301: Chapter 301 Dragon Group

Earth, Star City, Dragon Nation.

Ma Husheng opened the door, scanning the man and woman outside with extreme impatience.

"Are you property management people sick or something? Is this how you knock on doors? Hurry up and say what you want!"

The two people outside both smiled. The young, tall man with a crew cut took out his identification and flashed it before him.

"We aren't property management; we are Star City police. Ma Husheng, ancestral home in Hu City, 26 years old this year. That's you, right?"

After seeing the ID clearly, Ma Husheng was startled.

"Officer, I'm a law-abiding citizen of this country, a model youth."

"No one said you broke the law. We are currently asking for your cooperation in an investigation. Can we go inside to talk?"

"Oh, that's good. Then... please, come in."

The other middle-aged female police officer with short hair immediately strode into the room and quickly checked every room, not even skipping the bathroom.

Ma Husheng was even more panicked, "Officers, that's my private space. Can you..."

The crew-cut man reached out to stop him, "Mr. Ma, please mind your language. This isn't the old society anymore."

"But this display of yours is a bit scary. This counts as a search, right? Do you have a search warrant?"

The crew-cut man gave a forced smile, "It doesn't count as anything, just taking a look. Mr. Ma, are we going to chat standing up? Aren't you going to invite us to sit?"

Ma Husheng sighed helplessly, "Alright then, please sit."

Before he even finished speaking, the crew-cut man sat down and took a sheet of Materials from his briefcase, placing it on the coffee table.

"Take a look at this first; it will help with our conversation."

Ma Husheng glanced at it casually and was stunned.

It was shockingly a copy of an arrest warrant, with a headshot of Luo Meiling pasted on it.

"Luo Meiling is your girlfriend, right? When she entered the country, five grams of No. 4 heroin and several contraband items were found on her. According to her statement, you two have a history of using drugs together. Isn't it reasonable for us to suspect you of possessing drugs now?"

Ma Husheng immediately shouted, "You've got it wrong! We're just ordinary friends, we absolutely do not have a romantic relationship!"

"We just play games together; we're professional players on the same team."

"I smoked marijuana with them once at a party before, but I've never used hard drugs."

At this moment, the female police officer came out of the room, "Mr. Ma, according to our country's criminal law, marijuana is a drug. Illegal possession is punishable by up to three years in prison."

"No, no, feel free to search, I really don't have any here."

"Do you know Zhang Shugang?"

"I know him, he's our team captain. He and Luo Meiling have something going on, and he lives in Building 9 of Dongjiang Garden Residential Area."

The two police officers exchanged a look and nodded slightly at the same time.

Then the crew-cut man took another photo out of his bag, "Do you know this person?"

Ma Husheng took it and looked at it carefully, then shook his head.

"He looks familiar, but I don't know him."

"Don't rush, think carefully."

"Officer, I have a very good memory, I really don't know him. But I might have seen him in the residential area."

"Where were you between 4 AM and 6 AM on August 8th?"

"I was at home!"

"Let me give you a hint: a shooting occurred downstairs from you that morning."

Ma Husheng was incredibly nervous, but looked completely bewildered.

"Wasn't that... wasn't that the police handling a case? I saw a group of people leave through the unit door, and it looked like they were wrapping someone in a bedsheet."

"And then?"

"Then they left the residential area gate, they must have gotten in a car and left."

The crew-cut man walked to the window, looking at the main road exiting the residential area, slightly lost in thought.

The female police officer continued to ask, "Think carefully again, about the person in the photo, see if you can remember anything else."

"Basically nothing else. This is a resettlement residential area, over forty buildings, lots of people. Even if I've seen him, it would just be passing by."

"Don't rush, think slowly. Even a word or half a sentence from him, or any clue at all, would be helpful to us."

Ma Husheng looked at the photo and suddenly exclaimed, "Huh? He seems... no, no..."

The crew-cut man by the window turned around, "Seems like what? What's wrong?"

Ma Husheng hurriedly asked, "Officers, if I say it, will you believe me?"

"Tell us first."

"I feel like he looks a lot like someone in heavenly change."

"heavenly change? What heavenly change?"

"It's the hottest blockbuster right now! Players from all over the world are on the same server, we're all playing it. I think an NPC in the game looks exactly like him."

The female police officer immediately straightened her face, ready to get angry, but the crew-cut man waved his hand to stop her.

"How similar?"

"That's hard to say, the NPC always wears a mask. But the eyes, face shape, and temperament, er... the temperament might be slightly off."

The crew-cut man walked up to Ma Husheng, his large hand directly resting on his shoulder, seemingly applying some force. Ma Husheng immediately cried out in pain.

"Officer, officer, I'm telling the truth! Really, really! He really looks like him!"

"Mr. Ma, what is the name of this NPC you're talking about?"

"It's called, called, called Candle Dragon! It's called Candle Dragon!"

As these two words were spoken, a trace of imperceptible shock flashed in the crew-cut man's eyes.

"Candle Dragon, is it the candle from 'candle', and the Dragon from Dragon Nation, right?"

"Yes! The Candle Dragon from the Classic of Mountains and Seas!"

The crew-cut man relaxed his hand, then patted his shoulder lightly.

"Mr. Ma, thank you for your cooperation."

Ma Husheng nodded repeatedly, "It's my duty, it's my duty."

"Regarding today's investigation, you must keep it strictly confidential. You are not allowed to reveal a single word to anyone. If any consequences arise from this, you will be in serious trouble. Do you understand?"

"I understand! You two were never here!"

"Very good, then we will take our leave."

The two went downstairs and returned to the car. The female police officer immediately took off her wig and headgear, revealing a young and delicate face, and threw the makeup props into the back seat with extreme disdain.

"I have to wear this damn thing every time I do an investigation mission, it's so annoying. Uncle Kui, aren't you hot wearing it all the time?"

The crew-cut man shook his head with a smile, "I'm used to it. Xiaolu, you just joined the Dragon Team, there are still many things you aren't used to; you must try to learn to overcome them."

"Yes, yes, yes, we are all state top-secret, even if we die we have to be nameless."

The crew-cut man lit a cigarette, then took out a tablet to check information.

Xiaolu asked again, "Uncle Kui, we used so many resources just to scare a social youth, is it worth it?"

"It is." Uncle Kui was operating the tablet, answering somewhat nonchalantly.

Xiaolu, however, disagreed, "I think it's a waste of effort."

"Although Ma Husheng was easy to interrogate, he's just a passerby, who happened to witness someone taking Tang Long away. Other than that, he didn't provide any useful information."

"We mobilized the Public Security Headquarters for this, investigated all the dirt on his social connections, and even arrested his two teammates; it's practically using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

"At the very least, I haven't figured out the point of doing this."

"Uncle Kui, are you listening to me?"

Uncle Kui's hand stopped, then he handed the tablet to her.

"Take a look at this."

The woman frowned as she took it, then her expression gradually froze, and her pupils dilated involuntarily.

"Tang Long's codename on the Dark Walker list... is Candle Dragon?"

Uncle Kui exhaled a long puff of smoke, "Coincidental, right? I think it's very coincidental too."

The woman looked incredulous, "But, that Ma Husheng was talking about an NPC in the game... can there be a connection between the two?"

Uncle Kui was expressionless, but his gaze was somewhat lost.

"Logically speaking, no."

"But our work in the Dragon Team has never been within the realm of logic."

"You haven't been in the team long, and due to clearance issues, I can only reveal a little bit vaguely for now, to facilitate the case."

"At the current stage, 80% of the Dragon Team's workload is centered around this game."

"Because the technical level of this game is simply not something current Earth humans can master. Just the amount of data it generates is far beyond what all the servers on Earth combined could support."

"And its production team, the top operations team, are all a mystery."

"The task of investigating heavenly change was issued by the highest level, with the Team Leader personally taking charge, and more than half of the Dragon Team members participating. But for several months, there has been almost no progress."

Xiaolu widened her eyes, "So our mission this time wasn't for that scrap piece Tang Long at all?"

Uncle Kui laughed, "Tang Long can't be considered a scrap piece, his case level is actually Level 6."

"But I didn't expect his case could actually be linked to heavenly change."

"When the situation is reported up in a moment, I think the possibility of merging the cases is quite high."

Xiaolu was even more surprised, "Merge the cases? Then my clearance won't be enough, right? Are you going to abandon me, Uncle Kui?"

Uncle Kui shook his head helplessly, "There's no way around it, discipline is set in stone. I'll contact the Team Leader now."

Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang first, and the caller ID was shockingly 'Dragon Head'."

"Hello, Team Leader."

"Old Kui, where are you and Xiaolu?"

"Star City."

"I know Star City, be specific."

"North Star District, near Qiujian River."

"Immediately drop what you're doing, head north out of the city as fast as possible. I'll give you a coordinate in a moment; that's an unmapped military airfield. In 20 minutes, a special plane will land there."

"So urgent?"

"Yes, extremely urgent. Also, the case you have on hand regarding Tang Long has been upgraded to Level 9."

"Then what about Xiaolu? Should I let her go back to headquarters by herself?"

There was a slight pause on the other end, "Temporarily upgrade her clearance, limited only to this case, bring her with you."

Xiaolu clenched her fist on the side, silently making a 'V' sign!

Uncle Kui had already started the car and slammed on the gas pedal.

Two hours later, the plane landed at a certain launch base in Xichuan, and the two met the Dragon Head at a certain underground facility in the base.

The Dragon Head was unremarkable in appearance, looking only around forty, but both of them knew that this leader of the Dragon Team was already over seventy.

After several rounds of disinfection and quarantine, the two changed into aerospace-grade protective suits and followed the Dragon Head into an elevator, entering deeper underground facilities.

On the way, Xiaolu asked softly from behind, "Team Leader, disinfection is so strict, is an alien being kept here?"

Uncle Kui immediately straightened her face and scolded, "Xiaolu, what are you asking randomly? Do you know the rules!"

Xiaolu pouted, "The Team Leader brought us here, what's wrong with asking? At worst, he just won't tell me."

The Dragon Head chuckled, "The Tang Long I asked you to investigate earlier was transferred to us by Dragon King through his connections in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We came here just to see him."

Old Kui was somewhat puzzled, "Would Dragon King be that easy to talk to?"

Xiaolu asked, "Is Tang Long an alien?"

Xiaolu looked innocent, but the flesh on Uncle Kui's face twitched.

"Be serious, what kind of question is that? How could Tang Long be an alien."

Xiaolu scoffed, "If he wasn't an alien, would we need to bring him to a place like this?"

The Dragon Head sighed, "He's not an alien, but he's even more troublesome than an alien."

"Dragon King originally wanted his life, but it is said that he used every means possible and still couldn't kill him."

"So this old guy used all his resources to get a tactical nuclear bomb."

"What! A nuclear bomb!" The two exclaimed in unison.

The Dragon Head sighed again, "Yes, a nuclear bomb."

"But Dragon King is very ill, he only has one breath left."

"Perhaps he had a change of heart before dying, gave up on detonating it, and handed Tang Long over. The Hong Kong Special Committee and the South Sea Fleet coordinated the handover."

Old Kui immediately asked, "Then why transfer him to this kind of place? Since we took over, why not transfer him to our base?"

"Good question. There are two reasons in total."

"Dragon King agreed to hand Tang Long over to us for research, but the condition is that it's limited to before he dies. He also requested that after he dies, his remains and Tang Long be sent into space together. That's the first."

"Second, when receiving Tang Long in Nanyang, a huge accident happened on the way. Tang Long released a strong light, lasting one minute and thirty-three seconds."

"All the soldiers participating in the operation received varying degrees of nuclear radiation."

"At the same time, the Intelligence Department observed extremely intense and abnormal solar activity."

Speaking of this, the three had already reached the end of the passage.

Old Kui asked again, "Then why did you have us come over?"

The Dragon Head turned back, looked into his eyes, and answered, "I intend to have you all go into space together."

Old Kui and Xiaolu were both stunned.