Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

The rain had only stopped for a little over an hour when it started falling again, this time more heavily than before.

When the special support team from the Town Bureau arrived at the alley entrance, the air was already filled with the aroma of lunch.

The alley was too narrow for the truck to get in, so everyone had to get out and walk.

The tall man at the front was Captain Xiao Zhenshan, whose entire body was covered by a black heavy armor, even his neck was hidden in the raised collar.

The plates were not ordinary iron plates; they were dark and heavy. When rainwater fell on them, it would condense into beads and roll off without soaking in.

From the shoulder armor to the wrist guards, they are densely covered with dark red runes, clearly indicating a special function.

The four team members following behind were dressed identically.

As she walked, the leaves of her nails rustled softly, and rainwater trickled down her skirt, leaving glistening watermarks on the bluestone slabs.

Several rickshaw pullers who were taking shelter from the rain at the alley entrance, who had been dozing under their rickshaw canopies, quickly moved over when they heard the commotion.

Before the group even reached the Huang family's door, they saw a large crowd gathered outside the courtyard wall.

Several daring men, some holding umbrellas and others wearing raincoats, were peering over the wall.

Several children tried to push forward, but were pulled back by the adults.

"That's terrible...!"

"What kind of terrible things has Old Lady Huang done?"

"Where did her daughter-in-law go?"

"Weren't there supposed to be inspectors from the Bureau of Investigation coming this morning? Why haven't we seen them?"

"Blackie's here!"

......

Before the support team could even speak, Shen Dajiang, who had rushed over, changed his expression. "Take all of them back!"

The onlookers were stunned and hadn't even reacted when they were surrounded by a group of staff members in dark uniforms.

"What are you doing? What right do you have to arrest me?" A middle-aged man wearing a raincoat had just taken a step back when his arm was grabbed by a hand as strong as an iron clamp.

Shen Dajiang stood in the rain, his face even more gloomy than the sky. "Every single one of them, take them all back to the Inspection Bureau for three days of observation. If you feel wronged, burn incense and pray to Buddha to ensure you haven't been contaminated by anything dirty."

"We were just watching the show!" an old woman said, gripping her umbrella handle, her tone tinged with discontent. "We didn't do anything, so why are they arresting us?"

"Watching the show?" Shen Dajiang glanced at the direction of the Huang family's courtyard wall, his lips curling down. "If that thing inside wanted to, it would already be crawling on someone's back by now."

The crowd fell silent, with only the patter of raindrops hitting the umbrellas remaining.

The men who had been clinging to the wall sheepishly withdrew their hands, unconsciously reaching behind them.

"Just cooperate. If everything is fine in three days, you can go home on your own. If you make a fuss now, no one will feed you later."

The crowd, who had originally intended to make a fuss, looked at each other upon hearing this and finally fell silent.

The inspectors behind them began counting the number of people, registering them one by one, and then driving everyone toward the alley entrance.

At this moment, the gate of the Huang family's courtyard was ajar, and the smell of blood could be smelled from the crack in the door.

Xiao Zhenshan gestured behind him, and the four team members silently dispersed, with two guarding either side of the courtyard wall.

The two followed behind him, moving towards the door in a protective formation.

He placed his hand on the door, not rushing to push it open, but tilting his head to listen for a while.

Inside, apart from the sound of rain, it was eerily quiet.

With a creak, the door opened.

What came into view was the old woman's mangled corpse, which had been gnawed on.

The body lay face up in the yard, with a large hole torn open in its abdomen, the edges jagged, as if it had been ripped open by something.

Several ribs were broken, the white stubs sticking out, stained with dark red minced meat.

Most of his internal organs were missing, and the rest dangled on the edge of his abdominal cavity, turning white from being soaked in rainwater.

Not far from the body, there was a patch of color that was unusually dark, almost black, as if a large puddle of ink had been spilled there and then dissolved in the rain.

A stench hit them, and the inspectors who had followed them in instinctively covered their noses and backed away.

The smell wasn't the usual bloody stench, but rather the stench of rotting flesh that had been left to dry in the sun for three days.

Xiao Zhenshan paused on the blackened ground, stared intently for a moment, and then gestured with his chin toward the house.

The two team members behind him understood and silently drew their dark red swords from their waists. One in front and one behind, they flashed across the threshold.

Time flowed slowly in the silence, and about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed.

The two men came out again, carrying knives. "Captain Xiao, apart from the spider silk on the roof and those dead eggs, we didn't find anything else unusual."

"No?" Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhenshan reached out and removed his mask, revealing the face of a middle-aged man.

"Has the house been searched?"

"We searched it." The team member on the left nodded. "We even searched under the bed. We didn't find anything wrong except on the roof."

Xiao Zhenshan stepped into the main room with a frown, followed by his two teammates.

The main room was small; the eight-immortal table was overturned on the ground, and the offerings on the long table were scattered all over the floor.

The roof is a wooden beam structure, covered with dense spider webs.

Countless spider eggs, the size of a fist, and grayish-brown, were hanging on the spider web.

Dead eggs.

Xiao Zhenshan squinted and counted; there were at least a thousand on this rooftop alone.

Countless spider eggs, the size of a fist, and grayish-brown, were hanging on the spider web.

Dead eggs.

Xiao Zhenshan squinted and counted; there were at least a thousand on this rooftop alone.

He stared at the dead eggs for a long time, then suddenly raised his hand to signal.

A teammate behind him handed him a long pole. He gently flicked one of the eggs off with the tip of the pole, and the egg fell to the ground, cracking open.

It's empty inside.

I plucked several more, and each one was empty.

Xiao Zhenshan stared at the cracked empty egg in his palm for a moment, then casually threw it on the ground and crushed it with his foot.

"Director Shen." He turned around, his gaze landing on Shen Dajiang standing in the doorway. "Where are your men?"

Shen Dajiang was taken aback, then quickly realized what was happening and called out into the courtyard, "Old Ge, Zhou Yuan, Liu Dayong, come in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three figures flashed in from the courtyard gate, but their expressions were somewhat unnatural.

Old Ge's face was grim, and Zhou Yuan's expression was somewhat complicated.

Shen Dajiang glanced at them. "Didn't you say Chen Mo was holding off the monster? Where is he now?"

Old Ge's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't utter a sound.

Zhou Yuan opened his mouth as if to say something, but Lao Ge stopped him with his hand.

"Director Shen, we don't know where he is now."

"What do you mean?"

"That thing rushed out of the house while the four of us were still outside." Old Ge's expression seemed to be recalling something, his tone filled with grief. "It was so fast that we didn't have time to react."

"Chen Mo was closest and was pounced on by that thing. The three of us wanted to go and save him, but he..." He paused, his eyes starting to redden, "He told us to go first, saying he could hold them off."

Liu Dayong didn't speak, but just nodded, his face lowered so his expression was unreadable.

Xiao Zhenshan's gaze slowly swept across the faces of the three people.

Zhou Yuan didn't dare to meet his gaze, his eyes drifting elsewhere.

Only Ge Zhendong met his gaze without even blinking.

After listening, Shen Dajiang didn't say anything, but his eyes gradually turned cold and his expression became somewhat unpleasant, yet he still didn't speak.

"Judging from the situation, it seems that one of your team members killed the monster."

Xiao Zhenshan led the group back to the courtyard and pointed to the blackened stain on the ground, saying, "When an infected person dies, they usually unleash a mental storm, taking the attacker down with them."

"Once that thing dies, the eggs in the house will lose their nourishment and naturally won't survive."

"Now that the infected is dead, you can handle the rest yourselves."

After he finished speaking, he led his four men toward the courtyard gate.

As he reached the courtyard gate, Xiao Zhenshan suddenly stopped without turning his head. "By the way, Director Shen."

"If your team member is still alive, remember to ask him how he survived that thing."

As soon as they finished speaking, the five people stepped out of the courtyard gate and disappeared into the rain.

Only Shen Dajiang and Ge Zhendong remained in the courtyard; Lin Ruoyun did not come because she was feeling unwell.

Raindrops pattered on the bluestone slabs.

Shen Dajiang stared at the courtyard gate for a long time before slowly turning his head away.

His gaze moved from Ge Zhendong's face to Zhou Yuan's face, and finally landed on Liu Dayong.

"Speak."

The expressions on the faces of the three of them changed simultaneously.

Before Ge Zhendong could speak, Shen Dajiang raised his hand to interrupt him, "Don't try to fool me with the same old tricks you used on Xiao Zhenshan. I've been an inspector for twenty years, what haven't I seen?"

Zhou Yuan lowered his eyes and stared at the toes of the shoes without moving.

Liu Dayong still looked unhappy, his cheeks taut.

Shen Dajiang was silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed, "You guys..."

"You'd better watch yourself."