Scarlet Descent

"The situation is complicated," Captain Ouyang said, showing no embarrassment at being caught slacking off. He seemed to believe that studying lottery tickets at a crime scene was perfectly reasonable. Turning around, his expression grew very serious as he nodded to Wei Wei and said:

"As you can see, a 24-year-old man named Wang lived here alone. His parents passed away long ago."

"He worked at the mine and rarely interacted with neighbors, but had a decent reputation."

"No one imagined he had such serious issues—filling his room with these things." "..."

Wei Wei quickly shifted into work mode, focusing on the most crucial point. He hesitantly asked, "The child..."

"We're not sure if the missing child is connected to this worker," Captain Ouyang replied, shaking his head. "These dead chickens and rabbits were found while searching for clues. It scared the young couple outside, so they brought the family to make a fuss. Of course, we can't let them in to avoid contaminating evidence. But their reaction is understandable—when so many pets are missing, how could they not suspect him of taking their child?"

"The scariest part is that all these stolen pets met this fate."

"So if the child was also taken by him..." "Sigh..." "..."

Wei Wei furrowed his brow, immediately grasping the key point: "You haven't found this person yet?"

"He ran," Captain Ouyang said, shaking his head as if he found the situation absurd. "After officers discovered the issues in his room, they suspected he might be involved with the missing child. They immediately organized a team to find him at the mine—going there without leaking any information to ensure a successful arrest. But when the police arrived, he had already fled."

"According to the mine foreman, the man was working normally but suddenly dropped his tools and ran out of the mine. When the foreman tried to stop him for questions, he headbutted him—very out of character for his usually good temper—and fled recklessly."

"This abnormal behavior startled his coworkers, who thought he'd gone mad."

"But less than five minutes after he escaped, the police arrived." "It's still unclear how he got wind of it. It's almost like he had precognition." "..."

Wei Wei listened attentively, nodding silently. Captain Ouyang seemed to understand what Wei Wei was thinking and sighed lightly, "It is a bit strange."

"The police department is checking surveillance footage everywhere, but, sigh..."

"..."

Wei Wei understood his concerns. In the era of the Great Recession, surveillance infrastructure was already imperfect. Moreover, people infected by demonic powers often possessed abnormal magnetic fields. This made it difficult for surveillance systems to capture their images. If they had caught him at the mine or at home, it would have been fine; once he escaped into the crowd, it became very hard to locate him in the city. In fact, if he had gained stronger demonic powers, he could use his own field to distort space. Even if ordinary people passed by, they wouldn't be able to discover him hiding nearby. And unless a city had specialized personnel and high-energy equipment, they lacked the ability to conduct a thorough search.

"What kind of person hangs these things in their bedroom every day?" a voice suddenly spoke up. It was Ye Feifei, her face still pale as she forced herself to return.

"Why are you here?" Captain Ouyang was visibly stunned, then shook his head helplessly. "It's not just that these specimens are hanging in the bedroom—I observed signs that he lived there. Recently opened snacks indicate one thing."

"He normally lived in this bedroom, eating and sleeping every day, accompanied by these rotting corpses."

"..."

Hearing this, Ye Feifei's face grew even paler. Captain Ouyang suddenly glanced at Wei Wei and asked, "What's your take on this?"

"Two possibilities," Wei Wei replied seriously—this was a test every newcomer had to face! His gaze slowly swept across the room as he analyzed, feigning a bit of struggle: "I think either this person had severe psychological issues with strange fetishes that are incomprehensible to normal people, or..."

"However, such fetishes should have shown early signs; questioning his acquaintances would provide answers."

"The second possibility is that he was infected by a demon."

"According to the behavioral psychology report on demon-infected individuals, even ordinary people influenced by demonic powers—though not yet fully infected—a considerable portion develop special fetishes and new habits." "For example, those infected by the Regularity Demon may exhibit severe obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Life Demon infectees become increasingly indifferent to bodily harm, even developing self-mutilation tendencies. War Demon infectees often become hot-tempered and increasingly combative..." "Cases of those who enjoy killing and corpses are not uncommon, but if the child was also abducted by him, I'm unsure. I can't recall any demon infectee whose desire to kill gradually escalated..." "..."

"As expected of someone from the training camp," Captain Ouyang nodded approvingly after listening. "Your foundation is very solid. Your analysis is similar to Xiao Lin's."

"However, you missed one point." "It's not just strange fetishes due to demonic power erosion, but also the possibility that he was preparing some ritual to please a demon—begging it to fulfill some twisted wish. These appeasement rituals aren't limited to infectees; anyone who knows the relevant steps and materials can attempt them. It's quite common." "Analyzing solely based on infectee fetishes, some things indeed seem strange. But if it's for holding certain appeasement rituals, then anything is possible. Moreover, if he's preparing a ritual, the severity of the problem is greater than mere demon infection." "..."

"Yes, yes," Wei Wei nodded repeatedly. "The experienced seniors know more. I need to learn a lot."

Captain Ouyang's expression immediately brightened. He waved his hand and smiled, "You'll understand after experiencing a few cases."

"Sigh, Lucky is busy with other matters now. I'll have Uncle Gun go to the guard office later to investigate surveillance footage, trying to find traces of this guy. Xiao Lin has already gone to investigate his past at the mine, to see if we can find some valuable clues. The rest is trickier..."

As he spoke, he frowned slightly and looked back, "Where's Zhu Zai? Why hasn't he come up yet?"

Wei Wei shook his head, "Brother Zhu Zai had something very important to do, so he asked us to come in his place." "Something important?" Captain Ouyang was taken aback. "What important thing?" Wei Wei hesitated, then shook his head and said, "At least it's not washing the pot." "Sigh..."

Captain Ouyang clearly knew Zhu Zai better. Hearing Wei Wei's response, he understood what had happened. His expression was somewhat helpless, yet he refrained from saying anything harsh. Though short-handed and with so many tasks at hand, he couldn't help feeling troubled—who could he send to do the job?

Instinctively looking up, he saw Wei Wei and Ye Feifei standing before him. Wei Wei stood straight and serious, while Ye Feifei appeared eager, her eyes faintly shining. Neither spoke, but both looked ready to be assigned tasks.

So Captain Ouyang quickly made a decision, shaking his head helplessly, "Then I'll go handle it myself. As for you two..." After a brief pause, he looked at Wei Wei and said, "You go around the neighborhood and see if you can find any clues!"

Wei Wei stood at attention and said, "Yes, sir."

Captain Ouyang smiled broadly and waved his hand, "No need to be so formal—we're a small place with few rules."

He had intended to add a few more words of caution—reminding Wei Wei to be careful in handling matters, to mind his relationships with ordinary people and officers, and to report any important issues immediately. But seeing Wei Wei standing so straight and serious, he found himself at a loss for words. After all, Wei Wei came from the training camp; in many aspects, his performance seemed even more professional than his own… although, his taste in colors was a bit strange.

Meanwhile, Ye Feifei listened from the side, watching the newly assigned Wei Wei with a face full of expectation. Slightly excited, she asked, "What about me?"

"You?" Captain Ouyang paused for a moment, glancing at his watch. "Isn't it almost time for your street patrol?" "..."

Ye Feifei stared blankly at Captain Ouyang, then at the calm-faced Wei Wei, unable to express the frustration welling up inside her.