The atmosphere grew heavy for a moment.
Being able to steal the "dye" from a person's body, causing memory loss and physical pathology—including but not limited to tissue malignancy, dementia, and schizophrenia—while appearing and disappearing without a trace, often frequenting the Flower Street.
Xu Xiaoyou silently summarized the key information in her heart.
Flower Street was similar to the red-light districts of the hive cities. Every evening, that area would become lively, brightly lit. Even high-profile artists in society were occasionally caught in scandals there, claiming they were just visiting another location for artistic creation to release their inspiration.
Speaking of which, from Queen's Park to the Dream of the Black Swan apartments, the nearest Monthly Rose Street seemed to be only two streets away.
In the cold underground passage, dim incandescent lamps cast mottled spots of light. Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. Large patches of paint were peeling off the walls, covered in years of grime. The surfaces of the fire-extinguishing equipment were coated in a layer of gray dust. A half-person-tall green plant in the corner was a rare splash of color in this gray world.
The solid concrete floor was illuminated by the faint light, reflecting a cyan luster. Cells were arranged neatly in two levels on both sides, the dense rows of chambers embedded into the walls like grid boxes.
Looking across, behind the iron bars were faces of lethargy and despondency.
Her and Bai Nian'an's figures, followed by two tuners, passed through the narrow corridor, their heavy footsteps echoing in the space.
As the footsteps reached the cells, a prisoner's eyes lit up. He lunged at the iron bars, reaching his hand out:
"It's a mistake! I'm innocent! Let me out, let me out!"
His shouting quickly triggered empathy in the other prisoners. Like zombies in a movie, the criminals reached their hands out from between the iron bars, a chaotic mess of limbs.
"I'm innocent too! I was just doing it for my art! I needed bright red pigment, so I only drained the blood of five people. What did I do wrong?"
"It's a mistake! I didn't hurt anyone else. I just loved her too much, so I carved my own rib into a necklace and gave it to her!"
"I didn't have a canvas, I couldn't afford a canvas... I only peeled the skin off a few people... I'll repent, just let me out..."
Xu Xiaoyou's lip twitched as she listened.
It seemed this small tuner's office held quite a lot of artistic lunatics.
"They're all psychos from the Ascetic Sect. Don't pay them any mind."
Bai Nian'an was long used to it. Ignoring the ghostly wails and howls around her, she continued walking forward with a cold gaze.
"All of you, settle down!" A tuner slammed a riot baton hard against the iron bars. A dizzying hum echoed, and the prisoners finally quieted down.
Xu Xiaoyou stopped in front of one set of iron bars.
In the cell to the right was an elderly man. His temples were gray, his beard messy. He wore a red flat-topped hat and painter's garb, squatting on his bed, observing her with dark, deep eyes.
He was biting a paintbrush, making a "crackling" sound from time to time.
This old man appeared to be one of the few normal-looking people in the cells.
Just as Xu Xiaoyou was wondering why someone like him was imprisoned here, the old man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "The little sun hairclip on your head looks so nice. Can I suck on it?"
Passing through this underground passage and climbing a flight of stairs, they finally arrived at an interrogation room.
Harsh white light shone down. Xu Xiaoyou struggled to keep her eyes open, raising a hand to shield them.
The two tuners turned on their recorders and stood behind a partition, solemn and dignified.
Sitting in the chair under two authoritative gazes, Xu Xiaoyou felt a bit uncomfortable.
Bai Nian'an comforted her softly. She pulled open the blinds, revealing the city night outside.
Under the thick steel vault, snow fell heavily.
"Whether it's urban eldritch creatures or the Ascetic Sect, there's been quite a lot of movement these past few months."
As she spoke, Bai Nian'an poured two cups of hot tea from a kettle and pushed them toward Xu Xiaoyou. "Drink this to warm your body up."
The fresh aroma of the tea was refreshing.
Xu Xiaoyou calmly picked up the teacup, blew on it a few times, and took a small sip, her eyes slightly lowered.
Bai Nian'an observed the girl's expression and also took a sip of tea. Only when the fragrance filled the entire interrogation room did she sit down across from Xu Xiaoyou.
Space distorted, and that strangely shaped creature appeared again behind her head on the left. After projecting a golden beam of light, it sank into a dream.
Bai Nian'an opened the notebook in front of her and twirled her pen. She said:
"Xiao Mi is my mimicry. If you lie in what follows, it will sound an alarm immediately."
"You said you were attacked by an urban eldritch creature, correct?" Bai Nian'an asked.
"Yes."
Just like before, Xiao Mi did not react to this question.
"Do you remember the time you were attacked?"
After a moment of thought, Xu Xiaoyou nodded. "Ten twenty-three PM."
"You remember even that?" Bai Nian'an was somewhat surprised.
"I'm quite sensitive to time," Xu Xiaoyou explained. "Because of my personal work."
Bai Nian'an was in no hurry to ask about the eldritch matters, turning instead to ask: "Personal work? Your profession is..."
"A manager for a media company."
"A media company opened in a security booth?" Bai Nian'an's brow furrowed slightly. "Do you have any signed artists?"
"You've already met her," Xu Xiaoyou answered.
Bai Nian'an recalled the blue-haired girl from earlier. "She was quite brave."
Speaking of Tang Xin, Bai Nian'an stared intently into Xu Xiaoyou's eyes. One thing puzzled her: why was that blue-haired girl so determined to block them and prevent them from entering the house at that time?
"She has a rather stubborn personality," Xu Xiaoyou added.
Bai Nian'an's brow relaxed slightly. "Did you see clearly what the urban eldritch creature that attacked you looked like?"
Scenes from that moment flashed in Xu Xiaoyou's mind—the white figure, those blood-red eyes filled with endless hatred.
She had too many questions in her heart. Why had the Corrupt Hive City turned into a living hell? What had Anya experienced in the favorability plotline, the Trial of Iron and Blood?
What did it mean to go out of control?
Angelina's character card hadn't vanished after shattering. It had transformed into a pure white character card engraved with spider lily patterns. Aside from the aura of withered corruption it emitted, it was no different from cards with golden patterns, except that all of Angelina's stats had turned into '???' and could not be viewed.
The attribute points previously transferred to her hadn't disappeared either.
That heart that blotted out the sun, those armored monsters walking the earth...
Although the appearance of the heart and the monsters differed greatly from her memory of Alley No. 5, the aura was something she remembered very deeply. She couldn't be wrong.
The eerie heart had been blasted to pieces, and all the dismantlers should have turned into foul-smelling blood. All of Alley No. 5 was supposed to have been purged by Bai Youyou. Why did they appear in the Corrupt Hive City again?
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and her heart jumped violently as if it had been struck heavily.
Just how long had this Trial of Iron and Blood lasted for Anya?
Rate on N.U.
