[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-shadow-empire":3,"chapter-the-shadow-empire-the-shadow-empire-chapter-65":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Shadow Empire",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2267685,4428,"Chapter 65: Crime Scene","the-shadow-empire-chapter-65",65,"\u003Cp>“...Sorry, we’ll investigate this as quickly as possible!” The operator smiled apologetically and hung up, sighing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her colleague beside her asked curiously, “Another complaint about the sewers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The operator nodded as she recorded the complaint in her notebook; when she finished writing the last character, she noticed this page already held no fewer than twenty complaints.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She found it odd, answering her colleague as if speaking to herself, “Yes, although these complaints happen every year, but...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These past two days have been extremely dense, and all concentrated on Berlinken Street in the Imperial District.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her colleague snorted, “Maybe some cat or dog died in the sewer. This has happened before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The operator nodded slightly, acknowledging the possibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was mid-to-late September, the hottest time of the year—unbearable not just for people, but for animals too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jin Gang City’s sewers were cool, and cats and dogs wouldn’t bother choosing abandoned, dry culverts like humans did; they’d simply burrow into the nearest sewer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some cats and dogs would get caught on things inside—the wires, hooks, and such—and die there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With such hot weather and humid air, the microbial population in the sewer exploded; within a day, decomposition would begin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within two or three days at most, the stench would spread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d encountered this before—sent municipal workers to remove the dead cats and dogs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the work manual, if a public complaint had no more than five complainants, it could be ignored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If no more than ten, it could be considered for inclusion in the work report submitted to superiors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If over ten, it needed a separate report placed at the top of the pile and delivered to the office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If over twenty, they had to call the supervisory department.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She counted—already over twenty. She made a shushing gesture to her colleague, then dialed a number from the phone list on her desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is the City Hall Public Complaints Office. I have an urgent complaint requiring immediate attention: 72 Berlinken Street. Over twenty people have reported a foul odor—likely a decomposing animal corpse...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the receiver came a harsh string of curses—not necessarily aimed at anyone, just a verbal tic, a way to vent frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood, ma’am. I’ll head over immediately.” Before hanging up, the operator heard more curses; she shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re cursing again?” Her colleague leaned back, watching her. “You could just tell them to shut up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The operator smiled. “It’s this hot, and they still have to go down into the sewers. If it were me, I’d curse too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you couldn’t curse that badly—I heard every word...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two operators agreed to go shopping after work and soon forgot about it—this was their job, day after day, month after month, year after year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two municipal workers, sweating and grumbling, drove off in their pickup truck from the cool office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since the Secretary of State’s remark—“Proper attire is the most basic respect one shows society”—became public, the entire federal government system was ordered to dress appropriately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in the sweltering summer, they had to wear their summer uniforms, no exposed skin allowed—or they’d be fined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they weren’t civil servants, they’d have quit long ago; but precisely because they were civil servants, they had to follow the rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Civil servants are comfortable—anytime, anywhere, in any world, in any country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Federal government civil servants earn high salaries, receive generous subsidies, and enjoy every benefit: social security, medical insurance, accident insurance, all the perks—things ordinary people never get.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two drove along the scorching road; the wind blowing through the windows carried the sea’s salt, searing them from within and making their skin ache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exposed skin of these working-class men was nearly all red—a sign of injury—but no one cared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who cared wouldn’t work outdoors; those who worked outdoors had long gone numb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The truck arrived quickly at 72 Berlinken Street. Before even stepping out, they smelled the stench—familiar, they’d handled it many times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The manual required them to wear protective clothing and rubber gloves, but they didn’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They found the strongest odor, set up a “No Entry” sign, and noted the time in their notebook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they lifted the sewer cover—but to their surprise, the expected stench didn’t emerge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They exchanged glances, sensing something unusual; one of them climbed down into the sewer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About ten minutes later, he climbed back up. “Only dead rats inside—nothing else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dead rats were common in sewers; during heavy thunderstorms, the surface might show only a few, but for sewer rats, it was a flood disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the stench from a few dead rats was nowhere near as pungent as what they were smelling now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This odor... doesn’t seem to be coming from the sewer.” Though strongest here, with only one sewer cover, the sewer itself wasn’t nearly this foul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was their job—they had to determine if it was their responsibility. Ignoring the overwhelming stench, they sniffed everywhere, finally realizing the smell seeped from the basement window of the old building before them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Basements had windows facing the street—about ten to fifteen centimeters high—for light and ventilation. No human could fit through, but the small window still allowed light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After locating the source, they put their gear back in the truck, slapped their backsides, and prepared to leave—it wasn’t their problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matter was quickly passed to the district office, which radioed patrol officers; a police car suddenly pulled out from a shady alley and headed toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven or eight minutes later, two officers stepped out and immediately covered their noses and mouths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They didn’t curse—they looked grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One officer lay on the ground, peering through the foggy glass—but saw nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet as he pressed closer, the stench grew even stronger, and he confirmed: it was corpse odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other officer knocked on the door of the first-floor resident—a classic old house with street-facing doors. An elderly woman answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman looked visibly upset. “Have you fixed that stench yet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officer pressed his badge forward with his thumb. The woman turned her head and waved her hand dismissively. “I’m not blind. What do you want?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Ma’am, could I ask who lives in the basement?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can we contact the property owner?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman seemed to realize something. She gave the officer a phone number; soon, he reached the owner and opened the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intense stench burst out the doorway, almost blinding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They immediately called for backup. Twenty minutes later, four police cars and a hearse arrived. The city’s forensic pathologist, accustomed to all kinds of corpses, was still overwhelmed by the smell!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later, city support arrived with full biohazard suits—only then could they enter the scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eight corpses lay scattered on the floor; seven were shot, but one’s death was peculiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After photographing the scene, all bodies were removed; some officers remained to collect evidence once the odor dissipated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pathologist said the bodies had been stored in a sealed, high-temperature space for at least four days—the entire room was teeming with bacteria; they should wait until the smell faded before entering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the precinct, the case was handed directly to the Criminal Investigations Unit. Today was Lu Ka’s day shift; the case fell to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He went straight to the morgue. Even though he’d seen countless corpses, the sight of so many highly decomposed bodies made him feel sick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seven died from gunshots; one was hit six times.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One other... he was stuffed to death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stuffed to death?” Lu Ka stood outside the autopsy room, unwilling to enter. He held the autopsy report but stared at the pathologist’s face. “You mean he ate himself to death?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. His stomach ruptured, causing hemorrhagic shock.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Ka snorted. “You know what’s most interesting about being a detective?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He answered himself: “Getting to see all kinds of bizarre ways people die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did he begin flipping through the report. “Any information on their identities?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pathologist shook his head. “That’s not my job, but from the scene—there were gambling tables. It was clearly an underground casino...”\u003C\u002Fp>",1343,"2026-06-19T21:10:27.799Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","eb04b038c0fb06b2dd995a13e083a880c92715526a43c7f1e657390edc5eed85","the-shadow-empire-chapter-66","the-shadow-empire-chapter-64",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-shadow-empire-cover.jpg"]