Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Corrosion

Shen Yan looked at Chu Tian, confused. Even Xu Qingsui, standing beside him, furrowed her brow.

’Why is he wasting time at a moment like this?’

Chu Tian ignored their expressions and looked Shen Yan directly in the eye. "You should mentally prepare yourself. No matter what you see in a minute, you have to stay calm."

After warning Shen Yan, Chu Tian turned to Xu Qingsui.

"Guide Xu, you’re a woman. It’s probably best if you don’t look at what’s underneath. It might make you uncomfortable."

Chu Tian’s words made both their hearts pound.

But humans are strange creatures. The more you’re told not to do something, the more you want to do it.

They both insisted they were fine. Chu Tian sighed and finally moved his hand.

Immediately, two pairs of eyes were fixed on Shen Yan’s hand. As he yanked the white cloth away, they looked at what was underneath.

A mass of intermingled red and white was the first thing to enter their vision.

At first, neither of them registered what they were seeing.

But as their brains processed the image, the information quickly clicked into place.

When the realization dawned, their faces flushed, and a wave of nausea shot straight to their heads.

"I warned you both!" Chu Tian said from the sidelines, exasperated.

Hearing his words, the two stubborn individuals could only brace themselves and force down their physical revulsion.

Shen Yan steeled himself and ripped the cloth away completely. The image of a white skeleton, intermingled with scraps of red flesh, was presented to them.

Although they’d had a moment to prepare, the sudden sight still elicited a strong reaction from them both.

Shen Yan immediately turned his head and began to dry-heave. Xu Qingsui fared slightly better; she just averted her gaze, took a few deep breaths, and quickly composed herself.

This was largely thanks to the Apocalypse Xu Qingsui had experienced in her past life.

Back then, zombies ran rampant, and the sight of them devouring people was everywhere.

Xu Qingsui had grown numb to the sight of all kinds of mutilated corpses.

But she had truly never seen anything quite like this.

After a moment of adjustment, she managed to suppress the urge to vomit.

Chu Tian, standing nearby, noticed Xu Qingsui’s reaction and was immediately impressed.

After all, it was a scene that even a grown man had trouble stomaching. For her to adapt so quickly was no small feat.

After a moment, Shen Yan had also calmed down considerably. He turned his head as if to speak, but a glimpse of the skeleton from the corner of his eye made him hastily pull the white cloth back over it.

Once the image was completely hidden from view, he asked Chu Tian, "Has the coroner seen this? What’s the report?"

"The coroner said the body appears to have been corroded, but there are also fine gnaw marks left on the bones. It’s as if something ate the flesh away."

Shen Yan’s brow furrowed. Just hearing the description was making him feel sick to his stomach again.

"So what’s the theory?"

"We suspect it was a Mutant with corrosive saliva. It devoured them, and its saliva left behind the corrosion marks."

Shen Yan fell silent. He’d never even heard of such a Mutant. If this creature’s existence was confirmed, he was determined to capture one for research.

Snapping out of it, Shen Yan’s expression turned serious. "How many victims are there so far? Any trace of the Mutant?"

Chu Tian’s face was grim. "We’ve found five sets of remains so far. There are some tracks on the ground, and my men have started following them, but they haven’t found the Mutant yet."

Five victims!

That number was enough to cause mass panic.

Shen Yan glanced at the crowd of onlookers craning their necks to get a better look, then lowered his voice.

"We need to be careful how we handle this. We can’t let this cause a panic. The last thing we need is internal chaos before we’ve even dealt with the Mutant. Facing threats from both inside and out would make things much harder."

Chu Tian nodded. "As soon as we found out, I had my men set up a perimeter and secured the person who discovered the bodies."

"But that’s just a temporary measure. We need to investigate this and solve the root of the problem as quickly as possible."

A glint appeared in Shen Yan’s eyes. "Could this be related to that giant hole?" he asked suddenly.

"A Mutant couldn’t have gotten into the safe zone. Under the circumstances, that giant hole is the only suspicious element."

Chu Tian drew in a sharp breath. "I’ll immediately dispatch another team to surround it."

Shen Yan nodded, his brow having been knitted tightly this whole time.

Chu Tian went to make the arrangements. Shen Yan called over the lab staff to transport the remains back to the laboratory for analysis.

Once the remains were taken away, the crowd of onlookers quickly dispersed.

All sorts of speculation flew through the dispersing crowd.

Xu Qingsui overheard some of the talk, but she remained silent.

It wasn’t until she was in the car with Shen Yan, heading back to the lab, that she finally spoke. "What’s the plan now?"

"Even if you try to cover this up, so many people died at once. Everyone’s going to have their theories. The more you hide it, the more you’ll fuel speculation, and the harder it will be for you to maintain control."

Shen Yan sighed. Of course he understood that.

But as of now, they didn’t even know what kind of creature this rampaging Mutant was. How were they supposed to reassure the public?

On top of that, the Mutant was very likely still roaming the safe zone—a massive, unpredictable threat.

In a situation like this, if the public panics, any further incident would be beyond their control.

The issue with the giant hole in the plaza was still unresolved, and now an even bigger problem had emerged. Shen Yan felt a massive headache coming on.

A hint of impatience flickered across his expression, but the thought that Xu Qingsui was still beside him made him quickly adjust his attitude.

"At this point, all we can do is investigate as quickly as possible and mobilize the Sentinels for defensive measures. As for everything else, we’ll have to take it one step at a time."

"Once we find that Mutant and eliminate it, everything can go back to normal."

The mention of the Mutant made Shen Yan suddenly remember Xu Qingsui’s abilities.

She had extremely high spiritual power. Perhaps she could sense something.

"Back at the scene, could you sense the Mutant’s presence?"

Xu Qingsui shook her head. "Actually, back in the dorm, I felt a strange presence. I think that must have been when the Mutant was attacking someone."

"But by the time we got to the scene, the feeling was completely gone."

Hearing Xu Qingsui’s words, the excitement on Shen Yan’s face gave way to disappointment.

Still, he offered a word of comfort. "If things were that easy to solve, they wouldn’t need people like us."

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