Click—

Fang Yuan used his film camera to photograph the densely packed photos pinned to the whiteboard and connected by string, taking shots from several angles. Then he spent a few minutes pulling out the pushpins one by one and taking down the red string and the photos.

He gathered up the photos, newspapers, and documents on the table, then put them all into a file folder.

Only after he’d finished all that did Fang Yuan stretch and straighten his back.

“I’ll get the film developed later, then grab something to eat.”

As he spoke, Fang Yuan turned off the light, closed the door, and headed downstairs with his camera.

Staring up at the pitch-black night sky, Fang Yuan couldn’t help reflecting on how stressful work had been lately.

Well, looks like I won’t be getting the film developed tonight. The photo shops are probably closed. I’d better find a restaurant that’s still open and get something to eat.

Fang Yuan was a private detective. He’d studied psychology and logic in college, and had originally wanted to switch to criminal investigation. But he failed the physical fitness test, so after graduating, he chose to become a private detective instead.

Fang Yuan was fairly well known in detective circles. He’d worked with the police before and solved a few cases. This time, some people had hired him to investigate a series of disappearances, bringing him to T City.

The case was a real headache, but they were paying so much that even the down payment alone would keep him fed for five years.

As it turned out, several rich young ladies and young men had been disappearing one after another for over a month. There seemed to be some underground crime syndicates involved.

The weird thing was, they weren’t even asking for ransom or anything. The victims were taken, and then there was nothing—not even a statement.

It was just ridiculous.

So the wealthy parents, frantic with worry for their children, called in every connection they had and made it clear: they wanted to see their children alive—or see their bodies.

But the main focus was on the police and the detective community.

Of course, Fang Yuan wasn’t the only detective who’d been hired.

In any case, Fang Yuan had found a few clues about the disappearances, and they’d led him to T City.

Then he found something even more absurd, something that seemed connected to this ordinary-looking case—

the Derikter Institute!

A national-level biochemical research institute in a faraway foreign country. Its most famous incident was probably a lab virus leak.

Still, the name Derikter wasn’t very well known. Fang Yuan only knew about it because he read a lot of newspapers and had a fairly broad range of interests.

Fang Yuan had no idea how he’d managed to find the name Derikter among so many tangential details.

Ever since he discovered yesterday that a series of disappearances was somehow connected to an international incident like this, Fang Yuan had barely rested. He’d been organizing information ever since.

Well, he still hadn’t finished. He’d only sorted out part of it.

“It’s probably just a coincidence… Derikter’s so far away, after all.”

Feeling the cold night air brush his face, Fang Yuan—who hadn’t slept all night and now had dark circles under his eyes—shook his head and looked into the distance. Then he raised his film camera, planning to take a shot of the night scenery and ease his fatigue.

Huh… what’s that?

Fang Yuan rubbed his eyes and looked through the camera again. Something was moving on top of a building in the distance.

“Is that a cat?”

After sorting through so much information, Fang Yuan was completely exhausted and couldn’t be bothered to think too hard.

But, as if on instinct, Fang Yuan pressed the shutter on his camera.

After taking two photos, Fang Yuan yawned.

“Whatever. I’ll find a restaurant or shop that’s still open and get something in my stomach.”

After walking for a while, he finally found a ramen shop with its lights on.

Fang Yuan went inside. Since it was the middle of the night, only the owner and two young men remained, slurping noodles and chatting.

Fang Yuan looked over the menu and said to the owner,

“Boss, I’ll have one of these ramen, please.”

“Sure thing. Just a moment.”

He found a clean spot, pulled two tissues from the table, wiped down the chair and tabletop, and tossed them in the trash. Then he sat down and set his camera beside him.

Fang Yuan had planned to close his eyes and rest for a bit, but the two young men at the table across from him were chatting, so he couldn’t sleep.

The shop was quiet at this time of night, so Fang Yuan could hear every word they said.

At first, Fang Yuan had just thought they were talking about some kind of urban legend.

After all, words like monsters, demons, and psychopathic serial killers kept popping up in their conversation.

But after listening for a while longer, Fang Yuan started paying attention.

The young man in yellow said, “Come to think of it, there’ve actually been quite a few real cases involving monsters lately.”

“Really? I haven’t read the papers much lately. Tell me about them.”

“Since last month, there’ve apparently been three bizarre cases involving nonhuman creatures.”

“Which three?”

The other young man, dressed in gray and sitting with his back to Fang Yuan, perked up and asked.

“The first victim was a homeless man living in the sewers. They say it was evening when he went to the hospital, and it was pouring outside. A detective took him there. One of the man’s hands was just… gone, with a perfectly clean cross-section at the wrist, though it was wrapped in gauze.”

“Oh… that one. I vaguely remember hearing about it. Apparently, the guy was mentally unstable and had done drugs. He kept muttering about monsters and stuff. He probably pissed off some gang in the sewers, got his hand chopped off, and went crazy afterward.”

The more Fang Yuan listened, the more familiar the story sounded. Then it hit him.

Wasn’t the detective in that story me?

He’d only just arrived in T City then, and had planned to scout out some abandoned places on the outskirts. But all of a sudden, it started pouring.

He hadn’t brought an umbrella, so he had no choice but to run into an abandoned warehouse for shelter. That was where he saw one homeless man helping another, bleeding man climb out of a manhole. So he went over to help.

The handless homeless man’s pants had been wet, too. Looked like he’d been scared shitless.

At the time, Fang Yuan had heard the other homeless man say that the one with the missing hand owed a lot of money and had fled to the underground city.

His creditor had probably chopped off his hand, and he’d gone crazy afterward.

Come to think of it, if Fang Yuan hadn’t found an old but usable umbrella in the warehouse, and happened to have gauze with him to stop the bleeding, things might have gone badly.

He just hadn’t realized the other guy had done drugs, too.

He wondered if he’d done the right thing by saving him.

Fang Yuan frowned as he thought.

While Fang Yuan was lost in thought, the young man in yellow continued.

“Hey, I’m just telling a story. What if it’s true? Keep listening. Telling scary stories in a quiet ramen shop in the middle of the night is the best.”

“Sure. I’ve got nothing better to do, so I’ll hear you out. But if I can’t sleep tonight, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

As he spoke, the young man in gray slurped up some noodles and took a sip of broth.

The one in yellow grinned.

“The second case was about a thug who tried to molest a little girl. He dragged her into an alley, and just as he was about to do something, the moon came out—and a strangely shaped shadow appeared behind him!”

“The thug passed out on the spot.”

“What about the girl?”

“She was so scared she kept her eyes shut and didn’t see a thing. When the guy suddenly passed out for no reason, she ran off. She happened to run into a patrol team, and they arrested the unconscious guy. Oh, and during the physical exam, they found his junk had shriveled up.”

“Yikes—”

The young man in gray clicked his tongue in amazement.