The Scavengers' Calamity; Just in Time

Boom—! Lightning darted through the clouds, and the roar of thunder rolled across the heavens. The rain grew heavier. Neon lights shimmered across the asphalt road like reflections on a deep, dark lake. Deep within an alley beyond the reach of those lights, a sudden skirmish was drawing to a close. Or rather, it had been a one-sided beatdown. There was no need for Light-Shadow Harmony. Just a short club rising and falling—eighteen strikes in three seconds, eighty strikes in ten. The field team that had unexpectedly crossed paths with Bai Zhou in the city had been completely wiped out! They were merely two novice Extraordinaries who had awakened to the Command level, backed by several veteran Rank 2 Commissioners. One and a half Section Chief Lius could have handled them with ease. To say nothing of the current Bai Zhou! They lay scattered across the ground, their groans and wails swallowed by the drumming rain and rolling thunder. Some had broken arms, others twisted legs; every single one of them was injured. Yet no one was dead. "Is this... me?" Crouching by the curb with his short club in hand, Bai Zhou perused the wanted poster that had slipped from their possession, his expression an intricate tangle of disbelief. *Espionage against organizational intelligence, assisting the Blood Worship Cult's invasion, murdering a Special Control Bureau cadre, inciting a Black Box riot, fleeing while in possession of a Black Box...* Half the page could barely hold all the charges! A Class A wanted criminal? Ranked right alongside the senior cadres of the Blood Worship Cult? A chill crept down Bai Zhou's spine. Only now did he realize that, without him even noticing, he had become a "big shot"—specifically, a figure burdened with a monstrous rap sheet. That Major was even more brazen and unscrupulous than Bai Zhou had imagined. Thank goodness he had retrieved his new gear in the nick of time. Otherwise, once surveillance locked onto his position and an inescapable dragnet closed in around him, he truly would have had no way to heaven and no door to the earth... With a soft thud, a shadow cast across the ground. Bai Zhou rose, opening his black umbrella overhead once more, and looked down at the men. "Are you the only ones around here?" he asked casually. "You won't get away, Bai Zhou!" The lead Rank 3 Commissioner lay on the wet pavement, glaring with hatred at this traitor to the bureau and undercover cultist. Many of his close colleagues had perished on the night the Blood Worship Cult invaded. And now, he believed his own death was at hand. Yet this monster had intentionally left him with a breath of life, purely to torment him. Despicable cultist! "If the Swordbearer squad stationed here hadn't fallen for your diversion and been redeployed to South City..." The commissioner gritted his teeth, seething at Bai Zhou's cunning. "We wouldn't be the ones lying on the ground right now!" ...South City?! Bai Zhou maintained a placid facade, but inwardly his heart clenched. He had never staged any diversion! It was pure coincidence that he had come here to retrieve his gear, which just happened to keep him away from South City. It seemed Crow was right. The more bustling an urban district was, the denser the surveillance network, and the easier it was to analyze Bai Zhou's movements. This place was fundamentally different from Wancheng. In a technologically advanced city like this, there was simply no way for a person to erase their tracks entirely. Even so, Bai Zhou hadn't expected the Special Control Bureau to tighten the perimeter so quickly. Was this the frightening efficiency of the authorities once fully mobilized? They had even dispatched a Swordbearer squad straight there! The Bureau's premier strike force, a unit that even Crow spoke of with solemn gravity... the true elites personally cultivated by the Major! Fortunately, South City was surrounded by desolate wilderness devoid of surveillance. It was unlikely they could pinpoint his hideout right away. Now that Bai Zhou possessed this intelligence, he certainly wouldn't walk blindly into a Swordbearer ambush. A hunter could only call its target prey when the prey remained in the dark! "..." With that in mind, Bai Zhou found the commissioners on the ground considerably more tolerable to look at. "If I told you I have nothing to do with the Blood Worship Cult... you wouldn't believe me." "In fact, whatever I say right now will just sound like vile deceit and deliberate provocation to your ears." Weighing his words carefully, Bai Zhou faced the downed men and continued, "Yet just as you suspect me, you could try viewing those around you with that same suspicion. For instance... if you have some free time, why not pay a visit to Resting Cemetery? Seeing it with your own eyes will be far more convincing than anything I could say." Bai Zhou slowly turned away, his profile shielded by the black umbrella. "One warning, though—it's best if no one ever finds out about it." Rank 3 Commissioners likely lacked the clearance to know anything meaningful. All they did was blindly obey orders from above and enjoy the privileges handed down to them. Every single one was merely a beneficiary bred by the Major in captivity. Bai Zhou had no desire to slaughter them. He was not a genuine criminal, nor did he want to make an enemy of the entire world down the road. It was vital to distinguish who the true enemies were—and who actually deserved to die. Then again, he didn't pin much hope on these men achieving anything. Whether they believed him or not was up to them. Even if they uncovered the truth, how they would choose to act remained anyone's guess... None of that mattered. What mattered was planting the seed of doubt. Once planted, it would spread. Just as seeing a single cockroach meant countless more lurked in the shadows, so too did a single spark herald the coming prairie fire. ... His footsteps receded into the distance without the slightest hesitation. The trench-coated silhouette beneath the black umbrella melted into the driving rain. Fat raindrops drummed relentlessly against the ground. Lying drenched like drowned rats, the commissioners exchanged bewildered glances. "He... didn't kill us?" one commissioner asked in a frail, hesitant whisper. "He didn't do anything to us at all?" "What did he mean by all that?" "..." Murmurs broke out among the fallen men. The lead commissioner furrowed his brow, looking as though he were wrestling with some heavy thought. But after a brief struggle, his expression hardened with resolve. "Those are typical bewitchment tactics of the Blood Worship Cult! Forget every single word!" "Now, report this immediately—" Barking sharply at his men, he pulled a radio from his coat with trembling fingers and adjusted the frequency. "We have engaged the wanted fugitive, Bai Zhou!" "Alert all teams: field teams must operate in coordinated joint units..." "He is far more terrifying than we anticipated." "Recommend command adjust the investigation strategy. Bai Zhou is definitely not someone an individual field team can handle alone!" "Requesting higher-tier support." After a brief pause, the lead commissioner drew a deep breath and delivered his final report: "—In this engagement, Field Team C201 fought with all our might... and has been completely wiped out!" ... South City District, late night. The scavengers' camp. Three unassuming vans blocked the ground-floor entrance of the unfinished building. Yet as the sliding doors rattled open, a squad of ferocious, heavily armed soldiers poured out like a pack of wolves. Confronted by the dark muzzles of assault rifles, rusted rebar could no longer offer the slightest sense of security. Holding their hands behind their heads, the scavengers were driven from their warm encampment and rounded up in the rain-swept open ground before the building. Harsh flashlight beams swept ruthlessly across their faces, illuminating dense sheets of falling rain. Machine guns were set up on the floor above. A thick-featured officer in a second lieutenant's uniform stood shoulder to shoulder with the Swordbearer squad captain, who wore a gas mask and held an assault rifle. "Where is Bai Zhou?!" Standing on the steps, the officer looked down at the crowd with a frigid expression. Perhaps because he had been called out on duty in such miserable weather, his voice carried a sharp edge of irritation. His stern roar detonated through the storm, leaving the listeners' ears ringing. "White porridge? What white porridge?" "We haven't had porridge in ages." "Officers, are you here to hand out relief rations? Thank you, thank you so much..." The scavengers broke into clamorous chatter, every face wearing a look of sheer, unfeigned bewilderment. "..." Hearing this, the officer turned toward the Swordbearer captain beside him. The captain shook his head, his voice muffled behind the respirator. "Bai Zhou was definitely here." Clutched in his hand was an archaic, mystical compass. "The ritual tracking shows his spiritual residue lingered in this vicinity. He must have used spirituality to do something nearby." "Excuse me..." The bearded Old Qiao slowly rose to his feet. The moment he opened his mouth, rain flooded his throat. He tilted his head back with difficulty, peering cautiously at the two commanders. "Who exactly are you looking for? We're willing to cooperate with your investigation... but the rain is pouring so hard, could we go inside to take shelter first?" The officer shot him a sidelong glance, his brow furrowing slightly. Smack—! A sharp slap struck Old Qiao across the face. The commissioner beside him followed up with a vicious kick that sent Old Qiao sprawling into the mud. "Who gave you permission to speak?" "When you aren't being questioned, keep your head down and squat!" "..." The Swordbearer captain glanced at the officer, a hint of concern in his muffled voice. "While operating in the field, should we be more mindful of the bureau's public image...?" "Relax. In such heavy rain and in a desolate wasteland like this, there's no one around except these scavengers." The officer's tone was entirely dismissive. He waved a hand, leaning in close to whisper, "There's no need to show them any courtesy... Don't forget, the researchers requested another batch of experimental materials recently. What makes better consumable test subjects than scavengers who have no ties and whom nobody cares about?" His voice was kept low, masked by the patter of rain, audible only to the captain. Enlightenment dawned on the captain. "Indeed... they are rare experimental materials. Even if we fail to capture Bai Zhou, we won't return empty-handed. It should at least improve the Major's mood a bit." Since they were effectively all on the same page, there was no need to maintain any pretenses. It was like going out on a hunt: they hadn't caught the fox they came for, but stumbled upon a warren of wild rabbits instead. Running into a settlement of scavengers like this served as an acceptable baseline harvest for a rare deployment from the Special Control Bureau. The rain drummed endlessly through the dead of night. Huddled together and drenched to the bone, the scavengers trembled in terror. Old Qiao's beating had frightened them into cowering like shivering quails. "We just received word—Bai Zhou was spotted in the city center. A Swordbearer team has already been dispatched to intercept him." Receiving the latest dispatch from a subordinate, the officer frowned. "Since someone is already handling it, there's no need for us to head over. In my view, we should conduct a thorough sweep of this area before pulling out—" "Search! Fan out and launch a carpet search! There must be traces of Bai Zhou nearby!" No sooner had the officer barked the order than he turned his gaze slowly back toward the scavengers. "This man is Bai Zhou!" Pulling out a photograph, the officer ordered a subordinate commissioner to show it to each scavenger in turn. "A Tinghai Class A wanted criminal, vicious and ruthless! If anyone conceals information, they will face severe punishment as an accomplice!" Old Qiao was the first to see the photograph. The instant his eyes registered the face on the paper, an involuntary tremor ran through his entire body. He swiftly reined in his expression, and in the torrential downpour, it seemed as though no one had noticed. Yet the Swordbearer captain, whose eyes had remained fixed on him the entire time, slowly raised an eyebrow. "—Bring him up here!" A pair of ruthless subordinates dragged Old Qiao forward. "...Officer?" In the rain, his tangled beard and long hair were matted together, streaked with fresh blood from his mouth, giving him an utterly wretched appearance. "Hmm?" The flesh on the officer's cheeks twitched twice. He stepped closer, staring down fixedly at Old Qiao as he thrust the photograph into the man's face. "Take a good, hard look!" A low rasp, carrying a condescending air of righteous authority, demanded, "—You know him, don't you? Tell me everything. Where is he...?" His voice dropped to a sinister whisper, his gaze cutting like a blade across Old Qiao and the scavengers behind him. "You're going to give me a satisfying answer, aren't you? I trust you know what choice you ought to make." ... In the distance. A pair of eyes slowly opened amid the thicket of bushes. Silently, they watched everything unfolding before the unfinished building. As the carpet search got underway, commissioners carrying briefcases and heavily armored soldiers passed by from time to time... Yet not a single one noticed anything amiss about the cluster of shrubs. Until Old Qiao was dragged stumbling from the crowd— Rustle... The blinking thicket swayed slightly. A head poked out from the foliage. A face dripping with raindrops was illuminated by a fleeting flash of lightning. The black trench coat blended seamlessly into the rainy night, the heavy darkness offering him perfect natural camouflage. It seemed Bai Zhou had arrived just in time.