14: Chapter 14 Special Task Force on Abnormal Events

Night fell.

On the balcony, Ding Qing lit a cigarette, something he hadn't smoked in a long time.

With his current Physique, he had already begun to develop immunity to certain harmful substances.

The sense of power brought by the Iron Cloth Shirt Nine Gates Great Perfection felt like sleeping lava surging and settling within his body.

The strengthening brought by the Nine Gates Great Perfection was not yet completely over.

Once the strengthening was fully complete, his strength should increase by at least three times.

Compared to all that, what truly surprised him were those nine patterns.

This was a Realm of transcending mortality and entering sainthood.

This martial art, which combined all the advantages of the Iron Cloth Shirt from the manga and novels of his past life, had reached a theoretical limit.

If there were any weak points or flaws before, it was now flawless.

The moment the nine Body-Suppressing Veins formed, the martial art of Iron Cloth Shirt had merged with him, becoming inseparable.

Ding Qing didn't know what this state was.

But he knew one thing.

The foundation of his raw strength had been elevated.

It was as if he were a brick; before, he was made of mud.

But now, he was cast from concrete.

The nine ink-deep Body-Suppressing Veins on his body were hidden beneath his skin.

When he circulated his blood and Qi with full force, they emerged like living things, bringing an extremely restrained, rock-like heaviness and ferocity.

Ding Qing briefly stretched his muscles and bones.

A faint humming sound, like a bowstring tightening and then releasing, echoed in the air.

A wonderful feeling!

Just then, the screen of his phone, which he had casually tossed onto the nightstand, lit up.

It wasn't a call, but a WeChat notification from the [Survivors] group chat, sent by Wang Yang.

Wang Yang: Brother Qing! Are you awake? Come out for some fresh air!

Ding Qing: What's up?

Wang Yang: I've finally recovered from almost pissing my pants. I booked a large private room at [Xinghui] KTV. Just us few—Teacher Huang and Xiaoya said they're coming too!

Wang Yang: You coming?

Ding Qing's gaze lingered on the screen for two seconds.

He wasn't surprised that Teacher Huang and Zhao Xiaoya would be there.

Ding Qing: I'm in! I've been cooped up for a few days, so a get-together sounds good.

Wang Yang: It's a plan!

Ding Qing reckoned that since Wang Yang was in such a hurry, there was likely something going on.

The notification regarding the school's handling of the situation was probably about to be released.

The Phoenix Mountain incident couldn't just vanish without a trace.

More than twenty people is not a small number; the school wouldn't be able to suppress it.

He'd go to check on their condition, hear the latest rumors, and... shut Wang Yang's loose mouth.

Ding Qing's well-defined fingers tapped on the screen, short and to the point:

Ding Qing: "When? Room number."

Almost as soon as he replied, Wang Yang's message followed up.

Wang Yang: Right now! Brother Qing, Room 8888. Plenty of drinks and snacks—I'll have them open the room first!

Ding Qing didn't reply again.

He grabbed a baggy black hoodie and pulled it on, concealing the potentially conspicuous muscular outlines on his neck and arms.

Like a blade returned to a simple scabbard, he pushed open the door and stepped out, merging into the rising noise and lights of the city evening.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city.

Inside a high-security meeting room on the top floor of the Chuncheng Municipal Bureau, which had been temporarily requisitioned, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead.

The curtains were tightly drawn, with only a few cool white ceiling lights illuminating the long table.

The air was thick with the smell of tobacco and suppressed anxiety.

At the head of the table sat a man in his early forties.

He wore a neatly tailored black jacket with no markings; his face was stern, and his eyes were as sharp as a falcon's.

He was the task force leader dispatched directly by the Provincial Department, codenamed "Mountain Eagle."

Beside him sat several men and women with similarly capable temperaments and calm gazes.

A large amount of Materials was spread out on the table:

The preliminary inspection report of the Phoenix Mountain scene, detailed background information on the five individuals, preliminary interrogation transcripts, and footage from the vehicle's cameras.

"The chain of evidence is almost non-existent."

A female officer from the technical team, wearing glasses, spoke in a dry voice.

"Physical traces have been completely destroyed, and electronic records are totally invalid. The Survivors' statements..."

She paused, as if feeling that the word "absurd" wasn't quite appropriate.

"...show a high degree of consistency, pointing toward supernatural phenomena, but lack objective corroboration."

Mountain Eagle's fingers tapped rhythmically on the table as his gaze slowly swept across the five files.

Finally, it stopped on the thickest one.

Ding Qing.

"Focus on him."

Mountain Eagle's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable weight.

The team member responsible for analyzing Ding Qing's information immediately pulled up the data.

"Ding Qing, male, 19 years old, a sophomore at the School of Physical Education, Chuncheng University, majoring in Martial Arts and Traditional Ethnic Sports."

"His parents work in Guicheng and are away from home year-round."

"The records show... this person has a fiery temper and is prone to fighting, with multiple records of brawls at school."

"However, they were all provoked by the other party. He shows restraint and hasn't caused major disabilities; the school mostly handled them with reprimands and demerits."

"But his physical fitness is exceptionally outstanding. According to his counselor and some classmates, his strength, endurance, and ability to take a hit far exceed those of ordinary people."

Mountain Eagle's gaze fell on several of Ding Qing's file photos.

The young man in the photos had an indifferent gaze, with a hint of wildness and defiance in his expression. His bronze skin shimmered with a metallic, cold hardness under the flash.

"In the Phoenix Mountain incident,"

Another team member responsible for tracing the movement trajectory chimed in:

"According to the descriptions of the other four, he was the core figure."

"After the thick fog and eerie phenomena appeared, he was the one who forcibly organized the Survivors to get off the bus, set the rules, and broke open the bus door to save people."

"In the end, he stayed behind to lure away the... thing they called a 'monster'."

Mountain Eagle's brow furrowed. "Has Li Feng's body been found?"

"It's been found. This person, Li Feng... died in an extremely bizarre way. His skull was crushed, his chest cavity had collapsed, and his arms were torn."

"But his time of death doesn't match up."

"However, we detected a large amount of unidentifiable, unknown organic residue and traces of strong radiation contamination within the corpse."

The meeting room fell into a dead silence.

A student, in that environment, suspected of using inhuman strength to destroy another 'contaminated' companion?

This in itself was full of contradictions and horror.

Mountain Eagle looked toward the technical team.

"What about the analysis of the wreckage of that broken bus door?"

"Reporting, Leader,"

The female technical officer pushed up her glasses, her tone carrying a hint of disbelief.

"The door suffered an unimaginable, massive blunt force impact from the outside, instantly exploding and twisting inward."

"Based on the metal deformation and stress model back-calculation, the impact force at that moment... is conservatively estimated to be close to the hammering force of heavy engineering machinery!"

"Furthermore... on the door fragments, we detected extremely faint traces resembling residues from high-intensity explosives, which don't match any known explosives we're aware of."

Mountain Eagle fell silent.

He picked up Ding Qing's file, his sharp gaze staring at the young but exceptionally cold and hard face in the photo.

His finger heavily traced over the words "exceptionally outstanding physical fitness."

After a long while, he put down the file, his voice echoing low and solemn in the meeting room:

"This Ding Qing... has major issues. His actual behavior and motives during the Phoenix Mountain incident..."

"...even whether he himself is still completely 'normal'—all of this needs a big question mark."

"The higher-ups have already marked him as an 'A-level Target to be Verified'."

"Send out the order: place him under the highest level of secret surveillance. Obtain all his movements and communication information."

"Additionally, focus on monitoring the three people he frequently contacts: Wang Yang, Huang Guohua, and Zhao Xiaoya."

"As for the Hengyu Group... send a team to watch them as well."

"The Phoenix Mountain incident has been classified by the higher-ups as an A-level Abnormal Event."

He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Notify the 'Research Institute'. Send over the unknown organic samples and radiation residue data extracted from the scene, and have them analyze it as soon as possible."

"Also... get ready. The next time we come into contact with Ding Qing, I want to know... exactly what 'thing' he's hiding!"