his gaze calm, yet he felt an overwhelming sense of pressure, as if Shen Heng had seen right through him.
Seeing that her child was so clueless, Qiu Rui's mother quickly spoke up from the side:
"Go on, go on, important business is more important. Your dad and I are here."
Seemingly realizing something, Qiu Rui didn't speak, but only responded in a low voice.
"... good."
Shen Heng carried the bag of fish, with Qiu Rui beside him.
Neither of them spoke, and they simply walked out of the seafood market.
It wasn't until he got into the car that Qiu Rui finally spoke his first words.
" Inspector Shen, may I ask you a question?"
"Yes, go ahead." Shen Heng glanced at Qiu Rui calmly.
"How did you guys notice me?" Qiu Rui asked.
Shen Heng glanced at Qiu Rui.
Although he was asking a question, there was no trace of longing for an answer on his face.
"This is happening far too frequently." Shen Heng withdrew his gaze and drove towards the Supervision Bureau.
"Heh, hehe, hahaha..."
From sneer to mockery, then to madness, Qiu Rui finally regained his composure.
"I knew it; this kind of frequency would definitely attract attention."
"Then why are you still providing it with intelligence, allowing it to continue killing?" Shen Heng glanced at Qiu Rui when he had a spare moment.
"I didn't want to either, but..." Qiu Rui gave a bitter laugh and lowered his head.
"I can hardly influence it anymore. Even if I refuse to provide it, it will kill it on its own!"
Will it have an impact?... Shen Heng glanced at Qiu Rui, then quickly looked away.
Although he didn't know why, Qiu Rui's unusual cooperation made Shen Heng give up his plan to ask.
With the engine roaring, the car sped towards the Supervision Bureau.
More than ten minutes later.
Shen Heng led Qiu Rui into the Supervision Bureau.
In the lobby, the members of the Supervision Bureau, who had received advance notice, were already waiting.
Everyone glanced at Qiu Rui, who was following behind Shen Heng, and then at his pale face.
Needless to say, they understood the general outcome.
"This..." Han Ling opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.
She simply couldn't understand why anyone would collude with Calamity Beast.
What's wrong with this person's brain?
He wasn't the only one who couldn't understand it; everyone else in the Supervision Bureau was also baffled.
"Alright, go up and ask," Wang Hai said.
Upon hearing this, everyone composed themselves and nodded.
The conference room lights were a cold, glaring white.
Qiu Rui sat alone on one side, while the rest of the Supervision Bureau members sat on the other side.
"Do you know why I brought you here?" Wang Hai began the interrogation.
"Yeah, I know." Qiu Rui forced a smile.
"Since you know, then I'll just ask directly." Wang Hai looked at Qiu Rui.
"Is the Calamity Beast that appeared at the seafood market the same Calamity Beast that attacked your team twice?"
"Yes, that's right."
What kind of Calamity Beast is it? Is it listed in the Calamity Beast Illustrated Guide?
"It's Shadow Erosion; it's not recorded in the Calamity Beast Illustrated Guide."
" Shadow Erosion?" Wang Hai looked at Qiu Rui.
Shen Heng also slightly raised his eyes. If there was no record, then where did the name come from?
"Is this the name you gave it?" Wei Leyang interjected.
"No, it chose that name itself." Qiu Rui slowly shook his head.
"Huh? You chose it yourself?" The crowd was puzzled.
"Hmm," Qiu Rui explained.
"At first I thought it was just an ordinary creature, so I took care of it."
"Later, after hearing humans talk a lot, it learned to speak on its own and then gave itself this name."
"Heh, good heavens, Calamity Beast that names itself, it really can see everything after living long enough." Wu Cheng couldn't help but chuckle.
The others didn't laugh, but it was the first time they'd heard of it.
Wang Hai looked at Qiu Rui and continued, "What does this Calamity Beast look like? What abilities does it have?"
"I'm not entirely sure either," Qiu Rui said hesitantly.
"As for its appearance, it can Distortion itself and transform into any other shape, but it cannot change its color."
"However, I see it more often in a liquid form, like black oil."
"As for its abilities, aside from transforming into other forms, all I know is that it has a very fast digestion speed, or rather, a very fast digestion speed."
"It eats people, more like it dissolves them; it engulfs them and then dissolves them."
Is this why the two attacks were by different Calamity Beast, and both escaped...? Shen Heng lowered his eyes in thought.
Using Qiu Rui's information, they transformed into the appearance of other Calamity Beast to attack them, and then returned to their liquid form to leave.
Even if Shen Heng Shen Heng were to tell him about this way of leaving, he would have a very difficult time finding out.
"It feels a bit like Venom," Wei Leyang remarked from the side.
"It is quite similar, except that it doesn't need to parasitize; it can move on its own," Qiu Rui nodded.
Next, Wang Hai asked a few more questions.
However, the discussion mainly revolves around the Calamity Beast and does not involve Qiu Rui or the Calamity Beast.
Although Qiu Rui was unusually cooperative, they still tried to avoid asking this type of question first.
Otherwise, these problems might make Qiu Rui think that he might be severely punished, which could lead to resistance and unwillingness to cooperate.
After asking the questions, Wang Hai turned his gaze to Shen Heng.
Shen Heng pondered for a moment, then looked at Qiu Rui:
"You said earlier that you initially thought it was an ordinary creature, so you took care of it. What do you mean by that?"
Upon hearing this question, Qiu Rui fell silent.
After a long while, he slowly spoke:
"I told you before, my family owns our own fishing boat."
"Before I could sense the Origin Power, I often helped out on the fishing boats, and Shadow Erosion was caught with them during that time."
"Back then, it was just Xiaoxiao piece, and the edges were very tattered, as if it had been bitten by something..."