Chapter 1923: Everyone Has a Crime
The old buildings and the technologically advanced electronic screens formed a stark contrast. Lights of various colors filled the space, but the insufficient brightness made the area look murky and dirty, also filling the streets with a sense of fragmentation between the old and the new.
Xu Huo avoided the gazes cast from the dark corners and looked up at the left side of the street. Because the buildings blocked his view, he couldn't see the structures in the East District, but a huge red light illuminated half the sky, indicating its massive scale—this should also be the light he had seen in the alley earlier.
The sky above the street was filled with flying aircraft. Without lingering, he quickly walked toward the Supervision Department. However, as soon as he turned a corner, he felt several people following him. But when they saw he was heading for the Supervision Department, the followers stopped one after another. Instead, the people idling on both sides of the street looked at him with contempt, and some even openly spat. Yet when he looked back at them, they averted their eyes with fear and caution.
This wasn't hard to understand. From the Instance background, it was clear that the Supervision Department was essentially the armed force used by the East District to suppress and monitor the West District. The people from the East District went without saying, but the West District personnel recruited into the Supervision Department would likely be despised by the locals. Of course, the reasons might not be limited to them working for the East District. For example, the three people he had just encountered, with their practiced demeanor, showed that they usually bullied others without restraint. Conflicts were normal.
However, reaching a point where they were short-staffed due to attacks meant either something had recently happened to intensify the conflicts, or the West District itself was already in a state of chaotic disorder. The contradictions between different forces had become the best way to mask the lagging economy, collapsed society, and high-stress life.
The Supervision Department branch was a standalone building, standing out like a crane among chickens in the messy neighborhood. Xu Huo took out a transparent ID card the size of half a playing card. The thin carrier not only contained his identity information but also recorded his biometric features for inspection.
A miniature holographic projection from inside the card appeared in front of the scanning terminal. A second later, the words "Entry Allowed" appeared. The door opened, and Xu Huo walked in.
The hall was empty. The surveillance at the duty station was on, but the water cup had long gone cold. In the corner was a box labeled "Medicated Smoke" containing inhalants, with only a few broken ones left scattered inside.
There was movement in the room next door. Xu Huo walked along the corridor, opening the doors one by one. When he opened the third one, he found the people. Four men in the same black uniforms surrounded an interrogation table. Some had unbuttoned their shirts, others had taken off their pants. The man standing directly in front of the table stopped and turned around. Probably thinking it was a colleague, he grinned and waved Xu Huo over.
Lying naked on the table was a gaunt woman. There were tears on her face, but she didn't move or scream. When she heard the commotion at the door, she didn't even turn to look. Her expression was numb as she stared at the ceiling.
"I'm here to report for duty," Xu Huo said, not waiting for them to ask his identity this time, and showed his ID.
"A newbie," the man who had waved him over said without any embarrassment. He passed the task of receiving him to a young man. The young man, looking relieved, walked out and hesitated under Xu Huo's gaze before pulling the door.
Xu Huo blocked the door panel and said to the three who hadn't stopped yet, "When I came in, I saw a few people sneaking around nearby. I don't know if they're planning something..."
"Can't you see we're busy? Get lost, get lost!" The man who had spoken earlier waved his hand. But the next second, continuous gunfire came from outside, followed by an alarm. An aircraft plummeted from high altitude, crashing violently into the Supervision Department building and exploding!
This commotion made the three men in the room unable to ignore it any longer. They quickly pulled up their pants, grabbed their guns, and ran out. One went to close the metal defense door outside the automatic door, while the other two crouched by the main entrance to observe the situation outside, simultaneously contacting other colleagues for backup.
This kind of thing probably happened often. These people handled it skillfully, but none of them intended to go outside and check.
Just as the tension peaked, the young man who had come out first ran back into the room, hastily stuffed the woman's clothes into her hands, and urged her to leave quickly.
"Where can she go?" Xu Huo asked, hiding by the wall.
"The window in the utility room can be opened," the young man said, dragging the woman down the corridor. After sending her out through the window, he came back, wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead, and lowered his voice to Xu Huo, "Don't tell anyone. She escaped on her own in the chaos."
Xu Huo nodded, then looked outside with a worried and tense expression, "Will anyone break in?"
"Usually not," the young man said. "Even if someone wants to attack the Supervision Department, they only dare to smash aircraft outside. If they show their faces inside the Supervision Department building, they'll eventually be locked onto by the aircraft and won't be able to survive in the West District."
He paused and glanced at Xu Huo, "It's your first day today. You just arrived. Do you have a place to stay?"
"Not yet," Xu Huo said, feeling the wallet in his pocket. "I planned to find a place after reporting in."
"You can't live around here," the young man said, seeming to notice Xu Huo's financial constraints. "People here don't like supervisors. Living here is too risky. It's best to rent a place near the Shadow Wall close to the East District. The rent is higher there, but it's much safer. Ordinary people don't go there to cause trouble."
Xu Huo pretended to hesitate, "I'll think about it."
By this time, most of the scattered supervisors had returned. The bald-headed trio brought back the destroyed aircraft. From the surveillance transmitted by other aircraft, it was clear that the crashed aircraft had been hit by a stone flying out of an alley, losing balance and rapidly falling after a series of air shots.
Although the other aircraft had cooperated with the investigation as quickly as possible, no trace was found. There were quite a few onlookers nearby, and some supervisors even grabbed a few and brought them back.
"They're right nearby. Even if they're not accomplices, they're witnesses. A good interrogation might yield clues."
The bald man glared fiercely at the five ordinary people they had brought back.
"It's none of our business! We don't know anything!" The group shouted as they were locked into a room near the corridor. Soon, sounds of beating and pleas for mercy came from inside.
Xu Huo and the young man stood outside listening, both looking grim.
The tall man lit a medicated cigarette, glanced at them with a smirk, "Lin Guang, you've been here this long and you're still not used to it? There's hardly anyone in the West District who obeys the law. Theft, robbery, rape—everyone has a case on their back. Why else do you think there are new corpses every day in the West District? Don't pity them. Pitying them is just harming yourself."