Sleepless

Yujing was destined to be sleepless tonight.

A blood mist of unknown origin gradually shrouded the streets and alleys, followed by the sight of massive military convoys rolling into the city, armed with live ammunition and full gear.

Every citizen received an official notification simultaneously. The announcement explicitly stated that unknown pollutants had been detected in the air of Yujing, posing a massive threat to human health. Residents were ordered to find the nearest shelter, close all doors and windows tightly, and refrain from going outside unless absolutely necessary.

Accompanying the announcement were black armored vehicles cruising the roads. Mounted with loudspeakers, they forcibly cleared the traffic and crowds throughout the city.

The scene appeared extremely crude, easily capable of inciting dissatisfaction and panic; in normal times, such actions would certainly be criticized.

But now, no one cared about that.

As the blood mist thickened, deaths began to occur among ordinary people. Most were frail patients or the elderly who, for various reasons, had stepped outside at night and died rapidly after inhaling the mist.

Clearly, the sudden deaths of the initial thousands were just a trigger—the first snowball thrown to start an avalanche!

Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. Given the critical situation, the Yujing authorities had neither the time nor the energy to move slowly.

The city was placed under martial law, the military took the field, and key intersections were strictly controlled. All Ice and Fire Milk Tea shops within the city were shut down with maximum speed.

Simultaneously, the strength of the Time Administration spread outward, analyzing the blood mist, studying the ritual, coordinating with officials to arrest suspects for interrogation, and investigating the movements of Truth Society personnel.

With the tolling of the ritual bell, a giant countdown seemed to appear over Yujing, urging everyone to begin their tireless labor without a moment’s rest.

Shengri Manor was no exception.

The mist grew thicker, and its toxicity increased. The simple tents became unusable; for safety, everyone was relocated indoors.

Fortunately, the manor was vast. Aside from the buildings previously used for summoning demons, there were plenty of other spaces available. Even with the inclusion of the police and Administration researchers, there was still more than enough room.

Inside one of the rooms, Su Mian found Qi Chuan.

“My sister called me just now?”

Reaching out to take the phone handed over by his friend, the girl opened it and looked at the call log. She felt a bit confused. “Why did she call me all of a sudden? Did she say anything?”

Su Mian was truly puzzled.

Although her sister called occasionally, it was usually because she had come to Yujing and wanted to see her. Other times were not nonexistent, but they were very, very rare.

In the middle of the night like this, it was unlikely she was suddenly in Yujing to meet, so the call was quite strange.

Qi Chuan shook his head, looking just as bewildered. “No, she hung up immediately when she heard you weren’t there—but from her tone… it felt like she already knew you weren’t home. Why don’t you just call her back and ask?”

“I will call later…”

Su Mian took the phone but did not press the dial button immediately. It was not that she did not care about her sister, but simply that her current self could not make that call.

She had not yet learned any voice-changing skills, and a succubus’s abilities could not interfere with electromagnetic waves. If she called now, she would have no way to explain her voice to the other side.

Although she could send a message to ask, after thinking it over, the girl decided against it.

She was afraid that if she sent a message, the other side would immediately respond with a phone call or a video chat, which would be equally hard to explain.

It was better to avoid unnecessary complications. With a much larger trouble looming over them, her sister’s matter would have to wait until afterward.

“It probably is nothing important, otherwise she wouldn’t have hung up without saying a word.”

Su Mian managed to convince herself.

But she knew in her heart that these words were partly an act of avoidance. Currently, she truly did not know how to face her only living relative.

Turning from a younger brother into a younger sister so suddenly—leaving aside whether the other side could accept it—Su Mian did not even know how to bring it up.

But as family, she could not hide it forever.

“I will deal with it later.”

The girl did not want to dwell on these frustrating thoughts. She quickly regained her composure, put the phone down, and said to Qi Chuan: “Alright, I am leaving now. You stay here and do not move around.”

“Leaving? Where are you going?”

The youth of ambiguous gender was stunned.

“Didn’t the news just say there is pollution outside? You aren’t allowed to go out randomly!”

“Going to eat… I mean, handle the trouble. Anyway, just go to sleep. Bye.”

His friend still looked confused, but Su Mian could not explain too much. She shook her head, snapped her fingers lightly, and turned to leave.

Qi Chuan instinctively raised his hand as he watched her back, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the next second, he froze on the spot.

A full five or six seconds passed. Only after Su Mian had completely left did he finally snap out of it.

“I just…”

Just then, an official walked in with a form. Seeing the young man standing in the room, he spoke: “Qi Chuan, right? Please register. Oh, by the way, how many people are staying here?”

“Two… no, it seems it is just me!”

“Understood.”

While the registration went smoothly in the room, Su Mian—having handled the potential complication and retrieved her phone—found Jiang Xun and the others.

They had been waiting for her in the hall and rose when they saw the girl descending the stairs.

“Are you finished with your business?”

Jiang Xun asked. The others were actually quite curious about where this succubus had run off to, but Su Mian naturally would not explain. She simply nodded. “Mostly. Oh, right, could you prepare some clothes for me?”

“Clothes?”

The others were puzzled, but the girl did not explain. After all, she could not exactly say that despite looking fully covered, she was actually wearing nothing at all.

While the crimson mist on her surface could hide her body for now, if she had to fight later and ended up using that power…

Just thinking about that scene was a total social death!

Su Mian had no strange fetishes, so she definitely needed a set of clothes to maintain her modesty before leaving.

It was just clothes, not something rare. Although the others were curious, they quickly found several pieces of women’s clothing.

Su Mian looked at the little dresses that resembled middle school uniforms and initially did not want to wear them. But in her current “malnourished” state, there were not many things that actually fit her. In the end, she had to suck it up and accept it.

“Whatever. It is not the first time, and it probably won’t be the last…”