A carriage slowly entered the confines of Byron City.
Julie gazed at the familiar outline of the city, feeling deeply emotional.
"Peace has been restored here, and moreover, there are too many things we can’t let go of..." Jasmine sighed as well.
Even though the Rek family she had been loyal to was annihilated, her connection to this city wasn’t just about a gang.
The coachman dressed in shadows remained silent.
His dark skin and plain features showed no expression, as if nothing could move him.
"Shadow, why aren’t you speaking?" Jasmine asked with a light laugh.
"I am a wanderer, not particularly attached to any city," Shadow replied, his voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
Yet his gaze inadvertently flickered to Julie.
"Actually, we could have returned a bit earlier..." Jasmine complained. "Also, when are you planning to restart the gatherings? I need to buy some materials, um, and advanced knowledge. I might start preparing now..."
"All of this is arranged by fate."
However, Julie wasn’t as excited. Instead, she took out a newspaper that reported the deaths of two men.
"The old drunkard and the watchmaker are dead... My main reason for coming back is to investigate this matter."
Julie said, "Remember... After entering this city, besides the three of us, no one else is to be trusted! It’s also best not to start the gatherings."
Jasmine covered her mouth in horror, "Do you suspect that the murderer is someone from the gatherings?"
She swiftly envisioned figures such as the jazz musician, the White Cat, the detective, the painter, and guessed, "Could it be the Butcher? He’s always been so violent!"
"As a guardian of the fate’s tail-eating snake, I occasionally activate some foreknowledge... in the form of dreams. These visions are the revelations from the tail-eating snake, though obscure and abstract... But I can feel a powerful darkness steadily infiltrating Byron..."
Julie shook her head, "Also... it’s not the Butcher. His fierce appearance is just a disguise; in reality, he possesses a gentle and kind heart."
Shadow and Jasmine fell silent. After a long while, Shadow finally spoke, "If that’s the case, why did we come back?"
"Because it’s unavoidable. That’s what fate dictates!"
Julie’s mouth curved into a bitter smile as she responded.
Zhong Shenxiu wandered around holding a Martini, like the king of lions surveying his territory.
It’s undeniable that in such a place of converging crowds, the exchange of information and intelligence is also frequent.
Though the customers often bragged, a careful discernment could still offer some understanding of the specific conditions in Byron City.
For instance, at that moment, he heard a rather strange rumor:
"Today in the eastern district, there appeared a glutton who collapsed three restaurants and two pastry shops in a row,"
"I heard too. They say that big eater has an appetite like a whale, never getting full no matter how much is eaten..."
"That big eater must be quite fat, right?" another middle-aged woman holding a drink glass glanced resentfully at her own figure.
"No... reportedly, it’s just a little girl dressed in a black gothic-style dress!"
"How is that possible?"
Many scoffed, assuming the person had drunk too much.
But Zhong Shenxiu didn’t laugh; his spiritual intuition told him that the other person was not lying.
’A gluttonous loli? Interesting!’
Zhong Shenxiu swirled his drink, slowly sipping it: ’It seems... returning at this time was just right!’
The moon hung high in the sky.
Julie absentmindedly took out her keys and unlocked the front door.
She held the groceries and various cleaning tools, gazing questioningly into the darkness of the house as she turned on the gas lamp.
Footsteps sounded as a girl, who looked to be about twelve or thirteen, slowly descended the stairs holding up her black dress. She seemed to be chewing on something, her cheeks puffed out like a little hamster.
"Thanks for the hospitality."
After descending the stairs, she gracefully pulled out a white napkin and wiped her delicate lips, a pleased smile spreading across her face.
Julie took a step back and quickly traced a ritual pattern with her finger behind her back.
The little girl smiled in reply.
"’Glutton’ Dali!" Julie’s voice changed slightly.
This was a notoriously brutal figure from the mystical realm, rumored to have been involved with the Spirit Realm from a young age, which caused her to become mentally deranged. Due to several dangerous experiments, she was unable to grow up and maintained the appearance of a little girl.
Her real age was probably over fifty years old, and what was even more horrifying were her brutal methods.
"Jasmine, where’s Shadow?"
Julie’s voice had a hint of a cry in it as she persisted.
"Haven’t you guessed already?" Dali’s smile widened, more pleased: "Do you want to guess who betrayed you?"
There weren’t many people who could know the identities and secret base of Julie’s group, practically none.
"It was the people at the gathering! Why did they betray me? And kill the old drunkard and the watchmaker?"
Julie asked, her voice trembling.
"Because... I’m hungry!"
Dali’s expression became very sincere: "Common people are ignorant, chasing mansions, gold, status... But these external desires, how can they compare to the most fundamental human desire... hunger! I’m very hungry... Ordinary people no longer satisfy me, only the flesh and blood of the extraordinary brings me a sense of fullness and pleasure!"
"Now, I’m asking you, please give me something to eat!"
As soon as Dali finished speaking, an indescribable danger descended.
It seemed as if a giant mouth bit down from the void, creating a large crescent-shaped gap in the door behind Julie.
However, Julie had already disappeared.
"A hunting game, hmm? Hunting prey, enjoying prey, it’s also the will of primitive nature..."
Dali’s face showed a frenzied expression, and like a wild beast, she sniffed the air and immediately leaped into the darkness, chasing swiftly.
"So, ’The Perfect One’ signifies that the body and the Spiritual Body are completely fused into one, allowing mutual conversion, which means... the true body enters the Spirit Realm?"
Zhang Shenxiu held the documents Gross had brought, pondering.
Such mystiques, capable of phasing in and out of reality, are unthreatened by regular firearms and artillery once they reach this level.
"No wonder they’re called ’The Perfect Ones’ with no weaknesses!"
While he was thinking, he sensed something, his figure suddenly darting out of the bar and into a secluded alley.
Julie, with horrific injuries, lay in a pool of blood.
Behind her stood a strange little girl in a black dress: "Hehe... after frightening the prey, it will instinctively flee towards a safe den or seek companions... I deliberately let her escape three times; it was only then she subconsciously came here, showing how much she still trusts this place."
At that moment, she also saw Zhong Shenxiu, her smile growing even more delighted: "A new prey has appeared!"