CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55 CONFUSION_1

Lu Yuan felt as though he had shattered something.

A massive cloud of blood exploded before him.

HUFF. HUFF.

His vision returned to reality.

Lu Yuan maintained his punching stance, standing on the spot and panting heavily.

A tall figure, missing a good portion of its head, fell thunderously before him.

After hitting the ground, it swiftly withered, its limbs and torso showing signs of melting.

"Is it... dead?"

Lu Yuan stared blankly at his fist, then at the rat man’s corpse on the ground, momentarily unable to process what had happened.

A moment later, a profound, lingering fear etched itself onto his face.

So close... It was too close for comfort. If I hadn’t triggered the Flash of Insight passive, if I hadn’t deliberately studied Lin Zhiquin’s Crane Cry Punch before... I can’t imagine what I would have faced. Just a moment ago, I practically walked through the Gates of Ghost.

SQUEAK.

The squeaking of a rat snapped Lu Yuan back to his senses. He immediately saw the remaining giant rat, its fat body writhing, scurrying away into the distance.

Lu Yuan’s eyes turned cold, and he quickly lunged after it.

The giant rat was fast, but perhaps because Lu Yuan had slammed it against a wall and kicked it earlier, its brain was injured. After running a short distance, it foolishly stood still, allowing Lu Yuan to catch up.

When Lu Yuan returned from the depths of the alley carrying the giant rat’s corpse, walking back to where he had been, his calm gaze suddenly sharpened.

He saw that at the original spot, the rat man’s body—missing half its head and constantly melting—had vanished sometime without him noticing.

Only a large, black, wet stain remained.

Lu Yuan followed the trail out of the alley, stopping before a manhole whose cover had been removed.

"It escaped?!" he exclaimed internally, shocked. "It wasn’t dead even with half its head gone?! Or was it taken away by an accomplice or something?"

Lu Yuan’s expression turned grim.

Just as he was staring at the dark, stinking manhole, hesitating on whether to go down and pursue it, the wail of police sirens echoed from the street in the distance.

Red and blue lights flashed, rapidly approaching.

SPLASH.

Clear water from a mineral water bottle gently fell into Lu Yuan’s cupped hands.

When his hands were half-full, Lu Yuan brought his face close and vigorously splashed water onto it several times.

"Here—"

A packet of tissues was offered from the side by a small, fair, delicate hand.

"Thank you."

Lu Yuan accepted them, quickly pulled out a few sheets, and meticulously began wiping the grime from his body and face.

After using three or four bottles of mineral water, Lu Yuan had only managed to get his face and hands passably clean.

But his body still reeked.

His dirty T-shirt and pants, and his hair, damp and matted in clumps, made him look like a homeless man who had slept in a garbage heap for a week.

I’ve never been so disgusted with myself, Lu Yuan thought. The stench is so bad even I can barely stand it. But there’s nothing to be done now; I’ll just have to wait until I get home to shower.

"I didn’t expect you to be quite handsome," a muffled voice said from beside him.

Lu Yuan turned his head to see a young policewoman with large eyes and fair skin, pinching her nose as she spoke to him. She was still holding the mineral water and tissues she had used to help him clean up.

"Here, you can have the rest."

The young policewoman, apparently unable to bear Lu Yuan’s odor any longer, shoved the mineral water and tissues into his arms. Pointing to a figure not far off, she said, "Go over there later; our captain wants to ask you some questions," then hurriedly walked away.

Lu Yuan unscrewed the water bottle and gulped down several mouthfuls; he was indeed quite thirsty.

He then took a tissue and haphazardly wiped his head and clothes, glanced around, tossed the rubbish into a nearby bin, and then, as the young policewoman had instructed, walked towards the captain.

As Lu Yuan approached the detective captain from behind, he overheard his conversation with a subordinate.

"...A large amount of female hair, scalp, and facial tissue was collected at the scene..."

"The victim’s identity can only be confirmed after the forensics department takes it back for genetic comparison..."

"Hmm, any leads on the suspect...?"

"Based on the information from the person who reported the incident, and the bloodstains and footprints we’ve collected, there’s evidence to suspect the perpetrator... escaped through one of the sewers in there..."

"Get a few men to go down and check. Remember to take a couple of ’Electronic Dogs’ with you."

"Yes, sir."

Following the captain’s instructions, several officers carefully retrieved two silver-gray boxes from the trunk of a car.

When opened, each box revealed a palm-sized, disc-shaped object.

The officer who opened one of the boxes pressed a few buttons on the device. It began to emit a faint blue light and then smoothly levitated.

Lu Yuan was watching this thing called an ’Electronic Dog’ with intrigue when the police captain, whose back was to him, suddenly covered his nose and snapped, "Kid, did you crap your pants? Why do you stink so damn bad?"

The officer reporting to the captain, standing opposite him, also covered his nose and discreetly pointed a finger at Lu Yuan.

The detective captain paused, then turned around.

He was a middle-aged man with a square face and an imposing air of authority.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan, the man’s stern expression immediately softened, and he lowered the hand covering his nose.

"Are you the one who reported this incident?"

"No," Lu Yuan replied, shaking his head.

It wasn’t me who called the police,

he thought. It was that girl who was passing by. But she disappeared before the rat man transformed; she probably got scared and ran off early.

"...I was the one who reported giant rats here a while ago," Lu Yuan added after a moment’s thought.

The middle-aged man turned his head and murmured a few words to the officer beside him. When he looked back at Lu Yuan, there was a peculiar glint in his eyes.

"You’re saying you just fought with a... ’rat man’? And the dead giant rat found at the scene was raised by this ’rat man’? You killed the giant rat, and the rat man suffered a setback at your hands and then fled?"

"It might have fled, or its corpse might have been taken away by a companion. I’m not certain if it’s actually dead," Lu Yuan earnestly corrected him.

The middle-aged man chuckled at this, then abruptly changed the subject.

"You’re still in high school, right?"

"Yes. Burnt Rock Fourth Middle School, second year."

"Do you practice martial arts regularly?"

"I have. At Origin Martial Arts Hall, No. 231, FanDou Street."

Lu Yuan patiently repeated much of what he had already said during his earlier statement.

He suspected this middle-aged man, the police captain, might have only just arrived at the scene and was only now getting up to speed.

As the middle-aged man continued his questions, he suddenly interjected, "The girl who was kidnapped in this alley a month ago... was it you who saved her?"

Lu Yuan paused, thought for a moment, then calmly nodded. "Yes."

He hadn’t expected to keep it from the police for long anyway; might as well admit it freely.

"Impressive. Quite skilled for someone so young," the middle-aged man praised, seeming to regard Lu Yuan more favorably. He started to reach out to pat Lu Yuan’s shoulder but, catching a whiff of the sewer stench, quietly withdrew his hand.

"Since you acted the hero, why not let anyone know? The department was even planning to award you a commendation banner."

"I didn’t want my parents to find out and worry," Lu Yuan replied, then added seriously, "It’s the same this time."

"Understood. Still, it’s not good to keep everything from them. I’ll call your parents later... just say you performed a service by reporting the incident..."

The middle-aged man rubbed his nose vigorously, evidently no longer able to tolerate the smell emanating from Lu Yuan.

He waved a hand at him. "Alright, you can head home. It’s late, and you probably need a shower..."

"Mm," Lu Yuan nodded, then suddenly asked, "May I ask one more question, Officer?"

"Go ahead."

"That rat man... what exactly is it?"