Chapter 98: The Bureau's Fake Person

Wang Zhangzhi's words were like a bucket of icy water poured over the head in the dead of winter.

Every word carried a chilling cold that made one's bones and hair freeze.

It's not because you're special.

It's because it... has already taken you as the next meal in the dish.

The entire suite was terrifyingly quiet.

Deputy Director Li Weidong's complexion drained completely in an instant, his lips trembling, unable to utter another word.

He is that dish.

The Director Zhang who daily performed a "180-degree head spin" in front of him wasn't trying to scare him, but to... mark him as food.

"Wait," Mo Shu's crisp voice broke the suffocating silence, her doe-like almond eyes now full of doubt, "If being 'seen' makes one a target, why is Deputy Director Li still alive and well?"

That question temporarily pulled everyone out of the hair‑raising atmosphere, prompting rapid thought.

Yeah, why?

"Of course it's because Deputy Director Li hasn't triggered the real attack mechanism yet."

Wang Zhangzhi's voice remained steady as always, as if no circumstance could sway him.

His words were like a key, instantly unlocking a switch in Jiang Yuan's mind beside him.

Right! Attack mechanism!

Jiang Yuan suddenly recalled the events at Ling Shui Garden.

At Li Mo's house.

At first, Li Mo and his family behaved Weird, but they did not attack immediately.

The residents of the complex were even more so, ignoring those who intruded.

When did the attack begin?

It began the moment he and Mo Shu from the bottom of their hearts definitively confirmed that Li Jianguo was not Li Mo's father!

It began when they realized that the "people" inside the complex were not human!

What about Li Weidong?

Although he saw Director Zhang's terrifying head‑turn, he felt more fear, doubt, even once thought he was insane and went to see a psychologist.

He never from the bottom of his heart "confirmed" that Director Zhang was a monster.

"I get it!" Jiang Yuan voiced his hypothesis, "It's 'cognition'! Only when you from the bottom of your heart fully recognize the other as a Fake Person, and completely stop seeing them as the same kind, does the attack trigger! Deputy Director Li is only doubtful; he hasn't reached that point, so he's temporarily safe!"

When the words fell, everyone in the room showed a dawning expression.

Ghost immediately hammered away on the notebook, linking all clues together, summarizing the preliminary Murder Rule:

"Proliferate and replace humans... possess the ability to warp surrounding people's cognition, but this cognitive contamination is weakened for the guilty and will be detected by them first..."

Ghost's voice, usually lazy, now carried a sharp insight into everything.

"When a Fake Person's identity is fully confirmed by the perceiver, the attack triggers, killing the perceiver and proliferating to replace them..."

"One more thing," Wang Zhangzhi added, "The Fake Person's cognitive contamination seems ineffective against our kind of 'outsider' collective. That's why we could notice the anomalies at Ling Shui Garden and Director Zhang."

The rule is being pieced together bit by bit.

Fear of the unknown is slowly receding.

In its place, a cold resolve for the hunt.

Wang Zhangzhi stood, walked to the window, overlooking the newly awakened city, his voice as cold as iron.

"If there's even one Fake Person among the directors of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, there must be more than one Fake Person."

"Since the rule has already been grasped..."

"We must conduct a thorough purge of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's interior."

"While the influence hasn't expanded beyond redemption."

"We must take the initiative to strike."

"Chief, what's your plan?" Ghost lifted his face.

Wang Zhangzhi turned his back to the crowd, silent for a moment.

"Wait until tomorrow morning, when all policemen report for duty."

"Ghost, you need to synchronize the personnel files. Jiang Yuan, Mo Shu, you two go in, find an excuse, tally the numbers, record each policeman's identity information, then withdraw."

"Don't expose them as Fake Persons in front of them; instead, go back outside, confirm which are Fake Persons, gather them together, and launch a direct blitz, wiping them out in one go."

The plan was simple, even somewhat brute.

But faced with absolute Intelligence advantage, this was the most efficient method.

The next morning.

Sunlight pierced the clouds, bathing the solemn architecture of Ling Chang City Public Security Bureau.

Policemen gradually entered the building, beginning a new day's work; everything seemed no different from usual.

No one knew that an invisible net had silently enveloped the entire bureau.

Inside the hotel suite, the tension was at its peak.

Ghost's ten fingers flew over the keyboard, data streams cascading down the screen like a waterfall.

Jiang Yuan and Mo Shu had already infiltrated the bureau, under the guise of a "raid investigation, tallying duty personnel," recording the roster while moving through each department.

Time ticked by second after second.

Finally, at 9:30 a. m., all data were compiled, and Jiang Yuan and Mo Shu returned to the hotel.

Ghost halted his keystrokes, the room terrifyingly quiet.

Everyone held their breath, awaiting the decisive number.

Ghost slowly lifted his head; on his pale face, for the first time, a mix of shock and absurdity appeared, his voice tinged with a barely perceptible tremor.

The personnel file shows that the whole bureau compiled a total of three hundred and forty‑two people.

He paused for a moment, his Adam's apple rolling up and down.

"But just now… the combined result of surveillance data and manual statistics…"

"It is five hundred and one people."

Boom!

That number, like a heavy bomb, exploded in everyone's mind with a thunderous bang!

Five hundred and one!

It is a full one hundred and fifty‑nine more than the file shows!

Nearly one‑third of the bureau members… are all Fake Persons!

Jiang Yuan only felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet straight up to the Heavenly Spirit Cover, making the hair on his body stand on end.

Where is this still a police bureau?

This is clearly a second Ling Shui Garden! A Monster Nest disguised as an official institution!

Captain's formulation of the "Blitz Plan" was correct.

Otherwise, a rash action would truly be courting death.

Jiang Yuan felt a wave of dread, and instinctively looked at Mo Shu beside him, then at Wang Zhangzhi and Ouyang Feng, silent in the distance like statues.

Then a more terrifying, more insane thought rose uncontrollably from the depths of his heart.

The proliferation ability of Fake Persons is so dreadful.

And their action team, all the way, has encountered so many "people"…

The guiding policemen inside the bureau, even the residents of the Ling Shui Garden complex…

Jiang Yuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva with a gulp.

He dared not think further.

Once that chain of suspicion forms, it can drive any steadfast person mad.

At this moment, Wang Zhangzhi seemed to see through everyone's worries; his deep gaze swept over each person, and finally, in an unmistakable tone, broke the stagnant air.

"Ghost!"

"Immediately retrieve the official mission file for this operation!"

Ghost snapped to attention and instantly retrieved the encrypted File.

"Action team: Captain Wang Zhangzhi, members Jiang Yuan, Mo Shu, Ghost, a total of four. Reinforcement: Ouyang Feng, one person."

Wang Zhangzhi let out a sigh, then his voice rang with iron resolve, each word striking clearly into everyone's hearts:

"Our action squad, counting Ouyang Feng, totals five people!"

"This number recorded on paper is an iron rule!"

"From now on, every collective action, before and after each gathering, must verify the headcount!"

His gaze became exceedingly sharp, scanning every person present.

"One short, not allowed."

"One extra… even worse!"

In the solemn atmosphere, everyone instinctively looked at the teammate beside them.

Trust, before this Weird reality, becomes exceedingly fragile.