Chapter Four: The Bureau of Uncanny Investigations

Because of her Commander ability, even though Long Mengting lacked intelligence, she still understood what was happening. Considerately, she picked up Feng Tianlin and rushed outside.

Feng Tianlin paid no mind to the underling who had fainted; after all, he needed someone to spread the word about his actions. In other words, terror required dissemination.

Stepping out the front door, Feng Tianlin glanced back at the building, intent on remembering it well.

This was the place where he became the nightmare of this world—the beginning of his legendary life.

Although he and Long Mengting had left, the real story was only just beginning.

Inside, the only survivor—the minion whom Feng Tianlin had spared due to his unconsciousness—slowly came to as the chaos around him registered. Paralyzed by fear, he could think of nothing but calling the police.

A few hours later, a police car pulled up outside the building. The police escorted the shaken minion upstairs to the scene of the crime.

The horrific carnage left the arriving officers deeply unsettled.

At the same time, Feng Tianlin heard the chime of the system’s notification.

“Terror Points +30”

“Terror Points +40”

“Terror Points +20”

...

As the points rolled in, Feng Tianlin realized the police must have arrived. He finally understood: as long as he was the cause, all terror accrued belonged to him.

When the officers first heard the minion babbling about a doll coming to life, they thought the poor man had lost his mind. But now, faced with the grotesque reality, they began to suspect a supernatural occurrence.

The team was led by a middle-aged officer, Captain Wang, a seasoned veteran who knew exactly how to handle such situations. After calming the minion, he dialed a number.

“Hello, this is Captain Wang from Tianjing Public Security. Yes, we may have encountered a supernatural entity. We need your assistance.”

In a world threatened by bizarre entities, there naturally existed humans dedicated to combating them. These extraordinary individuals were known as Spirit Tamers.

They were humanity’s line of defense against the supernatural, wielding powerful will to control paranormal weapons and gaining the strength to confront such beings head-on.

On the other end of the line was the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, the official organization of Spirit Tamers in Huaxia, home to the nation’s most powerful agents.

After hanging up, Captain Wang lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. “There’s only so much ordinary people like us can do,” he said, his tone tinged with resignation.

Soon, a car arrived, and two young men stepped out. Despite the harsh winter, both wore only brown overcoats.

The man in front offered Captain Wang a perfunctory handshake. “Captain Wang, could you brief me on the situation?”

The second man busily scribbled in his notebook, muttering under his breath, “Right, exchange pleasantries with the on-site staff—got it.”

Captain Wang smiled respectfully. “Hello, you must be Special Agent Li Juetian. I’m not too clear on the specifics—you’ll need to ask that young man over there.” He gestured toward the minion.

“Special Agent” was the title given to their kind.

Li Juetian approached the minion amiably. “Brother, can you tell us what happened?”

Having recovered somewhat, the minion gulped and began tremblingly recounting everything he’d witnessed before losing consciousness.

Meanwhile, the agent behind Li Juetian, Han Zhen, kept taking notes. “Interview the witness—learned.”

When the story ended, Li Juetian fell silent, crouched down to sniff the floor, then touched various surfaces, once more lost in thought.

Han Zhen noted, “Examine the scene—learned.”

After finishing, he asked, “Tian, did you find anything?”

Li Juetian nodded gravely. “Nothing. The creature’s traces were all destroyed by the charcoal in the stove. I just thought this looked cool.”

Unfazed, Han Zhen wrote, “Acting cool—learned.”

Captain Wang was dumbfounded. Were these agents out of their minds? Should he call for backup?

Fortunately, after a moment’s thought, Li Juetian finally looked up.

“Judging by the signs of struggle, I’d estimate the entity’s strength at around G-rank. There’s no sign of a young girl’s body, so it’s likely a flesh-eating supernatural creature, possibly one that prefers children.

“What puzzles me is why it didn’t attack before the debt collectors arrived. Could it be newly born? Yet it overturned the stove and used the charcoal to hide its tracks—was that instinct? And it left a survivor. Why?”

Although such entities generally lacked intelligence, some possessed strong instincts, prompting them to cover their tracks or flee when outmatched.

Paranormal beings always had their motives—some killed for pleasure, others out of hunger, and some, it was said, simply enjoyed watching the expressions of the dying...

But one thing was certain: no supernatural being was friendly toward humans. The two were natural enemies, locked in a life-or-death struggle. Sparing a survivor was almost unheard of.

As he pondered, Li Juetian glanced at Han Zhen, who was still scribbling nonsense in his notebook, and exploded in frustration. “Stop jotting down all that useless junk! Just write down what I say now, word for word!”

Startled, Han Zhen, who had been writing “Rambling—learned,” quickly readied himself to take down Li Juetian’s statement.

“Strength: Approximately G-rank.

Appearance: European-style male doll, twenty centimeters long.

Abilities: Unknown.

Traits: Possibly prefers human flesh, maybe specifically children; displays strong instincts.

All traces from the fight have been destroyed, no clues found for now.”

Han Zhen hesitated, then looked at his partner. “Isn’t it bad that we found nothing on our first investigation?”

Li Juetian was unconcerned. “What can we do? I can’t just make things up. Knowing this much is already pretty good!”

Despite his doubts, Han Zhen faithfully recorded the information.

“All right, Han. Don’t think too much. Our job is just to investigate. We’re done here; let’s go file the report and get off work. How about a bath afterward?”

Han Zhen perked up immediately. “Great, Tian! Shall we go to Fisherman’s Hall tonight?” (referring to a dubious bathhouse)

“Wherever you like.”

With that, they strode off, ignoring the bewildered crowd left in their wake.

They submitted their report to the Tianjing City Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. However, by coincidence, the report ended up in the hands of Yuan Ren, a bureau member who had long disliked Li Juetian.

“Instincts? What creature doesn’t have instincts? Is this guy drunk? Meaningless nonsense—claims the scene was destroyed, so no clues? Bah! He’s just being lazy. This is dereliction of duty. I’ll report you to the chief!”

Yuan Ren fumed as he read the report. He’d always had it in for Li Juetian, and now, with this evidence, he was determined to make trouble. Not taking action was simply unacceptable; he was going to file a complaint!