Chapter 161: Chapter 161: A Solitary Encounter

Noticing Xu Qingsui’s gaze had also darkened, Shen Yan comforted her, "It’s alright. We’ll take it slow."

"Starting tomorrow, we’ll implement a curfew. We’ll also arrange for patrols during the day. First, we need to ensure no one else gets hurt, then we can slowly search for the rampaging Mutant."

Xu Qingsui nodded. "Starting tomorrow, I’ll go around with you. If the Mutant appears again, I’ll be able to sense it immediately."

Each lost in their own thoughts, they fell silent after exchanging a few more words.

Even after returning to their dorms, it was destined to be a sleepless night.

The next morning, Xu Qingsui had breakfast with Shen Yan, and they went to the crime scenes again.

The crowd of onlookers was gone now. Led by Chu Tian, the two of them inspected the five locations.

Along the way, Shen Yan informed Chu Tian of the curfew and patrol arrangements.

After hearing this, Chu Tian said nothing and immediately passed down the orders.

Watching Chu Tian follow Shen Yan and carry out his orders, Xu Qingsui suspected Chu Tian was just a puppet Shen Yan had put in place because it was inconvenient for him to join the Survival Team himself.

They inspected all five crime scenes, and each body was as horrifying as the one they had seen the night before.

Only after Shen Yan had finished his inspection did Chu Tian arrange for the bodies to be moved.

At each location, Xu Qingsui carefully sensed the surrounding aura, trying to find any traces left behind by the Mutant.

But strangely, after visiting all five scenes, she hadn’t sensed any information at all.

This contradicted the fact that Mutants always leave behind pheromones when they appear.

While Xu Qingsui had found nothing, Shen Yan had already gotten a map of the safe zone from Chu Tian and marked the five crime scenes on it.

With no other discoveries, they had to create their own leads, trying to find a pattern in the crime scene locations to deduce the Mutant’s hiding place.

But the five scenes were very scattered, with no connection between them.

Based on the times of death, it seemed the Mutant had simply chanced upon the victims at those locations.

But if the attacks were random, why had there been no more incidents after the fifth victim?

Shen Yan stared at the map, his mind racing.

After returning last night, he had the tech department send him all the surveillance footage from around the incident locations.

He had spent all night reviewing the footage but still hadn’t found anything unusual.

The Mutant seemed to know how to avoid cameras, as it hadn’t appeared in a single frame.

’In that case, it must be a Mutant that specializes in psychic abilities.’

His thoughts were a tangled mess, and Shen Yan’s expression grew increasingly grave.

Chu Tian noticed the change in his expression and said worriedly, "Boss, we’re not getting any clues from the map. Let’s not get bogged down. We have people patrolling every intersection now, so let’s take a look around ourselves! Maybe we’ll find something!"

Thinking alone wouldn’t solve anything. Shen Yan nodded and, along with Xu Qingsui, followed Chu Tian to inspect the various locations.

Perhaps because of last night’s events, or perhaps because of the new patrols, the main roads were empty of loiterers.

Aside from the patrol members at each intersection, they didn’t see a single resident.

After inspecting several intersections, the three of them arrived at the collapsed plaza.

Even though a murder had occurred last night, work inside the giant pit hadn’t stopped, as it was suspected to be connected. In fact, they had sent more people to speed up the search and even stationed Sentinels to prevent any Mutants from appearing and hurting people.

Since they were already there, Shen Yan and Chu Tian decided to go down and check on the work progress below.

Xu Qingsui had never been down into the pit since it collapsed, so she immediately said she wanted to go see it too.

But the situation below was unclear, and Shen Yan felt it wasn’t safe, so he refused her request.

Xu Qingsui didn’t insist. After watching the two men be lowered down by machinery, she began to wander around the plaza.

’If the Mutant really is connected to this giant pit, then its most likely hiding spot must be around here.’

The plaza was still filled with stalls that hadn’t been affected by the collapse. They cluttered the area, severely obstructing her line of sight.

Xu Qingsui weaved through the stalls, occasionally stopping for a look when she saw something interesting.

As she passed a handicraft stall, a few small items caught her eye.

’It’s a shame about the incident at the plaza, and with the curfew starting, the stall owners aren’t opening for business. I want to buy something, but there’s no way to spend my money.’

Sighing helplessly, Xu Qingsui prepared to continue her stroll.

But just as she was about to move, that same feeling from last night suddenly returned.

Xu Qingsui’s expression tightened, and she immediately pinpointed the direction the feeling was coming from.

She didn’t even need to search for it; she could feel it approaching her at an incredible speed.

At the same time, a sense of crisis bore down on her.

[Danger detected approaching. Host, please proceed with caution.]

The Golden Octopus had popped up on its own initiative.

This was only the second time it had proactively warned Xu Qingsui of danger like this.

The last time was when someone had tried to harm her while she was absorbing an elixir.

If Lu Jingyu hadn’t been standing guard outside her door that time, she might have met with disaster.

For the same warning to appear again meant this situation was also extremely perilous.

Xu Qingsui didn’t dare to be careless. Her first thought was to notify Shen Yan.

But the danger was coming from the direction of the giant pit.

If she went to find Shen Yan now, she would only be accelerating a direct confrontation with the danger.

’That plan won’t work.’ In the span of that single thought, a blurred afterimage appeared before Xu Qingsui.

Her heart clenched. She instinctively retreated, and as she created distance, the afterimage landed where she had just been standing.

Missing its strike, the afterimage seemed a bit surprised. It remained in place, staring at Xu Qingsui without launching another attack.

Using this opportunity, Xu Qingsui finally got a clear look at the afterimage’s true form.

It was a vibrantly colored snake. But unlike an ordinary snake, it had things resembling fish fins growing along both sides of its back, from its head to its midsection.

When it reared up to look at Xu Qingsui, the ’fish fins’ flared out, making the upper half of its body look like an elongated diamond shape.

Staring at Xu Qingsui, it flicked out its tongue. The tip of its tongue looked as if it had been sliced by a knife, splitting into multiple forks.

And from each fork dripped an inky-black saliva.

Perhaps because of the forked tip, the sound it made was not the usual hiss of a snake, but something indescribable.

Its eyes were also different from a snake’s vertical pupils. Instead, an angular eyeball protruded from each side of its head.

As its pupils locked onto Xu Qingsui, the angular parts of its eyeballs pulsed, as if they were breathing.

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