Isabelle got out of the car but did not move right away.
Her eyes fixed on the lamppost.
Following her gaze, Lu Yao looked toward the top of the streetlamp, where a sparrow perched on the lampshade.
It was half past three in the afternoon, yet the streetlights in the alley had come on. It was rather strange.
"Sir, I have detected a Demon Apostle."
Isabelle kept her eyes locked on the sparrow. "To avoid exposing your location, I must take a detour."
Lu Yao's heart tightened.
An Apostle?
Could Prayer God have come?
More vigilant than ever, Isabelle stared at the sparrow perched on the streetlamp.
"Retreat."
Lu Yao immediately gave the order. "Safety first."
"Sir, the other party has already arrived."
As soon as Isabelle finished speaking, a figure appeared at the mouth of the alley.
The newcomer had short silver-gray hair and wore a blue-and-white JK outfit with a long-sleeved top and short skirt. Brown leather shoes peeked out beneath her black thigh-high stockings, and a small white bag hung from one shoulder.
She looked under twenty, with bright, watery peach-blossom eyes. Her lips were pursed like a kitten's, making her seem somewhat serious, yet she could not conceal the vitality and energy unique to her age.
The moment the girl appeared, the sparrow in the air flapped down and landed on her shoulder.
"Nice to meet you."
The girl looked at Isabelle. "Hello, I'm Song Shiyi, a prosecutor from the Special Affairs Prosecutor Committee."
Her voice was light, her tone rising at the end.
At the same time, a halo emerged behind Song Shiyi, like a Star Ring encircling her. Within it seemed to lie a miniature universe glittering with starlight.
Within the Star Ring behind her, a silver shield appeared, its surface bearing a burning campfire.
These strange sights lasted only an instant before vanishing without a trace.
"If you could stay for the moment and provide a statement and written record... the Committee would be very grateful for your cooperation and assistance."
Song Shiyi looked past Isabelle, her gaze settling on the accident-damaged vehicle.
"It looks like you have already dealt with the criminal I was pursuing."
Isabelle remained silent.
From afar, Lu Yao's mind raced. "Agree to it. Let's see what this Committee is all about."
Seeing that Isabelle did not refuse, Song Shiyi thanked her, opened the bag she carried, took out her phone, and switched on the recording function.
"Work procedure. I'll make a recording."
"May I ask your name?"
"Mary."
"Mm. Miss Mary, the Donghai Clan member named Yu Yao, who illegally crossed over from the lower dimension, previously murdered two innocent ordinary people. She is also a major criminal the Committee has been hunting everywhere lately, and she recently fled into this area. Please tell me how you encountered her..."
"Where is Prayer God? Has that mastermind been captured?" Isabelle asked instead.
She was simply repeating Lu Yao's words.
"Prayer God?"
Song Shiyi looked somewhat surprised. "He was arrested two years ago. It seems you have not paid much attention to the announcements."
She offered a brief explanation.
"Prayer God was sentenced to one hundred and eighty years in prison for involvement in multiple major crimes. Unless a Miracle occurs, he will be living in a prison cell for a long time."
That's good news, Lu Yao thought.
There was less risk of having to engage in real-life PvP.
In Pixel World, he had already destroyed two of Prayer God's Totems. At present, if they met again, he would most likely continue the same approach.
Through Isabelle, Lu Yao said, "Since Prayer God has already been arrested, what is going on with Yu Yao?"
"I will explain further later. But before that, I need to ask about the details of the scene."
Song Shiyi carefully questioned her about Yu Yao.
Isabelle claimed to know nothing. She had merely identified Yu Yao as a lower-dimensional individual and noticed some abnormal behavior, so she stopped her to question her. As a result, the other party, guilty as a thief, attempted a sneak attack and was killed in self-defense.
"I see."
Song Shiyi blinked as she listened, which seemed to be one of her habitual gestures.
Lu Yao felt that when Song Shiyi blinked, she resembled someone from his memories... and the more he looked, the more alike they seemed. Yet although the name was on the tip of his tongue, he simply could not say it.
Once the questioning was more or less complete, Song Shiyi finally pressed the stop button on her phone.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
She put her phone back into her shoulder bag. "What follows is a personal conversation. Miss Apostle, you were the one who caught the nearby 'Jack' last time, weren't you?"
Isabelle did not respond.
But Lu Yao, watching remotely, was startled.
"Don't be nervous. This is purely a personal exchange."
"Miss Mary, please allow me to introduce myself once more."
Song Shiyi pointed at herself. "Although I am a prosecutor for the Committee, because I have a mental illness, many people are willing to stay in contact with me."
"Have you heard of anterograde amnesia? Mine is somewhat more severe than that."
"Simply put, my memories can only be retained for a very short time. However, skills, knowledge, and experience remain in my mind, while recollections are automatically destroyed within twenty-four hours. The memories in my mind can only be retained from before I turned fourteen."
"Besides that, I can choose to erase my own memories. In other words, I can erase memories myself, but I cannot keep them."
"This is good for my work. I do not need to remember too much, so I have fewer troubles. Everyone is also willing to cooperate with my work, because I will not pry into their privacy."
"The Committee once suggested that I wear something like a recorder, but I refused. If I did that, I would lose all my advantages instead."
"And having to memorize so much every time I wake up is truly a huge burden. Every day is a new beginning, and that is much easier."
She touched the sparrow on her shoulder. "This is Mingzai. Its ability is appraisal, and it is an expert in that field."
"That is why I could see your identity at a glance."
"Of course, you could find out everything I've said with a little inquiry."
"This is my business card. If you need help, or if you can provide me with any clues, please call this number."
She took a white business card from her bag and politely offered it with both hands.
"I look forward to your call, Miss Mary."
Lu Yao understood.
By explaining her circumstances, revealing her identity and personal traits, Song Shiyi was clearly extending an olive branch. She hoped Isabelle could become a potential informant.
Isabelle politely accepted the business card as well.
"Then I should return and report in. Please send my regards to the friend you follow."
Song Shiyi took out a small plastic case from her bag, pinched a capsule from it, and gestured as she said, "Just as I said, when necessary, memories can disappear ahead of time."
She swallowed the capsule, then took out a bottle of mineral water and drank a sip.
A moment later, Song Shiyi's eyes became somewhat vacant, as though she had just awakened. She looked at her skirt and long stockings, a baffled expression appearing on her face.
"Why am I not at home?"
"Eh, what happened again?"
"I remember I was supposed to shoot on location today. Is this the place...?"
She took out her phone and began searching through the records.
The sparrow on her shoulder seemed accustomed to this, merely using its beak to groom the feathers on its wings.
Isabelle passed by Song Shiyi, but the other woman showed no reaction at all.
At that moment, Lu Yao finally remembered.
Song Lingyun, a member of the girl idol group SUH!
She was Song Lingyun!
Lu Yao remembered Song Lingyun because two of his friends in college had been huge fans of hers. They thought she was lively and adorable, sometimes a little scatterbrained, and occasionally capable of suddenly becoming sharp and clever as though her inner cosmos had erupted. Those two were both boyfriend fans and dad fans.
He hurriedly searched for her online.
That kitten-like mouth and that blinking manner could not merely be called similar. They were exactly the same.
Song Lingyun was Song Shiyi.
The girl idol was actually a prosecutor for a special agency... The plot reminded him of some bizarre tokusatsu show.
After continuing his online search, Lu Yao discovered that Song Lingyun had suddenly left the group three years earlier due to poor health. After that, she had completely disappeared from public view, and online rumors claimed she had gone abroad for treatment.
Lu Yao frowned.
So the question was.
Had the girl prosecutor infiltrated an idol group to investigate a case?
Or could an idol group not save the world, so she had to become a prosecutor?
Before you continue