331: Half-infected

The clamor of battle subsided, leaving behind a mess on the streets and unconscious Dinosaur Persons.

Shen Mingyuan and Lin Xun dared not delay. They quickly returned to their car nearby, deactivated their transformations, and immediately grabbed the high-energy nutrient solutions prepared in the vehicle, gulping them down greedily. Their overdrawn physical strength was slightly relieved as the liquid flowed in, but both of their faces bore obvious signs of exhaustion.

"This is going to be a huge problem..." Shen Mingyuan watched the crowds beginning to gather in the distance through the car window and heard the faint sound of sirens, his brows furrowed deeply. "With such a large commotion on the streets and so many eyewitnesses, I'm afraid it will be difficult to completely block the news like before."

Sure enough, before long, several vehicles bearing GUPA and police logos roared onto the scene. They quickly set up a wider perimeter and began efficiently processing the site: evacuating onlookers, comforting frightened citizens, taking custody of the unconscious Dinosaur Persons, and collecting evidence.

A person in charge wearing a GUPA uniform, who looked like a field Coordinator, walked quickly to their car and knocked on the window. Shen Mingyuan lowered the glass.

"Mr. Shen, Mr. Lin," the Coordinator's tone was serious but not tense, "we have a preliminary understanding of the situation.

Regarding the public opinion management of this incident, the higher-ups have new instructions—we are no longer pursuing a complete information blackout.

Relevant departments are preparing press releases and situation reports. We will gradually explain the existence of certain paranormal phenomena to the public in a controlled manner, paving the way for future transparency. Leave the cleanup work here to us."

Shen Mingyuan nodded; this wasn't too surprising. He immediately cut to a more pressing issue: "We suspect there is at least one more infected person, or rather an infection source, who hasn't been caught.

The preliminary list of surrounding surveillance and personnel flow within a specific timeframe centered on the building that I asked you to retrieve—are there results?"

The Coordinator seemed prepared, pulling up a document on a handheld tablet to show Shen Mingyuan:

"This is the preliminary list of associated personnel filtered based on the parameters you provided, totaling one hundred and twenty-seven people. We have already urgently screened one hundred and sixteen of them through phone follow-ups and community visits. No obvious abnormalities have been found so far, and they are marked with green lines.

There are still..." he swiped the screen, "eleven people who haven't completed direct contact screening for various reasons (unreachable by phone, false addresses, temporary departure from the city, etc.). They are marked with red boxes.

If the infected person or the source is among them, this list should help you narrow down the scope."

On the screen, the eleven red names and limited personal information looked particularly jarring.

Shen Mingyuan quickly took photos of the information for these eleven people with his phone and said to the Coordinator, "Understood. Leave these people to us to investigate. Thank you for your hard work at the scene."

"It's our duty. Please be careful and stay in touch."

Shen Mingyuan closed the window and showed the phone to Lin Xun beside him: "Rest for five minutes, then we start. The targets are the eleven 'red names.' We have to drag this fellow out before more people get infected."

Lin Xun looked at the list, his pale face solemn. He nodded and took the time to close his eyes and adjust his breathing.

Following the addresses on the list, Shen Mingyuan and Lin Xun visited the first two people in succession. Both were false alarms; the subjects were just ordinary citizens who were quickly cleared of suspicion after cooperating with the check.

The third name on the list was marked as "Temporary Departure." Records showed he still had community entry/exit logs yesterday, but today he was listed as having left the city.

Lin Xun looked at the information and said, "If the person has already left the city, they shouldn't be part of the local infection chain anymore, right? Maybe there's no problem."

Shen Mingyuan shook his head, his eyes full of the caution typical of a criminal investigator who doesn't easily overlook any possibility: "'Left' is just the status on record. What if he's hiding at home, intentionally creating the illusion of having 'left' because his body developed abnormalities after infection or because he's afraid of being discovered? I won't feel at ease until I see concrete evidence."

"Is that even possible?" Lin Xun was somewhat surprised by this level of overthinking.

"I'm just used to thinking about things in a more complex way," Shen Mingyuan said. "How to confirm? It's simple."

He gestured for Lin Xun to wait while he walked to a quiet spot on the side of the apartment building and whispered, "Transform!" The shadow armor instantly covered his body. He didn't switch forms but instead directly activated the armor's basic sensing module. The red composite eyepieces lit up slightly as ultrasonic detection spread toward the target Unit like invisible ripples. Simultaneously, thermal imaging and long-range vision overlapped, penetrating walls and curtains to scan carefully.

A moment later, he deactivated the transformation and returned to Lin Xun's side, his tone certain: "There is a biological heat source in the room, and it's a single humanoid heat source, staying perfectly still. Let's try knocking."

The two went upstairs and arrived at the target door. Shen Mingyuan raised his hand and knocked with moderate force: "Hello, community safety check. Please open the door."

There was no movement inside.

After waiting ten seconds, Shen Mingyuan knocked again, harder and with a clearer rhythm. It remained dead silent.

"Confirmed," Shen Mingyuan whispered to Lin Xun. "There's a living person inside, yet they have no reaction to an 'official' knock—they didn't even check the peephole or ask a question. This isn't the reaction of a normal person living alone. Get ready to go in."

Lin Xun nodded and stepped forward, raising his voice with a serious tone: "Attention to the person inside! We are GUPA Special Affairs personnel! Please open the door immediately for inspection! Otherwise, we will take necessary measures!"

These words seemed to flip a switch. The heat source that had been stationary inside suddenly moved! But it didn't move toward the door; instead, it moved rapidly toward the bedroom window in the opposite direction!

"He's trying to run! Break the door!" Shen Mingyuan barked.

"On it!" Lin Xun took half a step back, channeled power through his waist, and delivered a fierce side kick right to the door lock!

"Bang—Crack!" The old-fashioned lock and part of the door frame shattered. The two immediately rushed into the room.

They saw a figure frantically trying to open the bedroom window. Hearing the door break, he turned back in terror. It was a young male, but half of his cheek and the corresponding arm and neck were already covered in a layer of coarse, dull-colored keratinous scales. His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was distorted by fear and some kind of pain. He clearly hadn't fully transformed into a Dinosaur Person, remaining in a highly unstable 'half-infected' state.

Seeing the fully armed Shen Mingyuan and Lin Xun rushing in, the Half-Infected Subject let out a terrified whimper. No longer caring about anything else, he smashed through the already opened window and threw himself down from the third floor!

"Chase him!"

Shen Mingyuan and Lin Xun rushed to the window without hesitation. Relying on the superior balance and cushioning abilities granted by his new form, Lin Xun pressed one hand on the windowsill and leaped out lightly. He adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed steadily in the green belt below like a cat, rolling forward to dissipate the force.

Shen Mingyuan was more direct. He vaulted out the window, the armor components on his arms and legs adjusting slightly to increase grip. During the fall, he used his limbs to precisely kick off wall protrusions and drainpipes to buffer his descent several times. Finally, he landed heavily but stably, kicking up a bit of dust.

The two looked up and saw the Half-Infected Subject stumbling, yet running with superhuman speed toward the cluttered construction site at the back of the residential area.

"Don't let him escape into the complex terrain!" Shen Mingyuan barked, and together with Lin Xun, they gave chase from both sides.