After an hour, the fire in the Lyra Shopping Complex and the apartments above had been completely brought under control.
The police lines around the building were still there, but the fire engines had already left.
Those who could be saved had already been rescued. Those who could not be saved were lost forever.
The total loss of property in this fire had yet to be calculated. However, the number of casualties had already been tallied. There were a total of 11 people. These 11 people did not include the three corpses in Room 9089 on the ninth 9th floor of the apartments.
The corridors of the apartments were singed. The marks left behind by the rampaging flames were everywhere. The floor was covered in puddles of black water. It was a complete mess. The fire had burned straight through the ceiling, leaving behind black holes. The steel beams in the ceiling had twisted and fallen out of place, causing the narrow corridors of the apartments to become even narrower.
At the end of the corridor of the ninth floor of the apartments, the lines of the National Order Council had been drawn up. Aside from members of the National Order Council, even members of the police and the Fire Department could not enter.
Mo Yanshao stepped into the puddles with his leather boots. He leaped over things that had been charred black as he walked through the corridor of the apartments.
Behind and to the side of Mo Yanshao were Tu Polu, Fang Lingshan, and Cao Xinghua. There was also a handsome man in a black suit with long hair and a tired look.
The handsome man walked behind all of them. He had a lazy and lethargic expression. However, his nose was twitching and his eyes were sketchily scanning around.
"An Qing was right. There is the aura of a fireball summoned using summoning techniques. This fire was no accident," the long-haired handsome man said as he walked.
The members stationed in the National Order Council Xianghe City branch Special Forces Unit were almost all here.
Mo Yanshao's eyebrows furrowed. He did not say anything. Prior to this, he had already seen the condition of Room 9089. His expression was somewhat stern.
"Damn it, have those scum emerged again?" Tu Polu, who was wielding a big knife, licked his lips. His eyes were shining brightly, as though he was a ferocious tiger who had caught the scent of some aura.
Fang Lingshan was still ice cold. Muscular man Cao Xinghua remained silent. He did not say anything. The two of them were perfect for one another.
The few of them walked and arrived at the door to Room 9089 in the blink of an eye.
The door that was burned black was open, but the door number could still read. Xia Ping'an and An Qing were inside. The bloody pattern formed from the three corpses on the floor had not been touched.
Standing before the pattern formed from the three corpses, the terrifying aura that the blood-red Devil's Eye emanated could be felt even more strongly. Compared to this place, a slaughterhouse and morgue were like children's playgrounds.
Xia Ping'an glanced at the long-haired handsome man who was walking behind Mo Yanshao and the others. The man was probably the person in headquarters who was sleeping and had not come down for lunch. His name seemed to be Li Yunzhou.
"Kid, do you want to wait outside? This scene is not too friendly for a newbie. Be careful, or you will have nightmares tonight and won't be able to eat for a few days," Tu Polu warned in a low voice as he entered the room and saw Xia Ping'an there.
"It's alright. I want to get used to it," Xia Ping'an replied calmly.
"Xia Ping'an can stay," Mo Yanshao added. He then looked at An Qing and asked, "Have you identified the three corpses?"
"Yes, they are the family staying in Room 9089. They had already met their end last night," An Qing answered with a sigh. "This room was specifically chosen. It is a challenge to us. It is just that we cannot trace the residue divine aura in the building."
An Qing looked at the bodies of the victims in the room. There was a faint hint of pain in her eyes, but not a trace of fear.
It was because summoners liked to be superstitious about the number 9, hence Room 9089 had been chosen.
Mo Yanshao squatted before the bizarre pattern of the Devil's Eye and put on a transparent pair of medical gloves. Using his fingers, he pried open the lower eyelids of the man's head in the middle of the eye pattern. He then sighed and stood up.
"It is the work of those people. Before the three victims were dismembered, they were under the effects of a technique that sharpens one's senses. When they were being dismembered, this allowed their pain, terror, as well as the negative emotions and perceptions that their bodies and consciousness experienced to be completely squeezed out, completing the Devil's Eye ritual."
"Those degenerates… If I find them, I will rip their skin off their bodies," Tu Polu remarked as he gritted his teeth.
"Are we still uncertain of how many of them are there?" Li Yunzhou asked. "Head, it would be best to ask for reinforcements from headquarters. The Devil's Eye is willing to do just about anything."
Mo Yanshao said, "A few hours have passed. Now, we can't be sure whether the criminals are still in Xianghe City. They might have even left the Great Flame Republic. We'll report this case to headquarters first so that the Intelligence Unit can investigate whether any special figures have entered the city. It is because this might be a trap that intends to draw our attention here. Level up the dimensional invasion alert for Xianghe City. From tonight onwards, we will ignite the light. Two people per team."
As soon as Mo Yanshao finished issuing orders, he turned around and walked towards the exit.
Since they had checked out the situation here, everyone left the apartment together with Mo Yanshao.
Xia Ping'an was the last to leave. He had many questions, but now was not a good time to ask.
After the squad left, another team from the National Order Council, which specialized in handling corpses, entered Room 9089 and cleaned up the place.
The corpses that were related to the National Order Council were all highly dangerous items. Under the control of supernatural powers, even corpses were capable of killing others. Hence, a special set of procedures was employed in handling these corpses. These corpses were not something forensic doctors and coroners from the police department could handle. Besides, in order to avoid the public from panicking, it was inconvenient for departments other than the National Order Council to be involved in these cases.
"Your performance today was not bad. If you don't have other business to attend to, you should stay in headquarters for the next two days. Prepare to merge the boundary beads. You won't be going home for a while," Mo Yanshao told Xia Ping'an as they walked out the door.
Xia Ping'an nodded in agreement.
Xia Ning stayed on-campus, so there was indeed no need for him to return home these few days. Moreover, the living conditions in headquarters were better. The food served at the cafeteria was delicious and free of charge. It was much better than him eating noodles at home.
Mo Yanshao said to An Qing, "An Qing and Xia Ping'an will return to headquarters with us. We will go back and get ready for igniting the light tonight."
An Qing did not say anything. She merely nodded.
As for the Ferrari that An Qing drove here, it seemed insignificant now. Nobody paid heed to it.
Xia Ping'an could clearly sense that the Devil's Eye in the room made everyone in the Special Forces Unit tense up. As for 'igniting the light', it was a term used in the Special Forces Unit, which meant they were going to work overtime tonight.
All of them went to the roof of the building. A gray-blue civil Black Hawk was parked there. Just now, Mo Yanshao and the others came here by helicopter.
They boarded the helicopter and Fang Lingshan sat in the pilot's seat. She started up the helicopter. It rose up into the sky, and she flew everyone back to headquarters.
In just a short while, the helicopter had landed at the helipad at the top of the black building of the National Order Council Xianghe City branch. They got off there.
Only then did Xia Ping'an ask, "Director Mo, what does the Devil's Eye symbolize? Is there anything that I should know?"
Mo Yanshao looked at Li Yunzhou and ordered, "Li Yunzhou, this is Xia Ping'an. He is a new recruit of our Special Forces Unit. I'll leave his orientation training to you. Regarding the question he just raised, you'll explain it to him."
"Ah? Conducting orientation training for newbies again?" Li Yunzhou's face soured instantly as though he had eaten a lemon. He complained, "Head, I am seriously deprived of sleep. Recently, I have low blood sugar, neurasthenia, and endocrine disorder. My heart is beating irregularly, and, occasionally, my temper is ill. On top of that, I just woke up and haven't even brushed my teeth yet. Can you assign this task to the others?"
"Sure, I can assign this work to the others. Your body is so weak, and your turn-up rate for work is so low. I think you should give up your bonus this month too. I will assign your bonus to the others!" Mo Yanshao didn't entertain Li Yunzhou's complaint at all. He turned his back towards Li Yunzhou and headed straight for the elevator.
The other teammates paid no attention to him either.
"Head, don't! I will conduct the orientation training. Are we good now?" Li Yunzhou shouted grievously. He ran after Mo Yanshao as he put on a fawning smile. "Oh, yeah. Can you give me more bonus this month?"
"Sure. If you want more bonus, then tonight when we're igniting the light, you will be a team on your own. An able man should always be busy."
"I was just joking. Head, don't take my words seriously. Tonight, I will team up with you." Li Yunzhou laughed wryly along with Mo Yanshao's joke. Fang Lingshan cast a look of disdain at Li Yunzhou as she coldly snorted.
Xia Ping'an stared at Li Yunzhou, speechless. Just now, he had yet to discover the true colors of Li Yunzhou since he didn't say much. Now, from the looks of it, this Li Yunzhou was a clown.