High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

Time flies. A week passes in the blink of an eye, filled with the daily routine of catching up on sleep during the day and the routine of patrolling the streets at night.

May 16th, Saturday afternoon.

The high school seniors have finally been granted a brief period of release from prison.

Shen Chang'an returned to Guanlan Mansion, quickly finished the dinner Li Yue had prepared, and without even listening to Zhang Qingqing's sarcastic remarks, went straight into the underground garage, rode away on the motorcycle with the refurbished muffler.

There's work tonight, and it's dirty work.

7:30 p.m.

Shen Chang'an drove his motorcycle silently into an old resettlement community in the northern suburbs of Qingzhou District.

Just half an hour ago, the liaison officer posted a glaring red urgent alert in the work group.

An incident occurred in Room 401, Building B, Beiyuan Residential Area, Qingzhou District, where a demon injures and kills a resident. The scene has been cordoned off by the logistics team. The person in charge of the area is requested to go there immediately to determine the nature of the incident.

"A demon caused a person's death."

In the rules of the Night Watch, this is a heinous crime. Once it occurs, it means bloodshed is inevitable.

Police tape had already been put up downstairs in the residential area. Since everyone present was from the Town Night Division's logistics team, Shen Chang'an didn't bother wearing the human skin hood.

He walked in with a swagger, wearing his slightly faded blue and white school uniform and carrying a guitar case.

The logistics staff at the entrance, upon seeing this distinctive attire, not only did not stop him, but instead respectfully pulled up the cordon and saluted.

Wu Hong was standing at the entrance of the apartment building, smoking, his brows furrowed into a deep frown. When he saw Shen Chang'an arrive, he quickly stubbed out his cigarette and went to greet him.

"Sir, you've arrived."

"Hmm, what's going on? Let's talk as we walk."

Shen Chang'an walked up the stairs to the fourth floor.

"They were a couple. The deceased was human, and the murderer was a demon."

Wu Hong followed closely behind, his tone somewhat helpless.

"However... they are both women."

Shen Chang'an paused slightly as he took his first step upwards, raising an eyebrow, but quickly realized what he meant: "Lala?"

"yes."

Wu Hong sighed.

"Young people these days are really into something fancy, and more and more people are into this kind of thing."

In the weighty "Provisional Regulations for the Management of Demons" of the Town Night Division, there is indeed an ironclad rule: love between humans and demons is strictly prohibited. However, the specific details of this law are designed to prevent "opposite sexes," and its core purpose is to prevent the union of humans and demons, which could produce "half-demon" bloodlines with extremely unstable genes and a tendency to go mad.

This has led to an awkward legal loophole—the regulations do not explicitly prohibit same-sex romantic relationships.

After all, everyone is either female or male, so it's impossible for them to cause a "human death." Therefore, many lower-level demons, in order to enjoy the comforts of human society, will take advantage of this loophole and find human partners of the same sex to live with. Even if the logistics team finds out, they usually turn a blind eye.

"Have the circumstances surrounding the deceased been determined?"

Shen Chang'an asked.

"The deceased was named Wang Li, 20 years old, a sophomore at a nearby vocational education center."

Wu Hong flipped through the tablet in his hand.

"The culprit is a second-tier rat demon, using the alias Chen Zhizhi. Its current whereabouts are unknown."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the door of room 401.

The strong smell of blood was pungent even through the security door.

Shen Chang'an pushed open the door and went inside. It was a simple one-bedroom rental apartment. The living room was littered with torn books and smashed appliances, clearly indicating that a fierce argument and fight had taken place.

He went straight to the bedroom with the door open.

In the cramped bedroom, blood stained almost half the sheets and the floor. A young girl lay disheveled in a pool of blood beside the bed, a huge laceration on her neck—a fatal wound; she was already dead.

Shen Chang'an stood at the bedroom door, took out a pair of medical white gloves and a mask from his trench coat pocket and put them on.

He walked over to the bed and began to examine the body, stepping over the mess on the floor.

Although it was a "crime of passion," the horrific scene was still disturbing.

The deceased woman, Wang Li, had a beautiful face, with traces of the heavy makeup she had carefully applied before going out on a date. However, due to the extreme pain and terror she experienced before her death, her facial features were completely distorted.

Her clothes were disheveled, with obvious and rough scratches on her chest and private parts, and her limbs were covered with bruises from the struggle.

What made things even more awkward for Wu Hong and the other men was that, besides the torn clothes scattered all over the floor, there were also some unusual toys. It seems that this transgender couple leads a rather colorful life.

"The fatal wound was to the carotid artery, which was severed instantly by the sharp claws."

Shen Chang'an gently touched the wound on the corpse's neck with his gloved fingers, his tone as calm as a forensic doctor.

"He struggled, but was ultimately killed with a single blow."

He stood up and glanced at the open bedroom window.

The apartment was on the fourth floor. The windowpanes were shattered, and there were several claw marks on the window frame, which looked like those of rodents.

"Sir, the killer escaped through the window."

Wu Hong pointed to the windowsill.

"I've already sent someone to check the community's surveillance footage."

He peeked out at the security camera and discovered that there were too many blind spots.

"There's no need to check the surveillance footage. If the demon tries to escape, the regular cameras here simply can't capture it."

He then sensed it and found that no trace of spiritual energy had been left, which surprised him.

Shen Chang'an took out something resembling retro aviator goggles from his bag and put them on his eyes.

With a soft "snap," a streak of pale blue light flashed across the lens.

This is a high-end product developed by the Logistics Department of the Night Town Division—the [Spiritual Light Tracing Mirror]. When worn, human blood will appear as a dull black in vision, while the blood of demons containing spiritual power will emit a dazzling fluorescent blue.

Shen Chang'an lowered his head, his gaze carefully searching through the dark "human blood" covering the ground.

Soon, in the corner near the wardrobe, he found two tiny, semi-dried blue bloodstains.

"Found it."

Shen Chang'an took off his gloves and dipped his fingertips into the dried demon blood. Then, he took out another bronze magical artifact shaped like a compass from his bag—the [Thousand-Mile Silk-Pulling Compass].

This is a magical artifact specifically designed to track demons. By introducing blood or spiritual energy carrying the target's aura into the plate, its location can be forcibly locked.

Shen Chang'an pressed his finger, stained with demon blood, onto the center of the compass.

"Buzz—"

The bronze compass emitted a soft buzzing sound. Immediately afterward, a thin line of blood, emitting a faint red glow and visible only to Shen Chang'an, floated out of the compass, passed straight through the broken window, and extended towards the north of the residential area.

"Location locked."

Shen Chang'an put away the compass.

"Director Wu, you're in charge of handling the aftermath of this incident. This case involves the demon race, so just announce it to the public as a simple robbery and murder case. Don't cause any panic."

"Understood! Be careful, sir."

Shen Chang'an nodded. He originally wanted to take the easy way out and jump out of the broken window on the fourth floor, but after glancing at the growing crowd of onlookers in the community below, he gave up the arrogant idea and turned to walk down the stairs.