Chapter Ninety-Seven: Mystery in Manhattan

Setting aside that jesting notion, the plan was brought back onto its proper course.

That evening, Wu You made time to visit the Eastern Realm.

Wang Fugui was still quietly developing his commerce and his network of informants.

The moment Wu You appeared in the private residence, he hurried over at once.

Although there were still many refugees in the city, their numbers were far fewer than before.

It was likely that the rumors of the blood dragon’s appearance, along with the later beast roars accompanied by strange storms and thunder, had frightened many people away.

For the rare occasion, land deed prices within the city had fallen, and by no small margin.

Wang Fugui took advantage of the opportunity to buy up several properties, to serve both business needs and intelligence gathering.

The first words it spoke upon seeing Wu You were:

“My lord, just as you expected, within the appointed period, no martial factions went to surround and hunt the blood dragon in Jiangzhou.”

The so-called ten-day pact only held under the premise that there was but one blood dragon.

Once the “monster battle” outside Le Ping City became known to all sides, they would certainly no longer rashly gather in Jiangzhou according to the original plan.

“Mhm. Leave that aside for now. I came this time to bring you a few capable helpers.”

Wang Fugui understood at once.

However, Wu You did not immediately summon the creatures he had already created. Instead, he refined them on the spot in the private residence.

He had not forgotten about increasing synchronization.

When Wu You finally finished his concentrated drawing and alchemy, five merfolk and five vampires appeared before him and Wang Fugui.

Among them were two vampires whose appearance had been beautified, the same two underlings Wang Fugui had once had.

The creation of these ten bronze-grade beings was complete.

Wu You faintly felt that in this world, he seemed to have become a little freer, not physically, but in some elusive, spiritual sense.

Yet when he tried to sense it again, it seemed to return to how it had been before.

As he accelerated the laying of his power in the Eastern Realm, it was also inconvenient for him to linger here any longer, lest he truly attract a silver-grade abomination.

...

“Woo-woo-woo-woo...”

A street near Manhattan in New York, outside the back alley of a bar.

Several police cars arrived with shrill sirens.

Before that, some officers had already reached the scene ahead of them.

Just a few hours earlier, a murder had occurred in this narrow alley.

In places like this, crime had always remained stubbornly high in the United States.

Alcohol, together with certain hallucinogens or outright narcotics, had long been an indispensable add-on to the nightlife of American teenagers and young adults.

Being dispatched to this kind of call in the dead of night, the famously individualistic American police certainly would not be in a good mood.

A black detective and his partner got down from a police car farther back.

Jobri and Bain each carried a cup of hot coffee as they ducked beneath the yellow police tape.

After taking a sip, the former asked one of the officers already at the scene:

“Buddy, how’s it looking?”

The officer turned to glance at the scene inside, then answered:

“A drunk’s dead. The one who called it in was a young girl.”

“Oh? What was their relationship? Lovers?” Bain interjected.

The officer’s expression turned a little odd.

“Uh, no. Seems that drunk was originally planning to assault the girl. Ask her yourselves for the details.”

Bain and Jobri exchanged a glance, swallowed the coffee in their mouths, and headed in.

“Make way, please. Excuse us. Thanks.”

Seeing them enter, a familiar figure who had arrived earlier—a female forensic detective—greeted them.

“Jobri, Bain, good to see you.”

They returned the greeting, then looked at the corpse on the ground, its face unnaturally pale.

After that, their gaze moved to the girl nearby, who was clearly only just beginning to steady her emotions and still had tears on her face.

Bain, who fancied himself handsome, handed his coffee to Jobri and walked over to the girl.

A nearby officer passed him the brief notes they had already taken. Bain scanned them quickly, returned them, and then faced the girl.

“Miss, I’m Detective Bain. You’re the one who reported this, yes? Could you describe again what you witnessed?”

The girl turned her eyes to the officer beside her, and he nodded to her.

“My name is Makley Auburn. I work as a cashier at a fast-food restaurant. Today I came to the bar with a coworker...”

As she recounted the events, Bain placed himself in her perspective.

An ordinary working girl, coming to a bar with colleagues to unwind after a day’s work.

She parted from her coworker at the bar entrance and waited alone for a taxi.

But not long after, someone suddenly covered her mouth from behind and dragged her into this alley.

She cried out for help in terror, but no one heard.

Yet just as the drunken man pinned her to the ground, she saw a person hanging upside down from the iron bar at the bottom of the fire escape above the alley.

“Wait! You mean that person was hanging upside down, right? Up there?”

Bain interrupted her story and raised a hand to point toward the iron bar above.

By then, Jobri had also come over to listen.

“Yes, that’s right. He was hanging there upside down, and I could feel that his eyes kept staring at me and that drunk. That look scared me even more than what the drunk was doing.”

Bain rested his chin in his hand and took a sip of coffee from Jobri’s cup.

“Jobri, weren’t you in the Marines before? Go on, try hanging there.”

“Believe me, and I’ll shoot your head off.”

Jobri said this very seriously, drawing laughter from Bain.

“You don’t believe me?”

The girl became a little agitated.

“You think I was drunk too? Think I was high on marijuana?”

Bain raised both hands and spoke teasingly to calm her.

“No, no, miss, don’t get worked up. We’re not saying we don’t believe you. My six-year-old brother saw Spider-Man last week, you know. He could totally show up here to save you right now, hahaha.”

Seeing the girl growing angry, Bain coughed.

“So, miss, what happened next? Did that person come down, kill the rapist, and save you?”

“I didn’t see Spider-Man, and that person didn’t have any spider silk. The way he hung there, he looked more like a bat than a superhero!”

“Okay, miss, we believe you. Please continue.”

Jobri stepped in to smooth things over and glared at Bain, who shrugged innocently.

The girl composed herself.

“That person jumped down from above and hurled that drunk aside.”

At this point, fear flashed across her face.

“Then he grabbed me!”

“I don’t know what he intended to do, but it definitely was not to save me. That much I can be sure of!”

Bain’s smile faded.

“Uh, then how did you escape?”

The girl glanced at the drunk’s body.

“I should thank him, I guess. That drunk had a gun. He pointed it straight at that person, and then I saw the one who’d grabbed me suddenly lunge at the drunk.”

“I was terrified, so I ran out immediately and went into the bar, then called the police. After that, I only dared come out once you all had arrived.”

Bain picked up the thread.

“And then the drunk was dead, and the person you mentioned was gone?”

The girl nodded.

Jobri thought for a moment, then asked:

“Miss, I noticed you keep saying ‘that person.’ So, was the one you saw a man or a woman?”

The girl shook her head.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t tell at the time. He was definitely white, and very good-looking.”