The investigation and search procedures of the Investigation Bureau had already been refined into a relatively mature model.
While there might be minor differences in various regions, the general approach was similar.
In Baijiang, for instance, investigators patrolled daily, covering different areas, with a particular focus on remote and seldom-visited locations.
These included abandoned buildings, landfills, under bridges, as well as defunct amusement parks and school grounds, which were also prime areas for investigator patrols.
If powerful anomalies spawned, investigators could usually detect them in a timely manner. Powerful anomalies had a wide impact, and once they entered bustling areas with heavy foot traffic or residential neighborhoods, they would cause disaster, but also make them easier to discover.
Ordinary anomalies were different.
They relied on the collaboration of various departments. Once an anomaly was detected, it would be reported promptly, then compiled, analyzed, and judged by the Investigation Bureau.
A local Investigation Bureau might not have many official investigators, but there were numerous personnel working behind the scenes and assisting, and many probationary investigators were selected from these ranks.
This was the Investigation Bureau's method of investigation, relying on numbers and experience.
However, in many cases, the discovery of an anomaly meant… that something had already happened.
Baijiang had been awarded the title of the safest city in the country, and Director Huang was not the first or the last person to consult with him.
Xinhuo likely had special methods for finding anomalies, but Xinhuo's special abilities were limited to people or anomalous objects.
These all had their limits.
No matter how strong they were, they were insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Director Zhou's dedicated mobile phone suddenly vibrated, displaying a text message with garbled sender information.
"Spam message?"
"How could I possibly receive spam on this number?"
He opened it.
There were no words, only a few images.
Director Zhou immediately recognized them as maps of Baijiang City, Jiangbei City, Qingshui City, and Lindong City. The difference was that the maps were marked with glaring red dots.
Baijiang City had very few red dots, only a handful.
However, the other three cities, especially Jiangbei City, had a considerable number of red dots, which was quite alarming.
This was…
Director Zhou's eyebrows shot up as he suddenly said, "Old Huang, how many ordinary anomalies have you not dealt with in Jiangbei yet?"
"How could there be any undealt with? We've already dealt with all the ones we could find. It's just that some are hard to locate, alas…"
"In that case, in your Tian Shui district, Fortune Plaza, second floor, women's restroom, the last stall… send someone there quickly!"
Could anomalies spawn in a place with still considerable foot traffic like Fortune Plaza?
Director Huang didn't believe it, but out of caution, he dispatched investigators to check.
Coincidentally, a female investigator was nearby.
Not long after,
During a video call, Director Huang had a peculiar expression as he looked at Director Zhou.
Why were you so precise, down to the exact stall in the women's restroom?
Director Zhou also wanted to know the answer to that question.
…
Director Zhou's special number, naturally, came from An Jianyou.
After sending these maps, Fang You stopped bothering about it.
How to deal with it was the Investigation Bureau's own affair. He believed that with this intelligence, at least the number of ordinary people who died at the hands of anomalies in the surrounding cities would be significantly reduced.
That was enough for him to feel at ease.
Ordinary anomalies were not worth his attention anymore; one only provided 0.3 or 0.4 destiny points, not worth the effort, even in Baijiang City, where a half-day trip would only yield two or three anomalies.
It was better to spend that time training.
The mission he was going on was outside the city, in the wilderness.
Fang You opened the game interface.
"Destiny Points: 185.9"
"Anomaly Crystals: 182"
The sixth card draw was not far off, and upgrading the map range to Lv4 was also approaching.
…
After practicing his swordplay for a while, Fang You walked out of the base. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Hei Tong once again engrossed in a novel.
Unfortunately, after so many days, it still hadn't learned to write novels.
This cat didn't seem very smart.
Hei Tong: "(￢_￢)"
It wiggled its rear, turned its back to Fang You, and continued to stare intently at the computer.
At this moment, a newly spawned small anomaly crawled in through the window and crawled towards a nearby statue.
Hei Tong let out an impatient "meow," turned its head, and a glow flashed in its eyes as it glared fiercely!
The small anomaly was struck as if by a giant hammer, revealing its true form, and the next second it exploded, scattering into smoke and dissipating.
Not bad.
Hei Tong was still working, so he wouldn't disable its "anti-addiction" function.
Fang You walked to the faceless statue, squatted down, and examined it. He used 'Anomaly Tracking' and 'Detection' again, continuing to tinker with it, but still couldn't figure anything out.
The information obtained from detection was only the four words "Faceless Statue."
Being unable to figure anything out, let alone the statue's second ability, was beyond his scope.
He might as well just focus on the game.
"Faceless Statue"
"Mysterious Storage: 15.1"
Seemed rather fast?
He checked Hei Tong's panel again. Molars picked up the foolish cat and carried it to the faceless statue. The cat's dejected face stared at the partially severed faceless statue.
*Snap*!
Direct guidance!
The faceless statue could store and transfer mystery, and all of this naturally had its limits. If an ordinary person with zero mystery suddenly embraced too much mystery, it could easily lead to mental breakdown.
But Hei Tong was fine; this cat wouldn't be harmed.
Mystery flowed in continuously, and even with losses, it quickly reached the limit of 20 units.
As expected,
Once it exceeded 20 units, a "↑" symbol appeared on Hei Tong's panel.
It wasn't called a second awakening; it displayed "Upgradeable," and the success rate was…
Uh, 99.9%?
Is this foolish cat really that strong? Is this reasonable?
Hei Tong: (￢_￢)
…
After a while,
Hei Tong neither screamed nor rolled around. It just seemed to have had a normal sleep, waking up to break through.
There was no discomfort, as if it was naturally adapted to the surge of power.
Fang You brought up Hei Tong's panel.
"Physique: 5.9+6.0"
"Spirit: 6.5+6.0"
"Life Energy: 12.26"
"Mystery: 0"
"Abilities: Illusion Piercing, Giant Transformation"
He was stunned.
This increase…
Fang You picked up Hei Tong again, examining it back and forth, prying open its paws. But before he could get a good look at any changes in Hei Tong, the cat broke free from him with a flick.
It gave him a look of feline disdain.
This cat… this Savior will not argue with a foolish cat. It's not about whether he can win.
Foolish cats always like to play with computers.
Alas, it doesn't understand the joy of lifting weights, training, and fighting monsters.
…
Not long after,
An Jianyou and the other two also returned. She said she had captured two three-star anomalies and partially replaced the previous two-star ones to better fit the 'troop composition.'
They had already gone to the training ground to properly practice and integrate.
Hei Dao and Yin Ling had also made their own progress.
Hei Dao's basic swordsmanship had reached the expert level yesterday, and his physique had now increased to 15.6, further enhancing his combat power.
Yin Ling's various skills had all been improved by him.
Among them, basic boxing and healing currents had broken through to the 'Proficient' level, and both dimensions had increased.
Oh, and Xing Jinglei from the neighboring province had also been upgraded.
In total, including himself, 49 white-grade training cards had been consumed in the past few days.
However, there were still 40 cards remaining.
… Alas, he was just that wealthy. If it weren't for human limits, Fang You would truly want to upgrade his Palm Thunder to 'Master' level within a single day.
Upgrades, training, preparing supplies.
The next day, An Jianyou drove them outside the city.
…
ps: Went out in the morning, two updates scheduled together, thank you all very much for your votes (✪w✪)~