The Crazy Year Eater

"Xiao Jiang, what are you thinking?"

Jiang Yue pondered, considering how to phrase his words.

"It's fine, you don't need to hold back. Just say what you need to say. I'm not afraid to tell you, everything I've encountered today has completely shattered my worldview of over thirty years."

"Then I'll be direct."

At this point, being evasive was truly unnecessary.

"First, this isn't a contagious disease; it's an evil spirit causing trouble. Second, I suspect this evil spirit is evolving. It didn't have high intelligence initially, but it's evolving very quickly. Third, I have a hunch that we must deal with it within 24 hours, otherwise, the situation might escalate beyond our control."

The first two points were technical analyses, while the third was Jiang Yue's personal intuition.

Officer Han took a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel tightly. He was afraid that if he lost his composure listening to this, he might crash.

"Officer Han, may I ask presumptuously, what is the government's bottom line on this matter?"

"Bottom line?"

"When dealing with something like this, if we stick to conventional thinking and hesitate, I'm worried the situation will spiral further out of control, and more innocent people will be lost."

Officer Han said decisively, "If it truly becomes uncontrollable, we can neutralize it. In fact, it's no longer just our department in action. The counter-terrorism and riot control department, the security department, and a special department are all rapidly intervening because the incident is too bizarre."

"It's just that the departments haven't reached a consensus yet. Some departments advocate for elimination, while others want to capture it alive for laboratory research."

Jiang Yue was speechless.

With the situation so dire, they still had time for research?

If they want to research, rest assured! There will be plenty of such days in the future; I'm afraid they won't have enough time to research.

The Spirit's beginner mission was to track the Year Eater.

Jiang Yue estimated that he only needed to track and locate the target. How to deal with it should be outside the scope of the mission.

As for how to deal with it, Jiang Yue had no authority, nor did he want to make that decision.

With so many departments involved, just thinking about it made his head hurt. If he were truly involved, Jiang Yue felt he wouldn't be able to handle it. Let these departments bicker amongst themselves.

The car arrived near the last victim's activity area.

To avoid panic, no martial law was imposed in any of the victims' activity areas.

Jiang Yue roughly retraced the victim's route described in the statement.

Although there were streetlights at night, they weren't bright enough, which indeed made finding clues more troublesome.

Officer Han was very patient and listened to Jiang Yue's every word, proactively assisting him.

"Here!" Soon, Jiang Yue pinpointed the location on a bench in the victim's residential complex.

This spot was in the green belt of the complex, with a gravel path running through it.

The victim's statement mentioned that he had taken his dog out for a walk in the evening. The dog slipped its leash and ran off erratically.

He walked along this gravel path while looking for the dog.

"Officer Han, look at the lawn by this osmanthus tree; doesn't it look a bit strange? And look at this bench; the color of this area..."

You don't know until you compare. After comparing, and combined with San Gou's strange pants.

Officer Han's eyes lit up, as if he had found a new direction.

"Xiao Jiang, you're amazing. My colleagues investigated here and found absolutely nothing."

"As I said before, with just conventional thinking, you definitely wouldn't find these things. It's understandable that your colleagues didn't consider this direction and couldn't find them."

"Moreover, this thing's intelligence is evolving. Look at the location it chose; it's a relatively hidden corner that the community's surveillance cameras can't capture."

"How exactly did it attack the victim?"

"Judging from Sister He's situation, it doesn't even need close contact to attack someone. So, it's completely understandable that the victim didn't notice."

Speaking of which, Jiang Yue couldn't help but want to complain about the Spirit.

Why couldn't they give him some detailed information about the Year Eater? Not a single hint, it was completely groping in the dark.

"Officer Han, I have a question."

"Hmm?"

"With your capabilities, a dragnet search could have located the target, or even eliminated it, before dark. Why did it drag on until nightfall?"

This was a sharp question.

Officer Han's expression was a bit awkward.

If he had to explain the reason, he naturally knew it best. He was the first person to handle this case.

In fact, after receiving the physical evidence from Jiang Yue, he returned to the bureau and submitted an application to block relevant roads and implement a comprehensive cordon.

However, the things Jiang Yue mentioned were inconvenient for Officer Han to state publicly, not to mention that he had promised Jiang Yue not to put them in writing.

Without any written materials or supporting evidence, relying solely on speculation. The bureau's leadership naturally couldn't agree.

After all, blocking roads was equivalent to imposing martial law, which could easily lead to unnecessary speculation in society and even cause panic.

Officer Han still remembered the leader's expression at the time; it was a look of disappointment and criticism.

To his superiors, his reckless application was completely making a mountain out of a molehill, a sign of extreme political immaturity, and entirely inconsistent with his usual steady and reliable demeanor.

Then, things happened one after another, rapidly escalating at an unbelievable speed.

Other departments sprang into action upon hearing the news, while their police bureau became a peripheral player in this case.

The most critical issue was that the early delays caused the situation to quickly spiral out of control, sparking a certain degree of public panic.

The bureau's leadership was then singled out for criticism by higher-level superiors, who accused them of lax discipline, dereliction of duty, and so on.

Naturally, the bureau's superiors wouldn't take the blame themselves and summoned Officer Han for a dressing-down. This happened even though Officer Han had previously submitted an application, detailing the potential dangers.

In the face of superior-subordinate relationships, these facts were unimportant. What mattered was that when it was your turn to take the fall, you had to do it steadily and not try to shift the blame.

Officer Han gritted his teeth and took the blame.

The case still had to be investigated.

At a loss for what to do, he thought of Jiang Yue.

A strong intuition told Officer Han that this young man, who exuded a mysterious aura from the moment he appeared, might be the key to unlocking the mystery.

Seeing Officer Han fall silent, Jiang Yue, though unaware of the inside story, guessed that he likely had some unspeakable difficulty. He tactfully chose not to press further.

Just then, Officer Han's phone rang.

Officer Han had taken so many calls that day that he had developed a significant psychological shadow, making the phone's ringtone almost terrifying.

"Captain Han, another call came in. A drunk citizen reported a situation on Douya Lane, Changlong Road. It's the same as before."

Officer Han was numb to it by now. He gave Jiang Yue a helpless look.

"Quick, summarize his activity area and send it to me immediately."

While still on the phone, the car started and sped toward Douya Lane.

Douya Lane...

Hearing these three words, Jiang Yue felt an inexplicable tremor. This place was only a ten-minute walk from his residential area, New Moon Bay.

Looking at the victim's route, Jiang Yue couldn't help but worry that the evil spirit seemed to be constantly approaching New Moon Bay, which was quite unsettling.

He couldn't resist taking out his phone and calling his sister, Jiang Ying.

"Little Yue, is the party over? What time will you be home?"

"Sis, I'll probably be home tomorrow morning. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say, and remember every single word."

Ever since they were little, Jiang Ying, as the older sister, had always played the role of the disciplinarian.

She was always the one lecturing Jiang Yue. Being so earnestly instructed by him for once, she was momentarily taken aback.

"From now on, lock your doors and don't go out! Remember, absolutely do not open the door. Even if someone knocks, do not open it! And don't go near the door, stay as far away from it as possible!"

"Jiang Yue, are you using this as a flimsy excuse to stay out all night?" This was Jiang Ying's first reaction.

Jiang Yue rudely interrupted, "Jiang Ying, shut up! I'm being very serious right now! If you don't want to end up like Sister He next door, you'd better remember every word I say!"

Beep!

After speaking, Jiang Yue hung up without giving Jiang Ying a chance to react and turned off his phone.

Even though she was his dear sister who doted on him, this feeling of scolding her... felt surprisingly good!

In the middle section of Douya Lane, a place only wide enough for two wheels to pass, there was naturally no surveillance.

The surveillance at the entrance to the alley was quickly retrieved.

The time was locked in at one hour ago.

This was Jiang Yue's first time at the scene. If Officer Han hadn't brought him, he, an outsider, would have had no right to approach. After all, anyone from any department could have denied him entry.

Jiang Yue didn't ask how others felt.

As Jiang Yue approached the scene, apart from some peeling, mottled wall plaster, there weren't many traces. However, there was still a faint residual aura of evil spirits.

Although this aura was weak, it hadn't completely dissipated yet.

After a brief inspection, Jiang Yue walked out of the alley.

Officer Han quickly caught up. "Little Jiang, where are you going?"

"As I said, if we follow conventional thinking, we'll always be led around by the nose. Delaying from day to night, and from night to dawn, the monster will only continue to evolve."

Jiang Yue understood that each department had to follow procedures and discipline.

He, however, did not.

Therefore, he decided to act alone.

The Spirit had given him such a troublesome beginner's quest, but at least it came with a welcome gift.

The Hundred Evils Immunity Halo!

However, the kicker was that it only lasted for 24 hours.

So, he had to strike while the iron was hot. He had to find the Year Eater before the halo disappeared.