novelraw Chapter 5 : Undercurrents Surging
Chapter 5 : Undercurrents Surging
Chapter 5: Undercurrents Surging
Early the next morning, the sun had not yet fully risen.
Jiang City Public Security Bureau, Criminal Investigation Division meeting room.
Smoke curled in the air, the ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts, and the atmosphere was thick with nicotine and an unshakable restlessness.
Chen Mo, captain of the criminal police, had a face so dark it looked like water could drip from it. He had not slept the entire night, and the blood vessels in his eyes were clearly visible.
At this moment, those bloodshot eyes were fixed rigidly on the projection screen.
On the screen, the documents of two newly occurred violent cases were displayed side by side.
On the left was “the vicious assault case under Panlong Overpass”.
In the photo of the scene on the left was a twisted mass of ribbed reinforcing steel, making everyone’s brows furrow.
The preliminary report from forensics beside it was marked in red: “Not caused by mechanical external force, specific reason unknown.”
On the right was the recently occurred “major armed brawl at Jiang City First People’s Hospital”.
The scene in this photo was even more shocking—dozens of thugs and hired fighters lay wailing in pools of blood, while the only deceased was the armed leader, Brother Qiang.
“Xiao Li, how’s the situation at the hospital?” Chen Mo asked hoarsely.
The young officer named Xiao Li stood up, wearing a strange expression as he reported: “Captain, we asked… but… the testimonies are extremely outrageous.”
“All conscious injured individuals insisted that all dozens of them were taken down by a man named Zheng Wei alone.”
A wave of suppressed gasps swept through the meeting room.
“One man?”
An older detective asked incredulously, “Is this some kind of international joke? Are these people drugged stupid?”
Xiao Li pulled a bitter face. “We were suspicious too, so we ran urine tests. All of them came back negative.”
“And the surveillance footage from the hospital lobby… though chaotic, it clearly shows that most of the time, there was only one tall figure crashing through the crowd, while the others were sent flying as if they were made of paper.”
He paused, then added, “We checked Zheng Wei’s background. Construction worker, 45 years old, one prior conviction for intentional injury, served five years in prison.”
“His daughter Zheng Xiaoxiao suffers from a rare form of aplastic anemia, requiring long-term rest and extremely expensive medication, which was why he took out high-interest loans.”
“He borrowed from the victim because of this, and when he couldn’t repay on time, conflict erupted, leading to these two incidents.”
“For his daughter…” Chen Mo murmured, a complex look flashing through his eyes.
A father pushed to desperation could unleash strength beyond ordinary limits.
But this surpassed the ordinary far too much—it was outright absurd.
“And also…”
Xiao Li continued with difficulty, “They said Zheng Wei used a two-hundred-catty living person as a weapon and threw him, crushing Wang Qiang (Brother Qiang) to death.”
The room fell silent again.
Using a two-hundred-catty man as a weapon?
Was that something a human could do?
“Absurd!”
The deputy director of the city bureau slammed his palm on the table and shouted angrily: “I think they colluded to find a scapegoat!”
“The gun? Whose gun was it?”
“A construction worker—where would he get a gun?”
“The gun belonged to Wang Qiang,”
Chen Mo answered in a deep voice, “but that’s not the key point.”
“The key is that both cases point to the same suspect—Zheng Wei.”
“And in both cases, there was the same phenomenon of ‘immense force beyond normal explanation’.”
Chen Mo pointed at the twisted steel bar on the screen. “The materials analysis department concluded that unless heavy hydraulic equipment was used, it would be impossible to twist the bar like this.”
The deputy director had worked for thirty years and handled countless bizarre cases, but what he saw now filled him with unprecedented confusion.
“What did the victim say?” the deputy director asked.
Chen Mo remained silent for a moment before saying, “The victim insisted it was Zheng Wei.”
“He said Zheng Wei suddenly became unbelievably strong, like the Hulk, and twisted this steel bar into a spiral with his bare hands…”
“The Hulk?”
The deputy director snorted. “Why didn’t they say Zheng Wei could fly?”
Hearing this, Chen Mo’s brows furrowed even deeper.
He kept wondering whether this was mass hysteria.
Or some unknown new tool.
A hydraulic cutter? Impossible. There was no tool left at the scene, and the twisting marks indeed looked more like the result of an overwhelmingly brute “hand strength”.
“I think we may be dealing with a method of committing a crime that we’ve never encountered.”
Chen Mo’s gaze turned deep, and he silently added the rest in his heart, “Or a force we cannot understand.”
“Then Captain, you mean…” Xiao Li asked cautiously.
“Deputy Director, I suggest we immediately establish the ‘815 Special Task Force’ and investigate both cases together!”
“Track down the suspect Zheng Wei with full force!”
“And thoroughly investigate Zheng Wei’s social connections and recent activities—leave out no detail!”
……
At the same time the police were holding their meeting, Sun Na’s livestream incident was creating a massive storm online.
Her livestream recording had been edited into countless versions, given sensational titles, and spread wildly across major short-video platforms and social media.
Shocking! Female streamer encounters a ghost live on camera, fire erupts out of thin air!
A flame science cannot explain, water couldn’t extinguish it! The truth behind the supernatural incident at Jinmao Tower!
These topics quickly shot up the trending charts, generating tens of millions of views and discussions.
In a forum called “Supernatural Phenomenon Research”, a post was pushed to the homepage.
Title: Technical analysis of streamer ‘Fire Phoenix Nana’s’ fire-controlling video—special effects or real?
Original poster: “I’ve worked in post-production for ten years, and I can responsibly say, if this is special effects, the production cost would be at least in the million-dollar range.”
“Real-time rendering, light interaction, fluid dynamics… every frame is flawless, and this was supposedly achieved in a low-budget livestream? It makes no commercial sense.”
Comment 1: “Agreed. I studied it for a long time and found no signs of CG compositing. And look at the streamer’s expression— that frenzy and genuine shock doesn’t look acted.”
Comment 2: “Come on, it’s just some new AR device. Maybe some tech company is stirring up hype.”
Comment 3: “Damn! The more I think about it, the scarier it gets! Could superpowers really exist in this world?”
Comment 4: “Don’t be stupid. It’s all scripted. I’ve followed this Nana before—she loves this kind of borderline publicity stunt.”
Most people online believed it was either technology or a scam, but a small group faintly sensed that something in the world might be quietly changing.
……
Top floor of Global Center, CEO office.
Lin Lan had not slept the entire night, yet her energy was unnaturally high.
Her assistant Sophie stood before the desk, using a tablet to report the information compiled overnight.
“President Lin, according to your instructions, we screened all ‘abnormal events’ in Jiang City last night.”
“Most were just rumors or misunderstandings, but there are three things I believe I should report in detail.”
Sophie swiped the screen and pulled up the first document.
“The first is the ‘fire-controlling livestream’ incident that caused a huge sensation online.”
“The main subject is a streamer named Sun Na. While livestreaming inside the abandoned Jinmao Tower, she appeared to display the ability to conjure and control fire out of thin air. Here’s the video.”
As Lin Lan watched Sun Na’s wild and seductive face on the screen, along with the flickering flame in her palm, a trace of undisguised disgust flashed beneath the gold-rimmed glasses.
“The second incident,”
Sophie continued scrolling, “Jiang City First People’s Hospital experienced a major violent brawl, triggered by a high-interest loan dispute.”
“But according to non-public intel from internal channels, it wasn’t a ‘brawl’—it was dozens of armed thugs being taken down by a single construction worker named Zheng Wei.”
“And firearms were present at the scene. Zheng Wei is currently on the run, and the police are pursuing him.”
“The third is also related to this Zheng Wei.”
“About two hours before the hospital incident, another violent assault occurred under Panlong Overpass, where a solid steel bar was found twisted by hand.”
“Both cases point to Zheng Wei.”
After finishing her report, Sophie waited quietly for instructions.
‘Idiots.’
That was Lin Lan’s judgement of the two individuals.
‘Whether it’s that woman desperate for attention before the camera, or the man blinded by rage who turned himself into the police’s number-one target, both are incurable fools.’
‘Mortals who suddenly gain power don’t know how to hide or fear. They act on instinct, driven by desire and emotion like beasts.’
‘Such people never survive the first round of any real game.’
Lin Lan deeply despised those who exposed themselves recklessly.
She didn’t know whether either of these two were her teammates, but she sincerely hoped they belonged to the 【Radiance】 faction.
If they were her teammates from the 【Shadow】 faction, she would feel utterly disgusted.
To work alongside such simple-minded creatures was an insult to her intelligence.
She would not hesitate to treat them as expendable pawns, to be used up completely whenever necessary.
But if… they were from the 【Radiance】 faction…
A cold curve formed at Lin Lan’s lips.
Then she would be very pleased.
Because foolish enemies were the best prey.
But she had to prepare for the worst—one of these idiots might be her teammate.
Lin Lan formulated her plan instantly.
“Interesting.”
Setting down her coffee cup, Lin Lan said calmly, “It seems these two events hide something unknown.”
“Sophie, I need you to handle a few things.”
“First, that streamer named Sun Na—our entertainment fund can consider reaching out to her.”
“Arrange a full background check and a business value assessment. See what kind of ‘special effects team’ she’s working with.”
“If their technology is truly solid, investment or acquisition isn’t off the table.”
“Yes, President Lin.” Sophie immediately recorded it.
“Second, that man named Zheng Wei,”
Lin Lan tapped her fingers lightly on the desk. “We’re negotiating a new materials cooperation project with the Urban Construction Group, aren’t we?”
“This Zheng Wei caused such a big mess, involving gangs and a gun case. Find out whether he knows something about Urban Construction Group’s ‘secrets’.”
“Sometimes, small people hide the keys to huge projects.”
“Third,”
Lin Lan’s tone became more casual. “Jiang City seems rather unstable lately.”
“Have the security department keep an eye out, especially around Jinmao Tower and the First People’s Hospital. Don’t let our projects or personnel get caught up in unnecessary trouble.”
“Also, send these ‘fun stories’ anonymously to a few media outlets we know, and some conspiracy-loving private investigators. Give them some material—maybe they’ll dig up something more interesting.”
“Lastly, anonymously issue a few bounty tasks to look for other ‘strange individuals or incidents’ that appeared in Jiang City recently.”
“Have the money routed through offshore accounts. Make sure the funds can’t be traced back to the company—or to me.”
“Understood, President Lin.” Though Sophie found her boss’s behavior a bit odd, she still recorded everything carefully.
“Go.” Lin Lan waved her hand.
Sophie bowed and left the office.
Once the heavy door closed, the mask of a corporate elite vanished from Lin Lan’s face. In its place was an icy indifference, like a deity overlooking a chessboard.
She walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window, watching her own shadow stretch in the morning light.
Then she extended her finger.
With a shift of her thoughts, a pitch-black spike silently emerged from her shadow, stopping precisely at the tip of her fingertip as if kissing her nail.
“The game has only just begun…”
Lin Lan whispered, her eyes shimmering with the light of absolute control.
“I hope my teammates… won’t disappoint me.”
“Otherwise, I will have no choice but to eliminate you myself.”