"Mayor Huang, that's how things are," Director Liu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. After this accident, his promotion for the year was certainly gone.
Tap, tap, tap...
Mayor Huang remained silent, tapping his desk lightly.
"You mean the killer hasn't been found yet?" Mayor Huang's voice was terrifyingly calm, causing Director Liu to sweat even more.
"Reporting to Mayor Huang, based on the on-site investigation, the killer who caused this accident should not be human," Director Liu said with a bitter expression. With such an incident occurring in his jurisdiction, he didn't know how to handle it for the moment.
"Not human? Then what do you mean?" Mayor Huang stopped tapping and looked directly into Director Liu's eyes.
"I think it's a bit like the kind of monsters you mentioned before," Director Liu said.
"What?" Mayor Huang frowned. "You mean those malevolent spirits caused this accident?"
Director Liu nodded.
"You may leave now. Let me consider the next course of action," Mayor Huang waved his hand, dismissing Director Liu.
As Director Liu turned to leave, Mayor Huang's secretary suddenly burst in.
"Mayor, something terrible has happened!" the secretary exclaimed in a panic.
"What is it?" Mayor Huang waved Director Liu away again, noticing the secretary's expression and realizing the upcoming events were not something Director Liu needed to know about.
Director Liu bowed respectfully and quickly left.
After Director Liu was gone, the secretary finally spoke:
"A massive wave suddenly surged at the accident site by the sea, engulfing all personnel present in the water. Currently, there are heavy casualties, and the whereabouts of many medical staff and police officers are unknown."
However, upon hearing this, Mayor Huang did not get angry but instead stood up with a look of surprise and joy.
If Director Liu's words had only made him suspicious, then the secretary's words now confirmed his suspicion: the accident was indeed caused by those malevolent spirits!
He had been struggling to find raw experimental material, which was why he had to act against Bei'an Street. He never expected such an incident to suddenly occur by the sea. A disaster of this magnitude could not possibly be caused by humans; it must be the work of malevolent spirits.
With this thought, Mayor Huang immediately got up and headed to the basement to inform Professor Liu to prepare for the capture of the malevolent spirit from the large ship at sea.
In the underground laboratory, upon hearing Mayor Huang's news, Professor Liu immediately turned and entered a laboratory. He took out a large number of tools and handed them to two subordinates behind him.
"Take these tools and follow the people assigned by the mayor to capture that malevolent spirit."
"Yes!" The two subordinates took the tools from Professor Liu, turned, and left the laboratory with the two people sent by the mayor.
An hour later, a fully armed squad departed from the government building towards the accident site by the sea.
Meanwhile, Number One, having left the eighteenth floor, entered human society for the first time and felt a sense of confusion. Although he had told Fang Ming that he yearned for freedom, now that he had truly left the eighteenth floor, he didn't know where to go.
With no direction, he suddenly felt a very strong wave of resentment. Following this resentment, he arrived at the seaside and found a large ship with a chaotic mix of similar energies.
Malevolent spirits had a strong territorial instinct, so Number One, not daring to be careless, quietly approached the vicinity of the large ship, observing the surroundings.
Meanwhile, the squad that had departed from the municipal building had just arrived near the large ship. The onlookers had all fled, leaving behind only an empty ship.
"This is the professor's latest tracking device. As long as we follow its indications, we can precisely locate those monsters," Member A took out a palm-sized device and said to those around him.
Then, he turned on the device, and the screen displayed areas of different colors. Normal areas were displayed in light blue, while the area of the large ship was a solid red.
"The red area represents the concentration of soul elements. By observing the device, we can see hidden malevolent spirits," Member A explained.
"Excuse me, look, isn't there a monster near us..." Member B pointed cautiously at the device screen, and everyone quickly looked.
Indeed, the device showed that not far from them, a mass of blood-red soul elements was slowly moving...
Damn! They've encountered a monster right after arriving?!
Many of them were seeing this thing for the first time. Many had thought this mission was just a delivery job, but they hadn't even reached the large ship yet and had already hit the jackpot.
"Gulp." Someone unknown secretly swallowed. Everyone was tense and didn't know what to do, finally casting their gazes upon the two people sent by Professor Liu.
The two exchanged glances, seeing fear in each other's eyes. Oh my god, they were also encountering an invisible monster for the first time. The monsters in the laboratory were all weaklings, not much stronger than ordinary beasts, but who knew the strength of this wild malevolent spirit?
Let's do it! We can't just freeze here.
The two immediately began to assign tasks.
"You guys take these four devices and stealthily surround the monster, then activate them," Member A took out four palm-sized cylindrical devices from his backpack and handed them to four people, then took out several peculiar glasses for the others.
"These are detection devices invented by the professor. Wearing them allows you to see the trajectory of soul elements. Although we can't see this monster with the naked eye, we can easily see its movement using these instruments."
Several people took the glasses and put them on, and sure enough, they saw the figure of the invisible monster in their vision—a mass of fiery red soul elements.
"Ordinary malevolent spirits can be attacked with standard firearms. Once we trap it with the devices, we'll immediately suppress it with firepower and bring it back injured. Do you all understand?"
"Understood!"
At this moment, Number One was unaware that it had been discovered by humans. Although it had sensed the group of humans, it believed it was invisible and that these humans couldn't affect it, so it paid no attention.
It was still pondering whether or not to enter the large ship, completely unaware that it was already surrounded by humans.
"Fire!" Suddenly, a loud shout rang out.
Immediately, several streams of fire spewed from the bushes.
"Da da da da..."
Wild grass flew everywhere as bullets struck it, and blades of grass were scattered. Bullets pierced through Number One's body and flew into the distance.
No matter how foolish Number One was, it knew at this moment that it had been discovered. It tried to flee, and a group of small resentful spirits panicked and followed Number One.
"Bang!" Number One was violently repelled. A strong electric current instantly passed through its body, solidifying its form for a moment.
"Ah!" Number One screamed and quickly retreated a few steps, then turned and fled in another direction.
"All units, attention! The target is shifting direction. Increase firepower suppression. It will solidify the moment it touches the isolation energy wall. Seize the opportunity to attack!"
"Received!" "Received!"...
"Da da da... Boom! Boom!..." A dense net of firepower covered all the positions enclosed by the devices, even resorting to heavy weapons like rocket launchers.
"Bang!" Number One again collided with an invisible energy wall, its body stiffening for a moment as if electrocuted, revealing its form simultaneously.
"It's out! Attack!" The humans seized the fleeting opportunity, unleashing a barrage of firepower. Number One was immediately torn to shreds.
"Ah!" Number One screamed and began to dart around in terror. The moment its body automatically became invisible again, it accelerated its pace in an attempt to escape. However, it again collided with an energy wall in another direction, and humans seized the opportunity to inflict significant damage.
Why is the human world so dangerous? Aren't they all weaklings with no ability to even tie their own shoelaces?
Number One couldn't figure out how this situation had arisen, and furthermore, they had a way to reveal its form, rendering its advantage useless!
"Hoo hoo hoo..." Number One panted, not daring to move any further. It had discovered that it was blocked by an invisible wall in all directions. No matter which direction it went, it would be forced to reveal itself. Rather than that, it was better to hide here; the humans' attacks couldn't harm it in its invisible state.
"Target exhibits high intelligence. All units, attention, switch to malevolent spirit-breaking bullets. Do not aim for fatal areas. Focus on severe injury."
"Received!" "Received!"...
A sound of reloading echoed around Number One, followed by the resumption of gunfire.
Number One's heart leaped. Although it didn't know what these humans were trying to do, it had a bad feeling. It immediately tried to flee again.
However, with the help of specialized equipment, its invisibility was as useless as paper. With the help of the special glasses, Number One's form was like a firefly in the dark!
"Bang!" Accompanied by the first gunshot, followed by the second and third...
Although Number One's physical attributes were not low, they were insufficient to contend with firearms.
"Splat!" A bullet penetrated Number One's thigh. A strange energy disrupted the resentment within its body, causing an imbalance in its natural abilities, which unexpectedly revealed its form from invisibility!
Although it was only for a moment, as more and more bullets pierced its body, the resentment within it became completely chaotic, and its form was finally fully revealed.
"All units, attention! Target's form has appeared. Reduce firepower suppression and switch to high-voltage electric guns!" The humans around rejoiced. This monster was merely all show. They had dealt with it so easily.
With its form revealed, Number One was completely suppressed by the humans. It was merely a malevolent spirit, and against modern human weaponry, it had no ability to fight back.
In less than ten minutes, Number One was hit by a high-voltage electric gun, convulsed, and lost consciousness. The resentful spirits around it, unable to withstand the intensity of the attack, were all annihilated.
"Damn..." Number One looked blankly at the few humans who approached it, laughing and talking. They wrapped it in a large net, and then a truck arrived, confining it in the cargo hold.
"Hahaha, a triumphant victory!" Member A exclaimed excitedly.
Others were also beaming with excitement. Capturing this monster meant the rewards from headquarters would be enough for them to splurge for months. If there were more, wouldn't they be able to afford houses and cars?
When calculated this way, catching this thing was a truly profitable business.
And as they were getting excited, they didn't notice that the entire display screen of the detection device had turned blood red...