Chapter 2: No Victim

Chapter 2: No Victim

Dusk was approaching. Slanting sunlight spread all the way from the edge of the city, spilling strands of pale golden radiance between the forest of skyscrapers. Yet deep within the old city, surrounded by tall buildings, where sunlight could scarcely reach, the alleyways had already fallen into darkness ahead of schedule.

The lingering moisture and faint chill in the air felt completely out of place compared to the dry atmosphere beyond the alley, while the bits of ice rapidly melting away between the cracks in the brickwork served as a kind of “evidence,” proving that something unusual had occurred within this quiet street.

Several swiftly darting black shadows leapt across the gaps between buildings. Weightless, they dropped from the air and landed in one corner of the alley. Their edges trembled as they rapidly solidified into wolf-like forms. These indistinct-faced shadows prowled and sniffed about the alley for a while before gradually gathering together. The leading shadow raised its head and let out a loud howl toward the sky:

“Awoo w...”

Bang!

A stone struck the wolf-shadow squarely on the head, forcibly cutting off the howl midway. Immediately afterward came a reprimand from the shadow of a nearby building:

“Shut up! No howling in the city. And adding a ‘woof’ at the end doesn’t make it okay! Humans aren’t idiots. Nobody’s going to believe you’re dogs!”

The wolves formed from phantoms immediately let out a few quiet whimpers and obediently backed away. A somewhat petite figure then approached from nearby.

She was a short-haired girl wearing a black skirt and a dark red jacket. A lock of hair at her forehead curled slightly upward. She looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, yet her expression was exceptionally calm and mature. Stepping out of the shadows, she walked directly past the wolves with their heads lowered and then saw the male corpse lying beside the road.

A nearly imperceptible gloom crossed the girl’s face. She crouched beside the body and began examining something, while one of the wolves approached from the side and conveyed information through a low, chaotic mutter.

“...The scent of rain?” The girl frowned and looked up at the sky, which had remained clear and sunny for the past two days. Although dusk was approaching, the strip of sky visible between the skyscrapers remained clear and bright, showing not the slightest trace of clouds. Only the sunlight was gradually fading.

After a moment, she seemed to realize something. She lowered her head again to inspect the horrifying wound on the male corpse and muttered softly:

“...Rain, heart, the stink of a frog...”

Just then, a mobile phone ringtone suddenly sounded from the small pouch at her waist, interrupting her monologue.

The ringtone was the opening theme of the 1986 television adaptation of Journey to the West.

The short-haired girl answered the call before the Monkey King completed his fourth somersault.

“Hello, who... Oh, right, it’s me.”

She pressed the phone to her ear while waving a hand at the surrounding wolves, signaling them to guard the scene, then stood up and walked aside.

“I’ve already arrived. My wolves detected something unusual here first... Didn’t catch it. We came up empty.”

As she spoke, she sighed and glanced at the unfortunate corpse.

“It was Rain. It generated a physical Rain Frog as well. But the rain should only have been a localized projection. Its area of influence covered only one person... Yes, very unlucky. A Rain that falls for only a single person. By the time I arrived, it had already stopped. The depth here has already returned to L0. Rain has detached from the Boundary Zone.”

The girl paused. The voice coming from the phone seemed to be asking questions and issuing instructions. She listened patiently for a while before glancing at the corpse again.

“...Medical personnel? Just send someone to collect the body. How could an ordinary person survive an encounter with a Rain Frog alone? His heart is gone... Tch. I’ll stay here and keep watch. Don’t forget to calculate the overtime fee separately.”

Some middle-aged superior continued rambling on through the phone, but the girl had already lost patience. After a few perfunctory responses, she hung up.

Then she sighed again, walked back, beckoned over one of the wolves standing guard nearby, and had it lie down. She sat directly on its back and rested her chin in both hands while looking at Yu Sheng’s corpse.

“Unlucky guy. Wonder if you had any family. Dying here all alone... Sigh, I’ll keep you company for a while. It must be cold, dying in Rain. Too bad I’m not that match-selling girl, otherwise I could at least help you stay warm on your way out...”

The girl murmured quietly to herself while patiently waiting for the cleanup crew to arrive.

After a short while, she heard the roar of an engine coming from an intersection dozens of metres away.

The sound was earth-shaking, as though a heavy armoured vehicle dragging a shipping container behind it was barreling over ten consecutive speed bumps while burning firewood. Even the wolf she was sitting on was startled and nearly jumped up, though it refrained because someone was sitting on its back.

The girl turned toward the sound and saw a large van rattling and squeaking its way through the intersection. As it crossed the speed bump, it shook so violently that it resembled the Soviet Union in 1991.

The girl slowly stood up from the wolf’s back and watched expressionlessly as the van crossed the speed bump, stalled, and then disgorged several burly men clad in black tactical suits and armed to the teeth with high-tech equipment, who immediately moved behind the vehicle and began pushing it...

Another man stepped out of the van. He was middle-aged, dark-skinned, strongly built, and wore a brown jacket. Following behind him was a young woman in a white dress with chestnut-colored hair draped over her shoulders. The two glanced helplessly back at the team members pushing the vehicle before turning and walking over.

Only after they drew near did the short-haired girl mutter:

“Seriously, can’t your Second Team apply for a replacement vehicle? The Special Operations Bureau can’t be that broke, can it? I think the equipment on any one of your team members is worth enough to replace that wreck.”

“Shh!” The sturdy middle-aged man hurriedly waved his hands and lowered his voice, glancing nervously back at the stalled van and the subordinates pushing it. “Don’t say that. You don’t understand the situation. The Special Operations Bureau has special circumstances. The vehicle’s just not in great condition today. Replacing it is absolutely out of the question...”

“Big organizations really do have lots of troublesome rules.”

The short-haired girl curled her lips, clearly uninterested in the subject. Then she turned toward the petite woman in the white dress.

“Good afternoon, Doctor Lin. Long time no see.”

“It should be good evening by now, Little Red Riding Hood.”

The woman called Doctor Lin smiled faintly. Her lips were thin, giving her a restrained and reserved appearance.

“How’s the injury from last time?”

“Mostly healed.”

The short-haired girl flexed her right wrist.

“You know how it is. Wolves generally recover pretty well...”

“Human recovery ability is actually the strongest. Humans simply tend to be extremely resistant to getting injured.”

Doctor Lin corrected her with a serious expression.

“...Oh.”

The short-haired girl responded perfunctorily and immediately shifted the topic back to the corpse on the ground.

“Let’s look at this first. Victim, male, appears to be in his twenties. His heart was taken by a Rain Frog. Estimated time of death is around two hours ago. I haven’t searched the body yet, so I don’t know whether he was carrying identification... Right. To preserve the scene.”

As she spoke, she cast Doctor Lin a puzzled glance.

“You came all the way over here... Don’t tell me you’re planning to treat this too? Can this even be treated?”

“No. I’m not a god.”

Doctor Lin shook her head while bending over Yu Sheng’s body.

“I just came to take a look. This place is very close to my home...”

She examined the corpse for a while. Besides confirming the wound, she also checked the deceased’s personal belongings and found identification documents.

“The deceased’s name is Yu Sheng, twenty-four years old. Registered address: 66 Wutong Road, Old City District.”

Holding the thin card that represented his identity, she compared the photograph with the deceased’s face as she spoke.

“Captain Song, use the Bureau’s equipment later and see if you can contact his family.”

The sturdy middle-aged man beside her gave an affirmative grunt. He leaned closer to look at the identification card in Doctor Lin’s hand and could not help frowning.

“Why is the photograph so blurry?”

Upon hearing this, Little Red Riding Hood curiously leaned over as well and looked at the identity card recovered from the deceased.

The portrait section appeared to be covered in a layer of gray-black grime. The entire face had been smeared beyond recognition, making it impossible to see any details.

Doctor Lin rubbed at the stains with her fingers and discovered that they could not be removed at all. The grime was far more stubborn than expected and covered almost the entire card.

“You can’t even read the name clearly,” Little Red Riding Hood muttered. “And the identification number is impossible to make out too. You’ll have to take it back and use a machine to read the chip...”

The middle-aged man known as Captain Song sighed helplessly and nodded. Looking at the pile of remains on the ground, he said regretfully:

“What a shame. If we could find the victim’s identification documents, things would be easier. As it is, there are too few clues.”

Doctor Lin nodded regretfully as well while looking at the bloodstains on the ground, now almost completely washed away by the rain.

“...Even the body wasn’t left behind. It’ll be difficult to determine what happened.”

Little Red Riding Hood listened to their conversation and seemed to ponder something quietly.

Then she suddenly raised her head and looked at the woman in the white dress beside her.

“Doctor Lin, good evening.”

“Good evening, Little Red Riding Hood.”

Doctor Lin smiled and returned the greeting.

“How has the patrol been going?”

Little Red Riding Hood looked around and reached out to stroke the head of the nearest wolf.

“Rain fell here, and a physical Rain Frog may have manifested, but there probably weren’t any victims.”

Doctor Lin visibly relaxed.

“That’s good.”

The sound of an engine starting came from nearby. The battered van coughed and sputtered to life, and the engine noise gradually stabilized. The armed agents who had been pushing it walked around from behind the vehicle, panting heavily. The leader approached and spoke:

“Captain Song, the vehicle’s running again. Shall we...”

The sturdy middle-aged man known as Captain Song nodded and walked toward his team members.

“Alright, let’s head back to the Bureau. Oh, and don’t forget to bring Doctor Lin.”