Chapter 36: The Bewildered Meteorological Bureau

"Captain, why is there another lightning strike here?"

One of the officers asked, puzzled.

Earlier, because the sky had been overcast with dark clouds, the light had been exceptionally dim. Combined with the fact that they were in full pursuit of the human traffickers, they hadn't noticed it immediately. Now that the sun was high, the scorch mark appeared exceptionally clear.

A lightning strike hitting the ground was a low-probability event in itself. Moreover, within such a short period, two lightning strikes had actually occurred consecutively—and both were right on the path the traffickers had taken to escape!

Consequently, looking at the mark on the ground, the officers present couldn't help but feel astonished. Combined with what they had seen earlier, even veteran detectives with years of experience had never heard of such a thing. They couldn't help but gather around the mark, discussing it

"Two lightning strikes, and both hit the traffickers' escape route!"

"It's truly bizarre. I've been a detective for so many years, and I've never encountered anything this... divine..."

"Could it be that 'heavenly retribution' is actually a real thing?"

As the officers continued their discussion, Liang Yuzhu stared at the mark on the ground, lost in thought for a long time. She also couldn't help but feel that the traffickers' vehicle being struck by lightning did not seem like a mere coincidence.

She then looked up at the sky; the heavy, dark clouds had already dispersed.

"Take photos. Record the location and leave it for the forensics department to investigate."

"Those traffickers aren't conscious yet. Go find the witnesses to the case and take their statements first."

As Liang Yuzhu's voice fell, the officers climbed into their vehicles. Soon, the police cars started up and headed once again toward the zoo.

...

"What? The weather cleared up?!"

"Are you sure? Is this for real?!"

At that moment, the Yanhai City Meteorological Bureau was in a state of total chaos. The cause was this unpredictable weather.

Originally, the bureau had observed gathering dark clouds on the cloud maps. Even to the naked eye, it looked like a massive rainstorm was about to descend. Furthermore, because of the previous hailstorm that had occurred without a timely warning, the bureau had already been reprimanded by the municipal leadership. They had certainly learned their lesson this time.

After detecting that the cumulonimbus clouds stacking over Yanhai City were sufficient to form a torrential downpour, the bureau had immediately issued an orange rainstorm warning to the citizens. They thought they would be foolproof this time, perhaps even earning great credit.

However, what the staff at the meteorological bureau never expected was that after they issued the warning, the anticipated rainstorm failed to appear entirely! In fact, the reality was the exact opposite of the experts' predictions. The heavy, dark clouds in the sky had naturally dissipated after a few flashes of lightning! Not even a single drop of rain had fallen!

The staff were stunned. How was this possible? There were clearly such thick layers of clouds! Barring any accidents, a rainstorm was inevitable. But why did the clouds dissipate so rapidly in such a short time? It was as if they were being toyed with!

At this moment, the Director of the Meteorological Bureau was even more bewildered. He was hunched over the cloud maps, staring intently at the movement of the clouds! Watching those cloud masses scatter like sand in the wind, the Director's expression turned grim. He couldn't help but ask repeatedly

"They really dispersed??"

"Is there any possibility of them condensing again?"

As he spoke, the Director's tone grew increasingly urgent. It was no wonder he was so anxious. Since taking this position, he had never experienced such eerie weather! First, there was that unannounced hailstorm a few days ago. Now, there were these gathering dark clouds that, despite being capable of forming a rainstorm... had simply dissipated on their own! It completely overturned the professional knowledge of meteorologists!

But even though the Director had ten thousand questions in his heart, the fact was right before his eyes.

*Ring, ring, ring...*

At the same time, the telephone in the bureau rang. The Director stared at the number on the display, and his heart sank. Not daring to delay, he immediately answered.

A familiar voice came from the other end—it was a municipal leader. The very first sentence made his intention clear.

"What is wrong with you people?"

"Didn't you just promise me that there wouldn't be any more chaos?"

"How long has it even been, and you've already caused such a massive blunder!"

Listening to the leader's reprimand, the Director felt like crying but had no tears. He felt that the weather lately was becoming increasingly sinister. Even with their technological means for early detection, they simply couldn't predict this weather!

"Leader, please let me explain..."

The Director tried to say something, but he was quickly silenced by the voice on the other end.

"Don't you dare start talking to me about 'meteorological weapons' again!"

"Go and see what our citizens are saying right now! They're saying you're incompetent, saying your technology is poor, saying you're falsifying reports."

"Even on Douyin, people are saying our city's Meteorological Bureau is just a ragtag amateur crew!"

"..."

The call only ended after the municipal leader finished his tirade.

The Director's face was pale. He kept searching his mind, wondering exactly where things had gone wrong. He then turned his gaze toward the expert group and spoke to them

"Speak up. What exactly is the situation?"

"Expert Xu... didn't you say this rain was definitely going to fall?"

"Uh..." As the Director's words fell, Expert Xu couldn't help but wipe away cold sweat.

He also wanted to figure it out. Why did the gathered dark clouds inexplicably disperse after a few lightning strikes? It defied all common sense! At this point, even if he wanted to force an explanation, he likely wouldn't be able to make sense of it. Expert Xu was speechless, his mind filled with question marks!

"Can this damn weather get any weirder?!"

...

At the entrance of the zoo, the police cars had arrived. Of the three captured traffickers, two had not yet regained consciousness due to the violent impact.

Liang Yuzhu arrived at the scene with several officers and the one conscious trafficker, prepared to conduct a further investigation. Soon, the group arrived at the broadcasting room. After a brief inquiry with the boy's mother, they asked her to go to the hospital to accompany her sleeping child.

Those remaining in the broadcasting room were the zoo director and Lin Nan's group.

"Officer, these are the people who provided the clues," Director Zhao of the zoo said, gesturing toward them as he introduced them to Liang Yuzhu.

As the two groups sized each other up, Liang Yuzhu's gaze lingered on Lin Nan for a moment, appearing somewhat curious.

At that moment, Wang Chengyu stared at the trafficker in handcuffs behind them and shouted, "Hey! Brother Nan, isn't that the guy who hit my kid!"

Lin Nan took a look and realized this was indeed the man in black he had seen earlier. However, the trafficker's expression was dazed, and he kept looking around warily. He looked so timid and frightened, as if he had been driven mad by the lightning.

Upon seeing Lin Nan's figure, the trafficker, for some unknown reason, suddenly widened his eyes. With a loud *thud*, he threw himself to his knees before Lin Nan! He began kowtowing frantically like a pestle hitting a mortar

"Immortal... Immortal, please spare my life!"

"I won't do it again, I'll never do it again!"