Chapter 14: Initial Exploration of the Solar Eclipse Society’s Stronghold [4K]
The person who died at the Shancheng train station was Wang Han, who went missing last night.
After the autopsy of Wang Han’s body, Special Action Team operative Tan discovered that he had very severe lung cancer, with cancer cells having spread throughout his body, and the cause of d*ath was as announced by the train station broadcast: a series of complications caused by cancer.
However, what was strange was that when a health check was organized by Shancheng Medical University earlier this year, all indicators of Wang Han’s health were quite normal. As a PhD specializing in oncology, he surprisingly did not notice any abnormalities in his body until the cancer cells had spread throughout his body.
“Li Jie, have you seen Old Tan’s autopsy report?” Lin Kule asked Jiang Li. “The Wang guy’s lungs actually turned out like that, it’s terrifying.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen it.” Jiang Li nodded, her expression grave.
On the surface, determining the cause of Wang Han’s d*ath as pain-related was not problematic. However, the only link that could connect him to the urban legend incident was likely his severely mutated lungs.
His lungs were twisted, as if grasped by a pair of large hands and forcibly twisted several times, with alveoli, nerves, muscles, and various tissues intertwined like twisted dough. Moreover, all tissues showed significant calcification, making the entire lung fragile like wax, easily shattered upon a tap.
With both lungs deteriorating to that extent, even if he hadn’t died from cancer complications at the station, he would eventually suffocate to d*ath from inability to breathe.
Besides the visually grotesque malformations that made it seem difficult to breathe, even more suspicious was the presence of a large amount of black substance between his lung lobes.
Those black substances were wet with mucus from the lung lobes, coalescing into clumps of dark material, akin to peat dug underground. Preliminary tests suggested that those black substances were inhalable particulate matter like dust, sulfides, and nitrates, simply put, the main components of smog.
However, to accumulate that much inhalable particulate matter in the lungs, one would have to forcefully insert two tubes into Wang Han’s nostrils and continuously pump harmful gases like automobile exhaust and industrial gases for an extended period; only then would it be possible.
“This is m*rder to silence him!” Lin Kule said indignantly. “That Wang guy must have known the sordid details between the Solar Eclipse Society and the X Celestial God, which is why he got eliminated.”
“My intuition tells me that as long as we capture Zhang Yi, we will be able to get results quickly.”
The Zhang Yi mentioned by Lin Kule was the son of the chairman of Shancheng Rising Biotechnology. The Special Action Team’s investigation revealed that prior to Wang Han’s disappearance, he had encountered Wang Han and handed him a metal box, commissioning him to conduct research.
“It’s useless.” Jiang Li shook her head. “If we forcibly bring him in for questioning, as long as he refuses to divulge anything, and we have no crucial evidence, after twenty-four hours we will have to release him.”
After all, based solely on Zhang Yi’s actions, he merely represented his father’s company, commissioning Wang Han for research, and the items handed over to Wang Han had turned to ashes in the great fire.
While he had the suspicion of destruction of evidence, it was just suspicion. As long as he insists it was a normal research commission, it cannot be determined that Wang Han’s d*ath, and many other issues, are related to him.
Only a person like Luxianbei would be frightened into revealing their home address, bank card passwords, and even what websites they visited without hesitation, right?
Moreover, even if we manage to pry Zhang Yi’s mouth open, based on the Solar Eclipse Society’s style of action, they would probably discard him as a pawn, and at that point, it would only mean one additional corpse that needs to be autopsied, Jiang Li thought.
“At this time, if we could secretly investigate Zhang Yi using forces outside the Siye Society, it would be much easier,” Lin Kule muttered.
Upon hearing this, a figure of Luxianbei suddenly flashed through Jiang Li’s mind, but she quickly shook her head, pushing away the thought of Luxianbei and refocusing on work.
Why do I keep thinking about Luxianbei?
We can talk about Luxianbei later, work is more important now, Jiang Li thought.
When she redirected her attention to Lin Kule, a smile suddenly appeared on Lin Kule’s face. “However, even without investigating Zhang Yi, we can still find clues from other places.”
Lin Kule began to exhibit her remarkable intuition.
“Oh?” Jiang Li tilted her head.
“Aren’t we supposed to meet our informant infiltrated in the Solar Eclipse Society tonight at Jiujie?” Lin Kule explained. “My intuition tells me that when we meet the informant tonight, we will find new breakthroughs!”
Jiang Li observed Lin Kule and nodded thoughtfully.
Lin Kule’s “intuition” was indeed quite reliable. After all, she had once randomly grabbed someone while wandering the streets and managed to catch a key figure in an urban legend incident.
In fact, Jiang Li had previously considered letting Lin Kule become her partner to accompany her to Dream Come True Entertainment City.
With Lin Kule’s intuition, she would surely excel at the poker tables.
But unfortunately, Lin Kule’s talent for gambling was negative. Despite Jiang Li’s repeated attempts to teach her, she had never been able to master mahjong. Perhaps this was the price of obtaining that strange ability?
“However, not right now.” Jiang Li said calmly.
“Why?” Lin Kule frowned.
“At the very least, we should disguise ourselves, right?” Jiang Li pointed to her outfit and then to Lin Kule’s small suit. “Dressing so formally to go to a nightclub is too conspicuous; it would draw unnecessary attention to your informant.”
“However, if your informant in the Solar Eclipse Society is a one-time use, you can disregard what I just said.”
“Ah, right, right, we should disguise ourselves,” Lin Kule nodded.
Wang Buliu: “Are you upset?”
Miaomiao Sauce: “No, I’m working. Let’s talk about anything later.”
Wang Buliu: “Then are we still meeting later?”
After a moment of waiting, Jiang Li did not respond.
Thus, departing from the Shancheng train station, taking a taxi toward the homestay of a friend of Jumeng’s, the reclusive Luxianbei finally put away his phone and suddenly spoke.
“Stinky Sister, don’t you think that sometimes, living is quite meaningless?”
Jumeng shot a sideways glance at Luxianbei, irritated, and said, “Then how do you want to d*e? Do you need me to help you?”
Just because that lame girl was a bit down had made her feel somewhat envious, and under the influence of jealousy, her tone turned a little strange.
Of course, she also knew that Luxianbei wasn’t the type to be easily brought down; he was most likely just talking trash.
Luxianbei glanced out the window at the grand bridge spanning the wide river, brilliantly lit.
Retracting her gaze, she said with a poker face, “This bridge is beautiful. You can still hear the river roaring beneath it; if one were to jump off here, it might not be a bad way to end things?”
As her words fell, her phone vibrated again. Looking down, she saw it was a response from Jiang Li.
Miaomiao Sauce: “Meet.”
Though it was only a brief word, it felt like a revival coin had been thrown, instantly revitalizing Luxianbei from her “near-d*ath” state.
As long as they could meet, things would be manageable. What could there possibly be in this world that she could not handle?
“Want to jump into the river?” Jumeng scoffed. “Should I help you grab the driver’s steering wheel?”
When you’re discussing such things, have you considered my feelings? thought the taxi driver, sweating coldly and forcing a smile. “Ladies, there are still many beautiful things in this world worth experiencing; why think like that?”
“I know several interesting nightclubs, not far from the homestay you’re heading to, just over at Jiujie. How about this, I can take you there to relax?”
It’s not that the driver was timid; the key point was that incidents had occurred on this cross-river bridge where passengers grabbed taxi drivers’ steering wheels and plunged into the river, and there were urban legends about someone specifically robbing the steering wheel wandering nearby.
It turned out that taxi drivers were simply incompatible with Luxianbei; she was truly at odds with them!
The nightclub at Jiujie wasn’t the location of the Solar Eclipse Society’s stronghold, was it? Luxianbei thought and spoke up, “Sounds good!”
Stinky Sister had already calmed down, and Jiang Li’s crisis had temporarily been resolved. She suddenly felt she could begin to stir things up.
It was barely after nine at night, and there were still about three hours until Ling Zhan, plenty of time for her to scout the Solar Eclipse Society’s stronghold first.
Can’t they see that the person was arguing with her girlfriend? Why would they go to a nightclub at a time like this!
Jumeng thought, almost speaking simultaneously with Luxianbei, “No way!”
Luxianbei and Jumeng locked eyes in silence, and the atmosphere grew a little awkward.
Driver:
If she wants to go, just let her; what kind of friend are you?
So, do toxic friends really exist?
“Dog thing, weren’t you just saying you wanted to d*e?” Jumeng asked.
“I suddenly realized that living is not only about love; there are plenty of other meaningful things to do,” Luxianbei said weakly.
“Like what?” Jumeng rolled her eyes.
“Like…” Luxianbei was about to speak when she suddenly realized she was still in a taxi with normal people. She paused, leaned in, and whispered a few things in Jumeng’s ear.
Upon hearing this, Jumeng widened her eyes slightly and looked at Luxianbei with a hint of surprise.
She initially thought Luxianbei was going to spout more nonsense but was caught off guard when Luxianbei indicated she was there for work, and indeed had legitimate matters to attend to?
Luxianbei told her, “I suddenly remembered that a long time ago, I met a patient at a hospital in Huacheng who had symptoms similar to the person who just died. This makes me think that the person’s d*ath could be more complicated than it seems, and I need to gather some intel.
“According to intelligence from the Siye Society, the Jiujie area has a stronghold of the Solar Eclipse Society, and I plan to see if I can gather any useful information.
“You said before you wanted to help, right? How about we work separately? You can ask your acquaintance who runs the homestay near Jiujie if they know anything, how does that sound?”
“Don’t worry, I have my ways to prevent the Solar Eclipse Society from discovering my identity, and they might even treat me as one of their own.
As for matters concerning the Solar Eclipse Society, Luxianbei sincerely did not want Jumeng to participate too much, especially considering that she had no idea how formidable the Solar Eclipse Society entrenched in Shancheng truly was.
While Jumeng was a Cataclysm Grade urban legend, being involved with the Solar Eclipse Society could bring risks, as Cataclysm Grade is still not 100% safe.
She had a counterfeit Black Sun Totem, which could allow her to slip past unnoticed if necessary, but Jumeng did not possess such a thing.
Wasn’t Wang Ying also a Cataclysm Grade urban legend before?
The Solar Eclipse Society certainly knew how to use what means to imprison her, treating her like a stuffed toy for tormenting.
Thus, since Jumeng was in Shancheng for fun, it would be best to keep her journey pure.
Luxianbei thought, noticing Jumeng still looked troubled and hesitant. She straightened up, briefly showing the Black Sun Totem on her back through her coat, then turned to Jumeng with a “you know what I mean” look.
Jumeng: “???“
When did this guy connect with the Solar Eclipse Society?
She is an operative of the Siye Society, has a Black Sun Totem, and yet is known as the King of Urban Legends?
What exactly is her plan? To unify the underworld for generations to come?
Jumeng suddenly felt that being on the Solar Eclipse Society’s wanted list was somewhat unjust, as she was so harmless, while dangerous individuals like Luxianbei should be at the top.
After separating from Jumeng, Luxianbei made her way to Jiujie in Shancheng, walking through the bustling streets. Despite the long night and a surge in urban legends, there seemed to be no obvious impact on this big city; the street still appeared lively and prosperous.
In fact, it was almost overly lively.
The street was crowded with people, men and women alike, giving the impression that the entire city had come out.
Some gathered at roadside snack shops, some huddled in front of a KTV, while others directly drank and made noise on the street, filling the air with the scent of hormones.
However, Luxianbei felt that this situation was quite normal.
The scene here was somewhat similar to the Unending Street in Shizhou, the main difference being that the Unending Street was guarded by dachunyang palace, while here it was dominated by the Solar Eclipse Society.
After Jumeng left, as Luxianbei walked alone on the lively street, she began to sense that something was off about it.
Even though the entire street looked clean and tidy, it gave her a feeling of contamination, as if there were huge, murky eyes observing everything from above.
The source of that feeling likely came from the earth vein aura of this street.
Having successfully conducted a Hundred-Night Walk as the King of Urban Legends, her perception of earth vein aura was indeed stronger than that of ordinary urban legends.
That feeling was akin to becoming accustomed to something strange after experiencing it once; at first, it might feel foreign and uncomfortable, but with experience, it would gradually become familiar.
However, Luxianbei was unsure if some urban legends had controlled a part of Shancheng’s earth vein aura, or if the surrounding culture, environment, and lifestyle habits had affected the earth vein aura.
Just as urban legends can influence the environment of a region after controlling its earth vein aura, sometimes the environment of a region can also impact the earth vein aura in return.
While secretly observing the surroundings, Luxianbei quickly arrived at the nightclub that served as the stronghold of the Solar Eclipse Society — CHARM CLUB.
Standing before the entrance, she took a moment to glance at the striking entrance adorned with flashing, psychedelic lights. Luxianbei frowned slightly, as she inexplicably recalled a game she played in the past.
It shouldn’t be the case that once you enter, you can’t get out, right?
While deep in thought, she crossed the threshold, and in an instant, a deafening blast of music filled her ears.
And thus, Luxianbei’s first foray into the Solar Eclipse Society’s stronghold began.
