Chapter 12
Chapter 12
“We still don’t know exactly how the Cat-Faced Crone was killed, but Leng Qingyan must have been involved!”
Inside an office, Zhao Xueru, now dressed in a long purple gown, continued her analysis.
“She transferred to Mingjiang No. 7 Special School for Crimson Netherworld. That supposed boyfriend was nothing more than a smokescreen!”
“Our most urgent priority is obtaining Crimson Netherworld.”
Zhao Xueru had secretly arranged for the Cat-Faced Crone to attack Leng Qingyan because she needed nourishment for the Vengeful Infant of the Blood Coffin inside her.
The Vengeful Infant of the Blood Coffin had formed when a female corpse gave birth after death. While mother and child remained one, they were an A-class anomaly. The infant alone was only B-plus-class.
But the Vengeful Infant possessed tremendous growth potential. As long as it devoured other anomalies, it could raise Zhao Xueru to A-class.
The unexpected appearance of Crimson Netherworld was far more useful than other anomalous entities. It was exactly what she desperately needed.
“First, I’ll let the infant advance. Then we can use it to find Rain. Two birds with one stone.”
Zhao Xueru laughed.
Allowing the infant to advance smoothly was only one goal of her visit. Finding Rain-and even dealing with her-was just as important.
The Vengeful Infant and the S-class anomaly Rain came from the same place. They even shared deep ties, allowing the infant to sense Rain’s presence.
“I’ll make the trip.”
A man named Chen Jun rose and spoke directly.
“Crimson Netherworld may once have been an A-class anomaly, but it was severely injured back then. Now it can only hide in a garbage collection area. Capturing it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Zhao Xueru shook her head. “No.”
“Leng Qingyan is guarding that school. If you make a move, she’ll notice immediately. We can’t afford to alert her.”
Zhao Xueru intended to keep Crimson Netherworld entirely for herself.
Leng Qingyan alone was easy enough to handle, but anything happening to her could quickly draw in the Anomaly Suppression Bureau and create endless complications.
“Then what do we do?” Chen Jun asked.
Zhao Xueru thought for a moment, then said, “The Ghost Festival is only a few days away, isn’t it?”
The Ghost Festival existed in this world as well. Anomalies became unusually active every year when it arrived, making it the busiest time of the year for Anomaly Suppression Bureaus everywhere.
“Send out a notice. This year’s Ghost Festival cultural event will be held at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.”
Zhao Xueru spoke calmly.
“We’ll claim we’re searching for Rain and deploy anomaly bait throughout the school.”
Anomaly bait was a special substance developed by the authorities. Testing had confirmed that it attracted many anomalies.
As a result, it had become one of the Anomaly Suppression Bureau’s standard tools for hunting them.
Chen Jun looked surprised.
“Anomaly bait probably won’t do much against an S-class anomaly like Rain.”
“But it will attract many other anomalies and concentrate them at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.”
Zhao Xueru smiled. “Exactly. Then we’ll have a legitimate reason to intervene.”
“We’ll eliminate anomalies for Mingjiang City and take Crimson Netherworld while we’re there. The other anomalies drawn in by the bait can all feed my Vengeful Infant of the Blood Coffin.”
Understanding dawned on Chen Jun.
They would set their trap under the pretext of tracking Rain, then close the net and capture Crimson Netherworld while harvesting the other anomalies.
If Leng Qingyan happened to die in the chaos, that would be perfectly normal too.
Everything would follow logically, leaving no one grounds to object.
Chen Jun couldn’t help praising her.
“Team Leader, you’re brilliant!”
Then another concern occurred to him.
“Rain is probably somewhere inside Mingjiang City. The anomaly bait may not attract her, but the infant is connected to her. If we cause too much commotion, could we agitate her?”
She was an S-class anomaly.
“Don’t worry. Even if Rain really appears, it won’t matter.”
Zhao Xueru smiled.
“I brought A-402.”
A-402.
Chen Jun’s eyes lit up at the designation. A-402 was an A-class anomalous entity and a strategic resource specifically prepared for use against Rain. Obtaining authorization to deploy it was extraordinarily difficult.
“Excellent! With A-402 here, we have nothing to fear!”
His worries vanished.
Zhao Xueru smiled, then suddenly asked, “By the way, the Wraith-Mother of the Vengeful Infant hasn’t followed us lately, has she?”
She had taken the Vengeful Infant of the Blood Coffin, but the mother that gave birth to the infant had escaped.
The mother had followed them many times afterward, and they had never managed to capture her.
“We haven’t detected her recently,” Chen Jun said. “There’s something strange about that mother. She seems to have developed a degree of intelligence. Team Leader, do you think someone else might be controlling her from behind the scenes?”
“Ignore it,” Zhao Xueru said indifferently.
“If there’s no one behind her, so be it. If someone really does intend to interfere, we’ll use this Ghost Festival to wipe them out too!”
…
“A Ghost Festival event at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School? With anomaly bait deployed there?”
At the Anomaly Suppression Bureau, Xu Changjiang shot to his feet when he learned of Zhao Xueru’s arrangement.
“How can you possibly do that? What about all the children there? The Ghost Festival is already dangerous enough. If you attract too many anomalies, you could cause a catastrophe!”
Anomaly bait was useful, but it was generally deployed against a single anomaly.
If anomalies gathered during the Ghost Festival, the difficulty of containing the situation would increase dramatically.
Chen Jun remained indifferent.
“Director Xu, this is a notification, not a discussion.”
“An S-class anomaly like Rain has appeared in Mingjiang City repeatedly, yet your incompetence has produced no clues whatsoever. Team Leader Zhao has been forced to take drastic measures.”
“Everything is worth it if it helps us find Rain.”
Xu Changjiang gritted his teeth.
“Isn’t Zhao Xueru afraid she’ll attract a truly terrifying anomaly that she can’t handle?”
He understood the situation inside Mingjiang No. 7 Special School all too well.
Even setting Rain aside, there were the four anomalies under Li Que’s control.
If Zhao Xueru’s actions caused them to grow restless, the resulting catastrophe would be unimaginable.
“You don’t need to concern yourself with any of that, Director Xu,” Chen Jun replied coolly.
“This is a mandatory leave notice. You’ve been working too hard, Director Xu. You should step away from the Anomaly Suppression Bureau and recuperate for a while. I’ll handle bureau affairs in your absence.”
He produced an official document and handed it to Xu Changjiang.
Xu Changjiang clenched both fists as his expression shifted repeatedly.
Zhao Xueru had stripped him of his authority.
“Very well. Very well!”
Xu Changjiang’s eyes reddened. “Tell Zhao Xueru this for me: she will regret it!”
With that, he left the office.
But Chen Jun merely sneered.
Xu Changjiang and Leng Qingyan had been suspicious from the start. The harder they resisted, the more it proved their team leader was right.
…
Soon afterward, Principal Zhu Jiayan received notice of the event at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.
“The authorities want to hold a Ghost Festival cultural event at our school?”
Delighted, he hurried to find Leng Qingyan and Li Que.
“Teacher Li, Dean Leng, it’s all thanks to you!”
He beamed. “After all these years, our school finally has a chance to enter the spotlight!”
Attention from the authorities meant opportunity.
Leng Qingyan, however, frowned. She immediately sensed something unusual behind the arrangement.
The Ghost Festival…
“That doesn’t sound bad,” Li Que said with a smile. “A lively event could be fun, and it would give the students a chance to relax.”
Leng Qingyan looked at him in surprise. Li Que thought this was a good thing?
She had been worried and confused, but now she relaxed completely.
If Li Que said everything was fine, then everything would definitely be fine.
“All right. We’ll cooperate with them.”
Zhu Jiayan hurried off to arrange the work with the others.
The moment he left the office, his phone rang. It was his friend, Old Qin.
Zhu Jiayan hesitated. Last time, he’d promised to arrange for Old Qin’s daughter to take Li Que’s position, only for the plan to fall through.
After a moment’s thought, he answered.
“Old Zhu, I heard your school is holding an event. My son, Yuandong, and his girlfriend want to attend. Is that all right?”
Zhu Jiayan was surprised. This was what he’d called about?
“What’s so interesting about a school event?”
Old Qin replied, “My son says the Anomaly Suppression Bureau might be involved behind the scenes. His interview is coming up, and he wants to use the opportunity to make himself known!”
Zhu Jiayan was taken aback. The Anomaly Suppression Bureau was involved in this cultural event?
He froze. Could there be an anomaly inside his school?
The thought made him uneasy.
But after considering it briefly, he shook his head and refused.
“Old Qin, forget it. This event isn’t open to outsiders.”
With that, he hung up.
It wasn’t that he didn’t value their friendship. He simply didn’t want to offend Li Que again.
The last time he’d tried to help Old Qin, he’d nearly made a mortal enemy of Li Que.
Now that the misunderstanding had finally been resolved, what would happen if Li Que learned Zhu Jiayan was still entangled with these people? One unhappy word from him, and Zhu Jiayan might lose his position as principal.
When navigating the world, a man had to know which dock was bigger. Zhu Jiayan could tell the difference.
After the call, he returned to arranging the event.
Elsewhere, Li Que was writing a lesson plan when his phone suddenly rang.
He picked it up and saw two characters on the screen: Xiaomeng.
Li Que stared blankly for a moment. It took him a long time to remember.
Wasn’t she the original body’s first love?
Gu Xiaomeng.
By the time Li Que transmigrated into this body, its original owner had already broken up with her, so he’d never had any contact with her himself.
After some thought, he answered.
“Hello? Li Que?”
“It’s me, Xiaomeng.”
Li Que remained silent. What if she’d called to borrow money?
“Well… I heard your school is holding a Ghost Festival cultural event. My boyfriend wants to attend.”
Gu Xiaomeng explained, “I heard people from other government departments will be there. My boyfriend has an interview coming up, so he wants to introduce himself in advance. Could you let us in?”
Li Que was surprised. This was what she’d called about?
“When we broke up, didn’t you say I could come to you if I ever ran into trouble? Li Que, this is really important to me!”
“Please help me just this once, all right?”
Gu Xiaomeng sounded anxious.
Li Que’s expression grew complicated. The original owner really had said something like that. What an incurable simp.
“Forget it. I’ll settle this last bit of baggage for him.”
Li Que shook his head. “Fine. I’ll bring you into the school when you arrive.”
He hung up, dismissed the trivial matter from his mind, and went back to his lesson plan.
…
At that moment, inside a villa…
“Yuandong, it’s done!”
A pretty woman lowered her phone and smiled.
“I told you Li Que would never refuse me.”
“Now we can enter Mingjiang No. 7 Special School without arousing suspicion. Once we’re inside, we’ll have a chance to take back the Vengeful Infant of the Blood Coffin…”
A young man beside her smiled.
“Don’t worry. This time, I’ll not only retrieve the Vengeful Infant, but use the opportunity to infiltrate the Anomaly Suppression Bureau and earn their trust!”
He was Qin Yuandong.
Behind him, an elderly man in white offered a quiet warning.
“Mingjiang No. 7 Special School will be crowded this time. Even with the Wraith-Mother of the Vengeful Infant helping you, you must be careful!”
This was Zhu Jiayan’s old friend, Qin Zhenye.
Beside him stood the pale corpse of a woman with her eyes closed. She was utterly motionless, and wisps of bloodred mist seemed to drift from her body.
The Wraith-Mother of the Vengeful Infant!
“Once the Wraith-Mother and the infant are reunited, we’ll be able to pinpoint Rain’s location,” Qin Zhenye said coldly. “The Wraith-Mother was originally an A-class anomaly. We went to enormous lengths to dig her out of that place, only for Zhao Xueru to steal the infant…”
Their objective was also Rain.
Rain’s exact location was nearly impossible to determine, which was why they had sought out the Wraith-Mother.
“Come to think of it, something strange happened last time. I tried to arrange for your younger sister to work at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School so she could use those disabled children to cultivate anomalies, but Zhu Jiayan later refused.”
Qin Zhenye’s voice turned cold. “We’ll deal with Zhu Jiayan while we’re there. If he won’t serve me, there’s no reason to let him keep living.”
…