Chapter 172: The Internet-Sensation Demon

Hurry, keep up.

The clear smell of blood made the armed police realize something was wrong.

When they approached, the scene that came into view shocked everyone.

Zhao Guo'an's expression was one of bewilderment: "How could this happen?"

Everything in sight was corpses, blood flowing across the ground, nearly forming a stream; the ground was in utter disarray.

Almost no spot remained intact; everywhere were collapsed walls and broken boulders bearing deep marks, though it was unclear what caused them.

Besides that, there were scorch marks from lightning and vegetation burned by fire; to the uninformed it looked as if a world war had taken place, the whole scene filled with strangeness.

However, judging by their rich experience, these marks did not look like something weapons could have made.

"It's really too strange; could another group have come here beforehand?"

Everyone could say it was beyond belief.

Zhao Guo'an had no time to be surprised; he quickly ordered, "Quickly check if there are any survivors."

He had to find out what had happened here!

No wonder the auction house was pitch dark and silent; their operation had gone unexpectedly smoothly, because these people were already dead.

Judging by their attire, they were all enforcers or mercenaries of the auction house.

Why did they die suddenly? Could it be an internal uprising? Or perhaps another faction acted before them, wanting to take what was theirs?

Many questions arose in Zhao Guo'an's mind.

"Captain! There's still a survivor here."

Sun Haonan's voice pulled Zhao Guo'an back to reality; he hurried over to check.

The man lying on the ground had his face covered in blood marks, apparently from some sharp object, and his arm showed signs of a gunshot wound.

Zhao Guo'an's doubts surged: "What exactly happened here?"

This man was Du She; at this moment his eyes were filled with terror, his features twisted, no longer the former ruthlessness, he clutched Zhao Guo'an's hands tightly and, with a faint breath, said:

"Monster...!"

"There, there were monsters that attacked us!"

Hearing this, everyone wore expressions of disbelief, thinking they had hallucinated.

Monsters?

However, just as Zhao Guo'an wanted to ask more, Du She, having expended all his strength, let his hands drop, his pupils gradually dilated, and his eyes grew dim.

Du She was severely wounded; what had just happened was merely a last burst of vitality, clinging to a breath.

Sun Haonan checked his breath, shook his head, and said, "Captain, he's already gone."

Du She's expression before death was pure terror; no one knew what he had endured in life.

No one took his words to heart; what era is this, how could there be monsters? Perhaps he was stimulated and thus raved.

But they harbored a faint doubt: if it was nonsense, why would he say such things, and what was his intent?

Zhao Guo'an and the others checked around; they found no survivors, but discovered several odd points.

"Some have gunshot wounds, from their own bullets; likely friendly fire in the melee."

Zhao Guo'an pondered, then said, "Could it be that they had an internal uprising?"

Sun Haonan observed the corpses on the ground: "Most of the wounds look strange."

One could see on these people scorch marks from fire, water stains, even marks from lightning strikes—quite a variety, making it hard to tell what weapon caused them.

They were just like the marks left on the walls and boulders earlier.

A flicker in Zhao Guo'an's peripheral vision made him seem to have noticed something; he suddenly crouched down.

"Captain, what's wrong?"

Zhao Guo'an pointed at the ground: "Look here."

Following his gaze, the ground showed many disordered animal tracks, large and small; the largest was even bigger than an adult's palm, likely from some large beast.

Also found on the ground were many tufts of animal fur; Zhao Guo'an carefully picked up a clump of golden hair, his eyes full of doubt.

"It's really too strange; first those bizarre wounds, then we find signs of beasts—could it really be that a group of animals came through here earlier?"

He couldn't help but recall Du She's dying words.

"Monster attack?"

"But that sounds far too fantastical."

"If animals really attacked them, why would they assault this group for no reason?"

"If they were truly attacked, they should bear scratches or bite marks, yet these wounds are utterly strange, nothing like what animals could inflict."

"Most importantly, these people were armed, yet aside from their corpses on the ground, not a single animal carcass could be found."

"These mercenaries were well trained; not to say they never miss, but it's impossible they couldn't kill even a single animal."

"In short, from the information we have so far, everything indicates abnormality."

The armed police continued searching; in the auction house's warehouse they found many precious relics—besides those illegally obtained by the auction house itself, there were also others from various factions, several large crates piled up dazzlingly.

Earlier Zhao Guo'an had suspected an internal uprising or mutual plunder, which would explain why this group suffered an unknown attack; but now that not a single precious relic has been lost, it suffices to prove that this mysterious force was not after the artifacts.

"First, bring these things back to count them; also bring back the corpses."

After clearing the scene, the sky showed a fish‑belly white; a dash of azure drove away the original darkness, finally lifting the gloom that hung overhead and letting that light spill down.

When the morning breeze blew, the bloody smell in the air almost vanished; after the corpses were carried away, one could see no trace that a great battle had taken place here.

For this operation, Zhao Guo'an had prepared for casualties, but he never expected it to end so simply and swiftly, even returning with a full haul—quite beyond anyone's expectations.

The overseas cultural relics smuggling syndicate's biggest base in East Asia was wiped out in one sweep, and a great deal of the relics they had obtained were recovered; it took virtually no effort, a total victory.

Zhao Guo'an immediately reported this good news to the domestic Wu Du Security Area.

"You did a great job this time, not only dealing a heavy blow to that overseas cultural relics organization, but also recovering many of the relics."

Even over the phone one could feel the excited, uplifted mood of the higher-ups, but he didn't see the somewhat embarrassed expressions of Zhao Guo'an and the others on the other end.

Leader——

Hearing Zhao Guo'an's hesitant words, the chief on the other end of the phone obviously seemed doubtful.

Is there anything else?

Actually, this operation had nothing to do with us; by the time we rushed over, things were already over—we just wrapped things up and picked up the scraps.

A long silence came through the phone.

If it weren't still showing the call was in progress, Zhao Guo'an would have thought no one was there.

After a moment, the leader's confused voice came through: 'Explain in detail.'

Zhao Guo'an succinctly described what had happened at the scene and simultaneously sent back the photos and footage.

In short, we also don't know what happened; based on a preliminary assessment, another mysterious force had wiped out the auction house before us, and according to the current clues, we cannot tell who did it.

After seeing the information he sent back, the higher-ups were considerably shaken, immediately launched an analysis, and also investigated the various forces in the Myanmar region, but found no clues whatsoever.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Guo'an kept thinking about this problem.

All of this is thanks to another mysterious organization—namely, the ferocious beast that caused these deaths; put bluntly, Zhao Guo'an and his group merely picked up the leftovers.

The strange wounds on the bodies, the traces left by animals at the scene, and the words the poisonous snake had spoken kept drifting in Zhao Guo'an's ears.

What, exactly, is the connection among all of this?

Besides the parties involved, probably no one knows what really happened that night; unfortunately, no one at the scene survived, so Zhao Guo'an and his group couldn't obtain any more useful clues.

Sun Haonan beside him seemed to have discovered something, and he couldn't help muttering, 'Could it really be such a coincidence?'

Seeing him stare at his phone screen, Zhao Guo'an couldn't help asking, 'What happened?'

Sun Haonan handed over his phone, saying, 'I just came across an interesting piece of online news.'

The news said that a netizen had discovered a strange group of animals near South Province, the largest predator actually being a tiger, with many small animals also present; this combination attracted the attention of many passersby.

After all, tigers are solitary animals; they don't even get along with their own kind, let alone other animals.

According to the last eyewitness, this strange group finally vanished at the border between South Province and the Myanmar region, after which no one saw them again.

'Captain, do you think those footprints we saw at the auction house scene weren't left by this group of animals?'

The timing of this strange animal group's appearance is too coincidental—it happened just shortly before their operation.

Moreover, judging from the footprints at the scene, there were large and small ones, which actually matches the description in the news quite well.

The poisonous snake's final words were also about an animal or monster attack; at first they didn't pay attention, but now it seems thought-provoking.

Could it really have been animals that killed them?

But how did those strange wounds on the corpses come about? They don't look like something animals could inflict.

Although Zhao Guo'an and his group don't believe the poisonous snake's dying words, looking at the current clues, the whole affair is shrouded in a suspicion dubbed 'monster attack'.

Since they couldn't find the culprit and the mission was completed, the case just fizzled out—after all, the dead were all heinous criminals.

On the other hand, in the Myanmar region, a rumor began to spread that on that night a group of monsters broke into the auction house and went on a killing spree.

The news also transmitted back into Daxia, including Sun Zhenbang, who had been closely monitoring this matter.

After all, he had previously followed up on this case, and moreover he was the first to discover the smuggling group's base in the Myanmar region; therefore, the higher-ups awarded him merit in the performance evaluation, also giving him a major commendation.

Animal attack? Monster slaughter?

Hearing the bureau chief's words, Sun Zhenbang's face was full of a fantastical expression.

The bureau chief also had a face full of ruddy glow, after all he too had received praise from above: 'According to the report from the People's Armed Police, when they arrived, the people at the auction house were almost all dead.'

After hearing the full details of the incident, Sun Zhenbang's expression shifted from earlier shock to complexity, and finally a hint of understanding flickered in the depths of his gaze.

In short, that overseas antiquities group can be said to have suffered a major blow to its vitality; after our heavy strike, they probably won't dare to operate in Daxia for a long time.

The bureau chief then said a few more words of praise, but Sun Zhenbang had no mind to keep listening.

Others didn't know who the culprit was, but Sun Zhenbang faintly suspected in his heart that this matter might be inseparable from that figure on Longyuan Mountain.

Besides the Mountain God, who else could possess such ability?

Earlier, Sun Zhenbang had heard the village head say that the animals in the mountains were behaving oddly; now it seems likely that the ones who went on a rampage at the auction house were the Mountain God's subordinates.

Who told those people to keep disturbing them, even previously plotting to kidnap Hu Xiaocao—utter recklessness; with such speculation, it seems everything could be strung together.

Regardless of the Mountain God's motives, it inadvertently helped Sun Zhenbang and his group a great deal.

……

At this moment, the Northeastern tigers are already on their way back; having pulled off a big job, they can be described as full of vigor.

On the way back, passing the highway, it was inevitable to be snapped by passersby; when this image was uploaded again online, it inevitably sparked some discussion.

How strange—this much time has passed, yet the group hasn't dispersed, and not a single animal is missing.

They seemed to have disappeared in the Myanmar region before; now they've run back? It must be that they went abroad for a trip.

Who would have thought they could get along so harmoniously—is this interspecies friendship?

Is there an animal behavior expert who could explain their conduct? It feels these animals aren't just acting on a whim; rather, they seem premeditated.

Because of the animals' strange behavior, it attracted the attention of many netizens, once again focusing attention on them.

Finally, it was discovered that these animals had entered Wu Du Province.

Because Wu Du is mountainous, with endless ranges of lofty peaks, in the end we don't know where they went, leaving boundless imagination.

At the same time, the military also saw this news incident; earlier they had launched a detailed investigation based on the information brought back by Zhao Guo'an and others, as well as the poisonous snake's final words, but the results turned up nothing—yet precisely at this critical juncture, this news appeared.

Could it really be that animals attacked the auction house?

How could animals have such capability? Could it be that someone is deliberately playing mysterious?

Surely it can't really be monsters, right?

The military up and down debated endlessly; after discussion they still had no concrete result—naturally they couldn't believe monsters truly existed, yet all the oddities defied explanation. In the end they could only shelve the case; regardless of which force, it was evidently friendly toward Daxia.

……

As for the Northeast Tiger's stir in the outside world, Ye Qin was unaware; at this moment he was still refining a Dharma Implement in the mountains.

The raging fire had burned for several days and nights, the surrounding temperature kept rising, the surrounding flora had lost much moisture, and the leaves became somewhat curled.

The time required to refine the Dharma Implement was longer than Ye Qin imagined, possibly because it was his first attempt and he was not yet proficient.

But effort never betrays the earnest; the originally shapeless embryo, under Ye Qin's careful polishing, gradually gained an outline, which can also be considered a good start.

Ye Qin increased his mental power output, cautiously, as if handling fragile glass; if he failed, all previous effort would be wasted.

A gentle force wrapped the embryo, as if two invisible hands in the air were constantly carving it; Ye Qin's Golden Core slowly turned, exuding golden threads that traced onto the embryo.

That mass gradually became oval, and its rough outline could faintly be seen.

Its dark body resembled fine black obsidian, emitting a mysterious luster; three legs rose, the cauldron's mouth sprouted two ears, and the ancient cauldron had been forged by fire.

Like a phoenix's nirvana, it finally burst forth with new vitality; the fire gradually diminished, making its full appearance clearer to see.

On the black cauldron wall were carved various ancient and mysterious creatures: a strangely appearing three-legged giant bird, a dragon riding clouds and mist, thick coiled vicious ancient vines, and strangely blooming miraculous flowers, luxuriantly growing.

The small cauldron's body encompassed all phenomena, boundless, seeming to convey everlasting life; amidst its dignity, it also hinted at a hint of vital aura, containing refined strength.

Ye Qin infused heaven and earth qi into it each time he forged; thus the cauldron's body, inside and out, continuously emitted spiritual aura, which could be said to be abundantly full.

"Just a little bit left."

Ye Qin's eyes gleamed; his snake pupils suddenly burst forth with several rays of divine splendor; the spiritual aura around the small cauldron could almost solidify, all of it being absorbed, and his whole body emitted dazzling light.

"Clang—"

As it completely solidified into form, a faint hum came from the void, like the Great Dao whispering, and an ancient simple aura came forth.

The patterns on the cauldron seemed to come alive, birds circling, auspicious clouds arriving, ancient vines covering the sky, where luxuriantly complex flowers bloomed, like a living scroll slowly unfurling.

The dark small cauldron floated in midair, existing like stars surrounding the moon, displaying ultimate mystery.

In an instant, wind ceased and clouds halted, as if making way for its emergence.

Ye Qin examined the cauldron before him, feeling completely different from before; if previously it was merely a handy tool, now his mind had unknowingly become linked with the cauldron, able to sense the mighty power emanating from it.

"It seems the result of this first refining is not bad."

The small cauldron slowly fell beside Ye Qin, his heart following his will; if Ye Qin were now to concoct elixirs, the effect would surely be better than before, and moreover the cauldron is not solely for alchemy.

The animals watching from afar also clapped and cheered, chirping celebratorily as Ye Qin finally succeeded in refining.

As Ye Qin admired the newly forged Dharma Implement, a strange feeling suddenly rose in his heart; not only him, but even the nearby animals sensed the abnormality.

The originally calm animals suddenly became somewhat restless, chirping nonstop there.

"What is happening?"

Ye Qin's heart instantly felt an uneasy premonition; his gaze fell into the distance, only to see trees swaying, countless birds startled into flight, circling in midair.

He quickly released his mental power, sensing that faint fluctuation, which actually came from underground.

Although this undulating force was slight, it was spreading rapidly toward the ground, its range quickly expanding.

A hint of solemnity crossed Ye Qin's pupils.

"This is an earthquake!"

(End of chapter)