Shen Ge and Fang Mingyue followed the manager to the storage room. As the most famous restaurant in this pedestrian street, the quality and freshness of the ingredients were indeed quite good. Although there was a fair amount of frozen goods, looking at the menu, they indeed separated frozen and fresh items, and the price difference between the two was significant.
Using his “Ghost Eye,” Shen Ge discovered that aside from the batch of “Australian imported beef” which contained some ghostly energy, the other types of meat were not contaminated.
Fang Mingyue didn’t have the Ghost Eye, so she naturally couldn’t make a judgment with just a glance like Shen Ge. She could only scan the area with her ghost energy detector.
“Is that all?” Fang Mingyue asked the manager after scanning and finding nothing.
The manager quickly nodded. “That’s all. Because the Australian beef is all fresh, slaughtered early every morning and transported by a chartered plane, we don’t stock too much each day.”
As he spoke, a waiter had already brought over the certificate of authenticity and inspection report. The manager took them and immediately handed them to Fang Mingyue. “Officer, here are the certificate and inspection report for this batch of Australian beef.”
Fang Mingyue took the reports and flipped through them. All the stamps and certificates were complete, and the test values were normal. She was just about to hand them back to the manager when she heard Shen Ge ask a question. “By the way, isn’t this false advertising? You call it ‘Australian Beef,’ but the source is from Korea?”
The manager gave an awkward smile. “Well… Officer, you know I’m just a small manager. The sourcing is definitely handled by the big boss. During training, they said the cattle are imported from Australia, sent to the great grasslands of Korea for rearing, and then transported by a professional slaughtering organization.”
With an expression that clearly said, “Are you kidding me?”, Shen Ge asked, “I think you’re an even bigger bull***t artist than those Koreans. Korea is such a tiny place. Find me a few grasslands there that can sustain Australian beef cattle? And if I’m not mistaken, the address of the slaughterhouse is near Seoul.”
“What’s the problem with it being near Seoul?” the manager asked, puzzled.
Fang Mingyue also looked at Shen Ge with confusion. It wasn’t that she doubted him; on the contrary, she trusted every one of his judgments. So she knew that if he said something like this, there must be a deeper meaning.
“If I remember correctly, after that large-scale calamity broke out in Seoul last year, the city center has been mostly under lockdown. And this slaughterhouse is right inside that locked-down zone.” As someone who had experienced the Seoul calamity firsthand, Shen Ge was intimately familiar with the blockade situation there.
“This…” The manager was momentarily speechless. Besides, as he said, he was just a small manager; he clearly wasn’t privy to the company’s sourcing secrets.
Fang Mingyue was about to ask the manager to contact the boss when suddenly the ground shook violently. The tremor lasted a full five or six seconds, strong enough to shake dust loose from the hotel’s ceiling.
“What’s going on?” Fang Mingyue frowned deeply. Beijing wasn’t in an earthquake zone. Even when earthquakes happened in surrounding areas over the years, they’d never affected Beijing.
But the shaking they just felt for five or six seconds would have been at least a magnitude 5 or 6 earthquake nearby.
At that moment, they could hear a commotion inside the restaurant. Customers, panicked, were fleeing the establishment and rushing out onto the street. When Shen Ge and the others also came out, he immediately sensed something was off.
“Something’s wrong. Look around. It seems like only this restaurant and a few shops nearby were affected. The people in the restaurant across the street aren’t reacting at all; those by the window are even watching us like it’s a show.” Shen Ge pointed towards the shops across the street, finding their calmness far too excessive.
Unless… they hadn’t felt the tremors at all.
Fang Mingyue hesitated. “But that tremor was so obvious just now, at least a magnitude 5 or 6 earthquake. It couldn’t possibly have such a small impact radius.”
Shen Ge also felt something was off. He quietly asked Little Seven to check the surrounding area for ghostly energy reactions, while simultaneously thinking to the system: “System, scan the vicinity.”
“Scanning.”
[Consuming 100 System Points. Beginning to mark targets containing ghostly energy within a 10-kilometer radius…]
[Marking successful.]
After hearing the prompt, Shen Ge opened the [Map]. The number of anomalies and mutants detected was higher than he expected—a full two dozen.
He filtered the results by rating, from lowest to highest. Counting them: fourteen 1-stages, five 2-stages, one 3-stage, and one 4-stage.
The ‘higher-level’ ones, the 3-stage and 4-stage, were right there on the pedestrian street. According to the [Map], the 4-stage was directly beneath the restaurant, and the 3-stage was in a hotel across the street.
“The system scans not just anomalies, but also hosts and mutants, anyone with ghostly energy in their system.”
“That 4-stage under the restaurant must be the one that just caused the earthquake. But a 4-stage anomaly has a pretty high ghostly energy density. Why didn’t the Ghost Eye or the ghost energy detector pick it up?”
“And that 3-stage, from the looks of it on the [Map], is blending in with the crowd. Since it hasn’t caused any chaos, it’s probably a mutants like those Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches guys.”
Thinking this, Shen Ge immediately chose to spend 1000 System Points to mark the 3-stage red dot on the [Map]. The mark showed it was on the third floor of the hotel across the street.
Lowering his voice, Shen Ge said to Fang Mingyue, “There’s a 4-stage anomaly under the restaurant. The earthquake just now was probably its doing. But I’ve also spotted a mutants on the pedestrian street. You contact the Special Policy Department to lock down and search the restaurant. I’m going after the mutants.”
Fang Mingyue was stunned for a moment. A 4-stage anomaly and a mutants, all at once? It almost made her feel like she’d been transported outside of Beijing.
Was this still Beijing?
First, the Peace Hotel, which served as the venue, had a problem and became an anomalous incident. Now, even the pedestrian street in the city center has an anomaly—and a 4-stage one at that?
Clearly, Fang Mingyue’s trust in Shen Ge made her prefer doubting whether she’d been transported elsewhere over doubting his judgment.
“Got it. Leave this to me.” As soon as Fang Mingyue finished speaking, Shen Ge was already dashing towards the opposite side of the street, while she pulled out her phone and dialed the department.
Shen Ge weaved quickly through the crowd, slipped into the bathroom of a Korean BBQ restaurant, and after Little Seven confirmed there were no surveillance devices around, activated his “Intangibility” trait. Then, expanding his domain and using “Collapse,” he passed directly through the wall and quickly arrived at the hotel where the 3-stage mutants was located.
Observing, Shen Ge noticed that the “red dot” on his map hadn’t moved after being marked. It remained inside a guest room on the hotel’s third floor.
Although the door was locked, it was no obstacle for Shen Ge. He used “Collapse” to phase through the wall and enter. As soon as he got inside, he heard sounds coming from within: “Mm-hmm, ah, ah…” The unmistakable sounds of… exercise.
Shen Ge walked into the bedroom to take a look. Good grief, it wasn’t just exercise; it was a group workout, a heroic attempt at one versus three.
And the man being entwined by the several pale limbs? The fist-sized, blood-red tumor on his neck was particularly striking. If you looked closely, you could even see it pulsing, “thump-thump,” like a heartbeat.
The man wasn’t completely naked. He wore a grandpa-style vest over his upper body, and on his left wrist was some sort of exoskeleton-like device.
“Deep Scan!” Shen Ge directly used his Ghost Eye to scan and analyze the mutants’s abilities. With nearly fifty thousand System Points at the moment, there was no need to be stingy.
[Target locked. Beginning scan now.]
[“Mutant,” artificial trait “Two Heads, Four Arms,” artificial anomaly 14, current rating 3, comprehensive ghostly energy 1103%, number of ghost energy equipment items worn: 3.]
[Ghost Bone Knuckles: detected anomaly material sourced from a 2-stage anomaly. Effect is “Hardness.” Can reinforce the knuckles using ghost energy.]
[Ghost Bone Dagger: detected anomaly material sourced from a 1-stage anomaly. Strength: Weak.]
[Ghost Skin Vest: detected anomaly material sourced from a 3-stage anomaly. Specific effect cannot be detected. Ghost energy intensity: Relatively strong!]
[Detection: “Transmission Device” detected on the target. Host is advised to proceed with caution.]
The system’s scan completely exposed the man, down to his very underwear, simultaneously revealing his identity as a member of the “Twelve Earthly Branches.” Only mutants from the Twelve Branches possessed the artificial anomaly sequence’s “multi-headed, multi-armed” trait.
Although the man was enjoying himself, he wasn’t lacking in vigilance. Shen Ge, aside from “Intangibility,” hadn’t activated “Silence” or “No Trace,” so the man detected his presence as soon as he entered the room.
However, this two-headed, four-armed mutants hadn’t sensed Shen Ge through sound or smell, but through his own sensitivity to ghostly energy as a mutants.
After Shen Ge perfectly merged with the system, his body gradually became monstrous. Therefore, even monstrous beings like men, who are more sensitive to supernatural energy, could detect the supernatural energy on his body.
Ghostly energy is the source of power for anomalies and mutants. It’s like a perceivable “combat power.” Right now, this man was like a hyena enjoying a meal, suddenly catching the scent of a lion entering its territory.
“Who’s there?!” The man shoved aside the woman clinging to him and, as he sat up, grabbed the ghost bone dagger from the nightstand.
Only then did he notice that, at some point, a person was standing in the shadows of the corner by the bedroom wardrobe.
Suddenly, the room erupted into chaos. The women screamed, grabbing sheets and blankets to cover themselves, then huddled in the corner, not daring to breathe.
They’d seen people secretly installing cameras, but never someone secretly installing themselves.
Shen Ge asked with a smile, “Sorry to interrupt your fun. I noticed a mutants lurking in this hotel, so I came by to check it out.”
The lighting in the room was very dim, and with Shen Ge standing in the corner, the man couldn’t quite make out his features. He probed, “May I ask which organization you represent?”
Shen Ge replied casually, “Twelve Earthly Branches.”
“Oh? Heard of it. But you, sir, being from the Twelve Branches, dare to come to my territory in Beijing? That’s a bit disrespectful to our Special Policy Department, don’t you think?” the man said in a deep voice.
Huh?
Huh? Huh?
Huh? Huh? Huh?
Shen Ge was taken aback. This was a complete role reversal. He’d assumed the man before him was a mutants from the Twelve Branches, so he casually mentioned them to mess with him. But the man’s answer was completely unexpected.
Most importantly, judging by the man’s tone and words, he didn’t seem to be lying. Instead, he clearly spoke with a sense of pride, as if being part of the Special Policy Department was an honor.
“You’re with the Special Policy Department?” Shen Ge frowned.
The man grabbed a bathrobe from a chair and wrapped it around himself, speaking with confidence. “I’m an anomaly investigation agent with the Beijing Special Policy Department 2. If you really are from the Twelve Branches, I suggest you leave quickly… Your Twelve Branches might have some small reputation in the mutants circle, but in my eyes, it’s nothing.”
“Oh?” Shen Ge raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a sense of amusement, like he was waiting to hear more bull***t.
The man snorted. “Looking at you, your status in the Twelve Branches probably isn’t high, right? Zi Shu, Chou Niu, and those cadres like ‘Hai’ and ‘Xu’? They all died at my brother-in-law’s hands. And he’s here in Beijing right now, the Great Celestial Dynasty’s number one anomaly investigation agent. If you dare hurt me, he will definitely not let you off!”
Huh??????????
Shen Ge was stunned, his mind now filled with question marks.
From this man’s words, the “brother-in-law” he mentioned was probably referring to himself as the “Great Celestial Dynasty’s number one anomaly investigation agent.”
And it wasn’t a secret in the Special Policy Department that those early cadres of the Twelve Branches like “Hai” and “Xu” had indeed died by his hand.
However, the fact that the two high-level monsters, Rat and Ox, who had completed their second mutation, died at his hands is considered a secret. Currently, apart from the high-ranking members of the Special Operations Department, even ordinary anti-monster agents and “captains” of regional departments may not know about it.
“Who is your brother-in-law?” Shen Ge asked.
The man replied smugly, “My brother-in-law is the Great Celestial Dynasty’s number one anomaly investigation agent, one of the chief captains of the Rong City Special Policy Department, Detective Shen Ge. Scared, huh?”
“…” Shen Ge was at a loss for how to respond. He simply stepped out of the corner and, as he did, flipped the switch by the door, turning on the room light.
Shen Ge looked at the man and asked, “Are you kidding me? A 3-stage mutants like you, and you have the nerve to say you’re with the Special Policy Department?”
The man hesitated for a moment, then pulled aside his bathrobe, pointing at the red tumor on his shoulder. “Oh, this thing? This isn’t some mutants mark. It’s from the Research Depa… wait, why am I even telling you all this? I suggest you leave now, or I’ll make one call to my brother-in-law, and you won’t even know how you died!”
Hearing this, Shen Ge felt the man was either an idiot or incredibly naive. Not only was he trying to bluff in front of the “actual person,” but he also thought dropping his name would scare off someone from the Twelve Branches?
Given Shen Ge’s history with the Twelve Branches, if this guy really were his “family member,” the Twelve Branches would have kidnapped him long ago to use as leverage.
If it weren’t for that, Shen Ge wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of arranging for Cheng Shengnan to be transferred to a branch office. He was worried that since the mutants organizations couldn’t get to him, they’d go after the people around him.
“What’s your name?” Shen Ge asked.
The man snorted. “Who do you think you are, to ask me my…”
Before he could finish, he saw Shen Ge take out his ID and flick it. It flew through the air, smacking him right in the face. The man looked down at the ID that had fallen onto the bed, and his expression instantly shifted from shock to delight.
“Brother-in-law?”
Looking at the man’s overjoyed face, Shen Ge quickly raised his hand to stop him. “Hold on, I don’t have a mutants brother. Tell me, who are you exactly?”
The man jumped off the bed and bounded over to Shen Ge in two steps, exclaiming happily, “Brother-in-law, it’s me! I’m Fang Yaori!”
What kind of ridiculous name is that?
Shen Ge was about to mock it when something suddenly clicked…
His surname is Fang. He’s not right in the head. Could it be…
