Scarlet Descent

"Hello hello, this is Uncle Gun, I've reached the designated position."

"Xiao Lin, arrived at designated position."

"Lucky, I'm here."

"Reporting Captain, this is Wei Wei, I've reached the designated position!"

"..."

The team members' reports came through the earpiece from time to time, with Wei Wei enthusiastically participating.

Before nightfall, they had each arrived at two intersections outside the pedestrian street in Scrap Iron City's Fifth District. Wei Wei parked in an empty spot under a no-parking sign, observing the bustling crowds and shops around. His nose caught the strong scent of daily life, and following the aroma, he saw a small cart selling fried noodles at a distant street corner, doing brisk business.

But remembering he was on duty, he temporarily resisted the damned temptation.

"Received," the captain's reply came through the communicator. "Keep an eye on Feifei's position, ensure at least two pairs of eyes are on her at all times."

"Yes."

"Understood."

"Got it."

"Received, Captain!"

"..."

"Little Wei, don't speak so loudly, we're in a small place, relax a bit," Captain Ouyang said. "Feifei should be in position now, see what she's doing."

"Reporting Captain, she's eating ice cream..." Uncle Gun answered loudly. "Young girl doesn't care about her figure at all, that's her third one already."

Captain Ouyang: "Sigh..."

...

...

"Sigh..."

Ye Feifei was in an extremely bad mood, holding an ice cream and sighing deeply.

She had arrived at the base early in the morning, only to see everyone hurriedly leaving, clearly on a mission, without any intention of calling her. She felt somewhat wronged and waited a while, hoping to discuss it with the other intern when he arrived. But Wei Wei never showed up at the team headquarters, and she figured he must have been called directly to the scene.

Feeling dejected, she lost enthusiasm for patrolling. She bought an ice cream and sat on the curb, staring blankly at passersby.

Unexpectedly, just as her mood was at its lowest, Uncle Gun called with a serious tone.

Saying there was a task for her.

At that moment, she was overjoyed, disregarding the looks from passersby, and immediately stood up to answer: "I guarantee to complete the mission."

Then she was dispatched to continue patrolling in the Fifth District.

What was the point?

Such a solemn phone call, only to change her patrol location?

The key is, after being here for so long, she hadn't seen any of them.

What were they doing?

Were they secretly solving big cases while moving her around to exercise?

And now they weren't answering her calls.

As night fell, she grew more frustrated. Being asked to patrol was one thing, but today she even had to work overtime patrolling...

Angry, she bought several more ice creams, expensive ones.

...

...

"Is there any problem with Feifei?"

"No."

"Any unusual situations?"

"No."

"…"

In the communicator, routine questions rang out every five minutes.

Wei Wei sat in the Jeep, legs propped on the steering wheel, lazily smoking, occasionally jumping in to answer.

Hanging by the rearview mirror was the fluffy head charm.

But this thing was in a dormant state, eyes and mouth tightly closed, occasionally swaying in the wind.

Wei Wei waited patiently, his gaze lazily scanning the crowds on the street. He saw more and more people coming out for nighttime entertainment in the distance, crowding the street-corner fried noodle stand three layers deep. The slightly charred smell of fried eggs and intestines wafted over like demonic whispers, entering his nostrils, stirring up a false fire in his stomach, making him feel a bit restless.

Hold on, this is work, no, more serious than work, executing a mission.

Wei Wei reminded himself inwardly, trying hard not to look at that little temptress.

At the same time, Captain Ouyang had walked into a hair salon at the edge of the street, expressionless and serious:

"How do you want it washed?"

"Regular?"

"Why would I come in for regular?"

"That's more like it..."

"…"

Xiao Lin was leisurely browsing the night market, attracting countless men's gazes.

Sister Lucky sat on the hood of the deep blue sports car, already holding a cocktail with a small paper umbrella.

"Boss, ten more lamb skewers..."

Uncle Gun sat at a snack stall, calling out like an expert, already three bottles in.

...

...

As the lights came on, the atmosphere reached its peak, with the air of human life everywhere.

Then as the night deepened, the crowds gradually thinned.

The lively atmosphere receded, not just fading away, but adding a touch of loneliness to the streets already accustomed to emptiness. Even the street lights that had been bright seemed to dim a bit, with scattered garbage bags whispering as they rolled down the street.

Wei Wei had eaten three boxes of fried noodles, then watched reluctantly as the small stall packed up, the old couple supporting each other as they left.

By now, there were few people left on the street, only stray dogs out foraging and tipsy drunks.

The team members, having passed the initial excitement of the mission, were entering a period of low mood and doubt. They had been on watch for seven hours but hadn't encountered anything unusual. Like waiting for a date who never shows up, they began to doubt - was tonight destined to be a fruitless vigil, with no chance of encountering that thing?

According to Xiao Lin's analysis, that thing should appear tonight, and there would be over a hundred victims.

But if even Ye Feifei couldn't lure it out, would they just have to watch these hundred-plus people fall victim?

Wei Wei also couldn't help but raise this question in his mind. He could feel that the captain's routine inquiries over the communicator had slowed down, with a bit of panting. In the long and uncertain wait, their inner enthusiasm was gradually being worn away.

The lights grew dimmer, as if losing all strength, even starting to flicker.

On the empty street, a thin mist had risen at some point, swirling indeterminately at the old intersections. Perhaps because the surroundings were too quiet, inexplicable sounds kept arising in their ears. The night wind had grown much colder, blowing in through the car window, raising goosebumps on the skin. In the distance, a stray dog suddenly began whining, turning in circles to bite its own tail.

Wei Wei, awakened by this cold wind steeped in chill, suddenly felt alarmed. Through the rearview mirror, he saw a furtive figure.

It swayed and staggered, with crooked steps, like a marionette.

Wei Wei lay still in the driver's seat, watching this figure slowly approach, then sway forward.

He felt slightly disappointed - it was just a drunk.

Reluctantly releasing his grip on the gun, Wei Wei let out a soft sigh. Suddenly, he heard a crisp voice by his ear:

"Big brother, can I ask you for directions?"

"…"

Wei Wei's breath caught instantly, and he slowly turned his head.

The mist seemed to disperse before his eyes, and he saw a little girl holding a pumpkin lantern (a jack-o-lantern) standing beside the car, looking at him.

He didn't know when she had appeared, perhaps she had come to the car when his attention was drawn by the drunk. She looked very young, only seven or eight years old, wearing a dark red little trench coat. Her face was unusually pale, her hair braided into two little plaits, unusually long. She looked timid, as if shivering in the cold night wind, her gaze blank as she looked at him.

Wei Wei also quietly observed her, and slowly, a gentle smile appeared on his face:

"Hello, little sister..."

The little girl stared fixedly at Wei Wei, the pumpkin lantern in her hand grinning: "Big brother, can I ask you for directions?"

Wei Wei smiled even more kindly: "How old are you?"

The little girl waited a moment, then said again: "Big brother, can I..."

"What are you doing out so late?" Wei Wei interrupted her, smiling: "Where are your parents?"

The little girl fell silent, and after a while, she suddenly turned, slowly walking away with her little pumpkin lantern.

"Click..."

But just as she turned, a sudden sound of a bullet being chambered came from behind her.

Wei Wei leaned out of the car, his gun pointed at her face, the gentle smile now tinged with a hint of danger:

"Did I say you could leave?"

"…"

The pumpkin lantern girl suddenly froze.

Wei Wei looked at the little girl with satisfaction. He didn't know why Ye Feifei, who was guarded in the center, hadn't encountered any unusual situations, while he had first met such a strange little girl. But he still picked up the communicator thrown on the steering wheel in a good mood, put it in his ear, pressed the button, and said with a smile: "Captain, I've discovered an unusual situation here."

He was still in a good mood.

Ye Feifei, with her disaster-prone constitution, hadn't encountered anything strange first, but he had.

Indeed lucky enough.

"Shh shh..."

But he didn't expect that after he spoke, the communicator would emit a buzzing static sound, seeming somewhat chaotic.

Then Uncle Gun's lowered voice also came through: "I've encountered one too, a little girl asking for directions."

"I've met one too, carrying a pumpkin lantern."

It was Xiao Lin.

Sister Lucky's excited and somewhat curious voice rang out: "What's going on? Where?"

"We're in trouble."

Following that was Captain Ouyang's voice, sounding somewhat low: "I've encountered them too, three of them."

...

...

"What the hell?"

Wei Wei was instantly stunned, feeling a sense of losing favor.

So you're not the first to come find me?

His face immediately showed dissatisfaction, his hand holding the gun hooking the trigger.

"Bang!"

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