After leaving the Science Exhibition Hall, Lynn Hall did not take Gwen directly home.
Instead, he took her for some physical examinations first.
After all, Lynn was not 100% sure that the spider that bit Gwen was the one that turned Peter Parker into Spider-Man.
After a comprehensive examination confirmed that Gwen was perfectly fine, Lynn finally relaxed.
He thoroughly destroyed all data and blood samples from the tests to prevent any leakage of Gwen's blood sample should she become Spider-Woman.
Only then did Lynn drive Gwen home.
When they returned to their home in Queens, Uncle George was still working at the police station.
Aunt Helen said that Uncle George was recently investigating a group of drug dealers from Mexico, so he was working even on the weekend.
Gwen, however, felt very sleepy after returning home, so she went straight to her room to rest.
While chatting with Aunt Helen, Lynn's phone suddenly rang.
He picked up his phone and saw that it was Agent Supervisor Rich Hood calling.
Ever since he decided to retire next year and take on a leisurely position, he rarely handled cases anymore!
Many cases went through Lynn Hall's hands, and then either Lynn led the investigation or they were handed over to other Assistant Agent Supervisors.
So, seeing Rich's call, Lynn went back to his room with some curiosity and answered it.
"Lynn, there's a mission that requires you to lead it personally. A major incident has occurred in a small town under Oswego. According to intelligence, all thirteen hundred residents of this town turned into walking dead overnight."
"The specific reason is unknown. The surrounding police have already sealed off the town, and someone has spread the news online, with views exceeding a million!
"Originally, Miller Field wanted to lead people to investigate, but I think it's best for you to take over this case. You understand what I mean, right?"
Hearing Rich Hood say this, Lynn smiled and said, "Field wants to show off through this case, so he can take the Agent Supervisor position after you become a consultant next year!"
"Haha, so Lynn, you should definitely take this matter on!"
At this point, Rich Hood's tone became more serious: "The Director also thinks so. Miller has ability, but he's too rigid."
"Tsk, over thirteen hundred lives! If not handled properly, it could cause big trouble!"
"Understood!"
Listening to the subtext in Rich Hood's words, Lynn Hall smiled and said, "I'll take people over right away!"
After hanging up the phone, Lynn Hall immediately sent messages to Sean, Alice, and others.
Rich Hood's meaning was very clear: over thirteen hundred people turned into "walking dead" overnight.
And with the matter spread online and views reaching millions, this kind of thing simply couldn't be kept secret.
So, he had to investigate the "truth" that the public wanted to know before the matter completely escalated.
As for what the real "truth" was, it wasn't actually important!
After notifying Sean and Alice, Lynn Hall left the room.
Before leaving, he went to check on Gwen, and after finding that she was sleeping soundly and showed no signs of fever or poisoning.
Only then did Lynn drive away.
Two hours later, outside a small town named Caranl, under Oswego!
The town was now completely sealed off by the police, and the virus, disaster, and fire departments had also arrived successively.
Looking from inside the car, the town in front of them was very strange, seemingly divided into inside and outside by the police cordon.
Thick fog permeated inside the cordon, and occasionally one or two figures could be seen stumbling through the dense fog.
Outside the cordon, however, it was clear.
Even with a gentle breeze, the dense fog inside the town absolutely did not drift out at all.
"What a strange town, boss. We haven't run into some supernatural event, have we?"
Looking at the clearly demarcated scene inside the town, Sean asked curiously.
"Not sure, but we'll know once we go down and look!"
Saying that, he took off his gas mask, and Lynn Hall was the first to get out of the car, then walked towards the blockade.
Seeing that the boss and Alice and others had all taken off their gas masks, Sean also followed suit and got out of the car.
Walking behind Lynn, Sean quietly asked Alice, "Alice, why did the boss take off his gas mask?"
"What if it's some weird virus, and it's airborne—"
"Idiot, didn't you see that the county police and people from the fire and disaster departments on the other side of the cordon aren't wearing gas masks at all?"
"If it really were an airborne virus, they'd be done for already!"
Hearing Alice's explanation, Sean finally nodded.
Upon reaching the blockade site, the leading county police officer immediately walked over and motioned for Lynn and the others to stop.
After showing his Federal Bureau of Investigation ID, Lynn Hall looked at the police chief and said, "I am Lynn Hall of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. From now on, I am taking over here!"
"Give me a detailed account of what happened here!"
After looking at Lynn's ID, the police chief began, "It's like this, Mr. Hall, this small town has about thirteen hundred permanent residents."
"Everything was normal before last night, but this morning, a thick fog suddenly enveloped the town, and overnight, everyone in the entire town lost consciousness, acting purely on instinct."
"However, even though the people in the town are unconscious, they haven't stepped out of the town. We don't know the specific reason, so we could only seal off the town."
Hearing the police chief's account, Lynn looked at the constantly wandering figures in the dense fog within the town: "Who was the first person to discover the scene and report it?"
"That would be me, Detective!"
A tall county police officer walked out from the side and then reported, "My sister's family lives in this town. Since last night, my sister's phone has been unreachable."
"Worried that something had happened, I drove over overnight, but when I got to about three kilometers from the town, I found that I couldn't find a way into the town no matter what, so I just..."
"Wait, you mean, you drove last night, but couldn't find a way into the town?"
Looking at the wide road in front of him, Lynn Hall frowned.
"Yes, Detective!"
Facing Lynn's inquiry, the county police officer nodded and said, "I also felt very strange. After driving here, the road into the town seemed to disappear out of thin air, turning into a wasteland."
"And the area around the car was enveloped in thick fog, with visibility less than two meters."
"Because I am very familiar with this town, I can usually drive to my sister's place even with my eyes closed. To prevent any accident at my sister's house, I wanted to force my car into the town."
"But the car lost power instantly."
At this point, the county police officer looked at the town in front of him with a mix of fear and strangeness.