Chapter 105: The Mole

At the Pingjiang Guiyuan Public Cemetery, Fang Qi sat on the ground, slowly reading aloud in front of four newly erected graves. This was a routine he was long accustomed to. First, write the eulogy draft. Then come to the graves to rehearse it, get familiar with it, before formally delivering it at the memorial service.

“Today, with hearts full of deep sorrow, we gather here to bid farewell to our four comrades, Sang Liao, Jian Wei, Jiang Hongzhen, and Yang Yunmen…”

“…Life carries many missions, and our four comrades chose to protect others, even when that meant facing danger directly. They were fearless guardians, true Executors, great comrades who truly upheld integrity and responsibility throughout their lives…”

“…In fulfilling their duties, they displayed extraordinary courage and selfless dedication, setting an example for all of us and teaching us what selflessness and courage truly mean. Their spirit will live on with us…”

“…Please allow me, representing the Pingjiang Executor Group and in my personal capacity, to express my deepest condolences to these four brothers and sisters-in-arms, and to extend my sincerest sympathies to the families of the deceased, as well as to Comrades Yue Yunqiu, Li Yuan, Tong Xiang, Zhou Liao, Qi Xin, Xun Suchun, and Li Yinghe, who were injured in this incident. They have poured their sweat and toil, drop by drop, into the development of this nation. They may not have performed earth-shattering deeds, but their contributions and dedication cannot be denied…”

“…Following this incident, the Execution Headquarters in North China, Southwest China, Northwest China, Northeast China, East China, and other regions were deeply shocked and dispatched reinforcements to assist in rescue efforts and reconstruction. The Zhongnan Execution Headquarters has placed the utmost importance on this case and has immediately taken action, adopting a posture of the strictest severity in the pursuit and capture of the perpetrators involved in this exceptionally major case, and implementing effective and practical measures to ensure the personal safety of active-duty Executors…”

“…The departed have passed on; may the living live well. May our four comrades rest in peace. May their families take care. May the injured recover swiftly…”

After reciting the draft once more, he put it down, tried to recite it from memory, and once he confirmed he hadn’t missed anything, he stood up. His leg had gone slightly numb from squatting so long; he had to lean on something to steady himself.

“Thanks, brother,” he said quietly to the simple headstone engraved with the name ‘Sang Liao.’ “I still remember you once joked about whether Zhou Liao would cry if you were killed in the line of duty… When I went to the hospital to see her, I accidentally caught her sitting on the bed, crying.”

He thought for a moment and felt it was still a bit awkward, so he didn’t say anything more. He just patted the headstone. “Take care. I’m heading off now.”

He slowly walked forward, surrounded by a forest of headstones. He knew this cemetery better than anyone by now. The old gatekeeper at the mausoleum had known him for a long time, knew he was with the police. These days, Fang Qi didn’t even need to sign the visitor’s log himself. The old man would just nod at him, and he’d nod back, and that was their greeting.

When he got outside the cemetery, the old man handed him a cigarette. “New ones?”

“Yeah,” Fang Qi nodded. “Four comrades, all pretty young.”

He figured the old man was about to start telling him about his old war buddies again. Although it was genuinely a past worth remembering, Fang Qi had heard the man tell this story no fewer than forty times. No matter how exciting a story was, hearing it forty times was more than anyone could bear. But this time, Fang Qi actually felt like listening to the old man ramble once more. It wasn’t for any particular reason, just to have the story as background noise. He just wanted to chat with someone right now; the topic of conversation wasn’t that important.

“Young…” Contrary to Fang Qi’s expectations, the old man didn’t launch into his spiel. Instead, he sighed wistfully. “The young ones are the biggest pity. Were they fresh recruits?”

“Not exactly,” Fang Qi said, trying to recall. “He’d been on the job for about two years. A pretty outgoing guy, always seemed a little unserious… But he had a solid backbone.”

“Was it that thing they called a gas explosion?” the old man asked.

“You know about that?” Fang Qi sounded surprised.

“How wouldn’t I? You think I don’t know what a gas explosion sounds like?” The old man raised his eyebrows and waved his hand dismissively. “I was sitting right here when I heard that racket. Bang! Just went off, one after another… Heavens, had to be at least a dozen cannons’ worth, right?”

“Really wasn’t cannons,” Fang Qi couldn’t help but laugh at the old man’s description, the knot in his chest loosening a little. He shook his head. “Just a bunch of crazies with nerves of steel, using homemade explosives for a terrorist attack… They’ve all been caught, every last one of them will be severely punished.”

His words were half-truth, half-lie. ‘All caught’ was definitely a lie. The report stated that a total of twenty-seven New World members were involved in this incident, but only twenty-two bodies were found. Among them, there was no sign of the owner of that Blood Lake. The Pingjiang Execution Headquarters site was now tightly cordoned off. That Blood Lake was still present, and the lake’s surface level had already risen to nearly half the height of the area.

Perhaps the owner of the Blood Lake, realizing the game was up, had simply relinquished control over it. As a result, anyone still alive had been released. The headquarters building itself had never reappeared. Fang Qi had heard that research on the Blood Lake would soon begin, and Executor specialists from other regions would be coming to Pingjiang to help. New World had essentially shot themselves in the foot.

It was just that the cost was too heavy, so heavy that he could barely accept it. Sang Liao and Jian Wei from Team Two were dead. Tong Xiang had suffered extensive burns. Zhou Liao had a concussion and multiple fractures. Qi Xin was somewhat luckier than them, with only a fractured left leg. Calling it ‘luck’ wasn’t quite right, but it was the truth, because Li Yuan, who had been undergoing the Physical Examination with her, had half her body blown off. Were it not for her Syndrome, a person suffering such an injury would have died ten thousand times over.

This was the first time Li Yuan had attempted a Full Beast Transformation and successfully retained her sanity. After regenerating her wounds, she displayed astonishing tactical acumen during the incident. The report stated she moved through the floors, systematically rallying the personnel who had been scattered by the explosions, organizing those with combat experience to assist the wounded and civilian staff in regrouping. Under her coordination, the people who had panicked due to the sudden blasts maintained their composure, avoiding potential stampedes or infections from untreated wounds.

After accomplishing all that, she single-handedly hunted down the intruders floor by floor. Of the twenty-two New World members shot dead, seventeen were credited to her account. The other five were the result of Team One Leader Yue Yunqiu’s work; he had cleared out five attackers he encountered on his way down to Sublevel Three.

It was a bit questionable to call them seventeen ‘bodies,’ though. After her Full Beast Transformation, Li Yuan was indistinguishable from a true Monster. Although she retained her sanity, maintaining intact corpses for a creature standing nearly four meters tall with claws almost thirty centimeters long was quite difficult. Most of the bodies were badly mutilated, and the forensic doctors could only piece them together as best they could for the sake of the official records.

“You were at the scene too?” The old man paused, slightly taken aback.

“Colleagues were there. They were conducting an internal Physical Examination,” Fang Qi sighed. “I just got purely lucky. Dodged a bullet.”

“That’s a good thing,” the old man said. “Being alive is the greatest good thing.”

Fang Qi didn’t reply, just smoked his cigarette.

“…The more I think about it, the less it adds up,” the old man suddenly spoke up. “I’ve made homemade bombs before. To cause a blast that big, the thing would have had to be enormous. How could they hide something like that? Carrying it out in the open would’ve been way too conspicuous!”

“They were installed in multiple locations,” Fang Qi sighed. “The bangs you heard weren’t just explosives, they were also the sound of load-bearing columns snapping and the building collapsing.”

“Doesn’t that mean you had a ghost on the inside?” The old man took a drag of his cigarette. “They knew the building’s structure like the back of their hand and planted explosives without you finding out. And weren’t you on leave while all those people from other places were being transferred in?”

Fang Qi froze for a moment. He was silent for a while before stubbing out his cigarette. “Yes,” he said quietly.

The old man clapped his hands, his tone certain. “Well, there you go. That’s an internal investigation to find the mole, right there.”

Fang Qi said nothing. His brow was furrowed, his lips pressed tightly together, his chin slightly tucked. He held the half-smoked cigarette stub in his palm, making a fist, and pressed it against his temples, where a throbbing pain had settled in.