Chapter 97: Work Arrives
In the evening, Lin Yu led everyone to the hotel he had booked in advance. He had booked four double rooms in total, which perfectly accommodated the eight of them.
At first, Ao Tian wanted to share a room with Elder Sister Yang Xuanshuang or Fifth Sister Su Yuoluo, but considering what Third Sister had told him before, he ended up sharing a room with Third Sister Liu Lan.
“Everyone should be tired from climbing mountains all day today, so get some rest early. We have to go to a new scenic spot tomorrow,” Lin Yu instructed everyone.
He was the one who proposed this trip, and he was the most enthusiastic during the mountain climbing. It was clear that he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Ao Tian nodded and entered the room. It was the first time he had seen Second Brother so enthusiastic, which reminded him of the young Lin Yu who used to play wildly with him when he was little.
“Oh right, Third Sister, when are you planning to return to the war zone?” At this moment, Ao Tian suddenly remembered Third Sister’s matter and quickly asked Liu Lan, who was still packing her luggage.
“I’ll go after I finish packing. Just now, there was another message from above. This incident seems quite serious. The higher-ups are requiring everyone in the entire East China Region, except for those on missions and the remaining warriors and armored ones, to gather at the Eastern Theater Command within two days.”
Hearing Third Sister say that, Ao Tian’s expression also turned serious. This time, Nine Heavens had mobilized the entire East China Region, which was almost the entire combat strength of the Azure Dragon Legion, to Jinling. This could only mean that this incident had a serious impact on the civilians.
Moreover, it could be basically confirmed that the perpetrator of this incident had sophisticated means and possessed great strength. Previously, just the captain of the Horn Star Squad, which belonged to the Azure Dragon Legion, was already beyond his comprehension. This indicated that his level was at least Seventh-Tier. If a captain was already like this, the Legion Commander’s level could only be higher, very likely an Eighth-Tier Armored One.
Although an Eighth-Tier Armored One is not considered the strongest in the current world, they are still one in ten thousand. It is estimated that currently, none of the Four Great Protected Zones can gather two hands’ worth of Eighth-Tier Armored Ones, and some protected zones might not even have one.
“Alright, I have to leave quickly. You get some rest first.” After speaking, Liu Lan picked up her bag and turned towards the doorway.
“Okay, be careful on your way.”
……
After Liu Lan left, Ao Tian released Fuyun and fed it some food. I have to say, this little guy grows really fast. Before, when its wings weren’t spread, it was only as big as Ao Tian’s palm. Now, even without spreading its wings, it’s larger than Ao Tian’s face, and with its wingspan, it’s almost half the size of Ao Tian’s body.
After putting Fuyun back into the bracelet, Ao Tian lay on the bed and browsed his mobile phone. Out of curiosity, Ao Tian clicked on the “nearby” section of the short video software, wanting to see what videos from Jinling looked like.
Suddenly, a short video titled “Jinling Vampire” caught his eye.
“Huh?”
Influenced by his Uncle-Master, Ao Tian had always been interested in cryptids like water monsters and Bigfoot, so he clicked on it without hesitation.
As soon as he clicked, the phone’s screen suddenly went black, leaving only the words “Video does not exist or has been deleted” in the center of the screen.
Ao Tian didn’t pay much attention to it and thought it was probably just some marketing account writing nonsense to gain attention. He then continued to swipe down. During the swipe down, his finger accidentally clicked into a comment section.
Just as Ao Tian was about to close it and continue watching videos, a comment at the very top caught his attention. It clearly read, “Have you guys heard? It seems we have a vampire here recently. For several consecutive days, people have found corpses of young women and children. The cause of death appears to be excessive blood loss.”
“Ah? Is that true? Isn’t this kind of thing a bit too far-fetched?”
“Hey, you’re right, I’ve actually heard about it. Many children and young women have gone missing in the past few days. When they were found, their bodies were already drained of blood. If it’s not vampires or zombies, what else could it be? I heard that all of this has already been suppressed.”
“Uh, let’s wait and see what the official statement says later. If there’s such a thing and the authorities are suppressing the news, it’s definitely to prevent panic among the public. No matter what, it’s not good for you to say it here, is it?”
“Indeed, this brother is right. If the authorities haven’t released any information about this, it’s either because the news isn’t confirmed yet, or they don’t want us to know. If you were to be accused of spreading rumors and get arrested and sent to the police station, that wouldn’t be good.”
The reply ended here.
Combined with the deleted video from before, Ao Tian immediately took this matter seriously. When he clicked to see more and wanted to learn more information, that comment suddenly disappeared before his eyes, leaving only a fleeting message on the screen: “Sorry, some comments got lost.”
“Damn it!” Ao Tian was agitated by this sudden turn of events, but he was helpless in such matters. Dragon Country had very strict control over these things. As long as the authorities didn’t want the public to know, the public would definitely not know, directly solving the problem of public panic at the source.
“So ordinary people have already been victimized. No wonder Nine Heavens would make such a big fuss. This matter does need to be resolved quickly. Whoever is capable of doing something like this is likely only an exotic beast or an armored one.”
Generally speaking, a person’s or animal’s food intake is directly proportional to its body size, which leads to differences in food intake between individuals. To be able to continuously feed on several children and young women for several days, the killer naturally couldn’t be a being smaller than them. Even the largest blood-sucking animals among existing ordinary animals are far inferior in size to a child, let alone draining them and larger adult women to death.
“There aren’t many species that feed on blood, and those that can cause death by blood-sucking are even rarer. Many of these species are impossible to exist in areas like Jinling. Furthermore, even if exotic beasts crossed the border and came into the protected zone, their activities would definitely attract people’s attention. In this way, the possibility of exotic beasts can be basically ruled out.”
“Then there’s only one possibility left…” Ao Tian pondered, resting his chin on his hand, and looked out at the brightly lit Jinling. He always felt that this matter was related to the Garden of Eden. The Jinling City outside looked brightly lit and prosperous, but at this very moment, a bloody hunt was unfolding in some unknown corner.
It seems that he has some work to do again.
