Nightmare Light

Chapter 270 The Bloodless Fish
A fish that was soaking in water, but shriveled up and died.

"Here we go again," the shop owner muttered under his breath, his face grim.

He scooped out the shriveled fish and threw it away, then scooped out another fresh one, slammed it onto the cutting board, and began to butcher it.

The proprietress sighed, "This is the third one recently."

"Boss lady, we don't quite understand why these fish, even though they were in the water, died as if they had dried out?" Tian Taozi asked—although she was carefree, she still had the basic qualities of a sheriff and knew what to ask.

"These dead fish have no blood," the proprietress said, her expression somewhat frightened.

"No blood?" Lin Wang and Tian Taozi exchanged a glance.

"When we found the first fish to die like this, my wife and I didn't think much of it. Although we couldn't give the dead fish to our customers, we couldn't bear to throw it away, so we planned to cut it up and cook it for ourselves... But when we cut it open, we found that there wasn't a single drop of blood in the fish's belly."

"We were so startled that we didn't dare eat the fish," the proprietress said.

"Then, two days later, another one died, exactly like the first one, with not a single drop of blood in its body! Including today's one, this is the third one!"

"Why didn't you report it to the police?" Tian Taozi asked.

"It's just a few fish. The police station is so busy every day. Why would we cause them trouble over a few fish? It's not worth it." The proprietress shook her head.

After the old woman finished speaking, she smiled apologetically at the two of them, got up, and went about her business.

Soon the grilled fish was served. The fish was crispy and tender, and the aroma from the side dishes and broth filled the air, invigorating the senses.

"It smells so good!" he exclaimed.

"The place I picked, isn't it reliable!" Tian Taozi chuckled smugly, handing Lin Wang the cleaned chopsticks and picking out a large piece of fish for him, placing it on his plate. She then added a shiitake mushroom, "Don't eat the fish yet, you have to eat the mushroom first with this grilled fish..."

Lin Wang thanked him and lowered his voice, "Don't you think the way these fish died is very strange?"

With a shiitake mushroom stuffed in her mouth, Tian Taozi was blowing on it, her breath coming in hot gasps, while nodding repeatedly: "Sink...water...pry..."

Lin Wang was stunned for a moment, then realized what she meant: "The Divine Blood Cult?"

The latter nodded vigorously, then stretched his neck and swallowed the mushroom: "Ah...so delicious! Yes, I'm talking about the Divine Blood Cult."

"At the intersection just now, you said someone was stealing blood from the blood bank." Lin Wang dipped the back of his chopsticks in water and drew two circles on the table, then connected them with a line. "Now, the fish in this market are also losing blood... I'm wondering if these two things are related?"

Seeing Lin Wang focused on thinking, Tian Taozi simply picked up a piece of fish and stuffed it into his mouth: "Last time at the Federal University! The Divine Blood Cult was stealing blood back then!"

Lin Wang's mouth was stuffed full by Tian Taozi, and he had no choice but to swallow the fish in a few bites. He then said, "But there's one thing I don't understand—at the Federal University, they were stealing human blood."

"The blood in the blood bank must be human blood... This all makes sense: whether they want to perform a sacrificial ritual or create some kind of monster, human blood can be used as a raw material... But what can fish blood be used for?"

Tian Taozi (chewing): "I don't know... Could it be that it's going to summon some kind of half-human, half-fish monster?"

Lin Wang shook his head, not answering the girl's nonsense.

Just then, his phone rang.

Lin Wang is someone who dislikes using mobile phones. He has always believed that excessive information bombardment will only damage a person's thinking ability.

But as his social circle grew larger and more people got to know him, he would inevitably be contacted from time to time.

Considering that if someone contacts him, it's probably something very serious, Lin Wang still carries his phone with him when he goes out.

He picked up his phone and glanced at the screen.

Lin Wang thought that the person calling at this time would most likely be Brother Gou, since he had a lot on his mind, many of which were related to Lin Wang.

But to his surprise, the caller ID showed a number he rarely contacted.

Jiang Shanjun. Lin Wang then remembered that he was still in the Public Security Bureau, holding the position of "special investigator".

Although he provided the Security Bureau with a lot of intelligence during the previous adventures, the two had very little direct contact, only occasionally exchanging a few messages regarding missions and intelligence.

"It's your boss on the phone," Lin Wang said to Tian Taozi, whose eyes immediately widened.

But her mouth was full of food, and she couldn't speak for a moment. She could only wave her hand at Lin Wang and make faces at him.

Lin Wang didn't understand what she meant, but he had already answered the phone.

"Section Chief Jiang?"

"Mr. Lin Wang, I need your help with something." Jiang Shanjun's voice remained calm and indifferent, but her rapid speech made Lin Wang sense her anxiety. "Where are you right now?"

"There's a market on Shanying Street," Lin Wang said, glancing at the policewoman across from him who was making faces at him. "I ran into Tian Taozi here."

Tian Taozi covered her face.

Jiang Shanjun paused for two seconds, then asked Lin Wang, "What is she eating?"

Tian Taozi stretched her neck forcefully and swallowed what was in her mouth. Then she leaned close to Lin Wang's phone, her face almost touching his.

The policewoman shouted into the phone, "I didn't eat!"

A cold voice came from the other end of the phone: "Bring one for me too."

"Oh? Great... Boss Jiang, you like grilled fish too?"

"You still say you haven't eaten?"

"Oh no, I let it slip." Tian Taozi lightly slapped herself. "Boss... are we still going to eat the fish?"

"Eat it, add more chili peppers, and don't include potatoes as a side dish." After saying that, Jiang Shanjun quickly added, "You and Lin Wang go back to the Public Security Bureau together."

"Huh? We need Lin Wang's help with this case?" Tian Taozi was taken aback.

"Do you have Lin Wang's ability to analyze cases?" Jiang Shanjun asked.

"Chief Jiang, you have to have faith in me! I'm very smart too!"

"In a murder case, you have three suspects in front of you: a man, a woman, and an elderly person. Who do you think is the murderer?" Jiang Shanjun asked.

"The ugly one?"

"..." On the other end of the phone, Jiang Shanjun took a deep breath and suddenly changed to a gentle tone, "Taozi, I have an idea."

"Chief Jiang, you speak!"

“I think we should submit a report to the higher-ups and transfer you from the Fourth Division,” Jiang Shanjun said slowly and gently.

"Huh? Boss, I'm doing just fine in the Fourth Division!" Tian Taozi was stunned.

Jiang Shanjun suddenly raised her voice: "I think your brain is more suited to being a cleaner!"

Tian Taozi hung up the phone in a flash.

"What's wrong? Why are you being so fierce..." She made a face at the phone and handed it back to Lin Wang.

Then she asked Lin Wang, "But who should the murderer be?"

Lin Wang: “…”

(End of this chapter)