Butcher of the Rainy Night

Pluto City

Deep in a little-known, quiet street, an out-of-control taxi crashed into the end of a dead end, its front end completely deformed and thick smoke billowing out.

One side of the street is Residential building, while the other side is a vertical wall over ten meters high. The only way to leave is through the road behind you.

The driver is dead, but his manner of death is rather strange.

His pants were half off, and he looked like he was trying to climb from the driver's seat to the back seat, but the back of his head was smashed open.

Unable to open the car door, the woman sitting in the back had to smash the window and climb out. Without shoes, she could only step on the shards of glass, piercing the soles of her feet in the process.

Blood mixed with rainwater and flowed into the roadside sewers.

But the woman showed no sign of stopping because of the pain and bleeding; she just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

She kept cursing under her breath, thinking that she could successfully leave the city by taking a car, but who knew that she would encounter such a thing.

Although she is a "Pseudo-Human", she has killed four people and has about a year left to live.

However, her "Phobia-concretization" does not bring much real-world benefit; it is more used for releasing curses and remote dream manipulation.

In reality, her physical abilities are only slightly better than those of an average person.

Even encountering a vicious gang of thugs could be life-threatening, let alone a dangerous guy like Luo Di.

The loud crash from the car accident drew a large crowd, and a considerable number of people were already standing at the exit of the alley.

This includes sanitation workers on night shifts, night owls returning from bars, and overworked office workers who have just finished their overtime shifts.

Umbrellas of various colors clustered at the only exit of this one-way alley, blocking out what was happening outside.

"I need to get out of here right away... I might as well just steal a car."

The woman initially intended to ignore the crowd of onlookers, but her relatively keen intuition sensed something, and her gaze followed to the very back of the crowd, where a man in a raincoat, whose face she couldn't quite make out, seemed to be standing.

§Danger§

A whispered warning came from the depths of the Mind Corner.

Upon seeing the man in the raincoat, the woman once again felt a heat wave similar to that in her dream; despite it being a rainy day, the air was so dry.

Trapped in this alley with no exit, there was absolutely no way to escape.

She suddenly stepped forward and grabbed at the crowd of onlookers, and a middle-aged woman carrying a briefcase was grabbed by her.

Five fingers were inserted directly into the woman's neck, but did not touch the trachea or arteries.

"Give me a car! I'll let this woman go... Hurry up!"

Blood dripped down the fingers stuck in his neck, and the crowd of onlookers were so frightened that they retreated one after another. Only the mysterious man in the black raincoat remained standing in place.

The woman stared at the other man's dark hood; the streetlights only illuminated his mouth.

The mouth was slightly open.

It seems like you can see a tongue twitching inside.

A clicking sound of the tongue echoed in the current area.

The man in the raincoat took a heavy step forward, his center of gravity shifting forward.

The soles of their shoes slid through the puddles without pausing, seemingly unconcerned about the hostage's life or death, or perhaps knowing that the hostage was their only bargaining chip, and that killing her would mean certain Dead End.

"I told you not to come any closer, why did you have to push me to this point..."

The woman became increasingly agitated, inserting her fingers deeper and deeper, almost tearing open the trachea.

Whoosh!

Due to the reduced distance,

Hidden under the sleeves,

Something was thrown out quickly.

A short throw of less than five meters, accurate and effective.

The rapidly spinning Zombie Blade completely severed the woman's hand, which she was using to hold her hostage, and plunged deep into her chest.

The throwing force contained within the blade propelled the woman backward, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

Snap!

A large amount of water was splashed up.

The Zombie Blade, deeply embedded in his chest, continuously released corpse poison, causing systemic infection and pain.

Just as the woman was about to pull the knife out, a strong and powerful hand suddenly grabbed the handle and pulled the Zombie Blade out for her.

However, the black raincoat, carrying the scorching heat of the body, also pressed down on her.

The scene is somewhat similar to the rooftop scene in the dream, both being located at different elevations, but what is about to happen is completely different.

Utter despair made the woman give up struggling, and she even showed a smile, a smile of relief.

"I'm about to die in your hands... Although we didn't get to marry each other and didn't spend much time together, we at least had some physical intimacy, right?"

We haven't formally introduced ourselves yet. Could you tell me your name?

"Di".

"Mr. Di? My daughter's name is..."

Just as the other person was about to say their name, Luo Di covered their mouth with his palm.

"The prey does not need to tell its name before it dies."

Whoosh!

The blade fell faster than a raindrop.

The bright red blood flowed out.

Luo Di held a pituitary gland with slit-like patterns on its surface in his hand and put it in a small black bag he had prepared beforehand. The hunt was over.

Just then, multiple beams of light shone into the alleyway of the urban village, and personnel from the Investigation Bureau arrived at that moment.

Trainee investigator Marco also tried to walk at the front. When he saw the scene deep in the alley, he was shocked and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He could intuitively feel the heavy killing intent hidden in the rainy night.

He quickened his pace and walked up to the man in the raincoat sitting on the Pseudo-Human corpse.

Swallowing hard, I mustered my courage and placed my hand on his.

Whoosh!

The man in the raincoat suddenly turned his head, his reddened eyes looking at Marco was approaching from behind.

Although it was indeed Luo Di's face under the light, Marco still startled, as it felt completely different from the young man he had seen a few days ago.

Previously, he was a genius boy who had just been released from Mental Hospital and was labeled a "Connector." He appeared somewhat cold and didn't like to talk much.

What he was seeing now was a terrifying being, akin to a serial killer.

"Mr. Marco."

"Exist."

"Is this kind of ' Pseudo-Human, barely a year old, all your Investigation Bureau is using to verify me?"

"That's right, it's mainly used to verify your mental state. I believe you've already experienced the real dream created by the other party using curses."

Since you were able to remain normal and quickly complete the pursuit of the Pseudo-Human, that is enough to prove your mental state, and we can issue you a certificate of mental saneness.

certainly,

We can still cooperate in the future. Although the possibility of encountering problems here is relatively small, there are still some very troublesome and dangerous situations.

"Do I need to go back to the station with you for questioning?"

"Mr. Di has completed his 'self-proof,' and the credibility of this self-proof far exceeds that of answering questions and mechanical testing."

You've really gone to a lot of trouble. These kinds of cursed Pseudo-Human are very difficult to detect, and it would take us a lot of time and effort to investigate them.

Please stay in your apartment and rest well during this time. Once you've rested enough, you can come to our office when you want to. Our rules here aren't that rigid.

"We'll handle the disposal of this Pseudo-Human's body. Would you like me to drive you home?"

"No."

Goodbye, Mr. Di.

Marco's habit of using his given name as a form of address did not offend Luo Di, so he continued to call him that.

After waving goodbye, the black raincoat quickly disappeared into the night.

Marco's forehead was already covered in cold sweat, but fortunately the rain helped to cover it up.

"To be this terrifying even with only one hand missing, is this the kind of talent that Jupiter City has been emphasizing? No wonder they're willing to do anything to protect Mr. Di, it's truly frightening. I need to work hard and strive to become a full-fledged employee as soon as possible."

The heavy rain gradually subsided.

The first rays of morning sunlight fell upon the scene.

Luo Di, who had just returned to Chinatown, threw his raincoat into a nearby trash can and bought two tea eggs, two fried dough sticks, and two cups of soy milk from a newly opened breakfast stall.

Instead of eating at the stall, they packed it up to take home.

The pace of their journey home quickened, becoming even more hurried than when they were hunting.

Seeing that the elevator was still up there and hadn't come down yet, Luo Di walked directly to the Safety Passage on the side. He walked with incredible speed, showing no signs of fatigue from the all-night hunt.

Click!

Close and lock the door, close the window and curtains.

I found a white candle in the apartment's emergency supplies box and lit it on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

I turned off all the lights, turned on the smart TV, and started watching a new horror movie that looked pretty good using my internet membership.

A tissue was placed on top, and the class monitor was gently placed on it, facing the television.

Place the soy milk, fried dough sticks, and peeled tea eggs on the coffee table in front of you.

Breakfast begins.

As Luo Di ate, he would unconsciously smile, even though the class monitor next to him didn't give him any feedback.