Baijiang City, Investigation Bureau.
Round Table Conference Room.
Except for the two teams currently on missions, the remaining three Grade 2 investigators, six Grade 3 investigators, and the sole Grade 1 investigator were all present.
Among them were Wei Nian and Ke Yuan.
Wei Nian was a Grade 2 investigator, and Ke Yuan was a Grade 3 investigator.
From Grade 3 to Grade 1, this was the internal ranking system for investigators, with the sole evaluation criteria being the quantity and severity of supernatural events handled.
A total of ten investigators, many of whom had rushed back from the field.
"Director Zhou, what happened?"
An investigator asked.
The man with a square-jawed face sitting at the head of the table looked to the side. "Since everyone is here, Old Wei, you can tell us."
From discovery, to despair, and then...
Wei Nian recounted the entire affair in great detail. As he spoke of the twenty-year-old prayer beads snapping, many investigators in the conference room couldn't maintain their composure.
"How is that possible?"
"The prayer beads blessed by Master Ming Deng for twenty years were not only ineffective but were shattered by the supernatural entity?!"
"It wasn't entirely ineffective," Wei Nian said. "The prayer beads should have injured the entity, causing it to reveal a faint shadowy outline. But it was still far from being exorcised."
However, for the investigators present, whether it was injured or not was secondary. The shattering of prayer beads imbued with twenty years of cultivation was difficult for them to accept.
These prayer beads were not standard equipment for regular teams; they were one of the trump cards of their entire Baijiang Investigation Bureau.
The last resort.
They had only occasionally lent them out to specific teams as a precaution, and they had indeed achieved several major successes.
And this time, the target entity was indeed extraordinary, but not just a little stronger than anticipated, it was...
Overwhelmingly stronger!
Wei Nian's portable recorder had also captured the scene.
The prayer beads, emanating golden light, snapped. In the shaky footage, something seemed to be shrieking, and a faint shadowy outline was also recorded.
The investigators were shocked.
"Enlightened talismans and blessed prayer beads are not omnipotent. When the limit is exceeded, they naturally cannot bear it."
"We can only deal with a small portion of the weaker supernatural entities."
A young man leaning against the wall with his arms crossed said in a low voice.
He wore a black mask and a baseball cap pulled down low. Coupled with his black trench coat, he looked like a suspect at a crime scene.
But in reality, he was the sole Grade 1 investigator at the Baijiang Investigation Bureau.
Jiang Tingqiu!
At only twenty-six years old, he had handled numerous supernatural events and survived many near-death experiences. In terms of experience and the number of supernatural entities he had encountered, he was undoubtedly the foremost in Baijiang, even ten times more than other investigators.
His words carried authority.
"I once encountered such a terrifying entity. Back then, out of several investigators, only two of us survived. The other, besides me, went mad not long after."
Even recalling that incident from years ago, Jiang Tingqiu still felt a lingering fear.
Thinking of this, he found it strange.
How did these two return safely?
It wasn't that he looked down on Wei Nian, but... a Grade 2 investigator and a Grade 3 investigator were indeed... insignificant to him.
"That's right, Old Wei. I remember you sent an emergency distress signal, but then you said everything was fine shortly after?"
"I was even rushing to retrieve a talisman back then."
An investigator said.
Wei Nian also found his experience today surreal.
He described the figure.
That blood-red saber strike.
"A single saber strike eliminated the supernatural entity?"
"Wait, can supernatural entities be dealt with by sabers?"
"Some consecrated blades might inflict damage on supernatural entities, but it's still far from exorcising them."
"No, the key is..."
An investigator stared at the footage from the recorder.
The shaky footage had captured glimpses of a figure, moving at extreme speed. The saber light seemed to have stirred up some gray matter.
Was this humanly possible speed?
And that saber... did it flash with a hint of red light?
It wasn't an illusion!
The investigators swallowed. If the recorder wasn't right there, based solely on Wei Nian's description, they wouldn't have believed it.
Jiang Tingqiu, the sole Grade 1 investigator, also changed his expression. He strode quickly to the screen, staring intently, not daring to miss any detail.
"His method of dealing with the supernatural entity is different from ours."
"He's using his own strength to eliminate it."
Jiang Tingqiu said.
Wei Nian asked, "Is it truly through his own strength, or is the saber special?"
He had witnessed it himself and knew it was real, but he still couldn't comprehend it.
Killing a supernatural entity with human strength, how was that possible?
They, the investigators, couldn't do it.
They were all flesh and blood, their only difference from ordinary people being that they had undergone special training and knew how to identify, investigate, and track supernatural entities.
More importantly, they wouldn't panic or be influenced by supernatural entities when facing them.
They would handle them according to the most appropriate procedures.
But...
They were still ordinary people, just trained ordinary people.
Even Master Ming Deng, the owner of the twenty-year prayer beads, was just an ordinary person. His profound Buddhist practice and the blessings from chanting scriptures could inflict damage on supernatural entities.
But this kind of power also required years of accumulation.
And it required a master who truly understood Buddhism.
If Master Ming Deng encountered a supernatural entity without any equipment, his fate would be no different from an ordinary person, except perhaps he would die with more dignity.
Wei Nian looked at Director Zhou and then at Jiang Tingqiu.
The Grade 1 investigator was still replaying the recorded footage, his eyes fixed on it with some excitement.
After a long while, his voice hoarse, he said, "I've heard that above Grade 1 investigators, there's another rank called Special Grade Investigator."
"But the promotion to Special Grade Investigator doesn't depend on the number of supernatural entities dealt with, but rather requires some more special factor."
"I've been suspecting it, searching for it."
He looked at Director Zhou.
He didn't state it explicitly, but he was clearly asking if the person in the recorder was... the legendary Special Grade Investigator!
This was a very good question.
Director Zhou also wanted to know.
His authority was higher, but he knew very little about the elusive Special Grade Investigators.
Director Zhou employed a topic-shifting tactic.
"This meeting is not just about the damaged prayer beads. Now, I need to discuss something more important."
"This matter, to be precise, is also related to the first matter."
Director Zhou paused and opened a statistical table.
Supernatural Event Statistics Table.
Not just for Baijiang City, but nationwide.
"For several months now, the frequency of supernatural events has significantly increased, as has the probability of encountering difficult incidents."
"There are currently two hypotheses."
"One is that supernatural entities are constantly being born or emerging, and the other is that they are constantly growing stronger."
"This is also the reason why a powerful supernatural entity has appeared within the city."
Otherwise,
In urban areas, densely populated places, supernatural entities would be relatively weaker.
Truly terrifying entities were found in abandoned buildings, deserted villages, and cemeteries... these areas were more prone to supernatural entities, and many powerful and horrifying ones were not uncommon. Many local investigation bureaus were unable to deal with them and could only resort to containment to minimize harm.
And now, the dangerous areas were increasing.
Human methods of dealing with supernatural entities, however, were very limited.
What would be the future path?
Director Zhou paused and said, "In any case, let's first deal with the cases that have shown abnormalities. A total of fifteen. You can divide them amongst yourselves."
"These are all suspected medium to low-grade incidents, but do not be complacent."
Wei Nian's team had just narrowly escaped death, so he chose first.
He didn't deliberately pick. He picked up one of the intelligence reports and looked at it.
"Two loud thuds suddenly sounded in Taiping Residential Area last night... Is this considered an abnormal event?"
"Fine, I'll pick this one."