"What happened this time?" I set down the glass of liquor that was already at my lips. I had just eaten to the point of bursting and really didn't feel like moving. I turned to Sun Fatty and said, "Da Sheng, let me sit this one out. I haven't slept for a whole day and night—my body's not up for it."
"Cut it out, you have slept for a whole day and night," Sun Fatty replied with a mischievous grin, pulling me up from the sofa. "You weren't supposed to go originally, but by protocol, someone from your Sixth Unit has to be present for any incident response. We can't find Old Wu or the Yang brothers, so that leaves only you. Like it or not, you have to show your face."
This protocol had only been in place for the last two years—not to guard against Lin Feng, but because of what happened back then. After that disaster, the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation lost four division heads or deputies—including Lin Feng. Then Qiu Bulao was added to the list, meaning the Second Unit's entire leadership was wiped out. Since then, the Second Unit's core strength had dropped drastically. Gone were the days of Director Qiu charging in with a cleaver while Wang Ziheng covered the rear.
The Second Unit today couldn't compare to its prime, but when stacked against the others—Unit One had no one left; Unit Three handled foreign religions and was micromanaged by Gao Liang like he was guarding against thieves; Unit Four was Lin Feng's creation, and no one knew if his loyalists were still lurking in it. After Lin Feng was exposed, the entire Fourth Unit underwent an internal audit. Though nothing was found, Gao Liang didn't dare to use them lightly. Unit Five only had a handful of people, and their specialty was crafting tools and collecting intel—not exactly the fighting type. Unit Six, our unit, was a large-scale spiritual weapon, meant for emergencies only and usually left idle—so the Second had no choice but to keep bearing the brunt.
Gao Liang also had plans to groom a few people in the Second Unit to eventually take over Qiu Bulao and Wang Ziheng's roles. So in the end, Gao laid down the rule: from now on, Sixth Unit must assign someone to assist with Second Unit operations. Normally, this job went to the Yang brothers. But since no one could find them today, it had to be me—pushed onto the stage like a duck forced to fly.
After leaving Sun Fatty's office, I asked again what had happened, but he only knew it was a sudden emergency—no specifics. When we arrived at the conference room, only a few investigators from the Second Unit were seated.
Five or six minutes later, a few familiar faces like Xiong Wanyi and Old Mo trickled in. I counted roughly a fifth of the Second Unit's personnel had arrived. Just then, Director Gao showed up with his secretary in tow. As he sat down, his secretary turned on the projector, casting images onto the screen.
The first image was an open patch of land, seemingly in an urban-rural fringe area. Gao Liang spoke up. "Let's skip the preamble. This report came in thirty minutes ago. The location is a farmstead on the outskirts of Tianjin. About a week ago, while digging a new well, they unearthed an ancient tomb."
The image changed—same location, but now a large pit had appeared. A makeshift frame stood at the edge, with a rope dangling down into the darkness. Gao continued, "Two days later, Tianjin's archaeological team entered. Preliminary assessment confirms it's the burial site of an early Qing official. Based on the structure, he was likely a Zhuangyuan—a top scorer in the imperial exams from early Qing. But we still don't know exactly who's buried there. And there's no gravestone or surface markings—completely gone. Why?"
"This morning, the team completed external excavation. In the afternoon, they began exploring the inner chamber. The first group—three members with camera gear—went down into the tomb. Twenty minutes later, a cry for help came from below. Five more people, including the local police chief, went in to rescue them. Three minutes later, gunshots and more screams came from the chamber. The second group was mobilized immediately. When they reached the outer tomb, they found the police chief—covered in blood."
"That chief had suffered severe trauma, and his sidearm was completely emptied. The moment he saw rescuers, he went berserk, trying to stop anyone from going deeper into the tomb. From his fragmented statements, it was clear—both teams that went in before had been completely wiped out. The man was so distressed he couldn't explain what had happened down there, and soon fell into a coma from blood loss. Rescue teams didn't dare press on and first evacuated the only survivor. Back on the surface, they found the video camera originally carried by the first team inside his backpack."
Gao paused. Wang Lu adjusted the projector's settings. A grainy, distorted video filled the screen. The footage was poor—likely due to signal interference—and kept warping and glitching.
The camera had night vision, but whether due to the operator's poor handling or the device's low quality, the image kept flickering between visibility and darkness. Some sections even required manual zoom to make out details. The footage started when they were being lowered by rope into the tomb. From descent to entering the outer chamber, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Once inside, the three team members began chatting. Their main concern was that the tomb felt wrong—though it looked like a Qing-era grave on the surface, the interior was too crude. It didn't match the standards for a Zhuangyuan's tomb.
The three moved in stops and starts. When they reached the far end of the outer tomb, there was a loud boom, and the footage shook violently. One of them shouted, "What the hell is that!" The camera whipped around to the end wall, where a large person-sized hole had opened in the rammed earth. A vague, blurry figure stood in the opening. The focus was off—nothing could be made out of the figure's features or clothing.
Just then, another man cried out in a trembling voice, "Z-Zombie! Hold your breath and fall back—" He didn't get to finish his sentence. The shadowy figure on screen flickered and instantly appeared in front of him. Though the image was blurry, from their movements it was clear—the figure had grabbed the man by the throat with both hands, then swung him up into the air. After one full arc, the figure exerted force, violently twisting off the man's head. His body was flung far away, while the figure lifted the severed head above his own as if trying to catch the blood spurting from the neck into his open mouth...
At that moment, the footage started shaking uncontrollably—probably because the cameraman was frozen in terror and forgot to run. Fortunately, one of the others snapped back to his senses and whispered, "Hold your breath and run—now."
Then the camera shook violently, clearly as the two made a break for it, no longer caring about filming. A light appeared ahead—almost at the exit—when suddenly the camera tilted upward, and the cameraman screamed, "Help! Someone, help—" His cry was cut short, the footage dropped to the ground, filled briefly with static, then went completely dark.
"That was how it happened," said Gao Liang, reaching out to switch off the projector. Then he continued, "Even though the footage was fuzzy, we can tell what we're dealing with—a zombie. But the location isn't a Yin-rich area, so in theory this shouldn't be happening."
Gao paused and looked around the room before going on. "Geography aside, this isn't a particularly high-difficulty case. You're all experienced investigators—this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Ximen Lian will lead the operation. The rest of you will assist. Deputy Director Shen from Unit Six will serve as support. Check your gear now. If everything's in order, you head out in twenty minutes."
With that, Gao Liang handed the case file to Ximen Lian, gave a few final instructions, and then left the conference room with his secretary, Wang Lu. From their attitude, it was obvious they didn't consider this incident a big deal.
The investigators from Unit Two began to file out. Xiong Wanyi and the others strolled over, grinning. Xiong clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Deputy Director Shen, we're counting on you. You'd better be there to save our hides when it hits the fan."
Xiong Wanyi always had that gruff bear-like attitude, always sounding like he was picking a fight, but I knew he meant no harm. I'd known the guy long enough not to take it personally. "Don't be polite," I said with a bitter smile. "If you guys fall, I won't last much longer either. But seriously—how confident are you about this one? Should we stop by Director Ouyang's place for any special gear?"
"No need," Old Mo replied. "We've handled zombie cases before—got some experience under our belts. They look freaky, sure, but usually a bullet to the head does the job. The real trouble is keeping the locals from talking. If the news spreads too far, things get messy. But that's Gao Bureau's headache, not ours."
When Gao Liang left the conference room, Sun Fatty had followed close behind him. It was like he suddenly remembered something important—he didn't even say a word to me before hurrying out.
After walking out with Xiong and the others, I made an excuse to break away and slipped back to Unit Six. I opened Director Wu's storage locker and took out the twin short swords he kept inside. After a moment's hesitation, I put one back. The other I sheathed between two thin steel plates, tied it securely, and strapped it to my back.
By the time I got to the parking lot, the Unit Two team was already seated in a mid-size van. I was the last one to board, and just as the vehicle started up, Sun Fatty appeared in front of the car, flagging us down. He tapped on the window and grinned at me through the glass. "Lazi, get down here. Got something good for you."
Puzzled, I got off the van. Before I could say anything, Sun Fatty turned around and yelled, "Come on! Over here!" I followed his gaze—and saw someone ambling over.
It was Yinbai, who I hadn't seen in ages. Without hesitation, he hopped onto the van, leaped into my seat, and flopped down like he owned the place.
The second Yinbai boarded, everyone else's expressions changed. Almost in unison, they all got up and moved to the back row.
I turned to Sun Fatty, confused. "Why'd you bring him?"
Sun Fatty smiled slyly. "Things have been busy lately—I haven't had time to take him out. Perfect chance now—you guys can walk him for me. Don't worry, I had a talk with Yinbai. He promised to behave—go with you quietly and come back quietly."
"You think he actually listens to you?" I glanced at Yinbai, then back at Sun Fatty and gave a pained smile. "Come on, Da Sheng. Yinbai's more dangerous than the damn zombie. What if we wipe out the threat and he turns on us? He could slaughter us in seconds."
"Relax. He's still tied with Old Wu's leash—it'll keep him in check. If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility," Sun Fatty said, then didn't even give me a chance to argue. He shoved me back into the van and waved at the driver. "Let's go! The sooner we're back, the better!"
The leash Wu Renyi had once placed around Yinbai's neck was still there. With that in place, he probably wouldn't cause any trouble. Even so, I didn't dare sit too close. I stayed in the back row with Xiong Wanyi and the others. Fortunately, once Yinbai boarded, he just lay down and went to sleep—he didn't wake even once until we reached our destination.