Clever Hunters Often...
As Feng Xue cooked her dinner under the fervent gaze of what appeared to be female fans, businesses of all sizes in the Joewood district of Backlund were also nearing the end of the workday.
Due to certain historical reasons, Victoria strictly adheres to the eight-hour workday. When it's time to leave work, even if there are only two minutes left to finish the task, many people will choose to save it and come back for tomorrow.
The recent series of murders in the East District and Qiaowude District has made working overtime a high-risk activity, and even those who used to be inclined to work overtime now mostly choose to leave work early and go home.
The employees went home in twos and threes. Those who used to prefer shortcuts like walking through the park or along the riverbank now consciously chose pedestrian streets and subway stations where more people were.
After all, a frequency of more than one murder per day might not even cause a ripple in a war-torn country, and it's a record low in the simple and honest Saint Lotan City. But in Victoria, the capital of a self-proclaimed civilized and developed country, it has caused panic among these white-collar workers who consider themselves to have escaped the proletariat and entered the middle class.
Although several police officers could always be seen patrolling the streets, this was clearly not enough to give the public a sense of security. The fact that the criminals had not been arrested for two months had caused a significant drop in the credibility of the Xivilas Field. There were even many rumors online that "demons were reaping lives," and legends about cultists, demons, and the Antichrist were rampant, casting an eerie shadow over Bekeland, which already had a strong religious atmosphere. Even the 2012 doomsday prophecy was brought up, almost to the point of saying that Nadri's final army would attack Bekeland with a vampire legion.
However tense the atmosphere may be, some people will eventually have to compromise for the sake of making a living, and some people who are struggling financially will have no choice but to work overtime until late at night.
Night gradually enveloped the entire Bekeland. Although efforts have been made to reduce the persistent smog caused by industrial development, Bekeland's geographical environment makes it prone to fog.
The thin mist wasn't thick, not even enough to wet clothes, but it made the already dim streetlights appear even more hazy.
As the office lights went out, employees who had been working late into the night rushed out of the building, and a pair of eyes hidden in the shadows refocused.
"Tsk, all old men... Oh well, I'll just pick one who looks good. These kinds of men usually have wives and kids who aren't too ugly..." His cold gaze swept over each passerby, and when he looked at those tired, greasy middle-aged men, a hint of disappointment appeared in his eyes.
Just as he was trying to find a good-looking man, a figure suddenly caught his attention.
It was a young woman, dressed in a typical office lady suit, carrying a small handbag, hurrying through the night.
Her appearance wasn't particularly outstanding, but it was still pleasing to the eye. What attracted people at first glance was her exceptionally voluptuous figure, accentuated by her uniform.
Her slender, fleshy legs were encased in stockings that barely contained her flesh, and a pair of high heels made her figure appear even taller.
Her long, shimmering golden hair cascaded down her back, swaying gently with the movement of her hips, making one want to pounce on her from behind.
"Slurp, that's her!"
All his previous thoughts were abandoned in that instant by the owner of those cold, sinister eyes; a strong desire drove him to make a new choice.
Miranda walked out of the office building and hurried through the streetlights. It was already late when she got off work, and there were very few pedestrians on the road. However, the occasional police officer she saw gave her a little courage to walk at night.
But it was only a little bit.
After all, the Bekeland police have been incredibly inefficient these past two months. There has been no progress in either the church bombing case or the Tassok River serial murders. Even the serial burglary and rape case only yielded a facial puzzle based on a survivor left by the perpetrator's twisted psychology. But even with such a lead, the killer has still not been caught.
"I hope my luck isn't too bad; I really don't want to live like this for another day!"
Miranda tightened her collar to keep the chill of spring air from seeping into her body. She tried to stay within the reach of the streetlights and looked back every now and then to avoid being followed.
Fortunately, her apartment wasn't far away; after about a fifteen-minute walk, Miranda finally saw it.
As the elevator ascended step by step, Miranda's mood gradually relaxed.
"Are the motion-sensor lights broken again?" Miranda coughed lightly, noticing the lights in the hallway weren't on. She frowned, quickly walked to her front door, and rang her doorbell. A moment later, a young man's voice came from inside:
"Who?"
"Darling, it's me, Miranda!" Miranda replied casually, and the door rattled as the Door Lock turned. But just as the door opened, a figure suddenly darted out of the shadows!
It was as abrupt as a fish leaping out of the water.
This figure had performed this action countless times; long before leaping out of the "water," he had already "aimed" at his target.
With one hand aimed at Miranda's nape, while with the other, he yanked even faster at the door that had just been opened a crack.
"We got it!" The owner of the arm looked excited, already able to imagine what was about to happen.
That's right, just like before, rip open the door, force your way into the room, then restrain everyone, find something to blindfold them, and make them look at you...
The man could feel immense physical pleasure just from the fantasy, but to his surprise, his sure-fire attack missed!
Coincidence? Seeing the woman suddenly lower her head, before the man could even change his posture, his left hand had already grasped the doorknob. Thus, he made his judgment almost instantly.
"That woman can't escape, open the door first!"
A tremendous force erupted from his hands, forcibly tearing open the security door that had just been opened a crack. But to his astonishment, what appeared behind the door was not a panicked civilian, but two fully armed men with guns!
"Damn it, we've been tricked!"
The figure that darted out of the shadows immediately tried to escape, but at that moment, Miranda had already rolled to the side, suddenly took something out of her handbag.
In an instant, the entire corridor became as bright as day—no, not just daytime, it was like an operating room under shadowless lights, with not a single shadow remaining.
At the same time, as if receiving a command, the doors on both sides of the corridor opened simultaneously, and a group of men wearing bulletproof vests and goggles rushed out from different rooms. The next moment, the entire corridor was filled with the piercing sound of gunfire...
Regarding chapter titles, I usually just come up with one at random and then revise it after I finish writing. However, I recently switched to the Writer Assistant word processing software, which is indeed very useful. But since this software is directly linked to the Dian Niang backend, it's easy to accidentally click upload without realizing it when I'm saving after writing. And since VIP chapters on Dian Niang can't be renamed, sometimes the chapter title doesn't match the content, or there's simply no chapter title at all. Please forgive me.