"Hmm?"
"Right and wrong are always relative. When current definitions of crime disappear because moral standards have been raised infinitely, the criteria for what constitutes a crime will naturally lower."
"When a society is born where no one robs or kills to make a living, and people coexist in harmony, tossing a piece of trash becomes a crime, and spitting on the ground becomes an unforgivable mistake."
Bai Youyou nodded, looking like she only half-understood: "So... we just arrest them all?"
Xu Xiaoyou couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
Bai Youyou felt a bit embarrassed by the laughter: "What's so funny?"
"You're quite cute."
Hearing this from the young girl, Bai Youyou’s head felt like it was buzzing, as if a little halo was spinning above her.
"So, what were you trying to say?"
"The original meaning of that phrase is that crime itself will never disappear, and criminals will never be fully eradicated."
Seeing that the black-haired girl's eyes were starting to glaze over from her explanation, Xu Xiaoyou continued:
"However, that has nothing to do with your ideals, Miss Bai. At least, the idea of wanting to catch every criminal in the world is very cool in itself."
"Mhm." Bai Youyou felt her mind getting inexplicably muddled.
This feeling of being acknowledged was strange.
She felt a little happy, yet not entirely happy. It was like she hadn't eaten enough rice for lunch—that nagging feeling that she couldn't quite wrap her head around something.
A strand of hair by her ear was tucked back. Slender fingertips lightly brushed against her skin, sending a faint, ticklish sensation through her.
"What's wrong? Is the hairdryer too hot?"
The young girl before her had eyes that crinkled slightly at the corners, her expression gentle. Her pupils were deep and serene like lake water, and a polite smile always graced her lips.
'How did I not notice before that her eyelashes are so long?' Bai Youyou wondered.
"I'm fine."
"By the way, why did you suddenly move into this employee apartment?" Xu Xiaoyou asked, pretending it was just a casual inquiry.
"It's to investigate the matter regarding those three grade 1 fixers," Bai Youyou said.
"It seems those three grade 1 fixers took on a request right before they died. That request was apparently issued by a high-level executive within Universal Heavy Industries. So, I think the culprit is likely related to that request and might be living in this area."
"A request?" Xu Xiaoyou felt a secret jolt of unease.
"Yeah. It feels like everyone at the guard bureau is hiding things from me. Whenever I ask about the details of that request, they say it was wiped clean, not a single trace left."
Bai Youyou hugged her legs, venting her frustrations to Xu Xiaoyou.
"They all say they'll cooperate with me, but in reality, every single one of them has their own hidden agenda."
"A case that should have been easy to solve has yielded almost nothing so far."
Xu Xiaoyou felt a silent surge of relief.
"I just don't know where the bodies of those three grade 1 fixers are," Bai Youyou added.
"The technology in this hive city is just too backward. It doesn't even have something like a Sky Eye network."
Xu Xiaoyou was well aware of the state of the Corrupt Hive City.
The technological disparity was severe. Some factories could produce mechanical prosthetics but couldn't even mass-produce bullets.
It wasn't impossible that Universal Heavy Industries did this on purpose.
Though, against more troublesome opponents, things like handguns were almost useless anyway.
Like that cat-girl she had encountered during the day.
"That criminal is quite cunning."
"Exactly!" Bai Youyou seemed to remember something, her face turning indignant. "Do you know she actually called me just to taunt me?"
"If I catch her... if I catch her..."
"And what then?" Xu Xiaoyou asked.
"I'll bite her to death before I even send her to court!"
Seeing that Bai Youyou seemed serious, Xu Xiaoyou felt a chill and silently swallowed her saliva.
"Dealing with people is such a pain. I don't even want to see those people from the guard bureau anymore! They're probably all laughing at me behind my back."
It was as if a dam had burst; Bai Youyou continued to grumble and complain to Xu Xiaoyou.
Xu Xiaoyou struggled to keep up, spent the entire time humoring the girl and agreeing with her points.
Eventually, Bai Youyou's long hair was dry. She stood up and looked at Xu Xiaoyou, who had patiently listened to her vent for so long, feeling a bit sheepish.
"If only everyone was as easy to talk to as you. Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
Xu Xiaoyou didn't even want to imagine what would happen if the girl found out the person she had been chatting with for so long was the killer.
"Next time you go to knock on someone's door, don't just wrap yourself in a towel. What if it wasn't me who opened the door today? You'd be inviting unnecessary trouble," Xu Xiaoyou advised.
Bai Youyou thought about it seriously and decided it made sense: "Got it."
Just as Xu Xiaoyou let out a sigh of relief, the girl turned back around.
"What is it?"
"Let's exchange contact info. If you run into any trouble, you can find me."
'What are you doing, girl? My heart can't take these constant scares.'
After adding her as a friend, just as Xu Xiaoyou's tensed spirit began to relax, a pair of hands pushed against her shoulders until her back hit the wall.
The girl's sudden, bold move took Xu Xiaoyou by surprise. Her eyes widened.
Bai Youyou looked at her with a cold gaze, her lips curling slightly. Her body pressed closer and closer, her warm breath lingering near Xu Xiaoyou's ear, bringing a faint itch, but her whisper made Xu Xiaoyou feel like she had fallen into a cellar of ice.
"You're the killer, aren't you?"
A powerful hand gripped her throat, veins bulging slightly, as if her neck would be snapped if she said a single wrong word.
She calmed down instantly.
Something was wrong.
This situation was not right.
Why did she seem like a completely different person in the blink of an eye?
Based on Xu Xiaoyou's assessment of her personality, the girl was absolutely not the type of person to do something like this.
If she truly knew Xu Xiaoyou was the criminal, she never would have waited until now to confront her.
A person who would share case details just because they felt acknowledged couldn't possibly have the patience to chat for half an hour if they knew they were talking to the culprit.
Her expressions during the chat didn't seem faked either.
There was only one possibility.
The current situation was some kind of ability.
A three-winged investigator was bound to have special abilities.
Xu Xiaoyou calmly observed her surroundings. Finally, she found a flaw in a mirror.
In the mirror, Anya was currently standing behind her on the right side. But when she was seeing Bai Youyou out just a moment ago, she clearly remembered Anya was standing on the left side in the reflection.
An illusion?
Thinking this, her heart became tranquil. "No, I am not the killer."
As soon as she spoke those words, the girl before her, the hallway scene, and the mirror all faded away like a melting oil painting.
The next time she opened her eyes, everything had returned to normal. Bai Youyou was looking at her with a worried expression, maintaining a normal social distance, waving a hand in front of her eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"Miss Bai, why are you being so wary of me?" Xu Xiaoyou laughed helplessly.
"Huh? Wary of what?" Bai Youyou was confused.
The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.
"Oh, was it my mind inquisitor ability? This ability is a bit out of my control; it often pops up automatically when my thoughts wander."
"If you saw anything out of line just now, don't worry about it too much," Bai Youyou said earnestly after a moment of thought.
Rate on N.U.
