Night had fallen thick.
The neon lights of Number Eighteen Street flashed in a riot of colors, but business was sluggish and pedestrians were few. After eight o'clock, it was hard to see anyone wandering the streets.
It was not merely because the economic downturn had left people with no money to spend, nor merely because poor public safety made them fear for their security. There was also a peculiar atmosphere that made people unwilling to linger outside.
As soon as night fell, nearby residents hurried home, bolted their doors, shut their windows, drew their curtains, and preferably put in earplugs as well—seeing nothing, hearing nothing, and ignoring those spine-chilling sounds.
Strange rumors had begun circulating among the people. Somewhere, there would be particularly miserable screams; someone might suddenly go mad, rush into a pitch-black alley, and never return. Speculation came in all shapes and colors, but every finger pointed at an eighteen-story building.
Nie's City Detention Center.
Number Eighteen Street was where Nie's City Detention Center stood.
In the darkness, every streetlight had gone out. Maintenance workers had come to fix them, but it had been useless. In dimensions ordinary people could not see, Number Eighteen Street had already become a sea of fog. Beneath that fog, a slender woman wearing a long trench coat, oversized sunglasses, and black leather gloves quietly appeared at the corner of an alley.
She hid in the shadow beneath a high-rise, calmly watching Nie's City Detention Center.
In her eyes, the image of Nie's City Detention Center constantly twisted and changed. It no longer resembled an artificial structure in the ordinary sense.
"The Evil Qi concentration is even higher. At this rate, it won't be long before a 'True Underworld' forms. I can't let this continue. I need to find a way to