# 44
**Chapter 44: The Arrival of Mystery**
“Ding-dong—welcome!”
Lin Qiye pushed open the agency’s door and saw Hongying sitting ramrod-straight on the sofa, lost in thought. He waved.
“Morning, Sister Hongying.”
“Qiye! You’re finally here!” Hongying shot up from the sofa the instant she spotted him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Something’s happened.” Hongying’s voice was grave. She grabbed his wrist and strode toward the basement.
It was the first time Lin Qiye had seen Hongying so serious; his brows pinched. “A mystery… has descended?”
“Mm, and it’s nasty.”
They shoved open the activity-room door. Only now did Lin Qiye realize the entire 136 squad was already present.
Chen Muye, leaning against a pillar, walked to the conference table and sat, face still devoid of expression.
“Everyone’s here. Let’s begin.”
After they took their seats, Chen Muye rapped the table with his knuckles.
“Last night we received word: another suspected mythological creature has appeared.
Location—Cangnan City No. 2 Middle School.”
“No. 2?!” Lin Qiye blinked.
“Yes, the very school you attended.” Chen Muye nodded. “And the one who reported it seems to be an old acquaintance of yours.”
He called toward the back room, “Kid, awake yet? If so, get out here!”
All eyes turned. The door creaked open and a blood-shot-eyed teenager stepped out.
Lin Qiye exclaimed, “Li Yifei?!”
Li Yifei froze, rubbed his eyes at the sight of Lin Qiye at the table, and made sure it was really him.
“Lin Qiye? What are you doing here? Did you see the monster too?”
“No, he’s one of us,” Wu Xiangnan said.
“Probationary member,” Chen Muye corrected.
Li Yifei’s jaw dropped. “Damn! They said you joined the army—turns out you signed up here!”
Lin Qiye shrugged. “Long story.”
“Catch up later,” Chen Muye cut in. “Case first.” He added, “Normally, anything possibly linked to mystery is reported to the police first, then passed to us. But after the Ghost-Face case, this kid knows us and signed an NDA, so he rang us direct—exception, not the rule.”
Everyone nodded; Lin Qiye knew the explanation was mainly for his benefit.
“Talk.”
“Right.” Li Yifei swallowed. “Last night I went back for my homework and saw…”
He recounted everything. The further he got, the tighter the squad’s frowns became.
When he finished, Wu Xiangnan said, “If it’s all true, we’re ninety-five percent certain it involves a mystery.” He turned to Li Yifei. “You know the penalty for filing a false report?”
“I know, I know—every word’s true!”
“Good.” Chen Muye looked to Wu Xiangnan. “Your take?”
“From what we have, this creature can perfectly impersonate others—talk, act, no tells.”
Wen Qimo sighed. “Shapeshifter… always a pain.”
“Worse,” Wu Xiangnan continued, “it seems able to assimilate anything it swallows. That’s the real danger.”
“Like movie zombies? Infinity infection?” Hongying asked.
“Different method, similar result.”
“So we charge in and chop Liu Xiaoyan?” Hongying’s eyes lit up.
“Not that simple.” Lin Qiye spoke up. “If it can infect others, Liu Xiaoyan might not be the original—she could be a victim too.”
“Exactly,” Wu Xiangnan said. “The hard part: we don’t know where the infection chain began. Killing puppets without finding the puppet-master is useless.”
“And we don’t know how long it’s been active or how many it’s turned,” Wen Qimo added. “Liu Xiaoyan could be the first, the tenth, or—worst case—”
“Worst case?” Hongying echoed.
Wu Xiangnan’s voice dropped. “The whole school’s already a nest. Maybe even parts of Cangnan City.”
Li Yifei shuddered. “W-what do you mean?”
Wu Xiangnan stood, eyes locked on him.
“Have you considered… everyone in that school—teachers, classmates—might already be monsters?
Or even… you yourself… could have become part of the mystery without knowing?”
Li Yifei’s pupils shrank; an icy spike shot from his soles to his skull.
“Enough, Xiangnan, stop scaring him.” Wen Qimo laughed. “If it were that bad, the Calamity Crow would’ve screamed. Since it’s silent, we’re not there yet.”
“Calamity Crow?” Lin Qiye asked Hongying.
“A crow, also a forbidden artifact with its own Forbidden Ruins,” she explained. “When a major disaster looms over Cangnan City, it caws in warning—early-warning device.”
“Got it.”
“Bottom line,” Chen Muye said, “we investigate fully. Let this thing grow and Xiangnan’s nightmare becomes real. Plan?”
Wu Xiangnan adjusted his glasses. “We need the creature’s true body and a head-count of the infected. Two-pronged approach:
Team A canvasses outward from No. 2 High for other victims.
Team B infiltrates the school, traces the source.”
Chen Muye scanned the room.
“Infiltration must blend in—high-school cover.
Hongying, Xiaonan, and… Qiye—
you three will enroll, find the original.”