Doomsday police, please show your god/demon ID card.

The hall was in a mess.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of black ash, which felt soft and yielded a footprint with each step.

On the ceiling, all sorts of wires and pipes were burned, melted, and twisted, hanging down like the intestines of a monster.

"Damn it, this is cleaner than my stove at home," one of the team members couldn't help but curse.

"Enough talk, split up and check!" Liu Qiang shouted. "One group, go to the power distribution room and see if it's still working."

"The second group will inspect the fire protection system and water supply."

"The rest of you, come with me to inspect the staircase leading to the roof!"

After handing over the cleaning work on the first floor to Liu Qiang.

He led Wang Hu, Zhao Fan, and three other police officers around to the outside of the building.

There is an outdoor fire escape ladder that was not completely engulfed by the flames, which leads directly to the roof.

"Team Leader Tang, what are we going up there for?" Wang Hu asked as he climbed.

"Looking for something," Tang Long said calmly.

He remembered that after the "meat cocoon" and the "butcher" died, they both left behind special crystals. This mother nest occupying the municipal building might also have something similar.

After all, the "life crystal" left behind by the cocoon is of immeasurable value to the entire team.

Whether it was reviving the dying Wang Hu or enabling Su Yan to gain even greater power after waking up, it was indispensable.

Even if it's the Destruction Crystal, it's just that we haven't found a suitable method yet, but that doesn't mean the thing is useless.

Tang Long wanted to see if he would reap the same rewards this time.

The group quickly climbed up the dozen or so stories.

When the last person climbed onto the rooftop, the sight before them took everyone's breath away.

The entire rooftop has been reduced to scorched earth.

The once-dominant giant vine nest is now nothing but a thick layer of ash mixed with glassy molten material.

In the very center of the ruins, there is a deep crater with a diameter of more than five meters.

"Damn, this fire is huge." Wang Hu kicked a piece of charcoal-like material next to him and clicked his tongue in amazement.

Zhao Fan led his men on a quick inspection, then returned shaking his head: "Team Leader Tang, on the surface, there's nothing left, it's all turned to ash."

Tang Long didn't say anything. He walked straight to the edge of the glass-like pit and squatted down.

He reached out his hand and stopped a dozen centimeters from the bottom of the pit.

An astonishing heat emanated from the bottom of the pit.

"This temperature is not right," Tang Long said in a deep voice.

Logically speaking, after a night of burning and cooling, even if there is still residual heat, it shouldn't be this hot.

Wang Hu also came over, sensed it for a moment, and his expression changed.

"Indeed, this heat is a bit eerie."

Tang Long took out the entrenching tool from his waist and scraped away the glassy hard shell at the bottom of the pit.

"Click."

The hard shell shattered, revealing the ash underneath.

Suddenly, everyone smelled a strange fragrance.

The scent is hard to describe; it doesn't resemble any known plant or spice. It carries a vibrant life force, and just one whiff is enough to invigorate you.

"What's this smell? It smells pretty good!" Wang Hu sniffed hard.

"I don't know." Tang Long shook his head and sped up the digging.

As the dark red ash was repeatedly shoveled away, the aroma grew stronger and stronger.

at last.

"clang!"

The entrenching tool seemed to have hit something hard.

Tang Long's heart stirred. He put down his entrenching tool and reached into the still-warm ashes with his bare hands.

After a moment, he slowly withdrew his hand.

A seed, no bigger than a thumb, black in color and covered with irregular cracks, appeared in his palm.

It looks ordinary, no different from any other burnt plant seed.

Strangely, it was warm to the touch, and deep within the cracks, a faint red light flickered, like the heartbeat of a living thing.

"What is this?" Wang Hu asked curiously as he approached.

"I don't know." Tang Long frowned and looked at it for a while. "Wait, take it back to Chen Ming..."

Before he could finish speaking, something unexpected happened!

The red light within the seed crack suddenly became incredibly intense!

As the temperature soared, it suddenly trembled in Tang Long's palm, then transformed into a scorching dark red liquid that seeped into his palm lines and pores!

"What the hell?"

Tang Long was greatly alarmed.

The next second, a scalding torrent surged upwards along the meridians of his arm, reaching his heart, and then exploded throughout his limbs and bones!

A sharp, burning pain and a primal, all-consuming hunger swept over me.

Suddenly everything went black, and I lost consciousness.

"Captain Tang! What's wrong?"

"Boss, wake up..."

"......"

......

Seven days later.

In a makeshift hospital ward in the new city government building.

Tang Long's eyelashes fluttered a few times before he slowly opened them.

What came into view was a blackened ceiling, an IV stand, and the faint smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils. My head was throbbing in waves.

"Hiss~" He couldn't help but gasp.

"woke up?"

A cool, clear female voice came from the side.

Tang Long turned his head instinctively.

In the next hospital bed, Su Yan was leaning against a pillow, holding an old magazine that she had found somewhere.

Her face was somewhat pale and she looked weak, but her eyes were unusually bright, so she should be out of danger.

"You..." Tang Long frowned slightly, his voice hoarse and dry, "You're awake? And... how did I get here?"

Su Yan closed the magazine and rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I woke up three days ago. Wang Hu took Chen Ming back to the base and used the life crystals to reconstitute the reagents for us."

She pointed to the empty IV drip bottle beside her bed.

"Chen Ming may seem unreliable at times, but he's actually quite intelligent."

"If it weren't for the life-saving potion, we'd probably be in line for the Meng Po soup right now."

Tang Long rubbed his temples and propped himself up to sit up.

Memories gradually returned.

The city government building, the towering fire, the glass-like crater...

Oh, and that strange seed.

He subconsciously touched his stomach.

Flat, solid, and without any abnormalities.

Before losing consciousness, the intense hunger that felt like it was burning away my internal organs disappeared, replaced by a warm current that lingered in my lower abdomen, pulsating slowly with my breath.

"How long did I sleep?"

"Seven days." Without turning her head, Su Yan picked up the walkie-talkie on the table: "Everyone come here for a moment, Captain Tang is awake."

After she finished speaking, she turned her head away.

"The news of your fall was strictly suppressed; the only public information was that you were planning the defense at the top level."

"Wang Hu and the others take turns keeping order. The newcomers are all very well-behaved now, even more so than when you were here."

Tang Long nodded slightly, about to ask another question,

Just then.

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

"Bang!"

The ward door was violently pushed open, and the door panel slammed against the wall with a loud bang.