The Electric Bicycle driving down the main road was quite conspicuous; it was the first vehicle to pass by in ten minutes.
Through the sniper scope, even the floral stickers on the front of the bike were crystal clear. Vanessa moved the crosshairs away from the driver's head, observed carefully for a moment, and clicked her tongue.
An inquiry came through the walkie-talkie: "Post C, what is your status?"
"The stickers on the vehicle look pretty good. Quite artistic."
"You scared me, I thought it was a hostile." The person on the other end breathed a sigh of relief. "The vehicle has passed. Alert lifted?"
"Alert lifted. I am going to head down and check out the scene. Handing over Post C to the next observer. I will switch to the second operational channel. Over."
Vanessa crawled out from under the camouflage netting, completed the handover, and walked out of the factory building.
The sunlight outside was perfect. Noon had passed, and the shadows of objects and people were growing slanted once more. A police cordon was set up near the factory. Field Agents and the reconnaissance team, disguised as local authorities, were wandering nearby, taking photos and collecting evidence, prepared to use the excuse of investigating a missing persons case to turn away anyone who approached the scene.
However, over the past two hours, no one had come looking for trouble.
As she walked, Vanessa suddenly stopped, blinked, and looked back toward the main road.
She could not shake the feeling that she had seen something noteworthy through the sniper scope just now... some detail that was very familiar, yet impossible to articulate.
'What was it?'
'Was it that driver wearing a helmet? Or the model of the bike?'
She stared blankly at the now-empty main road. Just then, a gust of wind swept by, kicking up a cloud of dust and sand. She quickly pulled down her goggles to protect her eyes, no longer dwelling on that fleeting thought.
'Forget it.'
'If it is really that important, I will remember it sooner or later.'
"Kyle!"
Vanessa called out to the distant crowd, and one of the men wearing a Tenth District police uniform began walking toward her.
Only when the two of them moved to an open area suitable for a private conversation did Vanessa continue speaking:
"How much longer are you going to stay here?"
"Until they finish their investigation," Kyle said, gesturing to the ground. As the recent hotshot of the Field Department, Kyle appeared quite humble and professional, showing none of the arrogance the rumors claimed. "There is a dense network of underground water pipes here. We need to rule out the possibility of the Stitched Walker hiding and moving around underground before we go rendezvous with them."
"I get it, the principle of proximity. We have to take care of it since we are passing by... which means it will be another few hours, right?"
"Exactly." Kyle turned his head, about to continue monitoring the latest developments, when he suddenly realized something was wrong. "We are supposed to move together. Right now, we have both been assigned to—"
"Zeta-8 'Pangolin' Mobile Task Force. Of course I know. I used to be in Eta-2; I know the rules of a Mobile Task Force."
Before Kyle could breathe a sigh of relief, Vanessa's eyes shifted, revealing the sly smile unique to her rumored "sisters."
"But then again, I have not actually reported in on-site yet, have I? Right now, I am a free Field Agent. Do you think stepping away for a little while violates the rules, 'Agent' Kyle, the man sent to receive me?"
She emphasized the word "Agent" heavily, hinting that Kyle was merely a temporary member, not an official soldier meant to stay long-term in a Mobile Task Force with a near-permanent roster like Pangolin.
Kyle did not back down immediately.
"What are you going to do?"
"Going shop hopping. Did you know there is a pretty good fried noodle place in Yunling City?"
"I am serious, Vanessa—what are you going to do?"
"Are you going to stop me?"
She cast a burning, intense gaze at him.
Torn between official regulations and her seniority as a veteran, Kyle unconsciously scratched the scar on his arm through his clothes and finally caved.
He was not a stickler for the rules anyway. Otherwise, he would not have gone rogue half a month ago, nor would he have had that bizarre encounter.
"Be back within two hours."
"Thanks, I will bring you a bowl of fried noodles." Vanessa wagged a finger at him, pulled a pair of sunglasses from her pocket to replace her goggles, and strode off toward the parking area.
A short while later, accompanied by the roar of a motorcycle engine, she sped off toward Yunling City.
Kyle sighed where he stood.
'Picking someone up is indeed a thankless job, no wonder they pushed it onto me...'
Watching the dust kicked up by the motorcycle disappear behind the factory building, Kyle turned back to the scene. He happened to meet the eyes of an investigator who was just straightening up and hurried over.
"Find something?"
"The scene was cleaned up by someone, done just shortly before we arrived. They faked the traces very well, but they were too hasty and overlooked some details." The investigator held up a light-blocking sample bottle, rotating it so Kyle could observe a fragment inside.
"A glass shard? No, this is..."
Upon closer inspection, its edges constantly shifted, changing shape as the bottle moved.
"It mimics things, sir. It hid under the manhole cover over there to evade the cleanup and the sunlight."
The investigator, belonging to the Research Department, maintained a respectful tone. Both were Class-C employees, but Kyle was attached to a Mobile Task Force and possessed higher clearance. Considering the Bureau had the largest number of Class-C employees, this made him practically the most authoritative Class-C around.
"It is highly likely a mutated variant of the Stitched Walker. You see, it has not completely lost its vitality yet. This is a precious sample."
Kyle raised a hand, declining the other party's attempt to shove the thing closer to his face.
He signaled for the man to continue working, then turned to question a few other investigators before finally feeling at ease.
The Stitched Walker had not spread.
Currently, all Field Agents in the Tenth District were concerned about the escaped walkers. This kind of anomaly, with its high probability of mutation, could easily cause a regional disaster.
Just briefly imagining that scenario made Kyle's stomach churn into knots.
Not far away, the on-site commander was gripping a Communication Device, reporting to his superiors.
"Judging from the sample's vitality, a Stitched Walker was killed here not long ago.
"No traces of escape have been found nearby. Barring any surprises, it was the last one at large.
"Someone got here one step ahead of us and cleaned up the scene... No, I do not believe they have the capability to contain a walker.
"The people who handled the aftermath are very professional. Biological traces were wiped clean, and camouflage was put in place. We can be certain it is not the Alliance; they would not be this low-key—"
Kyle had no further reason to linger at the scene, yet Vanessa had not returned to the team.
'We cannot both abandon our posts, can we?'
The investigators were deeply engrossed in their work, and security did not need his interference, as many field agents were hidden nearby to monitor the area. Kyle certainly knew how to subtly gather suspicious clues from the residents—that was his original job—but the search teams had already fanned out to canvass the surrounding neighborhoods. It was too late to tag along now.
For a moment, Kyle realized he was the most redundant person here.
He had no choice but to patrol the perimeter with his hands behind his back, occasionally ducking into the shade to escape the heat, pretending he was actually doing something.
The April sun was not scalding, but basking in it for too long could still cause dizziness.
In his idle moments, he picked up his Communication Device and glanced at the screen, feeling a bit disappointed.
Dump Truck still had not issued him any orders.
He heard that a Class-E Personnel had also received direct orders from Dump Truck and participated in a Containment Breach incident. Although he did not know if it was true, he was clearly the first one to receive instructions—even if they were not explicit orders.
'Perhaps that mysterious superior is waiting for me to grow strong enough to shoulder heavy responsibilities?'
'With only "cleansing distortions" on my resume, I certainly do not look like someone who can handle a major task.'
'Is this why I was assigned to a Mobile Task Force? Does Dump Truck want me to hone my skills by participating in a real, large-scale operation?'
'But why is the reporting location Green Island City again?'
'What Subject is there in that place worth deploying a Mobile Task Force for?'
'Just who exactly is Dump Truck, a person whose mere name can make a Mobile Task Force commander stand in awe?'
Suddenly, the idle Kyle noticed a search team member stopping in his tracks, looking as if he were exhausted.
He immediately went over.
"Go take a break."
"Sir, I am just adjusting the filter—"
"This is an order. I am telling you to go rest right now."
"...You are the boss."
Without brooking any argument, Kyle snatched the capture equipment from the man's hands.
Recently, all Mobile Task Forces had received directives requiring them to "be on the lookout for miniature sapient lifeforms suspected to be C-888 during operations." Since a Stitched Walker had appeared here, a carpet search was even more imperative.
Kyle did not know the specific details about C-888, but he did not mind using it as an excuse to work.
He bent down slightly, hovering the device close to the ground, and pushed it along the nearby flat main road. Simultaneously, he began running mental deductions to train his analytical skills.
'The publicly available intel is limited. It only mentioned to me that C-888 is a "miniature humanoid creature that might be everywhere." Exactly how miniature is it?'
'Centimeters? Millimeters? Or micrometer scale?'
'What could people this small even do?'
'Creatures on such a small scale are easily overlooked by the brain. How should we take targeted preventive measures?'
'Are we supposed to be on guard against all insects?'
Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle noticed a moving object. He instantly locked onto it, only to find a line of red ants marching through the shadows at the base of the wall. He stared at the innocent ants for a moment, did not pay them much mind, and continued sweeping the device along the road.
'And here I thought it was the target.'
'Then again, there is no such thing as a coincidence like that in this world.'
-----------------
Hiding beneath the ants, the Mini-Humans reconnaissance squad was covered in cold sweat.
The buzzing vacuum cleaner-like device swung into the distance, then suddenly swept back toward the ant column, while the giant's boots constantly paced back and forth nearby...
"He turned away! Move!"
The Sheriff took the lead, kicking his ant's carapace, and the others also urged their mounts to sprint faster.
"Are we going to the platform?"
"No, we cannot go to the platform. It is too close to the factory area!"
The Sheriff was burning with anxiety.
"We have to find a way to warn Shi Rang. The Bureau's eyes are everywhere here. We absolutely cannot let him slow down to pick us up nearby; he will be discovered!"