Chapter 138 - 131: The Vanished Corpse

Chapter 138: Chapter 131: The Vanished Corpse

"There are survivors?"

"This... How is that possible!"

Gao Zhengting’s eyes narrowed.

Caught in a Mist Event like this, even he, fully armed, wasn’t confident he’d make it out alive. How could someone else have survived this Mist Event?

And there was more than one!

It wasn’t just him; the others also wore looks of utter disbelief.

But in the next moment.

"Xie Shaokun!"

"It’s you!"

"What are you doing in Shunyang City?"

Gao Zhengting recognized the leader at a glance, his eyes widening in utter surprise.

If it was Xie Shaokun and his group, then it made sense they could have survived this Mist Event!

However, the thought that Xie Shaokun was the reason for his demotion stirred a complex mix of emotions within him.

"You know me?"

Xie Shaokun raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Since you know me, this will be much simpler. Saves me the trouble of contacting Zhao Guohui. Let us go."

He was certainly a well-known figure within the Special Event Investigation Bureau, so being recognized wasn’t surprising.

Hearing this, Gao Zhengting fell silent.

"Who is this guy?"

Gao Weiguo frowned and asked in a low voice, "Zhengting, is he from your Bureau?"

"No."

Gao Zhengting denied it.

Gao Weiguo was old and shrewd. Based on the information he had and the current situation, he instantly guessed the truth. "Is he the one who got you demoted?"

Gao Zhengting neither confirmed nor denied it.

Gao Weiguo understood. His gaze swept over Xie Shaokun’s group as he asked, "Zhengting, do you think the mastermind who rescued Xie Shaokun and Little Nannan back then is here among them?"

!!!

Gao Zhengting’s pupils contracted. He carefully scrutinized the third person, the one who wasn’t Xie Shaokun or Little Nannan.

Tall and skinny.

Quite handsome.

Slightly effeminate.

’Is this man the mastermind?’

"It’s possible!"

He understood what Gao Weiguo was implying, and his heart instantly began to race.

"Want to make another gamble?"

Gao Weiguo’s voice was like a siren’s song, luring Gao Zhengting in.

’Should I take the gamble or not?’

’If I capture the mastermind, the nation won’t be so passive anymore. It would be a great service to the country.’

’Although this action would face fierce opposition and retaliation from Zhao Guohui and a number of high-level officials, a large faction of the leadership would still support me. I’d be guaranteed a major promotion.’

’To put it bluntly, capturing the mastermind would be a merit that far outweighs any demerit.’

’But if I fail, no one will protect me. I’ll be charged with insubordination and sabotaging a national plan—my crime would be even greater!’

Seeing the situation, Little Nannan reminded him, "Brother Kun, we should get ready for Plan B."

Xie Shaokun cursed under his breath, "Trying to get anything done in peacetime is such a pain in the ass. Next time... I’m going to do whatever it takes to convince Yu not to leave the area under Zhao Guohui’s jurisdiction."

But despite their complaints, neither of them made any sudden moves.

They waited quietly!

For a moment, silence descended on the area.

Suddenly, "RING RING RING."

A cell phone rang, shattering the silence.

Gao Zhengting picked up his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and hesitated, not pressing the answer button.

"The mastermind is not among this group."

"I guarantee it!"

A message from Zhao Guohui followed, along with a multimedia message—a photo of Xie Shaokun’s group as they stood there now.

’Zhao Guohui has people here!’

Gao Zhengting’s brow furrowed instantly. He glanced around before handing the phone to Gao Weiguo.

"I don’t know if we can trust Zhao Guohui’s words, but..."

Gao Weiguo said, "If you delay any longer, you won’t even have the chance to make this gamble."

Gao Zhengting gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tightly.

"Since when did you become so indecisive?"

Gao Weiguo shot back.

Just as Gao Zhengting was about to say something...

"WHIRRRR."

Several helicopters flew in.

The man who had arrived was none other than Ning Guoqiang!

The leader of Team Two of the Special Event Investigation Bureau!

Seeing this, Gao Zhengting knew that because of his hesitation, the choice was no longer his to make. Yet for some reason, he felt a sense of relief wash over him.

Without waiting for Ning Guoqiang to speak, he gave the order without hesitation: "Clear a path!"

Seeing this, Xie Shaokun breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Let’s go."

He didn’t want to linger, so he started Yu’s car directly.

Little Flower took out another key, pressed a button, and a nearby car beeped as its side mirrors unfolded. It was also an SUV, but its owner had long since turned into a Mutant and been killed.

"Hm?"

To Gao Zhengting’s surprise, the two vehicles didn’t drive directly toward the gap they had cleared. Instead...

"VROOOM."

"VROOOM."

The two vehicles turned around and drove into the zoo area.

They rolled over corpse after corpse.

Finally, they stopped one after the other on a main road.

"What are they trying to do?"

Gao Zhengting’s brows knitted together. He then saw Xie Shaokun, Little Nannan, and Little Flower get out of the cars. They proceeded to load a bulging backpack, a spiked turtle shell, the corpse of a goat, and the corpse of a squirrel from the roadside into their vehicles.

That wasn’t all.

Xie Shaokun picked up a woman, while Little Flower picked up a man with a snake tattooed on his neck.

’Could one of these two be the mastermind?’

Gao Zhengting stared wide-eyed, even raising a pair of binoculars. Unfortunately, both individuals were wearing face masks and baseball caps, looking quite mysterious, making it impossible to identify them.

After getting back in the cars.

"VROOOM."

"VROOOM."

This time, Xie Shaokun and his group didn’t pull any more stunts and drove straight away from the scene.

What no one noticed was that the ’corpse’ that had been under Xie Shaokun’s car had mysteriously vanished. Everyone’s attention was focused on Xie Shaokun and his group.

Until the cars had completely disappeared from sight.

"I remember now!"

Gao Weiguo suddenly spoke up, his voice several pitches higher.

"What did you remember?"

Gao Zhengting’s mouth twitched as he asked.

’They’re already gone. Whatever you’ve remembered, it’s too late now!’

"Hong She!"

"I know him!"

"He’s a supervisor at our collections company."

Thinking of the man who had just been carried by Little Flower, Gao Weiguo grew even more certain of his judgment. He shouted to the person behind him, "Go, run a check on Hong She, immediately!"

He had a particularly strong impression of Hong She for two reasons:

First, few people tattoo a snake on their neck.

Second, the man’s ability was outstanding. He had successfully collected on many bad and old debts. There was even one case where he collected a debt owed by a client’s enemy!

Sure enough, when Hong She’s file appeared before him, Gao Weiguo was completely convinced of his judgment. He handed it to Gao Zhengting and said, "The man who was just carried into the car—that’s him!"

"Hong She!"

Gao Zhengting’s gaze hardened. He immediately said, "Since he’s one of your men, then... should I have my people intercept him?"

"No."

But Gao Weiguo stopped him. "This man has an elderly mother. As long as we control her, we won’t have to worry about controlling Hong She."

"For now, we can’t risk tipping them off."

"Besides..."

He pointed upward, his meaning obvious.