The warm sun hung high in the sky, yet it could not dispel the icy atmosphere permeating the area around Iron Curtain Security.
Sounds of fighting echoed from within the building, and a crowd of onlookers gradually gathered outside.
“What's the situation in there? Is it a supernatural terrorist attack?” A middle-aged man in black clothes stood on his tiptoes, trying to see inside through the windows.
However, all he could see was a mess and dark stains slowly spreading outward.
“Nonsense. What supernatural creature would be so arrogant as to directly storm a transcendent's territory? If you ask me, it’s transcendent infighting,” a young man in a peaked cap said confidently, his face alight with the excitement of someone watching a disaster unfold.
“Things haven't been peaceful in the city lately. Suddenly, there are so many transcendents, and it feels like public order has gotten much worse,” another person said worryingly.
“Still, for a transcendent to dare to openly carry out a terrorist attack in the city, they must be incredibly bold. Aren't they afraid of the Investigation Bureau?”
“The Investigation Bureau? Hah!” The middle-aged man in black sneered.
“Those big shots only have the energy and means to oppress us ordinary civilians. If they run into a real tough customer, they’ll run faster than anyone, and maybe even have to smile and apologize to them.”
“Hey, who cares? What does it have to do with us? As long as there’s a show to watch. This is a crime scene—isn't it more exciting than a movie?” someone shouted indifferently, drawing a chorus of agreement from those around him.
The crowd chattered and craned their necks, enthusiastically watching the spectacle as if they were observing a grand drama that had nothing to do with them.
...
Inside Iron Curtain Security, in a corner of an office on the second floor piled high with documents, a bone-shattering crack echoed through the air.
The plush bear possessed by Ghost waited until the man had literally died from the pain before silently twisting off his head—his eyes still wide with the agony of his passing—and tossing it aside.
After patrolling the second and third floors to ensure no survivors remained, he controlled the blood-stained plush body and walked down the stairs step by step.
The first-floor lobby had been turned into a human slaughterhouse.
Severed limbs were scattered across the floor in various twisted positions, and blood pooled into puddles, flowing slowly.
A thick, nauseatingly sweet scent of blood hung in the air, mixed with the stench of ruptured organs.
Completely out of place in this bloody scene were three containment pods placed side by side in the center of the lobby.
Yue Shi stood before the pods, stroking his chin and frowning slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Ghost asked curiously.
The cleanup had gone smoothly, and Yue Shi had clearly finished his battle, yet he seemed to be contemplating something.
Yue Shi tapped the three containment pods with his finger.
“I took these from the containment vehicle outside. While I was clearing the place out, a core member of the security company said before he died that they received an emergency evacuation notice from above, so they were rushing to dispose of this batch of ‘cargo.’”
“Cargo?” Ghost’s gaze swept over the pods. “Independent transcendents they recruited, probably? I expect they’re consolidating their peripheral forces now that Lab 0 has been destroyed.”
Yue Shi said nothing more. He reached out, his fingertips mutating as he roughly broke the first sealed pod and flipped the lid open.
Inside curled a man, his eyes wide and pupils dilated, his face frozen in an expression of extreme agony.
His clothes were in tatters, and his exposed skin was covered in purple bruises and various wounds. His arms were broken, and he had clearly undergone intense struggling and torture before his death. He was completely gone.
The second sealed pod was the same. Inside was a middle-aged woman whose condition was even worse; her limbs were incomplete, and the wounds were jagged.
When the third sealed pod was forced open, a strong smell of medicine mixed with blood wafted out.
Inside was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. Her face was as pale as paper, her lips were purple, and she was similarly covered in scars. She looked as though she had long since gone cold.
“Eh, this one seems to have a faint heartbeat.” Ghost leaned closer and pointed at the woman.
...
Outside the security company, seeing that the onlookers were not being affected, the crowd grew even larger.
“Look, someone’s coming out!”
“Good heavens, that man’s hair is so long. I really want to ask how he maintains it.”
“The one next to him is a plush bear? What on earth?”
“I told you it was transcendents committing a terrorist attack! They’re so bold, taking their time even after committing a crime. Are they waiting for the Investigation Bureau to catch them?”
“Iron Curtain Security must have offended some harbinger of doom and got retaliated against.”
“Maybe it’s just criminal infighting. These private organizations don't exactly have clean backgrounds.”
“It’s also possible there was a supernatural creature inside and it was contained by a passing transcendent.”
The onlookers buzzed with discussion, various speculations emerging as excitement and fear intertwined on their faces.
“Disperse! Investigation Bureau business! All bystanders, clear the area!”
A sharp shout came from behind the crowd, carrying official authority.
Several figures in Investigation Bureau uniforms quickly pushed through the crowd and rushed to the front of the scene.
Their appearance immediately caused most of the spectators to scatter, no longer watching from up close.
Only a few particularly bold ones remained, hiding in nearby corners to continue peeking and filming with their phones.
“It’s the Investigation Bureau. Now the real show begins.”
“Li Hua, they’re going to run. Quickly, restrain them.”
The leader of the Investigation Bureau team, a cold-faced middle-aged man, immediately spotted the long-haired figure walking away with their back to them and the blood-stained plush bear. He instantly issued an order.
“Yes, sir!”
A slightly green young investigator in the team stepped forward.
This was Li Hua, a newcomer who had recently joined the local Investigation Bureau. This was his first mission; although he was nervous, he was more eager to demonstrate his sense of responsibility.
He extended his arm and made a sweeping motion forward.
In an instant, countless sheets of letter paper covered in scrawled handwriting appeared out of thin air, fluttering toward Yue Shi and Ghost like snowflakes caught in a gale.
This was Li Hua's supernatural power. Once attached by the letter paper, the target would be subjected to binding and mental interference, and they would have to write a letter according to the requirements on the paper to be released.
But his ability had only just been activated.
A sudden change occurred!
“Li Hua, get out of the way!”
An experienced colleague behind him shouted in alarm.
Swoosh!
A strangely shaped shell appeared out of nowhere and in some bizarre fashion less than three meters directly in front of Li Hua, hurtling toward him with a whistle.
Li Hua froze entirely, his mind going blank.
Where did this shell come from?
When was it thrown?
Am I going to die?
Fear flooded his heart, leaving him unable to even perform a basic evasive maneuver.
Li Hua was stunned, but he was not fighting alone.
At the critical moment, a figure rushed up behind him, grabbed his collar, and yanked him back with all his might!
It was the investigator who had just called out to warn Li Hua, a man named Old Feng.
Boom.
The shell exploded where the two had been standing a moment ago.
Unexpectedly, the explosion was small and caused no significant damage. Instead, a massive amount of pungent grey fog erupted instantly, quickly obscuring everyone's vision.
“Cough, cough...”
“It’s a smoke bomb!”
“Watch out for an ambush!”
The investigators were momentarily thrown into chaos, all going on high alert.
The captain’s face turned ashen as he shouted, “Stay alert! Li Hua, Old Feng, you two stay here and check the scene. The rest of you, follow me!”
The order was given, and the well-trained investigators executed it immediately.
The captain led several people into the smoke, relying on experience to try and track the two disappearing figures.
Old Feng pulled the shaken Li Hua and stayed behind.
The smoke was gradually dispersed by the cold wind, but the figures of Yue Shi and Ghost were already long gone.
Li Hua’s face was pale, his breathing rapid.
Old Feng patted Li Hua’s shoulder understandingly, his tone gentle. “It’s alright, kid. It’s normal to be nervous the first time you face such a dangerous situation. I was the same way back in the day.”
“The captain had you stay behind because he wanted you to acclimate first. Relax; you’ll be seeing plenty more scenes like this in the future.”
Li Hua swallowed hard and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. He nodded to Old Feng and tried to say something, but his throat felt tight.
“Hmm? What’s that smell?” Old Feng suddenly frowned and fanned the air in front of his nose.
Immediately, his gaze turned toward the wide-open doors of Iron Curtain Security.
Inside the doors was a heart-stopping shade of dark red. Thick, not-yet-solidified blood had gathered into a stream, slowly crossing the threshold and winding its way outward.
Li Hua followed his gaze, and his stomach instantly did a somersault.
Old Feng took a deep breath, his supernatural power ready. He cautiously walked toward Iron Curtain Security, stepped over the threshold, and entered that bloody purgatory.
Even as an old investigator who had seen many grand scenes, he felt a strong surge of nausea when he saw the specific details inside the lobby.
Severed limbs, ruptured organs, corpses in bizarre poses, intestines pulled out and tied together...
The walls, the ceiling, and the floor were almost entirely stained in a uniform dark red.
This was no longer a simple case of murder and arson; it was a one-sided, cruel slaughter!
Old Feng suppressed his discomfort and began a preliminary investigation.
Outside the door, driven by immense curiosity and a sense of duty, Li Hua eventually gritted his teeth and followed him in.
However, it took only a single glance.
The moment those bloody scenes entered his sight, Li Hua’s mental fortitude collapsed.
He suddenly covered his mouth, but the intense physiological reaction could not be suppressed.
Turning and stumbling out the door, he ran to the side of the street, leaned against a wall, and vomited violently, nearly bringing up bile.
The pain of his stomach cramping was far less than the shock brought by the image he had just seen.
Bloody and evil, it looked like some kind of cruel living sacrifice ritual.
He felt as though he would never be able to forget what he had seen today for the rest of his life.
It was tragic, simply too tragic.
What kind of wicked heart was required to commit such acts?
After catching his breath for a moment, the fear in Li Hua’s heart gradually transformed into grief and indignation.
He remembered that when his supernatural power had first awakened, Iron Curtain Security had reached out to him with a very generous salary and benefits package.
It was only because his mother had insisted that he join an official organization that he had regretfully declined them.
The company’s owner and members had seemed so kind, and they occasionally assisted the Investigation Bureau with its work.
At the thought of this, Li Hua clenched his fists.
A sense of professional duty surged in his chest.
He forcefully wiped the stains from the corner of his mouth, and a flame called “justice” began to burn in his eyes.
“How despicable.”
His voice was somewhat raspy from vomiting, but his tone was exceptionally firm.
“That criminal... I will definitely bring him to justice!”
...
In Fluorite Valley, inside a luxury suite of a high-end hotel—Yue Shi’s temporary lodging.
Heavy curtains were drawn, shutting out the external light and prying eyes.
The room was brightly lit, and a faint, lingering scent of blood drifted through the air.
Given Yue Shi’s current status as a wanted criminal, he naturally couldn't check into a hotel through normal channels.
He had simply borrowed a room that had been vacant for a long time and used a few small tricks to ensure temporary peace.
On the floor lay clean sheets stripped from the hotel bed.
A young woman who looked like a corpse was lying motionless on top of them.
This woman was the only one still alive among the three from the containment pods at the security company.
Her face was terrifyingly pale, but her breathing was slightly more stable than it had been in the pod.
In her hand, she lightly held a vibrant, emerald-green willow branch overflowing with life.
It was the healing supernatural object, Spring Is Not Late.
A soft, green glimmer full of life force was slowly flowing from the willow branch, seeping into the woman’s riddled body and slowly but continuously repairing her shocking external injuries.
Ghost had already detached from the plush bear, his information lifeform body floating in the room.
Seeing Yue Shi intently observing the woman on the floor, he couldn't help but ask, “You aren't exactly a kind-hearted person. What on earth is your goal in going through the trouble of bringing her back and even using a supernatural object to save someone who's half-dead?”
Yue Shi did not answer. On his forehead, a faint golden vertical mark emerged silently.
The world changed in Yue Shi’s vision. The surface of matter was stripped away, and countless flowing information characters brushed past his eyes like a river.
His gaze focused on the woman on the floor, and all information regarding her was captured and analyzed by Insight vision, then converted into text data he could understand.
【Acrobat】
【「Contortion」: Can control her own bones, joints, and muscles to perform structural reorganization and folding that violates anatomical laws.】
【「Stable Balance」: Can automatically adjust her center of gravity during any movement to obtain a state of absolute stable balance.】
【「Performance Time」: Greatly enhances her own presence, forcibly becoming the focus of attention for all surrounding intelligent lifeforms, drawing their gaze and causing them to ignore other surrounding existences.】
【「Escape Artistry」: In any form of binding, detention, or imprisonment, the Acrobat can find the weakest node and undo it through incredible coincidence.】
【「Causal Escape」: The highest level of Escape Artistry. Can temporarily strip oneself from a predetermined causality through various coincidences, which will lead to unknown consequences.】
Rate on N.U.
