South Sea, Han Dafu Street.
Police lights flashed.
Sheriffs cordoned off the area with police tape.
Curious onlookers peered past the tape.
Some who saw the scene inside vomited on the spot.
A few figures in white lab coats entered the scene with their equipment and began examining the bodies.
The states of the bodies were bizarre.
Two of the bodies were desiccated corpses in security guard uniforms.
Their faces and shoulders had been dragged across the ground for so long that stark white bone was exposed.
The red and white streaks on the ground were a mixture of fat and blood.
Even the Sheriffs’ faces were pale, to say nothing of the onlookers.
Who would have imagined that a murderer would so brazenly drag the bodies into the city?
The most bizarre part was that the man who had dragged the two bodies onto Han Dafu Street was also dead.
He was sallow and emaciated, his face frozen in a lecherous expression, as if he’d been drained dry by a woman.
The Sheriffs from the East District Public Security Office didn’t dare enter the scene, waiting instead for detectives from the main bureau.
About ten minutes later, a commercial van pulled up next to the scene.
A few plainclothes officers with ID badges hanging around their necks got out, pulled on white gloves, and quickly entered the scene.
Their leader, a burly man with a buzz cut, stood by the car door smoking a cigarette.
His name was Luo Quan, the detective captain of the South Sea Public Security Bureau.
Following close behind him was a young woman with long, straight black hair, dressed in a white blouse and jeans.
Jiang Chaosheng had seen this woman before.
Her name was Li Mingyue. She had been Jin Meiting’s class president in college and was now Luo Quan’s apprentice.
Luo Quan glanced at Li Mingyue.
"Go take a look."
Li Mingyue nodded, entered the crime scene, then ran back out, her face ashen. She began vomiting violently behind the van.
Luo Quan handed her a bottle of water.
"Hold it in your mouth. Try not to throw up. It’ll help a little."
Li Mingyue shot her mentor a grateful look.
Luo Quan said grimly,
"This is our line of work. You see all kinds of disgusting things."
Just then, a plainclothes officer ran over and handed him a preliminary report.
Luo Quan took it and casually flipped through the pages.
The officer said,
"Chief, the two victims died from excessive blood loss."
"What’s strange is that there are no wounds on their bodies. There’s no reason they should have bled out."
Luo Quan licked his index finger and turned the page.
"What about the other one? Was he the killer?"
Since the man who dragged the two desiccated corpses into the city was the security captain, he was the primary suspect.
The officer scratched his head.
"Looks like it. His fingerprints are the only ones on the victims’ bodies."
"The crazy thing is, his cause of death is even stranger than the victims’."
Luo Quan’s hand, holding the report, froze. He raised an eyebrow.
"How so?"
The officer glanced furtively at Li Mingyue before saying,
"He... his body lost massive amounts of proteins, trace elements, and hormones. The amount of dopamine secreted in his brain was ex..."
Luo Quan frowned, cutting him off impatiently.
"Speak plainly."
The officer said,
"He died from... excessive sexual activity. Basically, fucked himself to death. You could call it sudden death."
"The M.E. said he was doing... *that*... right up until the moment he died!"
Luo Quan’s eyes filled with disbelief.
’Has the M.E. lost his mind?’
’According to the surveillance footage, the killer was dragging two bodies right up until his death. How could he possibly have been doing *that*?’
Li Mingyue frowned as well.
’The way these three people died is just too strange.’
’There was another strange case recently, too.’
’Eight people have gone missing.’
’Last night, using investigative and technological means, the South Sea Public Security Bureau discovered that the last known location for all of them was a ruined temple in the West City Suburb.’
’The Bureau sent a team to investigate that night. They used technical analysis to find biological traces of all eight people, but the people themselves had vanished into thin air.’
Luo Quan had planned to take her to the West City Suburb to investigate today, but then this happened.
The killer had dragged the bodies through the street, scaring an old scrap collector so badly he’d been hospitalized.
The public impact was too great; Luo Quan had to prioritize this case.
The officer continued,
"I thought it was bullshit too, so I... secretly reached down and felt his crotch."
"I swear, based on my years of experience, there’s no way he was... before he died."
Luo Quan cut him off.
"Are you saying you touched him *down there*?"
The officer blinked.
"Yeah."
Luo Quan froze. His gaze slowly drifted to his own hand.
The one holding the report the officer had just given him.
The report he had just licked.
Luo Quan snatched the water bottle from Li Mingyue’s hand and violently took a swig.
Once he’d recovered, he shot the officer a death glare:
"You’re writing me a two-thousand-word report."
Luo Quan turned back to Li Mingyue.
"I’m going to be tied up with this today."
"You head to the West City Suburb. If you find any leads, there’s a bonus in it for you."
Li Mingyue knew this was Luo Quan’s way of testing her, just like making her view the crime scene.
Li Mingyue snapped to attention and saluted.
"Sir!"
Luo Quan headed back toward the crime scene.
"Pull all the surveillance footage. I don’t believe these three just materialized in South Sea City."
...
「The next day. South Sea, Antique Shop Zero.」
Jiang Chaosheng sat at a tea table in front of the counter.
He was sipping steaming hot tea and reading a newspaper.
Antique Shop Zero had no signal, so paper newspapers were the only way to get information from the outside world.
Jin Meiting had gone out to buy the paper early that morning.
Jin Meiting’s style these past few days was a huge, daring departure from how she’d looked when she first met Jiang Chaosheng.
She had dyed her hair, now styled in shoulder-length purple curls.
A white, ultra-thin halter top accentuated the perfect curve of her ample chest.
Perhaps it was because of the hip-hugging pencil skirt, but she swayed her hips dramatically as she walked.
A zipper ran down the back of the skirt, conveniently placed to let her tail out when she was in her Succubus form.
Jin Meiting, in her high heels, leaned over the counter in a suggestive pose, wiping away dust with a rag.
If Jiang Chaosheng were to turn around, he would be met with the sight of her incredibly fiery, dramatic waist-to-hip ratio.
Jin Meiting’s face was slightly flushed.
’I’ve always liked S&M films... I’ve even fantasized about being a "pet."’
’But I always suppressed those desires because of morals and ethics.’
’But now?’
’All the world’s prejudices and rules mean nothing to me anymore.’
’My soul is controlled by a terrifying man. I’ve become his slave girl...’
She had let go of her inhibitions, eager to satisfy the ’shameful’ desires deep within her heart.
Jin Meiting glanced back over her shoulder, her beautiful eyes stealing a look at Jiang Chaosheng. A hint of disappointment crossed her face.
’This master of mine... he really does treat me like a slave.’
’The kind who just does chores, buys breakfast, and gets the newspaper. He doesn’t have any of a man’s normal urges.’
’The boss is probably a monster who’s lived for thousands of years.’
’What kind of woman hasn’t he seen?’
’Maybe I should be... even bolder.’
Jin Meiting checked the time. It was noon.
’Master’s appetite has been poor lately. He likes spicy food. I should buy some chili peppers and make him some rustic, hearty dishes.’
There weren’t any chili peppers among the vegetables in the storeroom.
Swaying her full hips, Jin Meiting walked out the door of Antique Shop Zero.
...
Jiang Chaosheng had no idea about the steamy drama playing out in Jin Meiting’s head.
He was focused on reading the newspaper in his hands.
This particular paper was a few days old.
*Famous Singer Bai Shasha Dies Suddenly at Home...*
Jiang Chaosheng murmured to himself,
"Why didn’t they call the police?"
Jiang Chaosheng set the newspaper down and took a light sip of tea.
’Do they think it was revenge from the criminal underworld?’
’They were afraid the killer was a rival out for revenge, so they didn’t dare report it.’
’The Sheriffs could easily use this to uncover her father’s dirty business.’
’It seems Bai Shasha’s father plans to get revenge himself.’
Jiang Chaosheng scoffed.
With the protection of Antique Shop Zero, no one could ever find him.
And its Manager was immortal.
Jiang Chaosheng continued flipping through the papers. When he got to today’s edition, his eyes darkened.
*Horrific Murder on Han Dafu Street! South Sea Public Security Bureau Investigating!*