On the southern wall of the Mist Shop, the glass display window had a faintly unreal quality. Only a pane of glass separated the world outside from the world within. Pedestrians passed by now and then, seemingly close enough to touch, yet everything beyond the window seemed to have no connection whatsoever to the shop's existence.
The people outside seemed unable to perceive anything happening inside the Mist Shop.
Su Bai stood before the sofa, looking at the three plainclothes officers and the man named Lin Wei.
Just a second earlier, the captain, the oldest of the officers, had asked whether Su Bai knew anything.
"Oh?" Su Bai slowly turned to face him, his smile taking on a meaningful edge. "What would you like to know?"
Without the slightest hesitation, the captain asked, his expression serious and resolute, "Why would scales appear on a person's legs?" His tone was calm and direct, with no intention of wasting time on pleasantries.
Su Bai pretended to think, then looked at the captain with a practiced smile. "Hmm... perhaps Mr. Lin is descended from mermaids?"
The answer brought the tense atmosphere to an abrupt standstill.
Lin Wei stared blankly at Su Bai, as though he had failed to understand the sudden joke.
"Huh?" he muttered, his face full of confusion.
"Please don't joke about this!" The captain's expression grew abruptly grimmer, his eyes flashing with an uncompromising sharpness. "If humans really can grow scales, then the monster Lin Wei saw might also be real. If that's the case, it means an unidentified monster is still roaming the city. That would pose an enormous threat to the residents!"
Su Bai stopped teasing them. His expression turned serious as he nodded slightly in agreement. "That's true."
His voice grew calm again, losing its playful edge,