Little White Rabbit

Ding-ling.

The shop door was pushed open again, and a security officer walked in.

He looked to be in his fifties and carried a black leather bag tucked under his arm.

"Xiao Zhen, where's your dad?"

"Uncle Huang, my dad's having tea."

"He certainly is living the life."

The security officer skillfully pulled a wanted poster from his bag.

"Seen this person?"

Lin Zhen adjusted her glasses, looked closely at the poster, and then shook her head.

"I haven't. Uncle Huang, what did this person do?"

"Murder."

The security officer took a bottle of glue from his pocket, gave it a shake, and began applying it to the back of the poster.

"Help me post this on your bulletin board later. There's a reward this time—twenty thousand yuan for a capture."

Lin Zhen covered her mouth and giggled.

"I wouldn't go even for thirty thousand. If someone like me went looking for him, it would only make his bounty go higher."

"Alright, the glue is on. I'm going to find your father."

"Okay."

Lin Zhen agreed and was about to go post the wanted poster, but Yin Yang stood up first.

"I'll do it. It's that bulletin board next to the window, right?"

"Yes, that's the one."

Lin Zhen didn't think much of it; after all, posting a bounty notice wasn't a big deal.

Yin Yang picked up the wanted poster and saw the image of a young man printed on it.

Hmm, he looked somewhat familiar.

The memories in his mind shifted rapidly, and he soon remembered where he had seen him.

Behind that 'Little White Rabbit' from earlier, this young man had been standing with half his head blown off.

Yin Yang had dissected far too many bodies. He could make a high-probability judgment just by looking at the body shape, bone structure, and muscle alignment.

Combined with the remaining half of the head, he was certain.

‘Interesting.’

A smile played at the corners of Yin Yang’s mouth as he stepped outside and carefully pasted the wanted poster.

By the time he returned to the shop, he could hear the shop owner chatting with the security officer.

"Tell me, what is wrong with the world lately? Why are there murders every few days?"

"When we were young, things like this never happened."

"Exactly, exactly. Morality just isn't what it used to be."

Both men wore expressions of deep lamentation.

"That young man looks quite refined. How could he have become a murderer?"

"I don't know the full details, but they say it was a crime of passion."

"A crime of passion? Well, that makes sense then."

The two shared a look and chuckled—a rather unrefined laugh, though what exactly they were thinking remained a mystery.

"Alright, alright, I have many more places to go. I can't chat with you all day."

"But Old Lin, things aren't peaceful in Wang City these days. I heard that someone even smashed the stone lions outside the Qi family's door last night."

"If you don't have anything important to do, close up early. Don't go anywhere at night."

The bookstore owner nodded, indicating he knew the gravity of the situation.

After the security officer left, he specifically called Lin Zhen and Yin Yang over.

"Did you both hear what your Uncle Huang said?"

"Wang City is not peaceful right now. You must be extra careful."

"Even though we get off work early, we still need to be on guard."

"If any strangers come in, make sure you both stand directly under the surveillance cameras, understood?"

"Understood."

"Don't worry, Dad."

The owner nodded in satisfaction.

Yin Yang and Lin Zhen then continued counting the inventory. By the time school let out at noon, many more students arrived to borrow books—around forty or fifty of them.

After they saw everyone off and had a quick bite to eat, they went to pick up the coffee machine.

The trip was smooth until they arrived at the pickup location, where they encountered the 'Little White Rabbit' once again.

"Oh? What are you doing here?"

Lin Zhen seemed quite surprised. Her uncle, the coffee shop owner, was even more surprised as he looked at the two of them.

"You know each other?"

Lin Zhen nodded.

"This lady came to our bookstore this morning to borrow a book. Let me think... oh right, it was 《Encounter》 by Mr. Mingshi."

The Little White Rabbit looked at Lin Zhen with an expression of pure admiration.

"Your memory is amazing, sister."

"Haha, it's nothing, really."

Lin Zhen waved it off, but her expression clearly showed she enjoyed the compliment.

The uncle who ran the coffee shop laughed.

"Then it really is fate. She is my tenant. She only recently arrived in Wang City for school."

"I see."

Seeing that Yin Yang had already moved the coffee machine into the van, Lin Zhen waved goodbye.

"Uncle Hua, let's chat another day. It's getting late, I need to get this machine back."

"Sure, sure."

Uncle Hua stood at his doorstep, watching Lin Zhen's minivan drive out of the street before he suddenly put his arm around the 'Little White Rabbit'.

"Why go so far if you want to read? Don't we have plenty of books right here at home?"

The 'Little White Rabbit' gave her shoulders a playful shrug.

"Oh, honestly, in broad daylight..."

...

In the minivan, in the passenger seat.

Yin Yang withdrew his gaze from the side mirror.

"What's wrong? Can't bear to leave your Little White Rabbit?"

Lin Zhen teased him while driving, but Yin Yang frowned.

"That Uncle Hua... he doesn't look like he's in very good health."

"Oh? You can read faces now?"

"I wouldn't say I know how to do that."

"If you don't know how, then why say his health is bad?"

"His forehead is practically pitch black. How good can he be?"

"Oh, Uncle Hua was born with dark skin. It's perfectly normal."

The minivan traveled all the way back to the bookstore. Yin Yang moved the coffee machine inside, while Lin Zhen impatiently began prepping the coffee, planning to officially start selling it the next day.

The day passed quickly. By the time Yin Yang left the bookstore, Lin Zhen was still buried in her coffee research.

By the time Yin Yang returned to his apartment and finished cooking dinner, the world outside the window was completely dark.

"That girl from today was quite interesting. She was followed by so many vengeful spirits. If her aura weren't different, I would have thought she was one of us."

Yin Yang sat with his bowl, eating heartily.

The blade-wielding ghost stood opposite the dining table, acting as his 'meal companion'.

"The resentment of those spirits is incredibly heavy. And the way they looked at her is a look I know well—they definitely died by her hand."

"To kill so many people and not be arrested... she's a real pro."

The blade-wielding ghost pointed at Yin Yang and then raised its blade.

Yin Yang smiled.

"You're right. I'm a pro in that regard too. From that perspective, we really are the same kind."

"I just don't know if she's on the 【Killer】 pathway or the 【Criminal】 pathway."

"Or perhaps, she simply enjoys killing."

Yin Yang served himself another bowl of rice, packing it down with the rice paddle.

"But it doesn't matter which one it is. She seems to have taken me as her prey."

"We will definitely meet again."

"Go on, then. See if there are any transcendent gatherings tonight."

The blade-wielding ghost nodded, then turned into a streak of black light and vanished with its blade.

...

East District.

The Qi family.

"Cough, cough, cough... Still haven't caught them?"

"No. We suspect it was the work of a transcendent."

"Cough, cough, cough."

Upon hearing this answer, the coughing grew even more violent.

"Since you can't find anything, report the matter to the Security Bureau."

"My Qi family pays so much in taxes every year; we should see some results eventually."

"Yes."

In the darkness, a skeletal hand reached out.

"How is the preparation of the materials coming along?"