Imminent Arrival

Facing Jiang Xun’s question, neither Zhi Yuan, leaning on the bed, nor Zhen Zhu, sitting beside her, spoke for a long time.

However, their silence was an answer in itself. They clearly knew about the ritual!

But this realization only confused Jiang Xun further. Why hadn’t the local Administration team notified them about such a critical matter? Not a single word had been leaked!

He had only found out just now from the succubus. This was beyond absurd!

Wait, speaking of the succubus…

Jiang Xun’s body stiffened. He turned his head instinctively and realized a small, black-haired girl was squatting in the corner of the room, clutching a cup of milk tea. Just moments ago, everyone—including himself—had subconsciously ignored her presence.

Furthermore, did the half-empty cup in her hand look a little familiar?

Before he could speak, Zhi Yuan broke the silence. “It seems Captain Jiang Xun has found out. Recently, a group of people has been causing frequent trouble in Yujing, summoning demons. The ritual gradually covering the city is also their handiwork.”

“Who are they?”

“The Truth Society.”

Now that things had reached this point, Zhi Yuan hid nothing. Jiang Xun was stunned. “Wait, the Truth Society? Wasn’t that organization wiped out by the Administration a long time ago?”

“Perhaps the cleanup back then wasn’t thorough enough,” Zhen Zhu added.

Jiang Xun frowned, deep in thought. He looked at the two girls. “So, why was such a serious matter kept from us?”

Zhi Yuan’s expression became complicated. She opened her mouth but seemed at a loss for words. Zhen Zhu, on the other hand, was blunt and shook her head. “It’s not because of you, Captain Jiang. The problem lies with us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not long ago, the captain of Yujing’s First Team was found to be a mole for the Truth Society. During an operation, he not only injured his own team members but also stole the relic they were using to handle the crisis!”

That’s… explosive.

Jiang Xun truly hadn’t expected such news. However, it immediately explained why the local team had been so cold toward them.

If you find one cockroach in your house, it means there are likely hundreds more nearby.

If even the captain of the First Team was a mole, what about the ordinary members? What about the non-combat logistics staff?

Once suspicion takes root, the truth almost ceases to matter; the heart is already in chaos. In this situation, even the locals were unreliable, let alone outsiders like Jiang Xun and his team.

No wonder they had been ignored since their arrival and assigned to what originally seemed like ordinary disappearance cases. It wasn’t that the Yujing branch didn’t want help; they didn’t dare trust anyone.

“I thought things were bad here, but I didn’t realize it was this disastrous.”

Jiang Xun felt a wave of mental exhaustion, but he quickly reined in his emotions. “So, what is the current situation?”

“Our Captain has been leading people everywhere to hunt down that traitor and the Truth Society lunatics. They’ve stopped several summoning attempts, but as you can see, the aura of the ritual over Yujing is still growing stronger.”

Zhen Zhu shook her head, the outlook clearly grim. Zhi Yuan added from the bed, “We must have overlooked something! During several of our previous operations, I suspected the Truth Society was causing chaos elsewhere just to distract us, providing cover for their true hidden agenda!”

Zhen Zhu gave her friend a strange look. Zhi Yuan, noticing the odd gaze, frowned. “What’s with that look?”

“I’m just surprised that someone like you, who only knows how to go ‘bang bang bang,’ actually has a brain.”

“Go to h*ll!”

Zhi Yuan nearly threw her phone at Zhen Zhu’s face in annoyance.

Jiang Xun didn’t register their bickering. He agreed with the logic. The Truth Society’s behavior was indeed strange. Summoning demons required massive resources; even if they were wealthy, they couldn’t possibly do it so frequently. Their scattered disruptions were likely a smoke screen.

So, what were they trying to hide?

The man’s gaze instinctively fell on the two cups of milk tea he had brought.

Wait…

“Where is my milk tea?”

He turned his head, only to see two empty cups and the straw still being toyed with in Su Mian’s mouth.

Seeing Jiang Xun look over, the girl gave an embarrassed smile. “Sorry, I was too hungry. If I don’t keep my mouth busy, I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist swallowing you all.”

“…”

Jiang Xun said nothing, but the other two in the room finally noticed the uninvited guest. Their expressions changed instantly.

“A demon!?”

Zhen Zhu stood up in a flash, white fire igniting at her fingertips. Simultaneously, Zhi Yuan pulled [Blood Thorn] out from under her blanket!

Fire and gun barrels were aimed squarely at Su Mian. Before Su Mian could react, Jiang Xun immediately used his ability to move between them.

“Wait! She has no ill intent. She is my… helper!”

The man stood as a shield between the two parties. He wasn’t worried about Su Mian; he was worried about their safety. If a fight broke out, the three of them wouldn’t even have time to write their wills!

Jiang Xun’s serious face convinced them he wasn’t joking. The two girls relaxed slightly, though their eyes remained filled with vigilance.

The Captain was helpless. He spoke again: “Trust me. She’s the one who eliminated that elite demon earlier. Without her, we’d be dead.”

“It was her?”

The girls were stunned. They realized they had actually forgotten to ask Jiang Xun about how the elite demon died. It was such a crucial piece of information, yet no one had cared, as if a subconscious voice had told them that once the demon was dead, the rest didn’t matter.

Realizing this, cold sweat broke out on their foreheads. The entire manor had been influenced by another demon, and they hadn’t even noticed!

Seeing the logic, Zhi Yuan stowed her gun and Zhen Zhu extinguished her flame. If the opponent truly wanted them dead, they wouldn’t have survived this long.

Jiang Xun sighed in relief, but looking at the empty milk tea cups, a headache began to form. Those were meant for sampling and inspection, and now they were gone.

Should he buy more?

But then he thought of something and turned to Su Mian. “How did that milk tea taste? Was there anything wrong with it?”

“The taste?”

Su Mian didn’t know why he was asking. She had truly been hungry, her stomach feeling emptier than ever. To suppress the churning desire in her heart, she felt she needed something in her mouth, and she had seen the milk tea he had left aside.

As for the flavor…

“It’s pretty average. Just the taste of ordinary milk tea.”

Jiang Xun was disappointed. If the milk tea truly had a problem, wouldn’t a demon’s perception pick it up? Since Su Mian had no reaction, did it mean the drink was actually fine?

Then what did “Professor Zhou” mean by leaving that hint? Was he mistaken, or was it a red herring?

Just then, the black-haired succubus continued: “The tea is ordinary, but the cups are a bit strange.”

“The cups?”

“Yeah. It seems there’s something off mixed into the material of these cups.”

Su Mian held the empty paper cup before her eyes. A faint pink glow flickered within her crimson pupils. She used her other self’s ability—gaining specific information by touching objects.

Though she wasn’t skilled with it, the cup wasn’t complex. She soon understood.

“I see. There are trace amounts of demon residue inside. No wonder the taste felt vaguely familiar. However, the amount is so small and the scent so faint… and since it’s mixed into the cup rather than ingested directly, it wouldn’t even affect a normal person unless…”

“Unless there are millions of these cups.”

The room fell into a sudden, heavy silence. It lasted only three seconds.

“Notify the Administration! Shut down all Ice and Fire Milk Tea shops immediately! And tell your Captain to use this lead to track them down!”

Jiang Xun spoke decisively. But as Zhi Yuan and Zhen Zhu prepared to move, he frowned. “No, it’s too late…”

Indeed, realizing the problem now was too late. Ice and Fire Milk Tea had been popular in Yujing for a long time. Even if not everyone drank it every day, countless people had surely been contaminated.

The “Gluttony Ghouls” appearing frequently in the city were proof! This was the final stage. Closing the shops now wouldn’t solve the underlying issue.

What do we do?

Jiang Xun instinctively looked at the succubus beside him, but the girl just blinked innocently. She truly had no solution.

All Su Mian could do was wait for the demons to arrive and then clear the “dinner table” to keep her stomach full and the damage from spreading. But as for the ritual or the infected people, it was too late to save them.

Jiang Xun knew this too. He sighed helplessly. “We can only do our best.”

Just as the Administration members were calling the neighboring “Old He” to spread the word, and before they could even step out of the room…

Ding-ling-ling—!

The strange sound of a bell suddenly echoed through the entirety of Yujing.