Chapter 197 - 196: Han Xu

Chapter 197: Chapter 196: Han Xu

Several police officers surrounded the truck.

Before the officer in the truck bed could continue his search, Cao Hongyi, standing outside in the downpour, grew angry and yelled:

"What kind of work is this?! The weapon crates have the Inspection Branch’s seal on them! Our source is legitimate! If you don’t believe me, have your Captain Han call the Qingjiang Branch directly to confirm!"

Xu Yiming, in the passenger seat, took out his phone and said to the officers aiming their guns outside, "We’re really not suspicious people. I’m a Hunter, and this is a Hunter-issue phone. You should recognize it, right?"

The officers glanced at each other.

The officer Xu Yiming had spoken to replied in Mandarin tinged with a rural accent, "Never seen it."

"Huh?" Xu Yiming was stunned. "How have you never seen it? This model is used by all Inspectors and Hunters. Your Captain Han definitely uses one too."

Another officer said, "We were temporarily reassigned from the surrounding villages. The city is hunting an Alien Species, and they’re short on manpower."

Another officer asked Cao Hongyi with a suspicious gaze, "Are you reinforcements sent from above?"

Cao Hongyi didn’t answer directly. He glanced at Feng Ling before replying, "Our objective is the same as yours: to eliminate the Alien Species."

The atmosphere eased slightly.

Although the misunderstanding wasn’t completely resolved, they all lowered their guns a little.

Xu Yiming couldn’t stand it any longer. He said to the officer closest to him, "Hey, isn’t it about time you put the guns away? We’re all on the same side. What if one goes off by accident?"

The officer kept his gun raised, saying nervously, "S-Some Alien Species can change their appearance and disguise themselves as normal humans... You should just wait for Captain Han to get here."

These officers all looked very young, and their posture for holding their guns wasn’t standard. Because they were temporary reassignments, they didn’t dare make the decision to let them pass on their own.

Feng Ling called Cao Hongyi back into the truck to get out of the rain. She didn’t say anything, continuing to silently monitor Ye Zheng’s condition.

Fortunately, the drug hadn’t worn off yet. Despite all the shouting outside, Ye Zheng remained in a daze, showing no reaction.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, a jeep appeared, driving toward them through the curtain of rain.

A one-armed man in a raincoat got out of the vehicle. His right sleeve was empty.

The moment he got out, the others seemed to find their backbone and all looked over at him.

"Captain Han, they say they’re from Qingjiang City. The weapon crates have the seal of the Qingjiang Branch..."

The one-armed man walked silently to the front of the truck bed, scanned the situation inside, and finally fixed his gaze on Feng Ling’s face.

A moment later, he took out his phone and glanced at it, as if confirming something. He then asked, "Are you Feng Ling?"

Feng Ling blinked, a bit baffled. "I am."

The one-armed man took a few steps back, manipulating his phone with one hand to take a picture of the license plate at the rear of the truck.

As he operated his phone, he said, "It’s all clear. You can go. I’ll send the license plate number to the person in charge of every checkpoint. This truck will have unrestricted passage throughout Guangshan City from now on."

Feng Ling observed that the man’s palm was unusually large and his fingers were very long, which was why he could tap the screen so freely even while holding the phone with one hand.

After sending the photo, he turned and reprimanded his subordinates. "What the hell are you all doing? Didn’t your previous squad leader teach you anything? When you find suspects, you stay calm, secretly plant a tracker under the guise of a search, then let them go and report to your superiors. The Inspection Bureau is responsible for hunting Alien Species, so what are you worrying about? If you had actually run into an Alien Species, with you lot pointing your guns at it so recklessly, you wouldn’t even know how you died!"

The officers hung their heads, taking the dressing-down in the pouring rain.

Feng Ling asked him curiously, "Did Su Yuqing call you?"

The one-armed man paused, slightly stunned, and looked back at her. "Who is Su Yuqing?"

Cao Hongyi immediately chimed in, "Su Yuqing is the Inspector Captain of the Qingjiang Inspection Branch!"

"Oh..." The one-armed man gave a faint smile. "The name sounds vaguely familiar, but I don’t know him."

Feng Ling and Cao Hongyi exchanged a look, both feeling puzzled.

’If Su Yuqing didn’t give them a heads-up, why did he suddenly let us go?’

"Let’s start over," the one-armed man said, extending a hand to Feng Ling. "I’m the captain of the Guangshan City Inspection Bureau, Han Xu."

Feng Ling shook his hand.

His cheeks under the brim of his raincoat hood were slick with rain, giving off a damp, cold sheen. The man’s eyes also seemed to lack any warmth, appearing deep and ruthless.

’A captain with a completely different aura from Su Yuqing.’

Han Xu withdrew his hand and said to Feng Ling, "This directive was passed down along with the wanted notice: ’Feng Ling is a powerful weapon against the Alien Species. All Inspectors, upon discovering Feng Ling’s movements, are to provide convenience and support for all of her actions.’ I’m not sure of the specific details, but as long as the ultimate goal is to combat the Alien Species, I will cooperate fully."

In the front seat, Xu Yiming got excited. He craned his neck, leaning on the window frame and shouting, "Feng Ling! Last time, the people from headquarters called in Liang Jiaqin and the others for questioning and asked a ton of stuff about you! The higher-ups definitely want to cultivate you!"

Han Xu chuckled at that and looked at Feng Ling. "I still have a lot of work tonight. You should take down my number. Contact me if you need anything."

"Okay." Feng Ling took out her phone, saved Han Xu’s number, and added him as a contact.

A few officers walked to the front of the truck and removed the spike strip that was meant to prevent vehicles from forcing their way through the checkpoint.

Cao Hongyi returned to the driver’s seat and started the engine again.

Although they had been delayed for quite some time, Feng Ling had still managed to enter Guangshan City without any major trouble.

...

On this dark and rainy night, not a single person could be seen on the streets, and all the shops along the road were dark.

Occasionally, a patrol car with blinding red lights would drive by. It would slow down slightly as it passed the truck, then speed away after confirming the license plate number.

Cao Hongyi parked the truck by the side of the road, got out, and opened the door to the cargo bed. He said to Feng Ling, "Ms. Ling, there’s a pedestrian street up ahead, blocked by stone bollards. We’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot."

Feng Ling had Huangfu Miaomiao get the raincoats, then asked Li Qing, "Are you sure this is the place?"

Li Qing nodded. "According to the coordinates he sent, it should be inside the pedestrian street."

"Let’s go take a look, then." Feng Ling put on her raincoat, draped another one over the dazed Ye Zheng, and helped her out of the truck.

The rain was so heavy that even with a raincoat, it was impossible to keep the drops from pelting her face.

The water pooling on the road rose over the tops of her feet, soaking Feng Ling’s shoes and socks completely.

She told Cao Hongyi and Xu Yiming to wait in the truck, leaving the Cat Spider and Cat Owl there as well. She only took Ye Zheng, Li Qing, and Huangfu Miaomiao with her to meet the Maze Administrator.

After walking for over a hundred meters, Feng Ling asked Li Qing again, "Are you sure this is the place?"

"Let me check again..." Li Qing walked under the eaves of a shop, taking advantage of the shelter from the rain to reconfirm the coordinates.

"That’s right, this is it. He should be somewhere around here," Li Qing said with certainty.

Feng Ling scanned her surroundings but saw no signs of life.