A few minutes later, in the conference room.
Wang Hai glanced at the people sitting neatly on both sides of the conference table.
"The Martial Arts Association Martial Arts Association reported something; it was a task that I had agreed to and then transferred to them."
"Let me give you a brief overview of this task."
"About ten days ago, two electricians died in an underpass."
"When it was discovered, the Calamity Beast had already disappeared, so with my permission, the mission was transferred to the Martial Arts Association."
"Since then, up to today, the Martial Arts Association's hunting teams have killed seven Sharp-Horned Rat."
"Among them are one Tier 2 Sharp-Horned Rat and six Tier 1..."
Seven Sharp-Horned Rat... Shen Heng quickly reviewed the information about Sharp-Horned Rat in the Calamity Beast Illustrated Guide in his mind.
It resembles a mouse, has gray fur, and a single horn. No special abilities have been discovered yet, but its horn is extremely hard and sharp...
"Does the Martial Arts Association think there are still many left?" Han Ling asked.
"They're not sure; they're just reporting it because seven Sharp-Horned Rat have appeared. That's an extremely rare number in past Calamity Beast incidents, so they're worried," Wang Hai said in a deep voice, sitting in his seat.
"Oh, I see!" Han Ling nodded slightly. She had thought that the people from the Martial Arts Association had discovered something amiss.
"But it probably hasn't reached its limit yet, right?" Le Gu Nan said softly.
"Given the size of the Sharp-Horned Rat and the habits of normal creatures, and considering the size of the Fourth Tier Fire Ape that overlapped earlier, the maximum number should be around a dozen."
"Yes, I understand, that's not what I'm concerned about." Wang Hai tapped his finger lightly on the table.
"Hmm? So what are you focusing on, Captain?" Han Ling looked at Wang Hai with some confusion.
Shen Heng also looked over with a puzzled expression.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Wang Hai said in a deep voice:
" Tianshu, release the file on the first encounter with the Sharp-Horned Rat in Linhai."
"Clear."
An electronic voice rang out in the air.
Immediately, the lights in the conference room automatically dimmed, and a virtual file projection was displayed on the conference table in a two-sided format.
Shen Heng sat silently watching, without any strange expression.
This is a new connection that has been popularized at headquarters over the past six months. It allows users to communicate and ask for help with tasks that require operation on electronic devices.
Tasks such as writing task reports, retrieving task files, and checking the situation within the Supervision Bureau.
The voice announcement when you enter and the notification you just received were handled by them.
However, this function is currently only available within the Supervision Bureau; it is not available elsewhere.
I heard there were plans to provide them with personal terminals, but there's been no news since. I don't know if they've run into difficulties or if something has delayed them.
Shen Heng looked at the files displayed in the void.
He first glanced at the file number in the upper left corner of the file.
NO.190320220401
19 represents the code for Lingnan Province;
03 represents the code for Linhai City in Lingnan Province;
2022 is the time.
As for 0401 later.
The former represents the month, and the latter represents which Calamity Beast file this is in that month.
Therefore, NO.190320220401 represents the following meaning.
The first Calamity Beast struck Linhai City, Lingnan Province, in April 2022.
In April 2022, I had just joined the Supervision Bureau and hadn't even been promoted yet, right?
Hmm... it's been almost three years since I joined the Supervision Bureau?
So this might be one of the tasks I know of?
Shen Heng's mind wandered for a moment, then his gaze shifted downwards.
Across from them, Han Ling, who was quick to react, exclaimed in surprise.
"Hmm? Was it also in the underground passage that you encountered the Sharp-Horned Rat more than two years ago?"
"Yes, that's right." Wang Hai's gaze remained fixed on the file.
The team leader specifically mentioned the mission more than two years ago... Shen Heng stared blankly at the file.
"If we encounter the same kind of people back then, so be it, what's wrong with that?" Wu Cheng said nonchalantly from the side.
This is not surprising; species of the same kind generally share similar habits.
More than two years ago, the Sharp-Horned Rat, driven by instinct, subconsciously burrowed into the underground passage.
Two years later, the Sharp-Horned Rat, upon discovering an underground passage, will instinctively burrow downwards as well.
Moreover, it's not just the Sharp-Horned Rat that likes to burrow into underground tunnels.
Over the past few years, Shen Heng and his team have dealt with many kinds of Calamity Beast that burrow into the sewers.
"That's not what the captain meant. He probably meant that the two missions might be related," Shen Heng said, having already figured it out.
"A connection?" Wu Cheng was slightly taken aback, glancing at the file. "More than two years have passed, what connection could there be?"
"What if this Sharp-Horned Rat incident is a remnant of the last one?" Shen Heng asked.
Everyone was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and then their gazes returned to the file.
"You mean, just like this time, there wasn't just one, but a whole group of them, just like before?" Han Ling looked at Shen Heng.
"But back then, once that Sharp-Horned Rat was dealt with, nothing else happened, right? If there were a whole group of them, it would be hard to avoid trouble, wouldn't it?" Wu Cheng looked at Shen Heng with some doubt as well.
"They're not necessarily a group," Le Gu Nan explained from the side.
"But if the assumption that the two events are related is true, then one of several scenarios must exist."
"Firstly, as I just mentioned, last time it was likely that a group of rat-beasts were simultaneously overrun."
"Secondly, that rat-like creature from last time was probably out foraging for food, and there are already small rats capable of moving independently in other places."
"Thirdly, there was another female mouse that was transferred over last time; it needs to be a pregnant female mouse."
Everyone nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"So, Captain, that's what you're worried about, right?" Han Ling turned to look at Wang Hai.
"Yes, that's right." Wang Hai's gaze remained fixed on the file.
"Of course, it's not to say that it will definitely be one of the three scenarios Le Gu Nan mentioned; the connection between the two events is ultimately just a hypothesis."
"It's also possible that this incident is unrelated to the last one, and the overlapping cases have almost been dealt with, but..."
Wang Hai paused, looked up from the file, and stared at everyone seriously.
"If it were the other situation, then letting things continue could lead to very serious consequences."
"Therefore, we need to investigate this matter thoroughly."
"Regardless of whether it is or not, this safety hazard must be eliminated."
Everyone nodded seriously upon hearing this.
"Captain, shall we search in the underground passage next?" Han Ling asked.
Wang Hai nodded and said:
"Yes, but not to kill them, but to capture one."