Chapter Twenty-Seven: Su Chen's Choice

“Don’t touch things that aren’t yours…”
The doll spoke as its head twisted unnaturally toward the woman.
“Ah!”
She screamed again, then hurled the doll and teddy bear high into the air, rushing to the door and pounding on it in a frenzy.
“Sister, don’t waste your strength.”
A childish voice called from behind her.
Slowly, she turned her head. A little girl, her skin deathly pale and her face terrifying, dressed in red, was smiling at her. In the girl’s hands were the very same doll and teddy bear, and both seemed to be grinning at her as well.
Boom!
A deafening buzzing filled the woman’s ears. She could not endure it any longer and collapsed to the floor, fainting from fright.
It was unclear how much time passed before another girl discovered her. When she finally woke in a daze, she was suddenly seized by panic.
“The doll! The little girl! The teddy bear!”
Hearing her name those three things, the other girls’ faces changed, all showing signs of fear.
One of them, seeing she didn’t seem to be lying, trembled as she asked, “Did you really encounter those three? You’re not just making up stories to follow the trend, are you?”
The recently awakened girl was immediately agitated by this accusation. “Hu Haiyan, what do you mean? How could I possibly lie here in the bathroom for so long just to scare you all?”
Everyone else agreed—this girl was not the type to joke around. They stopped doubting her.
This school was Lingcheng Second High School, located in the eastern district of Lingcheng, and they were in the girls’ dormitory.
Feng Tianlin had come here because he realized that urban legends spread fastest among young students in schools.
In just a few days, the students here had provided him with thirty thousand horror points, and still, no one had come to investigate. Feng Tianlin suspected it was because he had never killed anyone; the investigators from the Bureau of Strange Creatures hadn’t considered it important.
But in reality, the situation at the Lingcheng Bureau was as follows.
First, the Bureau’s director received a call from the local police: “Oh, there might be a strange creature at Second High?”
“Yes, the students are terrified. Shouldn’t you come deal with it?”
“Hmm… let me check. How many casualties?”
“There haven’t been any so far…”
“How could it be a strange creature if no one’s died? Hang up!”
That part matched Feng Tianlin’s guess, but after a few more days…
“Hello, this is the Bureau of Strange Creatures.”
“Oh, I’m Captain Li. The students at Second High are losing control of their emotions! There really is a strange creature!”
“How could it be unless there’s been a casualty? Unless it’s that doll from Tianjing City that leaves survivors!”
“How do you know there’s a doll involved?”
“What?!”
Hearing this, the director sensed something was wrong and immediately reported it to the chief. The chief inexplicably placed great importance on the doll; he’d been anxious these days without any news of it.
“Chief, there’s news about the doll at Second High!”
“What!” Chief Fu slapped the table, unable to control his emotions.
“Should we call Su Chen back? The situation in Lingcheng is unstable, and he keeps insisting Tianjing City will face disaster if we don’t intervene. He took several D-level summoners there, and now we’re short-handed…”
Chief Fu fell into thought. He’d sent Su Chen to Tianjing City hoping he’d deal with the doll, but Su Chen immediately asked for reinforcements and kept talking about the safety of the people there. In the end, Fu had to send three more D-level summoners to support Tianjing City, which left Lingcheng struggling to handle its own strange creatures.
Fu nodded, then dialed a number. “Su Chen, hurry back. The doll has somehow ended up in Lingcheng.”
On the other end, Su Chen was momentarily surprised, then replied, “Alright, I’ll bring my team back now.”
No sooner had he spoken than the police chief working with him stared at Su Chen, looking pitiful.
“Grandmaster, if you leave now, what will become of the people of Tianjing City?”
Seeing the pitiful police chief, Su Chen realized that strange creatures in Tianjing City were already out of control. Worse still, the authorities weren’t taking it seriously, and it seemed that strange creatures were acting up all over the country. If he simply left, Tianjing City would be doomed.
But… he couldn’t disobey orders from above…
“Grandmaster, I’m begging you, you really can’t leave.” The police chief knelt before Su Chen, nearly in tears.

There was nothing to be done. Tianjing City was in chaos, with many dying every day. Su Chen was the only hope for all its people.
Nearby, some police officers and surviving summoners from Tianjing City also knelt beside him: “Grandmaster, please, don’t leave!”
One by one, they knelt, and the summoners Su Chen had brought from Lingcheng looked at him, awaiting his decision.
Su Chen’s face was grim, but his resolve was clear. Why had he risked death to join the ancient martial arts program and become a warrior?
To become strong? Perhaps, but that wasn’t the true reason.
He had become a warrior to be a hero! And now, the opportunity was right before him—he would be Tianjing City’s hero.
He picked up the phone and called Chief Fu: “This is Su Chen. I believe there’s something wrong with the doll!”
Chief Fu was confused. “Oh? What’s wrong?”
“I’m certain the doll is in Tianjing City. The reason you think it’s in Lingcheng is a diversion, so it can lead the army of strange creatures to overrun Tianjing City!”
Hearing Su Chen’s words, cold sweat broke out on Chief Fu’s forehead. Yes, he had no real evidence the doll was at Second High, and according to intelligence, the doll was exceptionally clever. If this was really a diversion, things could turn dire.
“What do you suggest?”
“I’ll stay in Tianjing City! Find the doll and eliminate the threat!”
“Very well, do as you say.”
After hanging up, the people around Su Chen were elated. No one had expected Su Chen would stay for the sake of unrelated strangers, and everyone started to flatter him.
“Master Su is truly wise and virtuous!”
“No, no, he is devoted to his country and people, foresighted and prudent.”
“….”
Su Chen kept a stern face: “Enough nonsense. Didn’t someone just call in an emergency? Hurry up, or there’ll be more casualties!”
At his words, the crowd fell silent, got into their vehicles, and headed straight for the place where the emergency call had come from.