“The country has always cracked down severely on such transactions, and the Investigation Bureau keeps an eye on the movements of the Deceit Net on a daily basis,” Zhou Haizhi said with a sigh.
Compared to other countries, Xia Country arguably had the strictest crackdown on Deceit Net transactions.
Yet even so, the Deceit Net still managed to infiltrate.
“The Bureau noticed suspected traces of Deceit Net transactions over at New Moon Port.
We’re going to scout the way first and see what’s going on.”
“Understood.”
Forty minutes later, the two arrived at New Moon Port.
Zhou Haizhi wasn’t wrong.
His electric scooter might look a bit old, but it was certainly fast; they had arrived at their destination twenty minutes early.
The port was desolate.
Weeds grew from the cracks in the ground, the shipping containers were empty, and various large-scale equipment sat idle, already rusted out.
Zhou Haizhi rode his electric scooter in and instructed Bian Ying, “Turn on your bracelet and start scanning.
Remember to record the areas you’ve checked.” Bian Ying complied with each instruction.
New Moon Port was close to the Lower District.
A faint mist permeated the air.
Bian Ying couldn’t feel it, but she knew this was the Deceit concentration.
The bracelet emitted a green light; the Deceit concentration here was at a safe level.
Zhou Haizhi spent twenty minutes taking Bian Ying on a lap around the area, but there was no sign of the Deceit concentration spiking.
“That shouldn’t be,” Zhou Haizhi muttered.
“If a Deceitful Device was really traded here, the Deceit concentration couldn’t possibly be this stable.”
Bian Ying looked toward the abandoned building behind the port.
It looked like a factory, or perhaps an office building.
“Mr.
Zhou, should we go take a look over there?”
Zhou Haizhi followed her gaze and slapped his forehead.
“How could I forget about that place?
Let’s go, let’s go.”
The electric scooter stopped at the base of the building.
The two got off and walked inside.
Even though it was still daytime, the interior of the building was filled with a murky gloom.
The surroundings were covered in thick dust and dense cobwebs.
“COUGH.” A gust of wind blew in through the broken windows, kicking up dust from the floor.
Bian Ying was caught off guard and choked on it.
“Bian Ying, come here quickly.” Zhou Haizhi stood at the stairwell, waving at her with a serious expression.
The elevators had long been out of service, so they could only take the stairs.
Bian Ying walked over and noticed that the Deceit concentration scanner on her wrist, which hadn’t changed much before, was now deepening in color, gradually turning a pale orange.
“Upstairs?”
“Let’s go take a look.” Zhou Haizhi lowered his voice and nodded.
Bian Ying followed him upstairs.
People who traded on the Deceit Net, while not necessarily heinous, were by no means good-natured.
They were afraid that those people might still be lying in ambush in the dark.
The sea breeze occasionally blew in through the broken windows, sending shivers down their spines.
The surroundings were so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Eventually, they detected the highest Deceit concentration in the furthest room on the third floor.
The color of the bracelet on her wrist had already turned orange.
Zhou Haizhi looked grave.
“The residual aura of a Deceitful Device alone can reach the concentration of a low-risk Deceit.
It seems this Deceitful Device is quite significant.”
“BANG!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he kicked the door open without warning.
As dust billowed up, Bian Ying decisively ducked her head and hid behind Mr.
Zhou.
“COUGH, COUGH, COUGH…” Zhou Haizhi had wanted to make a grand entrance, but his facade crumbled in a second.
He bent over, coughing furiously.
Bian Ying patted his back, speechless, while her gaze fell inside the room.
As the dust settled, an empty box sat on the table.
The grayish-black box was left brazenly wide open in plain sight.
Its exterior was intricate and ornate, crafted with high-end precision.
“Damn, we found it!” Seeing the box, Zhou Haizhi immediately strode in.
Bian Ying felt that something was off, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was, so she had no choice but to follow him inside.
Zhou Haizhi asked Bian Ying to take photos for evidence while explaining the box’s function to her.
“See the devices around the box?
They’re all meant to isolate the Deceit concentration.
If the password to open the box is incorrect, these devices will trigger a destruction mode and activate the Deceitful Device inside.”
“Activate the Deceitful Device?”
“Yes.
Once a Deceitful Device is activated, it erupts with several times the normal Deceit concentration, polluting the surrounding people and environment.”
“We’re still a step too late.
The transaction is already over,” Zhou Haizhi said, shaking his head helplessly.
This port had been abandoned for too long, and the surveillance cameras had long since stopped working.
Trying to trace where the Deceitful Device went would be easier said than done.
“Never mind.
Let’s record it and submit it for now.
The higher-ups will naturally figure out a way.” Bian Ying obediently complied.
In a place they couldn’t see, on the murky ceiling, a previously close-eyed entity suddenly snapped its eyes open.
Bian Ying paused.
“…Mr.
Zhou, do you feel like this room is a bit too chilly?”
The windows were tightly shut, with only faint light filtering through.
At some point, the door had mostly closed, leaving only a small gap.
He inexplicably shuddered.
“Now that you mention it, it does feel a bit cold.”
As soon as he finished speaking, something light and weightless seemed to drop onto his head—feathery, yet carrying a cold, sinister aura.
Zhou Haizhi subconsciously touched his head.
He pulled a long strand of hair…
This was definitely not his hair!
He looked up trembling, and when he saw the creature crawling upside down on the ceiling staring straight at him, he was scared completely speechless.
“!!!”
Bian Ying also saw the creature.
It was a humanoid Deceit, over two meters tall, with long, thin, spindly limbs.
Its body was incredibly shriveled, basically skin and bones.
The gray skin clung tightly to the bumpy skeleton.
Long black hair spread across the entire ceiling, and on its ashen face, only a pair of eerie, terrifying scarlet eyes were visible.
The moment they noticed it, it decisively dropped down from the ceiling.
“HISS!”
“BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…” The Deceit concentration scanner on her wrist sounded an alarm, its color turning pale red—this was a medium-risk Deceit!
“Get out of the way!” Bian Ying shoved Zhou Haizhi aside, dodging the Deceit’s attack.
The hair covering the ceiling, however, seemed to grow eyes as it surged madly toward the two of them.
“Bian Ying, run first!”
“BANG!” Bian Ying decisively fired her gun and ran out toward the door.
“GRRAH…” The Energy Gun scorched the Deceit’s hair, burning a large hole in it.
The Deceit let out a miserable shriek and grew even angrier.
It climbed along the walls and floor like a gecko, moving incredibly fast.
In just a few bounds, it caught up to them.
“Mr.
Zhou, we can’t outrun it.” Bian Ying took a deep breath and ducked into a corner.
“Cover me.”
“Me?” Zhou Haizhi was stunned for a moment, but upon seeing the Energy Gun in her hand, he immediately nodded.
“Alright!”
The Deceit leapt down from the stairs, its hair clinging firmly to the walls on both sides, and lunged roaring at Zhou Haizhi.
Bian Ying hid behind him, intending to strike at the opportune moment, but she unexpectedly caught sight of something on the Deceit’s back.
A dark green, fleshy lump was forcibly embedded into its emaciated body.
“Bian Ying, don’t just stand there!!!” Zhou Haizhi’s terrified scream rang out.
Without time to think about what the thing was, Bian Ying instinctively fired at the Deceit.
“BANG!” The bullet struck the Deceit squarely in the head.
She fired two more shots in rapid succession, only stopping when she saw the Deceit collapse to the ground.