Dawn of a New Era

Chen Shouyi noticed Bai Xiaoling's somewhat anxious expression and knew something had happened.

"Mom and Dad! I'm back."

"Officer Bai has been waiting for you for a long time!" Mrs. Chen said.

Bai Xiaoling quickly said, "No, I just got here not long ago."

"Actually, is it urgent?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"Not urgent, not urgent!"

"Alright, let me go change first." Chen Shouyi said.

He quickly went upstairs, tore off his clothes and pants which were already tattered from an iron rod, and threw them in the trash can. Then he hurriedly took a shower in the bathroom, casually picked out some clothes to change into, put on a mask, and walked out of the bedroom.

...

The two walked out the door.

"What's the matter?"

"There's a tricky task!" Bai Xiaoling replied in a low voice while walking quickly, "Let's talk on the way; I'll ride on your bike, the road is a bit far!"

When she said bike, she was naturally referring to a bicycle.

Chen Shouyi had no objections, placed his bow bag on the handlebars, and wheeled the bicycle out from the garage.

After getting on, Bai Xiaoling naturally wrapped her arms around Chen Shouyi's waist. She had learned her lesson the last time and said:

"This mission is quite dangerous. The incidents occurred at Jiangnan Martial Arts Academy. The first death was five days ago; four students in one dorm room had their bodies quietly gnawed away, leaving only a pile of bones.

So far, the death toll has reached 26 people, including 22 students, two Martial Arts Teachers, and two military Martial Artists, one of whom was a Great Martial Artist!"

Chen Shouyi frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Currently, the safety of Hedong City is always under military responsibility, and Martial Artists in the Safe Zone are still in closed military training. The deployment of military personnel didn't seem surprising, but he hadn't expected even a Great Martial Artist to die.

He also noticed another issue: none of the deceased were ordinary people. Even the most ordinary students at the Martial Arts Academy have the strength of a Martial Artist Apprentice, and the teachers who teach Martial Arts are basically Martial Artists.

"Is it a Barbarian or a monster?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"It's still unclear. Before I came, I roughly reviewed the case files. Judging by the bite marks on the bones and the footprints at the scene, it seems to be a creature similar to a human, possibly a Barbarian, or maybe a human?"

"No one saw it?" Chen Shouyi asked in confusion.

Logically, with so many people in the academy, no matter how strong, there should have been witnesses.

"That's exactly the strangest part: no one has seen its true face. It's almost as if it can become invisible. Even that military Great Martial Artist died silently; his remains were only discovered the next morning."

Chen Shouyi's heart skipped a beat. This case was truly perplexing. A Great Martial Artist had no chance to resist and died silently: "What about the military Martial Artists, didn't they mobilize?"

"The authorities are in contact," Bai Xiaoling said.

At least it's not up to just one person.

Chen Shouyi felt slightly relieved.

What people fear most isn't knives or guns but often things related to mystery. He was most afraid of this kind of strange monster where nothing was clear.

He just wondered which Martial Artist would come?

Xiao Changming?

Or Lei Ruiyang!

But the most likely candidate should be Xiao Changming. Civilian Martial Artists are undergoing closed training, and there had to be someone to guard them. With his strong temperament, he would even watch over these civilian Martial Artists during training.

...

The newly relocated Jiangnan Martial Arts Academy is located at the very edge of the Safe Zone, close to the countryside. Compared to the old campus, the new one is pathetically small, about the size of a primary school.

It seems this place was initially planned as a primary school.

At this time, the entire Martial Arts Academy was completely surrounded by fully armed soldiers. From the balconies of the nearby buildings, a large number of snipers could be seen faintly. Chen Shouyi could even spot several machine guns mounted on the rooftops.

An atmosphere of solemnity prevailed.

When Chen Shouyi and Bai Xiaoling presented their Chief Advisor and police officer credentials at the gate, they found even more military and police personnel inside.

Many soldiers and police officers were inspecting the ground inch by inch, attempting to locate where the cannibalistic creature might be hiding.

"Is the creature confirmed to be inside the Martial Arts Academy?" Chen Shouyi turned his head and asked.

"Most likely. The military surrounded the entire academy yesterday, but two military Martial Artists still died overnight," Bai Xiaoling said as she adjusted her hair that had been tousled by the wind. Riding on Chen Shouyi's bicycle was really thrilling.

Especially on a stretch of the road close to the Martial Arts Academy, the surface hadn't even been paved with cement yet, making the whole bicycle bounce around. She still couldn't feel her behind.

The whole thing was numb.

Chen Shouyi parked the bicycle in the shed and quickly walked into a large office, which had already become a joint command center for the police and military.

Xiao Changming and two military Great Martial Artists were already there. When Chen Shouyi walked in, only Xiao Changming nodded slightly in greeting; the other two Great Martial Artists remained cold-faced.

Clearly, after offending Lei Ruiyang in the last meeting, he had also to some extent offended the military Martial Artists, or at least did not leave a favorable impression. The military always valued unity, and now probably many didn't look favorably upon him.

Chen Shouyi remained calm and indifferent.

There was nothing much to care about; the military Martial Artists and civilian Martial Artists have never been able to see eye to eye.

After Bai Xiaoling introduced him, Chen Shouyi shook hands with the police and military leaders separately, exchanged a few pleasantries, and found a seat to sit down.

The police were represented by a vice director, while the military representative was a regimental commander.

But compared to the numerous military Martial Artists, the police side seemed sparse, with Chen Shouyi being the only one.

"Xiao Li, give Chief Advisor Chen an update on the current situation." The vice director, named Fang Zhihai, was a thin middle-aged man who spoke to a competent-looking young female officer standing nearby.

"Yes, Director Fang!"

"Hello, Chief Advisor Chen, I'm Li Zhenzhen!" The police officer first prepared a cup of tea for Chen Shouyi, then briefed him on the situation: "Currently, all students and teachers have gathered on the playground. It's the main area of protection for this mission. You'll work as mobile forces along with the military Martial Artists..."

The female officer gave a concise update on the situation.

Chen Shouyi pondered; the purpose of this arrangement was likely not just to protect. There seemed to be an aspect of surveillance and investigation. If the goal was purely to ensure the safety of students and teachers, they could easily be evacuated from this dangerous campus or join the search teams.

The police probably suspect that the mysterious perpetrator might be hidden among the students and teachers.

...

They had boxed meals for dinner. Even though they ordered four boxes for his large appetite, Chen Shouyi still felt only half full.

He deliberately went to a secluded corner on the third floor of the administration building to eat, then put on his mask and was just about to head downstairs.

Rumble...

From the overcast sky came rolling thunder, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the distant sky. He immediately looked up at the sky, noticing it was covered in dark clouds.

He gently sniffed the air.

It seemed to carry a whiff of moisture.

"It might rain," Chen Shouyi thought to himself, "Tonight's going to be a long one!"

It's already mid-April, the weather's gradually warming, and these drizzly days are becoming more frequent.

He checked his watch; it was still before five. Based on previous murder times, they usually happened late at night, so he thought he had a lot of time and walked out of the administration building. After asking a soldier, he soon arrived at the playground.

At a glance, the playground was densely packed with students and teachers sitting on the ground, probably numbering over three thousand. Teachers of each class were currently receiving their class's boxed meals.

Looking at the students' faces, there wasn't much panic; rather, many had the excitement of being part of a group activity. The atmosphere was unusually lively.

The playground had few trees, only a circle of small trees planted along the walls. Judging by the mounded dirt beneath them, they seemed to have been planted recently.

After carefully surveying the surrounding terrain, Chen Shouyi turned and headed back to the administration building.