Chapter 286: Patrol

The scarcity of fresh blood has always been a headache for The Midnight Watchers Society.

Although the upper echelons of the society possess enough power to deter hauntings and prevent mass haunting incidents that could lead to species extinction, there are many core members who maintain peace and stability in various cities.

However, among the thousands of individuals with psychic potential in each city, only a small fraction are discovered and become psychics. Most people’s psychic potential deteriorates into Nocturnal Syndrome before being detected.

Moreover, even if individuals with psychic potential are discovered, they are not necessarily capable of becoming combat-ready operators of The Midnight Watchers Society.

According to last year’s statistics from the “Barn Owl White Paper,” out of the 10,789 new psychics identified last year, only 1,217 joined The Midnight Watchers Society and successfully remained, roughly one in ten.

This number might seem large, but when averaged across each city, it’s less than two people.

And these remaining individuals might leave The Midnight Watchers Society due to reasons such as tempting benefits, loss of control over their spiritual patterns, or haunting attacks.

The chance that a newcomer to The Midnight Watchers Society will grow into a competent operator is actually quite slim.

So, when the sturdy man from the special task force saw Lu Yibei staring at the ghastly scene on the bed, he stood frozen in place, his eyes vacant as if he had lost his soul, and his heart was in utter panic.

After all, it is not uncommon for newcomers like Lu Yibei to encounter a haunting attack scene for the first time and retire early due to psychological issues.

It should have been good news that Hua City produced two new operators in one year, but why did it turn out like this? the sturdy man wondered.

Just as he was about to contact the medical staff to take Lu Yibei away, Lu Yibei’s eyes suddenly cleared, and he blurted out, “Damn it, killing someone in their bed is totally against the rules!”

The sturdy man was taken aback, then heard Lu Yibei say, “Brother, I think I know which haunting is responsible for this incident.”

The sturdy man was puzzled, “How did you figure it out so quickly?”

Lu Yibei pondered for a moment, his expression unreadable, “Well, due to some special aspects of my psychic ability, I detected some hidden details.”

Let’s just leave it at that; after all, my file in The Midnight Watchers Society states that I’m a detection-oriented psychic.

He couldn’t possibly tell him that he had watched a replay of the scene, could he? Lu Yibei thought to himself.

“…”

The sturdy man nodded thoughtfully.

Hearing that this new operator was a detection-oriented psychic and capable of such feats seemed understandable.

【Affinity +10】

In fact, the old members of the special task force had always been looking forward to a detection-oriented operator from Hua City, not for anything else but because it’s efficient and saves trouble.

In criminal cases, those involving random killings of strangers without clear motives are always the hardest to solve.

And the hauntings that cause haunting attack incidents are mostly those “crazy” ones.

At such times, having a detection-oriented psychic who can discover clues that others can’t would greatly improve the efficiency of solving cases.

With higher efficiency, the workload of their special task force would naturally decrease significantly.

It’s said that in Shan City, there’s a dual-attribute psychic, detection-type and fate-type, who, when inspired, could randomly knock out a person on the street and bring them back for interrogation, uncovering a host of issues related to hauntings.

The members of the special task force there have an incredibly easy job, mostly just escorting criminal psychics and handling the aftermath of haunting incidents.

However, the existence of that operator’s special talent means she faces dozens of assassination attempts each year from hauntings, cults, and illegal psychic gangs.

Thinking of this, the sturdy man couldn’t help but worry about Lu Yibei’s future, giving him a pat on the shoulder and saying earnestly, “Little brother, promise me, for the sake of Hua City, survive!”

Lu Yibei, “…”

You don’t need to worry about that. Even if Hua City can’t survive, I will still manage to.

But… that sounds a bit weird?

It’s like I’m already being targeted by some dark forces.

Lu Yibei wasn’t affected by the special task force member’s words. After all, he’s already been targeted by more than one dark force. The more parasites, the less itchy; he was actually less worried now.

Whether it was the haunting incident catalog left by Jiang Li, The Midnight Tome, or the various pieces of information heard from Shui-Ge, those cults, illegal psychic gangs, and hauntings were not on good terms with each other.

Lu Yibei even had the confidence that if a dark force jumped out to take his life, he could trick them into negotiating with another group first about who should strike first.

It’s not possible for all of them to join forces against me, right?

Uniting the various not-so-friendly dark forces… What merit do I have for that!? Lu Yibei thought to himself.

To prevent hauntings from hiding or returning to the attack scene, and to deal with the possibility of residual lethal curses, Lu Yibei, acting as the temporary night-duty operator, had to wait until the special task force members completed their follow-up work and cleared any remaining hazards before he could leave.

Taking advantage of this interval, he meticulously recorded all the clues found at the scene according to regulations and uploaded them to The Midnight Watchers Society’s database. Next, it would be the work of data comparison and locking down the suspected hauntings.

Thanks to the psychic artifact in Hua City The Midnight Watchers Society, which looked like a giant pipe organ, there was a relatively simple and quick way to do this.

However, with Jiang Li being the only person able to operate that psychic artifact for extended periods, and now that she was temporarily off duty, they had to rely on the information comparison system built into The Midnight Watchers Society’s database.

This process could take as little as a couple of hours or as long as five to seven days; in the meantime, unless something unexpected happened, they could only wait.

But Lu Yibei was an exception…

At least, he knew where to find clues about the haunting game He Liang was involved in.

Since Yang Yi and He Liang were in the same chat group and had seen his live text and photo broadcast of the haunting game, starting with him could likely uncover some useful information.

Perhaps he could even obtain the complete process of He Liang’s haunting game and perfectly replicate it, luring that unique little thing into a trap! Lu Yibei thought.

Hearing that Lu Yibei had seen similar games in school, the sturdy man from the special task force nodded, “Indeed! If you can grasp the process of the haunting game, things will be much easier.”

“But, Operator Lu, are you sure you can find the exact same process? A slight difference in the process might lead to nothing happening, or it might attract a different haunting.”

“Yes, I can!” Lu Yibei nodded.

He had seen the photos on Yang Yi’s phone and could confirm that the doll that attacked He Liang in the illusion was the same one.

“That makes things much easier!” the sturdy man said, “In fact, if the haunting game you mentioned is closely related to this attack incident, there’s a way within The Midnight Watchers Society to trace it back.”

“That would be awesome!” Lu Yibei exclaimed, “Then please, brothers, go catch them and ask them some questions, just like when you caught me… ahem!”

According to Lu Yibei’s plan, just by sending these tough guys out, probably nothing else would need to be done; just showing up where Yang Yi was would likely make him spill everything.

But…

Hearing this, the sturdy man looked troubled, “Operator Lu, we might not be able to help you with obtaining the process of the haunting game.”

“Their situation is a bit different from yours; they are just a bunch of daredevil youngsters who haven’t really been involved with hauntings or illegal psychics, nor are they the spreaders of the haunting game. If we forcibly bring them in for questioning, it might complicate matters.”

Lu Yibei frowned, “How are they different from me?”

The sturdy man’s face showed a hint of embarrassment as he explained, “At that time, because we detected faint psychic energy fluctuations from you, you were treated as a suspect, and also…”

The sturdy man leaned closer to Lu Yibei, raising a hand and lowering his voice, “To be honest, Jiang Li was too eager for quick results at that time. You definitely shouldn’t learn from her; that was almost touching the grey area of the regulations.”

“And, don’t say I told you this, okay?”

Damn it, Jiang Li… Lu Yibei cursed silently in his heart, keeping his cool as he asked, “So, what should I do now? I can’t just let the clues slip by without doing anything, right?”

“That’s easy! Aren’t you acquainted with them? Just ask them directly, right?” the sturdy man wondered, “You’re all classmates, they wouldn’t refuse to tell you such a small thing, would they?”

“Operator Lu, I think you’re quite a decent person, you must have been popular in school, right?”

“…”

Pfft-!

Lu Yibei felt like he had been struck by an arrow in his chest, triggering a critical hit.

Brother, you don’t understand, because we’re both not normal, that’s why you think I’m easy to get along with.

In school, it’s not a matter of being unpopular; it’s a matter of having no popularity at all.

In fact, now they run away as soon as they see me, so I don’t even have a chance for normal communication. Lu Yibei thought.

…

As it turned out, the presence of Du Sixian was somewhat useful, besides making her spill her guts.

Just as Lu Yibei was at a loss about how to obtain information from Yang Yi.

Du Sixian, who had been resting on the side and listening to the entire conversation, stood up and waved her hand, “Leave it to me? I’m great at making friends!”

Although her confidence had taken a hit in the process of becoming friends with Lu Yibei, she had many friends in the past.

Seeing the proactive Du Sixian, a glimmer of hope shone in Lu Yibei’s eyes.

Right! Let her do it!

If anyone could easily infiltrate Yang Yi’s group, it would be her, right?

With her wealth, beauty, pleasant personality, and vibrant spirit, who wouldn’t want to be friends with her? Whether they were just after her money or enamored with her…

If it weren’t for the risk of exposing her identity and causing trouble by accidentally turning her into his own image, Lu Yibei would not only want to be her friend but also her close confidant!

Thinking this, Lu Yibei shook hands with Du Sixian, saying solemnly, “Alright! I’ll leave it to you, comrade!”

Du Sixian nodded solemnly in return, “I will not fail you!”

Late at night.

As the follow-up work at the textile factory concluded, and the comparison of haunting information awaited the next day, Lu Yibei’s work was not yet over.

Returning to Mudan Street, after parting with Du Sixian, he slung his guitar case over his shoulder, mounted his little electric scooter, and leisurely left the Hua City Folk Culture Administration Bureau, beginning his patrol.

Today was Friday, and it was supposed to be Jiang Li’s turn for night duty.

Now Lu Yibei was temporarily taking over Jiang Li’s duties. Although this task could still be delegated to the sturdy men of the special task force, making a show of it was still necessary.

A monk strikes the bell only as long as he is at the temple!

Moreover, there’s triple pay during night duty!

2:27 AM.

Hua City, near Red Star Street.

This is an old street near the city center, where many authentic snack shops are nestled under the old banyan trees lining both sides of the street.

Before the nights grew long, this place was a hotspot for foodies looking for late-night snacks, and Lu Yibei’s father once thought about opening a branch here. However, he ultimately gave up because he couldn’t trust the craftsmanship of others and was too busy to manage it himself.

Unfortunately, such a great location now empties out at night, although the air still carries a faint aroma of delicious food.

Red Star Street appears peaceful and quiet at night, but Lu Yibei knows that there are solitary psychics here, and it’s one of the “safe” patrol routes specified by Jiang Li, also being the penultimate stop on tonight’s patrol route.

According to the notes in the haunting incident catalog, there’s a psychic here who has been using special abilities to refine gutter oil from swill for a long time.

However, the harmful substance content in his refined gutter oil hasn’t exceeded the standards. Other than swindling some money by substituting inferior goods, he hasn’t done much evil.

Therefore, as disgusting as it is, Jiang Li didn’t arrest him directly but kept him under close surveillance and periodic review.

When Lu Yibei saw this information, he couldn’t help but imagine Jiang Li, the tyrannical beauty, abusing her power to oppress good psychics.

I wonder if she collects protection fees?

If it were me, I’d definitely collect some.

…

“I ride my beloved little scooter, beep beep beep, it never gets stuck in traffic, beep beep beep~♪!”

On Red Star Street, Lu Yibei rode along the street, seeing the patrol nearing its end and feeling indescribably joyful, he couldn’t help but hum a tune.

Soon, he arrived at the alley where the haunting workshop was located, and from afar, he could smell a nauseating stench of swill.

Even if the harmful substances in the gutter oil refined from this stuff don’t exceed standards, I wouldn’t want to eat it!

Lu Yibei thought to himself, accelerating his shabby scooter from eight to ten kilometers per hour, taking a left turn into the alley.

Can’t go any faster, or it’ll fall apart!

“Bang-!” Just as he entered the alley, he heard a muffled sound.

At the end of the alley, something had knocked over a plastic bucket filled with swill by the roadside, spilling leftovers mixed with oily water all over the ground, a foul smell rushing towards him.

Immediately after, a figure rushed out from around the corner, staggering as if drunk, and without slowing down, he plastered himself onto the wall near where Lu Yibei was.

He really plastered himself there, from his head to his torso, perfectly glued to the wall.

Lu Yibei was stunned.

What kind of hero is this? Doesn’t it hurt?

The next moment, the “hero” staggered back, saw Lu Yibei, and suddenly lunged at him, too dark to see his face clearly.

Lu Yibei couldn’t reverse in time and was grabbed by the man, who then, clutching the front of the scooter, uttered a muffled voice, “Bai… Bai…”

Although Lu Yibei didn’t understand why the man knew his name, he couldn’t help but correct him weakly, “It’s Beibei, man. Where’s that accent from? It’s pretty strong!”

“…”

The man seemed to be choked by Lu Yibei’s words or truly exhausted. After two seconds of silence, he released Lu Yibei’s wrist, leaned back, and “bang!” fell to the ground.

Only then did the thick, indissoluble smell of blood mix with the pungent odor of swill and invade Lu Yibei’s nostrils.

Lu Yibei hesitated for a moment, quickly pulled out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and then saw the face of a man who had appeared in the haunting incident catalog.

The face, which in memory was sly and sharp-featured with somewhat cunning eyes, now had blood seeping from its nose and mouth, eyes bulging out, and features almost twisted together in a hideous expression.

He stared at Lu Yibei as if to say something, but instead, he spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with large clumps of what looked like maggots.

Once exposed to the air, the maggots emitted a “hissing” sound and instantly turned into a wisp of green smoke, dissipating into the air.

Soon, the man seemed to lose all strength and fell to the ground, lifeless.

Only the thick red of blood continued to seep out from beneath his clothes.

Lu Yibei, “…”

It seems… someone’s dead?

What should I do in this situation? Should I call the police…

Wait, I am the “police”! What do I do now!

In the silence, only Lu Yibei remained in the alley. After a moment of contemplation, he solemnly took out his phone and dialed Bai Kai.

“Hello? Yibei? What’s up?”

Bai Kai’s side was unexpectedly devoid of the deafening electronic music and moaning women typical of The Underground World, and his tone was unexpectedly serious.

“Shui-Ge, I need to ask you something. What should I do if, during a patrol, I find a monitored psychic has been killed?”

“What? Yibei, tell me what’s going on over there?” Bai Kai exclaimed.

“Uh, okay…” Lu Yibei then recounted exactly what he had just witnessed to Bai Kai.

After listening, Bai Kai was silent for two seconds before speaking in a serious tone, “Yibei, listen to me. Find a place nearby to hide, send me your location, and I’ll come right over.”

After saying this, Bai Kai hung up the phone.

After hearing Bai Kai’s instructions, Lu Yibei was stunned for a moment, then slowly let out a sigh of relief.

From Shui-Ge’s reaction, it seems like this isn’t an isolated incident?

That’s a relief… Otherwise, I would have thought it was because I came here that this guy died!

Otherwise, it would be too much like a certain Mr. Jiang, wherever he goes, a murder occurs. That would be too much to handle. Lu Yibei thought.