15 Unnatural death

As time ticked away, Zhang Yaoyang, hiding amidst the greenery, felt every inch of his body bitten by mosquitoes. He regretted not bringing insect repellent, but his unwavering resilience urged him to persevere.

In the wee hours of the night, an SUV finally entered the compound and disappeared into the underground garage. Moments later, a room in front of Zhang Yaoyang lit up, revealing the silhouette of a slender man behind the window.

Relief flooded Zhang Yaoyang as it seemed Liu Hai had finally returned!

The room echoed with faint noises before falling into complete silence once more. Minutes later, faint snores drifted from the room.

"Policing is truly exhausting," Zhang Yaoyang shook his head, closing his eyes. Soon, he felt the subtle waves of dreams emanating from the room.

This sensation was extraordinary; he could accurately discern the gender, age, and location of individuals through their dream aura. If he knew the person, he could instantly identify their identity without error.

In his perception, the man was indeed Liu Hai, whom he had briefly encountered before.

Then, effortlessly, Zhang Yaoyang breached the man's dream. Since gaining this ability, no dream had been able to deter him. These people's dreams were like open books, allowing him to access their deepest secrets at will.

Liu Hai looked around in confusion, finding himself in a conference room.

The room was vast, filled with people clad in police uniforms, none of whom he recognized. At the forefront of the room, on the podium, were eight golden words written in bold font: "Legislation for the public, enforcement for the people."

"Where am I?" Liu Hai wondered, looking up to see a radiant light above, as if divine light was shining down upon him, emitting a gentle yet chilling warmth.

"Liu Hai, please stand up!" A booming voice echoed from the imposing podium. Reflexively, Liu Hai, a retired soldier, stood up straight.

"Report to me, how many cases of abnormal deaths have occurred during this period?" seated at the podium, Zhang Yaoyang, now resembling an elder with black-framed glasses, lifted his teacup and took a sip.

"Yes!" Liu Hai immediately replied, "According to the survey conducted by the technical team, there have been thirty-six cases of abnormal deaths in the jurisdiction during the first half of the year."

"What about cases that are yet to be solved or require attention?" Zhang Yaoyang inquired.

After a moment's contemplation, Liu Hai continued, "There are sixteen noteworthy cases. Among them, there were three suicides at Yanzhou Art College, five deaths at Meihao Supermarket, five homicides at Tangxin Garden Community, and three deaths on Xining Avenue, totaling ninety-eight fatalities. That concludes my report!"

"So many?" someone seemed to gasp from the podium before the voice continued, "Briefly describe these cases."

"The three suicides at Yanzhou Art College occurred on May 3rd, May 17th, and May 28th, respectively. Although the victims died at different times, according to witnesses, they all exhibited signs of mental disturbance before death, possibly due to fright or other external forces. The case has now been classified as a criminal investigation."

"As for the deaths at Meihao Supermarket, a fire broke out during peak hours on the evening of May 29th, claiming forty-three lives and injuring over a hundred. Strangely, no source of fire was found at the scene, nor were there any remnants of explosions. It was as if..." Liu Hai paused briefly before continuing, "it was as if the entire supermarket ignited in an instant."

"Not only that, but in the days following the supermarket's closure, we received four more reports. Four bodies were found inside the supermarket, with no indication of how or when they entered. However, upon examination, all four died from cardiac arrest, with eerie smiles lingering on their faces. A special task force has been established to investigate these cases thoroughly."

"Then came the Tang Xinyuan murder case." Liu Hai wiped sweat from his brow. "It first occurred on January 14th this year. Someone heard screams coming from Building 13 of the Tang Xinyuan residential area late at night, so they reported it. Upon investigation, it was found that the screams came from Liu Zhen, residing in Apartment 8 on the west side of the eighth floor of Building 13. When the police arrived, they found Liu Zhen dead on the scene, with only the upper half of the body remaining, naked, and the lower half missing."

"In February, March, April, and May, on the 14th of each month, a similar case occurred in Tang Xinyuan, with the victims being by household. The death toll ranged from one to five individuals per incident. This murder case is currently under intense investigation."

"Lastly, the Western Avenue death case, which first occurred in March this year. Someone reported finding a body crushed, and upon our arrival, we discovered a black Mercedes flattened at the intersection of Western Avenue. The driver inside was already deceased. Through DNA analysis, the victim was identified as Zhang Ai, a clerk from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce."

"However, all surveillance footage from that night showed no heavy vehicles passing through Western Avenue... Then, in April, a similar incident occurred again, and yesterday, the situation worsened. We found the same scenario on Western Avenue again, with six casualties this time, five of whom were students from Yanzhou Art College, and the remaining victim was a taxi driver."

"So many..." A sigh came from the podium. Zhang Yaoyang fell silent for a moment, then finally said, "Meeting adjourned."

Liu Hai breathed a sigh of relief. These cases had become all too familiar to him. Just as he was about to sit down, everything suddenly blurred before his eyes. When he looked around again, he found himself back at home!

Furrowing his brows, Liu Hai looked out the window to see darkness. He could only chuckle wryly and lie back down on the bed.

"These days have been too busy, even dreaming about reporting work to the leaders..." Liu Hai shook his head, feeling drowsy, and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep once more.

Little did Liu Hai know, outside his window, a young man who didn't look like a good person was slowly getting up, ready to leave gracefully.

"Sixteen cases of abnormal deaths in half a year?" Zhang Yaoyang frowned, stepping out of the compound and sitting on a public bench with his hands in his pockets.

Only the fire at Meihao Supermarket had been announced among these cases. The rest, apart from three cases of suicides at schools, he hadn't even heard of.

"This is just the crime rate in a second-tier city in the country. What if it's the whole nation? What if it's the whole world?"

Suddenly, Zhang Yaoyang felt an inexplicable chill. He tightened his coat and looked into the distance.

In the distance, a police car with sirens blaring sped by. Seeing it, Zhang Yaoyang finally realized—the entire city had somehow fallen into a strange atmosphere. The bustling streets he remembered had become deserted, and the snacks and night markets had vanished without a trace.

The whole city had been becoming increasingly desolate who knows for how long.

Zhang Yaoyang scrolled through his phone again, not just in Yanzhou City, but the whole of Huaguo... No, the entire world! Strange events were happening more frequently everywhere. As he scrolled through the headlines, one in particular stood out:

"A 10,000-ton cruise ship stranded in the Caribbean Sea, the Wahdarf, sank on the spot, with all 4,300 passengers perishing!"

Not a single survivor?

Looking at the headline, Zhang Yaoyang pushed his black-framed glasses and chuckled silently.

If it weren't for his understanding of the world's nature, he might have just found it odd why those people couldn't even escape. But now, understanding the essence of this world, he immediately realized that it was probably a supernatural event that occurred in the United States.

At this moment, he keenly felt that the world was becoming increasingly bizarre and dangerous, even the air seemed to be filled with deep malice...

A young man inadvertently stumbled upon the truth of this world. Zhang Yaoyang couldn't help but wonder if he was lucky or unlucky.