A Hunter’s Inquiry

“I heard something happened on your end.”

Indeed, good news travels slowly while bad news spreads like wildfire. Her phone had buzzed with a message early that morning.

“I ran into someone who didn’t follow the rules.”

Xiu Lan replied, “Next time, could you equip me better? It’s quite dangerous for someone unarmed like me to be wandering among these lawless individuals.”

“No, I wasn’t referring to that.” Her contact, saved as Old Wu, sent several photos and a message.

“Someone died over there. You should lie low for a while.”

He even added a cautious emoji at the end.

Dead… someone?

‘Could it be that guy from yesterday was killed? That’s too brutal.’

A wave of unease washing over her, Xiu Lan opened the first photo. Though the sun shone brightly outside, she felt a chill creep up her spine.

The location was the woodland near the factory from last night.

A desiccated corpse lay on the ground. Upon closer inspection, one arm was broken, and the facial features were unidentifiable. Yet, by the clothes on the remains, Xiu Lan recognized the deceased as one of the individuals who had chased her out last night.

‘How could this be?’

Suppressing the urge to vomit, Xiu Lan clicked through the remaining photos one by one.

As expected, they were several more desiccated corpses, photographed from different angles.

‘What is this, vampirism?’

While Bloodthirsty Ones might go berserk from the scent of blood, they didn’t actually drink it.

“I understand. I won’t take any action for a while.”

After sending the reply, Xiu Lan turned off her phone screen.

‘Was this a narrow escape?’

Having survived such a close encounter with a monster, fear and exhaustion washed over her simultaneously. Xiu Lan rose, drew the curtains, and buried her head beneath the soft pillow, as if seeking security in its depths.

‘They shouldn’t come looking for me, right?’

With that thought, the grey-haired girl clutched her bedding tightly and drifted back to sleep.

“I found you.”

A hideous face appeared before her, jolting Xiu Lan awake from her dream. She dragged her weary body into the bathroom.

‘It had nothing to do with me.’

Splashing water on her face, the girl reflected in the mirror was consumed by fear and unease.

‘How embarrassing. Trying to force a smile only made it look more like a sob, twisting her beautiful face into a comical expression.’

‘Perhaps I should go out for a walk?’

****

The sun dipped below the horizon, its gentle rays mingling with a refreshing breeze to create a pleasant atmosphere. Pedestrians flowed ceaselessly through the streets and alleys. Meanwhile, on the towering buildings that scraped the sky, television screens broadcast the day’s news, captivating the eyes of passersby.

‘How tranquil,’ Xiu Lan mused, finding it hard to reconcile such a scene with a human civilization that should, by all rights, be pushed to the brink. ‘Normally, shouldn’t people be dejected all day, with cults and terrorists popping up to wreak havoc now and then?’

As she gazed at the bustling, lively street, Xiu Lan’s thoughts took a slightly darker turn. For someone like her, who dared not venture out without her ‘skin’ and only ever used the sewers, the sunlight felt far too dazzling.

Thankfully, the shadows helped obscure her presence, allowing her to walk around in all black without drawing strange looks. This feeling of existing outside the world brought her an unusual sense of comfort.

…

‘Have I come here after all?’

Xiu Lan looked towards the factory in the distance, the very scene of last night’s incident. Barricade tape stretched across the ground, and a sparse number of peacekeepers moved back and forth.

‘They say some criminals return to the scene of the crime, but what am I doing? Is it guilt over the dead, or fear that the culprit is still at large? I’m already skirting the edges of the law, yet I’m constantly timid.’

Lost in self-reproach, the girl didn’t notice someone in the crowd approaching her. By the time she reacted, the sunlight before her was already eclipsed by a tall figure.

“Are you awake now?”

Xiu Lan was startled. Her ability to reduce her presence was still active, yet this person had pinpointed her with uncanny accuracy.

‘Damn it, have I run into a master?’

After a moment’s thought, the girl decided to feign ignorance, silently turning to slip away.

“Hey, hey, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. You must be what they call the delivery person, right? I didn’t expect you to show up in broad daylight.”

The man scrutinized the short figure shrouded in a black coat before him.

He continued, “I’d like to understand what happened last night. Would you mind coming with me? Of course, I’m not representing the Regulatory Bureau this time, and I’m not interested in your illicit dealings.”

After a brief silence, a hoarse voice, gender indistinguishable, emerged from beneath the shadows: “Very well.”

“Here, quench your thirst.”

Xiu Lan accepted the drink he offered and sat in the chair opposite him.

The man took a sip of water and asked, “You’re a delivery person for the Bloodthirsty Ones Mutual Aid Society, aren’t you?”

“You already know that… Shit, were you just trying to trick me?”

“Haha, I was just testing you. After all, you’re quite suspicious, dressed in all black in broad daylight, and that eerie low presence of yours.”

The man chuckled, introducing himself, “My name is Yao Jing. I’m a Hunter, invited to assist in investigating this case.”

“You’re Yao Jing… The legendary student from Xuyang University? I didn’t recognize you at all. I can’t believe you became a Hunter.”

Xiu Lan looked at the man before her in surprise, comparing him to the photos she had seen at school. If the photos depicted a vibrant, youthful man, the person before her now resembled a weather-beaten middle-aged individual.

‘It felt like a whole age bracket separated them. How many years could it have been?’ Xiu Lan inwardly grumbled.

“The reputation I gained at school is hardly worth mentioning, but it has been so many years since I graduated…”

Yao Jing meticulously observed the gender-ambiguous delivery person before him, then uttered words that made Xiu Lan’s blood run cold:

“You wouldn’t happen to be a Xuyang student, would you? I never thought I’d meet an alumna/alumnus in a place like this.”

‘Classmate, it should be class time right now.’

In Xiu Lan’s mind, Yao Jing’s figure seemed to merge with many of her teachers, while she herself was the truant bad student caught playing games at an internet cafe.

“N-n-n-no, of course n-n-not.”

Even with the shadows obscuring her, Xiu Lan’s teeth couldn’t stop chattering. Her livelihood in this city depended on the residency permit she obtained through Xuyang University’s student affairs office. If the school discovered she was smuggling, she could lose her student status at best, or face jail time at worst. This was something she absolutely had to avoid.

To prevent being doxxed (TL Note: ‘开盒’ (kāi hé) is a Chinese slang term referring to the act of doxxing, where a person’s private information is exposed online.) and having her reputation ruined, Xiu Lan suppressed her unease and said with a tone of reverence, “I recognized you because you took third place in the Xuyang Seven Universities Joint Combat Competition. You truly brought honor to the school! The video is still on loop in the school history museum. For that alone, the bald principal should kowtow to you a few times.”

“…”

“…”

‘Did I just expose something?’

The two exchanged glances.

“Ahem.”

Eventually, the senior student broke the silence. He opened his phone and pulled up several photos:

“Do you recognize this person?”

As expected, they were the same photos she had received that morning, though Yao Jing’s were clearer and more detailed.

“Yes.”

She nodded softly.

“What about this one?”

Yao Jing flipped to another photo.

‘This is…’

Looking at the man in the yellow work uniform in the photo, Xiu Lan tentatively asked, “Is he the robber from last night?”

“Huang Siying, 36 years old, a technician at Minghua Company. According to his wife, he’s been missing for two months.”

Yao Jing put away the photos. “Based on the survivors’ accounts from last night and your identification, it’s largely confirmed to be him.”

“There were survivors?”

“According to the survivor, last night five of them cornered Huang Siying in the woods. Oh, and his gun was a fake.”

“Shit!”

Xiu Lan spat, then asked, “And then what?”

“Then…” Yao Jing sighed deeply. “Huang Siying drank all the vials you gave him.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t come any closer!”

Under the pitch-black night, Huang Siying watched the Bloodthirsty Ones gradually form a circle around him. They wore masks and hoods to conceal their identities, and in their hands, they carried various weapons.

There were clubs, brass knuckles, and even rusty katanas unearthed from who knows where.

They followed Huang Siying step by step.

“You’re forcing my hand.”

Facing their encirclement, he pulled off his hood, revealing a face completely devoid of wrinkles, fair and clean, utterly inconsistent with his age.

As if having made a decision, one vial, two, then four, he gulped down all the potions in the bag, to the pained bewilderment of the other Bloodthirsty Ones. The empty bottles clattered to the ground, seemingly mocking their wasted efforts.

‘Are you satisfied now?’

He wanted to say that.

But…

‘Why?’

It was so uncomfortable; his body was burning, scalding blood circulating within him, as if molten lava flowed through his veins.

So hot, so hot, so thirsty, so thirsty!

Watching a Bloodthirsty One raise their weapon, intending to beat him in a fit of anger, Huang Siying seemed drawn by something, his head moving even closer to his assailant.

In the other’s disbelieving gaze, his arm suddenly elongated, piercing through the assailant’s chest with an unnatural ease, in a manner utterly inconsistent with human anatomy.

“Ah… ah…”

Then, like a venomous snake, Huang Siying slithered along the incapacitated body, his teeth finding the neck.

And then…

He bit down…

In an instant, blood gushed forth.

“What’s happening?!”

“Quick, save him!”

“Hit him, go!”

Ultimately, these were humans who had survived under the oppression of the Dark Blood species (TL Note: ‘黑血种’ (hēi xuè zhǒng) refers to a distinct race or species in this fictional world, often associated with supernatural abilities or a darker nature). After a brief moment of stunned disorientation, the Bloodthirsty Ones grabbed their weapons and launched their attack, attempting to rescue their comrade.

“What happened next?”

Xiu Lan leaned forward, asking.

“Then you know. Most of them were left in that forest; only one managed to escape in the chaos.”

After speaking, Yao Jing picked up his drink and took a sip. “All gone?”

He tossed the empty bottle into a nearby trash can, then, despite Xiu Lan’s protest of “That was mine!”, he took her unopened drink and continued to gulp it down.