Outside the Exorcism Agency's building, a dozen police cars, sirens blaring, had just screeched to a halt.
Dozens of fully armed officers, carrying various firearms, hurriedly disembarked.
"GO! GO! GO!"
At Boris's urging, the officers all rushed into the Exorcism Agency building.
"Debbie, how are you?" Upon entering, Boris ignored the others and looked directly at Debbie in the center of the crowd, asking with concern.
"Uncle Boris, I'm fine!" A smile appeared on Debbie's face as she saw Boris and the officers.
"Glad to hear it!"
Boris nodded, then turned his gaze toward the few individuals surrounded by dozens of heavily armed officers.
With several dozen guns pointed at them, the burly black men's expressions were extremely grim.
After all, before the operation began, they hadn't anticipated this outcome.
Their original plans had shattered, leaving them with no recourse. Determined not to make a trip to the New York Police Department, the group grudgingly produced another set of credentials.
"FBI federal agents?"
Boris examined the credentials handed to him, his eyes narrowing slightly before he scoffed.
"Correct. We just came to ask Mr. Chu Feng to accompany us back to assist with an investigation," one of the men said.
"Hmph. Impersonating police officers wasn't enough, now you're pretending to be FBI? Take them all away!"
Fingers rested on triggers as officers closed in, ready to open fire at any moment. The burly black man clenched his teeth but ultimately chose to surrender. There are too many of them, and their firepower is too strong, he thought. For now, we can only bide our time. They'll have to release us once our identities are confirmed. But our mission this time is definitely going to fail!
Boris watched the men being escorted back to the cars. He smiled and nodded at Debbie, then headed upstairs for a while before getting into his police car to return.
On the top floor of the Exorcism Agency, Chu Feng had just seen Boris off and lay back down on his office sofa.
"Looks like a storm is coming," he murmured, taking a sip from his cup and shaking his head with a sigh.
BUZZ. BUZZ.
His fingers casually swept across his phone screen a few times, and a newly arrived message immediately caught his eye.
"The specific source of the one million US Dollars has been completely traced. We are proceeding to the next step. The email sender's account has been terminated, so that line of investigation is at a standstill!"
Chu Feng chuckled softly, his fingers dancing across the phone screen.
"Let the email go. Focus on identifying the forces behind this. Also, a few little rats showed up here today; check if they're connected to the person behind the scenes!"
"As you wish, sir!"
Putting down the phone, Chu Feng spread his right hand, and a silver-white flame suddenly flared to life.
He idly flicked his fingers through the flame a few times, a dangerous glint flashing in his pupils.
...
「Washington.」
Inside a building from the last century, its design clashing starkly with its surroundings, an assistant reported, "Director Yellen, four of our agents have been arrested by the New York police for impersonating police officers!"
After listening to his assistant's report, the steel pen in the hand of the ordinary-looking middle-aged man behind the desk paused briefly.
"Understood. Contact the New York Police Department and get our agents released as soon as possible!"
"Yes, Director!"
After the assistant left, the man's face suddenly darkened, and he slammed his palm on the desk.
"What a bunch of useless trash!"
As he vented, a crisp ringtone unexpectedly sounded from a drawer in his desk.
Taking out the phone and seeing the caller ID, Yellen's expression shifted several times before he finally answered.
"Yellen, what's going on with those social media networks? Why can't I see any news about that post now?" The voice on the other end was deep, its tone laced with accusation.
Yellen's mouth twitched slightly. "Sir, it seems the owners of those media outlets don't want to provoke a powerful Exorcist force without solid evidence."
"Aren't those media outlets usually very bold? Has just one Exorcist force managed to shut everyone up?"
And that doesn't even count the First Exorcist! Yellen silently added this thought before continuing, "At first, there were one or two, but most people thought the content of the post was very fake..."
Yellen shook his head as an idea suddenly surfaced in his mind. It's rare for these people to be so clear-headed!
"Moreover, the media owners who didn't delete or block the news still chose to do so a day after the incident. According to our investigation, it's suspected they met with an Exorcist."
"..."
Yellen had barely finished speaking when he heard a rustling noise on the other end of the phone, as if someone had covered the mouthpiece. He could faintly hear muffled words, something like "fuck."
While Yellen waited for a response, he failed to notice a shadow suddenly appearing in a corner of his office. It was growing larger with time.
"Keep finding ways for me. Make sure to throw that Exorcism Agency into chaos as soon as possible! At least slow down its development."
Yellen waited patiently for a while, but the other end of the phone only delivered a cold order before hanging up.
Staring at the ended call screen, Yellen clenched his fist, a flash of anger in his eyes.
He failed to notice a tendril of shadow slowly creeping up his back.
In the not-so-large office, a faint, bizarre odor began to permeate the air.
「Evening. It was closing time at the building.」
Yellen pushed open his office door, walking toward the elevator as if no one else existed. He seemed to ignore his assistant's nearby greeting, disappearing around the corner.
"What's up with Director Yellen today?" The assistant shrugged, wondering if the afternoon's events had soured his mood.
Standing in the elevator, Yellen wore an expressionless face, oblivious to the people around him. He walked straight out as soon as the elevator doors opened, leaving behind a group of people exchanging puzzled looks.
"Quick, he's coming out!"
At the street corner outside the building, a black sedan, apparently cued from within, drove straight to the curb where Yellen stood. The car door opened and closed. In less than three seconds, the vehicle started up again and sped away.
...
SLAP!
A crisp sound echoed through an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Washington.
Director Yellen, stripped bare, was firmly tied to a concrete pillar. He gradually regained consciousness, the intense pain on his face shocking him awake.