Profiling

After a while, Chi Tianyi fell silent again. Natsu Kuri snorted, tossed the water hose onto the ground, and walked deeper into the prison without looking back. Xu Xiaoyou glanced at the trembling man on the floor and followed her.

"Aren't you going to just finish him off?" Xu Xiaoyou asked casually.

"Judgment Day hasn't arrived yet. It would be far too easy on him to let him die just like this," Natsu Kuri said.

Xu Xiaoyou nodded and looked around. This prison might have held many people in the past; it had existed long before the Night Walkers were founded. If one listened closely, it felt as if the wails of countless souls were echoing through the halls.

The two of them reached a door. The moment they pushed it open, a powerful whistling wind rushed at them. Xu Xiaoyou’s expression didn't change as she lightly raised her arm to block the impact. She ducked under a solid punch aimed at her face, and her black-gloved fingers tapped lightly against someone's neck.

A youth wearing a Night Owl mask let out a loud cry and collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

"This person!"

A sharp female voice shouted from the darkness. Xu Xiaoyou felt the remaining two people in the room pounce toward her simultaneously. She didn't dodge. Instead, she raised a leg and delivered a clean, swift sweep that kicked one girl flying. Her golden hair fluttered gracefully in the dark like a streak of light; amidst the sound of a dull impact, she shifted in an instant to stand before the other person.

The lights flickered on. In front of Xu Xiaoyou, the girl known as Sparrow, who wore a large bow, was sitting on the ground. Her gaze toward the blonde girl was filled only with shock. Those mysterious, shifting black gloves were currently resting against her neck; a single tap would be enough to end her life.

Owl had crashed into the corner. Even though the golden-haired girl had pulled her strength on the sweep, the force of the strike still left her unable to catch her breath for a long while, clutching her side with a groan.

She couldn't believe that the opponent's combat skills were so far above her own. Having spent years fighting on the streets, she had long since honed her martial prowess. Forget ordinary people—even if she faced four or five professional fighters, Owl was confident she could lay them all out.

Night Owl was clutching his neck and screaming. The intense pain caused his body to go into spasms. It wasn't until Xu Xiaoyou let out a soft chuckle, leaned down, and tapped her fingertips rapidly against his neck again that the agonizing pain finally began to recede.

In just a few seconds of a single encounter, all of them had been taken down by this blonde girl. No one dared to say they had clearly seen her movements.

"What are you all trying to do?" Natsu Kuri’s face flushed with anger, her eyebrows nearly standing on end.

"You... what exactly is your background?" Owl didn't answer the question. She forced herself to sit up and stared intently at Xu Xiaoyou.

"I was merely acting in self-defense," Xu Xiaoyou said calmly. "You were the ones who ambushed me first."

"Damn it, Boss. This girl is definitely not simple. She must be a fixer from the association!" Night Owl spoke with a muffled voice.

It wasn't until Xu Xiaoyou pulled her up from the ground that Sparrow snapped out of her shock and shook her head vigorously. Her right eye had been surgically modified and functioned like a small, precision computer. She could use this cybernetic eye to hack into most networks or analyze a person's combat style and attack trajectories through motion analysis.

But just now, she had seen an incredibly bizarre sight. For a split second, this blonde girl in a bartender's suit, who seemed perfectly ordinary, had appeared to split into countless shadows attacking simultaneously. Like a dandelion bursting apart, the mechanical eye had nearly overheated and fried itself.

Natsu Kuri was also stunned by Xu Xiaoyou's skill. She had originally thought her friend was just an ordinary netizen. She suddenly remembered what Xu Xiaoyou had told her at the very beginning—that she had fled to Red Heaven because she was being hunted and had to live under a pseudonym.

Could it be that she really had a hidden past? But she didn't look much older than herself...

In her memory, the only people this powerful besides Ivy and Sister Tao were the old butler who always followed her. She had seen the first two fight before; they were specters in the dark that harvested lives invisibly. As for the butler, she could only infer his strength from the reactions of others...

Natsu Kuri shook her head, her voice rising in excitement:

"So? The person I picked is amazing, right?"

"You're incredible, Yuzu. I didn't realize you were such a good fighter," Natsu Kuri said, nudging Xu Xiaoyou.

Xu Xiaoyou didn't speak. The people in the room had mostly recovered by now, and they exchanged looks, seemingly hesitating on whether or not to let Xu Xiaoyou join the Night Walkers.

Her strength was unquestionable. Having someone like this join them would only make their future operations smoother. However, the methods she had shown were too strange. Before they understood her background, it was hard not to suspect the motives of such a powerful person joining their ranks.

Suddenly, Xu Xiaoyou's voice interrupted their thoughts.

She looked first at Night Owl and said, "The scent of a boiler, yellowish fingertips, a layer of oil stains that never leaves your skin, and calluses on your knuckles. You're a cook. Judging by the way you handle oil fumes, you don't work in some luxury hotel; it's likely a small joint in the slums."

Night Owl instinctively hid his hands, his body language betraying him.

Xu Xiaoyou then looked at Owl. "White Pigeon Seven Stars, the scent of cheap ladies' cigarettes. From the irregular bruising on your body, it's not hard to see you don't have a professional job. You're a street thug and a delinquent."

Owl didn't object, though she crossed her arms and snorted. Even if the truth was being spoken, it sounded grating to her ears.

Finally, Xu Xiaoyou looked at Sparrow, the girl with the large bow. "Pencil lead gray on your hands, chalk dust in your fingernails, a Zhutai High uniform, and various black ink stains accidentally marked on your clothes... everything suggests you're a student from nearby. But you're not."

Everyone, including Sparrow, froze.

"The first hand you used to attack me was your left. You also instinctively used your left hand to rub the painful spot. From then until now, you've been using your left hand to adjust your cybernetic eye. You're left-handed."

"How could a left-handed person have chalk dust in the fingernails of their right hand? It’s just a disguise. Just like the girl in the owl mask, you're unemployed."

Xu Xiaoyou stated her deductions, and no one refuted her.

They knew the girl spoke the truth. She had deduced everyone's identity based on minor details. She hadn't bothered to hide her profiling ability; this was the olive branch she was offering to show her sincerity.

"I will only be in Dragonfly Town for about a month. Once the time is up, I will naturally leave," Xu Xiaoyou said softly.

Natsu Kuri blinked in surprise as Xu Xiaoyou continued.

"I won't pose any threat to you. If danger approaches, I will leave before it reaches you."

"During this month, I can join your operations and provide assistance, provided you don't try to dig into my background. That is my bottom line."

"As for whether you choose to let me join, that is up to you."