Chapter 13
1536 Words
The gap in the door widened.
Qin Lie rose to his feet.
No words were exchanged.
Su Hongxiu pressed a small silver metal bottle into his hand.
"Spray this on the wound. It masks the scent."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Qin Lie took it.
It felt cold to the touch.
His fingertips traced the texture of the bottle's surface.
It bore the same non-slip grooves found on the handle of a surgeon's scalpel.
He twisted the cap open.
A plume of white mist hissed out.
It settled upon the jagged, torn wound on his arm.
*Hiss.*
A faint, corrosive sound.
The fine hairs surrounding the wound instantly withered away.
The black discoloration receded.
His skin returned to a normal, human complexion.
Qin Lie drew a breath.
The burning sensation in his lungs ceased.
The turbulent agitation within his bloodline was forcibly quelled.
It felt like clamping a lid onto a pot of boiling water.
"This passage leads to the underground sewer system."
Su Hongxiu stepped aside.
Clearing the path.
A surgical scalpel had appeared in her hand.
She held it in a reverse grip.
The blade pointed outward.
Poised to guard against any threat from beyond the door.
Qin Lie nodded.
He stepped across the threshold.
Behind him, the sound of a lock clicking into place rang out.
*Click.*
Twice.
Sealing away the sterile scent of disinfectant from the clinic within.
The darkness swallowed his silhouette whole.
A narrow passage.
The walls were slick with moisture.
The scent of moss mingled with the tang of rust.
Qin Lie moved forward, crouching low.
His footsteps made no sound.
A sensation of numbness spread from his wound.
The spray's medicinal effects were taking hold.
Five minutes later...
A glimmer of light appeared ahead.
A metal grate.
Beyond it lay the street.
The rain had stopped.
Puddles on the pavement reflected the neon glow above.
A shifting interplay of red and blue light.
The wail of sirens echoed in the distance.
Not the sound of ordinary police cruisers.
It was a low-frequency hum.
The dedicated frequency of the Silver Cross Society.
Qin Lie pressed himself against the grate.
Through the gaps...
Three black SUVs were parked at the street corner.
Their engines remained running.
Plumes of white exhaust billowed from their tailpipes.
Car doors swung open.
Boots hit the pavement.
Tactical boots.
A silver cross insignia was stamped into each heel.
A five-man squad.
Each man held a handheld detector.
Their screens flickered with a pulsing green light. "Signal source lost within a three-kilometer radius."
The Captain's voice was run through a modulator.
A mechanical tone.
"Expand scan range. Thermal imaging—online."
Qin Lie retreated into the shadows.
He adjusted his breathing rate.
Four breaths per minute.
His heartbeat slowed to its absolute limit.
His werewolf bloodline was suppressed by pharmaceuticals.
At this moment, to their detectors...
He was nothing more than a rock.
A mouse.
Anything but prey.
The squad fanned out.
Advancing in a wide arc.
Their footsteps were disjointed.
Lacking cohesion.
A newly formed team.
Qin Lie waited.
His fingers gripped the edge of the metal grate.
The metal felt cold against his skin.
One of them drew near.
His detector pointed toward the grate.
The green indicator light turned yellow.
"Anomaly detected here."
The demon hunter crouched down.
He aimed the muzzle of his weapon into the gap.
Safety off.
*Click.*
Qin Lie moved.
His left hand shot out through the grate.
Clamping down on the man's throat.
His right hand snatched the tactical knife from the man's belt.
And plunged it in.
The placement was precise.
The carotid artery.
No blood spurted out.
The wound was too small.
The demon hunter's pupils dilated.
He raised his hand.
Attempting to activate his comms unit.
Qin Lie twisted his wrist.
The sound of bone snapping.
Sharp and crisp.
The body went limp.
Qin Lie dragged it back into the shadows.
He stripped off his shoes.
And changed into the uniform.
The black tactical gear fit tightly.
It wasn't the right size.
But it would serve to confuse visual identification.
He donned the dead man's helmet.
Pulled down the faceplate.
Stepped out from behind the grate.
And melted into the night.
The other four squad members were searching ahead.
Their backs turned toward him.
Qin Lie lowered his center of gravity.
He mimicked the dead man's gait—his habitual way of walking.
A slight limp in his left leg.
Just as the dead man had walked moments before.
"Unit Two? Status report."
The Captain asked.
Qin Lie gave no verbal reply.
He simply raised a hand.
Gesturing toward the alleyway ahead.
The Captain nodded.
And led the squad forward.
A narrow alleyway.
Piles of refuse lined both walls.
The stench of rotting vegetable scraps hung in the air.
Along with the corpses of dead cats.
The moonlight was blocked by towering buildings.
Leaving only the dim, sickly-yellow glow of a streetlamp at the far end. The captain halted.
His detector flashed wildly.
A red light.
"Something's wrong."
"Identity verification failed for Unit 2."
The captain spun around.
His g*n barrel rose.
Qin Lie moved a split second faster.
The dagger in his hand flew through the air.
Spinning end over end.
It struck the captain's g*n-wielding wrist.
The clang of metal on metal rang out.
The g*n clattered to the ground.
Qin Lie lunged forward.
Crashing into the man's chest.
His knee slammed into the captain's abdomen.
The captain let out a muffled grunt.
Ribs snapped.
The remaining three reacted with lightning speed.
Their g*n barrels swiveled.
Qin Lie snatched up the captain's corpse.
Holding it up as a shield.
Bullets tore into the body.
*Thud, thud, thud.*
Flesh and blood were reduced to a mangled mess.
Using the corpse as cover,
Qin Lie charged toward the three men.
Closing the distance to two meters.
He cast the corpse aside.
His hands curled into claws.
His werewolf strength erupted.
Although his bloodline had been suppressed,
His baseline physical prowess remained intact.
The barrel of the first man's g*n was crushed and bent.
The second man's Adam's apple was pulverized.
The third man stumbled backward,
Knocking over a trash can.
Qin Lie scooped up the dropped submachine g*n.
Wielding it with a single hand,
He squeezed the trigger.
A three-round burst.
One shot to the chest.
One to the center of the forehead.
They crumpled to the ground.
Silence returned to the alleyway.
Broken only by the faint crackle of electricity.
The captain's tactical tablet lay on the ground.
Its screen was shattered,
Yet it remained operational.
Qin Lie picked it up.
A fingerprint lock.
He pressed the dead man's finger against the scanner.
Unlocked.
An interface popped up.
A red warning box.
[Hunt Directive: Highest Priority]
[Target: The Last Werewolf]
[Status: Survival Confirmed]
Attached below:
An encrypted document.
Codename: "Ark."
Qin Lie entered a brute-force decryption code—
A universal backdoor taught to him by Old K.
Numbers flickered across the screen.
The progress bar filled to completion.
The document opened.
It was filled with dense, tightly packed text.
[Project Phase: II]
[Sample Source: Old Industrial District, Facility B-7]
[Objective: Genetic Optimization and Weaponization Application]
[Note: Live extraction yields are low; mass cultivation is recommended.]
Qin Lie's fingers froze. The screen light reflected on his face.
Pale.
Mass-produced.
Treating one's own kind like livestock.
Extracting genes.
Forging weapons.
Attached to the document was a photograph.
Blurred.
A laboratory corridor.
Bloodstains trailed across the floor.
Something was confined within a cage.
Its fur—gray and white.
Like a wolf.
Like a human.
Its limbs, twisted and contorted.
Qin Lie switched off the screen.
He clenched the tablet in his hand.
The metal casing buckled and deformed.
*Snap.*
Cracks spread across the surface.
He rose to his feet.
And walked toward the mouth of the alley.
Outside lay the city's main thoroughfare.
Traffic was sparse.
In the distance...
The silhouette of the old industrial district loomed faintly.
Chimneys stood in dense rows.
Like tombstones.
The wind began to rise.
Ruffling the hem of his tactical gear.
The numbness in his wounds began to recede.
The stinging pain returned.
His blood surged beneath his skin.
The fine black fur began to sprout once more.
This time...
It did not recede.
Qin Lie raised his head.
Gazing toward the industrial district.
His eyes burned with a crimson intensity.
Not a loss of control.
But a lock-on.
He reached inside his jacket.
His fingers closed around that cold, heavy bullet.
The token given to him by Old K.
His fingertips traced its surface.
Rough to the touch.
"The Xiao Clan."
"The Silver Cross."
His voice was hoarse.
Like sandpaper grinding against sheet metal.
He shoved the tablet into his jacket.
Then turned.
And melted into the darkness.
His footsteps were no longer concealed.
Heavy.
Resolute.
With every stride, he stepped into the puddles.
Sending water splashing into the air.
Back in the alley behind him...
Four corpses lay cooling on the ground.
Their blood gathered into trickles.
Flowing toward the storm drains.
Flowing toward that place marked "B-7."
In the distance, the wail of police sirens drew near.
Red and blue lights flashed.
Illuminating half the street.
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