Chapter 87: “Calamity” Active in Yumen
In Jin Guan City, at the southwestern headquarters of the Siye Society, the lighting in Meeting Room 2 was dim. A circular conference table was surrounded by several projection screens flickering with light.
On the projection screen directly in front of Xing Yuan was a man with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, his face stern; he was the guardian of the Siye Society, the General.
The other projection screens displayed Zhong Hui, who was severely injured but recovering, along with several inspectors from other districts.
The recent urban legend incident in Shancheng had a wide-reaching impact, with several Cataclysm-grade urban legends involved, undoubtedly categorizing this event as a Cataclysm-grade incident. According to regulations, all inspectors needed to be informed of the detailed information about the incident.
By sharing this information, it would allow other inspectors to respond more quickly to similar incidents within their jurisdictions.
“Creak!” The door to the meeting room was pushed open, and Jin Jiao, dressed in a black suit, entered silently, delivering a document to Xing Yuan.
Xing Yuan took the document and, after reading it carefully, set it down, sat up straight, and said seriously, “Everyone, the investigation results are in. This urban legend incident in Shancheng resulted in 372 deaths and 2,235 people affected by Night Erosion…”
“The remnants of the X Haze God’s follower faction have all been arrested, totaling 147 individuals. The faith dissemination logs have also been sealed with the assistance of the Wordless Book guardian. I will have Jin Jiao send you the analysis of the Spirit Energy fluctuations that caused the Night Erosion shortly…”
“As for the clean-up of Spirit Energy remnants post-incident, the Shancheng Siye Society will be responsible for it. No objections?”
On the projection screen, Zhong Hui opened his mouth; although he felt somewhat stifled, he nodded, “No objections.”
After spending about ten minutes briefly introducing the various statistical data, Xing Yuan looked down at the document in her hand and continued, “The second matter is that the group of Spirit Ability users who attacked the Three Gorges Psychiatric Hospital has been confirmed to be members of the Shancheng Solar Eclipse Society.”
“And the one who covered their retreat is trusted confidant of the Solar Eclipse Elders’ Council, Lan Yi. At that time, Zhong Hui was present at the scene and was injured by Lan Yi. He can testify to this.”
Why add that I was injured? Zhong Hui’s mouth twitched slightly, suppressing his anger, “That’s right, I did hear the name Lan Yi.”
“Impossible!” an inspector interrupted, “Lan Yi can’t possibly still be alive!”
The operation to apprehend Lan Yi occurred within his jurisdiction, and he had witnessed Lan Yi’s body, so how could he believe that Lan Yi was still alive?
“I heard that Lan Yi used a large number of Zhipianxian during the attack on officer Zhong Hui?” another inspector spoke up, “Isn’t this one of the calamity’s common tactics? Do you think that Lan Yi could be an impersonator of the calamity?”
“After all, the calamity’s shadow also appeared in this incident.”
“It’s also possible that the calamity secretly reached some sort of cooperation with Lan Yi?” another inspector speculated.
“Enough!” Seeing the situation escalating, Xing Yuan interrupted, “Before we clarify the specific circumstances, what you all are saying can only be speculation. The review will not be discussed for now.”
“However, I tend to believe that the calamity has reached some sort of mutual benefit cooperation with Lan Yi.”
“According to information obtained by Luxianbei of the Huacheng Siye Society, it appears that the calamity has recently been selling some homemade low-level Spirit Energy items, which could also be the source of the Zhipianxian in Lan Yi’s possession.”
As Xing Yuan finished speaking, the expressions on the faces on the projection screens changed.
Some inspectors were indifferent, as it didn’t concern them.
The inspector who had personally seen Lan Yi’s body wore a suspicious expression, clearly unconvinced that Lan Yi was alive.
Zhong Hui, severely injured, felt his face flush red, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
You call that low-level Spirit Energy items? What about me, who got blown up by those so-called low-level Spirit Energy items? You might as well say that a fragmentation grenade is just a toy for children! Zhong Hui thought.
The General, on the projection screen opposite Xing Yuan, didn’t express much but his eyes showed subtle changes multiple times.
Luxianbei reported on the calamity and even reported it to you? Xing Yuan, you’re impressive! No wonder you and Bai Kai are a pair… the General thought.
“…”
d*mn kid, I can only help you up to this point.
The crime of illegally selling Spirit Energy items is much less severe.
While I don’t know what you’re up to with that woman from the Solar Eclipse Society, if this group suspects you’re helping them, that would be troublesome…
Xing Yuan thought, noticing that no one else raised objections, glanced at the document in her hand, and hurriedly shifted topics, “Regarding the mysterious urban legend that appeared near the Changlekou subway station in Shancheng…”
As she spoke halfway, she looked at the General, who nodded to indicate she could continue, “Upon investigation, this urban legend is identified as Code 0, Cataclysm-grade, and has appeared in the Siye Society’s vision for the second time. Its preliminary threat level is red.”
“In the future, if any of you discover any signs of Code 0 urban legend activity within your respective jurisdictions, you must immediately notify the guardians and not take any action on your own.”
“What about the other two urban legends that appeared at the incident site? Any handling suggestions?” someone inquired, “Doesn’t anyone think it’s a bit too coincidental for them to show up there?”
The one speaking was the inspector who had previously seen Lan Yi’s body.
“Shouldn’t we consider adjusting their ranking on the red wanted list?”
You’re so troublesome! Glancing at that projection screen, Xing Yuan furrowed her brow slightly.
The other two urban legends referred to were, of course, the calamity and Jumeng.
As the meeting presider, Xing Yuan initially planned to tactfully skip over this topic to help Luxianbei avoid getting in trouble.
While their appearance at Changlekou subway station was indeed suspicious regarding their intentions, they hadn’t caused any destruction and had delayed enough time for the Zixiao Terrace’s long-range strike, so this was considered a “relatively unimportant” detail.
However, now that someone pointed it out, she had to address it.
“…”
This is really giving me a headache. Wasn’t it agreed that you would stay put in Huacheng and manage your own territory?
The last time in Peach Source, it was a mandated task that happened to intersect; there was no avoiding it. How would I explain this time?
Can’t you just ease up a bit? I should have forced you to sign a contract back then.
Worried for Luxianbei, Xing Yuan rubbed her aching temples, calculating how to steer the inspectors’ attention towards Jumeng and downplay the threat of the calamity when the General suddenly spoke up.
“From the situation observed at the scene, it was merely a hunting activity among urban legends. Had it not been for the unexpected appearance of the Code 0 urban legend, their ultimate goal should have only been hunting the Haze God’s offspring.”
“Moreover, whether the calamity in Shancheng is the true calamity is still uncertain. Intelligence indicates that there have also been signs of calamity activity near the Jade Gate Desert recently, so the consensus among the guardians is that there is no need to adjust the red wanted list for them.”
He paused and added, “However, that Spirit Ability user suspected to be Lan Yi’s confidant from the Elders’ Council of the Solar Eclipse Society is worth watching. We plan to add them to the red wanted list later.”
As one of the guardians most frequently contacted by the inspectors, the General’s words carried significant weight. After he spoke, no inspector raised further objections, and the meeting naturally transitioned into its final segment.
“The last matter, Shancheng Siye Society officer Jiang Li has gone missing after encountering three high-level Spirit Ability users and urban legends during an investigation. It’s suspected that she has been abducted by members of the Solar Eclipse Society.”
“Relevant investigative tasks will be released on the internal network soon. If any of you have related cases in your jurisdictions, please cooperate.” Xing Yuan said with a serious expression.
“No problem!”
“Definitely, definitely!”
“Got it…”
Thus, the meeting ended amidst a mix of perfunctory and serious responses, and as the projection screens went dark, the room descended into darkness.
After a long moment, Xing Yuan let out a silent sigh and softly called, “Jin Jiao…”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m here.”
“Later, bring me the surveillance footage from the Three Gorges Psychiatric Hospital to review.” Xing Yuan instructed.
“Understood, ma’am. I’m on it.”
Watching Jin Jiao leave from the corner of her eye, Xing Yuan sighed again.
The surveillance footage from the Three Gorges Psychiatric Hospital was the last time Jiang Li had been visible to the Siye Society.
Earlier, she had already reviewed the footage, where Jiang Li engaged in a fierce battle with an intruding Spirit Ability user from the hospital, moving from the corridor all the way into the forests of Chijia Mountain, eventually disappearing.
Through investigation and comparison, the man who appeared in the surveillance footage bore a striking resemblance to a member of the Solar Eclipse Society previously found in Siye Society records. Unless something unexpected occurred, Jiang Li should now be in the hands of the Solar Eclipse Society.
However, for some reason, when Xing Yuan watched the footage, she noticed that the Solar Eclipse Society member seemed to be holding back during the fight with Jiang Li, as if consciously avoiding hurting her.
This was one of the reasons why she concluded that Jiang Li had been kidnapped rather than killed.
“What a headache! If that kid finds out about this, he might cause some chaos!” Xing Yuan muttered to herself, slumping back in her chair, rubbing her aching temples. “But hiding this won’t be easy; if all else fails, I’ll just let Jin Jiao send the task details to his email.”
In her view, allowing Luxianbei to take on the task of investigating the reason for Jiang Li’s disappearance would keep him within a controllable range, with rules and regulations restricting him—much better than waiting for him to discover on his own that Jiang Li had been abducted and then sneakily stirring up trouble.
Letting Luxianbei run wild, God knows what big news he would create…
————
On the other side.
As soon as the video meeting ended, the General took out the jade Gray Owl Badge from his pocket, infused it with Spirit Energy, and contacted Bai Kai.
“Hey, how’s it going with adapting to the Spirit Patterns these days?”
“It’s alright!” Bai Kai’s voice came from within the Gray Owl Badge, “Barely reached the expected level.”
“You spent so much effort just to barely reach the expected level? You really have no talent.” The General said blandly.
“You…” Bai Kai was momentarily at a loss for words.
Comparing one’s talent can be infuriating; in terms of talent, he truly was a step behind the General.
“I have some good news for you.” The General changed the subject.
“Spit it out!” Bai Kai replied unenthusiastically.
“The calamity situation in Shancheng has been more or less resolved…” The General hadn’t finished speaking when he was interrupted by Bai Kai’s sarcastic voice.
“More or less resolved? Didn’t you say you could resolve it perfectly? Looks like you’re not that capable!”
“Say whatever you want.” The General replied indifferently, “I’m just letting you know so that you can enter Yumen Pass with peace of mind.”
In response, Bai Kai fell silent for a few seconds before replying, “Thanks, I’ll be heading out tomorrow. I’ll treat you to drinks when I get back.”
“Sure.” The General replied, and then as if recalling something, quickly added, “By the way, I recently received information suggesting that the calamity’s shadow has been appearing frequently near Yumen Pass, attacking members of the Miracle Cult wandering nearby…”
“Ah? How is that possible? Isn’t Luxianbei in Shancheng?” Bai Kai’s surprised voice came from the Gray Owl Badge.
“That’s what’s strange, the probability of activity near Yumen Pass…”
“What probability!” Bai Kai raised his voice, correcting, “That’s definitely a fake!”
“…” The General paused for a moment and followed Bai Kai’s line of thought, “That’s what I meant; I’m telling you this just to remind you not to let false information affect your actions.”
He understood well the purpose of Bai Kai’s journey and how significant Luxianbei was in Bai Kai’s heart, so he believed that if he didn’t inform Bai Kai of this situation in advance, there was a good chance Bai Kai would lose focus due to the fake calamity when he got near Yumen Pass.
As for why he suspected that the calamity currently active near Yumen Pass was a fake… it was because there was no information indicating that the calamity had a contingent of Spirit Ability users riding on flying pigs under its command!
From the existing intelligence, that group of Spirit Ability users always operated at night, numbering over a hundred, all riding flying pigs and equipped with high-quality Spirit Energy items. Most of the time they attacked Miracle Cult members, occasionally targeting Siye Society members as well, resembling desert raiders, and were exceptionally fierce.
Such a powerful force could not have been cultivated in a short time; the calamity was just exhausted from dealing with that man not long ago and shouldn’t have had time to cultivate this strength.
Most importantly, who would rob at night and intentionally reveal their identity?
The intention to place the blame was too obvious, the General thought.
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing! That’s all for now, we’ll talk later.” After saying that, Bai Kai cut off the communication with the Gray Owl Badge.
Feeling the communication end, the General held the jade Gray Owl Badge, playing with it for a moment, and muttered softly, “Take care…”
