Irene Parker lived in a well-located apartment building, and as Yvette arrived by taxi, she saw two police officers descending the stairs, looking utterly frustrated.
She reached apartment 805 on the eighth floor, knocked on the door, and saw a pale-faced Irene open it, exclaiming, “You finally made it, Miss Nameless!”
Without hesitation, she pulled Yvette into a tight embrace and dragged her into the room, closing the door.
Yvette understood her emotional state and didn’t mind. She asked, “I just saw the police. What did they say?”
As soon as she received Irene’s voice message, she instructed her to call the police immediately. No matter what, the response time of law enforcement would always exceed hers; even if they maintained a voice call, all she could do was hack into nearby connected devices—like flying cars—to see if she could obstruct the Werewolf Killer.
“The police told me not to call them before an incident occurs. They’re not 24-hour bodyguards and told me to hire a bodyguard myself…” Irene said with a depressed expression, clearly feeling scolded by the officers.
Yvette wasn’t surprised. With so many crimes committed by the Werewolf Killer, it was unreasonable to expect them to provide round-the-clock protection at the risk of becoming an effective target.
“Let’s hear what happened,” she said.
Irene walked over to the balcony and pointed to a similarly tall apartment across the way. “I was looking at the view from here… and then I noticed someone in the apartment directly across, watching my place. He was wearing a mask, but the longer I looked, the more he resembled Tennyson. His hair color was the same… When he saw me, he didn’t hide, just stared back until I sent you that message, then he suddenly left…”
Yvette approached the balcony to take a look but saw no one lingering anymore. However, that was fine; the apartments in this area had reasonable security systems, which meant they had surveillance cameras. Utilizing her hacking ability, she quickly accessed the footage and indeed saw a masked figure fitting the description.In the footage, the masked figure stared at Irene’s apartment for a moment before turning and leaving without hesitation. He soon vanished into a poorer neighborhood without camera coverage, becoming untraceable.
Yes, he matched Tennyson’s upper facial features entirely—dark hair, deeply set eyes, and high cheekbones. It was undoubtedly him… he hadn’t been sold to Rustbone Free State; rather, he had transformed into the Werewolf Killer, gaining mysterious lycanthropic abilities…
Yvette found herself riddled with questions. If this was truly Tennyson, why was he acting this way? If he intended to attack, he could do so directly. If he didn’t wish to attack, what was his purpose for simply appearing? Was he just taking a look at the girl who had been his crush back in high school?
How did he obtain his powers?
What was his motive for the series of murders?
“What have you done over the past couple of days?” Yvette suddenly asked.
“Me? I… I took your advice and looked into Tennyson’s disappearance case after returning home…” Irene said nervously, “Oh! I made a discovery!”
“What discovery?”
“AJSP’s investigation concluded that Tennyson fell for a scam claiming ‘three months to riches by smuggling to Rustbone,’ but I found a similar deceitful tactic, and it raised some red flags.” Irene’s expression turned serious. “These scams all require victims to reach the border town before implementing the abduction and smuggling. But the AJSP said Tennyson was taken in Agash, which directly contradicts the traffickers’ methods.”
She continued, “Then I contacted some journalist friends to get information on missing person cases from last year, discovering most were related to a gang called the ‘Black Shark Gang.’ I visited their territory yesterday afternoon and learned that the Black Shark Gang disbanded six months ago, with their leader fleeing abroad and dying in an accident… and now, today, Tennyson appears.”
Pausing for a moment, she looked at Yvette anxiously and asked, “Do you think this information connects to Tennyson’s appearance today?”
“The Werewolf Killer’s attacks typically don’t come with a warning; my guess is that this might be a message.” Yvette thought aloud. “Tennyson likely doesn’t want you investigating further, so he intentionally showed his face to you.”
“Doesn’t want me investigating? Why not?” Irene was puzzled. “Doesn’t he want me to expose the hardships he endured?”
“Perhaps he fears for your safety, or he’s merely preparing for something; he might come to attack you in a few days.”
“What do we do now?” Irene shrunk her neck, feeling her heart race. Her face turned pale as she asked, “Can I hire you to protect me, Miss Nameless?”
“Sure.”
It was a chat exchange involving a former Black Shark member and another individual, where the former expressed skepticism about the then-leader’s long-standing, secretive partnership with Linthou Biotech. These dealings were closely linked to the gang’s human trafficking operations.
If this was accurate, it indeed clarified many things—why the AJSP hadn’t told Tennyson’s parents the truth, how Tennyson had gained such power, and why he seemed to be warning Irene against further inquiry.
In Agash, that was a topic one should never touch.
…
Yvette chose not to share the obtained information with Irene. Partly because the results weren’t entirely confirmed, and partly because they ultimately needed tangible evidence; hacked conversations from a gang didn’t qualify as viable proof.
She could, however, make inferences from the direction it pointed, equivalent to glancing at the answer and guessing the process to derive a bit of useful information.
Of course, for Yvette herself, the truth didn’t matter that much; she merely hoped that Irene’s continuous investigation would lure the Werewolf Killer out.
More than uncovering Linthou Biotech’s secrets, she was more focused on that 1 million bounty.
…
Five days passed in a flash.
Throughout the ongoing investigation, perhaps due to Yvette’s presence as a mage, Tennyson hadn’t made any further appearances. Meanwhile, Irene felt she was gradually closing in on the truth.
After all, with the Black Shark Gang involved in human trafficking, they couldn’t possibly leave no traces behind. With some focused effort, one could discover where those people were sold and the paths taken by their transport vehicles, revealing that most vanished into some outskirts.
And that particular outskirts were home to Linthou Biotech’s industrial park.
One evening, as dusk fell and enveloped the far-off buildings in a thick aqueous ink, the streetlights cast lonely circles of light in the encroaching darkness.
This was an empty stretch of road right next to Linthou Biotech’s industrial park. Earlier in the day, Yvette and Irene had ventured here mainly to investigate where the illegal vehicles used by the Black Shark Gang had ultimately disappeared. Having conducted a thorough check, they should be heading back by now.
Looking down, Irene began working on the projection from her terminal, trying to summon a nearby ride share.
In the eerie calm, as if waiting for a long time, a massive shadow erupted from the nearby thicket.
It was a gigantic beast, draped in black fur and exuding a strong stench. It charged forward with incredible speed, leaving a blur in its wake. Its gaping maw was filled with sharp teeth, and its eyes glowed with a frenzied crimson, akin to embers burning in hell.
—The Werewolf Killer! Wolf Form!
Irene froze in place, her body paralyzed by an overwhelming sense of dread. Perhaps due to Tennyson’s past affection for her, she had developed an illusion that he wouldn’t harm her, thinking she could recklessly face the danger ahead. But clearly, that was an illusion and a form of arrogance.
This was utterly terrifying; it transcended what any human could confront…
Feeling the breath of death closing in, she spiraled into despair.
But before she could ponder further, Miss Nameless acted unexpectedly with timely precision.
She stepped forward two paces and suddenly delivered a powerful kick squarely to the approaching wolf’s jaw.
It was undoubtedly a foolish act; how could a petite girl stop such a colossal beast?
Yet, to everyone’s astonishment, the gigantic wolf seemed to be struck with immense force, propelled away by the tip of the petite girl’s boot, crashing to the ground like a ragdoll, rolling over and landing on the roadside several meters away. Once terrifying, it became somewhat comical, resembling a beaten-up dog groaning on the ground.
She… kicked him away?
As she withdrew her foot nonchalantly, Irene stood there, stupified, unable to comprehend what had just transpired. Was she still dreaming?
…
Yvette didn’t consider what Irene might be feeling; even if she did, she wouldn’t care. All her focus was on the giant wolf before her.
She had been waiting for this 1 million bounty for days, half a month finally coming to fruition, and it hadn’t let her down.
However, knowing that the Werewolf Killer might possess valuable information, she opted to keep him alive unless necessary to eliminate him, or ideally, to deliver him directly to the police. If news of this reached the Floating Light Bar, surely she’d land herself at Carter’s place for an even higher-ranking mission.
After struggling for a bit, the giant wolf managed to rise again, as if the kick had woken it up. The red light in its eyes faded significantly, leaving behind something humanlike.
Yet for some reason, despite knowing the odds weren’t in its favor, it persisted in launching another attack, trying to bite at Yvette.
Yvette summoned her rune circles. Currently, she could deploy up to 12 rune circles, meaning she could unleash 12 spells to bombard a single target simultaneously.
However, strangely, as all spells closed in on the massive wolf, they seemed to bounce off, veering off into entirely unexpected directions as though repelled.
Yvette narrowed her eyes. She recognized the reason—the giant wolf had mastered a form of spell interference; as her spells approached, they were modified in parameters, causing them to stray into random paths, appearing as if they had been deflected.
This also related to the fact that her spells lacked safety measures; there was no need for a spell firewall when battling aberrations, yet today she experienced firsthand the consequences of not having one.
But that didn’t concern her, for she could always fight with her fists.
Augmented by her crimson armor and muscle restraint, Yvette approached the giant wolf. These two spells were among her few that utilized firewalls, offering high safety.
She raised her hand to block the wolf’s attacking claws, grasping its forelimb as if shaking hands with a giant dog. Using that grip, she slammed the wolf down onto the ground, lifting it again to throw it towards the opposite side, repeatedly pounding it into the ground. With each strike accompanied by a noise akin to a pile driver, the wolf’s struggles weakened, reducing it to a pitiable state, leaving two deeply cracked impressions imprinted on the asphalt.
Not far away, Irene had gone slack-jawed. Perhaps it was because she realized this was no dream; the sight of the silver-haired girl effortlessly handling the giant wolf made her seem more like an invincible goddess—this was absurd! Was this truly a mage? How could she differ so much from what Irene had imagined?
Yet, seeing the giant wolf being pummeled, it wouldn’t be long before it fell lifeless, so she hurriedly called out, sprinting over to stop the relentless beating.
“Tennyson, is that you?” she immediately inquired as Yvette paused her actions.