Blazing Armor

Gong Yingxian led Ren Yi to another office area, a massive room with an entire wall covered in LED panels. Rows of desks were filled with computers and equipment Ren Yi didn’t recognize, and most of the employees were still working overtime.GSRLRSCoqfoNNroSBHzJstdojsmJNP

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Gong Yingxian walked toward a desk in the corner and called out to a figure with a broad back, “Xiao Tan.”xLrYpEmlVtXTiGYZxYRVHghQGRrSHS

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The person jerked in surprise, spraying Coke all over half the keyboard. He quickly stood up, grabbing tissues to clean up the mess.mvpHlpZflneHCMWCwYgUCpPNqpTKsr

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Shaking his head, Gong said, “Work hours are over. If you want to eat, no need to sneak around.”luftPjDrHKqtDumLaWfEbLWBIWdFKa

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The man turned around with an embarrassed smile. “Dr. Gong, you startled me.”sGLhtPEoXyDplgWdYayGIKWRUyeWHY

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He looked like he was in his early twenties, chubby with pale skin, large round eyes that were clear and bright, and skin so soft it seemed like you could squeeze water from it. He had a gentle, harmless smile—if he slimmed down, he’d probably be quite handsome.hDjnOLQSyAmBDnrUjhfveGjpVibbxx

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“This is Captain Ren Yi of the Phoenix Squad. Captain Ren, this is Tan Haochun from our cybercrime division. He’s a very skilled hacker.”ZpZbLODXlRnjtjNArPUYSQAytZBAMU

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“I’m… I’m not that great,” Tan Haochun said shyly, offering Ren Yi his hand. “Nice to meet you, Captain Ren.”iwVQYIscNkVSiKxXiWgSmkxfARuDWq

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“Nice to meet you.”DNiHngjvbbflyaSeSkfCdAbUWmYGtA

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As soon as Ren Yi reached out, Tan Haochun flinched as if he’d been shocked, retracting his hand quickly. “Sorry, my hands are dirty. Let me wash them first.”ZVEuZxIXgxaoLQRKogwmRmbPxBiyCT

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Gong stretched out his long arm, blocking Tan’s face, and pulled out a bottle of hand sanitizer from his pocket. “Sit down and save some time.”YCkAaegWnYDBuHjZiZegfODnXxICLD

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Tan obediently sat down, extending his hands like a student awaiting punishment.nEoNdnCFuTXsLRMQqJwouYDKSoGDcm

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Gong sprayed the sanitizer onto his hands. Tan rubbed them together and wiped them clean with a tissue.acihJokmGJcjHykrxaIuucydkPlAic

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Ren Yi stifled a laugh, clearing his throat softly.bZqlqbDACwefPtOoncIRsAppBFIDWA

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They shook hands again, and Tan blinked at Ren. “I’ve heard a lot of the female colleagues talking about Captain Ren lately. They were right—you’re tall and handsome.”UbzyWvUdyymWkfzEXJOCXcUBZEfncj

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Ren chuckled. “Really? Am I that popular at your branch? Maybe I should look into which pays more—being a cop or a firefighter. I might switch careers.”XHbqNrxfPHIycCOzwjjfkjFAadHUTQ

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Tan laughed. “Captain Ren, you’re so funny.”WNIaDpjRxSgFVbOTNcsuebVhkpWtUt

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Gong glanced down at Tan’s desk, which was littered with chips, beef jerky, sunflower seeds, and Coke stains.rNnfzHsPawlZXjJHzGAsUUERCOIzgc

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Tan hurried to clean up what he could, wiping the desk nervously while stealing glances at Gong.iFmUZVQBBJkQUzYljzKdqZaujVSuJy

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Gong pointed to the side. “Grab a couple of chairs.”ubsNYSKMpRQUVltyLGNrRPVxFbwAWE

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Both of them turned to get chairs at the same time.LomnsYJPXHWwoEbsAeaRMyJSQTxoyS

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Gong sat down. “Xiao Tan, you mentioned earlier that there’s been some progress. Since we’ll be interrogating Zhou Chuan tomorrow, I need some useful information now.”rARcGiomCIaResjfFCSqzMWiTOuRSG

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“Exactly.” Tan Haochun switched the screen, revealing a webpage with a dark red background and flame patterns in front of them. The page was entirely in English, and at the top, there was an image of a serpent with six wings wrapped around a sword, flames engulfing it.fTPoXOHosijrMGXLWtjVwkpFUbudsH

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Below that, in small text, was the word: *seraph*.OMPhOmVOAJouBNOxrxtekGhLYHHZwd

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It wasn’t what Ren Yi had expected. The dark web homepage was incredibly simple. He had imagined the dark web to be like those pop-up-heavy porn sites, overloaded with eye-catching content on a single page. But this site had no images, just a logo, name, and a few selection boxes.MdVajCjnatiIpWRiJAFVrIZxtZrHyh

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The first option listed was “live.”hOVwlosMYPycpjfLmZGArtrFpXYTkp

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“This is *Seraph*.” Just looking at the site made Ren Yi feel a sense of suffocation. “This site… is it specifically for arsonists?”MsNErgIDHkDriciDTyMOCtjgOQTbFc

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“More accurately, it’s for pyromaniacs,” Tan Haochun explained. “Not every pyromaniac has the guts to commit a crime. Everything on this site revolves around fire—things you can and can’t imagine. There are live streams of people playing with fire, arson, photos, videos, tutorials on how to start fires or make explosives, and discussion forums. If it’s about fire, you can probably find it here.”BRiYLmWEJnajvRAEblXhnzSAhFgMYZ

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“Are there many people like Zhou Chuan?”NeYrMtwslHjHuYXwmVGyXjMDBlIlDr

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Tan Haochun nodded. “People like Zhou Chuan are called bounty hunters on this site. They make money by satisfying the desires of pyromaniacs. For instance, a set of photos or videos from a fire’s aftermath, shot from something like a fourth perspective, can sell for at least 10 ‘quarks’.”meZYDnmbIqBvLyXOQeFKySWEzmntob

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“Quarks?”pDSvGchoXFLEYCVyykEdGqGNrbatgL

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“A quark is the smallest known particle in physics,” Gong Yingxian chimed in.jxMrnIUzSMFcikasCGBWSsOWteSiqx

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Tan Haochun nodded again. “Yes, but here, ‘quark’ is the name of a virtual currency. It’s like Bitcoin or Ethereum, though not as valuable. One quark is worth about… 20 to 25 US dollars.”OYSNgxhNWqtYNSZXlQzDjgImleRDDt

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“So Zhou Chuan could earn a couple thousand yuan just for taking those photos?” Ren Yi scoffed. “And he thought it was worth getting detained for 48 hours?”MPYbcfICDCehVMHvZtByoImcBfvjLp

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“Yes, but live streams are much more expensive,” Tan Haochun continued. “A live stream of a post-fire scene starts at $200 for five minutes. But the money usually isn’t paid by one person—it’s crowdfunded by everyone watching. If someone makes special requests, the price goes up.”bBPtofdsRxYLiweZVsVrGJSGOElQyq

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Gong Yingxian’s voice grew serious. “Streaming fire aftermaths is probably considered low-tier content on *Seraph*, right?”ziuOujSXcNrdSBGPJSDQDxxxRQMwSL

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“What’s considered high-tier?” Ren Yi clenched his fists instinctively. “Live broadcasts of arson?”ltlIRAyNdljkDIjdXRGCxJtdkwcXRV

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Tan Haochun’s face turned grim. “There are… all kinds of live streams on this site. Some of them… are beyond what any human should do.”IgpWqjwfmbsDflOvGcGjGhJsZeTqyZ

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With an expressionless face, Gong said, “There are streams of people burning various objects, and… also, people.”awNqaPynJYqBaMrFdMYDRgzIVHFqmv

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Ren Yi gasped, his voice trembling. “How can a site like this still exist?”WxHRJOTpeHtkPbMlOXVIxClBsnizST

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Tan Haochun gave a bitter smile. “Because it’s almost impossible to shut down. Their servers are scattered across the world. Taking down a dark web site like this would require law enforcement agencies from multiple countries to cooperate, which is nearly impossible. Unless the key personnel, like the programmers, are caught. But the site’s coders are top-tier hackers. I spent three days trying to breach their firewall, and I was detected within three minutes.”otOMEDqMZyZlYlHDthtLNnDnNiijrk

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“What useful information have you found?”LrTLejXBlzYZAoxMomUdSMxtUdKKIZ

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Tan Haochun scratched his head. “I’ll show you a video first. Be prepared—it’s not easy to watch.”gaoDpSqcIgUFyAdxPZUTBXPdOuSwhZ

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“…What’s this?”KLyKCycEhBivgQDkZzYcBUdbHdeQcY

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“This video is currently among the top three most viewed on *Seraph*, and it even hit number one at one point,” Tan Haochun hesitated, glancing at them.VnbwJEtEQcZqNWpOqKKIYUamqXBLLl

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“Play it,” Gong Yingxian commanded.BEpUCUHKuoemOCeDIqjztkEAekEQBd

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Tan switched to another webpage, and the frozen frame that appeared on the screen already looked eerily familiar to Ren Yi and Gong. A bad feeling crept over them.YEpGJTFdhIZqgvsDLghuvhayRkoPZs

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When the play button was pressed, the dark background slowly came into focus, revealing a yellow sedan—*a car they would never forget*.NUZDXSpsikdQWQaxhYcqSMVqqnIgwG

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What followed was something they both knew all too well, because they had been there. The chilling coldness gripped their bodies as they heard their own voices in the video. Then, the black-clad man set the car ablaze. The fire reached Zhou Chuan, who collapsed to the ground. The camera shook.xXJZPPUxnaHQMuLzbIyARwKhGCZZwL

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Ren Yi vividly remembered the tripod-mounted camera pointed directly at the car. The tripod had burned for some time before it eventually fell over. Which meant… which meant that both he and Gong Yingxian had been captured on camera *before* it fell!CecwTyQsRYdtwXkAFlVLPeWODjHFpQ

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At the time, they were too focused on saving people, rescuing cats, and putting out the fire. The chaos of the scene made them completely overlook the camera. But that camera had been silently recording, live-streaming the burning car.sOhbBYxvGJFOpRsOytBxrypNPdwfSN

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Their faces grew darker with each passing second, even though the video didn’t show their identities clearly. Yet, they remembered shouting each other’s names during the chaos.fKtqAYwKEwoZtQiAdjLaLvydrQrjXX

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The video continued until Gong dragged Ren away from the front of the burning car, and then the camera toppled.YgycmDZCpoPzrwyGXAFuMGUZLTtMhf

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Ren felt his throat dry up, his emotions tangled in a mess he couldn’t define. Gong’s expression was grim, exuding a cold, lethal aura.ZioVmLgJVmdvrmZwiMHJBHgqDxtafA

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Tan Haochun stole a glance at them and suggested, “I’ll open the comments, but… you might want to prepare yourselves…”BPTlbOmmFBOajOxmzfPaoeoAaJuiuD

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“I don’t need any preparation,” Gong said icily. “Don’t waste time.”fCQZgldEgZZTjUSWDoFrWDlFLsxLes

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Ren Yi quietly muttered, “Don’t be like that. Xiao Tan is helping us.”VehYHBONDAylSCbnTvBWLvkWvvCbCS

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Tan waved it off. “It’s fine.” He clicked to open the comments.LHqRGXjEraozMCQqsQlinQgluTOrHw

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In an instant, the video was flooded with scrolling comments, most in English.zysIJnyJdFMHhNuWByNwLSxqJMFive

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Ren’s English wasn’t great, but he had at least passed the required exams, so he could understand bits and pieces. Some comments praised the video, saying it was amazing. Others pointed out that one was a cop and the other a firefighter. Someone even wrote that they wanted to hear them scream inside the car, and another said that their handsome faces turning to charred remains would be the most beautiful sight in the world.mqdYtickXOsTcTIbpMfHWOsDkRecnE

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Then Ren saw his own name, age, phone number, location, address, job title, and firefighter ID appear in both English and Chinese in the comments—followed by Gong Yingxian’s.ebOQflYMcuVyjgwgnuDyrXIzfLfyOl

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His skin crawled.tUyHxGkrGkjbmLnHuPetgkcXOsBwGe

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Gong narrowed his eyes. “They found all that from just this video?”RBOGvfXYwOTJlDXAFwrSmBgCAYFqll

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“This video revealed quite a bit,” Tan explained. “For hackers, it’s not hard to dig up more info. But don’t worry too much. Even if people overseas have your details, it’s difficult for them to harass you from afar. And most people within the country wouldn’t dare risk exposing themselves. Have you received any harassment calls lately?”RODfSWlzJSSYKjBbHQsvYcxEPxwVah

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“None.” Gong sneered, “I’m not worried. Most arsonists are timid and weak. In society, they act quiet, shy, and reclusive. They use fire to conceal their insecurities and build themselves up. Deep down, they think the bigger the fire, the more powerful they seem—classic coward mentality. Most of them wouldn’t dare go near cops or firefighters.”hAZkFgNjdRcPeitNqcFUDTVIWqXegf

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“They may not, but the bounty hunters making money by catering to them are a different breed. Many of them aren’t pyromaniacs at all. Some are genuine criminals. You still need to be cautious,” Tan said quietly. “Someone has already put a high bounty on anything related to you two.”FAAhqAKjWOfZiXMSKwsUGwuyGFkJAa

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Ren clenched his teeth. “I’ve been itching to catch these bastards. If they’ve got the guts, let them come.”QELXzHgkCoMGhdJgRzQiPQVCTdqVRf

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“Let me see it,” Gong said, “We might be able to use this to catch someone.”WPUIFewaSZTsrzQiwautNqAsoliHlF

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“Right, the guy in black.”SYugJHSDsANFjtiYteeefbXIEvpyrC

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Tan switched the page again. “The bounty is right here. The top one has raised nearly $40,000—just for anything about either of you. But don’t worry, it’s been days, and no one’s dared to take it.”idOFOpnbNXAfqdyguMyfoOvlsuRgit

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Gong studied the bounty list carefully, saying, “That guy in black… it was his first time. He wasn’t working with Zhou Chuan.”RPtyKPCnRTyKthmlPIbGxpCJpdMFod

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“How do you know?” Ren asked.erqqswojGAxGppOXczTLTLKXOdJxau

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“I’ve rewatched the videos we took on our phones. The guy was clumsy, hesitant, nervous, and scared. From his body language, it was clear he didn’t want to be there. He just wanted it to end quickly. And he never once looked at the live stream. He wasn’t interested in the tips, only in hiding his face and features. He wasn’t in it for the money; it seemed more like he was forced to be there.”EUxbrUGGsJlFQclGaqBJoWOvHnLEGs

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Ren Yi recalled something. “But he didn’t hesitate at all when he set the car on fire.”nuPjomfteOsuPwpnxODmyOwYEnpnII

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“He burned the car to create chaos and make his escape,” Gong Yingxian replied. “As for the bounty on us, no one has taken it.”eJRUEErsvDGQTOmpcbZEuKQotZzXKv

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“Yeah, there aren’t that many Chinese users on this site, and with how well the authorities manage public safety here, it’s too risky to target a public official. Even though $40,000 is a significant bounty,” Tan Haochun added. “Still, you should be careful, just in case.”GpEzLkfTczevjCvvSlualRAeShrMlK

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Ren asked, “What’s usually the target for bounties this high?”xzsLOLklbNaEvJhblDvQQSfriZBfMH

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“Burning people alive, or setting fire to large, important, or well-known objects. Human targets are more common. Buildings, even with high bounties, are less appealing, especially in developed countries. Too big a target makes it easy to get caught.”vaGwAQOYneAkJnnpmNJnmdzdPuajKA

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“Freaking psychopaths,” Ren Yi cursed.SCbgleZDarkyBoUtuomWdEqTGWhWqt

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Gong cut in, “Did you find any useful clues? Or is it just our video?”obftrpTyuXdyTKUgnkppcxlhlmSkUU

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“No, there’s more. I found information about that live stream, and I dug up some things from the site itself,” Tan replied. “There’s something in particular that caught my attention—a type of post I found on their forums.”tDrWSBFsAFbtfbwfEyXlWQYcHnacZn

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“What kind of post?”SvYumfUjMgjzhgPxSGNGSHBFvzfJmZ

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“Dr. Gong, do you remember the famous fast-food bathroom murder case in Utah a few years ago?”ULerKbpYFqBKgweQDxojdoDejrEQTY

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“I remember. Two high school students exchanged victims for murder.” Gong’s eyes widened in realization. “Are you saying they’re arranging to swap arson targets on the forum?!”nAIgpfLrExfSYoElvXIGDbWLImhKoa

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“Exactly,” Tan said gravely.rxqqcaQIblqtBSCJnVPbaIoKHMPEkY

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