Here Lies The Wicked

Chapter 30: Tongjiang Bridge

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Fang Zheng, who had just emerged from training in self-quarantine, was curious about the extent of his strength measured in kilograms. 

Apart from that. 

Which echelon did his powers fit into in this ever-changing world? Was it sufficient for self-defense?

Was it the first echelon?

Or the second echelon?

Or the lowest echelon?

Although he had experienced three supernatural incidents back to back, apart from the third one, Fang Zheng did not go with the ADC fighting style [1] when he was facing the Hell Car incident or dealing with the Dead Man’s Meal. He had been winging it the whole time. Hmm…

According to the Golden Immune Arhat, one would possess the strength of an elephant upon reaching the state of perfection. 

Dragons and elephants were considered sacred in Buddhism. 

The Nirvana Sutra read, ‘World-Honored One! Now, it may be that along with the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, like great dragons and elephants, I have now done away with the contaminants and stand equal to Mañjuśrī, the Dharma Prince’.

The Flower Garland Sutra read, ‘Its behavior, the most ingenious and incomparable, is the strength of freedom of dragons and elephants’.

Written during the Tang Dynasty, Wang Bo’s Preface to the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya read, ‘When the clouds clear up, the supremacy of the truth will be known; when the ten temples prevail, the value of the truth will be known; when the dragons and elephants are convinced, there will be justice’.

Qian Qianyi of the Qing Dynasty wrote in Preface, ‘Master Zibai preached throughout the Southeast with the eminence of dragons and elephants’.

This showed how dragons and elephants were regarded highly in Buddhism—they were known as Naga. It was a term used to describe divinity—usually for the strongest and most courageous among the Arhats. 

But!

Fang Zheng was someone living in modern times. 

He would be able to comprehend kilograms and tonnes, but the strength of an elephant? It was so vague that it was driving Fang Zheng crazy. 

The trunk of an adult elephant could lift a 1.5 tonne-heavy car, and if it was angry, it could knock down an old banyan tree. One question remained—which species was this elephant in the literature?

Fang Zheng whipped out his locally-made smartphone and searched for Sun Yushu’s number. 

Finding out how to collect more clouds of Gray Qi to populate his ‘savings’ was of utmost importance no matter what. 

Fang Zheng had already tasted success from the training. 

This was not Fang Zheng’s first time contacting Sun Yushu himself; the call was quickly picked up. Fang Zheng wanted to get some insider information about the Supernatural Investigation Bureau—especially where its stronghold was, or its headquarters’ address in Zhou City. 

Since five forensic doctors died where Sun Yushu lived, the Supernatural Investigation Bureau had sent professionals over to protect the defenseless doctors. This was the only clue Fang Zheng had access to. 

However, Sun Yushu did not provide any useful information. The discipline of these people was on par with the army—they would not mention a single word about the organization or its internal workings. 

“Wait! I just remembered a small detail—it was something I overheard unintentionally. I’m not sure if this would help you,” Sun Yushu said. 

Fang Zheng started paying attention. “What detail?”

“Yesterday, I heard them talking about something along the lines of… planning a mandatory sanitization of the Tongjiang Bridge.” Sun Yushu was trying his best to recall. 

Fang Zheng immediately asked, “Is there a rough time for it?”

Unfortunately, Sun Yushu had only heard bits and pieces of it—there was nothing worthwhile from him anymore. 

“Is this important?”

“Sorry for letting you down this time. I’ve always wanted to repay you for saving me last time.”

Sun Yushu was regretful—if he had known this would happen, he would have paid more attention back then.

Fang Zheng thanked Sun Yushu and told him not to force it. However, he still had Sun Yushu look out for more details regarding the time of the sanitization. They both hung up after that.

The Tongjiang Bridge!

Right after the call, Fang Zheng picked up his phone and searched for recent news regarding the Tongjiang Bridge. 

However, there was nothing worthwhile online. 

They were old news. 

The widely-reported opening of the Tongjiang Bridge. 

There were also reports of cars falling off the bridge and into the river, and how it had been sealed off till the present day. No one could go near it.

Nonetheless, according to Sun Yushu, people were dying every day on the Tongjiang Bridge. New corpses were fished up from the downstream on a daily basis but news about it had been contained by the authorities. 

These two points contradicted each other—how could people die every day after the bridge had been sealed off? 

How were they murdered?

Fang Zheng typed on his phone again. This time, he searched for related news about the area around the Tongjiang Bridge. 

There were new clues from the search.

“Closure of the river?”

“Closure of the upstream?”

“Cleaning of the sediment in the river?”

Fang Zheng frowned. 

They were actually planning to cut the river off… given the generosity of the budget, the cool, shades-clad men and their organization must be adamant to solve the issue of the Tongjiang Bridge once and for all. 

Fang Zheng felt a bit of a chill. What exactly was the Tongjiang Bridge to require such resources for ‘mandatory sanitization’?

Sealing the bridge off was clearly of no use given that people were still dying every day. On top of that, what did the mandatory sanitization Sun Yushu mentioned mean?

Did it mean tearing down this bridge?

Or did it mean… a war against whatever that was in there was about to begin?

Fang Zheng repeatedly mumbled, “Tongjiang Bridge,” as he contemplated which scenario was more possible. 

Fang Zheng had already come across the terror of the Tongjiang Bridge. 

The experience he had from the Dead Man’s Meal was still fresh in his mind… As he thought about it, Fang Zheng’s stomach started experiencing reflux and cramps. He had dry heaving.

If it was a war… There could be a chance to get some of that Gray Qi—it was of no use to anyone else anyway. Since the cool, shades-clad men would definitely appear on the Tongjiang Bridge anyway, he could get a sweet deal off them too. 

He had to aim for the right timing when the ‘mandatory sanitization’ happened on the Tongjiang Bridge—not only was it for the Gray Qi, but it was also an opportunity to learn more about the cool, shades-clad men. Fang Zheng planned that after that night, he would go near the Tongjiang Bridge himself for observation. 

At that very moment, Fang Zheng’s phone rang. It was 7.17 pm.

It was the number of his neighbor—not Officer Wei, but the two university students instead. 

“Hello, is-is this Fang Zheng?”

“Fang, Fang Zheng, do… you have time? Can you come and pick Lin Jiabao and I up…”

“Lin Jiabao and I are nervous about go-going home.”

“Fang Zheng, I’m Lin, Lin Jiabao. Please, Tongtong and I are too terrified to walk outside.”

The girls’ voices were trembling over the phone—it was as if they had faced some trauma and did not dare to return home in the dark. They were hoping that Fang Zheng could go over and get them. 

The duo was in so much shock that they were barely clear over the phone. 

It was not an outrageous request, and it was normal for neighbors to help each other out. Fang Zheng told the duo to stay where they were, and that he was on his way to get them. 

Soon after that, Fang Zheng received the girls’ location over the phone. 

Fang Zheng was shocked when he saw the address—it was near the Tongjiang Bridge!