Neighborhood murder, evil spirits reappear?

The Year Eater's intelligence had indeed evolved, making it cunning and deceitful.

It had actually woken up long ago and deliberately stayed still. Because it knew that if it struggled, it would likely be met with another anesthetic injection.

If that happened, it would never get another chance.

Although its current situation offered little hope, it was still better than being knocked out again by an anesthetic.

It hadn't eaten in a long time, and its bodily functions had declined, beginning to age. If it didn't feed soon, it would revert to its original form before long.

Originally, it only needed 24 hours to complete its initial evolution, which would have greatly increased its anti-aging capabilities and boosted all its other abilities severalfold.

Who would have thought that its perfect evolutionary process would be interrupted, leaving it imprisoned, with its hands and feet shackled so tightly that there was almost no chance of escape?

Therefore, it had to play dead, waiting for an opportunity, for that minuscule chance.

Look, wasn't that chance here?

The moment the glass cover opened a crack, it sensed someone approaching.

Prey was approaching, food was approaching!

At this moment, a sarcastic voice reached its ears.

"Alright, stop playing dead. I know you're awake."

Jiang Yue nudged the Year Eater's back with his toe.

The Year Eater had been facing away from Jiang Yue and hadn't seen his face, but that voice sounded so familiar?

Whatever, it would absorb energy first.

Because it hadn't eaten for a long time, its body was degenerating, but the Year Eater's skill set had not been lost.

Huh?

Something was wrong!

Why, despite absorbing with all its might, was there no reaction?

And that voice, it sounded so familiar?

Jiang Yue casually walked around to its front, crouched down, and patted its face. "Look, it's only been a few hours, and you've already aged this much. You don't remember me, do you?"

Seeing the Year Eater's rapid degeneration, Jiang Yue felt a sense of relief. The Year Eater's state was like someone going through withdrawal; this skill was akin to drinking poison to quench thirst. It seemed it wasn't a bad thing that he hadn't chosen to claim the Year Eater's skill back then.

The Year Eater could no longer pretend and resentfully opened its eyes.

Upon seeing Jiang Yue's grinning face, its own turned green on the spot.

This bastard was definitely its nightmare, the very bastard it trembled at even in its anesthetized state!

"Alright, stop baring your teeth. You couldn't beat me last night, and now you look like this. Save it. I know it's frustrating to see me and not be able to defeat me..."

The Year Eater's pupils dilated with blood, and it glared fiercely at Jiang Yue. "Why is my skill useless against you? You're not from this world?"

"Want to know?"

Although the Year Eater felt wronged, it still nodded.

"Answer one question for me first."

Jiang Yue then voiced his question about his mother appearing in his dream, her face aged.

The Year Eater curled its lips. "This has nothing to do with our race. Your mom has been missing for ten years; it's normal for her to age. Each time we Year Eaters absorb energy, the other party loses 24 years of lifespan. So we usually target young adults. The elderly can't withstand it; we might not even absorb half before they die."

Jiang Yue couldn't hide his disappointment.

Jiang Yue had the ability to discern, and the Year Eater's words didn't seem false.

"Race?"

Jiang Yue's expression suddenly changed. "You said you're a race?"

The Year Eater chuckled and sneered, but it didn't answer.

It had been defeated by Jiang Yue; it couldn't fight him, and it couldn't absorb from him. It was resigned and accepted its fate.

"It's fine if you don't tell me. Either you'll slowly age and die here, or you'll be sent to a lab for dissection. Neither outcome will be pleasant."

Jiang Yue, not having gotten the information he wanted, walked out with some disappointment.

After coming out, Director Luo sized up Jiang Yue.

"Aren't you afraid that thing will attack you?"

"If it could attack me, it wouldn't have been captured by me last night."

"Director Luo, it mentioned the word 'race' just now. If that's true, then there are likely more than one or two of these scourges. You must take this seriously."

One was already enough to cause headaches; if there was a whole nest, a whole race. Just thinking about it made his head explode.

Director Luo and Officer Han exchanged glances, each reading the trace of fear hidden in the other's eyes.

They left the underground secret room and returned to the surface.

Jiang Yue requested to leave. Director Luo, though hesitant and struggling to speak as if constipated, didn't say anything. He escorted them to the door.

Officer Han drove, preparing to take Jiang Yue and the others home.

"Little Jiang, I suspect Director Luo will look for you again."

"What for?"

"Heh, he's probably taken a liking to you. The fact that the Year Eater's methods are ineffective against you is enough for him to think highly of you."

He hadn't gotten any useful information from the Year Eater, yet he'd inexplicably gotten entangled with a special department. Jiang Yue was confused about whether this trip had been worth it.

He casually took out his phone and turned it back on, only to find two missed calls. One was from his older sister, Jiang Ying, and the other was from his homeroom teacher, Sun Bin.

It wasn't unusual for his sister to call, but it was rare for Sun Bin to call during the holidays.

It was inconvenient to call back in the car, so Jiang Yue decided to call them back after he got home.

When he returned to New Moon Bay, the two brothers had just entered the community gate when they saw an ambulance wailing as it drove out.

From a distance, he saw the back of the ambulance, and it was from Star City Second Hospital.

Just as Officer Han had felt a jolt of fear when his phone rang yesterday, Jiang Yue's scalp tingled at the sound of the ambulance now.

When this thing appeared, it definitely meant trouble.

It couldn't have come this quickly, could it? Another Year Eater appeared?

The small plaza area in the community was where residents usually gathered, especially the elderly, women, and children, who particularly liked to congregate there.

As Jiang Yue approached, he heard the discussions of the onlookers.

"Who the hell did this? It's insane! It's bad enough they violated the girl, but they killed her too?"

"The ambulance came, but I don't know if they can save her."

"Impossible to save! The skull was peeled back, and her eyes bulged out of their sockets. They definitely can't save her. I think the ambulance is just going through the motions."

"I know that young girl. Her parents apparently sell vegetables at the market. The girl was supposed to take her college entrance exams this year. If it weren't for the holidays, she'd be at school right now."

"She's from Building 8, Unit 2, right? I remember that family's surname is Su."

"That's right! It's the old Su family. They only have one daughter. How can her parents live?"

"There are too many bad people nowadays. The government really needs to organize a thorough crackdown."

"Alas, what a shame. She was such a likable young girl."

Jiang Yue listened for a while and got a general idea of what had happened.

From the content of the passersby's discussions, it seemed like it wasn't an evil spirit at work, but a murder case.

The police would naturally handle this, and although Jiang Yue felt sorry for the victim, he couldn't intervene.

As soon as he entered his home, his sister's call came again: "Little Yue, what's going on with you? Why was your phone off all day? Your homeroom teacher just visited, and he couldn't get through to you."

"Oh? Did Teacher Sun say what it was about?"

"Yes, he said you need to get to school by two o'clock this afternoon. It seems the school is organizing a temporary physical examination." Jiang Ying was busy and didn't talk much, saying, "Contact Teacher Sun yourself."

After hanging up his sister's call, Jiang Yue connected to his homeroom teacher Sun Bin's number.

"Jiang Yue, you're quite the busy man. Did your sister tell you? Try to come a bit earlier this afternoon, we need to chat privately."

Speaking of Old Sun, he was absolutely wonderful to Jiang Yue. For a top student like Jiang Yue, who never caused trouble at school and didn't create problems for the school, Old Sun had always cherished him.

For the past six years, from junior high to high school, whenever there was any good news at school, Jiang Yue was always the first person Old Sun thought of.

Of course, Jiang Yue lived up to expectations, winning countless awards in various competitions and bringing Old Sun considerable honor.

Their relationship could be described as both teacher and friend.

Since Old Sun had spoken, Jiang Yue naturally wouldn't be negligent. After making lunch and hastily eating a few bites, he arranged for San Gou to watch the house and then went out.

Anyway, as long as there was a cute girl to watch, San Gou wouldn't get tired even if he watched for a whole day.