Meanwhile, inside a certain dissection room.
The cold shadowless lamp cast a ghastly white halo, baking the bloody scent from the dissection table until it felt somewhat cloying.
Lin Bowen pushed the gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose and inserted the tweezers into the abdominal cavity of the humanoid corpse.
As the metal instruments stirred, the charred flesh and skin let out faint, brittle snaps.
Standing to the side, Lei Zheng's brow was furrowed tightly, his gaze locked onto the corpse of the low-level xenogeneic that looked like a mutant mantis.
A strange smell, a mix of formalin and burnt meat, permeated the air.
"The fatal injury was indeed that penetration through the head."
Lin Bowen released the tweezers, a layer of carbonized black powder clinging to his gloves.
He pointed at the xenogeneic's nearly severed waist and abdomen, his voice echoing in the empty dissection room.
"But this abdominal wound is very interesting. Even without that strike to the head, based solely on the organs destroyed by this incision, this thing wouldn't have lasted more than three minutes."
Upon hearing this, Lei Zheng's gaze fell upon the horrific scar running across the xenogeneic's abdomen.
"The Falcon Squad's field report mentioned burns, and no traces of an explosion were found."
Lei Zheng spoke in a heavy voice, his fingers instinctively rubbing the holster at his waist as his expression grew solemn.
"I've seen the site photos. No blood flowed from around the incision; it was all sealed instantly by high temperatures. This is a typical injury caused by the energy system or element system."
"Correct, but that is exactly the most irrational part."
Lin Bowen nodded, a flash of fanatical inquisitiveness flickering in his eyes.
He picked up a metal probe and gently traced it along the charred edge.
"If it were common 'fire' or 'lightning' abilities, the wound would usually appear burst or show large areas of scorching. But look here—"
Lin Bowen looked up at Lei Zheng, the cold light reflecting off his lenses.
"The cut surface is smooth and even, with almost no energy overflow. This means the perpetrator didn't use dispersed flames, but rather some highly compressed, perhaps even materialized high-temperature energy structure."
"You mean... manifestation system?" There was a hint of surprise in Lei Zheng's tone.
"Not just manifestation, but with extreme high temperatures attached."
Lin Bowen's voice rose a few notches, as if he had discovered a new subject of study.
"Commander Lei, most of the manifestation system ability users recorded in our bureau can only create hard objects at room temperature, or energy spheres that are high-temperature but unstable. To forcibly compress energy of several thousand degrees into the shape of a 'sword' while maintaining such extreme hacking hardness..."
Lei Zheng fell silent.
As a member of the official authority, he knew very well what this implied.
"This level of control is at least B-rank... no, it might even be an awakened power level approaching A-rank."
Lei Zheng's voice was somewhat dry.
"If it's a wild awakened one, it's fine, but if it's an esper from some other dangerous organization..."
"Then it's a huge problem," Lin Bowen took over. "A destructive force of this level is something an ordinary SWAT team simply cannot stop. And judging by how clean the incision is, the opponent's physical techniques are also quite staggering."
Lin Bowen paused, his gaze becoming sharp.
"This isn't simple violent venting; this is precise, surgical-style killing. Even among the ace squads in our bureau, not many can achieve this."
Just as Lei Zheng was about to speak, the heavy metal door of the dissection room was suddenly pushed open.
A muffled bang interrupted the duo's speculation.
A soldier strode in, his combat boots hitting the tiled floor with a rapid rhythmic clatter.
He snapped to attention and saluted, his chest heaving violently, clearly having run all the way.
"Dr. Lin, Commander Lei!"
The soldier's voice carried an irrepressible urgency.
"Surveillance retrieval is complete! We captured a suspicious target on the camera at the alley entrance. System comparison shows... this target is not in the awakened database!"
Lei Zheng spun around violently, the gloom in his eyes mostly vanishing, replaced by a sharp glint like a hunter discovering prey.
"Go."
Without the slightest hesitation, he walked straight past the soldier.
Upon reaching the door, Lei Zheng stopped and glanced back at Lin Bowen.
"Dr. Lin, I'll have to trouble you to continue digging deep here. See if you can analyze the specific attribute tendencies of the opponent from the residual energy fluctuations."
"I'll do my best."
Lin Bowen waved his hand, his gaze already returned to the microscope.
Watching Lei Zheng's silhouette vanish behind the door, Lin Bowen sighed somewhat helplessly.
He picked up the scalpel again, the tip hovering above the charred wound of the xenogeneic.
"To be both peerlessly sharp and burn with high temperature, while maintaining such a stable energy form..."
Lin Bowen muttered to himself, his eyes behind the lenses narrowing slightly.
"Truly... a miraculous level of control."
Inside the surveillance room, dozens of screens emitted a cold ethereal blue light, and the hum of the fans seemed exceptionally noisy at this moment.
Lei Zheng strode into the room, bringing a gust of cold wind. The murderous aura on him made the already busy operators stiffen their backs.
"Switch the footage over."
He pulled out a chair and sat down, bracing both hands on the console, leaning forward with a gaze as sharp as a hawk's.
The operator dared not delay, fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard.
The main screen flickered before jumping to the surveillance footage of that dark alley.
The progress bar was dragged to the very beginning.
In the frame, a tall and straight youth slowly walked into the shot.
That head of white hair looked exceptionally piercing under the dim streetlights, completely out of place in the dirty, cluttered surroundings.
Lei Zheng held his breath, staring deathly at the screen.
The youth's steps were composed, as if he weren't walking into a dark dead alley, but was rather inspecting his own territory.
Only a few minutes passed.
The youth appeared in the frame again, still maintaining that same leisurely manner.
The white long robe he wore hadn't even gathered a speck of dust; it was hard to imagine he had just instantly slain a xenogeneic inside.
Then, the frame froze at the moment the youth stepped out of the alley entrance, his young yet indifferent face clearly visible.
"Commander."
The operator swallowed hard, pointing at the timeline on the screen.
"We checked all surveillance for one hour before and after the alley entrance; he is the only person who entered and exited."
"And according to time calculations, the time he entered the alley perfectly matches the time of the xenogeneic's death."
Lei Zheng nodded, his finger tapping heavily on that clear face on the screen.
"To not even bother covering his face at a time like this—is he too confident in himself, or does he simply not care about us at all?"
He turned to the technical supervisor next to him, speaking at high speed:
"The report just said this person isn't in the awakened database, right?"
"Yes, Commander. The preliminary comparison results are zero," the technician said, wiping sweat.
"Then expand the scope."
Lei Zheng's eyes narrowed, exuding an aura that brooked no argument.
"Since he isn't an esper registered here, check the citizen database. Xinhai City permanent residents, floating population, even travel visa records for the past three years... as long as he has bought a single ticket or stayed a single night in a hotel in this city, there will definitely be a trace."
"Understood, full database search is running!"
The search box on the right of the screen began to scroll frantically, with countless citizen photos flashing by in the background.
Lei Zheng folded his arms, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his arm.
One second, two seconds, ten seconds...
As time passed, the frequency of Lei Zheng's tapping grew faster and faster.
Since he possessed such great power yet did not belong to the official authority, he was likely a hidden expert from the civilian population or a member of some underground organization.
But no matter which one it was, he should have a legal cover identity.
However—
The scrolling photos suddenly stopped.
A bright red pop-up window jumped out abruptly, occupying the center of the screen.
[No matching results]
This line of red text felt like a silent mockery, instantly stinging Lei Zheng's eyes.
"What's going on?"
Lei Zheng stood up violently, the chair scraping harshly against the floor.
The technician turned around, his face as pale as paper, as if he had seen a ghost.
"Commander... whether it's the local Xinhai City database or the national networked household registry system..."
The technician's voice grew smaller and smaller, carrying a trace of unbelievable trembling.
"We've compared them all. This person doesn't exist."
"What?"
Lei Zheng's brow furrowed tightly as he walked around the table to the computer.
He grabbed the mouse and clicked refresh himself, then switched between several database interfaces.
It was still those five cold words: No matching results.
On the surveillance footage, a faint, almost imperceptible smile seemed to play at the corners of the white-haired youth's mouth, as if he were quietly watching this group of frazzled hunters through the screen.
Lei Zheng stared at that face, only feeling a chill crawl up his spine.
"Not a registered awakened one, and... not even a legal citizen?"
Lei Zheng released the mouse and straightened up, pacing back and forth in the narrow aisle, the sound of his combat boots hitting the ground echoing in the dead silence of the surveillance room.
"Could he be an illegal immigrant? Impossible. Even for someone without a household registry, as long as they have lived in this city, it's impossible not to leave a single trace—supermarket spending, public transport, internet footprints... the current Skynet system cannot miss a living person."
He stopped his pace and took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the irritation in his heart.
This wasn't just an issue of a wild powerhouse anymore; it was practically like a ghost that had appeared out of thin air.
"Put the identity matter aside for now. Report the situation to the superiors and raise the danger level by one rank."
Lei Zheng looked back at the screen, his gaze becoming fierce. Since the past couldn't be checked, then check the present!
"Since we can't find where he came from, find where he went! Retrieve all surrounding surveillance; I want to know where he went after he left the alley!"
"Yes!"
The entire surveillance room instantly became busy.
The sound of keyboards clicking rose and fell, and dozens of split screens began to frantically switch footage.
However, as time ticked by minute by minute, the originally high-spirited atmosphere gradually cooled down.
On all the screens, aside from the empty streets, there was no longer any sign of that white-haired youth.
It was like a drop of water merging into the ocean, completely vanished.
"How... how is this possible?"
An employee finally couldn't help but speak, his voice trembling slightly.
"None of the surveillance at any intersection captured him? Can he fly?"
"Could he have specifically avoided them by using surveillance blind spots?"
Another employee pointed at the blind spots on the map, his tone hesitant.
"The old city area here indeed has quite a few surveillance blind spots."
"But that doesn't make sense."
The person who spoke first argued back, appearing somewhat emotional.
"If he knows the camera locations, why would he show his face so openly at the alley entrance? Isn't that a contradiction?"
"Maybe he didn't know there was a camera at the alley entrance?"
"Do you think this is a movie? He couldn't see such an obvious camera?"
The argument grew louder, and the originally orderly surveillance room became noisy.
"Enough!"
A roar exploded like a clap of thunder.
Lei Zheng slammed his hand on the table, and the alloy desktop let out a loud bang.
The bickering came to an abrupt halt.
Everyone looked at Lei Zheng in terror, like ducks that had been grabbed by the neck.
Lei Zheng's face was ashen, his chest heaving violently.
He looked around at these subordinates who were staring at each other, his gaze frighteningly cold.
"Do I pay you all to come here and argue?"
Lei Zheng spoke through gritted teeth, enunciating every word.
"Since you can't find a trace, then change your thinking!"
He pointed at that frozen face on the screen, his finger nearly poking through it.
"Stop discussing useless nonsense here! Instead of wasting time, why don't you go and analyze this face frame by frame to see if there are any signs of a disguise!"
After finishing, Lei Zheng grabbed his hat from the table and pulled it onto his head.
He didn't want to hear any more meaningless arguments and turned to stride out.
The heavy security door slammed shut behind him, shaking the dust from the walls.
He left behind a room full of trembling employees, staring at each other in front of that mysterious smiling face.