"Ding dong—welcome!"
Lin Qiye pushed open the door of the office and saw Hongying, sitting upright on the sofa, lost in thought. She waved at him absentmindedly.
"Morning, Sister Hongying."
"Qiye! You finally came!" Hongying exclaimed as she saw Lin Qiye, rising abruptly from the sofa.
"What's wrong?"
"There's trouble." Hongying's expression turned serious as she grasped Lin Qiye's wrist and led him swiftly downstairs.
It was the first time Lin Qiye had seen Hongying look so grave. He furrowed his brows slightly. "Mysterious...arrival?"
"Yes, and it's quite thorny."
As they pushed open the door and entered the activity room, Lin Qiye noticed that all the members of Squad 136 were already present.
Chen Muye, leaning against a pillar, approached the meeting table as Lin Qiye arrived and took a seat, still expressionless.
"Everyone's here, let's begin the meeting."
Once everyone was seated, Chen Muye tapped his knuckles on the tabletop and began slowly, "Last night, we received information about another suspected mythical creature sighting."
"The location is... Second High School in Cangnan City."
"Second High?!" Lin Qiye was taken aback.
"Yes, the school you attended." Chen Muye nodded. "And it seems the one who reported it is someone you're familiar with."
Chen Muye called out to the room behind, "Hey kid, awake yet? Come out if you are!"
All eyes turned towards the room, and soon, the door opened slowly, revealing a teenager with bloodshot eyes.
Upon seeing him, Lin Qiye exclaimed, "Li Yifei?"
Li Yifei blinked, rubbed his eyes, and confirmed upon seeing Lin Qiye sitting at the meeting table.
"Lin Qiye? What are you doing here? Did you see that monster too?"
"No, he's one of us," Wu Xiangnan corrected.
"A temporary member," Chen Muye clarified.
Li Yifei stared at Lin Qiye in disbelief for a moment before reacting, "What the heck! They said you joined the military, but you ended up here!"
Lin Qiye shrugged. "Unexpected turn of events."
"We can discuss your matters later. Let's focus on the case for now," Chen Muye reminded, then added, "Normally, if there's a case involving potential mysteries, it's reported to the police first, and then they refer it to us. But this kid here had a run-in with the Ghost-Face Case before, interacted with us, and signed a confidentiality agreement, so they called us directly, skipping the usual process. This is an exception; our regular procedure isn't like this."
The others nodded, but Lin Qiye understood that Chen Muye's words were meant for him.
"Go on," Lin Qiye urged.
"Alright," Li Yifei cleared his throat and began recounting, "Last night, when I went back to school to get my homework, I happened to see..."
Li Yifei described his observations from the previous night in detail. As his narrative progressed, the brows of the squad members furrowed deeper.
After Li Yifei finished, Wu Xiangnan nodded. "If what this kid said is true, then there's a 95% chance this matter is related to the mysterious."
"You should know, if you're fabricating reports, there will be consequences," Wu Xiangnan reminded him.
"I know, I know. Everything I said before is true, couldn't be truer!" Li Yifei earnestly replied.
"Alright." Chen Muye turned to Wu Xiangnan. "What are your thoughts?"
"Based on the information we have so far, this mythical creature possesses a strong camouflage ability. It can transform into others while maintaining normal communication, without revealing its true nature."
Wen Qimo sighed beside him. "Camouflage...another troublesome character."
"In addition, it appears to have the ability to assimilate the organisms it swallows, which is our real concern," Wu Xiangnan continued.
"Like zombies in movies? Endless infection?" Hongying asked.
"Although the method of infection is different, the effects are indeed similar."
"So, can't we just storm into the school and take down this Liu Xiaoyan?" Hongying's eyes lit up.
"It's not that simple." Lin Qiye, sitting at the other end, suddenly spoke up. "If it can infect others, we can't be sure if Liu Xiaoyan is its true form...because she might also be infected by someone else."
"Qiye's right," Wu Xiangnan nodded. "The biggest challenge of this mysterious event lies in not knowing the source of this peculiar infection. It's like dealing with zombies; even if we kill all the subordinates, it's useless if we can't find the zombie mother."
"And we don't know how long this mythical creature has been around, how many people it has infected," Wen Qimo added. "Liu Xiaoyan could be its first victim or who knows how many down the line. We need to prepare for the worst..."
"The worst-case scenario?" Hongying questioned.
"That the entire Second High...becomes a monster school," Wu Xiangnan said gravely, "even worse, the creature may have infected not only the school but also other parts of Cangnan City."
Upon hearing this, Li Yifei shivered suddenly. "What...what do you mean?"
"Have you ever considered..." Wu Xiangnan stood up slowly, looking directly into Li Yifei's eyes, speaking calmly, "that apart from you, everyone else in your school—teachers, classmates—might be monsters? No, even you standing here right now...may unknowingly have become part of the mystery?"
Li Yifei's pupils contracted suddenly, feeling a chill rushing from his feet to his brain, leaving his mind blank!
"Alright, Xiangnan, don't scare him," Wen Qimo chuckled as he stood up, "if that were the case, Disaster Crow would have already alerted us. Since there's been no activity, it means the situation isn't that dire yet."
"Disaster Crow? What's that?" Lin Qiye looked at Hongying with confusion.
"It's a crow, and also a forbidden object with its own forbidden zone," Hongying patiently explained, "when a major disaster is about to occur in Cangnan City, it will screech in advance, serving as a detector."
"Ah," Lin Qiye nodded.
"In any case, now that the mystery has surfaced, we must investigate thoroughly. If we let this creature continue to develop unchecked, we might be closer to the future described by Xiangnan than we think," Chen Muye said slowly, "Xiangnan, what's your plan?"
Wu Xiangnan sat back down, adjusted his glasses, and said solemnly, "I think the immediate priority is to locate the true form of the mythical creature and determine how many people it has infected. Therefore, I propose that we split into two groups for this operation.
"One group will focus on the vicinity of Second High, searching for traces of other infected individuals;
"The other group will infiltrate Second High, follow the trail, and locate the true form as soon as possible."
Chen Muye nodded, scanning each
member with his gaze.
"Since we need to infiltrate Second High without alerting it, we must adopt the guise of high school students...
"Hongying, Xiaonan, and...Qiye,
"The task of finding the true form within Second High is entrusted to you."
"Ding dong—welcome!"
Lin Qiye pushed open the door of the office and saw Hongying, sitting upright on the sofa, lost in thought. She waved at him absentmindedly.
"Morning, Sister Hongying."
"Qiye! You finally came!" Hongying exclaimed as she saw Lin Qiye, rising abruptly from the sofa.
"What's wrong?"
"There's trouble." Hongying's expression turned serious as she grasped Lin Qiye's wrist and led him swiftly downstairs.
It was the first time Lin Qiye had seen Hongying look so grave. He furrowed his brows slightly. "Mysterious...arrival?"
"Yes, and it's quite thorny."
As they pushed open the door and entered the activity room, Lin Qiye noticed that all the members of Squad 136 were already present.
Chen Muye, leaning against a pillar, approached the meeting table as Lin Qiye arrived and took a seat, still expressionless.
"Everyone's here, let's begin the meeting."
Once everyone was seated, Chen Muye tapped his knuckles on the tabletop and began slowly, "Last night, we received information about another suspected mythical creature sighting."
"The location is... Second High School in Cangnan City."
"Second High?!" Lin Qiye was taken aback.
"Yes, the school you attended." Chen Muye nodded. "And it seems the one who reported it is someone you're familiar with."
Chen Muye called out to the room behind, "Hey kid, awake yet? Come out if you are!"
All eyes turned towards the room, and soon, the door opened slowly, revealing a teenager with bloodshot eyes.
Upon seeing him, Lin Qiye exclaimed, "Li Yifei?"
Li Yifei blinked, rubbed his eyes, and confirmed upon seeing Lin Qiye sitting at the meeting table.
"Lin Qiye? What are you doing here? Did you see that monster too?"
"No, he's one of us," Wu Xiangnan corrected.
"A temporary member," Chen Muye clarified.
Li Yifei stared at Lin Qiye in disbelief for a moment before reacting, "What the heck! They said you joined the military, but you ended up here!"
Lin Qiye shrugged. "Unexpected turn of events."
"We can discuss your matters later. Let's focus on the case for now," Chen Muye reminded, then added, "Normally, if there's a case involving potential mysteries, it's reported to the police first, and then they refer it to us. But this kid here had a run-in with the Ghost-Face Case before, interacted with us, and signed a confidentiality agreement, so they called us directly, skipping the usual process. This is an exception; our regular procedure isn't like this."
The others nodded, but Lin Qiye understood that Chen Muye's words were meant for him.
"Go on," Lin Qiye urged.
"Alright," Li Yifei cleared his throat and began recounting, "Last night, when I went back to school to get my homework, I happened to see..."
Li Yifei described his observations from the previous night in detail. As his narrative progressed, the brows of the squad members furrowed deeper.
After Li Yifei finished, Wu Xiangnan nodded. "If what this kid said is true, then there's a 95% chance this matter is related to the mysterious."
"You should know, if you're fabricating reports, there will be consequences," Wu Xiangnan reminded him.
"I know, I know. Everything I said before is true, couldn't be truer!" Li Yifei earnestly replied.
"Alright." Chen Muye turned to Wu Xiangnan. "What are your thoughts?"
"Based on the information we have so far, this mythical creature possesses a strong camouflage ability. It can transform into others while maintaining normal communication, without revealing its true nature."
Wen Qimo sighed beside him. "Camouflage...another troublesome character."
"In addition, it appears to have the ability to assimilate the organisms it swallows, which is our real concern," Wu Xiangnan continued.
"Like zombies in movies? Endless infection?" Hongying asked.
"Although the method of infection is different, the effects are indeed similar."
"So, can't we just storm into the school and take down this Liu Xiaoyan?" Hongying's eyes lit up.
"It's not that simple." Lin Qiye, sitting at the other end, suddenly spoke up. "If it can infect others, we can't be sure if Liu Xiaoyan is its true form...because she might also be infected by someone else."
"Qiye's right," Wu Xiangnan nodded. "The biggest challenge of this mysterious event lies in not knowing the source of this peculiar infection. It's like dealing with zombies; even if we kill all the subordinates, it's useless if we can't find the zombie mother."
"And we don't know how long this mythical creature has been around, how many people it has infected," Wen Qimo added. "Liu Xiaoyan could be its first victim or who knows how many down the line. We need to prepare for the worst..."
"The worst-case scenario?" Hongying questioned.
"That the entire Second High...becomes a monster school," Wu Xiangnan said gravely, "even worse, the creature may have infected not only the school but also other parts of Cangnan City."
Upon hearing this, Li Yifei shivered suddenly. "What...what do you mean?"
"Have you ever considered..." Wu Xiangnan stood up slowly, looking directly into Li Yifei's eyes, speaking calmly, "that apart from you, everyone else in your school—teachers, classmates—might be monsters? No, even you standing here right now...may unknowingly have become part of the mystery?"
Li Yifei's pupils contracted suddenly, feeling a chill rushing from his feet to his brain, leaving his mind blank!
"Alright, Xiangnan, don't scare him," Wen Qimo chuckled as he stood up, "if that were the case, Disaster Crow would have already alerted us. Since there's been no activity, it means the situation isn't that dire yet."
"Disaster Crow? What's that?" Lin Qiye looked at Hongying with confusion.
"It's a crow, and also a forbidden object with its own forbidden zone," Hongying patiently explained, "when a major disaster is about to occur in Cangnan City, it will screech in advance, serving as a detector."
"Ah," Lin Qiye nodded.
"In any case, now that the mystery has surfaced, we must investigate thoroughly. If we let this creature continue to develop unchecked, we might be closer to the future described by Xiangnan than we think," Chen Muye said slowly, "Xiangnan, what's your plan?"
Wu Xiangnan sat back down, adjusted his glasses, and said solemnly, "I think the immediate priority is to locate the true form of the mythical creature and determine how many people it has infected. Therefore, I propose that we split into two groups for this operation.
"One group will focus on the vicinity of Second High, searching for traces of other infected individuals;
"The other group will infiltrate Second High, follow the trail, and locate the true form as soon as possible."
Chen Muye nodded, scanning each
member with his gaze.
"Since we need to infiltrate Second High without alerting it, we must adopt the guise of high school students...
"Hongying, Xiaonan, and...Qiye,
"The task of finding the true form within Second High is entrusted to you."
