Anho City.

A grand festival was taking place in the city. This festival, known as the Redemption Festival, was born to commemorate the second-generation saint, Stan Tito.

For it was on this day that Stan Tito saved this city, ending the monster disaster caused by the mad King Samo.

It was also on this day that the great God Yinsai reclaimed the monsters of the royal bloodline family and bestowed upon mortals the power of rituals and miracles, bringing happiness and redemption to the lives of ordinary people.

Asai arrived at the street corner, weary from his journey but filled with anticipation.

He raised his head, looking at this great city that had been mentioned countless times by people in his town. In their words, this place was described as if it were heaven.

And in Asai’s eyes, it truly was.

He looked at those tall buildings, the commercial streets with glass shop windows extending the entire length, viewing this place the townspeople called heaven through the eyes of a country boy who had never seen the world.

“Boom boom boom.”

The sound of drums and trumpets rose. People dressed in gorgeous and fashionable clothes stood on both sides of the street as a procession approached from afar.

The procession carried a human-sized doll, approaching from the distance. People on both sides of the street bowed in respect, many even kneeling to pray.

Asai became one of the many faces in the crowd on the street. He asked someone beside him, “What’s going on?”

“The Redemption Festival?”

Hearing these two words, Asai lowered his head, repeatedly murmuring the word “redemption.”

Finally, the procession came before Asai.

He raised his head.

The doll, propped up by fabric, was held high. Against the light, all Asai could see was a dazzling shadow, an endless radiance behind the dark figure.

“Hero and Saint.”

“The great Stan Tito.”

A smile gradually appeared on Stan Tito’s face, and the procession’s footsteps became lighter as they walked towards the city center.

Asai stayed in Anho City, becoming a low-level worker responsible for cleaning in the Saint An District’s security team. Occasionally, he would also help with night patrols.

At night.

Whenever he walked past the Redemption Street in Saint An District, he would always stop to look at the statue of Saint Stan Tito.

Suddenly, his head began to ache violently again, his eyes turning pitch black, while a different voice abruptly sounded in his ears.

The voice was extremely familiar, yet Asai felt he had never heard it before.

“Truly powerful people never follow the rules and laws of this world.”

“To do as one pleases, to make the laws.”

“That is true power.”

Recently, strange words and memories often surfaced in Asai’s mind. He thought this was also part of his imagination.

He couldn’t see the speaker, as if the voice was coming from within himself.

He could only sense that the person was standing on a high mountain shrouded in clouds, looking at a vast “sea.”

“Who is this?”

Asai clutched his head, gradually recovering.

He also didn’t understand why he would see such scenes, but he decided not to dwell on it if he couldn’t figure it out for now.

The next day, while sweeping, another memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.

He saw himself holding a scroll, reading the words on it.

Despite his lack of formal education, Asai suddenly found he could understand all the characters on the scroll.

The first line read: “Mind Reading.”

Asai closed his eyes and immediately felt his head buzzing, as if countless people were talking.

Opening his eyes, the feeling instantly disappeared.

Asai walked into the hall of the security office, staring at everyone in the hall, closing and opening his eyes.

He then confirmed that the voices in his mind were the inner thoughts of everyone here.

This ability of his was like mind reading, but not quite the same.

Mind reading targets a specific person, but he could hear what everyone nearby was thinking just by closing his eyes.

This ability worked indiscriminately, but it had drawbacks. Whenever he closed his eyes, countless voices clamored in his mind, giving him a headache.

In the evening, just as he was called by a security team member to accompany them on night patrol, a theft case broke out.

The victim was a merchant’s home, with many people gathered at the door to watch the commotion.

Asai covered his eyes with his hands, sensing around in the crowd, and suddenly stopped.

He had directly found the thief.

“That person stole the things.”

Asai pointed, and the person who had been watching the scene with great interest immediately got scared and started to run.

The security team quickly caught him and found some of the stolen items on him.

“How did you know he was the criminal?” The security team member who had always looked down on Asai and treated him as a foolish, obedient boy was incredibly surprised.

“I can sense the aura of criminals,” Asai said.

The security team member shook his head: “That sounds so mysterious. You must have seen something.”

Despite saying this, he still patted Asai on the shoulder.

“Still, that was impressive!”

A few days later, another serious murder case occurred in Saint An District.

The victim was a locally famous woman, rich and of high status, with a husband who held an official position in the city lord’s mansion.

The security team was very nervous. The captain immediately led people to the crime scene.

Asai immediately joined in: “Let me go too!”

The captain frowned: “What are you going for? Have you finished cleaning?”

Asai quickly said, “I’m done, I’m done. I just want to go and see how the masters solve cases, and learn a bit. It’ll give me something to brag about later.”

The usual Asai wouldn’t have been able to say such things. He had become much more quick-witted.

A security team member suddenly mentioned the incident where Asai had pointed out the thief: “Let’s bring him along. Who knows, he might be of some use?”

The captain said, “Remember to follow orders. Don’t touch anything.”

Arriving at the scene, a female Trilobite person lay on the bed.

Her head had been struck by a blunt object, and she was long dead.

Asai wanted to check if anyone else at the scene could be the culprit, but unexpectedly, as soon as he touched the corpse, he saw the last image the victim saw before dying.

That final image, lingering in the brain and reflected in the eyes, suddenly flooded into Asai’s mind.

Seeing Asai touch the corpse, the security team captain immediately became furious.

“What are you doing?”

Asai directly said, “The murderer is the victim’s lover, about my height, similarly thin in build.”

“It was premeditated. He used the victim’s trust to enter the room, then killed her.”

The security team was skeptical, and the captain even more dismissive.

But before long, they really caught the person.

A man who had a very close relationship with the deceased, and was about the same height as Asai.

Exactly as Asai had said, the security team didn’t need to interrogate for long before the man confessed.

This made the ordinary members of the security team amazed at Asai’s case-solving abilities. They believed Asai might truly have some special abilities.

After this incident, Asai became a consultant for the security team.

On that same day, the merchant from the previous theft case also came to the security team.

He brought gifts for Asai and thanked him in person for helping recover their losses.

Many people applauded Asai.

Asai clenched his fists tightly, his blood boiling with excitement.

But outwardly, he said, “It’s nothing.”

“I just did what I should do, to be a just person and do just things.”

“Like everyone else, I’m working hard for the cause of justice.” —

Asai’s special abilities made him believe he had awakened an Ability.

Unfortunately, when he found a priest to check, the priest took one look and shook his head, saying he saw no signs of Ability awakening in Asai.

There was no mental power in his brain, nor had it undergone the baptism and transformation of power.

Although this made Asai somewhat disappointed, thinking about it again, he felt it didn’t matter much.

People always become especially strong after truly experiencing suffering and torment.

Over the next year, Asai’s reputation grew rapidly in the Saint An District, especially around Redemption Street. When facing vicious criminals, he only needed to look at them once to know what they were thinking.

He only needed to look at a corpse once to accurately describe who the killer was.

The former was something some priests could do, while the latter was something even ordinary priests found completely incomprehensible.

He wore the most fashionable cloak, leaning on a black cane, looking just like an upper-class nobleman.

It seemed that this way, no one would notice his slightly limping leg anymore. In fact, that limping leg even became something of a trend.

Early one morning, Asai came to the security office and knocked on the captain’s door.

“Captain,” Asai began, “I want to discuss the same matter as last time.”

Although the title of consultant was very impressive, it was just that. He wasn’t a formal member of the security team.

Asai wanted to officially join the security team.

In fact, he even wanted to replace the captain’s position.

He believed that if he could become the captain, he would certainly do a better job than the current one.

But whenever Asai brought up officially joining, the Saint An District’s security team captain always firmly refused.

“Just stick to being a consultant.”

“We can handle catching criminals ourselves.”

Asai closed his eyes and could hear the captain’s inner thoughts.

“A one-eyed cripple wants to become a member of the security team?”

“What a joke.”

Asai felt frustrated. He hated when people mentioned his disability.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. Perhaps he could use his special ability against the security team captain, to pull him down from this position.

Just like the phrase that had once surfaced in his mind: the strong never follow rules.

But deep down, he felt he shouldn’t do this.

Because what he wanted wasn’t just the position of security team captain, but something more.

He wanted to prove himself better than the captain and everyone else, fair and square.

He wanted to show everyone that he, Asai, was an upright person, someone with both ability and moral principles.

Asai walked out of the security office and crossed the street to a paste shop.

Before he could speak, a voice came from behind the counter.

“You want a sugar paste cake again!”

“Right?”

Inside the shop was a little girl. Every morning when Asai passed by, he would buy something here.

Asai nodded silently, a faint smile on his face.

He placed the money on the counter and took the paper-wrapped package.

At this moment, someone suddenly blocked Asai’s path.

The person was quite tall, but one look showed he was a young child, not yet mature.

“Teacher Asai.”

“I want to learn from you.”

“Teacher?” Asai laughed. It was the first time he had heard someone address him this way.

Yet somehow, he felt this form of address was familiar.

Asai: “What do you want to learn from me?”

The youth spoke somewhat naively: “I want to learn how to be a detective from you.”

Asai shook his head: “I’m not a detective. I’m a member of the security team.”

“I’m not after money. I pursue the cause of maintaining stability and justice.”

Hearing this, the youth quickly said: “That’s exactly what I mean.”

Asai ignored him and continued walking along the main road.

The youth quickly followed beside him, continuously saying: “Teacher Asai, please accept me!”

“I’ll do whatever you ask. I’m not afraid of hard work.”

Asai still ignored him, but at this moment, something seemed to be happening ahead, causing a huge commotion.

Accompanied by screams and a crowd gathering.

“What’s happening?”

Asai instinctively felt that something terrible must have occurred. He immediately hurried over, leaning on his cane.

He pushed through the crowd. Many people on the street recognized him and immediately made way.

In the early morning alley lay a corpse.

It was an incredibly horrifying corpse. The chest and abdomen had been completely cut open, and the internal organs had been removed.

Those organs were thrown on the road, with bite marks on them.

People at the scene who saw this either screamed in fear or turned away to vomit.

“It’s a man-eater!”

“How did this thing get into our city?”

“The dead person looks like a child. I wonder whose child it is.”

Asai didn’t know what a man-eater was. It was also the first time he had seen such a cruel and evil scene.

Steeling himself against nausea, he approached the corpse and touched it.

Fortunately, the brain and eyes hadn’t been damaged. Asai saw the scene the victim had witnessed before dying.

Unfortunately, the perpetrator wore a dark cloak, covering themselves completely.

He only heard one sentence: “Fresh flesh, child’s blood.”

Then the image was gone.

Asai found someone nearby and asked them.

“What’s this man-eater you just mentioned?”

The person immediately said: “Haven’t you heard of them?”

“It’s a kind of monster that specifically eats people, but these monsters are transformed from ordinary people.”

“They have the appearance of Trilobite people, but they are extremely evil. They like to eat people and drink blood.”

“Because God once punished the monster race, all monsters cannot exist within towns, but this kind of monster escaped God’s punishment.”

“However, it’s said that God’s punishment still has some effect. They can’t reveal their identity in the city. Once discovered or if they use their evil powers, they will instantly turn to dust.”

Asai frowned. It was actually related to monsters.

Asai: “So you’re saying these monsters can pretend to be ordinary people and hide in the city normally?”

The person nodded: “The God-Descended City once caught quite a few of these monsters. They were all well-known figures in the city.”

Asai: “According to what you’re saying, as long as we find these monsters and expose them, they’re done for?”

The person clapped his hands: “Of course. How can these evil monsters resist God’s will?”

“When exposed to sunlight, that’s when their doom arrives.”

Asai didn’t know if this rumor was true, or if the criminal was really this kind of monster.

But having a clue and a lead to investigate was better than being completely in the dark.

Moreover, Asai immediately thought that this case wouldn’t be like previous cases.

It would surely shock the entire Anho City, alarming many people.

The appearance of such a case related to man-eaters would definitely cause panic throughout the city.

If he could solve this case and expose the identity of the mastermind behind it, his reputation would spread throughout Anho City.

He could push out that incompetent and exclusionary Saint An District security team captain and replace him.

This could be his chance to become the security team captain.

Even the position of security officer might not be impossible in the future.

Asai saw the youth who had just been chasing him, wanting to become his student. He was now in the corner of the street, continuously dry heaving, his eyes revealing fear.

He looked terrified by the cruel and bloody scene.

Asai knew that these children, just like he once was, had never experienced true horror and despair, and didn’t know their own limitations.

Relying on a bit of courage and fantasy, they thought they were invincible.

“How is it?”

“Scared?”

The youth immediately stood up straight: “No.”

Just as he finished speaking, he bent over again.

“Ugh.”

Asai patted his shoulder: “Then help me do something. If you do well, I’ll let you be my student.”

The youth looked at Asai excitedly: “Really?”

Asai: “Really.”

Asai said to the youth: “Do you know the children around here?”

The youth nodded: “I know quite a few.”

Asai said: “Help me investigate this child’s background. Is he from Redemption Street and the Saint An District?”

“If so, find out who his friends are, where he usually likes to go…”

The youth noted everything down, then turned and left excitedly.

Following the instructions of the famous Asai from Redemption Street, participating in such a big case, catching an extremely evil criminal, made the youth feel as if he had shouldered some kind of mission.

Asai suddenly remembered something and asked.

“What’s your name?”

The youth said: “My name is Colin.”

At this time, the security team also arrived.

The moment they arrived, many of the security team members also started vomiting non-stop.

Although they were considered experienced, they had never seen such a perverted scene.

The Saint An District security team captain looked very grim, his face a mask of concern. Such a vicious case appearing in the Saint An District and Redemption Street was unprecedented.

It should be noted that the statue of Saint Stan Tito was not far away. This could almost be considered blasphemy and an insult to the saint.

He was under a lot of pressure. If he couldn’t solve this case immediately, he would likely be in big trouble.

He asked Asai: “Have you found any clues?”

Asai shook his head: “The perpetrator was very cautious and had planned this for a long time.”

“And the incident happened late last night. No one saw what actually happened at the scene.” —

In the small building of the security office.

The security team had already identified the child’s identity that day. The child’s parents were workers in a nearby weaving workshop, and their home was in the Saint An District.

Asai sat at the table, placing his cane beside him.

He participated in the meeting as a consultant and expressed his thoughts.

“What we can confirm is that where we found the body is the primary crime scene, but the perpetrator didn’t act randomly. This man-eater’s target was specifically children.”

“And children rarely appear on the streets late at night. This person targeting this child must have a reason.”

The security team captain expressed a different opinion: “What makes you think that? Perhaps the perpetrator was just acting randomly, and it just happened to be a child passing by that day.”

“If it was premeditated, why not choose a more secluded location?”

“Why choose a scene where they could easily be discovered?”

Asai: “Then how do you explain the special dissection knife they brought?”

“A child who shouldn’t have been there was there, and someone with a dissection knife just happened to be waiting there.”

“Tell me, if that’s not premeditation, what is it?”

Security team captain: “We can’t jump to conclusions yet.”

Asai didn’t say anything more: “Fine, then let’s investigate separately. If we have any news or results, we’ll share them with each other.”

This was the best approach.

Although the security team captain didn’t get along with Asai, and Asai thought the captain lacked ability, Asai believed the captain was still serious about his work.

Asai left the security office, and all the security team members got busy. No one dared to be idle.

At the street corner, a youth waved to Asai.

Asai approached, and the youth handed him a piece of paper. “I’ve written down everything you asked for,” he said.

Colin had found detailed information about the deceased from the children, including their living habits and social circle.

Asai looked it over carefully and immediately spotted the anomaly he was looking for.

“What’s this?”

“Spirit-summoning game?”

Colin immediately said: “It’s a game that’s very popular among children recently. If you perform this ritual at midnight, you can communicate with the world of the dead and summon spirits.”

“You can ask the spirits questions, and you can get answers to any question.”

“The game must be played alone, and it must be in a place where no one will pass by, otherwise it will disturb the spirits and bring disaster.”

“This game is very popular in children’s circles. Those who succeed are praised by other children and considered the bravest.”

Asai’s mind raced: “This could be how the criminal lures children out, and also the channel for selecting targets.”

He felt he needed to act immediately.

Asai believed that since the perpetrator had committed one crime, there would surely be a second.

If they didn’t catch the culprit quickly, there would soon be a second victim.

Colin didn’t understand: “But how do we catch them?”

Asai believed in his ability, the power to see through everyone’s hearts: “The person deliberately spreading the spirit-summoning game will definitely be paying attention to which children are playing it.”

“You go and spread a message among the children nearby, saying that a child is planning to perform the spirit-summoning ritual at midnight three days from now on Good Morning Street. You can say they want to ask about their deceased grandparents.”

“Make the story as believable and realistic as possible.”

Colin nodded, then added.

“But what if we really encounter that man-eater?” Colin asked nervously. “Are we a match for them?”

Asai had asked a priest about it. The so-called man-eaters were bone demons, and they couldn’t use supernatural powers in the city, making them similar to ordinary people.

Although Colin was young, he was tall and strong.

With the two of them together, dealing with the culprit shouldn’t be a problem.

“I’ll ask the security office for weapons. When the time comes, we’ll be prepared and waiting. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“The most important thing is that as long as I can get within twenty or thirty meters of them, I can discover their true identity. At that point, whether we catch them or not becomes secondary.”

Asai said calmly: “As long as they dare to show up, they won’t be able to escape.”

Colin looked at Asai with admiration: “This is that legendary… special ability, right?”

Asai didn’t confirm, just smiled.

Colin took a deep breath, gave himself a pep talk, and left.

After walking a few steps, he said to Asai.

“Don’t worry!”

“Teacher Asai, I’ll definitely do well.”

Asai waved his hand: “I’m waiting for your good news.” —

Three days later.

According to the plan, Asai and Colin were hiding in an abandoned building on Good Morning Street at midnight.

This place was well-chosen. It had various eerie rumors among children, and although it was scary, that made children like it even more.

It had to be said, it was a good place for playing the spirit-summoning game.

Colin curled up, feeling the cold as the night wind blew through: “Why hasn’t there been any movement yet?”

Asai: “Don’t talk.”

He was carefully observing everything around him, ready to immediately spot any figure that appeared.

Asai was confident that if anyone even thought of approaching, he would catch them in the act.

But as midnight passed, Asai also began to feel tired.

“Did you not make up the story well enough? Did no one believe it?”

Colin shook his head: “How is that possible? I made it very believable.”

“I used the name of the paste shop owner’s daughter. It spread throughout several children’s circles nearby. And her grandparents had just passed away recently. My story was flawless.”

“I even bought things from the paste shop three times to exchange for her not to expose me.”

Asai’s face suddenly changed as he looked at Colin.

“The paste shop owner’s daughter’s name? The one opposite the security office?”

Colin nodded: “Yes!”

As soon as Colin finished speaking, Asai immediately stood up and rushed out.

Although his limping gait was slow, it was clear Asai was using all his strength to run as fast as he could.

Colin didn’t understand why Asai was suddenly so agitated: “The person hasn’t come yet, right? Won’t we ruin everything if we run out now?”

After running out, Asai immediately said: “What are we waiting for?”

“Quickly go to the paste shop and see if the owner’s daughter is there.”

Colin finally understood, and a violent shudder ran through his body as the implications sank in.

He immediately rushed towards Redemption Street, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

By the time Asai arrived, the entire Redemption Street was lit up.

Asai followed the sound and came to an old building.

The name carved beside the front door was the surname of the paste shop owner. This was their family’s old house, though it should have been unoccupied most of the time.

Asai went in and took a look, then closed his eyes.

The little girl who minded the shop, whom he always greeted when passing by, was lying in a pool of blood, her death horrifying and tragic.

Asai walked out.

He searched everywhere for signs of Colin, finally spotting him in a corner of the courtyard.

He was trembling and curled up, leaning against a pillar and shaking constantly. He had buried his head in his knees, as if afraid someone might see him.

Asai hurried over, leaning on his cane, and stood in front of Colin.

He shouted at Colin in fury: “I told you to make up a random name, who told you to use a real name?”

“I told you to make up a story, who told you to use her name?”

Asai raised his cane as if wanting to strike Colin.

But he slowly lowered it, knowing he couldn’t blame Colin entirely.

Asai was extremely upset and furious.

He was angry at Colin, and also at himself.

“Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? Why didn’t I ask you about it first?”

“Damn it!”

“Damn it!”

Colin, collapsed on the ground like a corpse, couldn’t utter a word in response to Asai’s accusations and self-blame.

Asai sighed and didn’t say anything more.

He returned to the crime scene and joined the security team in searching for every possible clue.

Asai was silent, but his heart was screaming frantically, his eyes turning blood-red.

“Catch him.”

“I must catch him.” —

After a busy night, Asai finally stopped early in the morning.

He found that Colin was gone. After asking around, he learned that Colin had gone home. He was somewhat worried about Colin’s condition.

After inquiring along the way, he finally found Colin’s home.

“Colin? His house is at the very end of the alley.”

“That child is pitiful, always living alone, never having any friends.”

Only then did Asai learn that Colin was an orphan. His parents had disappeared in an accident.

But he never believed his parents were dead. He hoped to find them.

This, perhaps, was why he wanted to become a detective and take Asai as his teacher.

“Knock knock knock!”

When Asai knocked, he found the door wasn’t even closed.

He pushed the door open and walked in, leaning on his cane, while calling out.

“Colin!”

“Colin.”

Walking through the corridor, Asai glanced into the rooms on both sides.

Suddenly.

Asai stopped.

He saw something hanging in one of the rooms, a shadowy figure swaying heavily in the darkness, making a creaking sound.

Asai involuntarily took two steps back, then slowly walked in after a long moment.

Colin had committed suicide.

He left a note with only two words.

“I’m sorry.”

Asai stood under Colin’s body, holding the note, motionless.

Suddenly, he began hitting himself with his cane, making sounds like a wild beast from his mouth.

“Ah!”

“Ah!”