"Apologies, everyone, I… haven't had a chance to tidy up."
"It's alright, please don't be so formal."
The host gave a wry smile. "Ever since the Sea Monsters appeared in the company, our small firm has been in chaos, with rather poor order. I don't blame anyone, it's not their fault, and I'm grateful enough that they're willing to stay."
"Let me introduce myself first. My surname is Ma, my given name is Mao. I'm the vice-president of this company."
"Hello, my name is Duan Chen, and these are my friends."
Duan Chen extended his hand and shook Ma Mao's. He noticed the latter's hands were a bit cold, likely from fear.
"I'd like to ask, where did the Sea Monster first appear, and who was the first to see it?"
"In the restroom. It was me."
Duan Chen frowned. "Does the restroom have a mirror?"
"No, no, no."
Ma Mao quickly waved his hands. "Our company doesn't have mirrors. I don't know what happened, it just emerged from the floor. It scared me to death."
"Fortunately, we called the police in time, so there were no casualties."
Duan Chen nodded. This company wasn't near a Spirit Hunter Guild, but it was close to a police station, making it easy to respond to emergencies.
"Can you take us to the scene of the incident?"
"No problem!"
Ma Mao agreed readily.
"I'll just wait outside here, okay?" Mi Xue'er stood awkwardly at the door.
"Don't worry about it, come in together. The incident didn't happen in the men's restroom, but near this sink area," Ma Mao chuckled.
"Alright then."
The sink was very clean, without a single mirror. If Duan Chen were to find fault, it would be that a pool of water always remained in the center of the basin, and the surrounding tiles were wiped too brightly.
This place was indeed a high-frequency location for Sea Monster appearances.
Just then, Ma Mao suddenly received a call.
"Apologies, everyone, I may have to excuse myself for a moment."
"Please, work is important," Duan Chen said with a smile.
"Okay."
Ma Mao walked quickly down the corridor, taking many turns before entering a storage room.
It was filled with unused clutter, and dust permeated the air. He waved his hand, took out a spare mobile phone from under a mat, and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
A deep male voice came from the other end of the line.
Ma Mao nervously locked the door and whispered, "Sir, do you know who has arrived?"
"Can you calm down! I checked. The Spirit Hunter Agents sent to your area are very weak. You should be able to handle it. Don't make any mistakes!"
The man's voice was icy, making Ma Mao shiver.
"It's not that, sir!"
"Then what is it!?"
"Those few young Spirit Hunter Agents were indeed driven away by us, but a new batch has arrived. You should know him, his name is Duan Chen."
"Duan Chen!?"
The person on the other end suddenly raised his voice.
"Are you kidding me? How could Duan Chen possibly have time to go to Su City's North District?"
"Sir, it's true!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end. He pondered, unable to figure out why Duan Chen would come to Su City's North District. With his status as a high-level Spirit Hunter Agent, he wouldn't take on such a small commission!
"You, tell me the whole story, in detail. Detail every action, every expression of Duan Chen!"
"Yes!"
Seeing that his boss was taking Duan Chen so seriously, Ma Mao dared not slack off and recounted the story from beginning to end in detail.
"A photo?"
"Yes, Duan Chen said this photo was mailed from our company, but I've asked everyone, and none of them sent it! When he arrived, he happened to run into those Spirit Hunter Agents and naturally took over the mission. Sir… I, I don't know what to do anymore!"
Ma Mao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling.
"Don't panic. Keep stalling them."
He had no clue about the photo, but he was certain that the person in the photo must be very important. Otherwise, why would Duan Chen accept such a simple task as finding someone?
"Yes, I understand!"
Ma Mao hung up the phone, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and put on a perfect smile again.
This should be fine, right?
With a heart full of trepidation, he pushed open the storage room door.
…
"Captain, what are you thinking about?" Jun Ci asked Duan Chen, who looked lost in thought.
"I feel like I've overlooked something."
"Huh?"
"If we just stay here, we'll wait for the Sea Monster to appear, right?"
Logically, it should be like that. But had this operation been too smooth? Ever since Duan Chen got involved with Wu Suowei and the Evil God, he hadn't experienced such smooth sailing for a long time.
Duan Chen believed in his sixth sense. He felt that Ma Mao was not quite right.
And his body temperature didn't seem like that of a human.
"Ah!"
A sudden scream startled him.
He looked up and saw a girl about to enter the restroom. They happened to be blocking the entrance. Duan Chen stepped aside.
"Sorry, please go ahead."
"You guys… are you Spirit Hunter Agents?"
"Yes, if you see a Sea Monster or have any problems, you can find us," Sheng Chen added.
Unexpectedly, it was this remark that caused the young girl to pull him aside.
"Hey!?"
About three minutes later, Sheng Chen returned with a strange expression.
"What did she tell you?"
"She gave me two candies and said…"
Sheng Chen leaned into Duan Chen's ear and whispered, "She said she's going to resign. She also said… she said this company is not normal, that everyone in this company are monsters. There's no president or chairman, only Ma Mao as vice-president. Ma Mao is the biggest monster!"
"Huh?"
Duan Chen frowned.
His bad feeling had come true.
"Why don't we go ask that girl directly?"
"No, if what she said is true, and Ma Mao sees it, she'll be in danger."
Duan Chen rejected the idea outright.
"Let's observe for a while longer. If it's truly a Sea Monster, they can't possibly not show any flaws."
"Jun Ci."
"Captain?" Jun Ci stepped forward.
A mischievous smile appeared on Duan Chen's face.
"Go buy some seafood, preferably octopus. Let's cook something for them."
Jun Ci immediately understood. "Captain, you want to…"
Duan Chen nodded.
"I don't believe they can truly endure it?"
"As expected of Brother Duan Chen!"
Qi Qing twitched his mouth. "Are you guys demons? Little Duan, what about your pupil technique?"
Duan Chen shook his head. "Purely with pupil technique, I can't see through it anymore. Perhaps someone cast an illusion on them, making my True Sight unable to discern."