Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Hm.” Luo Qian’s face darkened as he flipped through the report.
The black-and-white photo in front of him revealed a huge figure leaving the crime scene on horseback. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was the huge bronze statue from the square.
The statue… had come to life?!
Luo Qian was pensive.
If anything, the Cataclysm had numbed him to phenomena of this sort. He might have been shocked. but it only took him a couple of seconds to regain his composure.
“Pull all available footage. We need to find that statue!” An assistant rushed breathlessly into the room. “Sir, its status has been located. It was spotted at Chengxi Magnet Mouth Plaza.
Luo Qian rubbed his temples slowly. “What? It was found?”
“Sir, it was found at Chengxi Magnet Mouth Plaza. There’s already a crowd of people around it.”
He drew in a deep breath before issuing a stern command. “Evacuate the civilians—wait.” What if that alarmed the statue?
He couldn’t figure this statue out. Even though he wasn’t sure the statue was the murderer, it was highly likely. Why else would the statue have gone all the way to the Chengxi Magnet Mouth Plaza? Was there any logic to it?
Luo Qian wasn’t quite sure what to do, but he knew that evacuating civilians was the top priority. If, for some reason, the statue decided to go on a killing spree, his job would be on the line.
“Do it quietly, and do it quickly. Don’t alarm the statue. Evacuate the civilians and bar non-police and non-military personnel from entering Chengxi Magnet Mouth Plaza.”
“Yes, sir.”
With a grave expression on his face, he quickly made his way to the garden out back.
The garden was a secret enclosure accessible only to the top figures of the police department. Shrouded in mystery, rumors started flying around about it. Some said that it housed an incredibly powerful familiar. Others said that it housed a squad of elite police officers.
It was actually a spacious clearing with gazebos lining both sides of the area. He strode directly into an old building at the back of the garden before making his way downstairs past several secret doors into a room filled with the latest tech.
Magnet Mouth was a famous commercial district in Yuzhou City. The difference between this district and the one at Adamantium Bridge was the fact that Magnet Mouth’s main type of business was trading creatures and rare materials.
Business didn’t look so good that day. It seemed like businesses there wasn’t doing very well.
Gao Peng had come here to buy creatures to experiment on. To ensure that all went as planned, he had decided to do it himself.
For every legitimate shop selling legally sourced creatures, there was an illegal one doing the exact opposite, where none of the creatures there had been properly vetted. If one was lucky, it was definitely possible to walk away with a Perfect-grade creature. Not only did they come a lot cheaper, but there was an element of chance to it that drew people in like moths to a flame.
Prices at a legitimate shop were clearly stated. An Obsidian Crystal for verification purposes, as well as a certification of quality, were included with the sale of the creature. Obsidian Crystals weren’t cheap, which is why legitimate creatures cost a lot more.
They also provided a warranty. As long as it was within reason, any problems one had after the sale would be dealt with very professionally.
Naturally, Gao Peng avoided the legitimate shops like the plague. He didn’t need the fancy bells and whistles.
After going through several different stores, he was greatly disappointed. Most of the creatures on sale were Normal-grade or below, and the few Excellent-grade creatures he came across were ridiculously overpriced. There wasn’t a single Perfect-grade creature to be seen.
Furthermore, these creatures weren’t in good condition. Many of them were curled up, motionless, in a corner in their cages. The shyer ones were actually trembling like leaves.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he could tell what their attributes were, he would have thought they were sick.
After making a small deposit, Gao Peng left his address and strolled out into a dark alley. The alley opened out into a vast field, but the entrance to the field was being blocked off by several police cars.
Not expecting much, he stood on his tiptoes, trying to see what the commotion was about. He was greeted by the majestic sight of a statue right in the middle of the field.
It looked very familiar. Wasn’t it the statue of the Sage King from the Adamantium Bridge Business District?
He did a double take.
As he did, a stream of data faintly started appearing out of the corner of his eye.
[Monster Name]:…
Hiss—
He closed his eyes in disgust. What the hell was that thing?
Wasn’t it just a regular statue? Why was he getting monster data?
If a mountain could birth a Mountain Spirit, there was no reason why a statue couldn’t come to life.
[Monster Name]: Animated Bronze Statue (Sage King)
[Monster Level]: 41 (Lord-tier)
[Monster Grade]: Excellent
[Monster Attribute]: Gold
[Monster Ability]: Iron Skin Metal Bones Level 3, Super Durability Level 1
[Monster Weakness]: 1. Earth 2. Electric 3. Items with impurities
[Monster Introduction]: Originally, it was just a normal statue, but it gained life energy after being infused by the power of wishes. This life energy was then fully activated by the surrounding spiritual and elemental energies. Thus, it animated.
The power of wishes? It probably wasn’t faith.
Gao Peng remembered clearly that there were no signs of worship, like shrines or incense, at the Adamantium Bridge Business District. The closest it ever came to that was passersby nodding in respect as they walked past.
If it wasn’t faith, it was probably something else.
His brow furrowed. He was the kind of guy to mind his own business, but he couldn’t in good conscience allow a monster to run free in the city, especially when he was in a position to do something about it.
He made a quick call to his grandfather to explain the situation.
“The Yuzhou City Government didn’t tell me about this. They used to, but not this time.” His grandfather’s tone was calm and measured.
Gao Peng understood what he was trying to say. “But the civilians don’t know.”
“The Thunder Shell Lord is close to you. It’ll be there as soon as it can.”
This statue couldn’t really cause much trouble in this area, but Gao Peng was worried for other areas.
He really hoped that there weren’t others like this Animated Statue, especially in this historical area of Huaxia. That thing that had crawled out of the royal crypts had already been a handful. He really hoped that he wasn’t being paranoid.
Slowly, the people gathering around the status started to realize something was amiss.
The atmosphere turned grim, and some of the more sensitive ones left the plaza silently.
A group of people in black military garb from the Allied Government entered the plaza.