Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

Sitting next to him was Li Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the Zhaoming City Armed Security Brigade, an old criminal police officer in his early fifties with gray hair, deep wrinkles on his face, and short, strong fingers. He was holding a walkie-talkie and deploying the outer forces.

He had been a policeman for thirty years, rising from a grassroots beat cop to the commander of the armed security brigade. He had seen all sorts of big scenes—kidnappings, terrorist attacks, chemical plant explosions—but none of them were as bizarre as today.

He knew very well what kind of person Zhang Bingkun, the owner of the Emperor's Club, was.

That bastard has been bullying people in Zhaoming City for over a decade, and the filth he's done is countless. If it weren't for the fact that he has connections, he should have been executed ten times over.

Today, someone came to our door and massacred the entire building. To be honest, Li Cheng felt no sympathy; on the contrary, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

But as satisfying as it was, duty was duty. As the commander of the public security brigade, if someone killed more than twenty people in his jurisdiction, he had to bring the murderer back.

"Detective Zhou," Li Cheng put down the walkie-talkie and pointed to the green dots on the screen representing the outer perimeter forces, which had already densely surrounded the Emperor's Club three times over.

"All three squadrons are in position. The first squadron is responsible for the main attack at the main gate, equipped with twenty riot shields and twelve submachine guns, and has advanced to within fifty meters of the main gate of the clubhouse."

The second squadron guarded the side gate and fire escape, and the armored vehicles blocked the back alley, so even if they could fly, they couldn't get out.

The third squadron set up three cordons around the perimeter, and all three streets were placed under lockdown. Residents were being evacuated.

The company from the Federal Army's Zhaoming Garrison Battalion also arrived, bringing two vehicle-mounted mortars, which were set up in the parking lot behind the Emperor Hotel, with a range covering the entire building.

Two drones were hovering on the rooftop. Infrared scans revealed that in addition to the two targets, there were seventeen civilians inside the building, distributed in the lobby on the first floor, the KTV rooms on the second floor, and the sauna on the third floor.

He paused, his calloused fingers tapping two slowly moving blue dots on the screen: "Both targets are still in the sixth-floor office, showing no signs of movement. Tranquilizer grenades and grenades are ready, just waiting for your order."

Zhou Zhengqing pondered for a few seconds, then tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a tapping sound.

"Don't rush into action." He shook his head. "Judging from the energy curves, the two of them have just finished a high-intensity battle. Their killing intent is still high, but their mental strength is already declining."

"Wait another ten minutes, until their mental energy is further depleted, then we'll have a better chance of making a move."

"Ten minutes?" Li Cheng frowned, his deep wrinkles creased together as if carved by a knife.

"There are still seventeen civilians inside. What if those two Awakened ones discover them..."

"So what if they found out?" Zhou Zhengqing interrupted him, his calm tone sending a chill down Li Cheng's spine.

"I have studied the behavior patterns of the awakened ones very thoroughly—their revenge goals are very clear: they only kill those who have a grudge against them and will not indiscriminately kill innocent people."

The guests and staff at the Emperor Hotel have no grudge against them, so they won't lay a hand on them.

Instead of worrying about the civilians, you should worry about whether your team can survive the first round of combat against those with special abilities.

He reached out and tapped on an encrypted folder on the screen, which contained combat data for all known Awakened in Lieyang Province. Dense tables and charts filled the entire screen:

"Did you see that? Six Awakened Ones from Lieyang Province wiped out three major criminal forces—Chiji, Xiongbei Lieyang Branch, and Wuyue Society Lieyang Branch—within three months, killing more than two hundred people in total."

One of them, Shen Hanzhou, single-handedly slaughtered twenty-five members of the Crimson Thorn Society and thirty-two members of the Five Mountains Society in one night.

On-site investigation revealed that he possessed the ability to reconstruct matter at the molecular level, capable of turning a concrete wall into quicksand from tens of meters away, burying a person alive inside.

He turned his head, his gaze fixed on Li Cheng's face like a nail: "Now you know why I mobilized so many troops, right?"

Although these two newly awakened ability users are not as good as the veterans in Lieyang Province, they are still genuine superhumans.

The submachine guns in the hands of your security guards are no different from fire sticks in front of them.

"I personally witnessed an individual with the ability to manipulate kinetic energy in Lieyang Province. They used a broken wooden door to deflect the full firepower of twelve submachine guns, then flipped over a three-ton armored Mercedes, crushing an entire assault squad to death."

Li Cheng remained silent for a few seconds, his wrinkles deepening.

He had seen the most ruthless criminals and desperate criminals, but at least they were still human; bullets would cause bleeding, and explosives would kill.

The extraordinary individuals Zhou Zhengqing mentioned could even defy the laws of physics, rendering his thirty years of criminal investigation experience almost useless in their presence.

"So what do you mean?" Li Cheng asked in a low voice.

"Prioritize capturing them alive." Zhou Zhengqing drew a circle on the screen with his finger, encircling the two blue energy signals:

"Put on the hood, put on the energy suppressor, and immediately send it back to headquarters for research."

The General Administration's biological laboratory has been waiting for three months, but none of the six from Lieyang Province have been caught. All the research remains at the level of theory and autopsy.

The value of live samples is immeasurable—if the mechanisms of capability generation and transmission can be studied, it would be revolutionary for the entire nation's security strategy.

He paused, his tone turning undisguisedly cold: "But if they resist fiercely and refuse to surrender, then shoot them dead."

Taking the body back for autopsy is fine; it's better than getting nothing at all.

Newly awakened ability users are extremely valuable samples. The data obtained from the autopsy of a corpse—Chen Guohua—in Lieyang Province supported the General Administration's entire three-month research.

The sample quality of these two is even higher than that of the ones from Lieyang Province. Their ice and water-based capabilities are appearing for the first time, making their research value immeasurable.

Li Cheng opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he only nodded heavily.

He was a veteran criminal investigator, and he clearly distinguished between "arresting" and "murdering," but he also knew that today's operation was not something that a mere city-level security captain like himself could decide.

The authority of the Special Affairs Bureau supersedes that of the local security system. Zhou Zhengqing held the Bureau's transfer order, and his words were final.

"There's one more thing." Zhou Zhengqing put down his coffee cup, his eyes suddenly sharpening:

"That old fox Li Zhengmin sent the army to reinforce us, ostensibly to cooperate with the operation, but actually because he was afraid we would find out about his dealings with Zhang Bingkun."

Emperor Club is owned by Zhang Bingkun, who is Li Zhengmin's sworn brother. Li Zhengmin knows perfectly well how much dirty money Li Zhengmin has taken from Emperor Club over the years.

Today, the Emperor Hotel was massacred, Zhang Bingkun died in his office, and Li Zhengmin was the first to jump out and call for reinforcements. Do you really think he came to help?

Li Cheng's expression changed: "You mean... Deputy Director Li wants to take advantage of this..."