After returning from the training field to Qionghua Tianglu Lake, Lu Heng sent Chen Linian a message, asking him for the case file that contained a photo of the strange bird.
The photo was sent quickly.
Holding his phone, Lu Heng studied the picture and finally recognized what the creature was.
The strange bird had been burnt to a crisp, its wings and claws nearly gone, making it difficult to identify.
Seeing 013 again today and discovering that he lacked previous memories, Lu Heng finally realized what this strange bird was.
The Iron Blood Investigation Bureau had consulted professors of ornithology, yet none could identify what bird it was.
That was because it was not a creature born in the Human World, but one from the Abyss.
A Crow God, a sinister type of Abyss Demon that devoured the hearts of creatures, then nested in the place of their hearts to control their actions.
This was why during the autopsy of the first 013 body, the coroner concluded that the body had been dead for over a week.
Because this body was not a replica, but a puppet controlled by a Crow God, whose heart had been eaten long ago.
That meant the second 013 Lu Heng met that afternoon bore the same secret—a Crow God hidden in place of his heart.
Furthermore, Crow Gods were often not solitary, which accounted for the appearance of multiple 013s.
These 013s could appear simultaneously in different locations, executing the orders of the Crow God.
Each Crow God was a separate entity, possessing its own thoughts and memories.
To communicate with each other, they needed to be face to face.
Therefore, the Crow God that died during the pursuit of 027 had its memories incinerated along with its body.
Hence, the second 013 had no knowledge of what transpired during the pursuit of 027.
After recalling all the details regarding the Crow Gods, Lu Heng sent Su Muyu a message, asking her to come to the Training Room.
Since Qionghua Tianglu Lake's Training Room and his home were in the same complex, it wasn't long before Su Muyu arrived, carrying a plate of neatly sliced fruits.
"Watermelon is almost out of season, we won't be able to eat it in a few days, try some."
She set the fruit plate on the table, took out a hairband, skillfully tied up her hair, and pulled it to both sides to tighten the hairband.
Her hair was a bit wet, probably just washed and not yet blow-dried.
A faint scent of shampoo lingered when she flipped her hair.
Lu Heng took a bite of watermelon, then pushed his phone towards her, saying, "Crow Gods, the true form of 013."
Upon hearing that it was about 013's true form, Su Muyu's face turned serious, attentively looking at the photo on the phone.
"That day, I indeed saw a bird struck by the Dragon Breath Slash, catch fire and fall, but I thought it was just a regular bird since there are many trees there," Su Muyu hadn't realized that the bird was the key to the whole affair.
Not just her, Lu Heng had also overlooked that detail at the time.
After all, with Dragon Breath Slash covering such a wide area and its aftermath reaching several thousand degrees, any bird touched by the heatwave would definitely fall.
"This kind of Crow God consumes human hearts and then controls their actions. The 013s we saw were all Crow God puppets. That means there are many 013s, but the good news is each Crow God is an independent entity, with their memories and thoughts being separate."
Lu Heng revealed all he could think of about the Crow Gods, before concluding, "So, from now on, you should be cautious of any birds around us, vigilant for any Crow Gods observing us."
Su Muyu listened carefully and nodded in agreement, "Okay, I got it."
"Pretty sweet," Lu Heng said, taking another piece of watermelon.
"Am I sweet?" Su Muyu suddenly propped her chin up and teased.
Lu Heng raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, chuckling, "I'd have to taste to know."
At this, Su Muyu's ears turned red and she quickly changed the subject, "With such crucial information, should we tell Xie Shi'en?"
"I've already sent him a secret code online, let's see when he shows up."
When they parted ways with Xie Shi'en, they had exchanged a way to contact each other.
Such critical information couldn't be sent over the internet, so they just sent a code, waiting for him to come in person for a discussion.
Xie Shi'en, possessing the ability to appear and disappear mysteriously, never had a predictable arrival.
As Lu Heng picked up the last piece of watermelon from the fruit plate, Su Muyu suddenly said, "Seems like he's here."
As soon as the words left her mouth, a knocking sound came from the door.
Su Muyu got up to open the door, already aware that it was Xie Shi'en knocking because the Chongming Bird had seen him approaching.
After entering, Xie Shi'en asked, "Aren't you going to save a piece for me?"
Lu Heng tossed the last piece of watermelon over, teasing, "I didn't expect you to knock."
The watermelon flew through the air, slowed down, and hovered in front of Xie Shi'en.
Clearly, he had caught the piece using his Spiritual Power.
"027 doesn't need to knock, but Xie Shi'en does." He caught the watermelon and took a bite.
Lu Heng immediately dove into the main topic, repeating the information about the Crow Gods, then showed him the photo.
After listening, Xie Shi'en digested the information in his mind and nodded, "I see. When I was competing in spiritual power against 013, I also felt his spiritual power was strange. It turns out it wasn't human, but a bird."
Lu Heng corrected, "To be precise, a Crow God is a type of Abyss Demon. From a DNA perspective, it doesn't belong to any category of Blue Star creatures, not order, class, family, genus, or species."
Xie Shi'en nodded, "That's right, Abyss Demons are a different system and can't be classified under Blue Star creature categories, they just resemble birds."