Chapter 960: Chapter 679: Despair
One second, two seconds... There was no change in the old man’s body; only then did Yang Xiao let his guard down, this was a living person.
Putting away the Ghost Lantern, its green light did not disturb the sleeping elder. Before leaving, Yang Xiao turned off the television, and his figure consequently disappeared from the room.
Just over a dozen seconds later, individuals standing outside the window saw the old man’s body shiver once before he woke up. The man, in a dazed state, sat up, pushing his disheveled hair to one side. He looked at the TV, confusion etched across his wrinkled elder face, seeming not to understand why the television had been turned off.
People automatically adapt to their surroundings while sound asleep. Once a certain pattern or rhythm is disrupted, it’s easy to wake up abruptly. The old man’s reaction was very genuine.
The old man stood up, first walked to the window facing the parking lot to take a look, then returned and casually turned on the television.
After watching for less than a minute, the elder’s eyelids uncontrollably drooped again, leaning back on the sofa, he was on the verge of falling asleep once more.
"Director Yang, we need to hurry," the Dark Army Captain urged in a low voice, not understanding why Yang Xiao would be interested in such a tattered old man.
Through this encounter, Yang Xiao also confirmed that with normal human eyesight, it was impossible to see them in their hidden state.
Just as the group pressed on, Beibei suddenly received a critical piece of information from the technical department. Half an hour ago, the liaison officer from the Luming Bureau abruptly got a call from Wu Zhengwu, but after connection, it was filled with intermittent static and then the call was cut off shortly after.
The technical department located Wu Zhengwu’s mobile phone, but to everyone’s surprise, the location of the phone was not deep in the mountains, but right here in Jingping Town.
Even knowing it was very likely a trap, Yang Xiao and his group did not retreat. Led by Beibei, they rushed over at top speed.
Along the way, Beibei navigated using the electronic map in hand, pinpointing the exact last signal of the smartphone at an abandoned factory on the west side of Jingping Town. Upon arrival, the factory’s main gate was locked with a chain, an old-fashioned grille gate, topped with vertical iron spikes to prevent climbing.
Several rusted metal plates hung on the gate, a few already lost, and those left assembled read ’Jingping Town Secondary Lumber Processing Factory.’
"It’s here," the leading Beibei double-checked the map, nodded to confirm without a doubt; the last trace of signal originated from within this factory.
After entering, there were decrepit buildings all around, some with tightly closed doors, others left open. The iron sheet roofing of the factory buildings had also fallen into decay, with thin shafts of light sporadically penetrating. Looking in as they passed, one could see some machinery hidden in the shadows, and on the ground, there were rails and rivets as thick as thumbs.
Presumably, any truly valuable equipment was long since dismantled and removed; the rest was just a worthless pile of junk. From the look of the ruins, Yang Xiao judged that this factory building had been abandoned for at least 20 years.
Yang Xiao’s group moved at a brisk pace, maintaining a neatly organized formation: Yang Xiao in the lead, the pathfinder Beibei, the Dark Army Captain and his men in the center, and Qu Muzhi bringing up the rear, knowing fully well the place was booby-trapped and not daring to lower their guard.
After carefully bypassing several cluttered factory buildings, a small three-story edifice appeared before them. The exterior of the little building was covered with white ceramic tiles, now mostly peeled away. There was no sign hanging at the door, appearing like the former office of the factory.
According to the report, the last call from Wu Zhengwu had been made from inside this building.
The uneasiness in Yang Xiao’s heart solidified as he looked up at the three-story building with not a single light inside. Apart from the occasional wind, all was silent. The windows were completely shattered in some places, revealing dark, gaping holes, like malicious eyes spying on the living who approached.
"Don’t separate, let’s go in together," Qu Muzhi at the rear of the line removed the cloth wrapped around the spearhead, saying in a low voice.
By this time, Yang Xiao too was ready for combat. He drew the Ghost Bamboo Stick with his backhand. After improvements by his uncle, this weapon had undergone a complete transformation; even its original owner, if resurrected, might not recognize it on sight.
Under the cover of fog, the group approached the main door. Still a short distance away, the leading Yang Xiao suddenly halted his steps, as he saw someone emerge from inside the building. The person staggered as if wounded, and more crucially, was wearing the black uniform of the Patrol Defense Office, waving his hands at Yang Xiao and his group as if asking for rescue.
In a flash, Yang Xiao’s grip on the Ghost Bamboo Stick tightened, and the atmosphere tensed up. "Fake, none within the Lu Ming Investigation Team can see through my Magic Artifact," noted Captain Fang in the middle of the group, his voice level and cold.
The person emerging started to move faster as if to rush towards them, and in the next moment, a whooshing sound came from their side, it was Qu Muzhi making their move. With several long-range jabs, they sent the approaching figure flying, crashing heavily on the steps in front of the building.
Simultaneously, another figure emerged from behind a tree, holding a handgun. Yang Xiao shook his left hand, allowing the Human Bone Staff to slip into his palm, and lashed out swiftly. The figure was struck and, at the same moment, fired the gun. A bullet flew into the fog, striking Captain Fang squarely in the center, causing him to stagger.
The one hit by the Human Bone Staff fell immediately without a chance to struggle. Since he was already exposed, Captain Fang dispensed with his disguise, put away the Magic Artifact, and everyone ran towards the person who had been knocked down.
It was also someone wearing the black uniform, and it was a woman, cold to the touch and drenched throughout, with dim cloudy pupils, indicating she had been dead for some time.
"It’s someone from the Lu Ming Investigation Team, I’ve seen her." Beibei crouched to examine, parting the hair covering the corpse’s face to confirm her identity.
Yang Xiao picked up the pistol from the ground, removed the magazine, which was almost full. This meant that the woman had not fired a single shot before she was killed, and the only shot fired was directed at them—the muzzle was still warm at this moment.
Dead people don’t shoot at them, this woman’s body must have been controlled. The next second, Yang Xiao, who was tightly clutching the Human Bone Staff, seemed to notice something. As he turned around, he swung his staff, and almost at the same time, a muffled groan came from a spot behind the small grove.
A figure was forced to reveal herself, and judging by her shape, she was undoubtedly a woman whose whole body nearly blended into the night.
It was this person who was controlling the puppet, that much was clear, and in the next moment, the woman turned and ran towards the depths of the small grove.
The small grove was right next to the foot of the mountain. Once she escaped into the deep mountains, it would be very difficult to catch her again. Despite getting hit by his staff, she could still run so fast, confirming that she was the last of the three masters.
"Captain Yang, you go save people; leave this person to me," the Dark Army Captain quickly took command, his sharp gaze sweeping over several of his subordinates, "No.3 and No.4, follow me to chase; No.1 and No.2, stay and cooperate with Captain Yang."
"Yes!"
"Be extra careful, Captain Fang. This person is not weak!" Yang Xiao cautioned.
After a nod, Captain Fang and two others swiftly followed the direction in which the woman had fled. The three moved agilely, obviously well-trained.
In terms of combat ability, these guys were significantly stronger than the Lu Ming Investigation Team. After all, the main duty of the investigation team was dealing with supernatural incidents, while those guys only focused on one thing—that is, to kill and eliminate any nuisance to the Patrol Defense Office.
Yang Xiao led the rest quickly towards the three-story building. When passing by the body on the stairs, Yang Xiao looked down for a glance—it was a man whose skin had turned pale from soaking, his eyes open, staring lifelessly into the sky.
To be frank, while dealing with that woman, Yang Xiao knew that Wu Zhengwu and his group were in dire straits. Wu Zhengwu ranked high among the Resentment Level Apostles, possibly able to withstand a hit from his staff as if nothing happened. This woman was a tough opponent even among the Fierce Level Apostles; Wu Zhengwu had no chance against her.
But before finding the body, Yang Xiao refused to give up. The group of five entered the building where, besides various objects, there was a layer of dust on the floor. Yang Xiao took out the Ghost Lantern and lit it, and a greenish light spread out, casting a more sinister hue over the decrepit building.
With the help of the green light, they saw messy footprints on the floor, as if someone had rushed in panic not long ago. From the footprints, it looked like there were quite a few people involved.
Following the footprints, they cautiously moved upstairs. Between the second and third floor at the staircase landing, Yang Xiao smelled a whiff of blood.
It was wafting down from upstairs.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Xiao continued upward and soon saw a body lying on the floor at the end of the corridor on the right side of the third floor.
The body, also in the Patrol Defense Office’s black uniform, was a man lying on his back with bent legs and his upper body, especially the back of his head, covered in blood.
More surprisingly, in the man’s left hand was a pistol.
"He committed suicide by swallowing the gun, it’s a suicide," Beibei confirmed the situation with a single look.
There were almost no external injuries on the body. The non-slip grooves of the soles were filled with mud mixed with pieces of fallen leaves, suggesting he had run out of the mountains.
But having managed to flee the mountains, why commit suicide? The first thing Yang Xiao thought of was either being driven to a dead end by the woman outside or being controlled by some eerie power and forced to commit suicide.
However, after closely examining the man’s expression, it didn’t seem so—he had his eyes slightly open without a hideous expression, an unusual look that made one uncontrollably uncomfortable.
"Despair..." Qu Muzhi suddenly spoke from behind.
Hearing this, Yang Xiao had a sudden clarity—indeed, it was despair. The man committed suicide by shooting himself in an extremely desperate state, his eyes slightly open, filled with a despair deeper than fear.
Jiminag the man’s last movement, Yang Xiao determined he must have knelt on his knees, facing the door in front of him, opened his mouth, pointed the gun at himself, then pulled the trigger.
Following the man’s gaze, they found a rusty iron door behind them. Along the way, most doors were wooden and already in ruins; only this door seemed the most sturdy. It was tightly closed with a metal plaque nailed above it.
"A vault..."
