Time silently slipped into night.
At five minutes to eight, He Xi Qian Yu's figure appeared punctually in the shadows of the Anteiku Coffee Shop's back alley.
He had changed out of his signature work uniform, and his dark casual clothes allowed him to perfectly blend into the thick night, leaving only a faint outline.
Light, quick footsteps approached from the alley entrance, their rhythm steady. Dong Xiang's figure appeared at the edge of the dim streetlamp's halo.
The Dong Xiang before him was not in her usual practical, neutral, dark casual wear.
She was wearing a well-fitted dark purple dress that outlined her slender waist and smooth curves, which were usually hidden by loose uniforms. A small section of her fair calves was visible beneath the hem of her skirt, and she wore a pair of low-heeled black ankle boots. Her short hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, with a few strands brushing her cheek in the night breeze.
"..." He Xi Qian Yu was uncharacteristically speechless for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly before he found his voice, tinged with genuine confusion: "...Why are you wearing your regular clothes?"
Dong Xiang, hearing this, gave him an unceremonious glare.
"What else?" Her voice was still cool, but less distant than usual, "Go 'for a walk' in my work uniform? Isn't that conspicuous enough?"
He Xi Qian Yu's face returned to its usual calm, and he nodded slightly: "It was my oversight."
Dong Xiang clearly had no interest in dwelling on the issue. She turned sharply, her skirt sweeping a silent arc.
"Follow me."
Immediately, her figure silently slipped into the deeper shadows of the back alley, with He Xi Qian Yu close behind.
...
The patrol was unusually smooth, or rather, eerily calm.
["Boring... Utterly boring!"] Slaughter roared irritably in the depths of He Xi Qian Yu's consciousness, "[...It's been... days since I've seen blood...]
["You promised... you promised there would be Slaughter... Liar..."]
The overly uneventful night patrol made Slaughter exceptionally furious.
"Calm down," He Xi Qian Yu tried to soothe Slaughter.
Indeed, the path they had taken was too quiet.
Ahead, Dong Xiang's brows subtly furrowed, her cool face appearing even more solemn in the moonlight.
She stopped, tilting her head to look at He Xi Qian Yu, her purple eyes questioning: "What do you think?"
"...Uh, the public security in our Twenty Ward is booming?" He Xi Qian Yu was momentarily stunned by the question.
["...Wait..." Slaughter's agitated voice suddenly paused, then shrieked with a twisted excitement, "[...Over there... a scent... fresh out of the oven... a feast..."]
Almost at the same instant, Dong Xiang and He Xi Qian Yu's gazes sharply turned towards a nearby alley.
The two silently darted towards the source of the blood. The deeper they went into the alley, the more nauseatingly thick the smell of blood became, almost congealing into a tangible presence.
The scent of decaying metal and dust was now completely overwhelmed by this fresh scent of death.
["...It's Gluttony... She just left a short while ago..."]
In the depths of the narrow alley, the moonlight barely illuminated a chaotic slaughterhouse.
Dark red, not yet fully coagulated blood was splattered everywhere, with torn clothing scattered among it like discarded trash. Several unrecognizable pieces of body tissue lay at the edge of the blood pool, presenting a horrific scene of being ripped and gnawed by immense force.
The air was filled with a suffocatingly strong smell of blood, along with Kamishiro Rize's sweet, fishy stench.
There were no intact bodies here, only a brutal hunting ground left after a violent feast. From the scattered clothing fragments and mobile phone remains, the victim appeared to be an ordinary human who had unfortunately appeared at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"It's Kamishiro Rize," He Xi Qian Yu met Dong Xiang's cold gaze and confirmed in a deep voice.
"It's her again..." Dong Xiang's voice was squeezed out from between her teeth, her brows tightly furrowed, and undisguised disgust surged in her purple eyes.
"How many is this?"
"The seventh this month," Dong Xiang's reply was steeped in coldness, "It's all because of her... that the Twenty Ward has become this hellish."
The mingled scent of blood and sweetness in the air was nauseating. Dong Xiang took a deep breath, forcing down the surging revulsion.
She no longer looked at the mess but turned to He Xi Qian Yu: "We need to deal with..."
["...Someone's coming..." Slaughter's whisper in He Xi Qian Yu's consciousness was wary, "[...Very close... Steady footsteps... White Doves... Three..."]
Almost simultaneously with Slaughter's whisper, Dong Xiang's purple eyes also sharply turned towards the alley entrance.
Under the pale moonlight, three figures in CCG white uniform coats appeared at the alley entrance, in a vigilant formation.
The leader, a man in his thirties, had a stern and rigid face, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, warily scanning the alley.
He held a standard Kouink longsword, its blade glinting with a cold light, and behind him followed two noticeably younger Search Officers, their expressions tense, holding standard-issue pistols, muzzles slightly lowered but fingers tightly on the triggers.
"I am Search Officer Kishitani, Second Class of the Ghoul Countermeasures Bureau," the leading middle-aged Search Officer's voice was steady and strong.
His gaze, like a searchlight, swept back and forth between Dong Xiang, He Xi Qian Yu, and the bloody scene behind them.
"We received reports from nearby residents about unusual sounds and smells. What happened here?"
His gaze lingered for a moment on Dong Xiang's dark purple dress, which seemed out of place in the environment, his brows tightly furrowed, suspicion undisguised.
["...Tsk... Annoying small fry..." Slaughter muttered in his consciousness with annoyance, "[...Their eyes are quite good, though..."]
Dong Xiang's muscles were taut, her purple eyes coldly meeting Kishitani's gaze, remaining silent.
He Xi Qian Yu quickly stepped half a pace forward, his face switching to an expression of startled tension, perfectly positioning himself slightly in front and to the side of Dong Xiang—both forming a protective stance and not appearing overly deliberate.
"Officer! Thank goodness you've arrived!"
He Xi Qian Yu's voice carried a hint of lingering fear, "It was terrifying! We... we were just out for a walk tonight, and when we got close, we heard very strange sounds from this direction. We were worried someone might be hurt, so we bravely came to take a look..."
He gestured towards the horrific scene on the ground, showing intense fear and discomfort, "And... and then we saw this..."
He positioned himself and Dong Xiang as "ordinary citizens who stumbled upon the scene," attempting to guide the other party's attention entirely to the bloody site.
Kishitani's sharp gaze cut across He Xi Qian Yu's face like a knife, then swept towards the silent Dong Xiang, clearly not easily believing the explanation.
"In this abandoned factory area? Late at night? And with a... lady dressed so formally?"
His suspicious gaze fell on Dong Xiang again.