Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four more gunshots marked the lightning-fast conclusion of the mission. Yes, it was that simple.
To be fair, with complete transparency on the enemy's movements and Robin's highly specialized equipment, it would have been surprising if anything had gone wrong.
The second White Specter was in a classroom on the second floor, while the third and fourth were in the second-floor restrooms. As for the final one... well, if anything unexpected happened, this was it.
The mission had gone so smoothly that Robin's trigger finger began to itch. She wanted to try firing the gun herself, just to see what it felt like. But knowing her marksmanship would be abysmal on her first attempt, she deliberately waited until the last White Specter was within three steps before pulling the trigger.
Under normal circumstances, she would never have dared such a move. Most people would have emptied their magazines the moment they saw the monster. But Robin's icy calm allowed her to take the risk.
Her shot struck the White Specter squarely in the shoulder, killing it instantly.
Though... she had been aiming for its stomach.
Regardless, at that moment, Robin felt a surge of adrenaline, her heart pounding. The other two officers could see her cheeks flushed crimson and the wings behind her ears fluttering excitedly.
"That's... it?" the young officer asked in disbelief.
"Isn't that a good thing? Everyone's safe and sound, and nothing unexpected happened," the veteran officer said, holstering his pistol. He had been ready to back Robin up if her shot had missed.
"Yeah, it's over," Robin nodded, still somewhat in disbelief at how smoothly everything had gone. She even wondered if the massive disaster currently engulfing Longcheng had somehow reduced the difficulty of closing the Dimensional Rift.
But that seemed impossible. Natural disasters like volcanic eruptions and earthquakes strike when their time comes, unaffected by human will.
Later, at the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations, Robin sat at her desk, frowning deeply. As the person responsible for resolving the Dimensional Rift, she was required to file a report—a task she truly loathed.
The Eleventh Middle School Dimensional Rift Incident was classified as Hazard Level C, though the minimum standard rating should arguably have been B. Robin had no qualms with her categorization; these reports were meant for posterity anyway, and as long as they were understandable, that was all that mattered.
As she began drafting the details, Robin suddenly recalled something. She pulled up reports of similar incidents from the past, perhaps seeking inspiration or simply out of curiosity.
The first Dimensional Rift to spawn a White Specter occurred twelve years prior—the South Lane Dimensional Rift Incident, classified as Hazard Level A. This disaster claimed the lives of fifty-four civilians, three Evolvers from the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations, and eight police officers.
Eight White Specters emerged from that rift. At the time, Conversion Powder, the standard countermeasure today, didn't exist. The report clearly outlined the solution: eight police officers volunteered to be possessed. Before their bodies succumbed, they were transported to an uninhabited desert island within three hours.
The names of these eight heroes were meticulously recorded in the report.
Wang Yuxuan, Zhou Haoran, Wu Jingyi, Zheng Qi, Feng Yuxin, Chen Jiayi, Yang Mingxuan, and Lu Yao.
Perhaps this was the true purpose of writing reports. In this day and age, who besides their families would remember these eight heroes? But as long as this report existed, every member of the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations would see the names of these selfless individuals.
Of course, the names of the three Bureau Evolvers who had perished during the investigation into the White Specter's abilities were also recorded.
Forty minutes later, after completing the report on the incident and uploading it to the Bureau's internal network, Robin couldn't help but sigh in relief.
"Good work," Bai Yuanju, still immersed in her own tasks, said immediately.
No, you're the one who's been working harder, Robin thought silently. She retrieved the pistol and the vial of Conversion Powder from her pocket. "Should I return these?"
"Just leave the pistol here. You can take the powder with you."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because there's way too much of this stuff. I'm too lazy to go back to the underground storage."
To be honest, when she was told to take it with her, a flood of possibilities raced through Robin's mind. But this answer was the last thing she expected.
This Dimensional Rift was, in a sense, merely a minor incident, causing barely a ripple in Longcheng. Many locals remained completely unaware it had even occurred.
It materialized quietly and vanished just as discreetly.
Of course, it wasn't entirely without impact. It was perhaps the least destructive Dimensional Rift Incident in recent years, with the lowest number of casualties—zero, to be exact.
By the time Robin returned home, she even managed to make it in time for her regular live stream.
The moment she opened the streaming page, even before starting the broadcast, she saw a flurry of bullet comments in the darkened chat:
[Where's Bird today? She's almost half an hour late!]
[No idea.]
[Hurry up! I'm so anxious!]
[Guys, I just saw a few zombies on the street outside my window. Two people came rushing over at lightning speed and chopped their heads off with knives in under two minutes! It was so damn cool!]
[You can still see zombies? That's unbelievable. I haven't even heard any explosions lately. The military seems to have withdrawn. Maybe the bird was right—this whole thing might actually be coming to an end.]
It could be said that about half the residents of Longcheng hadn't truly grasped the reality of the disaster. They hadn't seen a single zombie, and some lived so far from the battlefield that they hadn't even heard the roar of artillery.
Only a small minority had clearly heard the explosions and witnessed the fiery blasts. Safely holed up in their homes, however, they knew nothing of the actual situation on the front lines.
As for ordinary citizens who had actually seen zombies—or even witnessed the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations or the military fighting them—they were an absolute minority.
In a sense, the city seemed to have split into two distinct halves: one a heavily blockaded war zone, the other a seemingly normal urban landscape.
But from another perspective, this also suggested that the Bureau's operations were proceeding remarkably smoothly, didn't it?