Bone-Burrowing Maggots ! The moment I saw those squirming parasites, I instantly recognized what they were—and also realized whose flesh Yinbai had just bitten off: Lin Feng's!
That bastard was nearby this whole time. He must have used some special method to mask his presence, which is why I hadn't noticed a thing. But what he didn't count on was that I'd have Yinbai with me. The moment he appeared, Yinbai must've sensed him and attacked. I don't know what Lin Feng was trying to do this time, but clearly, it didn't go as planned—and he paid for it with a chunk of flesh from his rear end.
Now that Lin Feng was involved, this had become far from a minor issue.
I pretended I needed some fresh air, stepped just outside the van, and stood behind the door to discreetly call Sun Fatty. Thankfully, his phone was finally back on. As soon as I explained the situation, he said immediately, "Lazi, get back in there and stay with Yinbai. Don't act on your own—seriously, don't. Yang Jun's almost there. You come back with him. We'll talk when you're safely back."
Not long after I hung up, one of the Bureau's official vehicles pulled up with Yang Jun inside.
But something felt off—way off. Based on the timing, there was no way Yang Jun should've arrived so fast. Thinking back to when I left the Bureau, how Sun Fatty had insisted I bring Yinbai… my gut started to churn. Was I being maneuvered again? Another one of Sun Fatty's "coincidences"?
Turned out, Yang Jun had been at the airport boarding a flight for a private case (which I later found out was arranged by Xiao Heshang) when Sun Fatty called him back, saying something had come up and he was urgently needed for an escort mission. Yang Jun hadn't even been told what had happened.
After he arrived, we didn't leave immediately. It took another two hours for the second team from Unit Two—tasked with cleaning up the site—to show up. Once everything was handed off, we finally made our weary way back to the Bureau.
After ensuring our safe return, Yang Jun dashed straight back to the airport to catch the next flight and resume his job on our little side project.
Unit Two carried the zombie down to the quarantine chamber on B2, gave it a basic containment treatment, and waited for Ouyang Pianzuo to take over in the morning.
Yinbai, however, had other plans.
As soon as we returned to the Bureau, his eyes snapped open. He bolted off the car, racing up the main building. The fine rope that had been tied to his neck—I'd torn it off earlier—was gone. Without that restraint, I was worried he might get feral, so I sprinted after him all the way to the canteen.
The lights in the canteen were blazing.
Right in the middle sat Sun Fatty, alone at a round table. In front of him was a massive basin of braised pork shank—enough meat to make a grown man gag. Even though I hadn't eaten all night, seeing that obscene mound of meat suddenly made bile rise in my throat.
Sun Fatty was staring blankly at the meat, something I'd never seen from him. We'd known each other for years, but I'd never seen him dazed like this.
He heard my footsteps and snapped out of it, his familiar grin snapping back into place. "Lazi, that was a rough one. Not hurt, right? I mean it."
While he talked, Yinbai trotted straight up to him, eyes locked on the basin of meat. Sun Fatty chuckled and tossed a large chunk into the wolf's mouth. "Relax, it's all yours. No one's gonna fight you for it." He kept feeding him while his other hand discreetly pulled out a pre-tied rope loop. With practiced ease, he slipped it back around Yinbai's neck mid-bite.
Yinbai paused briefly, looked up at him, then simply lowered his head and resumed chewing, as if nothing had happened.
"Still hungry? I got more," I said, tossing the piece of meat Yinbai had brought back onto the table.
Sun Fatty glanced at it, froze for half a second, then gave me a wide, toothy grin. "See? Didn't I tell you bringing Yinbai along was the right move?"
"Enough of the small talk—get to the point." I stared at him, heart racing. "Da Sheng, how did you know Lin Feng would come after me again?" But halfway through the sentence, another thought exploded in my mind. "Shit! My family! Da Sheng, Lin Feng failed this time—next time he might go after my parents! I need to get back. Book me the earliest flight, now!"
My panic surged. I knew Sun Fatty had Lin Feng's wife and kid as leverage, but Lin Feng had abandoned them willingly. Who even knew if that kid was actually his?
Sun Fatty lit a cigarette and handed me one. "Calm down. I've already arranged for your grandpa and the others to leave the country—just in case. Not just yours. All direct family members of Bureau personnel are out of the country now. Once Lin Feng's situation is handled, we'll bring them back."
"…They're all out?" I was stunned. "How did I not know?" The Bureau had at least five or six hundred people with direct relatives. Sun Fatty got all of them out?
"You don't know a lot of things." He pulled the meat basin closer to Yinbai and wiped his hands on a tablecloth. Then he turned to me, his eyes calm. "Lazi, the Bureau is too big a target. You think I'm not afraid Lin Feng might kidnap someone's family and force them to drink demon acid? Everyone here's got loved ones—except me. When we took his wife and kid, it was just a way to buy time. From early yesterday morning to twenty minutes before I called you, seven hundred eighty-five people were quietly relocated to 125 different regions in 23 countries. That's all I've been doing lately."
"So what about Lin Feng? How did you know he would target us in Tianjin?" After hearing what Sun Fatty said, I finally felt a bit more at ease, but I still couldn't figure out how he'd known Lin Feng would show up near the ancient tomb.
"It wasn't you all he was after—just you." Sun Fatty gave me a half-smile, then went on, "There's something in the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation that he still wants. Aside from Wu Rendi and the Two Yangs, you're the only one who can access it. Who else would he go after? He's been with the Bureau long enough to understand our internal protocols better than I do. If he wanted to ambush you, he'd find a way."
"I actually thought about sending the Two Yangs with you. That way, if Lin Feng showed his face, they could take him down on the spot. But those two are way too recognizable—drop them into a crowd and they'd stick out like sore thumbs. That's when I thought of Yinbai. Too bad it only managed to tear off a chunk of his ass. If it had gone for the kill, this whole mess could've ended right there."
While Sun Fatty was talking, Yinbai had already devoured the entire basin of meat like a whirlwind. It didn't even chew—just grabbed a chunk and gulped it down. Not even a drop of broth was left behind; it licked the steel basin until it gleamed. After consuming nearly half its body weight in braised meat, Yinbai still didn't look satisfied. It lifted its head and stared at Sun Fatty. He hadn't expected the meat to vanish so fast, and it wasn't until Yinbai pushed the empty basin to his feet with a paw that he realized: "You ate nearly forty pounds of meat? That's all there is. We agreed on thirty pounds yesterday, and you already exceeded that. Next time, fine—I'll prepare fifty pounds if something like this comes up again…"
Yinbai was clearly not pleased with the deal. It bared its fangs at Sun Fatty, growling low from its throat. Even though its powers were currently sealed, the scene was intimidating enough that Sun Fatty instinctively backed away several steps. Unfortunately, the kitchen had been under repair these past few days, and Old Jin hadn't left anything edible behind. With no other option, Sun Fatty pulled out his phone and started calling the nearby restaurants we frequented.
But dawn had only just broken—no place had meat dishes ready this early. Call after call came up empty. While dialing, Sun Fatty glanced at Yinbai and said, "You sure you don't want fried dough sticks instead?"
With Yinbai throwing a tantrum, there was no way I could get a straight answer out of Sun Fatty. I gave up and let him deal with it himself, heading back to the dorms for some sleep. After a whole night of chaos, I was bone-tired—but of course, when I actually wanted to rest, I couldn't fall asleep. I tossed and turned in bed for nearly an hour before giving up entirely.
I dug out the backup key Sun Fatty had stashed with me two years ago and went into his dorm. I found a packet of instant noodles, ate it, then strolled back toward the Bureau. The investigators from Second Section who had participated in last night's case were all resting. Sun Fatty had been summoned by Gao Liang and was now behind closed doors in a long meeting. There was no one in Sixth Section either. Taking advantage of the quiet, I returned the short sword I'd taken back into Director Wu's storage locker. After wandering around aimlessly for a while, I somehow found myself taking the elevator to the fourth basement level.
I startled myself a bit—what was I doing here? About to turn back, I paused. Since I was already here, might as well head down another level and look for Guangren. Might be a good time to fuse the seed into my other arm.
I went down to Basement Level Five and made my way toward Guangren's cell. As usual, he was chained to the floor. When he heard my footsteps, he looked up and gave me a faint smile. "Looking pretty lively. I thought it'd take you a couple of days to recover before coming back to see me. Didn't expect we'd meet again so soon."
Guangren smiled at me. Even though I knew he'd been stripped of his power by Wu Rendi, standing face-to-face with him still exerted pressure on me. After a brief silence, I said, "You think I wouldn't be in good shape? Last time, I slept for a full day and night right here."
"That long?" Guangren stood up and pointed toward the ceiling. "I can't see the sun or moon from here. No clocks, either. After a while, you forget what time even means."
He said it with a smile, but there was a faint bitterness in his words that I couldn't miss. I didn't want to dwell on that subject, so I changed topics. "So, this time when I fuse the seed again, it won't take as long, right? If it's still going to be a whole day and night, give me a heads-up—I need to make arrangements upstairs so they don't freak out when they can't find me."
"This time? Hehehe…" Guangren let out a strange chuckle, then said, "Didn't I tell you the first time? What I teach you depends on how much you impress me. You're empty-handed today—be glad if I even say a few words. As for seed fusion? Let's see what kind of sincerity you bring next time."
Only then did I realize I'd forgotten about our barter agreement. I tried to negotiate a little, see if I could get him to make an exception just this once, but Guangren had already sat back down, lowering his head and closing his eyes like a meditating monk. No matter how I tried to draw him out, he refused to speak another word.
The situation was a bit awkward, but I didn't want to leave empty-handed. If I couldn't fuse the seed today, at least I could try to get some intel. "Alright, forget about the seed. Can I at least ask you something?"
Hearing me shift gears, Guangren opened his eyes and looked at me. I saw a flicker of interest. I gestured while speaking: "Ever seen two short swords about this long? The blades are slim, glowing with a blue shimmer, and neither of them has a scabbard. They're kept in a long rectangular wooden case…"