Chapter Fifty-six: A Strange Phenomenon

Mo Lan and An Feng drove to the scene. The hotel had already been sealed off, with police officers everywhere. A crowd had gathered nearby, curious about what had happened, and many journalists mingled among them, snapping photos in search of something newsworthy to write about.

The other officers kept the crowd at bay, as Mo Lan and An Feng were now considered crucial assets—rare resources that could not be risked. If anything happened to them, the consequences would be dire.

Ignoring the commotion outside, Mo Lan and An Feng entered quietly. On the first floor, they found those supposed to be there still present. Guided by the lead officer, they proceeded to the third floor, to room 308.

The deceased lay there in silence, his throat slashed. His eyes were wide open, round with disbelief. Nothing in the room had been disturbed, nor was anyone else present.

Everything seemed unnaturally natural, leaving Mo Lan unable to piece it together. Her first instinct was to check the surveillance room. The moment she opened the door, she discovered the attendant inside had already stopped breathing. The security footage appeared to have been destroyed as well. Why did people these days feel compelled to destroy everything?

The hotel staff member who had followed them in turned pale, never expecting the attendant on duty to be dead. Did this mean her own life was now in danger?

Mo Lan glanced at the trembling woman behind her, finding her too timid, and waved her out. An Feng didn’t mind; these people were of little help anyway, stammering so much they couldn’t even state the time of death with any clarity.

Lately, perpetrators seemed intent on creating unsolvable mysteries. Each case was deliberately constructed to leave no clues, as if guided by some master. Compared to ordinary cases, these were on another level entirely.

They examined every piece of equipment and found that the wires had been sliced with a blade, and the buttons destroyed.

“There’s someone here!” An Feng shouted.

From under the desk, a figure leapt out, dressed head to toe in black, wearing a jet-black mask marked most conspicuously with a red serpent. In his hand was a rare, unusually shaped knife.

“I had no intention of clashing with you, but since we’ve met, there’s no other way,” the man rasped, his voice harsh and his presence filled with murderous intent. He seemed old, judging by his voice, but his movements showed no sign of age.

Mo Lan immediately drew her gun, aiming straight at the man’s face. If injuries were caused in the line of duty, so be it. For someone to break in this far, there must be accomplices nearby.

“Is your knife faster, or my gun?” Mo Lan asked, fixing her gaze on him.

An Feng surveyed the surroundings, wary of anyone else suddenly emerging—if so, their lives would be at stake.

The man brandished his blade, utterly unfazed, his eyes unwavering and fearless. Suddenly, he charged at An Feng. An Feng fired a shot, aiming for the leg, not intending a fatal blow. Mo Lan, in her haste, fired as well, but her bullet only bored a small hole in the floor.

The man’s knife never reached An Feng; as his leg was struck, he lost balance, and the blade clattered to the ground as he fell heavily.

The scene left both An Feng and Mo Lan shaken, but they quickly regained composure. The man, though wracked with pain, showed no panic—biting down hard, enduring the agony of the bullet wound.

As the two approached, they saw the man bite down on his tongue and collapse, dead on the spot.

Foam bubbled from his lips, his body convulsing wildly, as if seized by madness.

Other officers, drawn by the sound, hurried in, shocked by the scene. They quickly carried the corpse away, leaving An Feng and Mo Lan alone at the scene.

Neither knew which direction the investigation should now take. Further searching here would be pointless. The man was dead, and it was unclear whether he was even the real murderer.

This case was far from simple—people these days seemed to have no fear of death.

At the same moment, chaos erupted in the Mo household. What had been a peaceful residence was suddenly besieged by over a hundred men in black. They carried no firearms, only weapons—daggers, knives, and machetes. The two guards at the entrance had already been slain, their blood staining the threshold.

Four young ones kept watch over the immortal elder and the patriarch, the two most important figures left in the Mo family. The two old men were enjoying a game of chess when the gunfire outside caught their attention, and both became instantly alert. The four youths went out to investigate, only to find the intruders had already reached the main hall.

“Grandfathers, is there anywhere safe here? I’ll take you to hide. There are too many of them, and not many here can put up a fight,” Dong said decisively, determined to protect the two elders. A few minor injuries wouldn’t matter, but failing to keep them safe would be a disaster.

The old patriarch shook his head. He had never imagined the Mo family would face such an attack, so he had not arranged for a secure hiding place. Besides, the situation had not yet reached its most critical point.

The attackers stormed inside—over eighty remained, while only a dozen of their own had fallen.

With four needing to protect the two elders and deal with so many enemies, things became difficult. They could eliminate them all given time, but then they wouldn’t be able to protect the elders properly.

Just as the tension reached its peak, the attackers suddenly seemed to receive an order and withdrew at once. The four were stunned—they hadn’t done anything, not even called the police.

“Why did they just leave? Did someone call the police?”
“Or did the others return?”
“No idea!”

The six were left dumbfounded. Gazing at the luxurious hall strewn with corpses and blood everywhere, their brows furrowed deeply. They didn’t bother cleaning up, but instead found a clean spot to sit quietly, staring into space.

Meanwhile, all assassination contracts in the underworld were cancelled—the killing registry was inaccessible.

As the two at the scene sat in a daze, the police chief called. Mo Lan answered with concern. “What happened, Chief?”

“Your home has been attacked—there are bodies everywhere. You’d better put down your work and get back to handle things,” the chief said urgently. Outsiders had reported the incident after finding the doors wide open and discovering the carnage inside.

Mo Lan gripped her phone tightly, quickly hung up, grabbed An Feng, and said anxiously, “Hurry home, something happened at the house.”

An Feng didn’t hesitate, jumped into the car, and raced toward the Mo residence, running several red lights along the way—no one dared stop them, as people recognized the gravity of the situation.

When Mo Lan returned, the old patriarch and Mo Fan had also arrived. The scene left them all stunned, but their first reaction was to rush inside. Finding the six safe and sound, the weight was lifted from their hearts.