Netherworld Investigator

Chapter 377

Dali looked at me in bewilderment, a glimmer of hope rising in his eyes. I pointed to the ground, "There are footprints here. Although they’re blurred from the wind, we can still infer what happened at the time."

"Look, the murderer’s footprints are on top of Luo Youyou’s which suggest she came here first with the murderer following in the same direction. What does this tell us?"

Bingxin cried excitedly, "Luo Youyou was running for her life!"

"Yes!” I nodded. “The place where we found the backpack isn’t far from the tire marks, indicating that Luo Youyou escaped from the car. She was fiddling with the thread on the backpack which tells me her hands were free at the time and she was probably sitting in the back of the car. When the killer stopped the vehicle and was about to attack her, Luo Youyou opened the car door and fled, throwing her backpack aside to lighten the weight."

"What are you waiting for?” yelled Dali. “Let’s look for her now!"

"Don’t worry, just shout at the top of your lungs!" I said.

We followed the footprints, shouting Luo Youyou’s name as we walked. The abandoned building was huge and the footprints gradually disappeared so we decided to move separately. Bingxin and I headed to the left, while Dali and Song Xingchen searched on the right.

Shouting as we explored the place, we soon arrived at a dark, gloomy area surrounded by unfinished buildings that completely blocked out the sun. I suddenly heard movement from above and pushed Bingxin aside without a second thought.

Bang! A large bag of cement hit the ground where we just stood, kicking up dust and sand from the ground. The impact of a forty-kilogram bag slamming into one’s body was unimaginable.

Bingxin was frightened out of her wits. "There’s someone up there. Let’s go!" I shouted.

To prevent the murderer from dropping down any other dangerous objects, I pulled Bingxin into the building.

"Aren’t you going to call for Song Xingchen?" asked Bingxin.

"It’s nothing, I can handle it on my own!" I assured her.

The unfinished residential building was deserted. I motioned for Bingxin to remain silent while I listened carefully. When we reached the seventh floor, a cry for help sounded from upstairs. A girl was screaming.

It was followed by the sounds of thrashing and a man angrily threatened, "Scream again and I’ll throw you out."

At that moment, a bruiser rushed out from the stairwell, about to throw the bag of cement in his hand at us. Bingxin and I were right in the middle of the stairs, unable to avoid it. In a fluster, I concentrated on staring into his eyes.

The bruiser was so terrified his whole body quaked like a leaf, his pupils unconsciously contracting–an instinctive reaction in humans whenever they encountered a fearsome beast. Then, the cement bag fell from his hands and onto his foot.

The bruiser shouted in pain. Taking advantage of his inattention, I dashed up the stairs and kicked him in the crotch with all my strength, prompting the man to keel over with his hands around his lower torso. That blow was painful enough to ensure he would be incapacitated for some time.

Bingxin caught up from behind, "Song Yang-gege, what sorcery was that?"

"Follow me,” I said, grabbing her hand. “Remember, don’t look into my eyes!" Bingxin muttered an affirmative.

The Eyes of Yama was very energy-consuming and I now had insufficient blood supply to the brain so my field of vision was dark. But disabling and reactivating the Eyes of Yama would consume even more energy. Thus, my plan was to incapacitate the rest of the criminals in one go.

I rushed to the eighth floor and found a bunch of girls sitting in the corner, disheveled, with their hands tied behind their backs. At the sight of us, they squealed like frightened sparrows in a nest and frantically moved away from me. The man standing with them pulled out a butterfly knife and charged at us. But as soon as my gaze was fixed onto his, he screamed in horror, tossed the knife and crouched on the ground shivering with his hands around his head.

"There’s someone on your right!" Bingxin prompted.

I turned to the right to see a long-haired man pull out his gun. My gaze met his and he immediately panicked. "Who are you?" he trembled.

He unconsciously backed up, forgetting that the unfinished residential building had no walls. “Ahhhhh!” His screams lasted several seconds, replaced by a muffled crash as he slipped and fell from the eighth floor.

Fuck! I killed a man with the Eyes of Yama!

With danger out of the way, I disable the Eyes of Yama. Dizziness hit me like a truck and the world spun around me as if I were drunk. Darkness shrouded my vision, warmth slipping down my nasal cavity as warm liquid emerged.

"Song Yang-gege, you’ve got a nosebleed!" Bingxin exclaimed.

This wasn’t the time to fixate on my discomfort and the nosebleed. I wiped my nose with my sleeve and strode towards the man crouching on the ground.

My entire field of vision was dark with vague shapes that I made out to be his figure. The backlash of the Eyes of Yama was alarming! No wonder Song Xingchen warned me against using it more than three times a day. If I forcibly overdrew my energy, I might go blind.

As I drew closer, I kicked him recklessly, relying on an optimistic outcome. To my surprise, the kick landed heavily on his ribs, fracturing them. Broken ribs in this position would pierce the lungs, causing indescribable agony.

The man let out a scream resembling a dying pig, clutched at his wound and repeatedly thumped his head against the ground. I fell to my knees which sent Bingxin running in a fluster, "Song Yang-gege, what’s wrong with you?"

I waved her off, "Find a rope and tie up these two men."

"Alright!" nodded Bingxin.

The blood supply to my brain slowly recovered and my sight returned to normal. The kidnapped girls stared at me in fear, as if they were looking at a ghost.

A while later, Bingxin completed her task, even adding a pretty bow. "I don’t know how to tie those complicated knots," she pursed her lips.

"Do you have any milk?” I asked. “I’m thirsty and dizzy!"

"Milk?" Bingxin scanned the room and ran off. She came back holding an energy drink. "This is all I found. Is it okay?"

Without a word, I grabbed the bottle, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip. Although it didn’t taste good, the dizziness was finally alleviated. From now on, I had to take a bottle of milk with me wherever I went in case of a rainy day.

Bingxin twisted some paper towels and shoved them up my nose to stop the bleeding. "What just happened to you? You looked like you were possessed!"

"I’ll explain later!" I deflected.

"You were amazing! You managed to subdue two criminals and killed one instantly!” gushed Bingxin. “Can you get up? Do you want my help?"

Relying on Bingxin’s assistance, I slowly climbed to my feet, legs still wobbly. I kicked the man on the ground and demanded, "Who the hell are you guys? You better tell the truth!"

Ribs broken and sweating from the pain, the man endeavored to squeeze out a smile. "Buddy, I apologize for offending you. It’s my fault for not recognizing a great man like yourself! We’re just trying to make a living together. If I may ask, what do you do?"

What I hated most were human traffickers so I flashed my identification. "Who’s buddies with you?!" I scoffed.

The man’s eyes widened in surprise, "Officer, I-I-I’m just a small fry. This has nothing to do with me! Our boss brought these girls here. I’m only responsible for keeping an eye on them."

"Who’s your boss?" I arched an eyebrow.

The man pointed downstairs, "The one who jumped off the building!"

I sneered. The cunning bastard knew how to sail with the wind!