Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Ability Card Storage Device

“She said her name is Feng Ling,” the dispatcher said, still rattled. “She also said one aberrant exploded into plasma—no recognizable tissue left. She asked whether that would affect claiming the reward.”

He swallowed. “Captain Su… is that even possible? Could it be a prank?”

Su Yu Qing couldn’t sit still another second.

He strode out of the office and fired orders at the assistant in a rapid burst. “Get vehicles ready. I’m going to the scene with the Special Assault Team. And notify Zhou Zhou he doesn’t need to come—tell him to rest and be ready for the meeting tomorrow morning.”

The city outside was a slab of darkness.

At the underground parking exit of Inspection Headquarters, multiple vehicles rolled out one after another, their headlights cutting narrow tunnels through the night as they headed for the West Suburban Villa District.

When Su Yu Qing arrived, the City Fire Brigade was already on site.

Fire engines sat with floodlights blazing, their red bodies and reflective strips glaring against the black. The firefighters had knocked down the main flames. The villa itself was scorched to a charred husk. Water and mud pooled in streaks across the ground. In the harsh light, patches of thick, sticky residue clung to the pavement—something that didn’t look like it belonged to any ordinary fire.

Su Yu Qing scanned the crowd and found Feng Ling almost immediately.

She stood with her hands in her pockets, casually talking to the fire captain. Compared to the surveillance footage, she looked steadier. Less like someone about to fold.

As Su Yu Qing approached, he caught her voice mid-sentence: “I know arson endangers public safety. But when I set that fire, there was nobody inside—only aberrants. Isn’t that public service? Can’t you give me a discount? You’re telling me I have to pay full price for a villa. I’m not a sucker.”

“The Inspection Bureau will cover the villa’s losses,” Su Yu Qing said, stepping in with a hard, controlled calm.

He turned his stern gaze on Feng Ling. “Feng Ling, I’m obligated to remind you—any citizen who encounters an aberrant should call it in first. Not take the risk alone.”

Feng Ling blinked once, like she was honestly considering it. “Then I’ll call next time.”

Su Yu Qing held his expression by force. He turned away, silently repeating a mantra: stay calm, stay focused. The scene came first.

He stepped into the villa.

The first thing he saw was a human-shaped bloodstain, baked into a black crust. Droplets radiated outward in violent arcs. The air was thick with a hot, metallic stench that clung to the back of his throat.

Further in lay an enormous corpse—bloated, heavy, obscene in its size. The skull had been shattered into fragments. The remains of brain matter were smeared and scattered. It was impossible to tell how many blades had gone into it.

Su Yu Qing glanced back at Feng Ling, his look weighted with questions he didn’t have time to ask.

Feng Ling followed behind him, studying everything with the same blunt focus.

“Why didn’t the one at the entrance drop an ability card?” she asked. “It died, but there was nothing.”

“It likely used logout,” Su Yu Qing said, pulling out his phone and taking photos. “For an aberrant, logout means abandoning the body. No ability card is left behind.”

Feng Ling frowned, as if snapping pieces together. “The wormy woman kept yelling ‘logout’ over and over. So it was literal.”

She pointed at the corpse and asked, “I didn’t take Fatty’s ability card. Does that increase the reward?”

“It doesn’t,” Su Yu Qing said. “The bounty amount isn’t affected by whether you claim the card.”

“Oh.” Feng Ling sounded genuinely disappointed.

Su Yu Qing studied her for half a second, then said, “Inspection Bureaus everywhere are facing a staffing crisis. To ease it, the higher-ups designed a contribution point system. It should go into effect next week. From then on—killing aberrants, turning in ability cards—it all becomes contribution points on your citizen credit record. I’ll hold onto this ability card for you and convert it into points later.”

Feng Ling’s eyes sharpened. “So there will still be bounties?”

“You’ll be able to exchange contribution points for currency,” Su Yu Qing said. “One point equals one million.”

Feng Ling nodded once, satisfied. “Good.”

Su Yu Qing’s mood turned complicated in a way he didn’t have time to unpack.

He waved over a Special Assault Team member to retrieve the ability card.

The team member carried a cylindrical alloy device, set it beside the corpse, and opened it carefully. The inner structure was precise and dense—machined components, a glass tube, seams that fit too perfectly to be mass-produced.

The device emitted a low, insectile hum.

Feng Ling could barely hear it, but the ability card floating above the corpse rippled in the air like something caught by a current. Slowly, unmistakably, it drifted into the device’s glass tube.

“What is that?” Feng Ling asked under her breath.

“A newly developed ability card storage device,” Su Yu Qing said. “There’s only one in all of Qing Jiang City.”

He watched until the card vanished fully inside, then turned his gaze to her. “Where are the others?”

“There’s one more over there.” Feng Ling pointed to a villa diagonally across. “But I already collected its ability card. You don’t need to carry the device over. It’s heavy.”

Su Yu Qing pressed his lips together. After a brief silence, he said, “More ability cards isn’t always better. Combination matters more than quantity.”

Feng Ling didn’t answer. Her face stayed easy, but her eyes flicked, like she’d filed the sentence away.

She yawned and stretched. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Where?” Su Yu Qing asked immediately.

“Somewhere,” Feng Ling said, as if that solved everything.

Su Yu Qing’s nerves tightened. The aberrant that had used logout might come back any time. And after today’s attack, the Inspection Bureau itself was no longer safe.

Feng Ling had refused to join the Bureau, but humans were humans. In this world, that mattered. Su Yu Qing couldn’t ignore it.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a keyring, and removed a single key. He handed it to her. “I have an apartment on Xiu Yuan Road. It’s been empty. You can stay there. This is the front door key.”

He held her gaze, making sure each word landed. “For a while, don’t go out unless you have to. Don’t go home. We confirmed four aberrant suspects in this area. You killed three. The fourth is either hiding or moving. And the one that used logout attacked you at the Inspection Bureau. That means it may know your identity. If it logs in again, it may come for you—maybe even wait near your home to ambush you. Be careful.”

Feng Ling turned the key between her fingers. “What if it doesn’t come looking for me?”

She sounded almost hopeful.

Su Yu Qing stared at her, then let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Worry about your injuries. Do you need me to call a doctor?”

Feng Ling looked down at herself.

The puncture wound from the tentacle had mostly closed—small opening, brutal depth, but the tissue had begun to mend. The worst was the acid-burned patch on her arm, raw and ugly, still a mess of torn flesh.

She lifted her eyes. “Your apartment has a shower?”

“It has hot water,” Su Yu Qing said. “Twenty-four hours.”

“Good.” Feng Ling flipped the key into the air, caught it cleanly, and smiled at him. “Thanks.”