“Get some good rest. We’ll head to the scene in half an hour to survey the area.” Su Mo instructed before entering his own room.
He first conducted a thorough inspection to make sure there were no cameras or listening devices before finally relaxing.
Just then, Sakurai Mei sent him a message: “So, pretty great, right?”
Su Mo knew what she was referring to and replied: “Thanks, Mei-nee.”
It seemed the middle-aged man was indeed a friend of Sakurai Mei’s.
Half an hour later.
Su Mo, like a leading lady boss, guided the four college students, who were relatively new to the real world, towards the incident sites.
In truth, the locations where the man-eating monsters appeared weren’t limited to just one place. However, the highest concentration was at an abandoned chemical plant in the old southern district. During this period, a total of four monsters had been discovered, with three originating from this very site.
Strangely enough, whenever the local supernatural task force conducted searches in the area, it was as if nothing had ever happened there. As for the monsters, there wasn’t even a trace of them to be found.
When Su Mo and the others arrived outside the west gate of the factory, two members of the supernatural task force stopped them.
“Please show your identification. No unauthorized personnel are allowed inside.”
Su Mo presented his White Moon level武士 identification and showed them the mission assignment document.
Their attitude shifted instantly. “Right this way, Lord Chiba!”
Su Mo nodded in acknowledgment. The four students following behind gazed at him with admiration. Whether they respected him or not aside, the move of flashing his credentials just now was undeniably cool.
Wow, how can a girl be so effortlessly cool like that?
Hoshino Tamai’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Sensing their admiration for his status, a faint trace of a smug smile appeared at the corner of Su Mo’s mouth.
Someone led them to the various scenes where the man-eating monsters had been discovered. The gruesome state of the sites made the four college students frown.
However, they weren’t entirely unfamiliar with such scenes, so they didn’t have any adverse reactions, though their expressions did sour a bit.
“When were these scenes discovered?” Su Mo asked in a low voice.
“One site was from last night. The other two are from a week ago. Another monster was discovered inside a resident’s home. By the time we arrived, it had already escaped. The married couple who were the victims were eaten, leaving behind only some remains.”
After listening to the description and examining the photos, Su Mo also personally inspected each site.
He eventually stopped at the scene from last night.
“One of our colleagues was on patrol when a monster jumped down from a tower. He was completely defenseless, killed on the spot by the monster, and then eaten.”
“How do you know the monster ambushed and killed him from above?” Su Mo’s gaze locked intensely onto the speaker’s eyes.
The person responded calmly, “Someone happened to be passing by and witnessed the incident.”
Su Mo glanced at the dried blood on the ground. “Find that witness. I have some questions for them.”
“He… he was a bit traumatized. He’s resting at home and wasn’t on duty today.”
“Fair enough. Since it was a work-related injury, it’s only proper that I go pay him a visit in person.”
He turned to leave but suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, “Out of the four monsters, have any been captured?”
“Not yet. Currently, we can only make deductions based on the traces left at the scenes.”
“Alright then.”
They got into a vehicle from the supernatural task force and headed to the witness’s home. However, they got stuck in traffic halfway, which delayed them by over half an hour. By the time they arrived, the witness’s door was firmly shut. Neighbors said he had been taken to a psychiatric hospital.
The reason given was that he was so frightened he had gradually developed a severe mental disorder.
Su Mo already had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
“Were there any witnesses for the other three monsters?” Su Mo asked the accompanying task force member.
“No.”
Su Mo suddenly chuckled.
If nothing unexpected happened, these so-called man-eating monsters might not exist at all. They were likely fabricated by the local authorities to cover up something.
But that raised another question: weren’t they being too obvious? Weren’t they afraid of arousing suspicion?
Just then, the muscular suited man, Takahashi Hideo, suddenly spoke up. “I’m starting to think these man-eating monsters don’t actually exist. It feels like they’re made up.”
The other three widened their eyes, trying to signal him with their expressions not to say such things in front of the task force members.
Takahashi Hideo didn’t understand what their looks meant and continued voicing his deduction. “Chiba-sensei, I think the man-eating monsters might not be real. Those victims probably discovered some secret and were silenced.”
The supernatural task force member was shocked. “Impossible! With Mr. Sato personally overseeing things here, who would dare do something like that?”
“Who is Mr. Sato, and how is he connected to the Sect Leader?” Su Mo zeroed in on the key point.
The task force member answered truthfully, “Mr. Sato is the number one expert in Kagawa Prefecture, a C-class powerhouse. He’s said to be a distant relative of the Sect Leader. He’s known for his unwavering integrity and despises corruption. If anyone dares to commit crimes under his watch, he’ll definitely punish them severely if caught.”
By this time, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, but they were being held back by the task force members.
Su Mo thought for a moment and came up with a plan. “Let’s go to the psychiatric hospital. I’m determined to see this witness today. Also, notify Mr. Sato and ask him to come to the psychiatric hospital as well. Tell him I need to see him about something.”
“Alright. I’ll have someone take you all—”
Su Mo declined his offer. “No need. We can go on our own. You have your duties to attend to, and I don’t want to take up any more of your time. Oh, and lend us your car.”
The supernatural task force member: “…”
On the way to the psychiatric hospital, Hoshino Tamai didn’t understand the point of Su Mo’s actions. “Chiba-sensei, Mr. Sato is practically the authority figure here. Isn’t it a bit rude to just summon him like that? He probably won’t come.”
Kurokawa Saki, however, smiled and said, “No, I think he will definitely come.”
“But those people earlier said he hates corrupt officials the most. Could it be that—”
Before Takahashi Hideo could finish his sentence, Kurokawa Saki covered his mouth. “If you don’t know what to say, just don’t say anything. No one will think you’re mute.”
Just then, Kuchiki Cho, who had been relatively quiet, suddenly spoke up. “I get it. Chiba-sensei wants to test this Mr. Sato, to see if he will come. If he does, it means what those people said about him is true. If he doesn’t, it means they were lying. After all, a good leader wouldn’t neglect important matters just to save face.”
Kurokawa Saki gave a thumbs-up. “That’s exactly what I was about to say.”
Hoshino Tamai blinked, her expression lighting up as if she had just realized something.
Takahashi Hideo pried the hand off his mouth and said anxiously, “Actually, I was thinking the same thing…”
The four of them then turned their gaze to Su Mo, waiting for him to confirm.
Su Mo nodded.
“Wow, we guessed it right!”
“No, we guessed it right. You didn’t figure it out,” Takahashi Hideo emphasized.
Hoshino Tamai immediately ignored him.
Su Mo, focused on driving, couldn’t help but curl the corners of his mouth slightly. Heh, a bunch of youngsters.
The car stopped at the entrance of the psychiatric hospital. Before getting out, Su Mo instructed, “Don’t say anything reckless when we get inside. Just follow my lead.”
“No problem!”
Takahashi Hideo’s voice was the loudest among the four.