"The abnormal situation on the construction site began three days ago,"
"Three days ago, a truck's tire was inexplicably damaged. At first, we thought it was human sabotage, but after examination, we found the traces of damage were strange, as if torn by some ferocious beast."
"What's more outrageous is that there was no beast to be seen on the surveillance footage, but rather, it seemed as if some invisible monster was biting and clawing at it!"
Ke Yuan recalled the surveillance video he had seen.
The view distance was far, and the clarity was poor, something that ordinary people wouldn't notice, but they are professionals!
That kind of invisible Mysterious Evil might have been clinging to the truck, gnawing with its teeth, tearing with its claws.
This was Ke Yuan's own imagination.
Humans cannot see Mysterious Evil, no matter what, it's invisible!
Legend has it that some great masters can see the shadow of those things, but only a faint grayish-black outline, as for the true appearance of the Mysterious Evil?
Some artists have sketched an approximate image based on information.
The figure is far more horrifying than that of a beast, with hollow eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, pus-covered face, and so on!
And that is just the imagined and sketched version.
The actual appearance of Mysterious Evil is likely to be even more terrifying.
Perhaps not being able to see it is a form of protection for them? If one were to see these terrifying Mysterious Evils as soon as they opened their eyes....
Ke Yuan tried to imagine it and then couldn't bear to continue.
"These incorporeal Mysterious Evils are indeed tricky, difficult to find and to expel," sighed Wei Nian, who had rich experience with handling over a dozen real Mysterious Evil incidents, "If it had a physical body, we could shoot it up, and if that failed, bring over a rocket launcher."
"However, most Mysterious Evils don't have physical form, and many of our methods are ineffective and useless!"
He cursed under his breath, but his gaze didn't pause for a moment, sharply sweeping across the surroundings.
Soon, they found the truck that had been 'nibbled' and also discovered clearly unusual traces on some nearby vehicles and construction materials.
So many traces...
With a grave face, Wei Nian stated, "It's very active now, and the more active a Mysterious Evil, the easier it shifts location, increasing its danger."
"It must be expelled as soon as possible."
"Ke Yuan, proceed with Plan One."
They did not approach, staying dozens of meters away from the truck.
Ke Yuan then took out a greyish-black powder and scattered it all around.
This was a special powder whose origin he didn't understand, but he was very clear that humans couldn't see or locate Mysterious Evil and thus had to rely on some additional means.
This greyish-black powder could take effect on Mysterious Evil.
It was very faint, with zero lethality.
But when Mysterious Evil came into contact with this greyish-black powder, it would undergo a 'Mysterious Evil reaction,' emitting wisps of green smoke.
Ke Yuan scattered several circles of it and even threw some marble-like spheres that exploded from a distance, spreading the powder everywhere.
His eyes firmly fixed, he turned from side to side, his heart already beating chaotically.
Mysterious Evil, was it there or not?
He dared not blink, his eyes were so sore, until his colleague, Brother Wei, reminded him, "Don't be too nervous, finding Mysterious Evil is just the first step, remember to always maintain your composure."
"Ah... yeah...."
"Found, found it, there!"
Ke Yuan's eyes widened.
This was his first encounter with Mysterious Evil in incident handling, but he had undergone training, and he was certain—it was a Mysterious Evil reaction!
Not far away, beside a pile of building materials, green smoke began to emerge abruptly, wisp by wisp, heading their way.
It, it was coming!
Ke Yuan felt as though he could hear the heavy footsteps of a giant beast thumping closer, the thick saliva dripping, as if a breath brushed past his cheek, the scene before him warping, his heart like it was about to leap out.
Thump! Bang! Thump-thump-thump!
Ke Yuan bit the tip of his tongue and raised the prayer beads on his wrist.
These were exorcism beads.
Wooden beads!
It was not that wood could drive away evil; the investigation bureau had tried many items—wood, black dog's blood, garlic, Zhong Kui paintings, and so on, none of which had any effect on Mysterious Evil.
They had almost despaired!
Fortunately, the experts of the investigation bureau after a period of trial and exploration, finally found a kind of item—consecrated items!
Items that had been consecrated by a real Taoist priest or monk were not miraculous, nor did they have any immediate magical effects.
Just like the prayer beads they wore on their hands, they were still ordinary, but could drive away, even kill, Mysterious Evil.
Ke Yuan stretched his hand forward, aiming at the direction where the blue smoke was rising.
His eyes didn't blink.
Under the influence of the Mysterious Evil, a faint gleam began to emerge from the peach wood prayer beads.
It was working!
Mysterious Evil, die—
Thud, thud!
His heart seemed to stop suddenly, and the scene before him turned monochrome. In Ke Yuan's field of vision, the peach wood prayer beads emitting a faint white light suddenly...
Snapped.
As if subjected to an enormous pulling force, the prayer beads' string suddenly burst apart, scattering the wooden beads everywhere; the farthest flung five or six meters away, clattering to the ground with several thuds.
It was as if the beads were crashing into Ke Yuan's heart.
The whole world turned gray in an instant.
They broke, how could they have broken... Ke Yuan turned his head in shock, looking towards the seasoned veteran Wei Brother, his gaze pleading and somewhat lifeless.
Wei Nian was just as baffled.
Their prayer beads were supplied by the investigation agency; he had used them a few times before. While they might not always drive away the Mysterious Evil, breaking was something he had never encountered.
This situation was...
"The power of this Mysterious Evil is too strong; we must go to the backup plan,"
"Hold it off."
The trail of blue smoke advanced rapidly, but they were mere mortals, unable to see, and the thought of combating the Mysterious Evil with their own strength was preposterous.
Such a thing wasn't something humanity could resist!
A slide tackle and one would be gone.
But Ke Yuan, after all, had undergone professional training; though he was panicked, his body's instinctive reaction was not slow. He flung several dark gray balls with his hand, which, without seeming to hit anything, burst open mid-air.
The dark gray powder scattered everywhere.
It hit the Mysterious Evil!
The damage might be zero, but the insult was surely enough!
Ke Yuan fancied he heard a sharp roar; his expression became dazed as he bit down on his tongue tip, throwing himself to the side.
No wind.
No sound either.
To the common eye, he looked like a madman bouncing around, but Ke Yuan caught a glimpse—that very spot he just left began to emit a large patch of blue smoke, and the ground faintly spread into a circle of scorch marks.
Luckily, he dodged it!
But how many more times could he dodge?
"Hang in there, the trump card has been taken out!"
Not far away, Wei Nian had already taken out a small agarwood box. Inside it was another string of Buddha Beads.
What was different was,
these Buddha Beads were blessed with twenty years of chanting and prayer by Mage Ming Deng!
A full twenty years!
This string of Buddha Beads, the culmination of twenty years of effort!
To prevent the loss of the beads' power, it was sealed within this agarwood box.
Wei Nian carefully held the box, reaching for the seal tape on top, and yanked it off forcefully.
The lid of the box slowly opened.
At that moment, he saw light.
Golden light burst forth from the box, this was no illusion!
It was the light of hope.
Wei Nian donned the Buddha Beads, filled with a resolute will. At that moment, he too seemed to become light, rushing toward the location where the blue smoke was billowing.
Disappear now—!
Thump, thump-thump~!
In the world invisible to the naked eye, the four-legged monster raised its swollen, tumor-like head, howling fiercely.
The piercing howl sent ripples expanding in circles, its eight pairs of eyes hopping up and down, as if the dreary world itself twisted around it.
The two investigators, just having breathed a sigh of relief, experienced their hearts suddenly stopping, their pupils contracting abruptly.
The Buddha Beads, radiating the light of hope, abruptly stretched out as if several hands were violently pulling them from within, snapping apart.