The next morning, sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains.
Lin Lu was jolted awake by the vibration of her phone.
Dazed and groggy, she reached out toward the source of the sound, intending to turn off the alarm.
“Mmm… alarm… alarm…” Lin Lu’s hand groped around blindly with her eyes closed.
‘Huh? Why is today’s alarm so soft?’
-Pinch, pinch…
‘Why does it feel so good?’
Lin Lu forced her eyelids open, wanting to see where the alarm was and exactly what she was squeezing.
“Mmm… oh… they’re just small mounds…”
It was then she saw her hand was still resting on Lin Qingqing’s peaks.
Her brain stalled for a second, and she reflexively gave them another squeeze.
“Eh?!”
A jolt of electricity seemed to shoot through her.
She yanked her hand away and frantically searched for the phone.
It turned out to be Lin Qingqing’s alarm, which explained why she had instinctively reached toward her friend’s side of the bed.
“Mmm…”
Lin Qingqing didn’t wake up.
She simply let out a low mumble, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
Lin Lu’s heart hammered wildly against her ribs.
She only let out a breath of relief once she saw that Lin Qingqing was still dead to the world.
However, her mind couldn’t help but replay the sensation from a moment ago…
‘No, no, no!’
Lin Lu shook her head vigorously, driving the “yellow waste” out of her mind.
“Ding-dong!”
Lin Lu picked up her own phone and checked the group chat.
It was a message from Minazuki.
[Minazuki: The Technical Department said there’s new progress on the case. I’m heading to Headquarters to check it out first. Don’t worry about rushing over when you wake up. I’ll notify you after I organize the information. There’s no need to attend today’s training.]**
Lin Lu was instantly wide awake.
She sat up and typed a reply.
[Chiyoyuki: Understood.]
After a moment, Minazuki saw the message and replied: [Minazuki: Also, Hoshino Hikari is still sleeping. I purposely turned off her alarm when I left. Please wake her up later.]
[Chiyoyuki: Okay.]
Lin Lu set her phone down and glanced out the window.
The sky had just brightened, and the streets were still empty.
She quietly got out of bed, dressed herself, and washed up.
Once finished, she sat on the sofa in the living room and scrolled through her phone until 10:00 AM before heading to Hoshino Hikari’s door.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
Lin Lu knocked, but there was no answer.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
She knocked three more times, but not a single sound came from inside the room.
‘Is she that deep a sleeper?’
She sighed helplessly.
It looked like she would have to go in and wake her up herself.
Lin Lu gently pushed the door open.
Hoshino Hikari’s sleeping posture was incredibly uninhibited.
She was sprawled diagonally across the bed with one leg hanging off the edge.
Her lips glistened, and a thin trail of drool hung from the corner of her mouth.
“Hoshino Hikari,” Lin Lu said softly, standing by the bed.
No reaction.
“Hoshino Hikari, wake up.” She spoke a bit louder.
Still no reaction.
The lump of blankets only shifted slightly, as if the person inside was rolling over in their sleep.
Lin Lu sighed and reached out to shake her shoulder.
“Hoshino Hikari, it’s 10:00 AM. Time to get — “
Before she could finish, Hoshino Hikari suddenly moved.
With her eyes still closed, her arms shot out like snakes and grabbed Lin Lu’s wrist.
Before Lin Lu could react, a massive force yanked her forward.
She lost her balance and tumbled directly into the pile of blankets.
“Eh — ?!”
A second later, Hoshino Hikari’s arms were locked around her in a death grip.
She pulled Lin Lu into her embrace, burying her face into the crook of Lin Lu’s neck and nuzzling against her.
“Mmm… so soft…” Hoshino Hikari mumbled, her voice thick with sleep, “Body pillow… so comfortable…”
The hot air from Hoshino Hikari’s breath tickled Lin Lu’s neck, sending a shiver through her.
Her legs also came up, wrapping around Lin Lu like an octopus and pinning her down firmly.
“Hoshino Hikari!” Lin Lu struggled, “Wake up! It’s me!”
Hoshino Hikari didn’t wake up at all.
She only held Lin Lu tighter, mumbling something else.
“…Chicken leg…”
‘Chicken leg?’
“Such a big chicken leg… roasted golden-brown…” Hoshino Hikari’s voice became clearer, “It smells so good…”
An ominous feeling welled up in Lin Lu’s heart.
“Hehe… my chicken leg… don’t run…” Hoshino Hikari licked her lips, “Let me have a bite…”
“Wait… wait, don’t bite!”
Before Lin Lu could break free, Hoshino Hikari opened her mouth.
She bit down hard on Lin Lu’s shoulder.
“AAAAAAAHHH!!!”
A piercing scream echoed through the entire house, startling several sparrows outside into flight.
Lin Qingqing kicked the door open, clutching a pillow with her hair a mess.
She had clearly just been jolted awake.
“What happened?! Is it an enemy attack?!”
She squinted and saw Hoshino Hikari and Lin Lu sitting on the edge of the bed.
Hoshino Hikari looked incredibly wronged, despite the fact that a large, smoking bump was currently rising on top of her head…
“It’s nothing,” Lin Lu said with a straight face, silently pulling up her collar to hide the bite mark, “Hoshino Hikari had a nightmare.”
“A… nightmare?”
Lin Qingqing looked at Lin Lu, then at the pouting Hoshino Hikari.
She felt like she had missed a very dramatic scene.
“Yes. Qingqing, go wash up. I’m already finished.”
“Uh… okay.”
Lin Qingqing scratched her head and retreated with her pillow.
“I — I can’t control myself when I’m dreaming…” Hoshino Hikari looked at Lin Lu with teary eyes, “I’m sorry, Sister Chiyoyuki.”
Lin Lu took a deep breath.
“It’s fine. Get up and wash your face. Minazuki already went to Headquarters; she said there’s progress on the case.”
“Oh, okay!”
Hoshino Hikari scrambled out of the blankets, her hair looking like a bird’s nest and her face smeared with dried drool.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
“Hmm? Who’s here?” Lin Lu heard knocking from the living room, “Coming!”
She hurried to the front door and opened it.
“Eh? Minazuki? I thought you were…”
Lin Lu was confused to see Minazuki standing outside.
“I brought the files.” Minazuki patted the documents in her hand as she walked in.
“The Technical Department managed to track the person who was repeatedly visiting the website. The specific address is Nantang Road No. 17.”
“That means…” Lin Lu’s eyes lit up.
“Exactly. The Shadow Beast is there. There’s a high probability it’s still mentally manipulating its victim. As for the victim’s information…”
Minazuki pulled out a sheet and handed it to Lin Lu, “The victim’s name is Zhao Jianguo. He is 36 years old. He lost both his wife and daughter and currently lives alone…”
Lin Lu looked over the file carefully.
The photo on the document made her gasp in surprise.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Minazuki asked, noticing her expression.
“Ah, nothing,” Lin Lu replied, “It’s just that I’ve met this man before.”
“You’ve met him?”
“Yes…”
Lin Lu proceeded to tell Minazuki about her previous encounter with Zhao Jianguo and what the convenience store owner had told her.
“I see…” Minazuki pondered for a moment, “In that case, time might be tight. Based on your description, Zhao Jianguo is likely close to being successfully corrupted. The Shadow Beast is definitely in his house.”
Once Hoshino Hikari and Lin Qingqing finished getting ready, Minazuki called them into the living room and shared the information.
“Then… let’s head out now,” Hoshino Hikari said worriedly, “What if we’re too late…”
“No need to rush.” Minazuki interrupted her, “We will go tonight. This Shadow Beast excels at creating dreamscapes to trap people. Based on the investigation and the website access logs, it only appears at night. If we rush in during the day, we’ll only alert the enemy.”
Lin Lu nodded, “That makes sense. We’ll go tonight.”
“What do we do until then?” Lin Qingqing asked, raising her hand.
“Conserve your strength.” Minazuki pushed up her glasses and said, “Tonight… will be the end of it.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.