As the sky grew dark, clouds gathered, and soon raindrops began to fall.
Li Yuan put on his hood, but at that moment, the female student from before ran over with an umbrella.
"Another rainy day... Has it been raining every day recently?"
"Do you think the Jade Emperor drank too much or the Dragon King caught a cold?"
Li Yuan instinctively avoided the girl, but she persistently followed him, "What's the matter? Can't you share your troubles with me? Would I laugh at you?"
"Think about it, during our three years in high school, wasn't I the nicest to you?"
The girl kept following Li Yuan, who in turn quickened his pace.
Until a crow appeared, landing on a telephone pole and cawing intriguingly a few times.
Hearing the crow's call, Li Yuan's expression immediately changed, "Can you stop following me? I have work to do."
"What work? You're not really slicing fish at the supermarket, are you?"
"Right, I saw a post online a few days ago. A guy said he's been working at the supermarket slicing fish for over a decade, and his heart has become like…"
"Get lost now!" Li Yuan suddenly roared at the girl.
Looking at Li Yuan's fierce face, the girl was stunned at that moment.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"You…"
Li Yuan didn't speak, just tugged at his raincoat and turned to leave.
The crow on the telephone pole let out a strange laugh and also flew away flapping its wings.
...
The rain began to intensify.
Li Yuan's face twitched, and his heartbeat became much more intense.
Just then, the crow flew to his side and transformed into a young girl.
"Ah, who was that girl just now? She seemed quite nice to you, didn't she?"
"You yelled at her like that; she must be heartbroken now～"
Li Yuan didn't respond.
"Hmm... Why not transform her into a deep diver as well? Given her attitude towards you, if she were transformed into a deep diver, she would definitely be much more loyal and reliable than those underlings of yours."
Li Yuan looked at the crow, "That woman talks too much, she would be of no use."
"Let's go, it's time for us to make a move."
The raven girl grinned, finding the situation quite interesting...
...
In front of the Beiling City Police Station.
"Nanyan is our primary investigation target this time. I believe the abnormalities concerning Nanyan have been clearly outlined in our previous summaries. Are there any questions?"
"No!"
Everyone answered in unison.
"This time, we have only one goal, and that is to clarify what exactly is in Nanyan. Whether it's a monster or a human, it must give us an answer!"
Yang Yan turned to look at the people behind him, "Everyone, check your equipment!"
The team members pulled out their Type 54 pistols for inspection, then counted their magazines and other standard items.
For this temporarily formed team, which had not yet been officially approved, Yang Yan also felt somewhat uncertain.
After all, their opponent was not human but something they completely did not understand.
Despite this, Yang Yan could not show his unease.
As the saying goes, if the soldier is cowardly, the general is cowardly.
After checking the equipment, Yang Yan took a deep breath.
"Listen up, the opponents we are about to face may no longer be human!"
"This might be our first encounter with monsters, but it will not be the last. This operation is named 'Dispelling the Clouds!'"
"We must find out what those things are!"
"Move out!"
...
Nighttime, Yangshan District.
Li Yuan stood on top of a building, overlooking the streets below. The rain was still falling sparsely, with no sign of clearing up.
A crow flew in and transformed into a girl, standing beside him.
"Are you sure they will pass through here?"
Li Yuan closed his eyes, then opened his mouth to emit a bizarre calling sound.
The sound was similar to a whale's call, with a very strange wavelength and covered a very wide area, almost encompassing the entire Yangshan District.
Many people heard this strange call, but no one paid it any mind.
And all the people who heard this call appeared in Li Yuan's mind.
"The route hasn't changed. There are four police cars and seventeen people. Their target is Nanyan. Let the Queen Bee know she's been exposed."
Upon hearing this, the raven girl took out an earpiece from her ear.
"Hello, hello, is 004 there? I'm looking for 004, um..."
"Yeah, you've been exposed."
"It's not my fault, 002 said the police are headed your way, so you better handle it."
"Give me the communicator," Li Yuan said, taking the communicator directly.
"Queen Bee, among this group of people, there's one you may not be able to handle."
"That guy is tricky. You need to disperse all the ordinary people in the hotel immediately, then release my deep divers."
The Queen Bee's voice came through the communicator.
"All of them?"
"All."
"Today, no one leaves Nanyan alive."
Li Yuan said and then hung up the communicator.
"Chu Yang."
"If you really can survive tonight, I..."
"Don't jinx it; you're doomed to die in a bit," the raven girl said, transforming into a crow and flying away.
"I'm here to record, so I'll take my leave first."
Li Yuan twisted his neck, and immediately his body began to swell, deep green scales covering his body at this moment.
In the blink of an eye, Li Yuan transformed into his merman state.
...
Nanyan Hotel.
Four police cars drifted and stopped uniformly in front of Nanyan's gate.
A bearded police officer stepped out of the car and scratched his head, "Not to boast, but with my driving skills..."
"Stop showing off; this mission is not a vacation," Yang Yan stepped out of the police car, pulling out a Type 54 pistol.
The bearded officer shrugged, "Just trying to lighten the mood, you know?"
"But, did we arrive too late?"
Everyone looked around; the interior of Nanyan was eerily quiet. Although the lights were on, there was not a soul in sight.
"Is this some kind of trap?"
"More like inviting us into the pot."
"Stay sharp, everyone. Our opponent is not human!"
A young man got out of the police car, first stretching his legs, then his arms.
"Chu Yang, be careful."
Yang Yan said.
Chu Yang nodded, "Don't worry, I have some skills to protect myself."
A crow flew overhead, carrying a camera on its chest.
...
On the top floor of Nanyan.
The Queen Bee held a smoking pipe, continuously puffing away, surrounded by hundreds of neatly dressed women.
"The guests have arrived."
"Although that fish told us not to interfere, this is our home turf after all, and I don't want it turning into a seafood market."
"You all know what to do. Cut the power where necessary, backstab where needed, and guard the doors. Today, anyone who dares enter this place won't be leaving."
Upon her command, the hundreds of women nodded in unison and then began to take the elevator down in groups.
Afterward, the Queen Bee took out her phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"There's a bunch of little cops here causing trouble after drinking too much, and one slipped... all fell to their deaths. Can't blame anyone for that, you'll handle it fairly, right?"
The Queen Bee exhaled a cloud of smoke, and after a moment, a dazed male voice came through the phone.
"...Yes, Queen Bee."
...
Inside Nanyan.
A group of police officers entered, first cautiously checking each room on the ground floor.
But without exception, there was no one to be found.
Neither guests nor staff.
The group of officers was puzzled but continued their search upwards.
They did not take the elevator but split into two teams, ascending the stairs from the left and right sides.
The situation on the second floor was the same as on the ground floor: completely deserted.
"This is strange... Even if they knew we were coming, it shouldn't have been cleared out this quickly."
"Unless..."
"Unless everyone complied."
"What's the problem with that?"
"The problem is huge."
Yang Yan said, his eyes sharpening. Could it be that even paying customers would comply so easily?
If they were driven out by force, consumers would not be content; they would surely gather outside to collectively question the hotel.
Such persistent, incessant people should be common.
Then, if they were dispersed by financial means, like offering money, indeed, a certain number of people could be dispersed.
But this is a luxury hotel, certainly not lacking wealthy patrons who would not deign to leave for a small sum.
Moreover, suppose a couple staying here, engaged in passion in their room, are interrupted by hotel staff demanding they pack up and leave immediately.
Would they be willing?
There were even unfinished high-end meals on the dining table, and the beds in the rooms still retained warmth.
What kind of force could evacuate everyone so quickly?
No matter how it's considered, it could only be through unnatural means.
The group continued upwards, and just as they reached the third floor.
Suddenly, all the lights went out at the same time!
"Be careful!"
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter!
Just then, a dense and wet sound of footsteps suddenly surrounded them!
"This sound is!"
"Not good!"
...