Chapter 168

Chapter 168: The Boundless Dark Realm Part 23

Kui Xin left at nine in the evening.

It turned out that it was raining again in Tonglin City; a light drizzle that only made a faint impact when it hit one’s face.

Kui Xin had never particularly cared for rain; she liked to fall asleep listening to its sound, and her tired mind would find comfort in white noise, becoming less burdened. However, after living in Hei Hai City for so long, she had come to loathe rainy days because the city received frequent rain, and it brought unpleasant associations for her.

If the blood of a mutated creature flowed through the rain to distant places, could it infect more creatures? Or did the blood need to reach a certain concentration before being effective, with dilution by rain rendering it ineffective?

As Kui Xin pondered how the weather affected movement, she proceeded toward her destination.

There was still plenty of time, so she didn’t use the spatial vortex but chose to walk instead. Excessive use of extraordinary abilities drained energy, and lately there had been too many variables in Tonglin City; she needed to conserve her strength for emergencies.

Kui Xin carried some necessary tools. Besides weapons, she also had a camera, tape, cotton swabs, syringes, small glass bottles, extra gloves, plastic bags…and even held a large packet of fish innards in her hand, which she had obtained from the fishmonger at the market under the pretense of feeding cats—the butcher obligingly provided a generous amount.

Important small items were packed in a sports waist pouch, while the fish innards had to be held by hand. In case of danger, she could simply discard the innards; this wouldn’t affect her fighting ability but could interfere with shadow transition due to their weight.

Kui Xin moved cautiously through Tonglin City, avoiding surveillance cameras and staying alert, often checking nearby conditions.

Mutated creatures were not appearing en masse. The few that dared venture into the city, like wild boars, were a rarity. An hour later, she arrived at the outskirts safely, encountering no unforeseen events or suspicious individuals along the way.

Silently sneaking into the tobacco factory, Kui Xin concealed herself in the shadows, listening intently for any squeaks from rats or signs of a mutated creature. Unfortunately, all she heard was the sound of raindrops hitting shattered glass.

She first visited the spot where she had killed several mutated creatures last night. The puddles of blood had dried up, and there were no other signs, with neither dead animal corpses nor unusual movements anywhere—this eased her mind somewhat.

When she reached the location where Fang Zhi died, Kui Xin pulled out a cotton swab and a glass bottle from her pocket, using the swab to collect dried blood samples, hoping to obtain usable evidence. But it was too late; she managed to collect only a small amount, which mixed with dust and dirt, making it difficult to discern.

She properly packaged the swab, put it in a sealed bag, and set it aside.

Next, she removed tape and a camera from her bag, adjusting the recording mode and taping the camera securely onto the wall, double-checking the angle before departing temporarily.

At midnight, she would come back to retrieve the camera.

Kui Xin moved to a remote, unobserved location near the tobacco factory and released the fish innards from her bag, allowing the smell of blood to permeate the air.

This was by the water ditch near the factory, leading into a manhole. It was likely inhabited by many rats.

Among the mutated creatures she had encountered, rats had been one of them. There weren’t many rats left in the factory, since it was unoccupied and offered no food sources, hence her relocation.

Once all preparations were made, Kui Xin swiftly climbed a nearby tree, seating herself on a branch, patiently awaiting whatever might come along.

Because this was essentially a fishing job, she had to show patience.

The rain wasn’t heavy; pulling her hood over her head and having it shielded by leaves made sitting in the rain bearable.

Half an hour later, as Kui Xin prepared to transfer sites when suddenly, a red light flickered in the gaps of the manhole grid.

Kui Xin straightened instantly, leaning forward and fixing her gaze on the sewer outlet. An invisible “hand” drew out a kitchen knife, which hung suspended mid-air in the magnetic field, floating silently beside her.

The red light blinked twice, and a rat emerged from the corner of the cracked sewer outlet. This rat’s fur had mostly fallen off, revealing bare pink skin. Its legs were abnormally long, almost spider-like, with a severely deformed body; despite this, it moved quickly on the ground.

The rat darted lightning-fast to the fish innards left by Kui Xin on the ground, grabbing a fish gill quickly and running back to the sewers.

Kui Xin didn’t move—an entire minute passed yet the rat reappeared, much calmer than before.

After confirming there was no danger, it leisurely approached the innards and buried its face in the bag, vigorously eating.

The rat fed while Kui Xin waited patiently. But as the rat finished devouring the innards, no other mutated creatures appeared. Kui Xin abandoned waiting, and the hovering kitchen knife zoomed through the air, thrusting the rat into the ground, pinning it down.

Swiftly, she leapt down from the tree, retrieved the kitchen knife from the rat’s body, unpacked a glass bottle, donned disposable gloves over her already gloved hands, and contemptuously picked up the non-liquefied remains of the mutated rat, collecting its blood in the bottle.

Once done, Kui Xin placed the now liquid blood into a plastic bag, which melted shortly afterward. This time, the blood didn’t soil the ground but was carefully contained.

“Luckily, it doesn’t degrade the bag,” Kui Xin tightened the bag’s mouth, preventing any spillage.

With preparations made hastily within a day, Kui Xin had only been able to locate such a bag. If she found something bigger, like a wild boar, it wouldn’t fit; perhaps she’d have to seek out a public trash bin in such cases.

The blood in the bag needed disposal, but blood samples from the glass vial and dried remnants collected with cotton swabs had to be preserved.

Holding the remaining innards, Kui Xin left the manhole to another location intending to lay in wait here for mutated creatures to appear.

However, due to either low mutation density or bad luck, she didn’t catch a second mutated creature until it was nearly midnight.

Her phone vibrated repeatedly in her pocket; she had set two alarms, one at 11:58 to remind her approaching midnight, the other precisely at midnight to help pinpoint the time of temporal distortion.

Taking out her phone, Kui Xin shut off the alarm, cleaned the area, and used the spatial vortex to depart far from the tobacco factory.

She couldn’t ascertain if the anomaly was only occurring at the factory or in various parts of Tonglin City; based on the reactions of He Kangshi and Su Rong, it seemed more localized. Her aim was to unveil the truth, eliminate possibilities, and identify the most likely scenario.

She stood atop a distant building with a view of the tobacco factory, briefly glancing at the time before unassumingly gazing upon the dark wreckage in the distance.

Fine rained threads slapped against her face mask, crystallizing into tiny droplets.

Mind strained to unprecedented tension, it felt like she couldn’t even blink.

Finally, midnight struck! At the first jolt of vibration from her phone’s vibrating, Kui Xin’s eyes caught an astounding sight: the tobacco factory seemed encased in an invisible glass dome; it wavered and vanished within a second, gone almost instantaneously.

Kui Xin gasped wide-eyed and took a step back, the deep blue vortex unfolding behind her.

She turned to leave; entering the vortex, she was transported elsewhere.

When she emerged, she found herself inside the factory, eerily silent. The pitter-patter of raindrops hitting glass was clear in the coldness.

Walking forward, she tugged off the camera secured to the wall by tape—shocked by its overheating state and the smoke emanating from it.

Examining it, Kui Xin saw multiple cracks in the camera lens, as if it had failed under tremendous pressure; opening the memory card slot revealed melted residue inside, clearly destroyed.

Shivering, she looked around the decaying factory, recognizing the site held profound significance.

This was where Fang Zhi perished, where she first committed murder in the First World, and the location of temporal distortions…Why had the electronic device burned out? Was it from unknown forces or…

Clutching the scorched camera, she stopped speculative thoughts.

Holding the damaged camera, Kui Xin resolved to investigate further, to eliminate threats and reveal potential changes brought about by temporal distortions.

Quietly descending the rusted staircase with high alert, she loosened the waist pouch, ready to cast it away to facilitate shadow travel if circumstances became dire.

Every step heightened her tense awareness.

“Tick…”

The sudden drip of water broke the silence; instantly followed by Kui Xin’s perception of a breathing sound—someone else’s breath.

A tall figure stood at the bottom of the stairs, partially obstructed by shadows, revealing only his shoe-clad feet, wet with rain.

Both paused.

The dimness, absence of lighting in the factory, impeded Kui Xin from clearly identifying the man’s face, yet somehow she recognized him as human, possibly disguised.

The man raised his head, looking in her direction, while she returned a frosty stare.

Neither spoke; neither moved.

Like two lions meeting in the grasslands, sizing each other up from afar to evaluate power and threat, contemplating if a confrontation or retreat was in order.

In this moment, the man’s phone vibrated, breaking the stagnant atmosphere.

He glanced at the call but didn’t answer, backing away slowly.

Kui Xin observed him for a moment before retreating a step.

They tacitly yielded in mutual respect, easing the intense standoff.

His hand slid into his pocket, dismissing the phone call, but seconds later, it rang again.

Kui Xin watched as he retrieved his phone, swiping it on and showing a glow screen with text: “You can answer.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, stepping back more, saying on the phone to someone off-screen, “Busy now, call you back shortly.”

“Brother,” a sleepy girl chimed in, “I’ve so much homework… a math problem’s got me stumped…”

“Soon then.” He hung up and resumed facing Kui Xin.

She nodded slightly, as though understanding they were meeting coincidentally.

From the man’s mind, a shadow mumbled calmly, “All smells familiar. She has the same scent. She knows something.”