"Qingbei Street reported a sighting of the suspected dangerous individual Song Chu‑shi..."

"Song Chu‑shi was spotted on Shanghang Road..."

"The target was confirmed to have briefly stayed at the retention and intake center in the western part of the city!"

"Report: The taxi plate number that the target was riding in has been confirmed as XX. Road control has been implemented for this vehicle, with plans to intercept it at Jiangbei Street."

"Report: The target has bypassed the blockade through unknown means and has now appeared in the vicinity of Baishui Street."

"......"

Amidst the flurry of activity, the Monster Investigator who had departed from the base was also forced to rush to Observation Room No. 5, one of the infrastructure sites established by the Disaster Management Bureau of Qinggang City across various districts and intersections.

These facilities served multiple functions including safe houses, supply replenishment, and interception surveillance.

Once a Level One alert was triggered, all idle Investigators were required to immediately rush to the nearest observation room and stand by, ensuring that someone could reach any designated location in the city in the shortest time possible to handle the situation.

Throughout this entire process, the Monster Investigator's mobile application continuously updated with the latest reports.

After listening to several notifications, the Monster Investigator was already agitated and cursed aloud: "Damn it, what the hell are these people doing? It's such a big city and they can't even stop one taxi?"

An assistant nearby couldn't help but remind him: "Mr. Strange Bird, the last reported location of the target is only 7 kilometers from us."

"Should we go check it out?"

"No."

The Monster Investigator glared at him and said, "Why join the mess when no direct order has been issued to me?"

Muttering, he flipped through the previous reports again and said, "This guy is insane too. What’s he doing coming into Qinggang City? Sightseeing?"

"Huh?"

As he skimmed through, he suddenly paused slightly. Comparing the places Song Chu‑shi had passed or stayed, the more he looked, the more familiar they seemed. A deeply unsettling feeling arose in his heart.

At that moment, the latest report rang out: "The target appeared on Line 2 in the eastern part of the city and made a brief stop. Relevant personnel, please proceed to intercept."

"That’s it."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Strange Bird was startled: "This guy... why is he following the exact route I took when tracking that door?"

"Could he have entered the city also to find those people?"

"......"

This unexpected realization made his heart pound harder as dozens of thoughts flashed through his mind in a second. His eyes locked onto the screen, and as the next location report appeared, he suddenly understood.

He stood up abruptly and said coldly, "Let's go. To Beidi Street!"

……

……

At the same time, at the base, Han Su, Crow, the Doctor, and Hei Hu each carried their suitcases and arrived at the base entrance.

The Doctor frowned and said, "The Disaster Management Bureau is stingy."

"None of the three of us are qualified to be part of this mission. Even though you have the qualification, it’s only to assist in the investigation. We aren’t even authorized to draw firearms; we only have a baton."

"What's worse, we couldn't even get approval to use a base vehicle. We have to call a taxi ourselves."

"......"

Han Su stared at his phone screen and said thoughtfully, "That’s not a big issue. I’ll cover the taxi fare."

The Doctor glanced sideways at him and said, "That sure solves a major problem."

At this point, Hei Hu had already taken his suitcase to the roadside to hail a car, waving his arm while calling back, "Plenty of taxis. Where are we going?"

"Now that’s the real question..."

Han Su stared at the official application of the Disaster Management Bureau on his phone. Apart from the permissions granted to him as a D2 Workgroup operative, two more permissions had been unlocked, representing the information and data he could access.

One of them concerned the real-time reports related to Song Chu‑shi.

This was because he had received this task directly from Zhang Chiguo, so the system granted him access to related permissions.

And the other one was a bit more intriguing.

He could see that this was information belonging to the Monster Investigator’s ongoing task: 【B3-class Task: Investigate the Source of the Crystal Plague】

Further below were some of the investigation results related to the task. Each item was an immediate report and record made by the Monster Investigator during the investigation process.

“Isn’t this the task I participated in on Line 2?”

Han Su briefly flipped through those records, a trace of surprise in his heart: “So, because I’ve now become the assistant to the Monster Investigator in the program, the task permissions related to him have also been opened to me?”

“The most critical part is……”

He swept over both sets of information swiftly, and a slight shock arose in his heart: “Song Chu‑shi is also pursuing this door?”

In the Monster Investigator’s report on investigating the door, several locations were mentioned where this door and infiltration phenomena had previously appeared. The last one was precisely Line 2 from before.

Meanwhile, in the real-time reports, the locations where Song Chu‑shi had appeared seemed random, as if he were wandering the city, but strangely enough, several of them overlapped with the places the Monster Investigator had examined.

Realizing this, he slightly pursed his lips. Before long, after receiving the next real-time report about Song Chu‑shi, he immediately made up his mind:

“Go to Beidi Street!”

Judging from the real-time program reports alone, it seemed Song Chu‑shi was wandering aimlessly, trying to find a way to leave Qinggang City. But when compared to the Monster Investigator’s investigation records, Song Chu‑shi’s final destination might be unexpectedly entering the Western part of the city.

Because only in that case could it form a mirrored pattern with the previous locations.

Still, why would such a dangerous individual come to Qinggang in this tense situation and start investigating the anomalies in the city?

……

……

“Is it really here?”

When Han Su and the others finalized the ride destination, the Monster Investigator had already arrived at the corresponding location.

No one knew this door better than he did. The locations and patterns where this door had previously opened in Qinggang were deeply etched in his memory. Therefore, he immediately suspected that Song Chu‑shi’s target was related to the same door he had previously investigated.

Even so, when he arrived at Beidi Street, he still felt a sense of uncertainty.

“Mr. Strange Bird, are you sure that dangerous individual will appear here?”

The assistant also glanced at the phone, confirming something through his own access, and was slightly shocked: “Should we report to headquarters?”

“Report!”

With not a hint of doubt left in his heart, he immediately nodded.

Judging by the current report, most of the Disaster Management Bureau’s personnel were still gathered in the Eastern part of the city, yet Song Chu‑shi had already crossed half of Qinggang and arrived in the West.

Previously, he didn’t know why Song Chu‑shi was looking for that door, or where he got his information. What if the first three places were just coincidences? Reporting prematurely under uncertainty, if proven wrong and causing the main force to mobilize for nothing, would be a significant mistake.

Only now, having confirmed it, was it the right time to report with confidence.

He even stared through the car window, rapidly searching for the silhouette of the person he suspected, yet still puzzled: “Is it really this street? Why can’t I see any blurry-faced figures?”

“Good!”

Hearing this, the assistant finally let out a deep breath and was about to report to headquarters when he suddenly froze, staring blankly at the red X symbol in the upper right corner of the phone:

“No signal? This is downtown—how could it possibly…”

“Heh, he might’ve already expelled electronic signals from this area.”

The Monster Investigator swept his gaze around and saw many people on the street staring at their phones in confusion. Even the advertising clips playing on a loop at the storefronts were starting to freeze and display distorted images.

With a cold laugh, he said: “That only confirms even more that this guy’s target is right here.”

“But don’t worry, Miss Ai will soon notice the loss of signal in this area and send reinforcements even faster.”

“Besides, my task trajectory closely matches Song Chu‑shi’s entry route into the city. Miss Ai won’t overlook that either. She’ll likely analyze the pattern quickly and arrange others to encircle this area.”

“It’s just, how long will they take……”

“……”

As he murmured to himself, his eyes suddenly fixed.

He stared ahead blankly, only to see that at the entrance of a hotel in front of him, a taxi had just pulled up and stopped. A tall, skinny man carrying a silver suitcase got out, turned around as if preparing to pay.

But the taxi suddenly sped off with a whoosh, not collecting any fare.

The man who got off could only smile helplessly, tucked his wallet away, then crossed the street with his suitcase and sat in front of a cake shop.

“It’s him, it’s him!”

Watching from inside the car, the Monster Investigator felt his heart sink for an instant, and then begin to beat wildly: the man currently being hunted by the entire Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau—had just appeared before his eyes?

“Should I go up? Or retreat?”

“……”

Retreating would be hard to explain later.

But going up… this guy was the dangerous individual who even that red trench coat couldn’t handle…