Chapter 9: Special Operations Department Nine

Facing those piercing gazes, Chu Cheng felt a chill run through his heart.

"What the hell, I'm just passing through. Why are they all staring at me? Do they find it unacceptable that I have a normal brain and don't want to get involved with them?" Chu Cheng didn't dare to look any longer. He turned his head, intending to make a quick getaway, only to realize that his escape route had been blocked without him noticing. A student had already positioned themselves behind him, casually blocking his path with their body.

Just as he began to think that things might escalate, a black van suddenly approached. It swiftly drifted to a stop by the side of the sidewalk, and the car door was rudely pulled open along the track.

Two figures in black trench coats emerged from the vehicle.

One of them was a woman who immediately left a deep impression on anyone who laid eyes on her. She possessed an unparalleled figure that could be considered a rare gem. Her legs seemed to go on forever below her neck, and her mere act of stepping out of the car caused quite a stir. She was the type of person who would effortlessly capture everyone's attention on the street.

The other person was bald, with a menacing appearance, and he had a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"This commotion has caused quite a scene, especially in broad daylight with so many people around," the bald man blew out a smoke ring. "It won't be as easy to cover it up this time, will it?"

"That is no longer a concern for us."

The leggy woman shrugged her shoulders. She took a step forward and pulled out a solid black stick from the holster strapped to her fair thigh.

She flicked a switch, and the tip of the stick crackled with a thin blue arc.

An electric baton.

Fortunately for Chu Cheng, with the appearance of these two individuals, those who had been staring at him seemed to suddenly lose interest and shifted their gaze collectively towards the newcomers.

Among them, the pair of seafood and wire ball merchants who had pushed their way to the front stood out in particular. Both of them had multiple injuries on their bodies. The young man's face was covered in scratches and blood, while the girl's once attractive face was now swollen and discolored. Their features were so distorted that one couldn't even discern their gender from their faces alone.

But they seemed to be impervious to pain, their scarred faces contorted with anger.

"Not a single good person among them. Not a single one," the girl said.

"And what about you? Are you here to mock us too?" the young man said.

"Die, die, all of you, die!"

Led by these two individuals, everyone surged forward in a frenzy.

The bald man discarded his cigarette and brandished a similar electric baton. Side by side, the two of them charged into the crowd.

Chu Cheng quickly took the opportunity to move aside, knowing it was wise to prioritize safety over curiosity, even though he was tempted to stay and watch the commotion.

Just as he was about to make his escape, a soft voice sounded in his ear.

"Um, excuse me for interrupting."

Chu Cheng turned around and found a girl speaking to him. She had short hair and wore a white short-sleeved shirt, radiating an innocent and adorable aura. She seemed to have just come down from the black van as well, holding a small white tablet in her hands with bright, dark eyes.

She appeared to be a companion of the two individuals who had disembarked from the vehicle earlier.

"Look here."

The girl held a peculiar device in her hand, a shape that reminded Chu Cheng of a handheld scanner used by cashiers.

She scanned Chu Cheng with the device, glanced at the display screen, and then tilted her head to look at him for a while. "Huh? Strange, you haven't been infected at all."

Meanwhile, the bald man and the leggy woman had already engaged in an unmatched battle within the crowd. Their electric batons danced through the air, and the crackling sound of electric arcs reverberated, with crazed students falling in response almost every moment.

"Don't worry, it won't take up too much of your time," the girl said to Chu Cheng in a polite manner. "It will be over soon."

Chu Cheng only needed a glance at the ongoing conflict to know she was right. The two individuals wielding electric batons moved through the crowd, not indiscriminately killing, but rather akin to Zhao Yun traversing the Changban Slope—entering and exiting unscathed.

In a matter of moments, the abnormal students were sprawled on the ground, unconscious and in disarray.

The two individuals finished their work, stowed away their batons, and approached Chu Cheng.

"Strategic Defense Bureau, Special Operations Department Nine. I'm Chen Meiyue," the woman presented her identification, which displayed a silver emblem.

"Special Operations Department Nine, Luo Yajun," the bald man also showed his identification and immediately pulled out a new cigarette, lighting it up once again.

It was as if breathing had become a struggle without that thing.

Upon hearing their two companions introduce themselves, the girl holding the tablet introduced herself as well. "I'm Tang Li."

"Don't be nervous, little brother," Chen Meiyue smiled gently. "It's already over."

Under normal circumstances, Chu Cheng might have corrected her, as being a little brother might be true, but being small was not necessarily the case. However, he wasn't in the mood for that today.

By now, the spread of the incident was probably unavoidable. Although no one dared to approach during the initial chaos, both inside and outside the teaching building, teachers and students were observing the situation from a distance. Some even took out their phones to capture videos.

Tang Li approached the two of them. "The infection level is below 1%, he's fine."

"Oh?"

Both individuals showed surprise upon hearing this.

"Not bad, young man," Luo Yajun's rough hand patted Chu Cheng's shoulder. "To not be infected at all in a situation like this."

"What does infection mean?" Chu Cheng glanced at the students scattered on the ground. "What happened to them?"

"I can't say," Luo Yajun replied. "According to regulations, we are not authorized to disclose this information to the general public."

Chu Cheng looked at the students lying haphazardly on the ground, as well as the teachers and students who were observing from a distance around the teaching building. He wondered if they could still keep it under wraps. Perhaps they could employ a large-scale hypnotic summoning from the River of Oblivion?

Seemingly understanding what he was thinking, Luo Yajun shrugged helplessly.

"We no longer have control over whether or not the information is concealed. In any case, according to the rules and regulations, we can't say anything. After all, we are just lowly janitors."

"Oh, but the infection levels among the students in your school are not high, and the situation is relatively mild. It's just a small-scale minor infection incident, nothing serious. They will be fine."

Chu Cheng thought about the chaotic scene he had just witnessed and couldn't help but think, "Is that considered mild?" Then, he remembered what he had seen in the game last night—the inhuman act of a man beheading himself.

Alright, he seemed to have some guesses.

At the request of the two individuals, as the only eyewitness who remained remarkably conscious at the scene, Chu Cheng recounted in detail everything he had witnessed. Tang Li, the girl, diligently recorded the entire account on her tablet using a sensing pen.

In the meantime, another vehicle arrived at the scene. A team of soldiers in black uniforms jumped out of the vehicle and set up a cordon to begin cleaning up the area.

"Alright, that's probably all the questions we have. Thank you very much for your cooperation," Tang Li carefully put away her pen. "Lastly, there is one more thing. It may trouble you to undergo a medical examination today."

"Oh, don't worry too much. You passed the scan earlier, so you should be fine. The examination is just a precautionary measure in case. Anytime today, go to the central hospital in the city and present your identification number. They will arrange a special comprehensive examination for you, and it's completely free of charge."

In fact, when it came to the mention of a medical examination, Chu Cheng inwardly rejected the idea. Medical examinations for young people in the new era were often not friendly.

Chu Cheng still remembered the two things he disliked the most when he was a child: getting blood drawn and having his eyesight tested. Back then, in his naive and ignorant state, driven by the spirit of having nothing better to do when well-fed, he actually memorized the entire eye chart, fooling himself into thinking that his vision was soaring. But when faced with a real doctor and a glass stick, he couldn't see the damn stick clearly.

Although he didn't know what these people meant by "infection," the sight of those students earlier left him with lingering fear. So, he decided to undergo a full-body examination to ease his mind.

This might be the most comprehensive medical examination he had ever received in his life. He hadn't even eaten lunch and rushed to the hospital, completing the entire examination process by three in the afternoon.

After having dinner outside, it was close to five o'clock when Chu Cheng returned home.

The first thing he did after coming home was to turn on his computer and log in once again to the game, "Avengers vs. Justice League: The New Era."

As the game started and the screen displayed the confronting "A" and "JL" logos once again, he finally felt a slight relaxation in his tense nerves.