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

Bai San Niang looked at Ji Zuodao's calm and collected expression, and then at the eyes that were getting closer and closer in the surrounding darkness, flashing with various evil lights.

He gripped the bone sword tighter in his hand, his voice tense:

"Investigator...aren't you nervous at all? We...we're surrounded!"

"nervous?"

Ji Zuodao was amused, and even had the leisure to take out a cigarette case from his pocket, shake out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

The lighter flicked open, illuminating half of his face, which was etched with a mocking smile.

He took a deep breath, exhaled a smoke ring, and then slowly said:

"Miss Bai, it seems you don't know enough about Bureau 749."

He casually pointed with the hand holding the cigarette to the restless shadowy figures around him.

"On the grounds of Jinghai, there are all sorts of monsters and demons, sects and families, rogue cultivators and wild monsters all bundled together. On paper, their combat strength is no less than that of Jinghai 749. But guess why 749 dares to shit on their heads?"

"Why don't they dare to attack 749? They haven't even resorted to dirty tricks or ambushes."

Bai San Niang coughed lightly, choked by the smoke, and a thoughtful look appeared on her pale face. She hesitated and said:

"I...I've heard that investigators from 749 have high positions. In ancient times, they'd be at the level of imperial envoys, representing the imperial court and the state apparatus?"

"Imperial envoy?"

Ji Zuodao chuckled and shook his head.

"Not at all. In ancient times, imperial envoys sounded impressive, but many were killed on their way and their bodies were thrown into ravines to feed wolves. That's because the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so killing them was no big deal."

"But look at us again."

He patted his crisp black stand-up collar uniform, pointed out of the alley, and spoke calmly, yet with an air of self-righteous arrogance:

"Anyone with a brain, who hasn't had their hand caught in a door, whether they're human, demon, monster, or ghost, wouldn't dare to lay a finger on our investigators."

Why?

Ji Zuodao asked and answered his own question, providing a simple and straightforward answer:

"Because if we touch any one of us, it's like slapping the entire 749 Bureau in the face, and slapping the entire country in the face."

"The consequences would be far more serious than just the death of one or two people."

"It would mean the extermination of nine generations of one's family... Oh, right, that's not the custom anymore, but the consequences are about the same."

"So, in Jinghai, they can disobey 749, curse us behind our backs, outwardly comply but inwardly defy us, and even, like this foreign devil today, act rashly and attack us..."

"But as long as they're still thinking straight, they would never dare to actually consider 'killing a 749 investigator' as an option."

"Because that's not an option."

Ji Zuodao looked at Bai Sanniang with a bright smile, revealing a set of white teeth:

"That was a one-way ticket to the family crematorium..."

Bai San Niang was stunned, and subconsciously said, "But...but these guys don't seem to be thinking straight!"

She pointed to the monsters that had closed in within ten meters, their saliva practically dripping onto the ground, her voice trembling slightly:

"They've surrounded us! We're really surrounded!"

"Surround?"

Ji Zuodao finished his last puff of cigarette, flicked the butt away, and it flew in a dark red arc, landing at the feet of a werewolf-like monster, scattering a few sparks.

The werewolf instinctively took a half step back.

"Yes, we're surrounded."

Ji Zuodao patted non-existent dust off his hands.

"but……"

He paused, listened intently to what was being said, and his smile grew even brighter, even carrying a hint of anticipation that "the show is about to begin."

"Who is surrounding whom is not necessarily true."

"what?"

Bai San Niang still didn't understand what he meant by those words.

The night wind stopped without warning.

No, it hasn't stopped.

It was being forcefully suppressed by something larger, more solid, and colder.

"call--"

A very faint sound, like fabric rubbing together, came from very high up.

Bai San Niang subconsciously looked up.

Along the edges of the rooftops of the low houses on both sides, rows of figures had silently appeared without anyone noticing.

All the black stand-up collar trench coats, straight as knives, stood silently in the gradually brightening moonlight.

A night breeze swept by, causing the hem of the trench coat to flutter slightly, rustling like fluttering, menacing black banners.

They stood casually, some with their arms crossed, some with their hands in their pockets, and some even with cigarettes in their mouths.

But those pairs of calm, unwavering eyes that shone in the darkness, like cold stars quietly illuminating the night, silently and condescendingly looked down at the monsters huddled together in the alley.

His gaze was cold and indifferent, as if he were looking at a pile of not-so-fresh pork.

This is not over yet.

"Da, da, da..."

The sound of steady, orderly footsteps came from both ends of the alley.

They were groups of figures all wearing black trench coats.

They walked steadily and quietly, their footsteps sounding as if they had been trained to move in unison.

Only the faint rustling of clothes and the occasional soft clinking of equipment at the waist could be clearly heard in the deathly silent alley.

Each step felt like stepping on a heavy beat.

The alleyway, which had been blocked by the monster, was now completely sealed off, and was steadily and irresistibly pushing inward.

And further away—

"Dear citizens, please do not panic, evacuate in an orderly manner..."

"This way, watch your step..."

The faint, amplified official announcement drifted over on the night breeze, its tone calm and patient.

Interspersed among these were the quiet conversations and complaints of ordinary citizens who were being quickly led away:

"What's going on? So late at night..."

"I heard it's a gas pipeline leak due to aging, hence the emergency evacuation!"

"Oh my god, really? That's scary! Let's go, let's get out of here! This could explode and cause a disaster!"

"Exactly, exactly! It's almost Chinese New Year, let's not cause any trouble, hurry up..."

The sound gradually faded into the distance.

Within a kilometer radius, apart from these people in black trench coats and the monsters in the alley, there wasn't a single ordinary citizen alive.

silence.

Absolute silence that sends chills down your spine.

Only the night wind howled through the empty streets, and the increasingly uneasy, suppressed growls emanating from the monsters' throats.

Ji Zuodao had somehow already pulled out the body camera, the kind issued by the bureau, and was carefully adjusting the angle to ensure that he could capture every exciting scene in the alley.

He even grinned at the camera, revealing a standard, eight-tooth "law enforcement smile."

After doing all this, he turned to look at Bai San Niang, who was completely stunned, and spoke in a relaxed tone as if he were chatting casually:

"I forgot to tell you, Miss Bai."

"Because this case involves foreigners and is transnational in nature, I had already followed the rules and submitted a report to my superiors, applying for the authority to 'monitor key areas' and 'intervene with force if necessary'."

"Those bastards in the bureau's technical department probably already connected all the civilian, commercial, and even a few hidden official surveillance cameras in the surrounding streets into the system. They can see everything clearly."

He raised his hand and pointed to the silent, approaching figures in black trench coats around him, then pointed to the sculpted figures on the rooftop above.

"In the Moon Sea District, on the surface, I'm the only one patrolling and strolling around."

"But in reality..."

Ji Zuodao laughed, a smile that was both sly and arrogant.

"Teleportation arrays of all sizes have long been spread throughout the entire area. Each one leads directly to the headquarters of the Jinghai 749 Bureau, and the same applies to other areas."

Ji Zuodao's gaze swept over the monsters that, under the pressure of the black tide, had begun to stir, cower, and even try to turn and run away.

"They thought they had caught a lone, easy-to-bully wolf cub."

"You can close the door and play at your own pace."

Ji Zuodao's smile grew even brighter.

"I'm sorry."

"The script is upside down."

"Wolf pack—"

"I've already..."

"Three layers inside, three layers outside..."

He looked around at the faces, some familiar, some unfamiliar, set against the black stand-up collars, all radiating a calm confidence that said, "Hurry up and finish work so we can have a late-night snack."

He slowly uttered the last few words, a smile mixed with a chilling coldness:

"Surround it!"