The Special Department, Research Lab.
Old Chen, clad in a white lab coat, circled the machines. Every display showed readings peaking at their limits. In his decades of work, he'd never encountered anything like this. The energy reaction was terrifying.
"Just as I suspected."
Earlier, Old Chen had stated that the fragment contained a terrifying energy, perhaps even connected to some astonishing secret.
Immediately following, a young researcher spoke, "Teacher, the results are in. The energy contained within this fragment has surpassed the known limits of our understanding. I'm calling it 'Divinity'."
"Something a god might possess?" Old Chen muttered to himself.
"Teacher, I believe this is an unprecedented discovery in our research, one that could support the fundamental theories behind ancient myths."
This young researcher was Old Chen's most promising student, with an IQ among the top ten in the world. Even Old Chen felt humbled; if not for his decades of experience, he might not be able to teach his student anything useful. Su Qi was widely recognized as the most likely successor to Old Chen's work.
"Do you believe these things truly exist?" Old Chen asked.
It wasn't that he disbelieved, but for researchers like them, the more they explored, the more they realized the world wasn't as simple as they imagined. The deeper into the abyss they went, the more terrifying they found it to be.
Su Qi spoke gravely, "I have a few friends abroad, also members of various research institutions. From what I understand, they too are beginning to encounter things from mythology."
Old Chen hadn't expected to uncover such a secret.
"The monitoring department just sent word that a group of evil creatures is migrating towards Yanhai City. I suspect their migration is related to this fragment. According to our tests, the fragment constantly emits an energy substance harmless to humans, but it seems to greatly benefit these creatures."
Su Qi was thrilled to be involved in this research. However, the dangers they faced were unimaginable.
"Continue your research," Old Chen instructed, then left the lab. He needed to inform One-Eyed about this situation. The safety of Yanhai City's residents was no small matter.
If the fragment was indeed attracting the evil creatures, what did that mean for the Demon God Theorem? Or was there always a connection between the two?
In his office, One-Eyed stood by the window, smoking and looking out at the city. His heart was heavy. Recent events had been troubling him, and he'd smoked cigarette after cigarette. The ashtray was overflowing with butts.
"This is so tough."
One-Eyed felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. Only when alone could he show his vulnerability. In public, he was always the domineering leader of the Special Department, the absolute tough guy who shed blood but never tears.
Knock, knock!
A knock on the door. Old Chen entered, frowning and waving his hand. "Smoking too much is bad for you. It can lead to premature… you know. Young people need moderation."
"Thanks for the reminder, Old Chen. I'll cut down after this pack," One-Eyed replied with a smile.
Of course, for a chain smoker like One-Eyed, "cutting down after this pack" meant one pack after another, with no end in sight.
"Old Chen, have you made any new discoveries?" One-Eyed asked.
He had great faith in the Yanhai City research team. Although they couldn't compare to headquarters, their talent was no less impressive. Old Chen's students, for example, were among the top in the world.
Old Chen said, "Indeed, we have. That fragment contains an immense energy. My student, Su Qi, calls it 'Divinity.' He also suspects the creatures' migration is related to this fragment."
"Related?" One-Eyed's expression grew serious. He hadn't expected it to be connected to the fragment. "Are you certain?"
"It's just a conjecture," Old Chen didn't dare to be definitive. After all, it was only a hypothesis. "The fragment emits an energy substance that's harmless to humans but has an amplifying effect on these creatures. That evil cockroach demon's near-invincibility might be related to this fragment."
"There's one more thing, I'm not sure if I should mention it."
One-Eyed said, "Old Chen, there's nothing we can't discuss. Our ultimate goal is to protect Yanhai City. Nothing else matters."
"Our research indicates that this fragment is ancient, as if it was dug up," Old Chen revealed.
If that were true, it meant someone had betrayed headquarters and collaborated with the evil creatures. The fragment was essentially buried deep underground, lost to history, with no possibility of resurfacing.
One-Eyed's expression was one of "I knew there was a traitor within our ranks."
"I know. That's why I don't trust headquarters anymore. To be honest, there's a traitor among them, and I don't know who it is yet, but I'm certain they hold a high position."
Old Chen was a trustworthy old man who had dedicated much to Yanhai City.
Old Chen sighed, "It's all speculation for now. I'll continue my research. Hopefully, we can get some concrete data soon."
"Wait," One-Eyed inquired, "Old Chen, with the creatures migrating, should I inform the public, or should we handle it internally without alarming the citizens?"
Old Chen smiled, "I'm a researcher. For that kind of question, you should ask that young Jin Heali. Don't underestimate her youth; she's very opinionated and intelligent."
After Old Chen left, One-Eyed habitually lit another cigarette, taking a deep drag. He felt troubled. For so many years, Yanhai City had been relatively safe. Why were so many things happening suddenly?
If Lin Fan were here, he would surely tell him, "Because I'm back."
His phone rang. He answered.
"Your friend is in trouble…" Li Laifu's voice came from the other end.
One-Eyed stared at the caller ID, blinking in confusion. Had he received a wrong number? He checked again, and it seemed correct.
How could someone get into trouble in a hospital? Was this a joke?
In the bustling city center, Master Yongxin was in a foul mood. He squinted at the young brat with the slicked-back hair walking ahead of him. Unbelievable! He hadn't even spent much time with Lin Fan before this kid appeared out of nowhere, dragging Lin Fan away, giving him no chance to interact. The occasional glances back were filled with disdain.
Master Yongxin caught up, forcing a smile. "Young man, don't you go to school?"
Xiao Bao looked at him and replied, "The school was damaged by evil creatures. It's being repaired. I can't go to school."
He said this with a smug air. He was overjoyed that the school was destroyed. The principal kept urging the construction crew to hurry up and repair the school as quickly as possible.
Xiao Bao had secretly called the construction manager and offered him a bribe, making it clear that he should slow down the work as much as possible.
The construction manager was bewildered. The whims of the wealthy were often so baffling. However, since there was money involved, he didn't care and followed the instructions. When the principal inquired, he simply said that materials were difficult to obtain due to the widespread damage in the city, and there was nothing he could do.
Master Yongxin's hatred for the evil creatures reached its peak. The evil rooster shivered, sensing a deep malice directed towards it.
"Xiao Bao, you still need to study at home," Lin Fan said, stroking Xiao Bao's head.
He had never attended school, a regret he often felt. Old Zhang, on the other hand, loved learning new things, which was why he had become so intelligent.
Professor Xingkong had once told Lin Fan, "You're someone who can rely on their looks. Talent is useless to you. Give others a chance. Don't hog everything. Strive for balance."
Lin Fan felt those words held great wisdom.
Xiao Bao grinned. "I know. I always get first place in exams."
"Xiao Bao, that's amazing," Lin Fan praised.
The bodyguards trailing behind felt the deep malice. Young Master Xiao Bao was indeed clever, but not academically. The power of money was terrifying. He had bribed the entire class. Even if some classmates didn't like Young Master Xiao Bao, they couldn't do anything about it. Those who disliked him were poor students. As Young Master Xiao Bao put it, "They're not worth bribing."
Xiao Bao beamed at Lin Fan's praise. He loved being with Lin Fan the most.
"Can we go camping in a few days?" Xiao Bao asked expectantly.
Lin Fan replied, "Sure."
Master Yongxin cautioned, "It's best not to. The outskirts are too dangerous. There are evil creatures out there."
The presence of evil creatures in the suburbs was no secret. Every year, several people died in the outskirts. There was no way to stop those determined to tempt fate.
Xiao Bao knew about the evil creatures in the suburbs, but he still longed to go camping. He had never been out of the city.
Lin Fan continued stroking Xiao Bao's head. "I'll protect Xiao Bao. I see the yearning for camping in your eyes. As your friend, I must help you fulfill your dream."
Master Yongxin wanted to say something, but remembering Lin Fan's strength, he closed his mouth. His words made sense. He was so powerful, why should he worry about such things? Even the terrifying evil cockroach demon had been crushed by him. How many other evil creatures could stand against him?
"Really?" Xiao Bao looked at Lin Fan, his round eyes filled with anticipation.
Lin Fan smiled gently. "Of course. You're my friend."
"Yay! I knew you were the best!" Xiao Bao hugged Lin Fan, jumping up and down. He spread his arms, ran in a circle, and then returned to Lin Fan, extending his pinky finger. "Pinky swear. You can't lie to me."
Lin Fan extended his pinky. "Pinky swear."
"Yay…"
Xiao Bao's face lit up with a radiant smile.
Master Yongxin smiled as well. He was still a child after all. Such an innocent and pure expression. This was how a child should be.
It was quick.
He saw the look Xiaobao gave him, a kind of childish disdain.
This little brat has no manners.
Hospital.
VIP ward.
The one-eyed man leaned against the window, silently smoking a cigarette, then looked at Heng Jianqiu, who was lying in the hospital bed, still unconscious.
He already knew everything.
Yes, that's right.
It was related to those two mental patients again.
"As expected, those who get involved with them never end well."
Sigh!
A helpless sigh.
He shook his head.
Looking at Heng Jianqiu lying in the hospital bed, he thought of his former self. At that time, he, like Heng Jianqiu, naively trusted mental patients and ultimately paid a painful price.
Groan~
The goateed Heng Jianqiu made a groaning sound as he woke up.
He slowly opened his eyes, seeing the ceiling. His mind was blank, unable to recall what had happened.
It was when the silver needles fell.
It felt as if an electric current surged through his body, then everything went black, and he lost all consciousness, falling into chaos.
"How do you feel?"
The one-eyed man felt responsible. He hadn't arranged for anyone to watch over Heng Jianqiu. If someone had been guarding him, this wouldn't have happened.
Heng Jianqiu didn't answer, still a bit dazed.
Soon.
He gradually remembered what had happened.
"My right leg..."
His right leg had been in a cast, but now the cast was gone. He wiggled it a few times. There was no problem; it had completely recovered, which made him feel very excited.
"Hahaha, you have such a skilled person, and you didn't introduce me to him earlier? You made me lie in the hospital. If he hadn't come to me on his own initiative, I would have been cheated by you."
Heng Jianqiu laughed, his mood improving. As for the reason for his fainting, he didn't want to ask. He just felt that Old Zhang was indeed skilled, his acupuncture abilities were truly strong.
"Look at your left leg," the one-eyed man said reluctantly.
Heng Jianqiu didn't understand what he meant. What's wrong with my left leg?
Then he tried to move his left leg...
Damn it!
There was no feeling at all.
"How could this happen? My left leg was perfectly fine, how can I not move it?"
"What's wrong with me?"
"Why did this happen?"
Heng Jianqiu panicked a little. When his right leg was fractured, he could feel the pain, but now his left leg had no feeling at all.
Between no feeling and pain, he would choose pain. Only with pain could he know there would be a day of recovery. No feeling meant it was completely useless.
The one-eyed man had seen this before, flicking the ash from his cigarette, he said: "It's nothing, just temporary paralysis. But honestly, the acupuncture is indeed good, it cured your right leg and paralyzed your left leg."
Although he said it lightly.
He actually had some thoughts in his mind.
It really works?
He thought of what Old Zhang had said to him, "I can definitely help you grow your eye back." But according to the current situation, growing one eye back and then losing another, wouldn't that be for nothing?
Shaking his head.
He threw all those thoughts out of his mind.
He warned himself, you, you, you've already suffered several losses, how can you still have such thoughts? You can't have them, and you shouldn't have them. It's best to completely discard these foolish thoughts.
Heng Jianqiu asked, "Who are they?"
"They are indeed the experts I invited," the one-eyed man said.
He looked at his left leg with a complicated expression, not knowing whether he was angry or furious. Anyway, he really didn't know what to say now.
The other party cured his fracture, but his left leg was paralyzed. Thanks a lot.
"When your leg is healed, leave quickly. To be honest, they are different from us. If you trust them again next time, I've already predicted the result for you. Maybe your legs will be fine, but you definitely won't be a real man in the future."
The one-eyed man said seriously.
He used a serious expression to say the most untrue words.
Heng Jianqiu looked at the one-eyed man in disbelief, raising his finger, his voice filled with horror: "Could it be, you..."
"Don't think too much, it wasn't me," the one-eyed man said.
His words had already made Heng Jianqiu overthink. Denial was covering up the truth. He didn't expect the one-eyed man to be unable to be a man. Looking down at his paralyzed left leg, since he had such ability, it wouldn't be difficult to paralyze that part, right?
He looked at the one-eyed man with sympathy in his eyes.
He heard that he wasn't married, so it seemed he had no offspring.
"Sigh, just think positively."
Heng Jianqiu comforted him, not knowing whether he was saying it to himself or to the one-eyed man.
The one-eyed man silently smoked.
A misunderstanding had arisen.
But it didn't matter, as long as the other party didn't look for those two mental patients, it was a success.
But he was still thinking in his heart.
Does acupuncture really work?
Night.
Online forum.
A piece of news caused an uproar.
[A large number of unknown evil creatures are migrating towards Yanhai City, estimated to arrive in a week.]
The Yanhai City Special Department hadn't even made an announcement yet, and this kind of content appeared, naturally causing a huge impact.
"Yanhai City just experienced a great battle, and now a large number of evil creatures are migrating there. Are they even letting the citizens of Yanhai City live?"
"Holy crap! Don't scare me, if it's true, I'll definitely run away overnight."
"The Yanhai City Special Department will definitely make an announcement."
"To be honest, Yanhai City is no longer a place where humans can survive. It attracts too much hatred from evil creatures. It's better to run away early."
Sun Xiao was browsing the forum, and when he saw this content, he felt a little nervous.
He lived in Yanhai City.
He initially thought it was a post someone put up to scare people.
But the data inside was very comprehensive.
A detection map, a large area of black dots moving, densely packed, a considerable number.
"This is killing me!"
Sun Xiao was dumbfounded, refreshing the comments below. Most of them suggested running away quickly, to other cities to avoid the danger.
At the current rate of spread.
The entire Yanhai City would know about this overnight.
It would definitely cause chaos.
His phone rang.
It was a call from a good friend.
He answered the call.
"Dude, did you see the post on the forum? Yanhai City is a bit dangerous, come to my place to take refuge."
"I saw it, don't worry, we don't know the specific situation yet. If it's true, I won't leave either. I want to film this scene with my DSLR."
"You're freaking awesome, you still want to film this?"
"I'm willing to give my life for filming. I'll continue browsing the posts, hang up first."
Sun Xiao had long since looked death in the face. If he wasn't convinced, he'd film it, no matter what the situation, as long as there was an explosive scene, he would record it with his DSLR.
Special Department.
"A post about the migration of evil creatures has appeared on the forum. We need to make an announcement immediately."
Jin Heali's expression was very serious. It wasn't a good thing that it was released faster than the official announcement.
The online forum was full of all kinds of people.
There were people who mingled in the Special Department, and they got the news much earlier than ordinary people. Some of them just liked to post some content on the forum.
This was unstoppable.
"Yes, issue an announcement, explain the detected situation, and at the same time, tell the citizens not to panic. It has not yet been determined that the destination of the evil creatures is Yanhai City," the one-eyed man said.
"Yes."
"Also, have you detected the energy level of the strongest evil creature in the group?"
"No, the unmanned reconnaissance aircraft was destroyed by evil birds and it was difficult to get close. Therefore, I took the liberty of making a decision and formed a reconnaissance team to check the level of the evil creatures."
The one-eyed man angrily said, "Nonsense, you're sending them to their deaths."
Jin Heali firmly said, "In order to find out the level of the evil creatures, they are all prepared to sacrifice their lives for Yanhai City."
"You are really messing around, their lives are not lives? If so, why don't you go, and have to organize this kind of voluntary mission?" the one-eyed man said angrily.
Jin Heali straightened up and said, "If my sacrifice can provide useful information, I am willing to sacrifice for Yanhai City."
"Cancel the mission." The one-eyed man shook his head. He knew Jin Heali wasn't lying. Growing up with hatred for evil creatures, her thinking was a bit extreme.
No answer.
The one-eyed man said seriously, "I order you, as the highest leader of the Yanhai City Special Department, to immediately cancel the mission. As a subordinate, you must obey the leader's orders. If you can't do it, leave this place. The department doesn't need a subordinate who makes decisions on their own and doesn't obey the leader's orders."
"Yes," Jin Heali replied, then turned and left, biting her lip with a strong expression as she left.
Watching Jin Heali's departing figure.
The one-eyed man exhaled and shook his head. This girl, she did things well, but sometimes she didn't care about human feelings, she only wanted the best results.
Sacrifice was naturally inevitable.
But some were indeed unnecessary.
Also...
Was I a bit too mean just now?
Downstairs of the department building.
Lin Fan and Old Zhang returned happily, each holding a box of stinky tofu.
"Lin Fan, although this stinks, it's so delicious." Old Zhang ate with sauce all over his mouth, showing a satisfied expression.
"Yeah."
Today was another happy day. Xiaobao took them to play everywhere, went to many places, bought a lot of food, and ate from beginning to end, never stopping.
"Someone is crying," Lin Fan said.
Old Zhang scratched his head and said, "Is there? I didn't hear it."
Lin Fan said, "Yes, embrace nature, and it will tell you what's happening around you."
Old Zhang opened his arms, as if embracing nature, "Ah, tell me, who is crying."
Then.
Lin Fan pulled Old Zhang forward.
Under the streetlight.
Jin Heali sat on a bench, head down, long hair draped down, hands gripping her thighs, body trembling, holding back sobs, but in the night, tears dripped onto the back of her hands.
Sometimes, when the pressure is too much, it's normal to occasionally release some water.
Tap, tap!
Footsteps approached.
"Are you crying? I'll treat you to stinky tofu, it's very delicious." Lin Fan stood in front of Jin Heali, extending the stinky tofu in his hand.
Old Zhang looked at the last piece of stinky tofu in the box, secretly stuffed it into his mouth, and extended the sauce-filled box, "I only have sauce left, you can lick it."
Jin Heali, who was feeling down, heard the voice and looked up at the two mental patients.
Her tearful expression froze.
Perhaps she hadn't expected someone to offer her stinky tofu.
Pfft!
Jin Heali laughed.
Then she straightened her expression, turned serious, and walked away.
Lin Fan said, "What a strange person."
Old Zhang whispered, "Lin Fan, I often see on the news that there are perverts at night, boys have to learn to protect themselves."
They looked at each other, deeply feeling the malice of the night.
They scurried back to their dormitory.
They were scared.