“Ju Zhang.”
Lin Du pushed open the door and walked into the office.
Ju Zhang sat behind the desk, holding an unlit cigarette between his fingers, twirling it back and forth.
“Ah, you’re here. Have a seat.”
Ju Zhang pointed to the chair across from him, tossed the cigarette into the drawer, and closed it.
Lin Du stepped in, pulled out the chair, and sat down.
He asked, “How are things going? The three new Strange Persons we captured.”
“Take a look yourself.”
Ju Zhang picked up a tablet from the side, pulled up the files, and handed it over.
Lin Du took the tablet and looked down.
On the screen were three files side by side, each with a photo.
The first one was Xiao Yu.
In the photo, she was still wearing the maid outfit from the store, flashing a peace sign at the camera, her smile a bit stiff.
The text below was dense.
Lin Du quickly skimmed through.
[Strange Person Name: Xiao Yu. After examination, no obvious abnormalities. She was turned by an injection drug for Transformation Type individuals. The drug composition is under analysis. After written plea from her guardian, she has been fitted with a Magic-Suppression Collar and allowed to return to normal life with regular check-ins.]
Lin Du’s thumb hovered over the screen for a moment, then slid to the next file.
[Strange Person Name: Tentatively designated ‘Yellow-Haired Monster’. Currently under strict supervision. Danger Level: Extremely High. Mental State: Unable to communicate. The cause of transformation is being studied, preliminary assessment related to some unknown Magic Potion.]
The third file:
[Strange Person Name: Li Ya.]
Lin Du’s gaze stopped on those two words, pausing for a moment.
[Not long ago, engaged in conflict with a Large Monster and knocked it unconscious…]
He widened his eyes in disbelief, read the text again to confirm he wasn’t mistaken, then tapped on the video below.
The screen lit up.
The footage was a bit shaky, as if taken from a surveillance camera.
In the Recreation Ground under the setting sun, a huge gray figure occupied most of the screen.
Thick limbs, a round belly.
It was lowering its head, roaring toward a direction off-screen.
Then a white figure rushed into the frame.
Next to that massive hulk, she looked as small as a toy.
The giant threw a punch—she sidestepped.
It threw another punch—she ducked under its fist.
The giant turned around—she had already jumped onto its back.
Lin Du watched the white figure bouncing around on the giant like a cat teaser, or like a butterfly that could never be caught.
The giant spun, shook its head, flailed its arms—nothing could reach her.
Finally, she leaped up and landed a kick on a weak point.
The giant crashed to the ground with a boom.
The white figure landed steadily, dusted off her hands, and held her tail high.
Lin Du could even imagine her smug expression—her mouth must have been stretched ear to ear, maybe even letting out a light snort.
Then a blue arc from a Stun Gun shot in from off-screen, hitting her squarely in the side.
The white figure stiffened, limbs convulsing, and fell straight down.
Two guards walked in from off-screen.
One put away the stun gun, the other bent down, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and lifted her off the ground.
Her tail dragged on the floor, her hair covered in dust, and she was still babbling incoherently.
Lin Du stared at the screen, his mouth twitching slightly.
Ju Zhang had been watching him.
When he put down the tablet, Ju Zhang spoke.
“That little fox is quite something.”
He crossed his legs and raised an eyebrow at Lin Du.
“That big brute was the top dog for a long time. The ‘King’ of the shelter. Nobody dared to mess with him. And then a girl who’d just been brought in less than a day took him down.”
Lin Du placed the tablet back on the desk.
“Where is she now?”
“Locked in solitary confinement.”
Ju Zhang put the tablet away and leaned back in his chair.
“Fighting, disturbing order. She probably won’t be released until tomorrow evening.”
“I’ll go talk to her.”
“Which identity will you use?”
Ju Zhang looked at him.
“Lin Du, or the Blazing Knight?”
Lin Du didn’t answer.
He pushed open the door and walked out.
Solitary Confinement Cell.
The lock clicked shut, the metallic sound echoing in the cramped room.
White Li lay on the ground.
After a while, she finally recovered from the electric shock numbness.
She pushed herself up into a sitting position, rubbed her still-tingling arm, and began to look around.
The solitary confinement cell was pitch black, but with the Fox Clan’s night vision, she could still see the surroundings.
This room was much smaller than an ordinary cell.
No bed, no sink.
Only cold concrete floor and a rusty drainage grate in the corner.
Moonlight refracted in from there, becoming the only light source.
White Li crawled over to the drainage hole, fumbled the silver bracelet out from her tail, and held it up to the light.
The edge of the bracelet reflected a cold gleam.
She adjusted the angle, trying to see outside.
Soon, the gray-blue sky and the glimmers of starlight reflected onto the bracelet.
White Li’s mouth slowly stretched into a grin, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
‘She hadn’t been wrong.’
‘Solitary confinement cells were usually on the top floor, because they didn’t need frequent access. Putting them on the top floor saved space and was easier to manage.’
‘And now, she was only one staircase away from the rooftop where she could escape.’
‘All she needed to do was: first, get out of this room. Second, go up the stairs. Third, open the iron door to the rooftop. Finally, reach the rooftop.’
‘Easier said than done.’
‘Although she would be released from solitary confinement tomorrow evening, she couldn’t just dash for the rooftop the moment the door opened—she wasn’t faster than bullets.’
‘She had to get out of solitary confinement before that.’
White Li turned around, walked to the iron door, crouched down, and examined it closely.
‘Luckily, the solitary confinement cell door wasn’t an electronic lock, but an ordinary pin tumbler lock.’
She reached out to touch around the keyhole.
No sensor area on the metal panel, no wires leading out from the side of the door frame.
‘This door was probably as old as the building itself, using the most primitive mechanical structure.’
‘That meant there would be no risk of triggering an alarm if she tried to pick the lock or force the door.’
She then ran her hand along the edge of the door frame.
Her fingertips touched several raised cylindrical metal pieces.
Those were hinges.
At least three hinges on the door frame, each screwed into the frame and the door panel.
‘The hinges themselves were much weaker than the lock. As long as she had the right metal tool, she could pop the hinge pins out, and the whole door would come off the frame.’
White Li’s gaze slowly shifted back to the rusty drainage hole in the corner.
The iron grate for the drainage hole was long gone, leaving only a dark circular opening through which the moonlight leaked in.
The edge of the circular opening had a raised iron ring, apparently used to secure the grate.
‘If she could pry off the iron ring and flatten it, she would get a metal strip, enough to pop out the hinge pins.’
‘Moreover, the drainage hole was close to the ground, making it less likely to be discovered by patrolling guards in the corridor.’
White Li crept over, crouched down, and her fingertips just touched the cold iron ring.
Suddenly, her ears perked up.
There was a sound outside the door.
Someone had stopped at the door.
Muffled conversation, broken and unintelligible.
“Click.”
Then the lock turned.
White Li sprang up from the ground, pressing her back against the wall.
The iron door opened.
‘Who is it?’