Shen Ge and Fang Mingyue entered the district and quickly spotted the eerie energy building fused with the mountain. Just as they were debating whether to explore the surrounding area first or head straight for the building, a sudden explosion rang out, followed by bursts of gunfire.

Following the sound, the two arrived at the scene. Fang Mingyue immediately recognized the bone wall trapping the people in the middle of the street—it was the effect of the Eerie Bone Staff, an eerie energy equipment wielded by Old He.

“Investigator Shen, it’s Old He! My teacher is trapped—we have to help them!” Fang Mingyue blurted out, about to charge forward, only to be yanked back by Shen Ge.

Shen Ge said calmly, “Don’t rush. Right now, that bone wall can block bullets. Ordinary firearms won’t be able to harm your teacher. But if you charge out there in the flesh, you’ll end up like those people lying on the ground. First, analyze the bullet trajectories to locate the hidden shooters. If we can take them out, Old He’s crisis will naturally be resolved.”

As expected of Investigator Shen—calm and composed in the face of danger, immediately identifying the crux of the problem. Ugh, my emotions got the better of me. I almost made such a basic mistake and nearly became a burden again.

Fortunately, Shen Ge didn’t possess any mind-reading abilities at the moment. Otherwise, he’d surely think Fang Mingyue’s brain had either been knocked silly by him or that she was trying to set him up with excessive praise.

It’s such a simple logic—how did you manage to overthink it so much?

Are you just going to keep spiraling into delusional admiration?

“Investigator Shen is absolutely right. From now on, I’ll remain calm in any situation and never repeat such a basic mistake!” Fang Mingyue vowed solemnly.

Lesson?

When did I lecture you?

Shen Ge was speechless. He had pulled her back partly to stop her from rushing to her death, but also because if she died, it would expose him—forcing him to waste more mental energy activating his invisibility to escape.

Though lacking in combat experience, Fang Mingyue’s professional scouting skills were undeniable. Within just two minutes of observation, even without the aid of eerie-vision goggles, she successfully pinpointed the positions of all four mercenaries.

Truth be told, Old He was genuinely exhausted. The two “students” accompanying him this time were both problem children.

Fang Mingyue had the skills but no real combat experience. Calling her a “naïve sweetheart” would be too generous—it was more like she’d been overly sheltered. If not for the need to pad her resume for a promotion, her family would never have allowed her to take such risks.

The real issue was that even after sneaking her way to the front lines, her family had only intended for her to stay at the command camp. Who’d have thought this reckless girl would actually charge straight into danger?

After being separated from Old He, Fang Mingyue realized just how lacking she was in real combat experience—multiple times, she had teetered on the edge of despair.

Shen Ge’s appearance, however, was… complicated. While to him, it had only been a few days inside the eerie space, to Fang Mingyue, it had been months!

Spending months trapped in an apocalyptic world surrounded by horrors, yet managing to stay sane—albeit slightly unhinged—was already a stroke of luck.

So, setting aside whether Shen Ge had actually damaged Fang Mingyue’s brain with his earlier knock, those two packs of instant noodles in her eyes were no longer just instant noodles. To her, they symbolized hope.

As for the other “problem child,” Luo Chenguang—he was the real deal. A slacker during his military service, he was here purely for resume padding.

No skills, no real ability.

Some might wonder how a slacker could exist in a life-or-death organization like the Special Response Division. But the reality was, high-risk environments like this were perfect for resume-building.

Like the character in Snow Leopard, these types of people were infuriating, yet there was nothing you could do about them.

“I’ll handle the two at the front of the street. You try to get close to the two at the rear who are doing controlled shots. Go if you can, but if it’s too dangerous, wait for me to return,” Shen Ge instructed.

Fang Mingyue’s heart swelled with admiration. Investigator Shen is taking on the most dangerous task himself, risking his life, yet still worrying about my safety and telling me to do only what I can manage. No! If I want to walk the same path as him, how can I shrink back from such a minor danger?

“Investigator Shen, rest assured—I will complete the mission!” Fang Mingyue stood ramrod straight, her voice brimming with fervor, as if she were about to embark on a heroic sacrifice.

“Go. Safety first,” Shen Ge reminded.

I just need to get away from this girl whose brain has clearly short-circuited before she drags my IQ down with her.

“Yes!”

Fang Mingyue circled around to the back of the street, scaling the outer wall to the rooftops. Her agile figure moved like a shadow, performing parkour across the roofs—clearly planning to attack from above.

Watching her disappear, Shen Ge sighed. This girl might be brain-damaged, but her scouting skills and physical prowess are impressive. She must’ve trained hard back in the capital.

Too bad all that training fried her brain.

Shen Ge slipped into the shadow of a nearby shop, activating his invisibility before sneaking toward the shooter on the second floor.

William, one of the mercenaries, had lost an arm to Old He earlier, leaving him to fire one-handed with his rifle propped on the windowsill. However, since they had already critically wounded one soldier and immobilized another, leaving only Old He and Luo Chenguang trapped behind the bone wall, he wasn’t worried about counterfire.

William gleefully pulled the trigger, spraying bullets at the civilians near the bone wall, venting his fury. The grudge of a severed arm could only be settled with Old He’s death!

“Damn, this guy’s a workaholic—still shooting with one hand?” Just as William was getting into the rhythm, a mocking voice materialized out of thin air behind him.

William spun around in alarm, only to feel a cold sensation before his remaining arm was severed.

BANG!

The pain of losing his last arm seared through his nerves, but before he could even scream, an invisible force slammed into his chest, sending him flying out the second-floor window.

“Tsk, compared to chopping up horrors, this cleaver works even better on people.” For the first time, Shen Ge found cold weapons more satisfying than firearms.

To conserve mental energy, Shen Ge let his invisibility drop, glancing at the rocket launcher left by the window. He hoisted it up, loaded a round, and took aim at the opposite building.

“Heh, RPG! Might not kill horrors, but it’ll sure kill humans.”

Whoosh—

The rocket streaked across the street, blasting the other mercenary clear off the building. At such close range, even Jesus wouldn’t have survived.

Shen Ge looked down at William, who was still twitching on the ground. Without hesitation, he leaped down from the window, planted a foot on the man’s chest, and fired two bullets into his skull.

Even if they needed hostages to lure horrors, there were plenty of wounded civilians and the two remaining mercenaries at the other end of the street—no need to spare someone who’d seen his invisibility.

Just as Shen Ge was about to head toward the rear to deal with the last two mercenaries, another explosion rocked the street. Gunfire followed, and Fang Mingyue swiftly eliminated the remaining two—her efficiency nearly matching Shen Ge’s.

“Girl, you could’ve at least left one alive to bait horrors.” Shen Ge glanced at the flaming second floor, unsure if the RPG victim was still breathing.

“Teacher!” With the mercenaries dealt with, Fang Mingyue rushed toward the bone wall.

Hearing her voice, Old He’s face lit up with joy. He dispelled the barrier and exclaimed, “Mingyue! You’re alive—thank goodness!”

“Mingyue!” Luo Chenguang was even more ecstatic, rushing forward to embrace her—only for Fang Mingyue to brush past him, her eyes shining as she looked ahead.

“Investigator Shen.” She hurried toward Shen Ge.

Luo Chenguang froze in awkward humiliation, turning to see a man in a yellow hazmat suit approaching.

“Chenguang, check on Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li’s injuries, then assist the other wounded,” Old He ordered, his expression grave as he surveyed the groaning civilians.

“Yes, Teacher.” Luo Chenguang had no choice but to comply.

Fang Mingyue and Shen Ge also joined the rescue efforts. Old He warned that the nearby shops might still contain bombs planted by the mercenaries, so Fang Mingyue began sweeping the area, disarming traps at two storefronts before moving the wounded inside.

Soldier Xiao Zhang, too close to the initial blast, had succumbed to his injuries. Xiao Li, shot by William while checking on him, had taken bullets to both arms and legs. Fang Mingyue dug out the bullets, but he was out of commission for now.

Of the civilians, only five had managed to take cover behind Old He during the chaos. The rest were in no better shape than Xiao Li, filling the shop with agonized moans.

Watching Fang Mingyue introduce Shen Ge to Old He with starry-eyed admiration, Luo Chenguang burned with resentment. The groans behind him only stoked his anger.

“Hey, if you keep wailing like that, you’ll lure horrors here—and then we’ll all be food,” he snapped.

“But, Officer… it hurts,” a woman sobbed.

Luo Chenguang scowled. “Then grit your teeth. If horrors show up, we’re all dead.”

The woman bit down on her sleeve, muffling her cries. She was terrified of attracting horrors—after all, they were far worse than bullets.

“Investigator Shen, despite your youth, you’ve single-handedly slain multiple Tier 2 horrors. Truly exceptional—your future is limitless! Mingyue, you must learn well from him!” Old He said earnestly.

Shen Ge smiled modestly. “Our generation simply lacks heroes like you and Section Chief Chen. If you were thirty years younger, there’d be no need for juniors like us. Back in Rong City’s Special Response Division, Section Chief Chen often spoke of your legendary deeds.”

After some mutual flattery, the conversation turned serious. Old He shared his plans and discoveries from his time in the eerie space.

Their theories about the distorted space-time aligned, though Old He had gathered more specifics—having eliminated several horrors himself.

Li Xiang’s satellite images only captured changes after Shen Ge’s arrival. In truth, there had been more than just “six distorted spaces”—Old He had cleared one, and the mercenaries had destroyed another.

Li Xiang, assuming these shifts were due to Shen Ge, had credited him entirely.

Both men then discussed the vanishing hordes of horrors—and whether a new Tier 4 horror might emerge. Was their plan to pit two Tier 4 horrors against each other feasible?

As a veteran of the early “use horrors against horrors” initiative, Old He explained that while the idea had been considered, the limited number of horrors back then made testing difficult.

Controlling one horror to fight another was fraught with risks—if it backfired, the agents would face two horrors at once. Thus, the Special Response Division had opted to instead harvest fallen horrors for equipment.

After hearing Shen Ge’s proposal, Old He mused, “Combined with Director Li’s research, your plan does seem viable. Tier 4 horrors are terrifyingly powerful—taking one on with just us would be near impossible. But if we can make them fight, we might just have a chance.”

Fang Mingyue nodded eagerly. “Based on my observations, when horrors go too long without consuming living beings, they turn on each other. I believe they experience something like hunger—though living prey is more enticing due to the eerie energy they emit.”

The others agreed. It was like choosing between nutritious meals and delicious junk food—the latter was always more tempting.

Old He stroked his beard. “From what I’ve seen, the second horror is likely hidden on Dongyu Mountain. Compared to the unknown dangers of the eerie energy building, the open terrain there is easier to scout. If we want to pit horrors against each other, we first need to find both. I suggest we leave the civilians here, with Mingyue and Chenguang guarding them, while Investigator Shen and I search the mountain.”

“Teacher, I can also—” Fang Mingyue immediately protested being left behind.

Shen Ge cut in, “Old He’s plan is sound, but to make two horrors fight, knowing just one’s location isn’t enough. We can’t afford to waste time searching for the second after finding the first.”

“Also, while the civilians matter, resolving the source of this incident is the priority. Most are severely injured—how long can they last? Three days? Five? We’re out of time. My suggestion: Old He, take Fang and Luo to Dongyu Mountain.”

Luo Chenguang snorted. “Oh? So we all go up the mountain, and you stay here to ‘protect’ the civilians? Pah! Smooth move—keeping the safe job for yourself while sending us into danger. No wonder you’ve survived this long.”

The idiot seemed to have forgotten that without Shen Ge, he and Old He would still be pinned down in the street.

Shen Ge ignored him, about to continue, when Fang Mingyue slammed the table, her voice sharp with outrage.

“Shut up! You don’t understand Investigator Shen at all! He always charges headfirst into danger, fighting on the front lines! Your words are an insult

! If I had to guess, Investigator Shen plans to go alone to the eerie energy building—to hunt the original Tier 4 horror!”

“He’s sending us to the mountain, where there’s only a chance of a high-tier horror, while he heads straight into certain peril! You, who skimps on training, could never comprehend the ambition of someone like him—who excels yet still strives harder! Stop judging his towering presence with your pathetic perspective. You’re unworthy!“

“……”

Luo Chenguang’s casual jab had somehow triggered a full-on verbal assault from the girl he adored, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

What the hell happened while I was gone? How has Mingyue been brainwashed by this utterly average-looking guy?!

No!

This can’t be!

My Mingyue—I can’t just hand her over like this!

“Mingyue, that’s not what I meant—let me explain!” Luo Chenguang pleaded.

Fang Mingyue scoffed. “Investigator Shen is as great a man as Teacher in my eyes. It’s because of heroes like him, who shoulder the weight of the world, that we’re even alive to have this conversation! You have no idea what he’s sacrificed these past few days to resolve this incident!”

“Would you share your last scraps of food and water without hesitation after days of starvation? Would you rush back without rest upon hearing civilians were in danger, risking your life to buy them time? Would you hunt down mercenaries who ate our comrades in this nightmare world, just to avenge them?”

You wouldn’t! You’d hide, like you always do in training—making excuses at the first sign of hardship!”

“Investigator Shen is like the bright moon in the night sky, guiding me with his pure, selfless actions—inspiring me to become a better agent! To insult him is to insult me!“

“……”

Is this… a love confession?

Why?

WHY?!

Mingyue, what kind of brainwashing potion did he feed you?!

Meanwhile, Shen Ge had only two thoughts:

* This girl is trying to get me killed with all this praise.

* Yep. Her brain is definitely broken.