The sudden scream made Qin Ran abandon his plan to investigate the surroundings. He headed straight toward its source.
By the time Qin Ran arrived, the last glow of sunset had faded completely, but that did nothing to stop the glaring crimson from reflecting in his eyes.
The woman who had screamed was already dead.
Her face still held the terror of the sudden attack.
Her body, meanwhile, had been torn apart. Most of her internal organs had been devoured, as had the flesh on her limbs and torso.
Both her thighbones had even been snapped into several pieces.
Qin Ran could easily imagine how a huge, bloodstained maw had chewed through her flesh.
Apart from her head, the poor woman had no intact body parts left.
What surprised Qin Ran most, however, was that there were no other traces at the scene.
Or, more precisely, there had originally been clear traces, but they were rapidly disappearing as night fell.
"An unusual night?"
"Interesting."
Qin Ran narrowed his eyes and murmured to himself.
Tweet!
A shrill whistle sounded in the distance.
Qin Ran glanced at the approaching group of uniformed law enforcement officers, who were clearly some sort of police, then turned and slipped into the shadows.
He did not mind making contact with them.
But now was not the time.
Night fell right on schedule.
There was no moon visible in the pitch-black sky, nor any stars. There was only darkness, as though a mass of black fog hung over Edshire.
The people living here had locked their doors early and gone to sleep.
Beside their beds, they kept a few weapons for self-defense.
Almost the instant darkness fell, Edshire sank into silence.
Of course, there were exceptions.
In the alleys off certain streets, a handful of places