Chapter Seventy-Six: Stirring Up a Hornet's Nest

At the blare of “emergency assembly,” the entire Demon Suppression Bureau seemed to spring to life. Regardless of whether they had been sleeping, off duty, just finished their shift, or even preparing for a mission, every combatant grabbed their weapons and gear and assembled at the center of the indoor training field.

In truth, there weren’t many of them—less than thirty—since everyone else was already out on missions, including those assigned to the squads supporting the four apprentice Exorcists.

As an elite fighter, Sun Congliang immediately prepared to rush out in his powered exoskeleton armor at the first sound of the alarm, but was quickly intercepted by the research staff.

“This thing’s only a prototype! You really plan on wearing it to fight monsters? Take it off, quick.”

“You’re still bleeding—get yourself bandaged first.”

But Zhou Shu interjected, “It’s fine. Let him keep the gear on. We’ve tested everything, all items passed. Let’s treat this as a field trial.”

“His bleeding is just a scratch, nothing serious. Could you reload his ammo? I’ll go assess the situation first.”

Li Decai hurriedly protested, “Hey, you’re just being reckless! There’s no protocol for this kind of test—”

Before he could finish, Sun Congliang called out, “Come on, everyone—help me out. Emergency deployment, please reload my gun, I can’t waste time!”

Zhou Shu sprinted to the training field, spotting Zhuang Yong’an organizing the assembly. He rushed over, asking, “Captain Zhuang, what’s the situation?”

“Captain Zhou, emergency mission. A pharmaceutical research company just had a massive outbreak of mutants—we’re to regain control,” Zhuang Yong’an replied rapidly. “We need sniper support, so your tests are on hold for now.”

“No problem, I’m ready for live combat. I’ll go suit up,” Zhou Shu answered just as quickly.

“Good. Make sure you bring that Sun Congliang kid with you.”

“No need to call him—he’s already preparing and will be a valuable asset.” Zhou Shu hurried into the equipment room.

Now that Zhou Shu was officially an Exorcist, he was eligible to lead his own combat squad, so Zhuang Yong’an had begun addressing him as “Captain.” Still, Zhou Shu was so young that he hadn’t changed how he addressed most of the others.

As he left, everyone watched as something clad in heavy armor came pounding across the floor—the sound of “thud, thud, thud” echoing through the hall.

Impressive! Sun Congliang had shown up in his powered exoskeleton armor.

Having him join the mission was proof that the exoskeleton suit was now field-ready, and everyone marveled at the prowess of the research team.

At the same time, their confidence soared.

Heading into battle with a “tank” at your side gave everyone peace of mind.

Zhou Shu suited up with remarkable speed. Since his schedule alternated between training and research, he typically wore a training uniform with a lab coat over it. Now, he simply shed the lab coat, donned a bulletproof vest, tactical helmet, and a mask covering his mouth and nose. He grabbed a sniper rifle and a sidearm, and he was ready.

Once everyone was assembled, Zhuang Yong’an wasted no time with formalities and barked, “Everyone, into the vehicles!”

They had four vehicles—more than enough for thirty fighters and their gear. Even Sun Congliang, clad in his exoskeleton and with two massive weapons on his back, managed to squeeze in, though he could only perch on the edge of a seat, while the others took proper seats. Zhou Shu had stuffed an empty equipment crate under Sun’s seat; otherwise, it would have been crushed.

As the vehicles rolled out, teammates eyed the armored suit with curiosity, while Zhou Shu studied data on a handheld computer, communicating with the research team. Since they were heading to the front lines, the researchers would not accompany them.

Once they left the training base, Zhuang Yong’an briefed everyone over the vehicle radio.

A biotech company called “Alpha” had experienced a massive mutation outbreak, and the situation was out of control. Regular police had cordoned off the area, and civilians were being evacuated. The Demon Suppression Bureau’s special officers had arrived to seal the inner perimeter, preventing mutants from escaping into the city.

Their support team’s job was to reinforce the inner cordon, making it even tighter. That was step one. Step two was to clear the mutants inside the company and rescue any survivors. They were also to retrieve as much data as possible to trace the source of the outbreak—no way could they afford to suffer a loss without answers.

Specific assignments would be given on site, but elite fighters would likely be sent into the company to clear mutants, while the newcomers secured the inner perimeter.

Hearing the mission details, Zhou Shu sensed something was off and used the internal channel to question Zhuang Yong’an.

With his clearance, Zhuang Yong’an shared the full story: the Bureau had received an anonymous tip that Alpha was conducting illicit drug experiments. They sent an Exorcist to investigate—Nie Yun, whose mutation was psychic, specializing in illusions. As a child, he had learned Taoist arts from a village priest, then studied psychology in college and now worked as a psychiatrist. His formidable mental powers and psychological training made him a master of psychological manipulation and undercover work.

The mission had been progressing smoothly, nearly obtaining conclusive evidence, when communication was suddenly lost. The agent stationed outside Alpha noticed something was wrong and immediately called for backup.

The Bureau suspected Alpha had discovered Nie Yun and, realizing they’d drawn official attention, detonated their “bomb”—unleashing the outbreak.

As Zhuang Yong’an had said, the initial objective was to seal off the area, then deploy fighters to clear out mutants and rescue survivors, including Nie Yun and possibly the original informant.

The four vehicles soon arrived at the outer cordon, where not only police were holding the line but also a throng of onlookers. When the special police vehicles passed through, the crowd knew this was no ordinary incident.

“Wow, even the special police are here. Could it be terrorists?”

“Who knows? But it can’t be good—and it must be dangerous, or they wouldn’t deploy the special unit.”

“I heard Alpha, that pharmaceutical company, had an incident. Maybe it’s a biohazard—like zombies!”

“Really? Good thing I didn’t sign up when they were recruiting test subjects—they were offering a lot of money and I almost considered it.”

“Zombies? You watch too many movies.”

“Still, you can hear gunfire from inside. Listen—there’s another shot.”

“That doesn’t sound like a gunshot...”

Meanwhile, the vehicles sped to the inner cordon. Zhou Shu could hear the distinct pops of suppressed gunfire—combat had already begun.

Upon arrival, everyone disembarked swiftly. Some formed a tighter perimeter, while others split into squads to hunt down any mutants that had already escaped.

The vehicle carrying Zhou Shu and Sun Congliang pulled up directly in front of Alpha’s main entrance. When Sun Congliang leapt from the van in his exoskeleton armor, the early-arriving fighters stared in shock.

Everyone knew the Bureau was restarting the exoskeleton armor program—some had even participated in the selection process—but no one expected the suit to be combat-ready in just over a month.

Sun Congliang’s task was to defend the main entrance, preventing unknown numbers of mutants from escaping; later, he might be called in as the “tank” for the assault team.

Zhou Shu’s assignment was to establish a sniper’s nest at a high vantage point to cover any unforeseen developments. He quickly found a suitable rooftop, set up his position, and was guarded by two fighters at the stairwell.

Once everyone was in position, no one noticed that atop a distant building, two figures watched the scene unfold.

“You’re sure about this? Launching the operation abroad at the same time?”

“Of course. Humanity has grown too decadent. The leader has decided to personally guide mankind onto the path of evolution. This is just the beginning.”

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