As dusk settled in, the last rays of sunlight spread across the edge of the city, casting faint golden glows between the towering buildings. But deep within the old city, where skyscrapers stood close together, the alleys had already succumbed to darkness. The lingering dampness and coolness in the air felt out of place compared to the drier atmosphere beyond the alley's mouth. Rapidly melting ice chips between the bricks served as silent evidence that something unusual had occurred on this quiet street.
Several swift, black shadows darted through the gaps between buildings, leaping through the air as if weightless and landing in an alley corner. Their edges trembled, then quickly coalesced into wolf-like forms. These blurred figures patrolled and sniffed the alley for a while before slowly gathering. The lead shadow raised its head and let out a loud howl toward the sky.
"Aow..."
"Bang!"
A stone accurately struck the wolf shadow's head, cutting off its howl midway. A scolding voice followed from the shadows of the building: "Shut up! No barking in the city, not even a 'woof'! Humans aren't fools. No one will believe you're dogs!"
The phantom wolves whimpered softly and retreated. A slightly petite figure emerged from the nearby shadows.
It was a short haired girl wearing a black skirt and a dark red jacket. A single strand of hair curled slightly on her forehead. She looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, yet she had a remarkably calm and mature expression. She walked out of the shadows and passed through the deferential wolves. Then she spotted the male body lying on the side of the road.
A flicker of gloom crossed the girl's face. She crouched beside the corpse to examine it as a wolf approached, conveying information with a low, chaotic growl.
"The smell of rain?" The girl frowned and looked up at the sky, which had been clear for the past two days. As dusk approached, the sky above the tall buildings remained bright with no haze. Only the sunlight was gradually fading. After a moment, she seemed to understand something. She lowered her head to inspect the horrifying wound on the corpse. She murmured softly, " "...Rain, heart, the smell of frogs..."
Suddenly, the theme song from the 1986 version of Journey to the West interrupted her soliloquy, ringing from her waist pouch. The short-haired girl answered before the monkey could turn over for the fourth time.
"Hello, who... Oh, yes, it's me," she said, holding the phone to her ear. She waved a hand to signal the wolves to secure the scene. She stood and walked a few steps away. "I'm here. My wolf noticed the anomaly first, but I didn't catch it. It was a waste." The girl sighed, her eyes falling on the unfortunate corpse.
"It was 'rain,' accompanied by a 'rain frog,' but this rain should have been a localized projection affecting only one person. Yes, he was very unlucky. The 'rain' that had fallen only for him had stopped by the time I arrived. Now, the depth here has returned to L0, and the 'rain' has separated from the boundary."
The girl paused as the voice on the phone continued to explain and ask questions. She listened patiently, then looked back at the body. "...Medical staff? Send someone to collect the bodies. How could an ordinary person survive an encounter with a 'rain frog' alone? The heart's gone. Tsk. I'll stay here. Don't forget to charge for the overtime."
A nagging voice of a middle-aged superior came through the phone, but the girl had lost her patience. She casually agreed to a few things and hung up. She sighed again, walked back, and motioned for a nearby wolf to lie down. She sat directly on its back and propped her chin in her hands as she gazed at Rowan's body.
"Poor guy. I wonder if he has any family. He died alone out here. I'll keep you company for a bit. It must be cold dying in the rain. Too bad I'm not a match seller; otherwise, I could keep you warm on your way."
The girl muttered to herself, patiently awaiting the arrival of the cleanup crew. After a while, she heard the roar of an engine approaching from the intersection a few dozen meters away. The sound was earth-shattering, as if a heavily armored vehicle were rumbling over a speed bump on Company 10's road, dragging a blazing container. Even the wolf beneath her startled, almost leaping up, but the girl remained seated.
She looked toward the sound and watched a large van creak and shudder as it passed the speed bump, trembling like the Soviet Union in 1991. The girl slowly rose from the wolf's back and watched expressionlessly as the van cleared the bump and stalled. Several burly men in black tactical suits, fully equipped with high-tech gear and armed to the teeth, jumped out and began pushing the vehicle from behind.
Another middle-aged man with a dark complexion and robust build stepped out of the van. He wore a brown jacket. A young woman with brown hair and a white dress followed him out. The two turned to look at their subordinates pushing the vehicle, displaying a mixture of helplessness. Then, they turned and walked toward the girl.
As they approached, the short-haired girl couldn't help but mutter, "Seriously, can't Team 2 apply to the higher-ups for a replacement vehicle? The Secret Service shouldn't be that hard up. I think any one of your team members has enough equipment to replace this broken car."
She looked toward the sound and watched a large van creak and shudder as it passed the speed bump, trembling like the Soviet Union in 1991. The girl slowly rose from the wolf's back and watched expressionlessly as the van cleared the bump and stalled. Several burly men in black tactical suits, fully equipped with high-tech gear and armed to the teeth, jumped out and began pushing the vehicle from behind.
Another middle-aged man with a dark complexion and robust build stepped out of the van. He wore a brown jacket. A young woman with brown hair and a white dress followed him out. The two turned to look at their subordinates pushing the vehicle, displaying a mixture of helplessness. Then, they turned and walked toward the girl.
As they approached, the short-haired girl couldn't help but mutter, "Seriously, can't Team 2 apply to the higher-ups for a replacement vehicle? The Secret Service shouldn't be that hard up. I think any one of your team members has enough equipment to replace this broken car."
"Shh!" The sturdy, middle-aged man waved his hands and lowered his voice as he glanced back at the stalled vehicle and his subordinates pushing it. "Don't talk nonsense. You don't understand the situation. The Secret Service is in a special situation. This car just isn't in good condition today and can't be replaced."
"Big organizations sure have a lot of trouble," said the short-haired girl, curling her lips in disinterest. She then turned to the petite woman in the white dress who had followed him. "Good afternoon, Doctor Brown. Long time no see."
"You should say good evening, 'Little Red Riding Hood,'" said Doctor Brown, the woman in the white dress. She smiled faintly. Her lips were thin, giving her a reserved and introverted appearance. "How's the last injury?"
"It's almost healed," Little Red Riding Hood said, moving her right wrist. "You know, wolves generally have stronger recovery abilities..."
"The human recovery ability is the strongest. It's just that humans are quite resistant to injury," Doctor Brown corrected seriously.
"Oh," said the short-haired girl perfunctorily. She then shifted the topic to the corpse on the ground. "Let's take a look here first. The victim is male and appears to be in his twenties. A tree frog took out his heart. He died about two hours ago. I haven't searched him yet, so I'm not sure if he has any identification on him. Yes, to protect the scene." As she spoke, she looked at Doctor Brown in confusion. "You came here... Are you going to treat something like this? Can this be cured?"
"No, I'm not a god," Doctor Brown said, shaking her head as she bent down toward Rowan's body. "I just came to take a look. This place is very close to my home..."
She examined the body for a while. In addition to confirming the wound, she checked the deceased's personal belongings and found his identification.
"The deceased is Rowan, 24 years old, with a registered address of 66 in the Old City," she said, looking at the card and comparing it to the body. "Captain Stew, use the bureau's equipment to see if you can contact his family."
The sturdy, middle-aged man beside her nodded. As he leaned over to look at the ID card in Doctor Brown's hand, he frowned. "Why is the photo so blurry?"
"Little Red Riding Hood" leaned in curiously to look at the ID card. The portrait on the document was coated with gray-black stains that blurred the entire face beyond recognition. Doctor Brown rubbed the stains with her fingers but couldn't remove them. The stains were more tenacious than expected and almost completely obscured the document.
"I can't even see the name clearly," Little Red Riding Hood muttered. "I can't read the ID number either. You'll have to take it back and use a machine to read the chip."
The middle-aged man, Captain Stew, sighed helplessly. He nodded and looked at the meager debris on the ground. With some regret, he said, "It's a pity. If we could find the victim's ID card... There are too few clues now."
Doctor Brown nodded regretfully as he looked at the bloodstains on the ground, which the rain had almost completely washed away. "There's no body left to analyze. It's difficult to figure out exactly what happened."
Little Red Riding Hood listened to their conversation, seemingly deep in thought. Then she suddenly looked up at the woman in the white dress beside her. "Good evening, Doctor Brown."
"Good evening, Little Red Riding Hood," Doctor Brown said, smiling as she greeted the short-haired girl. "How's the patrol going?"
Little Red Riding Hood looked around, then reached out to pat the head of the wolf closest to her. "It's raining here, and there may have been physical 'rain frogs,' but there shouldn't be any other victims besides this one."
Doctor Brown looked relieved. "That's not bad."
The sound of an engine starting came from nearby. A tattered, large van groaned to life, and its engine hum gradually stabilized. The heavily armed operators who had pushed the van earlier walked around from behind it, breathing heavily. Their leader approached. "Captain Stew, the car's started. Let's..."
Captain Stew, a strong middle-aged man, nodded and walked toward his team members. "Okay, let's head back to the bureau. Don't forget to bring Doctor Brown."