Chapter 3 – “Did you smell that?”

Each of the ten special task squads in the Investigation Department consisted of top-level Sentinels and Guides, selected from thousands of candidates.

If First Squad through Sixth Squad occasionally helped with high-risk incidents that other teams couldn’t handle, then the involvement of Seventh Squad or higher clearly showed that it was a disaster-level and extremely dangerous situation. 

However, the presence of Seventh Squad here wasn’t because of an extremely high hazard level; it was just a coincidence.

In a way, the members of Seventh Squad themselves didn’t know why they were suddenly involved in this operation.

Ten minutes ago, everyone was happily planning to book a private room and have fun there.

Suddenly, they received a call for assistance from the department’s special communication device, and their boss quickly ‘dispatched’ them to this location.

Until they stormed into the building, Shen Wenyan, who was fully armed and charging in the forefront, still had a look of disbelief. “So you’re telling me our hard-earned vacation we’ve been looking forward to is gone just like that? Seriously gone?!”

The others wisely kept silent.

After a moment, Shen Wenyan heard the man behind him chuckle unpredictably. “Didn’t we plan to find a place to relax? Isn’t it enough to bring you all here to loosen up?”

Shen Wenyan was speechless.

When he turned around, he met with a pair of eyes twinkling with a hint of amusement. He was startled by the turbulent emotions brewing inside, then a sudden realization dawned. “Enough! More than enough! Go ahead, Boss; you can relax however you want. This place is an absolute surprise!”

The man referred to as ‘boss’ was none other than Su Fengzhou, the captain of the Seventh Squad.

Everyone continued to move swiftly, maneuvering through the unexpected twists and turns smoothly. As the evening light faded, it made his already handsome appearance even more striking.

His tall figure was entirely wrapped in a black uniform, highlighting his strong feature clearly and between the raised corners of his eyes, there was a hint of redness, adding a touch of aggressiveness to the already captivating appearance, making others not dare to approach him.

Those who had spent time with Su Fengzhou were aware that this expression of his indicated he was going to have an ‘outburst’ once again.

The strange roar from an unknown source filled the staircase, creating a heavy atmosphere.

The other members from the Seventh Squad stopped nearby, simultaneously creating a path for Su Fengzhou.

Then, they watched as their captain ran his fingers along the special metal knife hanging at his waist, lightly licking his dry lips before walking straight toward the hunting zone.

Faced with aliens immune to the new weapons, the most effective way to attack them was by using a simple blade.

With Su Fengzhou’s departure, the heavy pressure around them eventually dissipated.

Shen Wenyan finally relaxed; the tension in his whole body eased a lot. He let out a breath, yet he still felt somewhat worried. “What’s going on? Most girls only have their menstrual period once a month. How many times has Boss experienced it this month?”

Rong Yun, as the Seventh Squad’s only Guide, had already set up a spiritual barrier around the building.

Upon hearing this, she responded precisely, “The third time already.”

The moment the words fell, a brief silence descended upon them.

Everyone concurrently exchanged glances; their expressions were slightly solemn.

Since last July, it was obvious that it occurred frequently and it increasing.

This was clearly a very dangerous sign.

…

The people outside naturally noticed the spiritual barrier erected around the building by the Guide.

Then, they were drawn by a loud howl coming from afar.

The spirit form of the Seventh Squad’s captain, Su Fengzhou, was a black wolf, which was long known to everyone in the field.

However, from the viewpoints of the people at the entrance, there was only one person moving among the terrifying number of alien limbs.

Although they heard the captain of the Seventh Squad was fond of charging head-on first, they found the other members watched the show even more openly than they expected.

In the end, it was an arrangement made by the squad, and it wasn’t something that others should interfere with.

Soon, no one paid attention to the arrangement of the Seventh Squad.

The aliens on the 18th floor were proved to be unexpectedly effective in combat.

Just a moment after Su Fengzhou’s arrival, the walls began to collapse one after another, bearing major damage.

The impact caused a loud noise, sending a thick cloud of dust around the entire building.

Chen Sining, the leader of Team E at Ning City Research Department, hadn’t gone to inspect the accident site but was still seeing such an impressive scene with his own eyes for the first time.

He instinctively held his breath and quietly swallowed before asking, “Is the destructive power of a top-level Sentinel really this formidable?”

He had seen Sentinels in action before, but in terms of visual impact, those people combined couldn’t match Su Fengzhou alone.

That spiritual form didn’t resemble a black wolf at all; it looked more like an Alaskan Malamute! It was practically ripping the place apart with its bare hands!

The on-site supervisor next to him heard Chen Sining’s words and couldn’t help but sigh. “Isn’t that why they say Lunatic Su is the top humanoid weapon among all ten task squads? Since he was transferred to the Seventh Squad, the ‘incidents’ he’s dealt with are countless, not to mention back when it was still in that cave… Ahem, no matter what, it’s a good thing we happened to run into him nearby today; otherwise, we’d really be in big trouble.”

As he said this, the weight on his heart gradually lifted.

A small smile of relief crossed the on-site supervisor’s face. He discreetly wiped his palm and noticed it was covered in cold sweat.

While the cave people were clearly responsible for the alien escaping, if an accident happened under his watch because of poor cleanup, he would definitely be ready to step down.

Ying Xize stood not far away.

He seemed oblivious to their conversation, his gaze steadily fixed on the high-rise.

Even with a significant distance between them, the Guide’s senses, much sharper than an average person’s, allowed him to clearly see the figure occasionally darting through the floors.

It resembled a large-scale violent demolition site, and that tall figure was undoubtedly the main source of all the commotion.

Ying Xize’s handsome brow slowly furrowed.

He could sense a subtle ripple in the air.

This was the spiritual power fluctuation belonging to Sentinels.

It silently hovered around him, embodying the emotions of its owner, faintly filled with restlessness and tension.

It was so faint it was almost imperceptible.

Judging by the others’ casual conversation, it was clear that no one else noticed it, leading Ying Xize to doubt whether it was simply his illusion.

After all, Seventh Squad clearly had a very powerful top-level Guide. Only with absolute dominance in spiritual strength could someone freely establish new protective layers within the barriers created by other Guides.

This also made any kind of leakage, especially those involving spiritual power, nearly impossible.

However, Ying Xize remained firmly convinced that the suppressed spiritual power he sensed, on the verge of collapse, was indeed real.

After about half an hour, the rampant destruction within the high-rise gradually subsided.

The withdrawal of the spiritual barrier seemed to herald safety, causing the tension among the people on the scene to finally dissolve.

The on-site supervisor swiftly coordinated the response, and soon, various related departments rushed to the scene for aftermath handling.

This high-rise was clearly the main stronghold of the aliens.

As soon as they walked through the main gate, the pungent smell of rot struck them, causing some less experienced staff to bend over and retch.

Although the others couldn’t help but look pale, they still forced themselves to keep moving inside.

And what they witnessed next was undeniably more shocking.

It was only then that everyone finally figured out where the community’s residents had gone.

The entire entrance of the hallway was covered with bodies lying in various ways; some still kind of looked human, and others were definitely mutated.

From the neck down, there was a clear trend of limbs turning into something like arthropods, but that didn’t stop them from becoming meals for the aliens.

These beings were almost unrecognizable as humans, covered in green slime. Their clothes were all messed up, and the bug-like changes on their skin held back the decay a little. Meanwhile, the parts that hadn’t changed yet were totally liquefied, sinking into a weird shape, like they’d been eaten away by a strange chemical.

The scene was extremely eerie, to the point where even the best descriptions wouldn’t fully capture its horror.

Some people who didn’t have much work experience also weren’t great at enduring. By the end, they couldn’t even throw up and just held it together until they couldn’t bear it anymore, then ran out before breaking down.

The scene inevitably descended into chaos for a moment.

In a place like this, the overly nonchalant voice of a man sounded somewhat out of place as the only background noise. “Ideas? I’m simply here to help manage the ‘incident.’ What kind of ideas would I have? If you’re wondering how this alien managed to enter the city silently, it would be more appropriate to ask the people at the Chen Mountain Cave rather than us frontline officers who willingly sacrificed our holiday to safeguard the people. Typically, last-minute overtime like this would come with double payment.”

Su Fengzhou held a peppermint cigarette in his mouth, and the ember on the tip flickered gently while he spoke.

Based on his expression alone, it was clear that he wasn’t very satisfied with the recorder.

The recorder was already somewhat tense during the questioning, and now, under the intense scrutiny of those deep eyes, he broke out in a cold sweat and shivered, nearly dropping his pen. “Y-you’re right, but since you were the only one at the scene just now, it’s not really convenient for me to inquire with others about the situation…”

In the middle of speaking, he had to cast a pleading glance toward Shen Wenyan.

Shen Wenyan truly felt a sense of sympathy for the young man still at his post, but he also recognized that Su Fengzhou wasn’t in a calm enough state to be reasoned with and was certainly not someone to provoke at this time.

Yet, he was someone who had a soft spot, so he cleared his throat and intervened at the right moment, saying, “Boss, you know the kid’s simply trying to do his job; it isn’t easy for him either. How about you briefly tell him what move you used back there?”

“Move? What moves could there be?”

Su Fengzhou squinted slightly, as if recalling. “Actually, the skin of this thing today is much tougher than usual. I almost couldn’t cut through it with my knife. There were so many limbs; I don’t know how they grew. There were seven or eight of them, and it was a bit fun to take them apart. Especially when the last cut went in and it burst into pulp… Ah, that kind of struggling state is really the most satisfying. Don’t you think?”

Shen Wenyan interjected as he always did, “Of course! You’re completely right!”

Su Fengzhou was obviously very pleased with this response, and his eyes were filled with a smile.

He gazed down at the sticky residue on the knife next to him. Even this sight appeared to evoke the sense of an unfinished battle from earlier.

The black wolf, still not pulled back into the spiritual realm, had been quietly lying at Su Fengzhou’s feet. Now, seemingly sensing excitement from its master, it looked over with a sharp gaze.

Su Fengzhou’s smile heightened the trembling in the eyes of the recorder instinctively.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep his tone as steady as possible.

“Besides these, is there anything else you wanted to say?”

“No, I’ve never been much of a talker.”

Su Fengzhou looked straight at the recorder.

With the gap narrowing a bit, the crimson tip of his cigarette almost brushed against the other person’s face.

It was too close; the recorder could see the excitement in Su Fengzhou’s eyes.

The crimson in the corner of his eyes was exceptionally noticeable.

Su Fengzhou’s quiet, raspy voice sounded almost like a whisper.

“Or, if there’s anything else intriguing hidden in this community that could entertain me, I might be able to help you explore further. The main issue is resolved, but if there are any other anomalies…”

“Boss, calm down! Boss, try to control yourself!”

Shen Wenyan saw Su Fengzhou almost lash out at the other person and quickly pulled him aside.

Within the silence, Su Fengzhou gave his cigarette a gentle shake.

The scattered sparks softly fell to the ground, quickly extinguishing.

“Mhm, let’s call it a day.”

He leaned against the wall, gradually lowering his eyes and gently closing them. As he listened to the footsteps of people passing by, he didn’t say another word.