A single orange segment had been peeled perfectly clean, without a single white string remaining. It sat quietly on the coffee table like a piece of gummy candy.
Ling Xun had spent a long time peeling it but hadn't eaten a single bite. Whether it was unintentional or a sign of excessive caution was unclear. After he left, Yue Shi cleared away the fruit and drinks.
At dinner, Yue Shi stir-fried his food with an expressionless face. He didn't enjoy cooking; he simply used the mundane atmosphere of domestic life to suppress the surging violence in his heart and reduce his internal turmoil.
...
The next day, halfway through breakfast, his phone suddenly rang.
Yue Shi glanced at it. It was Zhou Zhiheng.
“What is it?”
“We've been hit by a sudden attack from a supernatural creature at Rose Manor. We need immediate backup. Get here now!”
Zhou Zhiheng’s voice was urgent. A faint buzzing could be heard over the phone.
Yue Shi stood up at a leisurely pace and headed for the door, though his tone carried a hint of irritation. “What's the situation exactly?”
“Another Bee Woman. Maybe she’s here for revenge. She’s using venomous bees to ambush us. Many employees have been stung, and Zhong Mo is injured too,” Zhou Zhiheng said succinctly.
Zhong Mo was a transcendent recruited by the Tulip Security Company, just like Yue Shi.
“Didn't we kill a Bee Woman before? Why is there another one?” Yue Shi asked as he walked.
“Perhaps there's a contagious supernatural entity hiding in Amber City. Infected young women might be mutating into Bee Women,” Zhou Zhiheng speculated.
As they spoke, Yue Shi had already reached the ground floor. The guard, Old Man Qin, saw him and greeted him warmly, “Off to work, young man?”
Yue Shi nodded. Working for the Tulip Security Company didn't require a nine-to-five schedule, but the work itself was far from easy.
He left Happiness Apartments in a hurry and hailed a taxi, heading straight for Rose Manor.
“I'm in a car. I'll be there soon,” Yue Shi told Zhou Zhiheng.
“Zhong Mo has the Bee Woman pinned down in a room. If you’re too late, she might escape!” Zhou Zhiheng urged.
Half an hour later, the taxi arrived at the destination.
Yue Shi immediately spotted Zhao Lin waiting for him at the entrance of the community. Without exchanging a word, the two headed straight for the scene.
A special transport vehicle from the Tulip Security Company was parked outside a detached villa. As they approached, they saw about a dozen employees keeping watch nearby.
The door was in tatters. Through the gaps, one could vaguely see that the room was covered in hardened beeswax.
“What's the status?” Yue Shi asked.
“Zhong Mo has restricted the target to the first-floor living room.” Zhou Zhiheng’s brow was furrowed deeply.
Yue Shi asked, “If the Bee Woman is already trapped, why can't you guys take her down?”
Zhou Zhiheng shook his head with a bitter smile.
Even against low-tier supernatural creatures, ordinary people struggled to compete. Firearms couldn't cause effective damage unless heavy weaponry was used. And even heavy weapons were useless against high-tier entities.
“The Bee Woman can control a massive number of venomous bees. Be careful.” A slurred warning came from behind Zhou Zhiheng.
It was a long-legged man wearing athletic pants suited for movement. His white hoodie, stained with beeswax, had several tears, and fresh blood was seeping from the skin beneath.
A severely swollen "pig head" was perched atop this well-proportioned body, giving him a strangely comical appearance.
Yue Shi took one look and immediately averted his gaze, afraid he might burst out laughing.
This was Zhong Mo, the other transcendent of the Tulip Security Company.
“I just happened to get stung in the face. Laugh if you want. A strong man doesn't care about such trivial things,” Zhong Mo said calmly, provided one ignored his thick-tongued lisp.
However, his eyes were fixed on Yue Shi, as if he would charge forward and start a fight if Yue Shi actually dared to laugh.
“Alright, business first,” Zhou Zhiheng said, slightly raising his voice.
Rumble—
At that moment, a thunderous boom erupted from inside the villa, sounding like a bolt of lightning striking right next to them. The sound was so loud it made the dust in the air vibrate.
Immediately following, a figure was flung out from the entrance, landing heavily on the ground and leaving a trail of blood.
It was a corpse that no longer looked human. The clothes were mottled with beeswax, and the exposed skin was covered in purple-black abscesses. The chest and abdomen were a bloody mess, looking as if they had been torn open while the person was still alive. It was a gruesome death.
Zhou Zhiheng’s eyes reddened instantly. Employee casualties... how much was the compensation going to cost!
“Not good. The Bee Woman is about to break free from my restraint.” A flash of ruthlessness crossed Zhong Mo’s eyes, which were swollen into tiny slits. A strange card appeared in his right hand as he rapidly retreated.
“Go!” Zhou Zhiheng looked at Yue Shi.
Yue Shi replied, “I need more money.”
Zhou Zhiheng was stunned. “Isn't it a bit much to be price gouging like this?”
Yue Shi shook his head. “This Bee Woman is stronger and harder to deal with than the last one. I'm taking on a much higher risk.”
Zhou Zhiheng gritted his teeth in resentment. Despite his dissatisfaction, he didn't dare show it. He only said, “I'll report to Boss Lü afterward. He should agree to your request.”
“Should?” Yue Shi raised an eyebrow.
“He will! If not, I'll pay you out of my own pocket!” Zhou Zhiheng’s lip twitched. “It's an emergency, don't stall!”
Zhong Mo suddenly interjected, “Don't force yourself. If you can't handle it, notify the Investigation Bureau.”
He paused slightly. “Life is more important than money.”
Yue Shi knew the other man was giving a well-intentioned warning. However, the Tulip Security Company was facing heavy losses this time, and the others likely hoped he would go all out to bring back the supernatural creature's corpse.
Supernatural corpses or live specimens had high research value. Official or large private research institutes would buy them for high prices. However, this kind of work wasn't suited for freelancers. Tracking, preserving, and transporting a supernatural corpse was impossible for one person to manage alone.
Everyone’s eyes were on Yue Shi. The Tulip Security Company had only recently been established and had only recruited three transcendents. Now that Zhong Mo was injured, they didn't know how capable this newcomer really was.
Under everyone's gaze, Yue Shi stepped into the villa.
He entered the living room, slowly decelerating his pace as his sharp gaze scanned the surroundings.
From what he knew, Zhong Mo’s ability involved manipulating various cards with magical effects. He was experienced in combat, yet he had still been injured, which showed the creature's strength was considerable.
The villa's interior was luxurious, but it was now riddled with holes, covered in hardened beeswax and marks from the intense struggle.
A massive fish tank had shattered, and water flooded the floor. Beautiful, expensive ornamental fish had already suffocated to death.
Yue Shi didn't see the Bee Woman, but the sound of whistling buzzing filled his ears.
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