Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Of Course You Should Be Excited

Bright yellow cordon tape ran along the shore, snapping in the wind. The river itself was empty—no boats, no traffic, nothing but black water and rotor wash chopping the surface. Everything on the water had been temporarily shut down.

The helicopter set down at the cleared pier.

Only the Inspection Bureau and the River Patrol Team were on standby. No civilians. No gawkers. Just people waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

The moment Feng Ling stepped off the helicopter, she saw Su Yu Qing’s face—tight, stern, stretched to the breaking point, like someone owed him eighty million and had the nerve not to pay. Beside him stood two lines of fully armed Special Assault Team members, Qin Liang and the others mixed in.

Feng Ling scanned the crowd. No Huang Fu Miao Miao. Then she spotted a tiny skeleton head pressed to the window of a van farther off.

“Tell me,” Su Yu Qing said. His gaze swept between her and Zhou Zhou. “What’s the situation?”

Feng Ling’s eyes flicked away from the van. “Four aberrants bought intel and came to kill me. I killed three. One got away.” She didn’t dress it up. She never did. “They bought information on the hidden Boss at Meng Jia Hotel. In two hours, I’m going there to wipe them out. I can’t leave aberrants in Qing Jiang City who know my name, my face, and what my ability card does. They also have tracking and search abilities.”

Su Yu Qing took a quiet, sharp breath.

So Meng Jia Hotel wasn’t just a hotel. It was a nest. Or at least a marketplace.

“I’ll move people immediately,” he said, voice controlled. “We’ll lock down the streets around Meng Jia Hotel within two hours.” He paused, then frowned harder. “But why two hours?”

Feng Ling tugged open her collar.

Skin, then bone—and then nothing.

A hole gaped in the center of her chest, the size of a fist. Not a wound. A void. You could see the fabric of her clothes on her back through it.

She pulled her collar closed again like it was nothing. “I need two hours to recover.”

Zhou Zhou winced. “Go find Little Skeleton and get a recovery shot!”

“I don’t want to depend on that stuff,” Feng Ling said, shooting him a sideways look. “This is better. It tells me exactly where this body’s limits are. What it can take. How far it can recover.”

Su Yu Qing looked like his face hurt. “Go rest in the van.”

The van was Zhou Zhou’s usual ride—oversized, built for field work, with a medical bed and emergency supplies packed in like it expected blood every night.

Feng Ling opened the door and nearly recoiled. Perfume poured out, heavy and sweet, thick enough to sting her eyes.

Inside, Huang Fu Miao Miao silently slid her hand behind her back, hiding the bottle.

Feng Ling stared at her for a beat. “…”

Then she climbed in, lay down on the medical bed, and closed her eyes. “Get on the player forum. See if there are any new posts about the hidden Boss. If there’s anything useful, write it down and tell Captain Su.”

“O-okay…” Huang Fu Miao Miao fumbled her phone and pulled up the player forum.

She skimmed a hundred posts in a rush. Nothing with “hidden Boss” in the title. Mostly task requests. Point trades. The usual noise.

It had been two days since the system announcement. Of course the hype had cooled.

She kept scrolling anyway.

Feng Ling spoke without opening her eyes. “Nothing?”

“…Yeah.” Huang Fu Miao Miao glanced over, hesitant. “How do you know?”

“The aberrant that got away told me its employer bought my intel at Meng Jia Hotel,” Feng Ling said softly. “That means someone among the players is making a business out of selling information.” Her voice stayed calm, but something sharp lived underneath it. “And it was afraid of the sellers. So I’m guessing those people have real strength and clout on the forum. When they need to, they can choke off information and control what spreads. Makes deals easier.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao stared as if she’d just found out the world had teeth. “I never knew…”

Feng Ling’s eyes snapped open. She gave Huang Fu Miao Miao a look so flat it could have cut glass, then closed them again. “I honestly don’t know how you survived the last two months.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao’s mouth tightened. She didn’t argue.

Feng Ling added, “Get yourself ready. When I’m done resting, I’ll need you to go to Meng Jia Hotel.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao’s eyes went wide. “M-me? But I—”

“Shut up,” Feng Ling said, frowning. She didn’t have patience for explanations.

The van went quiet.

Half an hour later, the door opened again. Su Yu Qing came in first, Zhou Zhou behind him, both of them careful as they shut the door like someone might be listening outside.

“I’ve set people near Meng Jia Hotel,” Su Yu Qing said. “To avoid spooking them, I placed them more than 150 meters out, disguised as road maintenance crews. They’ll move on my signal.” He looked at Feng Ling. “Once you’re recovered, Zhou Zhou will go with you. If you need support—equipment, weapons—say it now.”

Feng Ling opened her eyes and actually thought about it. That alone said how serious it was.

“They sent three fishman aberrants,” she said. “They waited until I was on the river and tried to use the environment against me.” Her gaze drifted to the sky through the tinted window. No moon. Only clouds and city glow. “This time, I want the environment on my side.”

She looked back. “Can we cut power to that block? The area around Meng Jia Hotel.”

“I can get the power bureau to cooperate,” Su Yu Qing said. “But the hotel will likely have backup.”

“I’ll smash the backup,” Zhou Zhou said immediately, like it was a fun errand.

Su Yu Qing’s jaw tightened. “That could trigger panic among guests.”

That was always the worst part. Aberrants hid among ordinary people. You couldn’t just level a building and call it clean.

Feng Ling exhaled through her nose. “Then give me a tiny camera. Something that can livestream. Let Little Skeleton go in wearing it. If she spots an aberrant, she can signal.”

Su Yu Qing’s gaze flicked to Huang Fu Miao Miao. He hesitated—just for a breath—then nodded. “We can do that.”

It was safer, even if it felt wrong. Better to send an aberrant to probe than to throw Bureau people into the dark.

Feng Ling closed her eyes again. Her voice dropped into a murmur. “I have to kill them. Every aberrant who knows the hidden Boss intel. Not one can be left.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao hugged her knees tighter and lowered her head.

Su Yu Qing looked between them, then said quietly, “Rest. Zhou Zhou and I will handle preparations.” He climbed out. Zhou Zhou followed, and the door clicked shut.

Outside, Zhou Zhou rolled his shoulders, loose and ready. “Tonight might turn into a real job.”

Su Yu Qing gave him a look full of tired disbelief. He’d noticed it before—combat-type card bearers all had the same flaw. They got excited when they should’ve been cautious. Feng Ling did it. Zhou Zhou did it too.

“Yeah,” Su Yu Qing said, dry as sand. “And the medical team might get a real job too.” He sighed. “I don’t get what you’re excited about. Every operation comes with manpower pressure and budget pressure. All it does is give me headaches.”

“Of course we should be excited,” Zhou Zhou said. His eyes gleamed, fists tightening like he could already feel the fight. “Humans have all kinds of emotions, but most of the time one feeling takes the wheel. When you get excited, you forget fear. And battle doesn’t need fear.”