The girl saw us approaching and immediately stood up, glaring at us with eyes full of hostility.
She was dressed neatly and cleanly—not like some street stray. She wore a pink dress, white stockings, little children's shoes, and had her hair tied in a ponytail.
But I noticed her irises glowed with an eerie pale blue light. Her pupils were pitch black, sharply contrasting, almost unnatural for a human!
We stared at each other silently, locked in a tense stand-off for about five or six seconds. Then Huang Xiaotao stepped forward and asked, "Little girl, why are you here all alone...?"
Before she could finish, the girl spun around and ran. Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged looks and quickly gave chase.
The alley was dark, and the old bluestone slabs on the ground were worn and uneven. But with my "洞幽之瞳" — a special ability to see clearly in the dark — I had no trouble.
Huang Xiaotao, however, lacked such night vision and stumbled over a raised stone, letting out a startled cry as she almost fell.
I immediately turned to catch her. Because of the momentum and her full weight, she lunged at me and nearly pinned me down. I managed to steady us by putting my hands out—but the spot I touched was... well, her fourth rib, right around her chest.
Startled like a frightened bird, Huang Xiaotao quickly pushed me away. Before I could even say "Sorry," she slapped my face—though the slap was so light, more like a soft tap on my cheek. I was left confused — was she angry or just surprised?
...
...
"Where do you think your hands were going, you idiot!" Huang Xiaotao scolded.
"Hey, it wasn't on purpose, and I was apologizing!" I replied.
She shot me a glare but quickly refocused — this wasn't the time to get sidetracked. Catching that suspicious girl was the priority. Just as I was about to move on, Huang Xiaotao stamped her foot and called out, "Hey, don't leave me alone!"
"What's the problem?" I asked.
"I can't see anything—hold my hand!"
She stretched out her hand, and after a moment of hesitation, I took it and kept running.
Her hand was soft and smooth to the touch, and my heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
Behind me, Huang Xiaotao muttered, "Your social skills are hopeless."
"And how am I hopeless?" I smiled bitterly.
"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend—serves you right, forever alone!" she teased, pouting.
"Sounds like you have a boyfriend or something..." I shot back.
Then I got a kick on my backside—Huang Xiaotao was kicking me as she was being pulled along, the kind of move only someone who had trained could manage.
After a while, I caught sight of the girl's flickering silhouette. Hearing footsteps, Huang Xiaotao shouted, "Stop right there!"
The girl turned and opened her mouth in a threatening roar—her posture and expression like... a cat!
Suddenly, she lunged at me, claws out. I had to let go of Huang Xiaotao's hand and raise my arm to block her sharp nails. They scratched my hand, drawing a few bleeding streaks. I was completely overwhelmed by her wild, feral attack.
At that moment, Huang Xiaotao pulled out a gun, aiming it at the girl. "Stop, or I'll shoot."
The girl froze for a second, then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed. As she fell, I thought I saw a blurry black shadow leap from her body onto the courtyard wall nearby — but it was so faint even my "洞幽之瞳" struggled to catch it.
"Why's it so quiet? Did she run off?" Huang Xiaotao asked.
"She fainted," I said.
"What's going on? Scared into passing out?" Huang Xiaotao looked puzzled.
I bent down and checked the girl's eyelids — her pupils were no longer that strange black-and-white contrast. Then I noticed a school badge pinned to her chest. The girl looked about twelve or thirteen years old. I guessed, "Could she be the victim's daughter?"
"Who cares? We can't just leave her here. Let's take her with us," Huang Xiaotao said.
"Me? Carry her?" I pointed at myself.
She laughed bitterly, "Are you a boy or not?"
I was about to explain that the alley was pitch black and she needed my help anyway, but it was too much hassle. So I swallowed my pride.
Then I remembered something. I took out a small packet of fine flour from my pocket and blew it onto the spot where the girl had just stood. Footprints appeared clearly in the powder—her footprints. Then I blew some onto the wall, and there were a series of cat paw prints.
Huang Xiaotao couldn't see in the dark and asked what I was doing. I told her about the prints.
"Cat paw prints again?" she gasped.
"Yes, just like the ones we found inside the house," I replied.
Biting her finger, Huang Xiaotao said, "I'm starting to think this case isn't the work of humans anymore."
"No, I still believe there's a murderer," I insisted.
I picked up the girl—she wasn't too heavy for a twelve-year-old—and Huang Xiaotao grabbed my jacket from behind. We left the alley and returned to the crime scene. I told her to call Wang Yuanchao down. There was nothing more to investigate here; we should head back to the station.
After a while, Huang Xiaotao came back with Wang Yuanchao—and the two white mice they had brought down as well. She smiled and said, "These little guys survived your chasing twice, not bad. Let's find a place to release them later."
"Lab mice like these don't survive in the wild. Let me keep them," I said.
"Sure, I'm a rat in the zodiac anyway," Huang Xiaotao nodded.
"Wait, so you're three years older than me?" I was surprised.
She shot me a glare, "Show some manners. Don't randomly guess girls' ages."
I counted on my fingers, "I'm the Rooster, you're the Rat. Isn't that obvious? Or are you fifteen years older than me?"
"Want to die?" she threatened, raising her small fist.
We got in the car, placing the girl in the back seat. On the way, Huang Xiaotao asked, "Song Yang, what did you say caused that family to go insane?"
"Probably some kind of magnetic interference. That family all heard a strange sound at the same time, but it wasn't really a sound—more like a magnetic field acting directly on their bodies! Like how a phone gets disrupted when near a microwave," I explained patiently.
"Can a magnetic field drive people crazy?" Huang Xiaotao sounded skeptical.
"Yes. The human body has many small magnetic fields. When exposed to a strong external magnetic field, it can disrupt hormone balance, cause emotional instability, and amplify negative feelings. Ever heard of biological tides? When the moon is fullest, its gravity affects Earth's magnetic field, and suicides spike to three times normal," I said.
Huang Xiaotao nodded, "No wonder foreigners believe werewolves transform under a full moon. There's some scientific basis to it."
I pondered, "This is just my theory based on what I know. But the whole case could also be explained another way…"
"What?"
"Monsters at work."
Huang Xiaotao gasped, "Monsters?"
Since I'm not very familiar with the supernatural, I called Lao Yao. The moment he answered, his teasing voice floated over, "Xiao Song Song, why haven't you contacted me for so long? Miss me?"
I shivered. "Lao Yao, can you do me a favor?"
"Say it!" he answered immediately.
I told him to check major paranormal forums for folklore about cats and see if there were any stories about cat demons harming people. Pick some credible ones and email them to me tomorrow.
Lao Yao was cunning. He wouldn't help for free. He immediately bargained, "What's in it for me?"
"The usual, a thousand yuan reward."
"Heh, no way. I heard Da Li followed you last time and got nothing, but still got nine thousand. I worked so hard, and you only offer me a thousand? Seems like you love Da Li more than me!"
Listening to his flirtatious voice, I nearly spat out my coffee onto the windshield.