Chapter 57: Hound

Ninth Division, temporary command center.

In the space composed of metal and glass, only the dense, crisp sound of keyboard taps and L's cold, emotionless female voice could be heard.

"...... The target has the ability to control black long hair, with an attack range of at least ten meters, possessing extremely strong physical destructive power."

"The target's main body can use black hair for high-speed displacement, with evasive movements surpassing human limits."

"The hallucinations produced by the target cause strong spiritual pollution to the attacked; when the attacked's fear reaches a threshold, the target's ability will be greatly enhanced."

L's ten fingers turned into a blur on the keyboard; every detail Qin Zhixia recited from her hospital bed—those battle memories mixed with intense pain, humiliation, and despair—were transformed by her into the coldest, most precise data stream at this moment.

On the screen, a complex human model was being rapidly constructed.

The model's core was a tangled three-dimensional mass, labeled "Ling Xinyu" and "Lin Fan".

"According to Team Leader Qin's supplemental intelligence, combined with the energy fluctuations gathered on site, the model correction is complete."

L stopped typing.

"Conclusion: The target's weirdness is a 'human-ghost symbiosis' form, with host Lin Fan as the consciousness subject, using water as a medium for infiltration and movement, feeding on human fear to enhance its own power."

She paused, then added the final sentence, which was also the most crucial.

"When its strength increases to a certain degree, the target will even possess powerful psychic force, specifically manifesting as telekinesis and the like."

A report encrypted to the highest level, together with this conclusion, was instantly transmitted to the other end of the city.

Jiang Hai City, suburbs.

An abandoned luxury hotel had now become a war fortress with copper walls and iron bars.

The building's entire water supply system was completely cut off, each pipe filled with fast-drying cement, physically eliminating any possibility of water seepage.

From the lobby to the top-floor presidential suite, an infrared sensor and microwave detector were placed every five meters; any living creature that intruded would trigger an alarm within 0.01 seconds.

Special police in combat uniforms were conducting final checks, the atmosphere grim, ensuring the enemy could only break through head-on, facing their layered blockades.

And at the center of it all, Li Shao, who was being used as "bait," was guarded by two special police, trembling as he shrank back on the sofa of the top-floor presidential suite.

Mo Zixuan blew a giant bubblegum, lazily leaning on another sofa, his legs propped on an expensive coffee table, listlessly watching his subordinates busy at work.

His gaze swept over the nervous special police, carrying a barely perceptible hint of contempt and indifference.

His thoughts drifted back to a night several years ago in the Middle Eastern desert.

Back then he was not yet the Ninth Division's "mad dog," but a famed "hunting dog" in the mercenary world.

Any target he locked onto, no matter how deep the fortifications or how strong the security, would be forcibly breached by him and then ruthlessly hunted down.

His record was littered with murder cases.

The heads of multinational conglomerates, state officials, and even warlords wielding heavy arms in conflict zones had all once fallen under his gun.

Until one day, the state recognized his abilities and, at great cost, recruited him.

They were even willing to provide him with their cutting-edge research achievement—the "human enhancement agent."

Only then did he join the Ninth Division.

But even now.

His hunting dog's "sense of smell," belonging to him, has never dulled.

"After each operation begins, he can always 'smell' the 'taste' of the prey."

"The stronger this 'taste'...... the more it proves that, as a hunting dog, his certainty in hunting down enemies is greater."

That is an instinct engraved in his bones, beast-like intuition.

"The 'Cavity Person's' taste is quite delicious."

"I don't know...... what will the taste of this weirdness be this time?"

Mo Zixuan licked his lips in anticipation and excitement.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

A burly special police captain with sharp eyes walked over, unable to refrain from speaking as he looked at the arrangement that almost lifted the entire building.

"Mr. Mo, all the traps have been set up."

"But...... isn't it a bit...... overkill to deal with just a living person?"

In his view, no matter how formidable the target, it's ultimately just a teenager; this level of defense is practically meant for a small military unit.

"Pop."

The bubblegum burst.

Mo Zixuan grinned, revealing a mouthful of blindingly white teeth.

The next second.

The special police captain only felt a chill on his neck, a terrifying aura that made his hairs stand on end sweeping over him.

Mo Zixuan's handsome face was already pressed against his, within arm's reach.

In those cynical eyes, a beast-like pressure surged at that moment.

He raised a finger and lightly tapped his own temple.

"To deal with a monster that cannot be measured by common sense, one must spare no expense or means, even tanks, planes, and missiles."

"Back then, the state dealt with me in the same way, which is why I have no choice but to stand here and command you."

"Understand?"

The terrifying aura that erupted at that moment left this battle-hardened special police captain stiff all over, cold sweat instantly sliding down his forehead.

"...... Understood."

Only then did Mo Zixuan retract that horrifying aura, satisfied, returning to his carefree white-haired youth self as he patted the captain's shoulder.

Afterward, he whistled and began personally inspecting the placement of each trap.

Infrared, pressure sensors...... everything was flawless, perfect as L's analysis report.

But just as he finished checking the last microwave detector located in the ventilation duct, an extremely faint sense of dissonance, like the slightest current, lightly brushed his nerve endings.

He stopped and looked around.

Spacious corridor, cold walls, detectors flashing red dots.

Everything normal.

Data, flawless.

He frowned, blaming this strange feeling on his excitement from too long without "opening the meat".

After all, since joining the Ninth Division, his hunts have been only incorporeal "data anomalies"; tonight's "living target" that lets him warm up is the first.

He arrogantly believed his arrangements were flawless.

He had never failed.

Tonight this reckless avenger is merely another prey soon to be torn apart by his own hands.

This cat-and-mouse game is truly...... incredibly exciting.

Hum—

The encrypted communicator in his pocket vibrated.

Nie Yang's cheerful voice came through.

"Our hound, this time, are you confident of catching the prey?"

Mo Zixuan chewed a new piece of bubble gum, lifted his hand to push back his striking silver bangs, and answered the communicator in a flippant tone.

"——Of course."

"He will win."

The night, like thick ink, completely shrouded Jiang Hai City.

In the temporary command center, L stared at the countless jumping data streams on the screen and suddenly spoke.

"He's here!"

Almost the same time.

Outside the abandoned hotel, remodeled like a steel fortress.

A drenched figure slowly emerged from the shadow of the street corner.

It was Lin Fan.

He lifted his head; his eerie blue right eye pierced the layers of night, locking firmly onto the brightly lit top floor of the building.

There, he saw his final enemy.

Inside the hotel's top-floor suite.

On the monitor, Lin Fan's figure appeared clearly.

Mo Zixuan's smile instantly turned bloodthirsty and cruel.

He extended his tongue and lightly licked his dry lips.

That was his signature move upon entering hunting mode.

He picked up the communicator, and in a tone almost pleased and gentle, issued the order to all the standby special police inside.

"All personnel, attention."

"Party......"

"It has begun."