Director Gao lightly tapped Sun Fatty's arm, signaling that he would take over the meeting. The two directors switched places, and Gao Liang scanned the audience before saying, "A sudden development just came in. In the suburbs of Nanjing, near a private residence in *****, traces of the former Fourth Division Director—Lin Feng—have been discovered…"
Before he could even finish the sentence, Yang Xiao suddenly shot up from his chair in the corner. Without a word to anyone, he bolted from the room like a gust of wind. Most of those present didn't understand why he had such an intense reaction, but Sun Fatty and I were among the few who did. The address Gao Liang just mentioned was the home of Shao Jie and Shao Yiyi, the only surviving bloodline of Wu Rendi. Yang Xiao was clearly rushing off to report this to Director Wu.
What was Lin Feng doing there? Weren't all immediate family members of Bureau personnel supposed to be relocated abroad? What was there to worry about? But judging from the paleness on Sun Fatty's face, I started to get the sense... maybe they had forgotten about that mother and daughter.
At the same moment Yang Xiao dashed out, Ouyang Pianzuo and Nicholas Hugo entered from the hallway. If Yang Xiao hadn't moved so quickly, the three of them might have collided. Ouyang and Hugo sat down in the front row without a word, both wearing serious expressions—they clearly already knew Lin Feng had appeared in Nanjing.
As they settled in, the doors to the conference room opened once again. About fifty to sixty investigators from the Fourth Division filed in, led by Wang Tianlei, someone I had a pretty good relationship with. Wang Lu walked beside him, whispering something quietly. It looked like they, too, had been briefed on the situation.
Gao Liang didn't seem fazed by Yang Xiao's abrupt exit. As if nothing had happened, he glanced at Ouyang and Hugo, then continued: "Because of this sudden development, assignments for the Kirin and Fujian incidents must be adjusted. Ximen Lian will still lead the Kirin case, with full participation from Second Division. Yang Xiao will support from the field."
"As for the coastal incident in Fujian…" Gao Liang paused, then went on, "Wang Tianlei will take command, with full Fourth Division mobilization. Yang Jun will support this team."
After giving the updated assignments, Gao Liang turned to glance at Sun Fatty—who had been watching him intently—and continued, "Regarding Lin Feng's reappearance in Nanjing, the matter will be jointly handled by Directors Ouyang Pianzuo, Nicholas Hugo, and Wu Rendi. Capture of the target is the top priority."
"Lastly, due to the gravity of all three events—and the fact that our main task force will be fully deployed—we'll be appointing a General Coordinator to oversee and connect all three operations. That role will be held by Comrade Sun Desheng."
When Gao Liang first mentioned Lin Feng's reappearance, a strange tension crossed Sun Fatty's face. He looked like he wanted to say something—his mouth even opened—but under Gao Liang's gaze, he swallowed it back. Gao Liang, unfazed, pressed on: "If there are no objections, all investigators participating in the operations, report to the Fourth Division to collect special equipment. Assemble in the parking lot in 30 minutes."
As the announcement concluded, the room stirred into motion. Investigators stood and began heading toward the door. I looked around—oddly, I seemed to be the only one who hadn't been assigned. I raised my hand and called out:
"Director Gao—what about me? Which team am I with?"
"You stay with me. You'll be stationed here," Gao Liang replied calmly. "The Bureau can't be left unattended. You only just woke up recently—take this chance to rest and recover."
And with that, Gao Liang paid me no further attention. He gathered Ximen Lian, Wang Tianlei, Ouyang, and Hugo around him to brief them on their missions.
Feeling a bit out of place standing nearby, I quietly slipped out of the conference room, planning to say goodbye to Sun Fatty before he left. I hadn't gone far when I saw him leaning against the doorway. As soon as he spotted me, he pulled me into a corner and said seriously:
"Lazi, looks like I won't be back for at least five to seven days this time. Listen, this case hit too suddenly—I need your help with a few things while I'm gone."
It was rare for Sun Fatty to speak to me in such a serious tone. I felt a little uncomfortable. "Depends what you need. If it's hiding some private stash of money, that's no problem. But if it's anything big, you better think carefully—I'd hate to screw it up and get blamed later."
Sun Fatty's expression softened a bit, and he gave a wry smile. "Private stash? Honestly, I've hidden it so well even I forgot where it is. If you find it, it's yours." As he spoke, he pulled a set of keys from his pocket and handed them to me.
"Now for the serious stuff," he said. "This key set includes access to my office, and the Level 3 Director's Vault in the third basement level."
Then he lowered his voice a little further. "Also, this key here is for that hidden chamber I took you to downstairs. I don't feel right carrying it—keep it for me until I get back. Oh, and I'm taking Caishu the spirit rat with me. But Yang Jun's black cat is still under my care... and let's not even talk about Yinbai. You must take care of those two. Don't let them fight. If Yinbai kills the cat, I'll be in serious trouble when I get back."
Just then, Gao Liang and the others exited the conference room. Gao gave Sun Fatty a quick hand signal—it seemed he had more instructions for him.
Before going over, Sun Fatty gave me one last look and said, "Lazi, let's both take care of ourselves for the next few days." Then he plastered his usual cheeky grin back on, jogged over to Gao Liang's side, and the two of them walked toward the elevator, chatting away.
Half an hour later, Sun Fatty led his team out of the Bureau, splitting up to handle their respective missions. I heard that before they left, Wu Rendi had already departed ahead of them—he was probably on his way to Nanjing by now.
The Bureau was never a bustling place to begin with. Now, it felt utterly empty. Aside from Gao Liang and me, only administrative staff remained on the upper floors, along with a few holdovers from Third and Fifth Division.
Nothing else happened that day.
The next morning, just as I arrived at the Bureau, I got a call from Gao Liang summoning me to his office. When I entered, I was surprised to see a long-unseen face—Secretary Yang—sitting across from Director Gao. Oddly enough, the one serving tea wasn't Wang Lu but that slightly sleazy guy nicknamed Bangchui.
It had been two years, and Secretary Yang seemed bolder now, chatting and laughing with Gao Liang like old friends. When he saw me enter, he even gave me a smile and a nod. Gao motioned for me to sit across from Yang. After signing a few documents, he handed them over and said:
"I've said it before—the Bureau lacks a proper channel for communicating with the higher-ups. Yang, you came a bit late. If you'd arrived two years ago, I'd have gladly handed off this burden. I'd find a quiet place to retire. How about it? Secretary and Director—two hats?"
"Hahaha, Director Gao, don't joke like that," Secretary Yang chuckled nervously, though his smile looked more like a grimace. "Please don't make things harder for me. I've only got six years to retirement—just let me finish them in peace."
Perhaps realizing that his joke had genuinely startled Secretary Yang, Gao Liang let out a hearty laugh and quickly steered the conversation toward trivial domestic matters. As long as the topic stayed away from Bureau operations, Secretary Yang could chat with the Director just fine. I chimed in now and then, making small talk from the sidelines.
As the clock approached lunchtime, Gao Liang stood up and said to Yang, "Don't be in such a hurry to leave today. There's no one else around the Bureau right now, so I don't have to keep a straight face all day. Let's go eat…"
He didn't get to finish the sentence. A deafening boom shook the air.
The entire Bureau building shuddered violently. After a brief pause, a second tremor rolled through like an aftershock. Secretary Yang was thrown off the couch and crashed to the floor. Flustered and scrambling, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Earthquake! Everyone out—run!"
At the exact moment of the first blast, Gao Liang's face had already changed. He swiftly switched his monitor to the building's surveillance feed with one hand, and with the other, he pointed sharply at Secretary Yang and barked, "Don't let him move!"
He didn't even need to finish the order—Bangchui, the slightly greasy assistant who'd been trailing Secretary Yang, promptly tripped his own superior and pinned him to the ground, straddling him with full body weight.
As the blast rang out, I distinctly sensed the arrival of dozens of immense spiritual auras, all converging rapidly at the Bureau's front gate.
Gao Liang flipped through the surveillance feed for Levels B3 and B4. I reminded him urgently, "It's the entrance!"
But Gao seemed not to hear me. Only after confirming that there was no abnormal activity in the lower levels did he switch the screen to the front entrance.
The Bureau's main gate had vanished entirely, and in its place, the front half of a shipping container truck had smashed straight through the entry. Judging by the extent of the damage, it must have rammed the entrance more than once.
At the same time, another camera showed the elevator doors opening on the first floor. Moyes, Hugo's countryman, stepped out with several investigators from the Third Division who'd been stationed for administrative duty. They'd probably felt the tremors from B2 and came up to check what was happening.
At a glance, the scene appeared to be nothing more than a vehicular accident. The truck driver, his face covered in blood, lay slumped in the driver's seat. Moyes didn't sense any danger and immediately led his team toward the truck, likely trying to rescue the injured driver.
Meanwhile, Gao Liang pulled out his phone and began scrolling through contacts, presumably looking for Moyes's number.
But the situation below had already begun to shift.
The side door of the shipping container suddenly burst open, and fifty or sixty armored monsters came spilling out like dumplings from a boiling pot.
I had seen this exact armor before, back when I first joined the Bureau. That time, it was deep beneath the ancient tomb of the Zhiguo Kingdom in the Gansu desert.
These creatures were called Soul Husks.
Back then, it had taken Qiu Bulao and Hao Wenming working together just to barely take down one of them.
Now there were over fifty.
I didn't dare imagine what would come next.
I couldn't just stand by and watch Moyes walk into his death. I turned and dashed toward the door—but Gao Liang grabbed me by the arm, stopping me in my tracks.
His facial muscles twitched slightly as he tore his eyes from the monitor and stared at me. "It's too late. Let Moyes hold them off for now. You take Secretary Yang and start evacuating all non-combat staff through the back elevators—get them down to Level B3. I know Sun Fatty took you to the hidden chamber. No time for pleasantries. Take this—"
He reached into his pocket and handed me a small glass vial, its contents shimmering like liquid mercury.
"This is liquid lead. Once you've secured everyone, go seal the keyhole on Level B4."
As he spoke, Gao Liang was already pulling a Type 54 pistol from his desk drawer. The sly, seasoned look he usually wore was gone, replaced with the ruthless focus of a predator.
After one last glance at the screen, he grinned darkly.
"I'll buy you a few minutes. Move fast—I can't hold out for long."
As he said this, the swarm of Soul Husks charged straight toward Moyes.
Realizing what he was up against, Moyes swiftly pulled out a flask of holy water, shouting something in his native tongue as he drenched his fists with it. In his final moments, he tried to hold the line, giving his team a chance to escape.
But it made almost no difference.
The first Soul Husk reached him.
Their blows landed at the same time—Moyes's fist punched straight through the creature's chest.
But in the next instant, his own head vanished in a mist of blood.