The disturbance caused by the Nether Cleanser Angel was quelled late at night.
Yan Xiu was sent to the medical bay, with Lin Lu tending to him attentively.
The others gathered in the office to discuss the matter of the picture album.
After Wen Wen recounted the origin of the incident, Lin Zhe Yuan took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Cases involving souls are not within our area of expertise. However, the hunter team in the neighboring Bao Ya City has a demon hunter who can communicate with souls. I can arrange for her to be seconded to assist in handling this case."
It was common practice for superhumans with special talents to be seconded among various hunter teams within the local hunter associations. The number of demon hunters in any given city was limited, while the variety of monsters was vast. Mutual cooperation could resolve many issues.
You Han, holding the picture album, scoffed unpleasantly, "Anyone who can do something like this must be a total pervert!"
Li Da Zhuang nodded in agreement, his gaze flicking towards the album before quickly averting it as if scalded. Having been a high school student not long ago, he was still a pure, good boy. After looking at the album last night, it was as if a new world had opened up for him…
"I've found out!"
Ding Ming Guang, sitting in a corner, suddenly slammed his keyboard and looked up at everyone. "The author of this original picture album is Guo Sheng Ye, a doujin artist. He only started becoming popular in the last six months and is quite famous in the Sakura Region." He paused, then continued, "The turning point in his career was a manga he released half a year ago. It was widely acclaimed upon release, and it was around that time that inexplicably傻-looking women started appearing in Furong River City… Soaring Novels."
"So far, he has released thirty-seven manga, and this original picture album is one of them. In the past six months, over forty women in this city have gone insane…"
Wen Wen looked at Ding Ming Guang with surprise. "This album doesn't even have a signature, and you found out so quickly just by looking at the cover twice?" Although his combat ability wasn't strong, his information-gathering skills were far beyond those of many powerful superhumans.
Ding Ming Guang touched his shiny bald head and said proudly, "As long as it circulates online, it's easy for me to find out." He wouldn't admit that he was once a fan of Guo Sheng Ye…
"There's also one more point worth noting. Besides the deranged young women, over ten people have died around Guo Sheng Ye in the past six months. Their deaths were all extremely tragic. However, these cases were classified as normal homicides, so they are not within our jurisdiction…"
Combining Ding Ming Guang's information, the group began to formulate an action plan targeting Guo Sheng Ye. Meanwhile, after hearing Ding Ming Guang's report, Wen Wen yawned and went home. At most, he was a painter with special abilities, not any of the disaster-level monsters indicated by the monitoring points. He didn't need to act personally. It was enough to lure him out into the open. The matter of capture could be left to Lin Zhe Yuan and the others, as that was their job after all.
Lin Zhe Yuan and the others were unaware of Guo Sheng Ye's strength, so they did not act rashly but made thorough preparations. While ensuring the capture of Guo Sheng Ye, they also aimed to minimize the impact of the incident.
…
"One, two…"
After moving into his new home, Guo Sheng Ye placed his original picture albums on the bookshelf one by one. As a manga artist, albeit a doujin artist, Guo Sheng Ye also needed inspiration. He had lived in his previous home for too long, and his inspiration had dried up. He needed a new environment to cultivate his inspiration. His so-called inspiration was actually the souls of beautiful girls nearby. When Guo Sheng Ye finished playing games with his reflection in the mirror, and the reflection could no longer provide him with satisfactory material, he would move. He had moved several times in the past six months.
However, when he moved last night, something unexpected happened. A monster glowing all over caused great destruction in the street and almost destroyed the car he was using for the move. Fortunately, Guo Sheng Ye left the scene in time and avoided trouble. He did not want to get involved in any disputes; all he wanted was to draw manga peacefully. He would be even happier if more people liked his work.
After arranging them all, Guo Sheng Ye's expression froze, his face instantly becoming ferocious and terrifying. One of his original picture albums was missing! With the new one he had just drawn, which had not yet been released, there should have been thirty-eight in total. Why were there only thirty-seven left? Had he accidentally left one behind in the rush of moving last night?
No! He had to retrieve that album. It was his property and could not fall into the hands of others.
Just then, there was a knock on Guo Sheng Ye's door. Guo Sheng Ye, disheveled, opened the door to find two tall men in black suits standing outside. One of them showed Guo Sheng Ye a credential.
"Hello sir, we are Federal Investigators. A serious incident occurred near your residence last night. We would like you to accompany us to assist with the investigation."
"Why would Federal Investigators be looking for me…" Guo Sheng Ye said uncooperatively, "I'm just a manga artist. Whatever happens has nothing to do with me."
The black-suited man on the left said, "Sir, there are many lost and unclaimed items at the scene. We need you to identify them. Cooperating with us is the duty of a Federal citizen."
Upon hearing about identifying lost items, Guo Sheng Ye's interest was piqued. He could use this opportunity to find his missing album. So, he said to the two men in black, "Please wait a moment." Then, he returned to his room to pack his belongings and prepare to leave.
Seeing that Guo Sheng Ye had agreed to go with them, the two men breathed a sigh of relief. They were actually assistants from Furong River City, and their mission was to lure Guo Sheng Ye out of his home. Since Guo Sheng Ye chose to integrate into society and become a doujin artist, he naturally had to abide by societal rules, even if only superficially.
There had indeed been unrest near Guo Sheng Ye's residence last night, so asking him to assist with the investigation was a normal procedure. As long as he wanted to retrieve his album, he would likely take the bait. Once they brought him to a sparsely populated area, Lin Zhe Yuan and the others could begin their capture.
Outside the small convenience store downstairs, You Han was sitting by the entrance reading a book, her long hair covering the earphones in her ears. She was monitoring the conversation between the two assistants and Guo Sheng Ye. If Guo Sheng Ye showed any signs of unusual behavior, she would rush forward to apprehend him directly.
Just as Guo Sheng Ye put on his coat and was preparing to leave to retrieve his album, the image in the mirror began to distort again. The reflection in the mirror showed a murderous look in his eyes as he brought his hand across his neck, making a throat-slitting gesture…