Monster Paradise

”I’ve found the culprit but I couldn’t see the face…”

There were four attachments in the message that Yang Ling sent and they were all videos. Lin Huang downloaded the attachments immediately. Once they were downloaded, he looked at the first video that was less than 20 seconds long. It was an empty crossroad and on the top right of the screen, the timestamp showed that it was taken at 1:28 a.m. Although it was late, under the lights along the street, the crossroad was brightly lit.

The crossroad remained empty for five to six seconds, then suddenly, a person in black robes appeared on the screen. The black robes were oversized and it was hard to ascertain the person’s gender, let alone the person’s face. Lin Huang could tell that it was a lady from the black heels that occasionally flashed from under the robe. The person’s strides were short but fast, and within seconds, the person walked out of the area monitored by the surveillance camera.

Lin Huang proceeded to look at the second video. It was also around 20 seconds but this time, it was at a T-junction. The same thing happened. A person in black robes walked by quickly. Although the person was covered in the robes, judging from the gait and the speed of the steps, it was the same person who had appeared in the first video. Lin Huang proceeded to look at the third and fourth videos, all of them featuring the same person in black robes. The date stamp shown on the video showed that it was on the second day that the fourth man died. All of them had happened between 1:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Lin Huang could confirm that all of them were the same person, that that was the Brain Eater that he was looking for. However, without being able to recognize the face, Lin Huang was clueless. It was past 10 o’clock at night when Lin Huang checked the videos and he did not want to bother Yang Ling, so he continued to read about the Brain Eater. He finished all the documents until it was past 7 a.m. He did not sleep at all. He took a cold shower and had breakfast downstairs with a cup of coffee.

Later on, he sent Yang Ling a message: ”Please get me the surveillance camera footages from around the four underground hotels to see if we can find the person who was with the four victims on the night that they were killed. Also, take a look at the camera footage of the four users of the Chilly Night app who appeared on that night. The Brain Eater should’ve headed home after it got rid of the dead bodies around 1:30 a.m. If she headed home without her black robes, we can see her face on the camera.”

After sending Yang Ling the two messages, Lin Huang left the hotel and headed to the first registered address of the first Chilly Night user’s account on the Viridian Wolf. It was an old, small area without any surveillance cameras around. Yang Ling managed to find the room, which was Room 401 in Block 4. Using a Specific Transformation Card, Lin Huang transformed himself into Spectre and went into the room.

It was a unit with two bedrooms and a living room. It was around 60 square meters large with a kitchen and a bathroom. There was nobody but it was clear that someone was living in there as it was clean. The master bedroom was neat with the bed made and the blanket folded. There were two pillows on the bed and there was a photo frame near the bed head, facing the corner. It was a photo of a young couple. It was obvious that the new occupiers were a young couple.

Lin Huang looked around the room but he found nothing. Although there must be clues that the Brain Eater had left a couple months ago before it left, now that there were new people moving in, those clues must have been wiped clean. Lin Huang had expected to not find any clues here. He then left the room, transformed back to himself and walked to the security office downstairs.

The security guard was an uncle in his 50’s. Seeing that he was the only one in the office, Lin Huang had a silver glow in his eyes as he spoke to the man.

”Uncle, are there no surveillance cameras in the security office as well?”

”No, Luoxi City has always been safe so there’s no need for that. Moreover, I am here. We don’t need surveillance cameras.” The man patted his own chest confidently.

”I would like to ask, was there a beautiful lady staying in Room 401 of Block 4 four months ago?” Lin Huang asked.

”Yes, she’s really pretty with a banging body too.” The man nodded immediately.

”What does she really look like? Do you have any photos or videos of her?” Lin Huang asked.

”Of course not, why would I have any of that?” The man waved his hands.

”You can only get a photo of her from herself, even the house owner does not have it. She signed her unit contract with me. There were some issues with her Emperor’s Heart Ring that day, so she could not retrieve any of her personal details. She stayed here for only a month, so the house owner did not even register the house rental with her.”

Lin Huang realized that it was a tactic of the Brain Eater so that her face would not be exposed. She figured that if any hunters were to come for her, it’s likely that the places that she stayed at would be exposed. After obtaining the information, Lin Huang left the security office. After he left, the illusion that he cast on the man disappeared.

”Eh, I thought I was talking to Aunty Zhang? Where did she go?” The man looked around trying to find where Aunty Zhang went.

As Lin Huang walked out of the area, he bumped into the two hunters who were staying next to him in the hotel. They must have followed the clue that they got from the Chilly Night app. Noticing Lin Huang, they finally figured that he was in the same case as they were. They both glanced at Lin Huang without saying a word and passed by him. It was normal for different hunters to be on the same mission. Clearly, the duo was calm as it was not the first time they had encountered something like this.

After the duo entered the area, Lin Huang summoned the Viridian Wolf and headed to the second address. It was 11 in the morning when Lin Huang managed to visit the third house. The three houses were all located in an old, small area without any surveillance cameras and had new tenants. All traces of the Brain Eaters were all gone. Lin Huang did not find anything the entire morning.

Helpless, he summoned the Viridian Wolf and headed to the fourth address. It was the address of the account user who had registered more than 20 days ago. It was also an old, remote area without any surveillance cameras. As Lin Huang arrived at the entrance of Room 502 in Block 3, he realized that he had used all of his Specific Transformation Cards. He then redeemed a couple of Spectre Transformation Cards using his card pieces and entered the room after transforming himself into the Spectre…