Chapter 31: Battle Royale?

……

……

After the mission is completed, won't there be any special changes? For example, a beam of white light descends from heaven, healing injuries; to be honest, I'm a bit hungry—can I stop being hungry?

Silence lasted for ten seconds.

Still, Chu Zhongtian had to speak up to break it, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"When the time comes, you'll know; now isn't the time to talk about this." Zhou Zhen'guo said, "It seems the Ripper isn't this person."

"How could that be? He disappeared, then reappeared, and everything matches." Chu Zhongtian said, "Could it be that our mission also includes capturing him as a hidden condition? Why is the mission so vague!"

He was already somewhat agitated, unable to suppress his inner indignation.

Zhou Zhen'guo remained calm: "Missions have always been vague; just get used to it."

"Address, address."

Chu Zhongtian lowered his head and found Green·Brule's home address.

"Let's go catch him!" Chu Zhongtian looked up at Zhou Zhen'guo and Tang Luo.

"Stay calm."

Zhou Zhen'guo said, "I don't think it's necessarily him."

"'Why?' Chu Zhongtian took a deep breath."

"'It's simple.' Zhou Zhen'guo said, 'Do you think someone who was snatched for brutal human experiments, miraculously survived, would then swagger back into a small town?'"

"'This……'"

Chu Zhongtian realized this oversight.

If it were him, being snatched somewhere for experiments and miraculously not dying—

Even if he chose revenge, he certainly wouldn't appear openly.

Isn't this just complaining that he didn't die fast enough?

"'The Ripper is more likely to be among these people.'"

Zhou Zhen'guo pointed at the still‑missing dozen or so people and said, "Master, what do you think?"

Tang Luo shook his head: "Amitabha, the poor monk isn't thinking about these."

"'Ah?'"

Zhou Zhen'guo and Chu Zhongtian both froze for a moment.

What the heck is going on!

Master, don't give up on thinking!

You're our most important combat power—uh, I guess you could also stop thinking.

"'The poor monk only waits for the Ripper to appear and beat him to death. As for what to do next, you two patrons decide; the poor monk will act with you.' Tang Luo said."

"'Just like the night before.'"

Chu Zhongtian muttered a sentence.

What happened the next day.

He dressed as a woman as bait, attracting Huo Qi and Jack the Ripper.

The current situation is roughly the same.

They wandered around here and there.

They are both prey and hunter.

Thinking this way, all their thinking seems to have little effect, huh?

No wonder Master Xuanzang stopped thinking outright—no, he just couldn't be bothered.

"'Wait a moment.'"

Chu Zhongtian suddenly thought of something: "Jack the Ripper's possession ability must have a range, right? It couldn't possibly cover the whole small town, could it?"

"'You mean…!'"

Zhou Zhen'guo also thought of something: "Map!"

The two picked up the materials and headed downstairs together.

Ordinary small towns certainly wouldn't sell large quantities of standard maps.

But as a security bureau, Gelan Field's agents need to respond to calls, so addresses and such must be very clear.

Because in the lobby downstairs hangs a hand‑drawn map of the small town.

So that officers can see it when they come and go, leaving an impression.

Thus they won't suffer the embarrassment of getting lost during an investigation.

The map isn't very new; it's probably from several years ago and not very detailed.

But for Zhou Zhen'guo and the others, it's enough.

"'Church, inn, Huo Qi…'"

Several points where Jack the Ripper was encountered were marked.

Next are the addresses of those who have remained missing these past years.

Also included are the locations of cases before the mass slaughter.

Even if the Ripper has been tailing them since Tang Luo and the others appeared.

Before that, he surely couldn't have been tailing them, right?

Someone returning to their homeland who wants to hide themselves would, no matter what, at least loiter around their home, right?

Killing, too, usually has a range.

For Gelan Field, this range is too large to be determined at all.

But adding the missing persons' addresses makes it different.

"Slums, yes. This kind of place is best for hiding; one more vagrant, who would notice? These five people!"

The two identified the five people most likely to be Ripper Jiékè.

And also their former home addresses.

"Shall we go to their homes?" Chu Zhongtian said, "The Ripper might not necessarily be hiding at home."

"No, we're going to look for evidence." Zhou Zhenguo said.

"What decisive evidence could he leave at home?" Chu Zhongtian said.

"Maybe."

Zhou Zhenguo said, "Even if not, we still have to go to those places and destroy them."

"Huh?" Chu Zhongtian puzzled.

Now is not the time to take out our frustrations on these people's residences, right?

Seeing Chu Zhongtian confused, Zhou Zhenguo explained, "The Ripper is surely watching us, right? So... after seeing us destroy his house, what will he do?"

"That would lure him out, right?" No. Chu Zhongtian's eyes lit up, then he lowered his voice, "If we destroy that house and suffer his sneak attack, it will prove which house is his, and thus we can determine who the Ripper is."

Zhou Zhenguo nodded and added, "But it's also possible that we've been under attack all along the way, making it impossible to tell."

"How then can we determine?" Chu Zhongtian asked.

"No need to determine; following the Great Master's idea, let the Ripper actively appear before us." Zhou Zhenguo said, "Everyone has temper, what do you say?"

While speaking, the three had actually already walked out of Gran Field.

The outside weather was colder than when they came in.

One could see puffs of white vapor exhaled while speaking.

It caused Chu Zhongtian's glasses to fog up, then quickly returned to normal.

"We'll destroy his home and kill the vessel he possesses." Zhou Zhenguo said firmly, "Lure him out and fight to the death."

"Isn't it enough just to confirm who he is?" Chu Zhongtian asked.

"No, I've now figured it out completely."

Zhou Zhenguo combined his past experience, "This mission should have two ways to complete. One, during the Ripper Jiékè's hiding stage, we find his true identity, then the mission is complete."

"Two, it's the current second stage, dragging on until the Ripper becomes powerful enough to cover the sky with one hand. At that point, he may not continue hiding. Then the way to complete the mission is mostly to kill the Ripper."

"The true core of the mission is not unchanging."

"I see." Chu Zhongtian suddenly realized, "But then, wouldn't that mean we can't just play it safe?"

For this mission, the longer the time drags on, the stronger the Ripper becomes.

In the end, how do we fight?

The small town is also a dead end; playing it safe to the end leaves only a dead end.

Or it could become a "Battle Royale mode", fleeing for months, half a year, or even a year under the Ripper's pursuit.

But that actually counts as mission failure.

"Originally, 'playing it safe' was a low-probability event." Zhou Zhenguo said, "Not counting this time, I've undergone a total of five missions."

He also spoke openly.

We all share life and death; Chu Zhongtian is not a petty villain, so there's no need to hide this information.

"Two successes, two failures, and one that is neither success nor failure."

"But that time, it was because there happened to be a strong person like Great Master Xuanzang who completed the mission, so there was no mission failure."

"How often do you think such a situation could occur?"

A middle-aged man who has struggled in society for years, his flattery skills are smooth and traceless.

It left Chu Zhongtian in awe.

"Indeed, a benevolent strong person like Great Master Xuanzang is certainly as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns." Chu Zhongtian should learn more.

"Cough."

Zhou Zhenguo coughed once, indicating to stop while ahead, "So, prepare for a fierce battle."

"Hmm."

Chu Zhongtian nodded and felt around his body twice.

He confirmed that, including the ammo pouch, his weapons were still there.

"Great Master, should we gather the small town's residents and go look for Ripper Jiékè, even if we have to trick them?" After walking on for a while, Chu Zhongtian suddenly said.

All along, they have been fighting alone.

Now a fierce battle is highly likely; why not borrow some external strength?

The more effort, the better the reward—damn it!

Being able to complete the mission and survive is what matters most.

"We can try, but the poor monk thinks the possibility is not high." Tang Luo said.

"You can try, but I, the poor monk, think the possibility is not great." said Tang Luo.

Chu Zhongtian ran to the side door and pounded loudly, shouting, "Open the door! We are detectives hired by Gran Field, we have found Ripper Jiékè! Come with us to catch him! The documents are all here! You can look!"

He also took out the documents given by Gran Field, which rustled loudly.

Even the situation of "I don't believe you, write a written pledge" was taken into account.

His voice floated in the quiet night sky.

Afterward, the surroundings remained completely silent.

No darkened windows lit up, nor were there any footsteps, shouts, window openings, or door openings.

No dark windows lit up, and there were no sounds of footsteps, shouting, windows opening, or doors opening.

None of the reactions Chu Zhongtian had expected occurred.

No, to be precise, there was no response at all.

Even if it were a stone sunk in the sea, it would at least raise a ripple.

But now, aside from the faint rustle of snowflakes landing, it was so silent it felt like an empty city inhabited only by the three of them.

"Amitabha, Donor Chu, there's no need to shout; there's probably no one around."

Tang Luo prevented Chu Zhongtian from continuing to shout.

"Nobody?"

"Donor Zhou said this is a race against the Ripper." Tang Luo said, "I deeply agree; the Ripper is also running, we are searching for him, he is also killing people and growing stronger."

In other words, this area and even a larger region have turned into a death ground.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Chu Zhongtian was far less composed than Tang Luo; even upon learning that the enemy was growing stronger every moment, he could still manage a faint smile.

He stepped on the snow and started running.

Suddenly he felt that this 'detective mission' had turned into a battle royale, a survival mission.

At least, that was the case for him.