Bad, bad, bad, it's gonna be bad~!
On the empty streets, the cold wind howled, blowing the girl's hair and the desolate fallen leaves.
Yet, she seemed oblivious, ripples trembling in her eyes as both the great horror in the distance and the ugly, frightful face before her continuously assaulted her fragile inner defenses.
It made her want to cry.
She had been too careless! Just one glance at the terrible giant in the distance and she couldn't maintain her composure, attracting the attention of some filthy things around!
What's worse, the giant at the end of the street also seemed to have set its sights on her.
Wuu wuu wuu—
Steady! Stay steady, stay steady! An Jianyou, you have to stay steady!
The girl bolstered her courage, allowing these staggering, ugly figures to approach closely, her cheeks taut as she maintained an expressionless expression.
It's really scary!
How could she not be afraid!
But, it wasn't An Jianyou's first time encountering a situation like this. After so many times, when she couldn't fight back... she could only gradually get used to it, perhaps.
It started about two years ago when she discovered she could see strange and filthy things, beginning with little figures, or blurry shadows.
There weren't many of them.
She was scared for a while but realized that as long as she ignored these shadows, she wouldn't be affected.
Fear was useless, An Jianyou could only accept it.
Gradually, as time passed, more and more unclean things appeared in her vision, becoming clearer, and she could even hear some strange sounds.
She could only force herself to ignore them, and she even sought ways to resolve this, but all to no avail.
Sometimes it would even become more dangerous.
An Jianyou had gotten used to it, just ignore, ignore, ignore, ignore them and that would be enough!
She had been able to do just that, as those things only existed in desolate and desolate places, not that many.
But recently, for some reason, the world she saw seemed to be getting stranger and stranger.
Stumbling rotting figures wandered the roads, a faint gray fog hung over the sky, and even more terrifying things appeared.
The giant in the distance was one such example!
And that one...
The figure of the Serpent Mother was reflected in An Jianyou's pupils, her heart thudding violently.
Instinct seemed to tell her that this giant was different from the other giants she had seen before, that she must not get close, must not be targeted.
Otherwise, even if she ignored it...
She would die!
It's critical, critical, critical!
Breathe—in—
An Jianyou stood still for a few seconds, then suddenly twisted her wrist, muttering, "So heavy, did I buy too much stuff? Damn it, I should have asked Ying to come with me."
She rubbed her wrist, pulled out her phone to make a call, murmured a few words, and only after noticing the staggering figures around her gradually paying her no attention did she casually pick up the shopping bag that had fallen to the ground and turned a corner to leave.
Only, her pace was more hurried than when she had come.
An Jianyou's gaze lifted slightly, looking over the buildings toward a towering skyscraper in the far distance.
The building was magnificent, but through her eyes, a monstrosity as large as an octopus clung to it, ghastly and terrifying.
Swell, contract.
As if sucking on something.
"What on earth is happening to this world?"
.....
"How should I know what happened!"
"Does Mysterious Evil need a reason to do anything?"
"The problem now is, the Mysterious Evil in the abandoned buildings is much more active than before, and, it's starting to move!"
Inside the Baijiang Investigation Bureau, Director Zhou hammered the round table forcefully.
Anxious, uneasy, heavy.
But these emotions were meaningless!
"The key issue now is how to handle this matter," Director Zhou said, pausing briefly. "First, we must evacuate the surrounding populace and expand the quarantine zone... Thankfully, that area is remote and sparsely populated."
"Secondly..."
It was how to deal with that Mysterious Evil.
It had been temporarily sealed off before, but now they had to confront it!
However, if exterminating this Mysterious Evil were easy, the Investigation Bureau would not have resorted to quarantine earlier.
Quarantine was a last resort!
Within the meeting room,
Several investigators recalled the terrifying Mysterious Evil at the construction site a few days ago; even the twenty-year-old Buddha Beads had snapped in an effort to purge it, but the attempt failed.
And the Mysterious Evil in the abandoned building would only be more terrifying.
After a series of analyses and judgments, they concluded it would far surpass the construction site's Evil.
"Chief, is it possible to get in touch with the individual from a few days ago?" one investigator inquired.
Director Zhou shook his head. "I know what you're trying to say, I've already asked the higher-ups, and the bureau does not have this person. The mysterious man in black who appeared at the construction site is not one of our bureau's Special Investigators."
"I also requested support from our Baiyun State Bureau, but..."
Director Zhou shook his head again. "Special Investigators are few and far between, either occupied with important matters or too far away. The only one in the neighboring city is urgently on her way here."
"However, she made it clear that she would likely be powerless against such a terrorizing Mysterious Evil."
A heavy burden fell upon everyone at the Baijiang Investigation Bureau.
There were some methods to deal with the Mysterious Evil.
Enlightening by a master.
Quarantine.
Special Investigators.
But all of these were insufficient.
Suddenly, Jiang Tingqiu, Baijiang's sole First-Class Investigator, looked at Director Zhou and asked, "What exactly does a Special Investigator represent, and if Baijiang City had its own Special Investigators, could we..."
Right!
Several investigators perked up at this, their eyes sparkling as they looked toward Director Zhou.
Did this imply some great secret?
"There is indeed some highly classified intelligence involved, which I didn't fully understand myself, but now..."
Director Zhou sighed, "With the situation becoming increasingly dire, the superiors have allowed for a limited disclosure. Remember, the information you hear today must stay within you."
That was inevitable.
As investigators, keeping secrets was something they were inherently good at.
But that didn't stop them from being hopeful.
Especially Jiang Tingqiu, who had always been suspicious, always in search, yearning for real means to confront the Mysterious Evil.
Just like the man in black from a few days earlier.
"Special Investigators possess unique methods that can directly harm or kill the Mysterious Evil, but they are not some peculiar individuals who have been practicing from a young age. Most of them have backgrounds similar to yours, starting as ordinary investigators," the Director explained.
"The difference is, when someone among you Awakens, you will receive a summons from the headquarters. Passing the assessment will advance you to Special Investigator status."
"So, there are no set channels for promotion to Special Investigator; one must wait until their personal qualifications are met, then accept the headquarters' summons."
"As for..."
"You must be wondering how to Awaken, what Awakening is, correct?"
Director Zhou paused, his gaze sweeping over the investigators before him, revealing their most keenly anticipated secret, "Embrace the mysterious, and you shall Awaken."