The carbon-based lifeform rich in high protein, Yi Nanping's subordinate, looked on in disbelief.
"Lieutenant Yi, these tentacle monsters are clearly 'Remnant Species' that can infect and parasitize humans! When did they become vulnerable to bullets?!"
"That's right, Lieutenant Yi, didn't they say that if we encounter any special creatures related to the 'Remnant Species', we must call for backup and have Gene Evolvers with high Mental Strength levels deal with them?"
Yi Nanping recalled his own painful experience fighting these "Remnant Species" with Mental Strength last time, rubbed his nose, and said with dissatisfaction, "You're not analyzers, how can you be sure they were killed by bullets?"
"Team One, go in with the equipment and search to make sure there are no surviving Remnant Species left."
"Team Two, conduct an ordnance inspection to see if we can find out who was responsible."
He issued the orders in an orderly manner.
"Yes, Lieutenant Yi!"
These people were the regular army Ye Shijie had mentioned.
Just the sight of those large, armed drones surrounding the six-story building made it clear that their equipment was far superior to that of hunters like Ye Shijie.
Under Yi Nanping's command, Team One, wearing black protective suits, entered the building with their equipment.
Team Two, in camouflage uniforms, carried equipment to inspect the ordnance residue in the open space in front of the building.
Five minutes later, the members of Team One came out of the building, gesturing and saying, "Lieutenant Yi, we've checked everything. There are only four human traffickers left in the building, all killed with a single shot. There are also twenty-three abducted victims, all dead, and none infected with the Remnant Species."
Yi Nanping frowned, walked to the human skin on the ground, and wondered, "Could this be the only one who was implanted with the Remnant Species? What a pity, to be shot up like this."
A member of Team One, wearing a black protective suit, bent down and collected the riddled human skin as important evidence.
Another ordnance detection technician said to Yi Nanping, "Captain, after testing, the shell casings on the ground are all from Zong Military Industries this year, numbers 085 and 093. Besides the military, only a few organizations in the country can legally purchase these two types of bullets."
Yi Nanping scoffed, "In our Beichen Empire, we control guns, but not bullets. Zong Military Industries' bullets can be bought with money, there's no such thing as legal or illegal."
His subordinate was silenced by his retort, having grown used to it.
Yi Nanping squatted down, staring intently at the largest remaining section of tentacle in the middle of the shell casings.
The tentacle was charred black by the bullet's gunpowder, like a burnt octopus leg, but much larger, like a burnt geoduck octopus leg.
His gaze was sharp, staring intently at the section of tentacle, as if trying to analyze its structure with his eyes.
He did use Mental Strength to probe, but to no avail.
This burnt tentacle stump was dead beyond dead, and its material structure was no different from seafood that humans eat.
The only conclusion he could draw was that they were both carbon-based lifeforms, equally rich in high protein.
Yi Nanping slowly stood up, frowning and saying, "Are there no living tentacles?"
He still held a glimmer of hope, because according to their past experience, the tentacles generated by these Remnant Species had extremely tenacious vitality, and even if only a small section of cellular tissue remained, it could regenerate.
But this time, the investigation results did not support this conclusion.
"...Reporting, Captain, confirmed there are no living ones, all dead at the cellular level."
"What a pity." Yi Nanping sighed again.
His subordinate put the charred tentacles into a translucent evidence bag, saying, "In recent years, there have been three incidents of tentacle monsters injuring people."
"Each time, no one has been able to use conventional weapons to strike them, because their Mental Strength attacks are incredibly powerful and bizarre. Even if their level is low, even Mental Strength Rank C Peak experts cannot resist them, and of course, they cannot use conventional weapons to fight back."
"If this test result can prove that they were really killed by conventional weapons, that would be very encouraging news."
"That's right, in the previous incidents, only once did Lieutenant Yi manage to catch a tentacle, which lived for about a week, and we only got the word 'Remnant Species' from it."
"This time, the tentacle monster was stronger than the previous ones, but it was killed. It's really a pity."
Yi Nanping stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the night sky, and muttered, "If only we had arrived a minute earlier... If we had arrived a minute earlier, we could have at least gotten a living tentacle monster."
"Or we could have known who was so brutal, turning a Remnant Species that requires advanced Mental Strength to eliminate into something like seafood with conventional weapons..."
When his subordinate heard the words "seafood," the expression on his face suddenly became strange, with a sense of suppressed nausea.
Everyone probably won't want to eat seafood for a long time...
Yi Nanping didn't think so much.
He frowned, walked into the room to carefully probe, then came out to look around, examining the open space in front of the building and the surrounding environment within a thousand meters.
The special glasses attached to his helmet were like a high-powered computer, capable of recording the entire surrounding environment and uploading it to a cloud-based mechanical intelligence system for high-energy modeling, which would allow for better data analysis.
Then he commanded, "Collect everything here, including the shell casings and the remains of the tentacles on the ground. Have the local Disciplinary Department notify the parents who reported the missing children to come and identify these deceased victims of abduction. Seal off this entire building and relocate all the residents inside."
He watched his subordinates clean up the mess, while waiting for the analysis results from the technical department.
Suddenly, the nano-level quantum computer embedded in Yi Nanping's brain sent an information command directly to his brain through the brain-machine interface.
[Lieutenant Yi Nanping, of the 3rd District, 12th Group, Special Security Bureau Mulan City Branch, please proceed to safe house number 244 in the 8th District of the same city to receive an inquiry from your superiors.]
The electronic voice simulated by the quantum computer repeated the message three times before stopping.
Yi Nanping responded with a mental "Yes."
Without batting an eye, he called for a small combat aircraft and ordered, "I have to leave. Handle things and send me a message. Remember, this place must be sealed off."
"Yes, Lieutenant Yi."
...
In less than five minutes, Yi Nanping arrived at safe house number 244 in the 8th District of Mulan City, as instructed by his superiors.
The door was opened by a squat machine butler.
It wasn't humanoid, but a cylindrical mechanical body with four mechanical arms and a circular mechanical base for movement.
Yi Nanping walked in, and the door slammed shut automatically.
Inside, it was originally an ordinary home, but after the door closed, the light and shadows in the room shifted, quickly transforming it into a small conference room.
Yi Nanping knew that this was actually three-dimensional holographic projection technology, but it was so realistic that it looked just like the real thing.
A man in a dark gray uniform with silver trim, sat at the head of the conference table with a serious expression, staring at Yi Nanping, who had been at the scene today.
Beneath the military cap that matched his uniform, his features were so handsome that they were almost feminine, but his gaze was slightly intense, indicating that he was not to be trifled with.
The man introduced himself, "I am Zong Ruoan, a Colonel from the Information Division of the Special Security Bureau Headquarters. I just received the data you uploaded, and I need to confirm some information with you."
Yi Nanping saluted, "Yes, Colonel Zong."
"Are you Lieutenant Yi Nanping of the 3rd District, 12th Group, Special Security Bureau Mulan City Branch?"
"Yes."
"Lieutenant Yi, first of all, where did you get the information today that led you to discover the Remnant Species in Mulan City? Secondly, why didn't you capture any Remnant Species alive this time, and instead killed all of them?"
Yi Nanping shook his head with a wry smile, "Colonel Zong, I'm also puzzled by this matter, and I find it very strange."
"Speak."
"We received a message from the local Disciplinary Department of Mulan City at 1:15 AM, stating that a 'Remnant Species' had appeared in our jurisdiction."
"Based on past experience, the local disciplinary departments cannot handle cases related to 'Remnant Species', and elite teams from the Special Security Bureau, consisting of Gene Evolvers with strong Mental Strength, must be dispatched."
"I had handled a case related to 'Remnant Species' before, and I was the closest to the location where the 'Remnant Species' appeared, so I was notified to the scene immediately."
"We arrived at the scene at 1:45 AM. We could have arrived ten minutes earlier, but we were stopped by our superiors and told to wait in place for ten minutes before proceeding."
Hearing this, Zong Ruoan nodded and said calmly, "Yes, I know about the order to stop, it wasn't your fault."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the three-dimensional holographic projection in front of him changed, showing three different scenes.
Although the times and locations were different, all three scenes were equally bloody and terrifying.
Zong Ruoan tapped his finger, pointing to the first scene and said, "This is the rare creature 'Remnant Species' that has appeared in recent years."
"This creature is very difficult to deal with, and once it appears, it will cause widespread casualties."
"The first time it appeared three years ago, it infected and devoured more than 300 people in a commercial company in the central district of Mulan City."
"The second time it appeared two years ago, it infected and devoured all the floors of a residential unit in the eastern district, totaling more than 500 people."
"The third time it appeared a year ago, everyone was prepared this time. When it appeared, you happened to be on a mission. After infecting and devouring eighteen people, you captured it alive. It survived for a week, during which we only learned the term 'Remnant Species' from it."
"This is the fourth time it has appeared this year."
Yi Nanping stood up straight and said seriously, "Yes, Colonel Zong. Based on our previous three experiences, although the Mental Strength level of the rare creature 'Remnant Species' is not high, it has a very strong ability to infect. Even a tiny amount of microcellular tissue can survive and infect organisms, and absorb nutrients from the host to grow rapidly."
"Moreover, their Mental Strength is very peculiar. Although the level is not high, it is extremely penetrating, and can almost completely ignore any defensive measures, directly targeting the brain's action control system."
"So, if we encounter them, even Gene Evolvers can't subdue them with force because they can be mentally controlled, unable to operate weapons. That's why conventional weapons have never worked."
"Moreover, their reproduction method is fission. We believe conventional weapons are ineffective because they can't kill all the tentacles at once."
"Therefore, high-level Gene Evolvers with overwhelming Mental Strength are needed to counterattack and completely eliminate all infected Remnant Species at once, preventing them from continuing to reproduce through fission and grow."
Of course, after today, their assessment needs to be revised.
Conventional weapons might still be effective.
Yi Nanping thought silently in his heart.
Zong Ruoan crossed his arms, his deep black eyes narrowed slightly, and said thoughtfully, "Lieutenant Yi is a Mental Strength Rank B Peak Gene Evolver. You happened to be on the scene when it appeared for the third time and captured a Remnant Species alive. Now, answer my second question: why this time, did you fail to capture one alive and instead killed all the Remnant Species?"
Yi Nanping's lips twitched, and he said with a wry smile, "Colonel Zong, this time, it really had nothing to do with me."
"When we arrived, those tentacle Remnant Species were already completely physically dead."
Zong Ruoan sternly retorted, "Is that so? Who killed them? In Mulan City, is there a Mental Strength expert more powerful than you, Lieutenant Yi?"
Yi Nanping was momentarily speechless.
To be honest, he couldn't figure it out either.
Although Mulan City is a large city, it is only a city on Guiyuan Star, the most remote planet in the Beichen Empire star system. The population is not small, but in the entire Beichen Empire's ranking of large cities, it can only be ranked among the last few.
In this kind of place, he, a Mental Strength Rank B Peak Gene Evolver, is already a top-tier expert.
He couldn't imagine who here could be of a higher level than him.
While he was silent, Zong Ruoan thoughtfully continued to ask, "The Remnant Species that appeared in the previous instances were only up to Rank D Peak, so you could completely crush them. Based on past experience, humans need two levels higher Mental Strength to completely suppress Remnant Species and kill them."
"According to the data uploaded so far, the Mental Strength of this wave of Remnant Species should have reached Rank C Peak. Remnant Species of this level must be crushed and killed by a Mental Strength Rank A Peak expert."
"So tell me, on Guiyuan Star, the most remote planet in the empire, why would a Mental Strength Rank A Peak expert appear? And outside the management of our Special Security Bureau?"
Mental Strength Rank A Peak, that is an existence even more terrifying than Yi Nanping, the "top-tier" expert in Mulan City.
In the entire Beichen Empire, Mental Strength Rank A Peak is also in the first echelon of experts, and 99% of them are stationed in Beichen Star, the capital star region of the empire.
As Zong Ruoan's voice fell, the conference room fell into a deathly silence.
After a long while, Yi Nanping said with a slightly bitter tone, "Colonel Zong, in fact, it's also possible that Mental Strength experts from other organizations have appeared in Mulan City. It's just that we don't know about it."
"For example?"
"For one, the Dark Night Hunter Association is full of experts." Yi Nanping shook his head with some reluctance but also helplessness. "I actually strongly suspect that the ones who took action before us were members of the Dark Night Hunter Association stationed in Mulan City."
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