123: Chapter 123 Inside the City Hall, Overt and Covert Events

The next morning, Ling Ye requested a half-day leave from the academy (with a valid reason: handling community-related matters and a follow-up appointment). He changed into that nondescript dark gray work uniform, set his personal terminal to standard citizen mode, shouldered his semi-worn backpack, and left the apartment.

Dawn City's Municipal Government service hall was located in the city's central district, a magnificent, silver-gray, streamlined building. The interior space was vast, brightly lit, with clear directional signs, numerous service windows, and a bustling crowd. The air was filled with a mixture of electronic chimes, hushed conversations, and the hum of machinery.

Ling Ye stood still in front of the smart guide desk at the entrance. The screen lit up, and a gentle electronic female voice asked, "Hello, citizen. How may I assist you today?"

"I would like to look up the recent… environmental noise complaint records for the Oak Street Community, as well as their related resolution status," Ling Ye said, his tone carrying a hint of the concern and seriousness typical of an ordinary citizen reporting an issue.

"To query public affairs records for the community, please proceed to Window 17 in Zone B, or use the self-service information query terminal on the left side of the hall. The terminal offers browsing and printing services for non-classified public records," the guidance System instructed.

Ling Ye chose to use the self-service terminal first. The terminal's interface was user-friendly. He selected "Citizen Services - Community Affairs - Complaints and Suggestions Query," entered "Oak Street Community" as the keyword, and set the time range to "Last three months."

The screen refreshed, listing a dozen or so records. Most were common issues like neighborhood disputes, public facility repairs, and waste sorting. He browsed quickly and soon found his target:

Record Number: SQ-2873-042. Complaint Time: 15 days ago. Complainant: Anonymous (submitted online). Subject: Near the east side of the Oak Street Community, adjacent to the abandoned Old Factory District, there have been unexplained metal scraping sounds and low, beast-like growls heard for several consecutive days during the early morning hours (approx. 1:00-3:00 AM), affecting sleep. Handling Department: Environmental Sanitation and Public Order Division. Status: Processed. Result Summary: Personnel (automated patrol drones) were dispatched to patrol the area during the complaint period, but no abnormal sound sources or suspicious personnel activity were found. On-site investigation showed partial rust and loosening of the abandoned factory fence, speculating that strong winds at night might have caused metal plates to rub or debris to roll, creating the noise. Recorded, and the property owner (Note: property owner information restricted) has been notified to strengthen fence maintenance. Citizens are advised that if they encounter similar situations again, they can turn on the terminal's recording function to document it for further analysis.

Record Number: SQ-2873-058. Complaint Time: 8 days ago. Complainant: Chen XX (Contact info: partially hidden). Subject: Heard similar strange noises again at night, felt they were clearer than before, suspect abnormalities inside the abandoned factory, requesting a thorough inspection. Handling Department: Environmental Sanitation and Public Order Division. Status: In Progress. Result Summary: Acknowledged, will arrange personnel for re-inspection. (Note: This complaint is close in time to the recent Crystal-Armored Beast anomaly event in the western suburbs; a copy has been forwarded to the Security Department for reference.)

As expected! The complaint records clearly pointed to the "Old Factory District" and "strange noises," and the Municipal Government's preliminary investigation results pointed to "natural causes" (rusted fences, strong winds). However, in the processing remarks for the second complaint, it explicitly mentioned "forwarded to the Security Department for reference" and linked the "strange noises" with the "Crystal-Armored Beast anomaly event"! This indicated that within the Municipal Government, at least at the level handling these complaints, they were already aware of a possible connection between the two and had notified the Security Department.

This verified Ling Ye's judgment: the "Old Factory District anomaly" and the "Crystal-Armored Beast event" had already been preliminarily linked for investigation at the official level.

He also noticed that the resolution for the first complaint mentioned "notified the property owner (Note: property owner information restricted)." Even in the Municipal Government's public records, the property owner's information was restricted, making that shell company, "Deep Space Frontier Capital," appear even more mysterious and unfathomable.

Ling Ye memorized the key points of these two records and chose not to print them (to avoid leaving unnecessary paper trails).

He left the self-service terminal and walked toward Window 17 in Zone B. Behind the window sat a middle-aged female clerk, her expression slightly weary but still patient.

"Hello, I would like to inquire about a community noise complaint," Ling Ye said, stepping forward and scanning his personal terminal on the scanner (to verify his basic citizen identity).

"Go ahead. Which community? What is the specific issue?" the clerk asked, operating the computer.

"The Oak Street Community, near the Old Factory District on the east side, about the strange noises at night," Ling Ye said, his face showing just the right amount of concern. "I live there, and I really haven't been sleeping well lately. I'm a bit worried. I saw in the complaint records that people were sent to check, but no cause was found. I wanted to ask, are there any further arrangements? Or, is there anything we need to watch out for ourselves?"

The clerk glanced at Ling Ye, seemingly assessing his age and level of concern, and her tone softened. "Student, don't worry too much. That's an abandoned factory area; it's old, so a bit of noise is normal. Our division took the complaints very seriously and sent drones and patrollers to check; we really didn't find any human activity or sources of danger. We've already notified the property owner to maintain the fence as soon as possible."

"But, I heard that there was a Crystal-Armored Beast going berserk at the western suburbs training ground previously, and the timing seems similar. Could there be a connection?" Ling Ye asked tentatively, his expression innocent.

The clerk's expression became noticeably more serious. She looked at the screen, then at Ling Ye, and lowered her voice. "Student, this… we are only the Environmental Sanitation Division, handling ordinary citizen complaints. As for connections to other events, that's not something we can conclude here. The Security Department has already intervened to investigate. If there is any news regarding public safety, it will be released through official channels. Residents living nearby should try to keep doors and windows closed at night and not approach the Old Factory District. If you notice any abnormalities, report to the police immediately or submit a report via your terminal. Don't go to check it yourself, you understand?"

Her answer was very official, but the information revealed was: 1. Her division knew the Security Department had intervened; 2. The official stance was to advise residents to stay away and report, but not to explain further publicly; 3. She was aware of the connection to the "Crystal-Armored Beast event" but was tight-lipped about it.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you," Ling Ye nodded, preparing to leave.

"Oh, by the way," the clerk suddenly added, as if it were a casual remark, "You're a student living in the Oak Street Community? If you're particularly concerned about the community environment or safety, you might want to follow the 'Community Collaboration Platform.' Sometimes they post volunteer activities or safety briefings; it doesn't hurt to learn a bit more. Last week, it seems an old master from the Municipal Government maintenance team shared some tips on maintaining old pipelines and identifying abnormal sounds on the platform. You can take a look."

An old master from the Municipal Government maintenance team? Ling Ye's heart stirred. Was it Wang Hao's cousin, or someone else?

"Community Collaboration Platform? Is that in the city services on the personal terminal?" Ling Ye asked.

"Yes, there is a 'My Community' section inside. You can view it after verifying your address," the clerk said, then signaled for the next citizen to step forward.

Ling Ye thanked her and left. He didn't check the platform immediately but walked to the hall's rest area, found a corner to sit down, opened his personal terminal, connected to the Municipal Government hall's public network (relatively anonymous), and quickly searched for "Dawn City Municipal Government maintenance team public contact or duty schedule."

Soon, he found the "Maintenance Dispatch and Duty Schedule" page on the Municipal Government public service website. It listed the basic contact information and duty teams for each regional maintenance team. For the Seventh District maintenance team, which the Oak Street Community belonged to, the duty room phone number and the name of a duty squad leader (Zhang Jianguo) were public.

Ling Ye wrote down the phone number. He didn't call immediately, but instead entered the "Dawn City Community Collaboration Platform" as a guest and found the Oak Street Community section.

The information in the section was mixed, including community notices, neighborhood mutual aid, second-hand trading, activity recruitment, etc. He browsed quickly and soon found the "share" the clerk mentioned—the publisher's ID was "Old Zhao," the avatar was a silhouette of a tool wrench, and the verified information was "retired employee of the Municipal Government maintenance team." The post was published ten days ago with the title: "Listening to Locate: An Old Worker Teaches You to Identify Common Household Abnormal Sounds and Potential Hazards."

The content of the post was very practical, listing different sound characteristics and simple identification methods for things like water pipe resonance, wall cracking, loose doors and windows, and small animal activities. But in the last paragraph of the post, this "Old Zhao" seemed to add a sentence with implied meaning:

"Lastly, let me say one more thing. In this old community of ours, the underground pipelines and the foundational structures left by the factory from the early years are complex. If you hear sounds that are particularly 'deep,' 'muffled,' and carry a bit of an 'echo,' especially at night coming from the southeast (the direction of the old factory), don't take it lightly, but don't just guess blindly on your own either. I remember that area was deeply excavated years ago, and the geological conditions are a bit special; sometimes, it's normal for the crust to have some small 'movements,' but if it should be reported, it must be reported. Safety first."

"Particularly 'deep,' 'muffled,' and carrying an 'echo'," "southeast (the direction of the old factory)," "deeply excavated years ago, geological conditions are special"… these descriptions faintly corresponded to the "sense of disharmony" Ling Ye perceived and the potential "underground structure" in the Old Factory District! This retired old maintenance worker clearly knew some inside information, and might even have experienced something himself, which is why he couldn't help but add such a vague warning while sharing practical knowledge.

"Old Zhao"… could it be Wang Hao's cousin? Or another person in the know?

Ling Ye took a screenshot of the post to save it (without including his own account information), then cleared his browsing history and exited the public network.

The gains from coming to the Municipal Government hall today exceeded expectations. Not only did he confirm the official processing procedure for the "strange noise" complaints and their preliminary connection to the "Crystal-Armored Beast event," but more importantly, he found "Old Zhao," a potential civilian source of information who might understand the history or special circumstances of the Old Factory District.

He didn't try to contact "Old Zhao" through the platform immediately, as that would leave a trace. He needed to think of a more natural and less conspicuous way to contact him. For example, could he go through Wang Hao? Or, under the guise of "inquiring about old community pipeline issues," call the Seventh District maintenance team's duty room directly to see if he could "run into" or find out news about "Old Zhao" or similar old masters?

When he left the Municipal Government hall, it was already past ten in the morning. The sun was bright, and the streets were bustling.

Ling Ye stood on the steps and looked back at the massive building that represented the city's Order and management.

Above the surface, everything was business as usual: there were complaints, processing, records, linked remarks, and safety warnings.

But beneath the surface, the "sense of disharmony" in the Old Factory District was still spreading, dark gray creatures were wriggling in the shadows, unidentified vehicles were monitoring in the dark, the Security Department and the Anomaly Research Society were quietly watching, mysterious capital was hiding behind the scenes, and ordinary people like "Old Zhao" were relying on experience to capture traces of the anomaly and turn them into vague warnings.

This web was becoming increasingly complex, but it seemed he had a few more threads in his hands.

He needed to return to the academy for classes in the afternoon. But the "Old Zhao" and maintenance team lead was worth putting effort into following up.

Perhaps he could sound out Wang Hao first?