Chapter 422 421 Circumstances
"Hmph! Listen for yourselves!" Secretary Jia Kai, enraged, suddenly stood up and pressed the tape recorder.
The voices of two men emanated from the tape recorder, causing Director Chen and Director Cai to collapse onto the floor in an instant; they knew that this time, they had lost not only their jobs but also faced the inevitable prison bars.
"Thump thump thump thump!" At this moment, the sound of the helicopter rotor blades grew louder, causing the windows to tremble.
An armed helicopter appeared in the sky above the Education Bureau building, slowly descending towards the basketball court.
"Secretary Jia, I shall take my leave now, no need to see me out," said Ge Dongxu as he strode out of the meeting room, cupping his hands in salute towards Jia Kai and the others upon seeing the situation.
By the time Ge Dongxu arrived at the basketball court, the helicopter had already landed steadily. Xu Lei and a military officer in uniform disembarked from the helicopter and, seeing Ge Dongxu standing there, hastily came forward to salute him.
Ge Dongxu nodded, saying nothing more, and directly boarded the helicopter.
After Ge Dongxu boarded the helicopter, Xu Lei and the military officer followed him aboard, and then the helicopter "thump thump thump thump thump!" gradually ascended, quickly shrinking to a black dot and finally disappearing without a trace.
"Phew!" Watching the helicopter vanish into the horizon, Secretary Jia Kai let out a long sigh of relief, and many others in the Education Bureau building did the same, especially those who had just encountered Ge Dongxu; they felt a lingering fear as they touched their foreheads to find them covered in cold sweat.
After Ge Dongxu left, Director Chen and Director Cai were taken away. Secretary Jia Kai temporarily appointed Director Jiang to handle the daily affairs of the County Education Bureau, and as for who would ultimately assume the position of the head of the Education Bureau, that was to be decided through discussions at the County Committee Standing Committee meeting.
However, those who had witnessed the events on the third floor and had seen Ge Dongxu fly away in an armed helicopter knew that the position of head was very likely to fall on Director Jiang's shoulders.
After appointing Director Jiang to temporarily handle the daily affairs of the County Education Bureau, Secretary Jia Kai sternly instructed him to issue a gag order so that nothing about today's events would be leaked; anyone who spread the word would be dealt with.
People in Huaxia Country tend to enjoy spreading gossip, especially about events like today's; if it weren't for the appearance of the armed police forces and the military helicopter, despite Director Jiang's warning, there would certainly be those who couldn't help but gossip and chew the fat.
But with the shocking scene they had just witnessed, no one dared to spread rumors anymore.
Joking aside, with the armed police forces and the military helicopter deployed, who knows if someone who spreads rumors might be directly apprehended by some secret department?
…
Songnan City is a mountainous area in Dongyue Province with relatively backward economics, bordering Ouzhou City of Jiangnan Province to the north.
Songnan City is full of mountainous terrain and rolling hills. The Zhan Yuan Mountain that Fan Hong spoke of is a relatively pristine old forest in Songnan City.
The mountain ridges tower high, covered by dense forests. Owing to the treacherous terrain, many areas are seldom visited by humans, and are home to snakes, insects, and fierce animals.
The situation with the zombie was first discovered unintentionally by the mountain patrollers when they came across some animal corpses in the forest, which included even large wild beasts such as wild boars. All of these corpses had been drained of blood without exception.
The mountain patrollers quickly reported the incident up the chain.
However, initially, it did not attract the attention of the relevant departments until two hikers went missing in Zhan Yuan Mountain. It was only when the search and rescue team found more desiccated animal corpses deeper into the mountains and discovered the two hikers in a cave that the relevant departments took the matter seriously.
When the rescue team found the hikers, they were in a state of great distress, their faces filled with terror. They both claimed they had seen a leaping, predatory zombie that didn't eat flesh but drank blood.
They were so frightened that they ran blindly and got lost in the forest.
The Special Ability Management Bureau was no stranger to zombies, dealing with a few cases every year, so at first, they didn't take it too seriously. They sent personnel from the Dongyue Province branch to search for the zombie in Zhan Yuan Mountain, hoping to eliminate it.
The result was one death and three injuries.
The personnel from the Dongyue Province branch took the matter very seriously after witnessing the zombie's ferocity. They not only immediately notified their neighboring province's Xu Lei for support but also invited several experts from various Qimen sects within Dongyue Province, preparing to eradicate the zombie once and for all.
This time, although there were no fatalities, many people were injured, and it was only thanks to a Zhong Family elder from Xiangxi who happened to be visiting an old friend in Songnan City and participated in the operation. This elder specialized in suppressing zombies and was well versed in their habits, which prevented any deaths. Otherwise, there would have been many more casualties.
Afterward, the Zhong Family elder determined that the creature was not a "black zombie" but a low-rank "armored zombie." The zombie had likely been buried in a location with some black material that stained its body, causing people to mistake it for a "black zombie" and let down their guard.
A low-rank armored zombie was at least equivalent to a cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer. The person in charge at the Dongyue Province Special Ability Management Department dared not take the situation lightly anymore, and urgently reported to the Special Ability Management Bureau in the capital, hoping the higher-ups would send more skilled masters.
Hearing that an armored zombie had appeared in Songnan City, Fan Hong naturally did not take the situation lightly. Additionally, since the zombie had now moved its hunting ground from the remote forest to the outskirts, indiscriminately consuming the blood of animals, it would be a minor issue if it caused panic. But if it were to cause widespread casualties, that would be a significant concern.
However, as Fan Hong was in the capital and even if they urgently dispatched the bureau's top personnel, it would take time for them to arrive. This prompted him to make an emergency call to Ge Dongxu.
"What's the situation over there now?" On the plane, Ge Dongxu's expression turned very grave and serious when Xu Lei told him that not only had many people been injured, but there had also been a fatality. It was then that Ge truly realized that, although many people from Qimen sects often disdain government management, they fail to realize that without it, such incidents could lead to countless civilian casualties.
For the first time, Ge Dongxu felt a sacred responsibility weighing on his shoulders as a member of this organization.
"The situation over there is very bad. Since the last operation, the armored zombie seems to have become more violent and has been rampaging, killing and sucking the blood of the mountain animals. The creatures in the mountains are sensing the danger and fleeing towards the outskirts. Elder Zhong believes that the armored zombie might be in the midst of evolving, which would be very bad if true," replied Xu Lei with a grave tone. When the topic of the zombie's possible evolution came up, a look of horror involuntarily appeared in his eyes.
Armored zombies are categorized into low, middle, and high rank. Generally, a low-rank armored zombie is equivalent to a cultivator with Qi Cultivation Fifth or Sixth Layer, a middle rank corresponds to the Seventh or Eighth Layer realm, and a high-rank armored zombie is equivalent to a cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer.
And as far as Xu Lei knew, aside from a few advisory directors with nominal roles who never leave their seclusion and the current Director Ge, the Special Ability Management Bureau did not have a single cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer. If the armored zombie evolved to a middle-rank, it would be challenging to suppress without a realm above the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer. Thinking about this possibility, Xu Lei couldn't help but feel waves of dread.
What do you think?
Total Responses: 0