章 81: Chapter 79
After arriving in a nearby city, Leon, Wanda, and the others said their goodbyes to Jeff and his group. The girls seemed reluctant to part ways.
Once they left, Leon asked Keisha to keep an eye on Jeff and the teens during their RV trip. He didn't want anything happening to people he cared about, especially while traveling across the U.S., where anything could happen. Even though New York had a high crime rate, places like Texas weren't much better. Texas had its own dangers, with its rough culture encouraging ruthless criminals. Highway robberies and similar crimes were common occurrences.
As for the incident with Mephisto, that was just a coincidence. It didn't follow the planned path of Wanda, Pietro, and Sumarokov's mission. Through their computer network, the trio had discovered strange happenings in Texas, which led them to investigate further.
Meanwhile, Leon was more than happy to return to the New York manor. Wanda, Pietro, and Sumarokov were just part-time workers without Leon's leadership, so there wasn't much for them to do. As a boss of his stature, Leon only needed to step in when the situation was critical.
While Leon and his group moved on, the Texas government found itself in a state of crisis. By that evening, as the rain continued to pour, the authorities received word of the strange events. The location was significant—it was a major transfer point between several nearby cities.
By early the next morning, local and state police, along with the FBI from surrounding areas, were dispatched to investigate. Law enforcement agencies, including mounted police, gathered at the scene. Several sergeants coordinated efforts and reported back to the government, which held an emergency meeting.
They quickly formed a joint investigation team made up of detectives from nearby cities. The idea was simple: everyone would share the responsibility. If the investigation failed, they'd share the blame; if it succeeded, they'd share the credit. It was clear that the higher-ups had a plan to cover all their bases.
Several city police chiefs were hesitant about getting involved. For them, whether this incident turned into something significant or not didn't matter as much. What did matter was avoiding any mistakes. However, when the government issued an order, they had no choice but to follow through.
Led by the police chiefs from Houston, Woodland, and Beaumont, the investigation team consisted of about forty-five officers. Alongside them were a group of on-site investigators and law enforcement officers eager to assess the scene.
But when the sergeants and officers arrived, they were stunned by what they saw. The area stretched nearly 10,000 meters, completely devastated as if countless missiles had hit. Cracks extended for miles, making it unclear whether the destruction was caused by an earthquake or some sort of massive explosion.
Everyone fell into a heavy silence.
"So, are we sure the military isn't testing new missiles here?" the white police chief from Houston asked, removing his sunglasses with a baffled expression.
The other chiefs had similar looks of disbelief. Even the officers filming the scene seemed lost for words. A drone flew overhead, capturing footage that revealed deep craters of various sizes, resembling the surface of the moon. The only difference was that the craters here were filled with rainwater, making the scene even more surreal and murky.
"Damn it, this is a real mess. Johnny, what did you find over there?" shouted the white sergeant from the Houston Police Department to one of the officers inspecting the area. Officer Johnny, who was using instruments to scan the scene, looked up and responded loudly, "No signs of explosives. It doesn't look like it was caused by a blast."
"Could the rain have washed away the evidence?"
"No way. Rain would still leave some traces behind, but here, there's nothing at all," Johnny replied confidently.
Other officers from nearby cities nodded in agreement. The white sergeant, looking even more baffled, took off his hat and scratched his white hair. He glanced at the other police chiefs, all of whom were just as confused.
Finally, a black police chief hesitated before offering a guess, "Could this have something to do with mutants?"
"You think there was some kind of mutant fight here last night?"
"Maybe?" he replied with a shrug.
"It's a possibility," the white sergeant said, not dismissing the idea. "If mutants were involved, the scale of the battle would've been pretty intense."
He then turned back to Johnny. "Get a team together and start searching the area for any body parts or traces of blood. We need to figure out what went down here."
"Yes, sir," Johnny replied as he quickly set off to organize the search.
Under the supervision of the police chief, the entire joint investigation team began a thorough search of the area. After two hours of effort, the results were disappointing—no body parts or blood traces were found.
The police chiefs, after confirming the findings, were left frustrated and confused. They gathered around a police car, discussing the situation while smoking cigarettes.
"Damn it, could this be some kind of supernatural event?"
"Who knows," another chief replied. "If this much damage wasn't caused by explosives, only mutants could do this. But with no blood found, is it possible no one was injured? Or maybe someone cleaned up the scene?"
"That's impossible," one of them quickly retorted. "Even if someone cleaned up, it would take professionals to leave no clues behind. Plus, with this much destruction and in such bad conditions—at night, during heavy rain—there should still be something left."
As all their theories seemed to fall apart, a voice suddenly called out from the team.
"Sir, we found a faint tire mark not far from the scene."
The chiefs immediately perked up, tossing their cigarettes and hurrying over. Sure enough, they spotted a faint tire track just off the road. Although the marks were intermittent, it was clear that a vehicle had left the road, made a wide loop, and rejoined the highway on the other side.
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