The male supporting character was actually myself.

Li Chengze: ...

"What's going on inside?" Jiang Chen always knew when to stop joking.

“A well-fed and sleeping Unknown Entity No. 7. The tricky thing is that its evolution level is too high. With our current equipment, we can't kill it in one go.” Li Chengze lifted the barrier and let Jiang Chen bend down to go in. He followed him in and continued to explain: “I’m worried that if we take action, it will cause even greater damage, so I need you to stay and control the situation.”

As he spoke, Jiang Chen had already spotted the No. 7 unknown entity.

The enormous, dark blue body lay sprawled out in an abandoned courtyard, fast asleep, its bulging belly clearly indicating it had just eaten.

"We should be able to kill it with a cannonball, right? After all, it doesn't look that big."

"Were you not paying attention in class? Unknown Entity No. 7 is incredibly tough and has the strongest defense; even artillery shells can't kill it!"

"Could you please keep it down? It'll be a huge problem if you wake people up!"

"Do we really need to observe this up close? What if a fight breaks out?"

……

A few young people who looked like college students were whispering to each other beside the courtyard.

"A newcomer?" Jiang Chen asked, gesturing with his chin.

Li Chengze sighed, his face full of helplessness. "Yes, these are the new ones selected this year. The number of people is decreasing year by year, and in another two years, I'm afraid there won't be many left."

They said that the No. 7 unknown entity is a rare sight, and they were asked to come and observe it.

What does number 7 look like to you now?

The sudden question made Li Chengze feel nervous, like he was facing a question from his homeroom teacher. "Dark blue, with spiral patterns on the right foot."

The four or five college students standing nearby were stunned.

"Dark blue? But what I see is a light blue, and there's no pattern at all."

"Does it have color? I can only see a rough outline, it's almost like it's semi-transparent."

"I can see it's dark blue, but there's no pattern."

The last girl replied, "Dark blue, with a flame-like pattern on her forehead."

Jiang Chen squinted at the sleeping Unknown Entity No. 7. Its dark blue body was covered with strange patterns, and the flame on its forehead was almost leaping and burning. This was a big guy that was about to evolve to the highest level.

"Unknown entities, aren't they just ghosts? I've been able to see these strange things since I was little," a boy muttered to his companion.

"Have these kids wasted their time in college? They're so superstitious!" Jiang Chen glanced at the group of students with a strange look and said earnestly, "You have to believe in science, not superstition. There are no ghosts in this world."

Li Chengze twitched his lips and blushed slightly. He seemed to have said the same thing about himself many years ago.

"Let the cleanup team come over." Jiang Chen took out a crescent-shaped scimitar from his toolbox, pushed open the dilapidated courtyard gate, and went inside.

The unknown entity No. 7 was still fast asleep when he swiftly severed its neck, which was about one meter in diameter. The large, dark blue head rolled to one side, oozing some colorless, viscous liquid.

Amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, Jiang Chen casually walked out, took a piece of paper to wipe the sticky substance off the knife, put it back in his tool bag, and casually slung it over his shoulder. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Eat..." Li Chengze immediately realized and changed his mind, saying, "I know a really good breakfast stall nearby, let's go there together."

The speed at which the thorny problem was resolved in a second clearly astonished everyone. They watched with fear as Captain Li left with the mysterious expert, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"Brother Chen, I saw your car at the intersection..." A pretty girl in the cleanup team greeted him with a sweet smile. Jiang Chen didn't even look up, just nodded in response and strode away, leaving the girl looking disappointed.

Li Chengze couldn't stand it and whispered a reminder: "That's the most beautiful girl in our Security Department. Countless young men can't catch her eye. She's not even worth your attention?"

Jiang Chen put the toolbox into the car and shook his head, saying, "I've never thought about finding a partner."

"Why?" He quickly jumped into the car, fastened his seatbelt, and asked, "Haven't you met the right person? Don't be so picky. If someone is at least an 8 out of 10 in looks, just start dating them and see how it goes. Maybe you'll develop feelings for them as you talk."

Have you ever been in a relationship?

“Of course!” Li Chengze rested his forehead on his long fingers, his voice filled with reminiscence. “That was when I first entered university, and I fell in love at first sight…”

As Jiang Chen drove, he casually remarked, "It sounds nice to call it love at first sight, but it's really just lust at first sight."

The other person immediately blushed and retorted, "That's called starting with looks, falling for talent, and staying loyal to character!"

"In my opinion, they're all pretty much the same. If she doesn't have a good appearance, would you care if she has talent or good character?" Jiang Chen casually pointed to a passerby waiting for the bus on the side of the road. "You wouldn't even give someone like her a second glance."

Those who approach me are only interested in my face, not in who I am as a person.

Li Chengze was speechless after being choked by the remark.

Why did our relationship end when we first started college?

"You're such a gossip today!" Li Chengze pushed up his glasses angrily and snorted, "It's all because of you! I'm a genius college student, I entered university at the age of seventeen with the highest score in the whole school, and before I even got to sit down in class, you picked me to join the security team."

She couldn't stand my constant busyness and all those confidentiality regulations and secret missions, so she ran off with some artsy guy who was always frivolous and romantic..."

Jiang Chen still had a terrible headache, and a scene that was hard to tell was real kept popping into his mind, making him feel completely out of sorts, like he was offline.

Li Chengze was probably also feeling down because he was thinking about his short-lived romance, and neither of them spoke again.

The SUV stopped in front of a breakfast stall in Gejiu Street as directed. The two ordered three baskets of small soup dumplings and two bowls of savory tofu pudding, and sat facing each other at the small table with their long legs curled up.

The proprietress efficiently served the breakfast.

Li Chengze had already eaten breakfast, but only took a couple of symbolic sips of water.

Jiang Chen silently sorted through his chaotic memories while eating breakfast.

"Do you remember an amateur hunter named Qin Rufeng?" He suddenly recalled this memory and asked halfway through the meal.

"Qin Rufeng?" Li Chengze frowned slightly, thought for a few seconds, and nodded, "He participated in two assisted hunts with me. Why did you suddenly think of him?"

"Help me find his home address, the sooner the better!"

Although he didn't know why, Li Chengze still took out his phone to contact the office staff to retrieve Qin Rufeng's detailed information.

Anyone who has worked in the security team, whether amateur or professional, will be subject to the most rigorous investigation, and recording personal information is the most basic procedure.

But some people are different.

Li Chengze stole a glance at Jiang Chen, who was eating. Although this guy wasn't a formally employed member of the security team, he had heard that he had been in the industry for a long time. From the beginning, headquarters had kept his resume and all his information confidential, so naturally, Li Chengze, being of a lower rank, had no right to view it.

"Found it. The registered address isn't too far from here. Should we call and contact them first?"

After obtaining consent, Li Chengze dialed the phone number on the sent materials.

After a long while, he shook his head and said, "The call goes through, but no one answers."

"Boss, keep the change." A sense of foreboding washed over Jiang Chen. He put down his chopsticks, stood up, placed a hundred-yuan bill on the table, and urged, "Get in the car, we're going to his place!"

Sitting in the car speeding along with its horn blaring, Li Chengze looked completely bewildered.

This guy is usually quiet and reserved, but overall he's a reliable and good person. Why is he acting so strangely today, talking incoherently?

"Jiang Chen, tell me the truth, are you having some kind of trouble?"

"Which building does he live in?" Jiang Chen was focused on driving, his eyes scanning the building numbers. He said casually, "I did run into some things, but I can't tell you right now."

Apartment Building No. 6.

The speeding SUV braked suddenly and stopped in front of Apartment Building No. 6. Li Chengze was almost strangled by the seat belt.

Without even locking his car, Jiang Chen pushed open the apartment door and prepared to go upstairs.

"Hey, who are you looking for? Our entire apartment building is under closed management, and outsiders are not allowed to come upstairs!" The aunt in charge of the supervision called out to him directly, her face full of vigilance as she used her experience to judge whether this handsome young man was suspicious.

Li Chengze hurriedly followed in, pulled out an ID from his suit pocket and flashed it, "We are police officers, here to ask Qin Rufeng, who lives in room 704 of apartment building number six, some questions."

"Police?" The woman's expression became even more wary. "What did that kid do? Do we need to arrest him? I have keys to all the rooms; I can help."

Holding the keys jingling on the large round plate, the building manager sat in the elevator, feeling both nervous and excited.

Recalling scenes from TV dramas where characters cooperate with the police in solving cases, I tried hard to think of a solution.

The elevator was empty early in the morning, and the three of them quickly arrived at the seventh floor.

"Knock knock knock!" Li Chengze knocked on the door of room 704 first.

After waiting a while with no movement, the building manager whispered a reminder: "This kid plays games all day and stays out all night. He doesn't show up until 11 or 12 every day. When he runs out of money, he goes out mysteriously. I don't know what he's doing. Could he be dealing drugs?"

“He didn’t do anything illegal; he was just helping us gather clues.” Jiang Chen pointed to the door lock. “Could you please open the door?”

"So you're a police informant! You're quite capable." The building manager found the right key and turned it open.

"Squeak!"

The door made a soft sound, and Jiang Chen pushed it open and saw a tall, thin person slumped over the computer desk in the small studio apartment, right in front of the door.

"He fell asleep while playing games again." The building manager shouted twice, but when there was no response, she shook her head and pouted slightly in disapproval.

Just as Li Chengze was about to step inside, Jiang Chen stopped him.

Realizing there might be a problem, he quickly made up an excuse to send the building manager away.

"What's wrong? Is something going on?" Li Chengze asked in a low voice.

Jiang Chen tugged at him, and when he looked at it from his own angle, his pupils immediately contracted!

Qin Rufeng was slumped over his computer desk with his back to the door, looking as if he were asleep. But from where Jiang Chen was standing, he could just make out a pool of blood next to his brand-name sneaker on his right foot!

Upon closer inspection against the light, the person lying face down had already stopped breathing.

"Don't disturb the scene, he's already dead. Call the security team over too, we need to inspect the equipment." Jiang Chen leaned against the corridor wall, closing his eyes as he tried to organize the fragments in his mind more clearly.

After Li Chengze finished his call, he offered him a cigarette. The other person refused, then lit it and took a puff.

“Smoking and drinking will affect your judgment,” Jiang Chen explained. “When dealing with those unknown entities, you need to have super hearing, smell, intuition, and quick reflexes, otherwise you can easily be killed.”

You haven't been on field missions for very long, and without experiencing fierce battles, you can't understand the danger of walking on a knife's edge.

Just as he exhaled a smoke ring, Li Chengze hesitated for a second before stubbing out his cigarette, placing it in his pocket inside a delicate single-tube holder. "Why did you suddenly decide to look for Qin Rufeng? What does this have to do with his murder?"

“Something happened last night that’s hard to explain,” Jiang Chen said softly, rubbing his temples. “Let me figure it out first.”

The security team arrived quickly, and the police, having received the information, set up a cordon on the seventh floor.

Jiang Chen put on equipment similar to night vision devices and carefully observed the corridor and rooms. A row of fluorescent footprints appeared before his eyes.

"What on earth left this?" Li Chengze pondered for a moment, confirming that there was no record of such footprints in the database.

Jiang Chen frowned slightly, "Another new variety..."

A row of huge footprints, resembling bird claws, stretched from the stairs into the room, disappearing next to Qin Rufeng and then past the open window.

The traces downstairs had been destroyed by people who got up early and passed by, making it impossible to trace them further; the trail went cold.

Qin Rufeng's face was peaceful, as if he were really sleeping with his eyes closed.