A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

The third-floor office in the Dongcheng military restricted area.

The windows were tightly shut, but they still couldn't keep out the chill of the December weather outside; a layer of white fog condensed on the glass.

The room was filled with smoke; it could practically be used as a kiln for smoking cured meat.

Behind the desk stood a middle-aged man in a crisp military uniform, his epaulets adorned with stars.

Li Zhenguo's brows were so furrowed they could trap a fly, and his square face looked as bitter as if he had just swallowed three pounds of bitter herbs.

The cigarette he held between his fingers was never out of order. He smoked one after another, quickly and forcefully, until the ashtray was piled up like a small mountain.

"What kind of mess is this...?"

Li Zhenguo exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice hoarse, revealing a deep weariness and frustration.

"The people from Bureau 749... while transporting supplies, ended up getting themselves and the supplies locked up in the hospital?!"

He rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"Old Liu... Deputy Director Liu, didn't you explain things clearly to that little devil under you? That godforsaken place isn't a place where you can just barge in and not leave! Huh?!"

"Now look what's happened, he's inside and we haven't heard from him at all. It's almost the end of the year, how am I supposed to write the report?"

"Respected superiors, the last major safety incident in our district this year resulted in the collective sending of elite personnel from a neighboring organization to another dimension?!"

"I fucking..."

Li Zhenguo stubbed out his cigarette in the already overburdened ashtray, then reached for the cigarette pack with trembling hands, only to find it empty.

"grass!"

He cursed under his breath, angrily crumpled the empty cigarette box into a ball, and was about to call for the orderly.

"Whoa—!! I'm out—!!"

"Hahaha! Three years! Three years! Do you know how I've spent these past three years?!"

"Quick! Let me see the sun! The real sun! Not that damn grayish-white sun!"

"Mom! I want to eat your braised pork! I want to go home!"

Downstairs, the previously quiet restricted area suddenly erupted into chaos without warning!

The clamor, laughter, and eerie howls mingled together, like boiling water being poured into scalding oil, instantly shattering the deathly silence and discipline that should exist in a military restricted area.

The middle-aged man was so startled by the sudden commotion that his hand trembled, and the cigarette he had just lit almost singed his eyebrow.

"What the hell?!"

His face darkened, and a surge of anger welled up inside him.

Where is military discipline? Do they think this is a vegetable market or a temple fair?!

He flung open the window, leaned half his body out, his face stern, and opened his mouth to shout—

The sound got stuck in his throat.

His eyes were wide open, his mouth slightly agape, and the cigarette he had just lit and barely taken a couple of puffs slipped from between his trembling fingers and landed on his shiny leather shoes, burning a tiny black spot, which he was completely unaware of.

Near the light membrane downstairs, a grand carnival, a veritable chaotic dance of demons, was unfolding.

A large group of people in tattered uniforms were rushing out of the light membrane like madmen.

The way he was acting was exactly like Sun Wukong, who had been trapped under the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years, suddenly breaking free and tumbling and struggling to get out!

Some ran while yelling at the top of their lungs, their faces covered in tears and snot;

Some of them came out and immediately knelt on the ground, hugging the cold cement and kissing it desperately, making loud "smack smack" sounds.

Some even did more than a dozen somersaults on the spot, as if they wanted to loosen up all the muscles and bones that had been idle for three years.

Some people even looked up at the sky, spread their arms, and let out a long howl like a wolf...

Chaos, ecstasy, catharsis, and even a touch of neurosis.

The whole scene was filled with a surging passion of surviving a disaster and being overjoyed.

The middle-aged man stared at the scene before him, his mind going blank for a full three seconds.

This scene is both familiar and unfamiliar... The last time I saw it was during the pandemic, when a certain community was finally unsealed after being under lockdown for two months.

The next second, he shivered and suddenly came to his senses, his face turning deathly pale!

What the hell!

They rushed out of that godforsaken place... This huge, swarming group looks respectable, but who knows what kind of bastards might have infiltrated them!

Inner demons? Strange phenomena? Or some other weird thing?! He knew perfectly well why they wanted to build a military base here.

Almost instinctively, he tumbled back to his desk and slammed his hand hard on the bright red alarm button that he would never normally dare to touch!

"Waaaaah—waaaah—!!!"

The piercing air raid siren instantly resounded throughout the entire East City military restricted area, shattering the tranquility as the year-end approached.

"Alert! All personnel on alert! Someone has left without following standard procedures! Suspected high-risk individual! Repeat, someone has left without following standard procedures! Suspected high-risk individual!"

The middle-aged man roared into the internal communication channel in a distorted voice, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Activate the highest emergency response plan! Quickly! Stop them! Don't let a single one escape!"

Downstairs, the crowd, who were basking in the joy of seeing the sun rise again and weeping with happiness, were startled by the sudden alarm, and their celebratory actions froze.

They looked up blankly at the soldiers who were rapidly closing in, armed to the teeth, their faces grim as if facing a formidable enemy, and the dark muzzles of their guns.

The ecstasy on his face slowly froze.

I was completely dumbfounded.

The piercing alarm was still blaring overhead, and the soldiers closing in had their fingers tightly on the triggers, creating a tense atmosphere.

The crowd, who had just rushed out of the area and hadn't even had time to compose themselves with their ecstatic expressions, froze in place at the sight of this spectacle.

Neither advancing nor retreating is an option.

Just as they were staring at each other, on the verge of a disastrous "insider fight" –

"Stop! All of you, stop the fuck!"

A loud shout, thick with a Beijing accent, rang out like a thunderclap from the side and behind the crowd.

A middle-aged man wearing a wrinkled 749 Bureau uniform jacket, with hair as messy as a bird's nest, and holding a bucket of instant noodles, shoveled the last mouthful of soup and noodles into his mouth.

He casually shoved the bucket into the arms of his comrade next to him, wiped his mouth, and rushed over.

It was a veteran investigator from Bureau 749 who was stationed in this military restricted area.

He pushed aside the soldiers blocking his way, squinted, and carefully examined the group of "suspicious individuals" surrounded in the middle, their faces clearly saying, "I'm a law-abiding citizen and I'm totally confused."

His gaze swept over those faces, which, though haggard and dirty, still had features that were vaguely discernible...

My gaze swept over that tattered but familiar-looking uniform...

Finally, the focus shifted to the front of the crowd, to that familiar figure whose crane-feather cloak was dusty, whose hair was slightly disheveled, but whose back was still ramrod straight and whose face bore a wry smile of helplessness.

Old Chen's eyes widened instantly, becoming rounder than a cup of instant noodles.

The chopsticks in my hand fell to the ground with a "clatter".

"Director Zhang... Director Zhang?!"

His voice cracked, filled with utter disbelief and a hint of ecstasy he himself didn't realize.

"Old Chen?"

Zhang Yucheng also saw him, smiled and nodded at him, then pointed to the soldiers around him who looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy, his tone quite helpless:

"Isn't this welcoming ceremony a bit too elaborate?"