Volume One: The Awakening of All Things, Eternal Spring Chapter Three: The Blade of the Metropolis, Uncanny Occurrences

The door to the hospital room opened, and Superintendent Su entered, signaling Mo Wen to follow him. Two officers, supporting the still-shaken Mo Wen, slowly led him out of the hospital.

At the Superintendent’s Office, it was the same interrogation room as before, but now, only Mo Wen and Superintendent Su were present.

Superintendent Su poured Mo Wen a glass of water. Mo Wen wanted to speak, but didn’t know where to begin, hesitating over whether to mention the ascetic monk. Superintendent Su smiled gently, as if reading Mo Wen’s thoughts, and said in a soft voice, “I don’t care how you survived—that is your secret, and you need not share it. Let’s start anew. My name is Su Qiang, Superintendent First Class of the Metropolitan Police Department of Hua Xia. I’m officially inviting you to join my team.”

Su Qiang extended his right hand with a warm smile. Mo Wen did not hesitate, gripping Su Qiang’s broad hand tightly.

Since he had miraculously survived those bizarre rules, living well was the greatest tribute he could offer to the ascetic monk.

It was late. Su Qiang had a wiry officer escort Mo Wen back to his university, instructing him to formally report for duty the next day.

On the way back, the wiry officer turned out to be quite the chatterbox. Unlike the somber atmosphere on the way there, this officer’s easy familiarity made the car ride lively and pleasant.

“Mo, I’ll call you that from now on. Now that you’ve joined, I’m no longer the youngest in the team. Everyone calls me Monkey, so you can call me Monkey Bro.”

Mo Wen chuckled inwardly—Monkey Bro? Then what would that make him, the second disciple?

During their conversation, Mo Wen gradually gained a preliminary understanding of Su Qiang’s team. Led by Su Qiang, the squad comprised fifteen members, specializing in extraordinary and difficult cases, and was known as the “Sword of the Metropolis.”

Back at the dormitory, Mo Wen wanted nothing but rest. After a quick wash, he collapsed onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep, his nerves finally relaxing after the day’s tension.

He slept straight through to noon. Startled awake from a dream, Mo Wen realized he was already late for his first day reporting to the police team. After hastily getting ready, he bit the bullet and hailed a cab, finally arriving at the Metropolitan Police Department at 1:30 p.m.

Su Qiang seemed to have anticipated his arrival. A reception officer guided Mo Wen through a labyrinth of hallways, finally leading him to a secluded corner where a three-story standalone office building stood.

Su Qiang was not in, so Monkey took charge of helping Mo Wen with registration and paperwork. At the end, he tossed Mo Wen a key. “The boss says you’re to look after the archives for now. Your job is to familiarize yourself with the files as quickly as possible—at least know where everything is. If the boss asks for a case and you can’t find it, you’ll be in trouble!”

Monkey glanced around shiftily, then lowered his voice. “Don’t be fooled by the boss’s gentle manner with civilians. He’s strict with us. As he says, the minute you put on a uniform, you forfeit the right to fair treatment!”

After a brief rundown, Monkey hurried off, leaving Mo Wen alone in the vast archive room. There was a computer, a desk, a chair, and rows upon rows of file cabinets filled with all manner of case files—that was the entirety of the archive’s possessions.

Mo Wen began to familiarize himself with the arrangement of the files, idly flipping through some of them. The contents immediately unsettled him.

“The Yan’an Road Dragon Pillar Case.”

“The Abbot’s Demon Suppression Case at Jinshan Temple.”

And many more. These strange and mysterious case files opened a new world to Mo Wen. Only now did he realize how enigmatic this world truly was. Had he not joined the archives, an ordinary person might never glimpse these secrets in their entire life.

Mo Wen was completely absorbed for the entire afternoon, until Su Qiang arrived.

Caught off guard, Mo Wen awkwardly stuffed the file he was reading into his desk drawer. Su Qiang smiled, “No need to hide it. Read whatever you like. I started out in the archives too. Back then, there weren’t nearly as many files. In recent years, the number of bizarre incidents has soared.”

At this, Su Qiang’s brow furrowed, but he quickly relaxed and invited Mo Wen to dinner. Having skipped both breakfast and lunch, Mo Wen was ravenous and devoured several bowls of rice in the police canteen, patting his full stomach with satisfaction.

After dinner, the officers gathered in the office, chatting and cracking jokes. Mo Wen finally met the entire team, who were all curious about their new junior, especially the only female officer, Lin Xi.

Lin Xi had an alluring figure, her curves accentuated by her uniform. Even more disconcerting, she frequently leaned in close to Mo Wen, teasing him with playful remarks. Unaccustomed to such situations, Mo Wen blushed furiously, his hands awkwardly searching for somewhere to rest, feeling completely out of his depth.

Su Qiang chided Lin Xi to restrain herself lest she scare off the newcomer. Learning that Mo Wen hadn’t even graduated from university yet, Lin Xi only teased him more, sparking laughter throughout the office.

The cheerful atmosphere was abruptly interrupted by a shrill telephone ring. Lin Xi answered, her expression turning grave.

“Chief, we’ve got trouble!”

Su Qiang took a deep breath and, together with Lin Xi and several officers, quickly departed. As an intern, Mo Wen was not yet qualified to participate in deployments.

Settling into the dormitory at the police station, Mo Wen felt an unusual sense of security, as if the entire department instilled confidence. That night, he slept soundly.

In his dreams, he once again saw the ascetic monk, seated cross-legged on a straw mat, chanting softly. Unlike the Buddhist verses he’d recited when saving Mo Wen, these were arcane Sanskrit phrases that Mo Wen could not decipher. The monk repeated one passage over and over until it was etched into Mo Wen’s memory.

The next morning, Mo Wen rose early and joined the officers for their morning exercise. He felt invigorated, and during the five-kilometer run, managed to keep pace with the well-trained officers, earning their respect.

As he silently recited the Sanskrit scripture taught to him in his dream, although he didn’t understand its meaning, each repetition seemed to send a faint current of energy coursing through his body.

Repeating the scripture during the run, Mo Wen found he wasn’t even out of breath at the end, unlike the others. He realized this scripture might be truly extraordinary.

After breakfast, he returned to his post in the archive. Before long, Monkey brought him a file folder. “Keep this safe.”

Curious, Mo Wen opened the file, finally understanding why Su Qiang’s team had been called out the previous night.

On the afternoon of January 9th, 2023, a massive fleshy lingzhi mushroom was unearthed at a construction site on the Bund. Upon exposure to air, it withered at a rate visible to the naked eye. That night at 7 p.m., all 156 workers living in the site’s temporary dormitory died under mysterious circumstances. Forensic examination revealed no external injuries or poisoning—cause of death unknown.

All 156 people, dead.

Mo Wen was shaken. Perhaps, like the Death Flight, unearthing the lingzhi had triggered some fatal rule—only this rule was even more ruthless, killing more than a hundred people in a short time.

He checked the news on his phone and, in an obscure corner, found a related report: “A major collapse occurred at a construction site on the Bund, resulting in 156 deaths. The city’s mayor rushed to the scene to oversee rescue efforts…”

The authorities were deliberately concealing the truth.