Chapter 22 - Hunter and Prey

In front of the bustling commercial street, girls dressed in cool, stylish clothes hurried past. The holographic billboards were looping the message ’Intelligent technology drives the progress of the new era,’ each frame offering a surreal visual experience, yet not a single person stopped to look up.The mentally exhausted people leaving work quickened their pace as the traffic lights turned green, like grains of dust, blown away, disappearing into the crowd by the city winds.

"Your presence makes the city more prosperous."

Through the glass of the parking area, many unmanned taxis could be seen on the floating lanes, cruising between parts of the city, and rushing to the passengers’ locations upon system instructions, day after day, tireless.

Sparse raindrops fell, and through the misty rain, the city’s outline gradually blurred.

People avoided the rain, but the girl in the black hoodie seemed indifferent to the falling rain, silently putting on the hood of her sweatshirt, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

Until several figures appeared, blocking her path.

"Little sister, it’s not good to wander around the city alone." said a Pigman.

"Ahead is the Animal Community, you know. It’s very dangerous to go there alone... How about this, follow us brothers, we’ll take you to play something fun?"

"Hand over the money on you, don’t worry, we’ll be gentle." The Pigman companion beside him displayed a lewd expression.

"Third brother, what’s the rush? Let me have some fun first, tsk tsk tsk, looks so fresh~"

The three pigmen’s malicious gazes roamed over the girl’s body, eventually settling on her expressionless face.

The girl stood silently with her hands in her pockets, while the three pigmen were somewhat unnerved by her staring. One of the pigmen, with a fierce expression, reached towards the girl: "What’s the point of yakking with her, just..."

Bang—

The sound of gunfire erupted, blood sprayed.

The pigman’s face instantly turned white, clutching his lower area, the meat on his forehead twisted in a grimace of agony.

"Ahhhh!"

The two pigmen companions felt a chill below, shocked by the girl’s decisive ruthlessness.

Amidst the painful wails, Xu Xiaoyou tilted her head, aiming her gun at the second pigman, targeting the same spot.

"Run, she has a gun!"

The remaining two pigmen screeched and squealed like pigs about to be slaughtered during the festival, running off into the distance, while Xu Xiaoyou kept aim for a moment before lowering her gun.

Wasting another bullet on this kind of trash isn’t worth it.

These three pigmen couldn’t possibly be first-timers, one could only guess how many girls suffered at their hands before being brutally killed.

"A bunch of scum."

She glanced at the pigman lying on the ground, wailing and struggling endlessly. Thinking about how the gunshot she just fired must have caused quite a commotion, Xu Xiaoyou felt a surge of frustration, kicked at the pigman, leaving his face bloody, knocking out a few teeth before quickly moving away, letting him fend for himself here.

But causing a commotion wasn’t entirely without advantage, at least it could warn those in the shadows with malicious intentions.

After shooting, Xu Xiaoyou noticed fewer eyes watching her.

This is the survival rule in this city.

Soon after, Xu Xiaoyou returned to the house where the Pig-faced woman previously lived. After confirming the house number, she looked at the new iron door and the cracks in the walls around it, and that familiar feeling of unease overtook her again.

"Hoo..."

Xu Xiaoyou took a deep breath, tore open the wrapping of a piece of orange candy and put it in her mouth, the sweet taste spreading across her mouth, the inner unease gradually fading away.

She came here to confirm something.

Holding a pizza in her hand, Xu Xiaoyou softly rang the doorbell:

"Hello, Fresh Meat Restaurant delivery, sir, your order has arrived~"

Xu Xiaoyou altered her voice, trying to sound sweet and natural.

No response.

After pressing the doorbell three consecutive times with no response, Xu Xiaoyou confirmed, the Investigator Bai Youyou must have been here.

Looking at the cracks in the door frame, she was sure something had happened here.

Must make one last confirmation...

With this in mind, she took out her phone and dialed a number using a virtual number.

Meanwhile, at the Guard Hall in Zone Ten.

In the dim prison room, fluorescent lights flickered, two uniformed figures kicked and punched the rabbit-faced young man lying on the ground, desperately begging:

"Talk or not? Will you fucking talk?"

"Your mouth so tough? Will you talk or not!"

Until both figures grew a bit tired, squatting down, panting heavily, one of them looked unwillingly at his companion:

"Damn, this guy..."

"Can’t get anything out of him at all..."

The rabbit-faced young man had already been beaten black and blue, the swelling nearly blocking his eyes, sobbing as he sat up, roaring loudly:

"Ask, why don’t you ask! I’ll say whatever you ask!"

"Damn it, without even asking, you just keep hitting me! Damn..."

"It hurts like hell, waaa..."

The two exchanged a glance and saw confusion in each other’s eyes.

"Didn’t you ask?"

"No one said I should ask, I thought you already did."

"I want to file a complaint, complain about your violent enforcement!"

"Let me tell you, everyone present, I won’t miss a single one, I’ll file a complaint against each of you!"

Just as the rabbit-faced young man was about to explode, a girl in white pushed open the iron door of the cell and walked in.

Seeing the girl in white, he shrank back like a mouse seeing a cat, his previously puffed-up chest deflating as he curled fearfully into a corner.

"What did you say you wanted to complain about?"

Bai Youyou slightly tilted the curved horns in her black hair, squatting down to look at the rabbit-faced young man.

"No, no, Investigator Bai."

Bai Youyou said sharply:

"Why were you in that room?"

"I already said, it was just a coincidence, someone set me up! It had to be that guy who killed the owner of the house, I just bought the place cheap, if I’d known this I wouldn’t have been so greedy."

"What do you think, Investigator Bai?" someone asked.

"Doesn’t sound like he’s lying." Bai Youyou fell silent.

If it’s not this guy, then they would have to slowly trace back through the network logs.

Investigating something like this in Nest City was quite troublesome, just as the girl was deep in thought, the rabbit-faced young man’s phone rang.

Everyone noticed something odd, and the rabbit-faced young man clung to his phone like a lifeline, his hand trembling.

"Answer it," Bai Youyou directed.

As the call connected, a synthetic voice came through:

"Hello."

"Who is this?" the rabbit-faced young man asked cautiously.

There seemed to be a faint chuckle from the other side.

"I’m the one who sold you the house during the day, let me guess...you’re in the guardroom right now, aren’t you?"

"Shit! You this..." The rabbit-faced young man was just about to curse when the phone was snatched away by the girl in white beside him.

Bai Youyou took the phone, her face colder than ever: "You criminal!"

"Investigator Bai, really? You’re the little princess of Oasis, do you have to keep chasing me?"

Upon hearing the word Oasis, Bai Youyou’s eyes changed slightly, her expression serious:

"How do you know..."

"That’s not important."

Interrupted, Bai Youyou was filled with anger, demanding loudly:

"If you’ve done something wrong, shouldn’t you take the punishment? Disorderly conduct is intolerable!"

In the silence, she heard a soft sigh from the other end of the call.

"Looks like in your world, Investigator Bai, everything is black and white. Can you guarantee those three Cleaners are good people? Every day in this city so many people disappear, violent crimes happen daily, even Cleaners often die mysteriously during missions. Company dogs use all kinds of means to make fresh air a luxury for those at the bottom."

"Do you intend to investigate all these matters, and catch all the criminals in one sweep?"

Bai Youyou was momentarily at a loss for words:

"You’re being argumentative, I’ll handle what’s in front of me first, then I’ll catch them..."

A derisive laugh could be heard from the other end, as though mocking her naivety.

Under the pale light, a blonde girl’s face was hidden in the shadow of her hood, leaning against the wall, as the sweet outer shell of a citrus candy slowly dissolved in her mouth.

Xu Xiaoyou raised her eyes, her lips slightly curled, the moonlight piercing through her hair, illuminating half of her face:

"You’re quite adorable, actually, I like that kind of personality, the world needs a bit of idealism."

Bai Youyou was slightly taken aback. From childhood till now, this was the first time someone had said something like this to her, causing her ears to redden.

"So you’re determined to keep an eye on me?"

In the dim cell, the black-haired girl was like a repeatedly provoked Hunter, facing a cunning prey, a certain emotion inside her was about to hatch. Her sight seemed locked onto the target, Bai Youyou’s whole body was trembling in excitement:

"Yes! I promise, I will catch you, I will make you understand what it’s like to wish for death. Before sending you to the gallows, I will use every means to torment you, I will..."

Before the girl could finish, Xu Xiaoyou hung up the phone.