Chapter 33: We Are Not Weaklings in Battle

“Over here!”
“Hey, whoever that is, put the flashlight down—don’t shine it in my face, it’s blinding.”
Shen He waved his hand in annoyance, signaling to Chen Zhao and the others to lower the beam of their flashlights.

The group hurried forward, and once they’d confirmed that Shen He was in one piece, without any missing limbs, Chen Zhao spoke in a rapid-fire tone, “Why did you act on your own again? If anything happens to your safety, it’ll cause a huge scandal.”

After all, Shen He was a civilian, specially approved by the southern city precinct to assist with apprehending murderers—a highly irregular exception. If any of them died, it would be considered dying in the line of duty. But if anything endangered Shen He’s life, it would create a major uproar. The media, the law—every aspect would bring endless trouble to the precinct and to Chen Zhao personally.

Shen He spread his arms and spun around. “As you can see, I’m fine. Not a scratch on me.”

He then pointed to the corpse of a female mantis on the ground, and to the half-eaten body of a male mantis nearby. “When I got in here, there was one and a half mutant mantises. The male had been half-eaten by the female—worse than a nasty divorce, scared me half to death.”

“I slid in, stabbed the male with my knife—steel in, green out—and killed him.”

“Then the female went berserk. Left with no choice, I fought back in self-defense, and took her out as well.”

Hearing Shen He still had the presence of mind to joke, Chen Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. Though Shen He made it sound easy, the state of the bodies and the surroundings made it clear the fight had been ferocious.

Following Shen He’s gesture, Chen Zhao observed the female mantis’s body. It was mostly intact; even though dismembered, its parts could be gathered. The male, though, was only a torso now—the lower half likely inside the female’s belly. It was a gruesome sight.

Though he’d heard before that female mantises eat their mates after mating, this was their first time seeing it for themselves—and with both mantises mutated to nearly human height. Even with their newfound intelligence, some instincts clearly could not be changed. That realization eased his nerves a little.

Beside him, Wu Xiaoxiao stared at the female mantis’s body, exclaiming, “It’s huge! Looks even bigger than Master!”

Chen Zhao fell silent, then cuffed Wu Xiaoxiao on the head. “Watch your mouth.”

The rest of the team looked at the corpse in awe.

Although they all knew they’d be facing mutant beasts, the mutated dog at dusk had still been within their expectations. But this mantis truly exceeded them. It stood as tall as a person, and those razor-sharp forelegs looked like honed blades—no wonder it could slice a person in half with one stroke.

Shen He, standing nearby, cautioned, “Don’t touch its forelegs. They’re so sharp they nearly cut through my entrenching tool.”

He held up his nearly ruined shovel, eliciting another round of gasps. That shovel was high quality, enhanced with modern manufacturing—none of them could have damaged it like this with a knife. For this mutant mantis to nearly destroy it in a single blow spoke volumes about its combat strength.

Chen Zhao ordered his team to fetch body bags and collect the one and a half mantis corpses. At the same time, he contacted headquarters to send forensics: to take evidence, photograph, archive, and then clear all traces.

After all, these things were not for ordinary people to know about—best to keep it a secret for as long as possible.

Suddenly, Wu Xiaoxiao noticed Shen He’s torn shirt around his chest and stomach, and cried out, “You’re hurt? Why aren’t you bleeding?”

Shen He shot her a look. “Could you, for once, not jinx me?”

Realizing her mistake, Wu Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue. “Sorry.”

Chen Zhao quickly looked at the tear in Shen He’s shirt. Through the rip, he saw the bulletproof vest inside had been slashed nearly in half. He drew a sharp breath. “Even the vest was cut through?”

Shen He waved it off. “I’m fine. Thank goodness for the vest—otherwise that bastard would’ve gutted me. They’re fast and their forelegs are deadly sharp—way beyond what most people could handle. If I’d waited for you, maybe one or two of you would have made it out alive, at best.”

At this, a burly man lifting the corpse grumbled, “We’re professionally trained, too, you know.”

They were all elite officers, some even veterans. They’d solved plenty of tough cases. Seeing the mutant mantis’s power was one thing, but being dismissed as useless stung a bit. Surely, they wouldn’t have been wiped out so easily?

We’re not that weak!

Shen He detached the law enforcement recorder from his chest and handed it to Chen Zhao, grinning. “Review the footage later—see how many seconds you’d last against the female mantis, and whether you could even hit it with your guns.”

Hearing this, Chen Zhao realized just how tough the mutant mantis had been. He turned to the complaining officer. “Shut up and get to work.”

Then, turning to Shen He, he said, “Thanks for your help this time. I’ll apply for a reward for assisting with the case—it should be a lot more than last time.”

Shen He laughed. “Thanks, Captain Chen.”

Chen Zhao said, “When this is all done, I’ll have a car take you home. I’ll contact you as soon as the reward comes through.”

Shen He waved him off. “No need, I live nearby—I’ll walk.”

Chen Zhao couldn’t persuade him otherwise.

After leaving the woods, Shen He took off the battered bulletproof vest, though the shoes Chen Zhao had given him were still intact. As for the military knife, both of them pretended not to notice its absence—after all, it belonged to the chief, and if the subordinate loses the boss’s things, it’s no skin off his nose.

Besides, they’d captured three mutant beasts in a single day—a major accomplishment. The chief surely wouldn’t mind one missing military knife.

As for Shen He, he simply found the weapon useful. The mantis’s foreleg had nearly split his entrenching tool in two, and that was a top-quality item bought at a high price by a gear enthusiast. But the military knife could go toe-to-toe with the mantis’s limbs, easily piercing its shell—and it was so portable, it was far more convenient.

Still, he planned to report the alloy longsword he’d received from the system to the precinct once he got his reward. If he could carry that with him, his safety would be greatly improved.

He just needed to find time to practice with the sword. He wondered whether Li Ding’s family-style Bajiquan had any techniques that could be adapted from fists to swordplay.