59: Chapter 59 Wanted Across the Entire Internet

"You... what did you say?"

Tao Jiajia seemed unable to believe it, her voice rising an octave.

"I am solemnly telling you now that your current situation is extremely dangerous. As an official Investigation Team member, I have the right to order you to answer my questions. As a citizen, you have the obligation to cooperate with my questioning. Please tell me, what exactly happened on your end just now!"

Chu Xuan remained silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice suddenly became extremely profound, as if carrying a strange rhythm: "How is Qin Qing now? Answer my question; this is more important than your life..."

Chu Xuan's voice seemed to possess a special magic. As the words fell, Tao Jiajia's tone on the other end of the phone underwent a completely different transformation.

"She... currently... hasn't escaped danger yet. She is in a Life Pod repairing her body. She overexerted herself far too severely."

Tao Jiajia's voice trailed off at first, then her speaking speed returned to normal, answering in a calm and steady tone.

Still alive, then...

Chu Xuan whispered. This was actually a surprise to him. What exactly happened afterward?

No matter what, she survived in the end.

Chu Xuan felt a sense of relief for no apparent reason and continued to press: "Where is the Night Demon?"

"It... ran... away..."

Tao Jiajia's voice became strange again, but when she finished the last word, she suddenly snapped awake and let out an angry scream:

"Ah!! What did you do to me!"

Beep—

Chu Xuan hung up the phone immediately.

"Qin Qing isn't dead... the Night Demon escaped..."

Chu Xuan murmured softly. He instinctively felt something was off; there was important information hidden in this. But he immediately shook his head, suppressing the matter in his heart and forcing himself to shift his attention.

"I can't have direct contact with the authorities yet. I need to leave here first..."

Chu Xuan left unhurriedly, closing the small courtyard gate.

...

Bang!

With a loud thud, the hospital ward door was slammed shut.

"Bastard! What an absolute bastard!"

Tao Jiajia was fuming with rage as she strode out of the ward toward the elevator. She was followed by a group of young men and women in suits, all standing tall and poised.

Tang Zheng was sandwiched between several burly men, following behind Captain Tao and the others.

Patients and nurses in the corridor all stayed far away.

It wasn't until they reached the underground garage that Tao Jiajia restrained her anger and calmed down, though her face remained frosty: "How overconfident. Thinking that because he had some lucky encounters, he can look down on everyone. Without official protection, he won't even know how he died in the end!"

While speaking, she looked back at the young man at the very back who was holding a laptop and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, asking: "Is it confirmed? Where exactly is Chu Xuan?"

"Confirmed. He is indeed on Taikang Road."

The laptop-wielding youth immediately replied: "We can track him through infrastructure triangulation and IMEI detection. We can pinpoint his location even if the phone is turned off and the SIM card is removed."

"Good. Arrange it. Immediately mobilize the Special Task Force to Taikang Road. Chu Xuan must be brought back."

As Tao Jiajia walked out of the ward area, she said to another man with a buzz cut: "Remember to have them check their equipment before the operation. There might be danger there. If Chu Xuan shows resistance, appropriate force may be used."

"Yes!" The buzz-cut youth immediately took out his phone. Before making the call, he hesitated slightly: "Captain Tao, shouldn't Specter incidents be handled by the Night Watchers? And since this incident involves Qin Qing, should we..."

"Can all of us elite talents not compare to those few Night Watchers? They're just a bunch of unrefined bastards. If this society relied entirely on them, it would have descended into chaos long ago!"

Tao Jiajia said coldly: "Without our Investigation Team, they would be blind and deaf! They're just people with slightly better physical fitness than average, plus some deceptive Qigong tricks. How much of a role can they really play? Each one of them is so self-important, with their noses in the air. But when it's time for a mission, who isn't armed to the teeth with guns and grenades? And they take such high funding every month—it's simply a waste!"

The buzz-cut youth didn't dare say more and began making the call.

Tao Jiajia suddenly asked: "By the way, didn't the Night Watchers already send someone to the Medical University's Dormitory Building No. 4 to perform a Scene Reconstruction? Are there any results?"

"No news yet. According to real-time reports from our personnel on-site, it might be... difficult."

"Hah! As expected, they're all useless freeloaders!"

Tao Jiajia snorted coldly with a look of disdain. Then she lowered her voice to another person beside her: "Arrange for the Research Department to be ready. Once we bring Tang Zheng over, immediately use Brainwave Imaging Technology to read his memory. This kid isn't being very honest either; there were many loopholes in his verbal account just now."

"Captain, this technology isn't mature yet. There might be risks to the brain. Perhaps we should ask the Night Watchers to conduct the interrogation..." the person suggested. However, seeing Tao Jiajia's expression grow increasingly dark, they immediately fell silent.

Walking at the very back, Tang Zheng, surrounded by the burly men, suddenly raised an eyebrow.

Soon, the group arrived at two business vans in the underground garage. Someone opened the doors for them. Tao Jiajia boarded the vehicle expressionlessly. Once the cars were on the road, she finally spoke slowly:

"You all must remember, that group of Night Watchers is a mess. Their quality is uneven. Suddenly possessing special abilities is even scarier than a poor man suddenly striking it rich. Their thoughts and actions can no longer be judged by common sense. Their danger to this society far outweighs their actual utility. We must remain vigilant against them. To deal with Specters, we must ultimately rely on guns and ammunition. Individual bravery is just a flash in the pan; it can never make much of a wave in this society..."

At this point, she paused and frowned slightly: "Why hasn't the car behind us caught up?"

Just then, her phone rang. Upon answering, a shout came from the other side: "Captain Tao, this is bad! Tang Zheng has escaped!"

"What?"

Tao Jiajia lunged to her feet, her head slamming hard against the roof of the van. The pain was so sharp that tears welled up, and her anger flared again:

"Five of you burly men couldn't keep an eye on a single ordinary college student?!"

"Sorry, we..."

"Fine, say no more!"

Tao Jiajia's face turned red as she suppressed her fury, saying in a low voice: "Arrange for the Tactical Team to carry out an immediate arrest. Notify Tang Zheng's family and demand he come forward. If he isn't found within two hours, issue a network-wide wanted notice. The same goes for Chu Xuan!"

...

An alley on Taikang Road.

"You're saying you can only detect Strange Creaturess within a rough five-kilometer radius, and only the lowest level ones? And if the opponent hasn't revealed their monstrous form, you can't be one hundred percent sure unless you're at close range? Your status is dropping a bit, isn't it?" Chu Xuan walked through the alleys with his backpack on, whispering in a low voice.

"Ignorant ant, it seems you don't yet know that the higher the level of existence, the deeper the degree of taboo and secrecy..." A sneering laughter echoed in his mind, once again filled with temptation:

"Poor, humble child, why are you so repelled by us? We pioneers came to your world not to destroy it, but for the prosperity of the Great World, to share in the glory of the Gods."