Chapter 14: Chapter 13: A Nighttime Visit to the Slaughterhouse
8:00 PM, at the Zhongcheng Slaughterhouse in the suburbs.
He Xiaotian parked his car in a relatively hidden corner and watched from a distance.
Normally, a slaughterhouse like this would be running day and night shifts.
But it was just past eight, and the entire facility had fallen into a dead silence without a single light on. This was far too strange.
It seemed his guess was right. The root of the problem was Zhongcheng.
’Hm? A sound? Don’t tell me there are others on the same trail tonight?’
By the faint moonlight, He Xiaotian saw the word "POLICE" on the front of a car.
After the transformation from the *Fire-refined Golden Body*, his eyesight was already far beyond that of an ordinary person.
He wasn’t too surprised by this.
It made sense. After all, his cousin was the one who had told him about the problem with the meat.
If the police department hadn’t noticed the issues at Zhongcheng, they would be completely incompetent.
Over ten police cars were lined up in a row. More than forty armed officers got out one after another and surrounded the slaughterhouse.
Then, a pot-bellied middle-aged man came into He Xiaotian’s view.
He recognized the man—Director Huang of the Z County Police Department.
In his youth, he had been quite a figure.
By day, he managed public order in Z County using police methods. By night, he dealt with scum like gangsters and thugs using his own.
Otherwise, how could a man from a humble background with no connections whatsoever have secured the position of director in his forties?
Tonight, however, he seemed more like a supporting character.
He was constantly talking with a man and a woman. He Xiaotian couldn’t hear what they were saying, but judging by the director’s demeanor, it was clear the man and woman were leading, while Director Huang was assisting.
He Xiaotian had seen the pair before. They were the ones from the provincial capital’s special task force he had run into that morning when his cousin took him to the hospital.
"Director Huang, ordinary officers are of no use in abnormal cases. They might even become a liability at a critical moment. So, you just need to secure the perimeter and wait for us to handle things inside.
If we aren’t out by dawn, evacuate your men immediately and report to the provincial capital. Then, assign a few sharp officers to keep the slaughterhouse under close surveillance. Monitor anyone who comes out, no matter who it is—even if it’s us."
"Yes, yes, of course," Director Huang nodded repeatedly, none of the arrogance of his youth visible in his demeanor.
In truth, although his rank was higher than the two people before him, he knew very well.
Cases like this were absolutely not something ordinary people could handle!
A while ago, the director of a neighboring county encountered an abnormal case and subsequently died in the line of duty.
The word was, it was a gruesome death.
His entire family, seven people in all, had been turned into desiccated corpses.
There wasn’t a single wound on any of their bodies.
Just recalling the state of those bodies made Director Huang’s skin crawl.
’It’s just too terrifying!’
If he were facing some hardened criminal, he wouldn’t be the least bit afraid.
’But who could tell him what the hell kind of thing could drain a person of all their blood?’
Combined with the recent notice from the provincial capital, "Immediate Reporting of Special Cases," Director Huang understood that the world was undergoing an astonishing change.
Last night, upon receiving his subordinate’s report about the bizarre disappearances, he had immediately reported it up the chain of command without a moment’s hesitation.
According to procedure, the case should have been screened and analyzed to determine if it qualified as a special case.
However, the photograph of that unknown black substance had streamlined the process for him.
Almost immediately after he submitted the report, the provincial capital dispatched a special task force overnight.
He was very grateful for that decision, grateful that he hadn’t tried to handle it himself.
Otherwise, the missing persons case alone would have landed him in deep trouble, to say nothing of the case involving someone biting another person.
Overnight, more than ten people had vanished.
That was just the number reported; in reality, the number of missing persons had already risen to fifty-seven.
The real number was being suppressed to avoid causing a public panic.
The pressure on him right now was immense.
"Officer Zhao, Officer Zhou, rest assured. I will strictly follow your instructions. I hope everything goes smoothly."
Hearing this, the man and woman nodded.
’Although they looked down on this pot-bellied director, at least his attitude was correct.’
’He knew that professional matters required professionals.’
’They’d heard from other students at the academy that some local officials would abuse their authority and just make a complete mess of things.’
’What should have been an easy special case to handle would be turned into a complete disaster by those types.’
’It left them mentally and physically exhausted, making them want to just drop the whole thing and walk away.’
’But the civilians were innocent, so they had to suppress their anger and clean up the mess.’
’This trend only started to die down after the relevant departments disciplined a few of those officials.’
’After all, these were troubled times. Without using drastic measures as a deterrent, they feared that simply dealing with people within the system would drain all their energy.’
’Where would they find the strength to handle the special cases?’
The man and woman strode into the Zhongcheng Slaughterhouse, eventually disappearing into the night.
"Alright, pair up and surround the slaughterhouse! Listen up! Except for the officers at the main gate, I want everyone else to keep your eyes peeled. If anyone tries to escape from inside and they’re not our colleagues from the special task force, don’t hesitate! Open fire!"
Director Huang shouted, understanding full well that with a bizarre case like this, the slightest hesitation could lead to casualties.
’As for the risk of harming innocent civilians?’
’A joke!’
’The walls were over two, nearly three meters high, and topped with glass shards embedded in cement.’
’Would anyone who could climb out of there be a good person?’
’If you aren’t fleeing the scene of a crime, why wouldn’t you just use the main gate?!’
’Besides, whether the thing coming out is even human is another question entirely.’
He was guarding the main gate himself, so of course, there wouldn’t be any shooting on sight there.
’I can only hope our colleagues from the special task force can handle everything inside the slaughterhouse.’
’It’s one thing for ordinary officers to be unable to get involved, but it’s another to just stand by and do nothing!’
’What does the government pay you for?’
’Isn’t it to protect the people?!’
’The officers under my command are all good lads.’
’I don’t want to lose any of them.’
In his thirty-plus years on the force, he had seen too many tragedies.
The white-haired burying the black-haired... that was more than just a phrase to him.
He Xiaotian unhurriedly put on a mask and got out of his car.
’Since the police have the main gate blocked, I’ll just go in from the side.’
’For me, whose body has been greatly enhanced by reaching the Minor Accomplishment stage of the *Fire-refined Golden Body*, a wall less than three meters high is a piece of cake.’
The slaughterhouse covered a large area. With over forty officers split into pairs, there were bound to be gaps in their perimeter.
’As long as I’m fast enough, your question marks... bah! Your eyes won’t be able to follow me!’
Luckily, a lot had happened in Z County today, so most of the police force was tied up in the town center.
Otherwise, it would have been really difficult for him to sneak into the slaughterhouse right under their noses.
He pulled on his hood. Dressed all in black, he had the perfect camouflage for the night.
Comments