Chaoyang Residential Complex.
Su Haisheng and Zhao Lingyi stood inside the apartment, talking.
The workers from the moving company had just left.
Everything had been settled into place.
The two of them looked around the apartment again and again, unable to be more pleased.
Just then, the phone suddenly rang.
It was Su Ni.
"Hello? Nini, why are you calling so late?" Su Haisheng asked.
"Dad," a tearful voice came from the other end, "leave right now! Get out of the mining district immediately! Don't grab anything, hurry!"
"What happened? Don't panic, take your time," Su Haisheng said hastily.
"There's no time! Quick!"
The phone was snatched away.
"Nini, your dad and I are downtown. We're not at the mine," Zhao Lingyi said calmly.
"What?" The girl on the other end cheered before asking, "How are you downtown?"
"Why did you just tell us to run? What's going on?" Zhao Lingyi asked.
"I got word that an invasive species incident broke out in Lantie City, right at the mining district! It's extremely dangerous there!" Su Ni said.
"Will the residents be evacuated?" Zhao Lingyi asked.
"Of course, but I'm afraid they won't make it in time," Su Ni replied.
"Xiao Ye came back this afternoon and said he rented an apartment downtown. He also said the mining district was dangerous and told us to leave immediately," Zhao Lingyi said.
"He arranged it?" Su Ni asked, surprised once more.
"Yes. We're in the East District. The surroundings are lovely here—we can see the park and the Underground River Bridge. He even arranged a moving company, and everything was wrapped up in a single evening," Zhao Lingyi said.
"He truly... exceeded all expectations. As long as you're safe, that's what matters. That's wonderful."
Su Ni let out a long breath of relief.
At the very same time.
On the other side.
The mining district.
Rumble, rumble, crash—
Thunder cracked across the black firmament, echoing through the clouds before rolling into the distance.
Lightning flared streak after streak.
Torrential rain poured down.
The truck roared as it burst out of the mining district, swerved sharply onto the outer highway, and immediately accelerated into a frantic sprint.
His arm wrapped in bandages, Liu Le sat in the passenger seat, his face pale.
"How are you feeling?" Ye Huan asked as he drove.
"The Captain knows his limits. I won't die," Liu Le murmured weakly.
Ye Huan said no more and kept his foot on the gas.
The truck hurtled through the pouring rain.
Suddenly.
A beam of red light shot into the sky in the distance.
A piercing siren reverberated across the night sky.
"They've sounded the citywide alarm. Martial law will be declared any second," Liu Le said.
"Is it really that serious?" Ye Huan couldn't help asking.
"A burrowing demon broke into the city. That's extremely bad news. Martial law is a certainty," Liu Le said.
Ahead on the highway.
A team of police officers dashed back and forth through the downpour, urgently setting up a roadblock to shut down the road.
Boom—
Thunder rolled once more.
Ye Huan rolled down the window and slowed the vehicle. Just as he was about to speak, the police sergeant directing the operation from the roadside shouted loudly, "Ye Huan, Bureau of Investigation?"
"That's me!" Ye Huan shouted back.
The sergeant scrutinized him, glanced at Liu Le in the passenger seat, and waved them through. "Your superior already gave us a heads-up. Go, hurry!"
"Thanks!" Ye Huan said.
The truck roared past the checkpoint and sped on.
"Look," Liu Le murmured.
Ye Huan gazed toward the distant sky.
Several airplanes with flashing red signal lights emerged through the storm, descending toward Lantie City.
Several helicopters skimmed past at low altitude.
From one of the helicopters, a martial artist leaned out to observe the ground below.
Ye Huan caught his gaze.
The martial artist gave him a nod, and the helicopter passed over the truck, flying toward the mining district.
It felt as if the entire city had wound taut with tension.
"Guess who gave the police department the heads-up to let us through?" Liu Le asked.
"Your captain," Ye Huan said.
"Fine, I forgive the Captain," Liu Le said, clutching his arm. "Hiss—dammit, it hurts."
"I've driven this road countless times. Don't worry, let's speed up!"
Ye Huan stomped on the gas pedal.
About seven or eight minutes later, the truck had to grind to a halt.
Ahead on the highway stood a roadblock set up by the military.
Two squads of soldiers holding rifles blocked the way.
"Please let us through! We're from the Bureau of Investigation! I'm under orders to transport an injured operative and damaged equipment!" Ye Huan shouted.
The soldiers didn't budge.
An officer stepped out from behind the barricades. He gave Ye Huan a look, glanced over the truck, and said, "It is indeed a vehicle from the Bureau of Investigation, but my orders are that no vehicle is permitted to pass. Men, search the truck!"
The soldiers rushed up and inspected the truck top to bottom, inside and out.
Naturally, they found nothing amiss.
"Wait here. Whenever higher-ups issue an order allowing me to let you through, I'll let you go," the officer said.
"We have a wounded man in the vehicle! Please help us out," Ye Huan said urgently.
The officer walked around to the other side of the vehicle, looked at Liu Le groaning in the passenger seat, and shook his head. "Sorry, orders are orders. I can't let you through."
"Whose orders?" Ye Huan asked.
"Our military's orders, of course," the officer said.
Ye Huan immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Song Fushan.
When Song Fushan heard the situation, he sighed and told Ye Huan to hand the phone to the officer.
The officer flatly refused to take it, shaking his head. "We answer only to our military superiors."
"He won't take the call. He says they only answer to their military superiors," Ye Huan said into the phone.
"The military always wants to ride roughshod over everyone else... Wait there, I'll contact their higher-ups." Song Fushan hung up.
Time ticked by slowly.
The roadblock remained firmly in place, and no new orders arrived.
Ye Huan climbed back into the truck to check on Liu Le.
—Xu Ping had indeed measured his strike with extreme care.
Liu Le was clever too; lying across the passenger seat, he groaned loudly, crying out that he needed to write a will.
To all appearances, he was on death's door.
"I'm fine, just acting," Liu Le winked at Ye Huan and whispered, "Looks bad, but the Captain held back. I could easily hold out until tomorrow."
Ye Huan's heart settled slightly, and he called out mournfully, "Liu Le, don't die on me!"
Liu Le faked a few coughs, only to actually cough up blood. Terrified, he clamped a hand over his mouth, not daring to move another muscle.
The corners of Ye Huan's face twitched at the sight.
Act if you want, but putting so much effort into it—if you worsen the injury, won't you actually die?
No.
They couldn't just sit here waiting.
Ye Huan hopped down from the truck, strode swiftly to the officer, and said urgently, "We're all on the same side. Could you please take the initiative to report this to your superiors?"
The officer remained expressionless and spat out two words: "I cannot."
"Wait—" Ye Huan spread his hands. "A life is at stake! Under these circumstances, sending up a report shouldn't be an issue, right?"
This was completely reasonable—beyond reasonable.
Even if they belonged to two different branches that clashed and squabbled every day, a human life hung in the balance!
Yet the officer didn't even look at Ye Huan.
With no other choice, Ye Huan pressed on: "You must have a military medic, right? Please treat our man—it's better than leaving him here to die."
"Since coming to Lantie City, we've long noticed how arrogantly your Bureau of Investigation acts, completely disregarding discipline and law. Today happens to be a good time to teach you a lesson," the officer said unhurriedly.
"Disregarding discipline and law?" Ye Huan murmured.
He had long heard that the Empire's military was overbearing and arrogant, looking down on every other department.
Today, he was witnessing it firsthand.
"Both of us were investigating the anomaly in the mine tunnels, yet you hogs took over several secret passages just to claim all the credit... Now I am acting under orders. Even if you talk until your tongue bleeds, don't dream of passing through here," the officer said.
"Stay put obediently, or else bullets don't have eyes."
"Unless—"
The officer cracked his knuckles, loosened his joints, and dropped into a combat stance.
"You fight me."
Ye Huan was stunned.
So that was the crux of the matter.
The guy just wanted to assert dominance over the Bureau of Investigation.
That wasn't the biggest deal in the world.
However—
It was utterly moronic.
Ye Huan glanced back. Over toward the mining district, everything was pitch black, punctuated by flashing lightning and rolling thunder.
An uncontrollable catastrophe was steadily brewing.
He had seen that underground Jiuyao-tier centipede with his own eyes.
The section chiefs of two departments had consulted and managed, with great difficulty before the quarantine went into effect, to send two people back to the rear.
Nothing was settled.
At any moment, an even greater disaster could erupt.
And at a time like this...
You want me to fight you?
"Do you know what happened in the mining district?" Ye Huan asked.
"We soldiers never pry into things we shouldn't. We only follow orders and disregard the rest," the officer said.
He didn't know.
How was Ye Huan supposed to explain?
There was no other way—he'd have to use his ultimate move!
Ye Huan gritted his teeth, fished out two items, and handed them over. "I completely understand your eager desire to trade blows with the Bureau of Investigation, but we really can't fight."
Baffled, the officer took them and glanced down.
A hospital discharge summary. Medical records.
Discharge Summary:
"Patient is conscious and alert, in fair spirits, no exacerbation of retrograde amnesia, vital signs stable, approved for discharge."
"Discharge Precautions:"
"1. Recommend home rest for 2 to 4 weeks; avoid strenuous exercise..."
"2. Regular medication required..."
"3. If headache worsens or amnesia intensifies, seek medical attention immediately."
The officer quickly finished reading, then scanned the medical records, looking over the detailed treatment history.
He fell silent.
Regardless of what happened in the mining district, as a military martial artist actively engaging in "friendly exchange" with a brother department, higher-ups wouldn't fault him.
If he won, he might even earn recognition.
However...
The guy in front of him had brain damage.
And the one in the truck was a wounded casualty.
—Bullying the injured and sick was hardly an honorable deed.
Even if he won, people would mock him.
His reputation would be ruined.
What's more, this guy genuinely had something wrong with his head. What if a fight triggered a severe complication—like a cerebral hemorrhage—and he dropped dead on the spot?
That would defeat his entire purpose.
Sparring was trivial, and dying in battle against demons was fine, but causing a fatality through internal friction was a nightmare.
This guy was like fine porcelain—fragile, untouchable.
The officer handed the documents back to Ye Huan, intending to posture a bit more, but saw that Ye Huan had already spun around and was bolting toward the truck.
"My partner is dying, and my brain is scrambled—we might as well just die together!"
Ye Huan yelled mournfully and hopped into the truck.
The next instant, the truck let out a ferocious roar.
Startled, the officer hurriedly waved to the soldiers behind him. "Let them through!"
—Blocking two Bureau of Investigation patients from leaving... if they rammed the checkpoint and a real clash erupted, ending in their deaths here, the fallout would be completely uncontrollable.
If things blew up, he would be ruined too!
Those martial artists from the Bureau of Investigation were ruthless to a fault. On top of that, the Bureau had right on their side; no one would protect him!
The soldiers swiftly cleared away the barricades.
The truck roared past, hurtling along the highway, and soon vanished from sight.
The officer sighed. Watching the truck disappear, he trudged dispiritedly toward the grass by the barricades.
"If anyone else comes, call me immediately."
Behind the barricades, the soldiers began chambering rounds, raising their rifles in vigilant guard.
Only a few minutes later.
"Report, sir!" a soldier shouted, rushing over.
"What is it?" the officer asked, puffing on a cigarette.
"A monster—it's a monster!"
"What?!"
The officer strode forward.
Down the road toward the mining district, the highway had caved in.
A giant centipede dozens of meters long crawled up from beneath the ground, revealing a human face that stared coldly in their direction.
"A demon!!!" The officer's voice tore into an uncontrolled shriek. "Report this immediately! Everyone, prepare to engage the enemy!"
"Sir!"
Chapter 61