The snow fell intermittently for five days.
By evening, the sky was a dull gray, and the snowflakes showed no sign of stopping. Every corner of Cuifeng City was covered in white.
The accumulation was heavy, leaving the streets deserted. Pedestrians had vanished, and not a single vehicle was in sight.
Many shops had closed early, their doors tightly shut.
All the filth of the city was hidden beneath a shroud of pure white.
“The local Investigation Bureau has arranged quite a show.”
“They must have noticed the surge in homicides and violent crimes lately. They know someone is pulling the strings from the shadows.”
“If all goes as expected, this play is meant to lure the snake out of its hole.”
Ghost’s voice echoed in Yue Shi’s ear.
The two were currently walking down the center of a desolate, empty street.
The swirling snow seemed to avoid them of its own accord; not a single flake landed on their shoulders, and they left no footprints behind on the ground.
“Hmm, that’s normal. It’s all within expectations,” Yue Shi said indifferently, his gaze sweeping over a shop half-buried in snow.
“So many people have died in this city, and so much blood has been spilled. If the local Investigation Bureau still couldn't react, it would only prove they are nothing but useless trash.”
“Cuifeng City is a major city, after all. There are bound to be clever people here.”
“But so what? Who could possibly stop me from doing what I want?”
Yue Shi possessed every flaw of humanity; every dark shade was gathered within him. Greed, selfishness, spite, arrogance, and cruelty—he was the embodiment of all vices.
At this moment, he was exceptionally arrogant, his ego inflated to the extreme.
But he truly possessed the capital to back it up.
“Speaking of which, how did you actually do it? So many people suddenly turned bad, turning into criminals,” Ghost asked tentatively.
“I have my own clever plan,” Yue Shi replied cryptically.
This city was merely an experimental field for him to test his Authority. So far, the results were quite good.
The malice already present in the depths of human hearts was being silently catalyzed and amplified. It spread through the city's shadows like a plague.
However, the current progress was still a bit slow. He didn't want to wait any longer.
Since the local Investigation Bureau had noticed and taken action, he might as well make things even more ruthless.
Before this snow ended, he wanted everyone in this city to turn dark!
Turning dark makes you three times stronger; granting them power was a gift. They should be grateful.
Ghost keenly caught the change in Yue Shi’s expression. “You plan to move against the Cuifeng City Investigation Bureau?”
Yue Shi nodded, his gaze fixed on the distance. “Let’s go. Let’s see what kind of show the local bureau has prepared.”
As the words fell, the wind and snow continued, but the two figures had vanished from the spot as if they had never existed.
...
Bureau headquarters.
The process for the civilian transcendent organization, the Circus, to submit had been completed.
The members of the once-unconventional Circus had been broken up and reorganized, then placed into various departments within headquarters. The purpose was obvious: to divide and control.
Acrobat’s current identity was that of an ordinary investigator under the Action Department. Every day, she wore a standard uniform and followed tedious rules and regulations.
How could she describe it? The moment she clocked in, everything felt different.
Previously, the entire Circus had been implicated by that bastard Yue Shi, nearly ending up on the wanted list. Many of them knew that Yue Shi had likely diverted the trouble elsewhere on purpose, making others believe they were in league with him.
Since headquarters couldn't do anything about Yue Shi for the time being, they could only take it out on those who had a 'relationship' with him. It was a way to provide an explanation, prove that the arrest efforts weren't a total failure, and forcibly save face.
The Circus itself wasn't weak and could have held its own against headquarters for a while. If worst came to worst, they could have scattered and hidden in the Chaos Zone, which served as a backup plan.
But not long ago, for some reason, headquarters suddenly displayed overwhelming power and captured all members of the Circus alive.
They had thought they were doomed, expecting to be swiftly executed or sent to a laboratory. Instead, they were brought before a weirdo.
The weirdo wore a large hood, and his eyes sparkled with the light of gossip. He held a seemingly ordinary smartphone, and countless strange books floated around him.
No one knew what that weirdo said or did to the Troupe Leader. In short, the habitually proud Troupe Leader completely surrendered and quickly settled into headquarters.
It was as if he had integrated instantly, spending his days with newly met colleagues, acting like brothers. The situation was the same for the other members.
Acrobat was now just a low-level investigator, bound by various rules every day. This feeling was very unfamiliar to her.
But she enjoyed it.
Because here, she had met the true love of her life.
Life is precious, freedom is dearer; but for the sake of love, both can be cast aside.
Acrobat used to despise 'love-brain' creatures. What even was love? Weren't money and strength far more important?
But when she fell in love at first sight with a certain member of headquarters and quickly became infatuated, she felt the sensation was simply wonderful.
Having personally tasted love, she became obsessed and lost herself, willing to give up even her life.
“Love even in death.”
“My heart is pounding, love is like a raging fire.”
Acrobat spent every day glued to her darling boyfriend. It felt as if the entire world was creating opportunities for them as a couple.
It would happen to rain when they only had one umbrella; she would accidentally walk into his room; she would accidentally trip and fall into his arms...
...
Amber City Investigation Bureau.
In the Director's Office, Tang Zhuhe, who had been dozing with her eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open.
A momentary look of ferocity crossed her compassionate and elegant face.
Immediately, a brilliant dark-gold light erupted from her body, and a resplendent heavenly voice echoed around her.
Buddha's light shines upon all.
An illusory, somewhat inappropriate-looking manga book was revealed by the light. The original title had been something like 《Black Guanyin's Malicious Trap of Yearning》 or 《The Jealous Top》.
But in an instant, the title turned into a mess of garbled code.
In the center of the cover was the female protagonist of the manga, who appeared to be Tang Zhuhe herself. The art style was realistic, capturing the prototype’s typical features so clearly that it was impossible to mistake her. However, the protagonist’s image was softer, weeping in the wind and looking pitiful—like an innocent white lotus.
Tang Zhuhe laughed out of sheer rage. The golden light around her intensified, and the manga was reduced to ashes under her gaze.
But a second later, a brand-new manga slowly emerged in her vision. This one was entirely blank, its content still generating.
Tang Zhuhe resumed her compassionate Guanyin expression, though her eyes remained cold.
“What a bold one.”
“Just reached Rank 5 and already so eager for a beating.”
Rate on N.U.
