Chapter 145: Conclusion and Aftermath

Zhang Tinglan was in a daze, as if a single night had shown her the other side of the world.

All things unappealing, foul, and malicious suddenly manifested before her eyes. Those fishy, ink-black events grasped at her ankles, attempting to drag her down into an irreversible abyss of eternal damnation.

She felt the oppressive weight pressing down on her entire body, as if she were standing in a brightly lit hall where she could hear nothing save for the sound of her own breathing.

Turning her head, she watched Jiang Wan and Chen Qing searching for something, her gaze drifting involuntarily to a blank patch on the floor.

Blood was flowing there, but what else was there?

Zhang Tinglan could not quite comprehend it. She simply felt that an object lying there was like a drifting boat upon an ocean; if only she could board it, she might escape this suffocating sensation.

Raising her head and observing Chen Qing and Jiang Wan for a moment, realizing that neither of them paid her any mind, she reached down into the pool of blood and picked up something...

Half an hour later, inside Chen Qing's home, Jiang Hongyun's voice was unusually loud, carrying with extra resonance deep into the night.

"What on earth are you people doing?! Didn't I tell you?! Call for backup, I told you to call for backup! You..." Pointing at the tip of Jiang Wan's nose, he looked somewhat resentful, "You—I can let that slide, but these two children, can you take responsibility for them?"

He turned his head to look at the young boy fast asleep in the bedroom, whose forehead was wrapped in a circle of gauze, concealing the split, unblinking vertical third eye between his brows that refused to vanish.

He glanced aside at Zhang Tingyun, who was still trembling with lingering fear—perhaps because the night was deep and the air had grown cold.

Looking at Jiang Wan, his body trembled slightly: "Have you ever considered that all of you could have died here today?"

She nodded.

"And you still went ahead and did it!"

She shook her head instead.

She looked at Jiang Hongyun with a bitter smile, a look of utter helplessness crossing her face as she drew her firearm: "Call for backup, you say..."

Right before Jiang Hongyun's eyes, she ejected the rounds. He stared at the empty magazine, and his expression changed instantly.

"You fired all thirteen bullets?!"

His eyes widened, staring straight at Jiang Wan before turning to look at the corpse on the floor. He could not forget that the bullet hole had entered through the back of the head.

He had died in a sneak attack.

"You..."

"Guns really don't mean that much to them." Jiang Wan gave a bitter smile and shook her head again. "We started fighting at midnight, and you all were on perimeter watch in the outer streets since I arrived at eleven. But did you discover anything?"

His expression shifted, and then he heard Jiang Wan say: "Thirteen gunshots couldn't reach your ears; do you really think a radio would have made a difference? As for calling you in... even if you had come inside, what could you have changed? That creature that severely wounded Chen Qing could probably shrug off gunfire and slaughter everyone present.

"That man who blocked my thirteen bullets—in his eyes, killing a few more of you would be as effortless as a snap of the fingers..."

Jiang Wan smiled bitterly. "It's not that I wanted to fight alone, but you wouldn't even be able to detect where they are... How could I possibly call upon you?"

"You..." His expression darkened. After a moment of thought, he asked, "How can I help you?"

Jiang Wan pondered for a moment. Just as she hesitated, Chen Qing's voice drifted out from the inner room.

"Firepower. Heavier firepower."

He had not gotten up, nor had he even opened his eyes.

"It's not that firearms are useless... rather, it's difficult for them to inflict substantial damage. This isn't a problem with the weapons, but with the people wielding them." With his eyes closed, his voice remained confident. "I can dodge bullets, but I couldn't possibly take a hit and walk away completely unscathed."

He fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Truthfully, the handguns you are currently using can no longer meet our present needs.

"This model of handgun has great stopping power, but its range is barely thirteen meters, and its lethality is somewhat lacking. Consider upgrading your equipment."

"So you see..." Jiang Hongyun's voice held a trace of bitterness. He wanted to say something else, but hesitated before ultimately shaking his head.

Shaking his head, he gazed out the window. Down below, the secured corpses were being loaded into vehicles one by one. No doubt tomorrow's news would be entirely dominated by tonight's events.

"Are the people you contacted reliable?"

"Hard to say." Jiang Wan followed his gaze. In her line of sight was a row of club members squatting by the roadside, led by Kalance.

Those people wore listless expressions as they waited blankly.

"However... since they said they didn't find anything... there shouldn't be any problem. They are well aware of the hazards posed by anomalous entities; it's unlikely they would pocket anything and still loiter by the side of the road." Jiang Wan sighed softly before turning back to Jiang Hongyun. "Let's head back first. Help handle the aftermath, and I'll come look for you tomorrow."