I Return From Hell

Chapter 18: Chapter 16: Suspect, Xia Yu

The night was deep, and a heavy snow fell from the sky, blanketing the streets in a thick layer.

A few busy figures darted through the city’s corners, while the roadside breakfast shops were brightly lit.

When Xia Yu returned home, it was already four in the morning.

CREAK.

She pushed the door open and entered, returning to her room as stealthily as possible so as not to wake her brother.

Then she lay down on her bed and fell into a deep sleep.

It was as if what had just happened had nothing to do with her at all.

6:30 in the morning.

Xia Tian got out of bed. He put on some millet porridge to cook while he washed up.

Stirred by the noise, Xia Yu awoke, showing no signs of fatigue.

Recovering one’s energy in the shortest time possible was a mandatory course in the Apocalypse.

In that regard, she had always been an excellent student.

Normally, she would sleep in and rush to her part-time job just in time. To avoid arousing Xia Tian’s suspicion, Xia Yu opted to exercise in her room while planning her next moves.

Going to work was out of the question; she had quit the day after she was reborn.

Although she was short on cash, she had managed to save up over thirty thousand yuan with her own two hands. It was enough for her current expenses. As for the future...

’Once I control a rich man, will I still have to worry about money?’

For now, the most important thing was to find someone to use the Servant Spirit Species on as soon as possible.

”Zheng Chao, a local tycoon and one of only two Spiritual Ability Users in the city. His superpower: Fire Shadow, allowing him to use intense flames to create countless fire Clones. His physical aptitude is at the middle tier. In the future, he will serve as the logistics director at No. 9 Shelter.”

”Wang Quanzhi, a second-generation rich kid in the city, a Spiritual Transformer. His physical aptitude is at the Upper Level. In the future, he will serve as Zhao Guohui’s deputy at No. 9 Shelter.”

Information about these two men surfaced in her mind.

They were the most suitable candidates.

Aside from them, the other powerful figures she remembered in this city either had no money, were affiliated with the state and couldn’t be easily controlled, or had terrible physical aptitude. In short, none of them were good choices.

’The next Mist Event is in four days. In the meantime, I’ll prepare some explosives and look for an opportunity to approach these two.’

Xia Yu quickly made her decision.

Even though she didn’t get a Crystal Core this time, she still had to make the explosives. And she couldn’t keep them at home—if the place was ever searched, she’d be exposed.

Soon, Xia Tian finished eating, cleaned up, and got ready to leave.

His steps paused. He noticed faint water stains around a pair of shoes on the shoe rack, and his brow furrowed slightly.

’Those are my sister’s shoes.’

’The water stains are pretty new.’

’Did she go out in the middle of the night?’

Xia Tian paused for a moment, then acted as if he knew nothing, opened the door, and left.

The moment he left, Xia Yu stopped exercising, got up to wash and eat, and casually browsed the news.

As expected, last night’s incident was being reported as a common fire. Because quite a few people had died, it was getting a lot of attention.

Her finger swiped across the screen.

Xia Yu began to look up information on Zheng Chao and Wang Quanzhi.

...

...

「At the scene of the second Mist Event.」

The fire had been extinguished.

Thanks to the timely response of the rescue teams, the fire hadn’t caused more extensive damage.

The area was surrounded by people. As bodies were carried out one by one, the heart-wrenching cries of Chu Quan’s and the other victims’ parents filled the air. Some even fainted on the spot.

”Sigh.”

”Another Mist Event!”

”This is the second time it’s happened. Twenty people are dead, and we don’t have a single useful clue.”

The discussions of the task force members reached his ears.

Zhao Guohui’s brow furrowed slightly as he fell deep in thought.

First, this was only the second Mist Event in this city. Ever since the bus incident, Mist Events had been occurring one after another all over the world.

Only the higher-ups knew the specifics of the situation. It was said they were still gathering information from all sides and had urgently formed a special incident investigation team, which would soon send people here.

Furthermore, the autopsy results from the bus incident were highly unusual. The preliminary conclusion was...

The vast majority of the bodies were not human!

Subsequently, the medical examiner was ordered not to spread this information, and even those who had been informed were warned to keep silent, which only highlighted the unusual nature of the case.

’The Mist Events are most likely not man-made.’

’Could they be a natural phenomenon?’

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Guohui’s gaze fell once more upon the bodies before him. Known clues:

Traces of explosives were found inside the villa; one non-human body was blown up.

All the bodies had their skulls smashed. The method was very familiar.

The murder weapon was suspected to be a baseball bat, which had disappeared.

’Is it possible that the same human was involved in both Mist Events, and that this person survived?’

He knew the possibility was minuscule.

But once the thought appeared, it became deeply rooted in his mind, impossible to shake off.

「One day later.」

Members of the special incident investigation team, Chen Xiao and Qian Yihao, arrived. Higher-ups ordered that the task force would remain under Zhao Guohui’s leadership, but he was required to fully cooperate with Chen Xiao and Qian Yihao’s operations.

「Conference room.」

The three of them sat together.

”Someone participated in two consecutive Mist Events and even had the presence of mind to clean up any clues they left behind?”

”Mr. Zhao, give up on your unrealistic ideas.”

After listening to Zhao Guohui’s report and speculation, Qian Yihao stated forcefully, ”I can tell you with certainty that the Mist Events are supernatural. The bodies of non-terrestrial creatures have already been discovered.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guohui’s sharp eyes narrowed.

This information had been strictly sealed before. Hearing it now, he was deeply shocked.

”Extraterrestrial creatures?”

He asked subconsciously.

”We don’t know.”

Qian Yihao shook his head. ”It’s still under investigation. However, there have been a total of eight Mist Events so far, involving 135 people. Only three people have survived a Mist Event, and that was only because one of them awakened a superpower. Furthermore, all three of them experienced varying degrees of improvement in their physical fitness.”

Beside them, Chen Xiao’s elegant brows furrowed slightly, but she didn’t stop Qian Yihao. This information really did need to be shared with Zhao Guohui to facilitate future cooperation.

”Someone survived?”

Zhao Guohui struggled to digest the news he had just received. ”Then why is my theory impossible?” he asked.

”You...”

Qian Yihao was about to say more, but Chen Xiao cut him off with a wave of her hand and took the initiative. ”Mr. Zhao, if your theory is correct, it would indeed be a major breakthrough for us.”

”But the probability of such a theory being true is minuscule. If you want to investigate it, you can!”

”However, you cannot use the task force’s resources or personnel. I predict there will be a third, and even a fourth, Mist Event. I hope we can be the first to discover it, as this will help the nation’s research into the Mist Events. And there are too many places in the city without surveillance, so we need people to patrol those areas constantly.”

Zhao Guohui nodded.

With limited manpower, they had to focus on the main tasks. He could understand that.

”Very good.”

Chen Xiao was very satisfied with a teammate like Zhao Guohui.

He had his own ideas but could follow orders without complaint, and his investigative skills were strong.

Just then, a flash of inspiration struck Zhao Guohui. He recalled the information Qian Yihao had just mentioned: people who survived a Mist Event experienced varying degrees of improvement in their physical fitness.

If this was universally true, then...

’Wouldn’t the survivor’s area of activity be larger after the bus incident?’

Several figures he had previously all but cleared of suspicion now resurfaced in his mind. One of them was none other than Xia Yu!