Chapter Twenty: Entering the Room

Ye Chen proposed they inspect the inner city wall tomorrow; he had his reasons.

Some wealthy families within the inner city kept mutated beasts in their courtyards. These creatures, all captured from the wild, were often the subjects of hunting quests. When accepting assignments, Ye Chen frequently noticed requests from task publishers specifically demanding the capture of living wild beasts.

Curious, he once asked Jin Yinghui, "Why must they be caught alive? Is it just for the freshness of slaughter?"

Jin Yinghui chuckled, "They're kept as pets or as courtyard watchdogs. Perhaps, after staying in this walled city for so long, people have grown bored of ordinary amusements and their interests have turned peculiar."

Ye Chen, upon hearing this, inwardly spat in disdain: While people in the outer city were still worrying about how to fill their stomachs, those in the inner city were already treating food as mere toys.

...

Ye Chen declined Xu Fan and Chen Bingfeng’s invitation to dinner and hurried to Zhou Peng’s little tavern. On one hand, he'd left Zhou Peng a task; on the other, he wished to hear the advice of a former patrol bureau member.

In a dim corner of the tavern, Ye Chen and Zhou Peng spoke in hushed tones.

Ye Chen began, "This incident is rather mysterious. I’ve summarized several points of suspicion—help me analyze them.

"First, none of the neighbors heard cries for help from inside the house. This suggests that whoever acted entered silently and struck swiftly and decisively.

"Second, the mark on the back door handle—it looks unmistakably like a mud-smeared handprint. Team member Chen Bingfeng speculated whether two unknown creatures acted together, but I suspect it’s more likely someone committed the crime accompanied by a mutated beast.

"Third, the outer city wall showed no damage, which further increases the likelihood that the creature was brought out from the inner city, or perhaps escaped from there."

Zhou Peng listened, then rotated the cap he wore backward, lowering the brim to hide his gaze in shadow, and said quietly, "If you hadn’t told me from the start that this was an attack by an unknown creature, just based on these three points, it could easily be defined as an assassination.

"Especially the first point—eliminating two people without making a sound after entering. Even you could manage that effortlessly, couldn’t you?"

Ye Chen nodded silently.

Silence lingered between them, until Zhou Peng suddenly spoke, "I have another suggestion: investigate the identity of the victim from Bar Street. Don’t treat him as just a random passerby—see if there’s any possible connection."

Ye Chen’s eyes lit up at this.

...

That night, several figures crept through the darkness, furtive and stealthy.

The night wind was icy, stinging the face like a blade.

Leading them was Scarface, wrapped tightly in a leather coat, his eyes glittering with greed. His right hand, still bandaged, had returned to its normal size. After two days of recovery, Scarface’s hand had fully regenerated, and he was restless once more.

Following close behind was Mouse, the stammerer, and behind him, a burly fellow gripping an empty sack that looked big enough to hold plenty.

The three shadows appeared at the entrance of the seventh residential district, in front of the door still cordoned off by police tape.

Scarface studied the lock, glanced around, and whispered, "Mouse, take the back door! Keep Two Fool close; don’t lose him."

Mouse hunched his neck, turned to Two Fool, and stammered, "S-stay close to me, d-did you hear?"

Two Fool nodded.

Mouse was giddy with excitement for the night’s operation. Before they set out, Scarface had told him and Two Fool, "The guy who died here a few days ago was always tinkering with junk machines or trading secondhand equipment, but somehow, recently, he managed to acquire that mine outside the city—a resourceful fellow!

"Yet, before he could even enjoy his success, he was fed to a beast.

"Someone with that level of skill surely has plenty of good stuff at home, so tonight, we’re going to clean out his house."

Mouse knew there really was a mine outside the city, which produced a mineral called green crystal ore. All of it was bought up by the inner city. It was said that, ground into powder and added to energy cores, it greatly increased energy efficiency.

Mouse didn’t understand the science behind it, but he knew it meant big money.

As for why such a lucrative business had changed hands, he knew even less.

But regardless, anyone capable of acquiring such a mine must have extraordinary connections.

...

Such a person would surely have a well-off household. Now that the case had cooled for two days, and with the freezing weather keeping patrol bureau members from further investigation, it was the perfect opportunity to raid the place.

There were nine houses in this row; the one where the incident occurred was the third from the left.

Scarface and his companions circled to the back door, preparing to climb over the rear wall. They avoided the front door to prevent leaving obvious traces.

The four-meter-high wall posed a minor challenge. Scarface said slyly, "Mouse, stand guard outside. If anything happens, use the usual signal."

Mouse’s already sharp, skinny face looked even more dejected. He muttered unwillingly, "W-why always me... I want to g-get some loot too..."

"Shut up! You’re quicker than Two Fool—if something happens, Two Fool would take ages just to get a word out."

Two Fool nodded.

Scarface grew increasingly annoyed at Mouse’s reluctance, delivered a swift kick to Mouse’s backside, sending him stumbling forward, nearly banging his head on the wall.

"Squat down and let me and Two Fool get a leg up."

Mouse, frail and thin, wore a look of deep grievance.

...

Thud! Thud!

Scarface and Two Fool landed inside the courtyard, crouching low, wary of disturbing sleeping neighbors. Two Fool stood upright, still gripping his empty sack.

Scarface was about to admonish him, but held back, deciding to teach him a lesson later.

The back alley was unlit; all the households had extinguished their lights and gone to bed. The alley’s end was pitch dark.

A cold draft swept through, carrying a hint of ominous chill.

Scarface led Two Fool to the back door of the third house, gently turned the handle, and felt something sticky. He wiped his hand on his pants, muttered a curse, and continued, entering in the dark.

He quietly closed the door behind him, his heart swelling with furtive delight.