Chapter 24: Performer, Artist, Scientist
When Luo Ling saw the photo the police officer handed her, her first instinct was to prevent her sister from seeing it.
Because if her sister recognized her transformed appearance, she would realize the person the police were looking for… was her.
But it was too late; her sister had already seen the photo.
Luo Ling’s heart pounded in her chest. She didn’t know how her sister would react.
Su Wan stared at the surveillance photo, studying it carefully.
After what felt like an eternity to Luo Ling, her sister finally spoke.
“Mm… I haven’t seen her.”
“What about you?” the police officer turned to Luo Ling.
Luo Ling looked up and said slowly,
“I haven’t seen her either.”
“Alright, thank you for your cooperation. If you have any information, please report it to the police immediately… She’s dangerous, please don’t approach her,” the officer took the photo back from Luo Ling. “Have a good day.”
After that, they turned and left, heading to the next house without looking back.
After the police left, Su Wan quickly closed the door and pulled Luo Ling back inside.
Luo Ling lowered her head, her mind racing, trying to figure out how to explain to her sister.
Su Wan drew all the curtains, then stood in front of Luo Ling and lowered her voice.
“Xiao Ling, tell me the truth, are you hiding something from Sister?”
“I…”
Luo Ling opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by Su Wan’s gaze. Her sister asked in a low voice,
“Do you… know that girl with the white hair?”
“Huh?”
Luo Ling, who had been prepared to reveal part of the truth, was dumbfounded.
Hadn’t her sister seen her transformed self?
How could she not recognize her?
Seeing Luo Ling’s stunned silence, Su Wan sighed and said,
“If that girl is your friend, you should advise her to turn herself in. Confession is always the best policy, especially since she’s a minor… Where are her parents, by the way?”
Luo Ling remained silent, unsure what to say.
Her sister… really didn’t seem to recognize her transformed self?
What was going on…?
“Mm…”
Luo Ling nodded hesitantly.
“Didn’t expect me to know, did you?” A smug smile appeared on Su Wan’s lips. “Little girl, I’ve watched you grow up. The look on your face when you saw the photo told me everything. You definitely know her.
“But I’m curious, what did this girl do to make the police search door-to-door?”
Luo Ling shook her head and replied,
“I’m… not sure.”
After calming down and thinking carefully, Luo Ling figured out why the police were looking for her.
It was the murders at the hospital!
Although it was the Forgotten River Child who had killed the two doctors, she was the only one ordinary people could see, and there was Director Li as an eyewitness. It was normal for the police to investigate her.
Although Luo Ling had returned to her normal form when she came back from the graveyard, she had been in her “Bai” form on the way there.
The surveillance footage wouldn’t lie…
Fortunately, this was a suburban area. The surveillance could only show that she had left from this area but not her exact location.
“Alright, Xiao Ling, don’t worry too much about this,” Su Wan ruffled Luo Ling’s hair. “Focus on your studies for now, and put other things aside.”
“…Mm.”
Luo Ling kept her head down.
Although she didn’t understand why her sister didn’t recognize her transformed self, this… seemed to be a good thing.
Good for both her sister and herself.
“I’ll go back to studying now.”
Luo Ling said, she didn’t dare stay here any longer. Her sister knew her too well and could easily see through her thoughts.
There were still many things she couldn’t let her sister know.
“Okay, go ahead.”
Su Wan patted Luo Ling’s shoulder.
Luo Ling walked upstairs and, glancing back, saw her sister watching her.
Her gaze was distant and lingering, as if seeing through Luo Ling’s thoughts.
“What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”
“No, nothing…”
Luo Ling quickly closed the door.
After calming down, she opened her textbooks, put aside everything about Awakened Ones for now, and started catching up on months of schoolwork.
No matter what… she had to get into a good university and put her sister’s mind at ease.
…
“Please, kind sir… please…”
People bustled through the busy streets, ignoring the legless beggar sitting on the roadside, begging for alms. His greasy hair and dirty face made people avoid him.
Just as the beggar thought he would end the day empty-handed, he saw a woman walking towards him.
He opened his dirt-encrusted eyes and lowered his head further.
“Kind madam, kind madam… please spare some food, this old man hasn’t eaten in days…”
“Look up.”
The woman’s voice was soft and elegant, the voice of a well-bred lady.
The beggar, thinking his luck had finally turned, raised his head slightly and looked at the woman.
He froze.
This woman… looked even crazier than him, wandering the streets in a hospital gown. Although it was clean, a faint, unpleasant odor clung to her.
“Look into my eyes.”
The woman spoke again.
The beggar felt resistant, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but raise his head a little further, meeting the woman’s gaze.
The moment their eyes met, the beggar’s expression turned blank. Then, he heard the woman’s voice again.
“Artist, it’s been a while.”
Artist?
Him, a crippled old beggar on the streets, being called an Artist?
Before the beggar could say anything, an unimaginable pain exploded in his mind, as if something was being forced inside.
“Oh, isn’t this Performer? Where have you been developing your love life and career all this time?”
The beggar was horrified to find his mouth speaking words he couldn’t understand, as if another person was speaking through him.
“Something came up.”
“Did your method go wrong? You’re almost as bad as me now.”
“Less sarcasm. I’m in Jiangcheng County, Huazhong region. There’s a suspected Dangerous Grotesquery here, estimated to be around Sequence 120. I believe ‘He’ will be very interested.”
“Really?” The Artist’s tone turned serious. “Performer, you know the price of deceiving ‘Him.’”
“Do I look like someone who jokes around?”
“Alright, I’ll go with Scientist. You investigate the situation there first. If there are no high-Order Awakened Ones… the ‘cleaning’ will be left to you.”
“Mm.”
The woman nodded.
As her voice fell, the beggar finally felt he had control of his tongue again.
He looked terrified and was about to scream.
But his open mouth couldn’t make a sound, frozen in place.
The woman elegantly adjusted her clothes and walked away slowly.
No one noticed the beggar collapsing silently behind her.
His brain had turned to mush. He was dead.
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