30: Shadow behind the door

After agreeing with the two sisters that their parents would accompany them to the Changle Public Security Bureau tomorrow morning to join the Special Administration Bureau, the four-person team walked into the community.

As Lin Mo walked, he kept confirming relevant information with them:

"Besides knowing that the cockroaches are the size of a door panel and the calico cat has the ability to control wind, do you know any other information?"

Chen Wenya was the first to shake her head:

"I don't know."

Chen Wenqian thought for a moment with her head down, then raised her hand like a primary school student:

"There seems to be a cockroach ootheca in the corner of the storage room wall."

"But that ootheca is a bit big, like a Coke bottle, so I'm not entirely sure if it is one."

Yang Dian and Lin Mo exchanged glances upon hearing this.

Then Yang Dian spoke first:

"Captain, if there really is such a large ootheca, does that mean we can confirm that the offspring of that Mutated Cockroach have also mutated?"

"At least in terms of size, they've mutated."

Lin Mo nodded:

"You can pretty much understand it that way."

Yang Dian suddenly became happy:

"Captain, if the offspring of that Mutated Cockroach can also grow to the size of a door panel, wouldn't we be rich?"

Facing Lin Mo's puzzled gaze, he continued:

"You see, the protein content in cockroaches far exceeds most organisms."

"On average, every 100 grams of cockroach contains up to 65 grams of protein."

"That's six times higher than beef and four times higher than milk."

"Besides that, cockroach meat is also rich in various nutrients beneficial to the human body."

"Including fats, vitamins, and various minerals and trace elements."

"It can promote human metabolism and enhance immunity."

"And the most, most, most crucial thing is..."

"Those cockroaches are not only easy to raise, but they're also mutated, and they're suspected of being able to pass on their mutation ability."

Hearing this, Lin Mo's face began to turn green:

"You want to breed cockroaches?"

Yang Dian waved his hand:

"Aiya~"

"It's not that I want to raise them."

"Do you think if the higher-ups knew about large cockroaches that can self-inherit mutation abilities and have six times more protein than beef..."

"Would they want to raise them?"

"You know, the energy contained in mutated beast meat is much higher than ordinary food."

Lin Mo smacked his lips:

"They should..."

"Possibly..."

"Probably..."

"Build a Mutated Cockroach breeding farm, right?"

Yang Dian clapped his hands:

"Then wouldn't that be it?"

As he spoke, he had already pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Who are you calling?"

"Professor Shen."

Saying this, Yang Dian also gave his reason for calling:

"Brother Shi mentioned to me yesterday while we were patrolling that you guys had previously caught several live mutated beasts."

"But every time the merits came down, it was either the guaranteed 1000 merits or the guaranteed 1000 merits."

"I figured that when the merits were being calculated, no one helped you explain the importance of those live mutated beasts, so the higher-ups treated them as ordinary mutated beasts."

"So I figured again..."

"This won't do."

"We have to take the initiative ourselves and make the higher-ups realize the importance of the mutated beasts we've caught."

"Otherwise, working ourselves to death just for a guaranteed minimum, what's the point?"

Lin Mo opened his mouth, wanting to tell Yang Dian that his idea was wrong.

But before he could speak, Yang Dian's call was already connected.

"Hello, Professor Shen."

..."Yes, it's me, Yang Dian."

..."Nothing much, it's just that we found another Mutated Cockroach, and that Mutated Cockroach seems to have laid large oothecae, and its offspring are suspected to inherit the enormous size and mutation ability of the Mutated Cockroach."

..."What? Address? You're coming now?"

"Alright, the address is Sanli Community, Unit 3, 6th Floor, Room 601, Jing'an District."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Dian put his phone back in his pocket while Lin Mo looked on, somewhat dumbfounded.

"All right~"

"Done."

After stretching a bit, Yang Dian looked at Lin Mo again:

"Captain, should we go up first, or wait for Professor Shen and his team to arrive? Should we call the Public Security Bureau to set up a cordon?"

Lin Mo shook his head helplessly:

"You haven't even confirmed whether what Wenqian saw was an ootheca, and you've already rushed to make the call."

"What if she saw it wrong?"

Yang Dian shrugged:

"If she saw it wrong, then she saw it wrong."

"No matter what, there's a Mutated Cockroach, that much can't be wrong."

Saying this, Yang Dian looked at Lin Mo again.

"So Captain, should we go up and confirm first?"

Lin Mo sighed, "That's all we can do."

Just as he led the way into the community, Chen Wenqian, who was beside him, spoke up sweetly again:

"Um... Policeman uncle."

"If it's confirmed that Xiaohua is a mutated creature, will you take it away?"

Seeing Chen Wenqian's reluctant expression, Yang Dian immediately shook his head:

"Generally not, only registration is required."

"Domesticated pets, because they are already accustomed to coexisting with humans."

"So even if they mutate into abnormal creatures, their aggressiveness will still not be very strong."

"Except for those aggressive dogs, our Special Administration Bureau generally does not enforce compulsory containment."

"Of course, if a domesticated mutated creature causes an injury incident..."

"Then, without a doubt, we will forcibly contain it and send it to the laboratory, or directly euthanize it."

"Mutated creatures that have harmed people cannot be kept."

Chen Wenqian nodded frantically:

"Don't worry, Xiaohua is very obedient."

"Even if the door is open, it won't go out alone, let alone hurt people."

"And Policeman uncle, if we register Xiaohua, what procedures are needed?"

...As they walked and talked, the distance quickly shortened.

A moment later, the group had entered Unit 3 of Sanli Community and went up to the sixth floor via the stairs.

Looking at Chen Wenqian, who was about to open the door, Yang Dian suddenly raised his hand and stopped her:

"Something's not right."

He made a shushing motion and listened intently.

His enhanced five senses allowed Yang Dian to clearly hear a rustling, crawling sound coming from Room 601.

It was like a snake slithering through withered grass, giving a creepy feeling.

"Those cockroaches might have reached the living room."

Touching his goosebump-covered arm, Yang Dian immediately took the key from Chen Wenqian's hand.

"I'll open the door."

"You two step back."

Saying this, Yang Dian looked at Lin Mo again:

"Captain, remember to provide fire support!"

Lin Mo was infected by Yang Dian's solemn expression, nodded, and then drew his pistol from its holster.

Seeing that the two sisters, Wenya and Wenqian, had already retreated downstairs, Yang Dian slowly stepped forward and inserted the key into the lock.

"Screech~ creak~~"

The old anti-theft door slowly opened with a slightly harsh sound.

Three to five strands of yellowish light then penetrated through the door crack, falling onto the corridor.

Looking at the shadow cast over him, and the tentacles at the shadow's head twitching from time to time...

A fragrant national essence (expletive) burst from Yang Dian's mouth.

"Holy crap~"