Chapter 563: Suppressing the Anomalous Bullet

Jiang Hai City, Ning'an Road.

8:47 p. m.

This street is usually bustling—milk tea shops have lines, barbecue stalls smoke, and outside the mall kids chase balloons.

Tonight is different.

Streetlights blew out one after another, glass shards rained down from above, and they hammered the car roofs with a clatter.

The crowd ran to both sides.

Someone fell, someone shouted a child's name, someone clutched a takeout box and ducked behind the convenience store shelves.

In the middle of the road stood a man in a gray jacket.

The man's right side bulged, black patterns crawled under his skin, his five fingers elongated, nails dragging on the ground and scraping a harsh sound.

His name is Ma Desheng.

B-grade Anomalous.

On the Purification Abyss Operation list, he is number 317.

The charges filled three pages.

Private detention room.

Selling contaminated potions.

Forcing ordinary people to undergo compatibility experiments.

After the incident, he relied on old family connections to escape for two days.

Two days.

He hid like a dog in the sewers, empty warehouses, and back alleys of cold storage.

His phone was full of wanted notices.

Nobody who used to drink with him and call him 'brother' answered the phone.

Ma Desheng couldn't take it.

Before, when he entered a restaurant, the manager would personally greet him.

When he went to the local precinct, the captain would pour him tea.

Now even a traffic camera at an intersection dares to follow him.

He stood in the street, pressed down a man trying to call the police, and his ghostly claw pinned the man's shoulder.

"Snap."

Ma Desheng looked up at the people around him holding up their phones.

"Get it all clear."

Nobody dared to move.

He laughed until his teeth were full of blood.

"Tell Wei Laotou, don't try to scare me with that Purification Abyss Operation routine."

"I'm an Anomalous."

"You mortals are alive today only because we've been holding the front line."

"Without us, you'd have been completely devoured by the anomalies long ago."

The man on the ground trembled from pain.

Ma Desheng lowered his head, pressing his ghostly claw down.

"So, I'll take a few of your lives—any problem with that?"

Inside the convenience store, a little girl covered her mouth and cried.

Her mother pressed her against her own chest, trembling as well.

The girl wanted to ask why the police hadn't come yet.

But she dared not speak.

From the street corner came the sound of brakes scraping the ground.

Three black-and-white police cars rushed into the containment line.

The car doors opened.

Getting out was not Jiang Yuan.

Not Qin Zhixia.

Not Su Ming.

Nor were there the Shadow Legion, time worms, or life‑burning blades.

Only six ordinary patrol officers.

The one in front was an old patrol officer named Tang, fifty‑six years old, two years shy of retirement.

His uniform was washed to a faded white, and the lacquer on his belt buckle had worn off.

He held his service pistol, aimed at Ma Desheng.

The young patrol officer beside him was shaking badly.

Officer Tang caught it out of the corner of his eye.

He didn't shout.

"Facing a B‑grade Anomalous for the first time, not pissing your pants counts as the unit having done its job."

He himself was also afraid.

His palms were slick with sweat, making the grip slippery.

Three hours ago, the precinct had just replaced the magazines with new ones.

Silver-red bullet tip, sealed packaging, and when receiving it I also signed eight files.

The technician repeatedly instructed.

Hit the torso.

As soon as it hits, immediately cuff.

Note the 24-hour suppression window.

At the time someone joked, saying that in the future when responding to calls, we might be able to bring the monster back for questioning.

Nobody laughed too genuinely.

Because nobody had any idea.

Officer Tang also had no idea.

But someone on the street was bleeding.

Then there was no choice.

"Ma Desheng!"

Officer Tang shouted.

"Federation Public Security Bureau Jianghai Branch."

"Release the hostage, get down."

Ma Desheng turned his head.

He glanced at the police car, then at the six pistols.

Then he breathed a laugh.

"Just you?"

The young patrolman's Adam's apple moved.

Ma Desheng raised his ghost claw, and the black vapor on the ground gathered toward his feet.

"Where are the Anomalous agents?"

"Where is the Core Captain?"

"Nobody's coming?"

He stepped forward half a step.

All six patrolmen retreated half an inch.

That movement was tiny.

Ma Desheng saw it.

He relaxed even more.

"You're pointing a commoner's fire stick at me?"

"Haven't your branch leaders taught you?"

"B-grade Anomalous, ordinary bullets can't break the skin."

"Or else, they can't cause substantive harm."

Officer Tang bit his lip.

The bloody taste entered his mouth.

He used the pain to steady his hand.

Only three things were in his mind.

First, the hostage is still alive.

Second, the distance is twenty-one meters.

Third, the first round in the magazine is a Suppress Spook Bullet.

He is not a hero.

He has worked at the grassroots for over thirty years, having seen drunk driving, domestic violence, wage arrears leading to suicide, and also seen relatives of those contaminated by the Weird clinging to body bags, unwilling to let go.

He has always thought he could do little.

Issue tickets.

Adjust surveillance.

Break up fights.

Send lost elderly home.

But today, the gun is in his hand.

Whether or not he is a hero, such an opportunity will come to him.

Ma Desheng raised his ghost claw, and the black vapor coiled around the neck of the man on the ground.

"Come, shoot."

"Shoot and let me see."

Officer Tang pulled the trigger.

The gunshot was clean.

The silver-red bullet tip crossed the twenty-one-meter street and struck Ma Desheng's shoulder blade.

The contempt on Ma Desheng's face froze.

It wasn't pain.

It was the ghost inside his body screaming.

The black vapor was about to erupt outward, but suddenly it recoiled.

The pattern spread from his shoulder blade, dark red crawling over his neck and chest.

He wanted to raise his hand.

He couldn't lift it.

The ghost claws began to retreat from the fingertips back into a human shape.

Nail broke, skin split, and red blood flowed out.

Blood truly belonging to a human.

"What is that?"

Ma Desheng stepped back.

His second step wasn't steady.

Thud.

His knee smashed onto the asphalt road.

Everyone hiding in the surrounding shops was stunned.

The store clerk who had just seen an Anomaly Controller killing video online an hour ago still held a mop.

He thought he would see the police officers torn to pieces.

As a result, Ma Desheng knelt.

He knelt firmly.

No different from a deadbeat who blocked the door over unpaid property fees.

Ma Desheng reached out to grab his shoulder.

Officer Tang shouted: "Up!"

The young police officer was the first to rush out.

He almost tripped on the curb midway.

He cursed, got up, and continued to lunge.

Several more police officers pressed in from the left and right.

Ma Desheng still wanted to struggle.

The Fierce Ghost inside him was suppressed deep down; he could only twist with ordinary human strength.

Before, he could easily flip a car with a casual hand.

Now, two police officers pressing on his shoulders left him unable to move.

"Let go of me!"

Ma Desheng roared.

"I am B Ji!"

The young police officer, panting, fastened the silver handcuffs.

Click.

The handcuffs closed.

He looked at Ma Desheng's panicked face and suddenly said: "Even B Ji must cooperate with law enforcement."

His nearby colleague almost burst out laughing.

Officer Tang didn't laugh.

He rushed over, pulled the hostage from the ground, checked the carotid artery, and then used the walkie-talkie to call for an ambulance.

After confirming the person was still alive, he then raised his head.

The street was very quiet.

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

In the convenience store, the little girl poked her head out.

She softly asked: "Mom, has the bad guy been caught?"

Her mother did not answer.

She watched Ma Desheng being pressed to the ground, watched the person once called a Superhuman in a livestream, now being searched like an ordinary suspect, handcuffed, and gripped at the back of the neck.

Then she cried.

Not from fear.

It was from holding it in too long.

The bbq stall owner first shouted:

"Well caught!"

Immediately after, the whole street burst into cheers.

Someone slapped the car window.

Someone held up a phone and shouted loudly.

"Awesome!"

"Police uncle went crazy!"

"This is what a version update is!"

"Monster's in the bureau—tonight I'm treating the whole table to extra kidneys!"

The young police officer pressed Ma Desheng, his face flushed red.

He tried to keep his expression steady.

He couldn't keep it steady.

Officer Tang turned and glared at him.

What are you laughing at?

The young police officer lowered his head.

Officer Tang, I wasn't laughing.

Your mouth is almost at the back of your head.

It's my first time catching a B Ji, I'm a bit green.

Go back and write a three-thousand-character report.

The young police officer's face fell.

Don't, Officer Tang, isn't this more hurtful than a fight?

Officer Tang finally muttered, "Pathetic."

By the roadside, over a dozen phones were still live-streaming.

In the footage, Ma Desheng was dragged onto the police car.

His shoulder was still bleeding, his face full of panic.

He couldn't believe it.

He couldn't believe he'd be subdued by an ordinary police officer.

He couldn't believe that the service pistol he never even bothered to look at could actually pierce his divine shield.

The live stream's comments went crazy.

I didn't blink just now, did I?

A B Ji actually knelt?

Can ordinary police even catch Mystic Users?

Brothers, the times have changed.

Before, monsters ate people; now monsters are handcuffed.

Jianghai Branch Command Center.

The duty chief watched the live feed, forgetting to put down his tea cup.

After a moment, he set the cup down on the table.

Give merit to the Ning'an Road patrol unit.

The clerk beside him reminded, "Chief, the procedure needs headquarters' approval."

Then let's first write the materials.

What about the title?

The duty chief stared at Ma Desheng being shoved into the police car on the screen.

Just write: 'Ordinary police successfully subdued an out-of-control B Ji Mystic User.'

The clerk's typing hand paused.

This title is too new.

It's so novel it sends chills down one's spine.

At the same time, the Qiu Ce Yuan infirmary.

Chu Che sat behind his desk, the screen playing a replay of the street livestream.

The footage of Ma Desheng kneeling was played in slow motion.

The silver-red bullet struck his shoulder blade.

The black aura recoiled.

The crowd cheered.

Chu Che raised his hand and pushed his gold-rimmed glasses.

Very good.

His tone was gentle.

Ordinary people are beginning to trust order again.

A medical examination form lay spread out on the desk.

The pen tip hovered over the student name field.

He did not continue writing.

On the screen, comments flooded in thick and fast.

Someone said that from today onward, ordinary people could walk with their heads held high.

Someone said that Mystic Users are no longer above the law.

Someone also made a gif of Officer Tang pulling the trigger, captioned: 'Mortal marksmanship, specially treats charlatans.'

Chu Che watched for a few seconds, then turned off the screen.

Outside the window, the city began to flash red and blue police lights.

It wasn't a disaster alarm.

It was a dispatch.

Many vehicles.

Many intersections.

He lowered his head and wrote the final line below the medical examination form.

The handwriting was neat.

After finishing, Chu Che capped the pen.

Outside the office door, a nurse knocked.

"Dr. Chu, the student in Bed 17 says his chest hurts."

Chu Che got up, his doctor's lab coat hanging straight.

"I'll go check."

He walked to the door, then glanced back at the already black-screened computer.

His face reflected on the black screen.

Gentle, clean, with no flaw to be found.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the network, Ma Desheng's terrified face, frozen after losing power, was captured, and the share count shot to the top of the trending list.

Before the screen, countless people who had once hidden in the weird's shadow watched the B-grade Anomalous, cuffed with ordinary handcuffs, slowly sit upright.

Someone turned off all the lights at home, lowered their head, and stroked the child's head.

Someone lingered on the Public Security Bureau's registration page for a long time, then pressed submit.

Someone dug out the old case materials from the bottom of the drawer, retaking photos and uploading them.

Someone, for the first time, faced the mirror and uttered a soft sentence.

"Turns out, monsters can also be locked up in jail."

At the Federation headquarters, L's projection popped up in front of Lord Wei's desk.

She pushed her black-rimmed glasses.

"Report."

"After the Ning'an Road incident, global reporting platform visits quadrupled."

"Among them, there are 39,621 leads concerning anomalous privilege crimes."

Lord Wei held his tea, hand suspended in midair.

L continued: "Besides, anomalous families in seven regions are transferring assets."

"Three of them have applied for emergency private routes."

Lord Wei set down his teacup.

"Intercept."

"Reason?"

The old man lifted his eyes.

"'Purify Abyss Operation, overtime.'"