Seeds of Destruction

"Tell me what you think," Bai Youyou nodded.

Xu Xiaoyou didn't begin by analyzing the photos themselves. Instead, she asked, "Those information brokers you're in contact with—do you know for certain what happened to them?"

Bai Youyou was momentarily stunned. After thinking carefully, she shook her head.

"Do you think those ruthless, savage sugar dealers would let an information broker who leaked their secrets walk away alive?"

"Obviously, the answer is no. You're a four-winged investigator, so of course they don't have the guts to move against you. To threaten you into staying out of this, their only option is to target those brokers. Whether it's human bombs or intimidating photos, they would find every way possible to put them in front of you to make you back off."

Bai Youyou frowned. "But I'm a four-winged investigator..."

"Have you forgotten that shocking murder case in Dekvido City? The four-winged investigator Naxas was murdered in a conspiracy by those crazed sugar dealers, and his body was hung in front of Dekvido City Hall. It was a scandal that rocked almost the entire universe. The Fixer Association made a huge fuss to demand justice, but in the end, they just handed over a few people and let it go."

"Of course, compared to a quagmire of sin like Dekvido City, the local powers in Dragonfly Town wouldn't dare move against you. But if it's just intimidation, they'd be more than willing."

"And yet, they haven't done that. Aside from moral concerns, I can't think of a second reason. Either they killed those brokers and buried them in some remote wilderness, or they're holding them somewhere in the Dragonfly Town underground. It doesn't matter."

"What led me to a definitive judgment was the people they're selling the moon sugar to."

Xu Xiaoyou placed a photo on the table and pointed to the back of a male corpse. Countless crescent-shaped spots overlapped, varying in shade like a grinning demonic face from the abyss.

"Based on their mental and physical states, it's not hard to judge that these victims were long-term addicts. Those cautious, brutal sugar dealers wouldn't sell a new type of moon sugar to people who are already on the verge of death. These people are unstable time bombs who could drop dead in the street at any moment and be noticed by investigators or the Mountain Crow family."

"I imagine you must have checked the shipping records at the Dragonfly Town harbor while investigating the source of this batch of moon sugar, only to find nothing, right?"

Bai Youyou was amazed that the other girl could deduce so much information from such minute details. Just as she said, upon taking the moon sugar case, she had immediately investigated the docks, airports, train stations, and warehouses, but found nothing suspicious. Those reporting procedures were extremely strict and required military auditing.

If the sugar dealers in Dragonfly Town were powerful enough to plant their own cronies even within the military, they shouldn't just be limited to Dragonfly Town.

And this new moon sugar certainly shouldn't be circulating in such a small area.

All the arrows seemed to point to a single conclusion.

"So, you believe this new moon sugar was manufactured right here in Dragonfly Town?" Bai Youyou looked at Xu Xiaoyou.

Xu Xiaoyou remained noncommittal.

A person with a certain level of chemical knowledge, not controlled by sugar dealers, and lacking common sense and experience in this specific criminal trade... In Bai Youyou's mind, the image of the mastermind became clearer bit by bit. Just as Xu Xiaoyou described, the person was very likely a chemistry professor at a university, or at the very least, a teacher of some kind.

"If that's the case..." Bai Youyou had an idea.

For some reason, that chemistry teacher had been in desperate need of a large sum of money and, after tasting the forbidden fruit, set out on the path of manufacturing drugs.

As long as she narrowed the scope further and screened every teacher, professor, or consultant who had ever held a chemistry position in Dragonfly Town, and investigated who had recently suffered a major misfortune, she could follow the trail to lock onto the final target.

"Of course, there's another possibility." Xu Xiaoyou suddenly thought of a relatively bold hypothesis.

"Youyou, let me ask you a question. In your opinion, what is the most effective way to eliminate locusts?"

"Pesticides? Insect nets?"

"It's reproduction." The corners of Xu Xiaoyou's mouth curled into an imperceptible arc.

"For a time, Jianghou City was deeply troubled by locust plagues. As the food base for Red Heaven, it needs to transport food for the winter to the entire territory every year. Those locusts brought immeasurable economic losses to Jianghou City and even all of Red Heaven. The Cloud Magpie family never had a good way to manage the locusts, despite trying countless methods, including hiring idle social workers to organize extermination teams."

"Spraying pesticides was useless."

"Until a consultant from Universal Heavy Industries was hired to come to Jianghou City for a field investigation. She and her team took only one winter to make the once-rampaging locusts vanish without a trace."

"The method they used was genetic editing—burying the seeds of destruction deep within the genes of these locusts. This recessive gene causes the locusts to lose their reproductive capacity, manifesting within three generations. Every summer, they would release a batch of genetically edited locusts. By the time winter arrived, the descendants of those locusts would die out en masse due to their inability to reproduce."

"The day the seeds of destruction hatch is also the day of the species' extinction."

Bai Youyou suddenly realized what she meant.

"Those addicts are the true culprits behind the widespread dissemination of moon sugar. Lingering in dens of vice, they might be the friends or family of victims, constantly dragging more people into the same abyss they inhabit."

"That chemistry teacher might be trying to rid the people of a scourge through this method, using the new moon sugar to handle those social hazards. You mentioned that after multiple doses of this new moon sugar, those addicts eventually die due to mental hallucinations, right?" Xu Xiaoyou said.

"Just like the consultant for genetic editing, he is eliminating pests through his own means. Although I don't approve of it, nor do I agree with his methods—as many more innocent people will be dragged in and persecuted—I have to admit his methods are effective. You can see it from how the crime rate in Dragonfly Town has dropped recently. Perhaps before long, the addicts here will be cleared out entirely, and those sugar dealers will naturally run elsewhere if they can't turn a profit."

Xu Xiaoyou crossed her arms.

Bai Youyou's breathing grew heavy. A certain chill climbed up her spine as she sensed the intense hatred contained within. That chemistry teacher had buried the desire for destruction into these 'genetic seeds,' attempting to use this method to exterminate all addicts in Dragonfly Town and stop the circulation of moon sugar at its source.

Xu Xiaoyou quietly observed Bai Youyou. If the other girl made up her mind, she would reveal more information she had seen in the photos; if she didn't ask, Xu Xiaoyou would replace everything with silence.

Through those photos alone, she had already deduced the location where that chemistry teacher manufactured the moon sugar and the criteria used for all the site selections.

Xu Xiaoyou's gaze rested on the houses covered in grayish-blue dust cloths on both sides of the road, her fingertips tapping lightly on the bar counter.

"Sorry, I... I need a little time to think about it. I'll be going now."

Bai Youyou left in a hurry, looking deeply preoccupied.

Seeing this, Xu Xiaoyou didn't say anything more.

If it were the Bai Youyou she used to know, she would never have weighed morality against rules. Instead, she would have chosen the latter without hesitation. Her twisted personality left no room for dissenting voices against any rules or laws in her world.

It seemed a certain change had indeed occurred within her.

As for that 'chemistry teacher,' a faint sense of unease rose in Xu Xiaoyou's heart. Right then, the private number dedicated to the Night Walkers rang. As soon as it connected, Natsukuri's lively and lighthearted voice came through.

"Yuzu, it's time to go! I'm already downstairs at the Mint Green Leaf Shop. You didn't forget our operation this afternoon, did you?"