Chapter 96: He's Not Human, He's a Monster

The sweep operation lasted through the night, and almost everyone reached their limit.

Wang Zhangzhi commanded the exhausted troops and finally cleared the remaining situation.

"Huh... back to the City Bureau," Wang Zhangzhi sighed heavily, his voice hoarse yet still steady and strong, "The entire Action Team will rest for a day and return to headquarters tomorrow morning."

A little over half an hour later.

Ling Chang City Public Security Bureau.

Director Zhang Haifeng was overly enthusiastic, personally ushering them in, his face bearing a flawless, textbook smile.

"Heroes, thank you for your hard work! Fighting through the night was truly exhausting! I've had the Cafeteria prepare the most lavish breakfast, making sure everyone eats and drinks well!"

In the Cafeteria, the steaming dishes dispelled some of the battlefield chill, and the survivors finally let their tense nerves relax a bit.

Wang Zhangzhi had little appetite, merely holding a cup of hot tea, sitting in the corner with the equally listless You Ling.

"What do you think of this 'Fake Person' this time?" Wang Zhangzhi asked softly.

You Ling, hair a mess, yawned and lazily replied, "How could I look at it any other way? It's far more troublesome than the Smiling Dummy. That dummy at least left traces; you had to see it three times to trigger the Rules. This thing... causes cognitive contamination, self‑replicates, and can perfectly mimic humans—it's essentially a Timed Bomb lurking in society."

He downed a sip of coffee, the bloodshot veins in his eyes making him look even more like a genuine ghost:

"We haven't even grasped its Core Rules; we only know it can substitute and replicate, but the trigger conditions, the killing patterns... are all a fog. This matter is far more serious than we thought."

"If we don't figure out its killing pattern in a day, we truly can't rest for a day."

Wang Zhangzhi nodded, the depth of his eyes filled with an inescapable gravity.

A Ji... perhaps we still underestimated it.

Wang Zhangzhi sipped his tea, "Huh... there's no doubt that regarding the Fake Person legend, the higher-ups will definitely form a dedicated response team, and its scale will certainly surpass that of the Smiling Dummy response team."

Elsewhere.

Starving, Jiang Yuan devoured his food ravenously, as if he hadn't eaten in eight hundred years, sweeping the plate like a wind scattering clouds.

He ate so hastily that a bun slipped past his throat, instantly choking him, his face turning bright red as he rolled his eyes.

In panic, he didn't think, grabbed the nearest cup of soy milk and gulped several big swallows.

"Cough... I'm alive... I'm back to life..."

Jiang Yuan let out a long sigh, set down the cup, and only then noticed the atmosphere around him was a bit off.

Everyone stared at him with an extremely odd gaze, especially Mo Shu opposite him.

The girl's once fair cheeks were now as red as ripe apples, her head lowered.

Jiang Yuan followed the crowd's gaze, looking at the cup he had just set down.

On the rim, a faint pink lipstick mark stood out sharply under the light.

It was... Mo Shu's cup.

Jiang Yuan's face instantly flushed to a pork‑liver hue, reddening from his neck to his ears, his whole body seemed petrified, frozen in place, his mind a blank.

"Yo."

From the corner, You Ling's lazy voice came, with a hint of mischievous relish for the spectacle.

"Isn't it just an indirect kiss? You two act so pure, why does it sound like a scene from an anime romance?"

"Cough."

Even the usually stoic Wang Zhangzhi couldn't help a slight curl at the corner of his mouth, his deep voice tinged with a rare hint of amusement.

"Hehe... youngsters."

The surrounding SWAT officers let out a burst of good‑natured laughter.

Under the teasing gazes of the crowd, Jiang Yuan felt so embarrassed he wished he could slip into a crack in the floor.

He stammered an apology to Mo Shu, "S‑sorry! I didn't mean to! I..."

"It's... it's okay..."

Mo Shu's voice was as thin as a mosquito's, her head tucked even lower, almost touching her chest.

Jiang Yuan glanced up covertly, carefully observing her reaction.

He found that, though Mo Shu was shy enough to steam, her watery almond eyes held no hint of disgust or resistance; instead... there seemed to be an indefinable, inexplicable anticipation.

That discovery made Jiang Yuan's heart pound wildly, as if it would leap out of his chest.

An unprecedented surge of courage quietly blossomed within him.

At the same time.

Another table formed a stark contrast to the bustling scene here.

Ouyang Feng sat quietly there, placing the lethal blade 'Death Dragon' wrapped in black cloth neatly on the seat beside him, as if it were not a weapon but an intimate comrade-in-arms.

His eating was elegant and focused, clashing with the surrounding clamor, making him appear increasingly aloof and mysterious.

The meal ended amid a weird, slightly ambiguous atmosphere.

The overly enthusiastic Director Zhang Haifeng reappeared, his face plastered with a grin.

"Heroes of the Action Team, I've arranged suites for you on the top floor of the city's finest Jin Mao Hotel! You must rest well and enjoy the highest level of service!"

His smile was so precise it seemed measured with a ruler, each curve perfectly placed, to the point it evoked an inexplicable sense of dissonance.

The group didn't think further, dragging their weary bodies onto a vehicle bound for Jin Mao Hotel.

The hotel glittered with gold and jade, exuding sheer luxury.

Guided by a server, they walked down a corridor carpeted thickly, so quiet one could hear their own breathing.

At that moment, Jiang Yuan keenly sensed a shadow not far behind, stealthily trailing them, footsteps light and deliberately restrained.

Reaching a corner, Jiang Yuan's gaze hardened, and he suddenly turned around!

His movement was lightning‑fast; with a single lunge he surged forward, closing the distance before the opponent could react, left hand gripping the shoulder, right hand twisting the arm, knee pressing the lower back, a fluid series of grappling moves that instantly pinned the person hard against the wall!

"Ah! Stop! Don't attack! We're comrades!"

A terrified scream rang out.

Everyone turned their heads at the sound, all stunned.

The one subdued cleanly and neatly by Jiang Yuan turned out to be a deputy bureau chief of the Ling Chang City Public Security Bureau, with whom they had previously met once.

That deputy bureau chief was pressed against the wall, his face full of terror, cold sweat pouring, he hurriedly explained: "I... I had no ill intent! I have a huge secret to report, I dare not say it in the police station."

Wang Zhangzhi slightly furrowed his brow, gesturing for Jiang Yuan to let go.

His sharp gaze, like a hawk's, locked firmly onto that deputy bureau chief.

"What situation requires you to report in this manner?"

After the deputy bureau chief was released, he went limp, leaning against the wall and gasping heavily, his face filled with fear.

He glanced around, as if something terrifying hid in the shadows of the corridor, then lowered his voice, trembling, and uttered a sentence that made the temperature in the entire corridor plummet:

"I... I suspect our Bureau Chief Zhang..."

"He is not human!"

"He is a monster!"