Chapter 170: Interrogation

After getting out of the car, Lin Yu let out a long breath and weakly leaned against a rain-soaked utility pole.
“Phew… that was close, way too close…”

Her head was still spinning, as if she had downed two whole jin of Erguotou in one go.

Three million.
That was a full three million!

Under normal circumstances, if anyone dared to smash that kind of money in her face, she would have dropped to her knees on the spot and called them Dad.

But this time—

“I guess I… managed to hold on to the last shred of dignity I have as a man, huh?”

Lin Yu gave a bitter smile, the corner of her mouth curling into self-mockery.

Although she really was a bit money-minded, when it came down to it, she still couldn’t be that much of a beast—actually playing with her best buddy’s feelings like that.

“With this, that guy should finally give up, right? Seriously…”

It was just a shame about those three million…

“Pa!”

Lin Yu suddenly slapped her own cheek.

“Alright! Melodrama over! The top priority now is work!”

That escaped Fallen One—if it wasn’t dealt with early, it would definitely become a huge hidden danger.

Lin Yu raised her left hand and activated the contract wristband.

“Scan mode, activate.”

【System Notification: Wide-area communication module offline… switching to local spiritual-energy detection mode…】

Accompanied by a faint crackle of electricity, a pale-blue holographic map unfolded in the rain.

Within the gloomy 3D building model, a broken, intermittent trail of ominous dark-red spiritual energy stretched forward like a bleeding scar, winding toward the depths of the shadows ahead.

“Looks like Sister Qing’s analysis was spot-on. It really did escape this way…”

Lin Yu narrowed her eyes and followed the trail with her gaze.

That direction led to an abandoned, unfinished commercial district.

Because rents had been speculated to absurd levels back then, businesses moved out one after another.
Coupled with a lack of maintenance, the entire area had fallen into near collapse.

On ordinary days, hardly anyone came here.
Now, under this overcast sky, those pitch-black back alleys looked like the gaping eyes of a corpse, exuding a chilling, ghostly aura.

“Really knows how to pick a place to die…”

Lin Yu muttered, lowering her body as she slipped silently into the dim alley like a nimble cat.

A stale stench of rotting garbage hung in the air.
The tall walls on both sides blocked most of the light, making the place feel oppressively claustrophobic.

As she moved forward, Lin Yu silently sensed the condition of her body.

She had to admit—

That shameful “mana-replenishing” kiss had worked immediately.

With just that brief contact, her nearly dried-up spiritual-energy reservoir had been filled to the brim, even leaving behind a slightly overflowing, feverish sensation.

“What exactly happened to my body…?”

Lin Yu clenched her fist, feeling the abundant power flowing through her fingertips.

In this state, even if Brother Long wasn’t completely dead yet, finishing him off with one more strike shouldn’t be difficult.

After all, she had just smashed that overbearing pollutant to pieces with a single punch!

Thinking of this, Lin Yu focused her mind and tried to summon that bizarre “three-colored flame” again.

However—

“Gurgle…”

Only her stomach made a sound.

“Huh?”

Lin Yu stared dumbfounded at her hand.

“No way… don’t tell me that thing is a limited skill? A one-time trial card?”

“Hey, hey, hey… don’t drop the ball at a critical moment…”

While she was still agonizing over her skill issues, her steps unknowingly turned a corner.

The next second—

A blood stench so strong it made one want to vomit, mixed with the dampness of rain, slammed into her face without warning!

“Ugh—!”

Lin Yu instinctively covered her mouth and nose and came to a sudden stop.

The scene before her made her pupils shrink violently.

This was a corner.

On the waterlogged ground lay a huge pool of thick, dark-red liquid.

Raindrops fell into it, splashing up bubbles the color of blood.

On the mottled concrete walls on both sides were several terrifying gouge marks, inches deep—traces left by a dying creature clawing desperately with its talons.

And right in the middle of that pool of blood—

The Fallen One who had kept her on edge this whole time,
Brother Long, the big boss of the Chicheng Gang,

now lay there quietly like a pile of rotting meat tossed aside.

That huge, ugly half-man, half-spider body had stopped twitching,
its limbs twisted into unnatural angles.

And at the spot where the neck should have been—

there was nothing.

Only a cut so smooth it was horrifying.

The head—

was gone?

Lin Yu’s pupils trembled slightly.

The cut was far too clean.

There were no ragged tears, no splintered bone fragments—
it was as if an incredibly fast blade had completed the beheading in a single instant.

And—

the blood.

Suppressing her nausea, Lin Yu crouched down and reached out to smear a finger along the edge of the still-uncongealed pool of blood.

Warm.

That meant the killer had left only moments ago—

or perhaps hadn’t left at all.

A sense of unease crept over Lin Yu.
She was just about to take a photo and head back to report to Li Qing.

But just as she was about to stand up—

Hoo—

A cold gust of wind suddenly brushed against the back of her neck.

Eh—?!

Lin Yu instinctively tried to turn around.

But—

“Hey—”

A warm breath sounded right next to her ear.

The voice was extremely soft, yet deeply magnetic, carrying an elegant, languid tone of a young man.

“Don’t move, poor little lady.”

A cold sensation followed immediately after.

A chilling stab of pain came from her delicate carotid artery.

Lin Yu saw it clearly—it was a dagger, pitch-black as ink.

The blade pressed against her skin; with just a light swipe, her head could be cut off.

“Wh… what the hell?!”

Lin Yu’s mind went completely blank, cold sweat instantly soaking her back.

Where did this guy come from?

Did he crawl out of the ground?

Or fall from the sky?

Why hadn’t her wristband given any warning at all?

She hadn’t sensed even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy!

“Remnants of the Chicheng Gang?”

The thought was snuffed out by Lin Yu the moment it appeared.

Impossible.

That bunch of ordinary thugs who only knew how to swing clubs could never possess skills this ghostlike.

To do something like this—

Unless it was a pollutant with some kind of special ability?

Or maybe…

“Instead of wasting brain cells guessing at those boring identities…”

The mysterious man behind her seemed to have mind-reading abilities, lightly chuckling as he interrupted Lin Yu’s chaotic thoughts.

His voice remained elegant, but the lofty, teasing tone carried a suffocating pressure.

“Why don’t we… play a little question game?”

The voice paused.
The dagger in his hand pressed down just a fraction more, bringing a faint sting.

“For example, there’s a question I’m very curious about…”

“A question that sounds a bit ridiculous…”

“Tell me—can a man become a magical girl?”