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“Awooo…”

“Thud!”

A stone sailed through the air and struck the wolf right on the head, cutting its howl short. A scolding voice rang out from the shadows of a nearby building. “Quiet! No howling in the city—and don’t think adding a ‘woof’ at the end will fool anyone! People aren’t that stupid. They won’t mistake you for dogs!”

The phantom wolves whined softly and backed away as if chastised. From the shadows emerged a petite figure, moving with purpose.

She was a young girl, no older than sixteen or seventeen, with short hair framed by her face and a single strand curling upward on her forehead. She looked calm beyond her years, dressed in a black skirt and a dark red jacket. As she walked past the wolves, they lowered their heads respectfully. She didn’t spare them a glance, her eyes fixed instead on the lifeless body lying by the side of the alley.

Her face darkened for a brief moment as she knelt beside the body, inspecting it. One of the wolves approached, its growl low and muddled like it was trying to convey something.

“…The scent of rain?” she muttered, frowning. She looked up at the sky—clear and cloudless, though the sun was sinking fast. The sky between the skyscrapers was still bright, with no sign of the storm the wolf suggested.

Her brow furrowed further as she examined the grisly wound on the man’s chest. “Rain… his heart… and the stench of frogs?” She whispered the words as if trying to solve a puzzle.

Before she could think anymore, a sharp ringtone came from the small pouch at her waist, playing the familiar opening notes of Journey to the West. She sighed and answered before the song could play a fourth time.

“Hello, who’s this? …Oh, right, it’s me,” she said, keeping her voice low as she held the phone to her ear. She waved her hand to signal the wolves to keep guard, then walked a few paces away from the body. “I’m here. My wolves were the first to catch wind of it, but… nothing. We didn’t find anything useful.”

She glanced at the unfortunate corpse again, her expression tight. “It was ‘Rain,’ and there was a manifestation—a ‘Rain Frog.’ But it seems the rain only targeted one person. Yes, the victim is very unlucky. By the time I got here, it had already stopped. The depth is back to Level L; the ‘Rain’ has disconnected from the Boundary.”

The person on the other side must have asked about medical assistance because the girl sighed and replied, “Send someone to collect the body. There’s no point in sending a medic. No one can survive a ‘Rain Frog’ attack alone. His heart’s been taken… Yes, I’ll stay until you send the clean-up team. Oh, and don’t forget to add this to my overtime pay.”

She barely awaited a response before hanging up, sighing deeply as she returned to the wolves. She beckoned one to lie down and sat on its back, propping her chin on her hand as she looked at the lifeless body.

“Poor guy. I wonder if you had any family waiting for you. It must’ve been lonely, dying like this… in the rain no less. I’d warm you up if I could, but unfortunately, I’m not a fairy tale match girl,” she said softly, her voice filled with quiet sympathy.

Time passed slowly as she waited for the clean-up crew. Eventually, the roar of an engine reached her ears, coming from the nearby intersection. It was loud, like an old armored vehicle dragging a metal container behind it. The sound grew louder, the ground trembling as the van approached, bouncing over every speed bump in the road. Even the wolf beneath her seemed startled, though it didn’t move since she was still sitting on its back.

The girl looked up to see an old, rattling van crawling around the corner, struggling over the bumps like a rusty Soviet tractor. She watched it with mild curiosity as it finally came to a stop. Several men in tactical gear quickly jumped out, immediately pushing the van from behind as if they’d done this a hundred times.

Finally, a middle-aged man in a coffee-colored coat stepped out of the van, followed by a young woman in a white dress. They glanced back at their struggling team, then walked toward the girl, expressions resigned.

The girl rolled her eyes, standing up from the wolf’s back as they approached. “Seriously, can’t Team 2 get a new van? Does the Special Operations Bureau really have that tight of a budget? I swear, one of your gadgets costs more than that hunk of junk.”

“Shh!” The middle-aged man quickly raised his hand, lowering his voice as he glanced nervously back at the stalled van and his team. “Keep it down… You don’t understand. Our bureau’s got special issues. The van’s just acting up today. Replacing it is not an option.”

“Big organizations sure do have their share of problems,” the young woman shrugged, clearly uninterested in the man’s dilemma. She then turned to the petite woman dressed in a simple white gown. “Good afternoon, Dr. Lin. It’s been a while.”

“It’s good evening now, Little Red Riding Hood,” Dr. Lin replied with a faint but polite smile. Her thin lips added to her reserved demeanor. “How’s your injury from last time?”

“Nearly healed,” Little Red Riding Hood said, flexing her right wrist. “You know, wolves tend to have pretty amazing healing powers.”

“Humans have the strongest healing abilities,” Dr. Lin corrected her with a serious tone, “we’re just very keen on avoiding injuries in the first place.”

“Oh,” Little Red Riding Hood replied, a little absentmindedly, before shifting her attention to the lifeless body on the ground. “Anyway, let’s focus on this for now. The victim is male, in his early twenties, and it looks like his heart was taken by a ‘Rain Frog.’ Time of death—about two hours ago. I haven’t searched the body yet, so I’m not sure if he’s carrying any ID. I wanted to preserve the scene.”

She glanced curiously at Dr. Lin. “By the way, you came all this way… Don’t tell me you’re here to try and treat this guy? Is that even possible?”

“No, I’m no miracle worker,” Dr. Lin replied with a shake of her head. She crouched beside the body, inspecting it carefully. “I’m just here because this place is close to my house.”

After a few moments of examination, she found an ID card on the victim and held it up.

“The deceased’s name is Yu Sheng, age twenty-four. Address is listed as 77 Wutong Road in the old city,” she said, comparing the ID to the victim’s face. “Captain Song, you should use the bureau’s resources to try and contact his family.”

The broad-shouldered man, Captain Song, nodded. He leaned over to get a closer look at the ID, frowning in confusion. “Why’s the photo so blurry?”

Hearing this, Little Red Riding Hood leaned in as well. The portrait on the card looked like it was smeared with a dark, grayish grime, rendering the face almost unrecognizable.

Dr. Lin rubbed at the grime with her fingers, but it wouldn’t come off. It was more stubborn than she had expected and seemed to have covered the entire card.

“You can barely make out the name,” Little Red Riding Hood muttered. “The ID number’s almost invisible too. We’ll have to take it back to the bureau and scan the chip.”

Captain Song sighed, sounding resigned. “What a shame. It would’ve been helpful to have some clear ID. Now we’ve got even less to work with.”

Dr. Lin nodded thoughtfully, her gaze drifting to the bloodstains on the ground that had nearly been washed away by the rain. “With so little evidence left behind, it’s going to be difficult to figure out exactly what happened.”

Little Red Riding Hood listened quietly to their conversation as if in deep thought. Then suddenly, she looked up at Dr. Lin and said something astonishing. “Good evening, Dr. Lin.”

“Good evening, Little Red Riding Hood.” Dr. Lin greeted the girl with a smile, “How’s the patrol going?”

Little Red Hood stroked the head of a large wolf beside her and looked around. “It rained pretty hard here, which means a ‘Rain Frog’ probably manifested. But, luckily, there don’t seem to be any victims.”

Dr. Lin looked relieved. “That’s a good sign, then.”

Just then, the sound of a sputtering engine came from nearby. The dilapidated van roared back to life, the engine finally running smoothly. The operatives who had been struggling to push it stood nearby, panting. One of them hurried over to Captain Song.

“Captain, the van’s ready. Should we head back?”

Captain Song nodded and turned to the others. “Alright, let’s get moving. And don’t forget to give Dr. Lin a lift.”