Ambush

Chijing City Investigation Bureau.

Since a major supernatural incident had just occurred and Yue Shi was at the scene, he returned to the bureau as a witness.

The work style of the Chijing City Investigation Bureau was very rigorous. Questioning, recording, and on-site data analysis were perfectly integrated and coordinated. The processing flow was efficient and orderly, like a precisely running machine.

In comparison, the atmosphere at the Amber City Investigation Bureau was truly lax.

It was no wonder that the previous special commissioner from headquarters spent all day nitpicking.

Perhaps the way the Chijing City Investigation Bureau operated was what an investigation bureau was supposed to look like.

The Amber City Investigation Bureau was an anomaly within the system.

On the other side, at the perimeter of the hotel crime scene, Su Jinglu was still searching repeatedly near the spot where the Beast Tamer had fallen.

She held a small ginger kitten in her arms, her inner anxiety nearly overflowing from her chest.

With every passing second, she could feel the changes in her body as she drew closer to a neutral state. She was both terrified and furious, yet she simply could not find that hairpin.

Just then, her phone vibrated.

She pulled it out to look; it was a message from the bureau.

A look of joy crossed Su Jinglu's face. Hope rose in her heart, but it was mostly urgency.

She looked around and immediately called out to the investigation bureau staff who were also searching for the hairpin. “We have a lead. Everyone, follow me!”

If she had opened her phone to look again at that moment, she would have discovered that the message had mysteriously vanished, leaving no trace behind.

Unfortunately, she was too impatient and trusted the bureau too much to ever think of verifying the message's authenticity.

She led a team of people in the direction indicated by the message, crossing several streets until they reached a secluded alley.

In the alley, a trash can lay overturned on the ground, the air thick with a foul stench and scattered refuse.

Su Jinglu's mind was focused entirely on the hairpin. She failed to notice that, hidden beneath the trash, many inconspicuous geometric patterns had been drawn on the ground and walls.

The moment she led the group into the alley...

A chilling sense of crisis surged into her heart!

Her Spider Sense was blaring a frantic warning!

“Retreat!”

Su Jinglu instinctively threw herself back, then shouted a warning to the others.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions rang out in succession.

Flames and shockwaves swallowed the alley.

Because of her timely warning, Su Jinglu was only knocked off balance by the shockwave and was not injured.

But the ordinary investigators who came with her were not so lucky. Many were caught in the blast, suffering significant injuries and losing their ability to move for the time being.

Su Jinglu's face was grim, filled with both shock and fury.

But before she could determine the cause of the explosion, another even sharper intent to kill struck from behind her!

A short figure, wielding a sharp short sword, lunged straight for the center of her back!

Relying on her Spider Sense and agile movements, Su Jinglu narrowly dodged once more.

However, it was a close call; the blade nearly grazed her neck, leaving her only a step away from death.

She focused her gaze and saw that the attacker was actually a tattered rabbit doll!

The rabbit doll's movements were incredibly fluid. Its body was covered in messy geometric patterns, and its button eyes glinted with a cold light.

“Who are you? Who sent you?” Su Jinglu questioned sharply.

The rabbit doll did not answer at all. Having missed its strike, it immediately leaped again, its short sword dancing in a blur as it attacked her like a violent storm.

The rabbit doll's martial arts techniques were extremely exquisite, its moves ruthless and tricky. Su Jinglu specialized in mid-to-long-range control and toxins; close-quarters combat was not her strength, and she was forced back repeatedly by the rabbit.

Realizing she couldn't win in a head-on clash, she pivoted her feet and quickly increased the distance. Waving her hands, strands of spider silk shot toward the rabbit doll, attempting to bind its movements.

‘Why did it explode here? What is with this rabbit? The bureau sent a message saying the hairpin was blown here by the wind... Could it be a trap? Who is trying to kill me!’

Thoughts raced through Su Jinglu's mind, but there was no time for deep reflection. Her priority was to subdue the rabbit doll!

However, she underestimated just how troublesome this rabbit doll was.

The rabbit doll was not only agile enough to easily evade most of the silk, but it was also extremely cunning, using the injured members of the investigation bureau on the ground as cover and targets.

Su Jinglu had to protect herself while also trying to shield her comrades, and she soon found herself spread too thin.

“Stop! We can talk!” Su Jinglu tried to communicate.

The rabbit doll ignored her, even grabbing an investigation bureau member to use as a human shield as it charged at Su Jinglu.

Su Jinglu didn't particularly care about the life or death of these ordinary colleagues, but she had to maintain appearances.

She manipulated her silk to try and bypass the hostage, but the opponent used this to its advantage instead. The rabbit doll used the hostage to block the silk and closed in on her again.

Undeterred, Su Jinglu remained calm. The silk filling the air suddenly contracted, weaving into layers of webs in front of her.

Faced with such dense defense, the rabbit was unable to break through for a moment.

The rabbit paused, thought for a moment, and reached into the split stitching of its belly to pull out an old matchbox.

Seeing this, Su Jinglu thought the rabbit was going to use fire and sneered inwardly. Ordinary flames had little effect on her spider silk.

The rabbit doll pulled out a match and struck it with a crisp scritch.

The moment the flame flickered, Su Jinglu's gaze was drawn to it.

Within the firelight, the scene before her changed. She saw the thing she desired most in the depths of her heart.

The rabbit doll seized the opportunity provided by her brief daze and lunged forward!

The cold kill intent stung Su Jinglu awake from the illusion. Snapping back to her senses, she dodged frantically.

But this time, the rabbit's target was not her, but the ginger kitten in her arms!

“No!” Su Jinglu instinctively turned her body, using her shoulder and arm to shield the kitten.

Pfft!

The short sword stabbed near her shoulder blade, sending a jolt of intense pain through her. But taking advantage of the opening, Su Jinglu endured the pain and exerted her strength, spraying silk that firmly entangled the rabbit doll's legs.

“Got you!” Su Jinglu hissed through gritted teeth.

In the next second, a shocking scene occurred. Without the slightest hesitation, the rabbit doll's short sword flashed, and it sliced off its own legs at the knees to break free from the silk!

Su Jinglu gasped, immediately realizing that this rabbit doll likely felt no pain.

With her extensive combat experience, she didn't freeze. More silk swarmed forward, and while the opponent was off-balance, she wrapped its body in layers, binding it into a white cocoon.

“I finally caught you, you little brat!” Su Jinglu panted, the wound on her shoulder bleeding incessantly.

In less than three minutes, she had finally captured this vicious rabbit doll.

The rabbit continued to radiate intense malice, making her Spider Sense feel somewhat numb.

But just then, the rabbit doll ceased all movement, as if it had become a lifeless object.

That intense malice, however, suddenly transformed into a lethal sense of crisis!

Something was wrong!

Su Jinglu's pupils shrank. She wanted to throw the doll away, but it was already too late!

Boom!!!

The rabbit doll, bound in the cocoon, exploded violently.

Su Jinglu was at the very center of the explosion; her figure was instantly swallowed up.

A moment later, before the smoke had even cleared, another tattered doll ran toward the explosion site from a street corner with light, pitter-patter steps.

It looked around and quickly picked up the short sword, The Little Girl's Matchbox, the Bomb Paintbrush, and other items dropped by the previous rabbit doll.

Then, it walked over to Su Jinglu, raised the short sword, and calmly severed her head to ensure the target was completely dead.

Having finished all this, the doll stuffed everything into its belly, turned, and disappeared into the depths of the alley.

...

At this moment, Yue Shi was sitting calmly in the reception room of the Chijing City Investigation Bureau.

Outside the window, city lights flickered amidst the darkness, wind, and snow.

The Chijing City Investigation Bureau handled cases with high efficiency and maintained a clear boundary with Yue Shi, an investigator from another city.

The process of taking his statement was professional and swift. Their attitude toward Yue Shi was impeccable, yet they consistently kept him at a distance, preventing him from accessing the core information of this supernatural incident.

Yue Shi was tactful enough not to ask many questions. After cooperating through all the procedures, he stood up to take his leave and walked out, guided by a clerical staff member.

The corridors inside the bureau were spacious and bright. As he rounded a corner, Yue Shi came face-to-face with a hurried Xin Yanzheng.

There was fatigue between Xin Yanzheng's brows. Seeing Yue Shi, he stopped, a gentle yet distant expression appearing on his face as he said apologetically:

“Mr. Yue Shi, is the statement finished? I'm truly sorry. To have you encounter such trouble on your first visit to Chijing City and to take up so much of your time.”

“Cooperating with the investigation is only right,” Yue Shi said. “Do supernatural incidents of this scale happen often in Chijing City?”

“How could that be?” Xin Yanzheng quickly denied. “It's just that with a large population and a vast urban area, the daily frequency of supernatural incidents is indeed slightly higher than in some smaller cities.”