The mottled walls were covered with all sorts of small advertisements, and the light bulbs installed on the utility poles emitted a pale yellow light, attracting countless small flying insects to swirl around them.
Oh no! I think I'm lost!
Looking at this completely unfamiliar scene, Xia Linyin took out her phone, which she had just put back in her purse, opened the map, and searched for the route back to her rented apartment.
"Hey beautiful, it's so late and you're still out. Do you want me to take you home?"
A homeless man, reeking of alcohol and dressed in rags, staggered toward Xia Linyin.
Xia Linyin glanced at him, "No need."
The exit is on the left. Go left and then turn right to get out. Xia Linyin turned and walked to the left following the direction shown on the map.
"Hey beautiful, how about I show you something amazing? Hehe." The homeless man let out a lewd laugh and suddenly pulled down his pants.
Xia Linyin ignored him and continued walking forward with an indifferent expression.
The homeless man stared in disbelief as Xia Linyin walked past him; this reaction was strange.
After pulling up his pants, the drunken homeless man rushed towards Xia Linyin, intending to grab her from behind and tackle her to the ground, but his outstretched arms missed.
The homeless man remained with his arms tucked in, staring in astonishment at Xia Linyin, who had vanished to the other side in the blink of an eye.
Undeterred, he lunged forward again, only to miss completely, failing to even grab the hem of her clothes.
A cool night breeze swept by, ruffling Xia Linyin's black hair. She stared expressionlessly at the homeless man, dark red blood gushing from the soles of her feet.
A red shadow flashed by, almost instantaneously, and Xia Linyin stood in front of the homeless man, a chilling aura rushing towards his face.
"Ghost! Ghost!!" The terrified screams echoed through the alley as the homeless man scrambled away, scared out of his wits.
After the homeless man ran away, Xia Linyin shivered, rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, and said with trembling teeth, taking small, quick steps, "So cold, so cold."
The next day, while Xia Linyin was still in bed, her phone, which was on the bedside table, started buzzing.
Reaching for her phone, Xia Linyin glanced at the caller ID and answered, "Hello, A-Xin, what's up?"
"Xiaoyin, something's happened. You need to come over right away." Shangguan Xin's somewhat grave voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Okay, I'm coming over now." After hanging up the phone, Xia Linyin threw off the covers, put on her clothes, and got up.
After Xia Linyin arrived at the studio, Shangguan Xin didn't waste any words and said directly, "This morning someone found a male corpse on Qingshui Street."
"Qingshui Street?" Xia Linyin was taken aback. She seemed to have been wandering around Qingshui Street last night, and she seemed to have seen this street when she was searching for routes.
"These are photos." Shangguan Xin handed the photos on the table to Xia Linyin.
A ragged homeless man lay on the ground, blood pooling beneath him, with delicate rose petals floating on the surface.
Upon seeing the male corpse in the photo, Xia Linyin gasped and covered her mouth.
"You're quite surprised, aren't you? Just when we weren't sure if Zhou Kefang was killed by the Rose Killer, another male corpse appeared."
Shangguan Xin sighed helplessly. She was stunned when she first received the news. If the first time was an accident, what about the second time?
She is now increasingly unsure whether the Rose Killer was behind the two cases.
Gao Haichuan stared at the stack of documents on the table, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly. It didn't make sense at all. What was going on with these two cases?
This is completely unconventional!
Gao Haichuan was completely baffled; things were developing in an increasingly unpredictable direction.
Although it happened this morning, it was immediately spread to this hidden website, and Yin Yichen watched with great interest as the comments section was filled with wails.
"Lord of darkness, great demon god, why, why, would you rather let the blood of vagrants and hooligans soil your hands than accept my sacrifice, my soul?"
"My esteemed demon, please take me away and let me become your most loyal servant."
"I don't believe it! I don't believe that the devil descended last night just to kill a homeless man!"
"This isn't real! It's a scam! We need to find this fake Rose Killer!"
...
Shangguan Xin picked up a stack of documents and smacked Yin Yichen on the head. "You're facing a major disaster, and you can still laugh!"
Running his fingers through his hair to brush his bangs back, Yin Yichen leaned back in his chair. "What else can we do? The Rose Killer's methods are completely unpredictable; you can never guess what he'll do next."
“We can’t beat him,” Xia Linyin suddenly said.
Her surprise at the photo wasn't just because the Rose Killer's second target was a homeless man, but because she knew this homeless man.
Isn't this the same homeless man she met last night?
"Although these two cases were completely unexpected, there is still hope. Maybe the game will give us some hints," Shangguan Xin comforted her.
Xia Linyin shook her head. "He's different. He's different from the other NPCs. We can't beat him."
This is a game with no chance of winning.
“I saw this homeless man last night. He tried to molest me, but I scared him away.”
"You said you saw this homeless man last night?" Shangguan Xin frowned in confusion, then clapped her hands as if she had thought of something. "You went to give your statement the day after Zhou Kefang's incident, right?"
Xia Linyin nodded. "That's right."
“Zhou Kefang tried to bully you, but she died. A homeless man tried to assault you, but he died.” Shangguan Xin stroked her chin and pondered, “Could it be that the Rose Assassin knew we were investigating him, so he issued a warning?”
"It's possible, entirely possible! That makes sense!" Gao Haichuan relaxed his furrowed brows and said excitedly, "The Rose Assassin discovered we were investigating him and used this method to issue a warning!"
Although that's what she thought, Shangguan Xin still had doubts in her heart, "But besides us, the whole world is investigating him, so why did he only warn us?"
Gao Haichuan said, "Because we are the only ones investigating City A, the Rose Killer must be very confused as to why we know his plans and that his next target is City A."
Yin Yichen shook his head, "Since he has already discovered us, and the Rose Assassin is so powerful, why not just kill us directly? Why bother warning us?"
Shangguan Xin: "Because of the game's restrictions on Rose Killer!"
Gao Haichuan: "Because he wanted to know how we knew he would come to City A."
Hearing Shangguan Xin and Gao Haichuan's words, Yin Yichen shrugged and turned his gaze to the absent-minded Xia Linyin, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
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