The girl saw us walking over and stood up, looking at us with hostile eyes.
She was neatly and cleanly dressed, not like a street urchin. She wore a pink dress, white stockings, children's shoes, and had her hair in pigtails.
I noticed her pupils gave off a bluish-white light, her irises were very black, distinctly black and white like nothing human!
We stared at each other silently, frozen for about five or six seconds, before Huang Xiaotao went up and asked, "Little girl, why are you here alone..."
Before she could finish speaking, the girl turned and ran. LaoYao and I exchanged glances and hurried after her.
The alley was very dark, and the stone slabs laid on the ground were old and broken, full of bumps and holes. But I had the "Eyes of the Deep Cavern", so I had no trouble seeing in the dark.
Huang Xiaotao didn't have my super night vision. She tripped on a jutting stone slab with a shriek, and looked like she was about to fall.
I quickly turned back to catch her. With her momentum from running, plus her full weight, she fell towards me, nearly knocking me down. I braced myself with one hand, barely maintaining my balance, but my hands ended up in an awkward spot, on her fourth rib - her chest!
Huang Xiaotao recoiled like a frightened bird, quickly pushing me away. My first reaction was to apologize, but before I could get the "I'm sorry" out, I got slapped in the face. But the slap seemed very light, just barely touching my cheek, leaving me confused if she was angry or what.
"Where are you putting your hands, you scoundrel!" Huang Xiaotao yelled.
"Hey, it wasn't on purpose, and I was apologizing!" I said.
Huang Xiaotao glared at me. Now wasn't the time to quibble over this. Chasing that suspicious girl was more urgent. I was about to go, but Huang Xiaotao stamped her foot and shouted, "Hey, you're just going to leave me!"
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I can't see, hold my hand!" she said.
Then she held out a hand. I hesitated for a moment, then took her soft, slippery hand and continued running.
My little heart couldn't help jumping again.
From behind, Huang Xiaotao grumbled, "Your EQ is truly beyond saving!"
"What did I do wrong?" I asked with a wry smile.
"No wonder you can't find a girlfriend, serves you right to be single forever!" Huang Xiaotao pouted.
"As if you have a boyfriend..." I retorted.
Then I got kicked in the butt. Huang Xiaotao kicked me from behind while I pulled her along. You can imagine what kind of move that was - only a trained person could complete such a high-difficulty maneuver.
After running for a while, I saw the blurry figure of the girl up ahead. Hearing the footsteps, Huang Xiaotao shouted, "Stop right there!"
The girl looked back, opened her mouth and let out a threatening roar. Her manner, her actions were just like...a cat!
She suddenly pounced at me, claws outstretched. I had to let go of Huang Xiaotao's hand to fend off the "claws". The girl's nails were sharp, scratching several bloody lines into the back of my hand. I was completely overwhelmed by her crazed attack.
Just then, Huang Xiaotao pulled out her gun, pointing it at the girl, "Stop, or I'll shoot!"
The girl froze for a second, then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground. As she fell, I seemed to see a wisp of black shadow leap from her onto the courtyard wall. But the shadow was blurred - even my "Eyes of the Deep Cavern" could barely make it out.
"Why's it so quiet, did she run away?" Huang Xiaotao asked.
"She fainted." I said.
"What was that all about? Scared unconscious?" Huang Xiaotao didn't really understand.
I went over and lifted the girl's eyelids. Her pupils were no longer starkly black and white like before. Then I noticed she wore a school badge on her chest. This girl looked about 12 or 13 years old. I guessed, "Could she be the victim's daughter?"
"Who cares if she is or not, we can't just leave her here. Carry her away!" Huang Xiaotao said.
"Me carry her?" I pointed at myself.
Huang Xiaotao laughed in exasperation. "Are you a guy or not?"
My meaning was, in this pitch-black alley, she still had to hold my hand to walk. It was too much trouble to explain, so I just had to swallow my grievances.
I suddenly remembered something. I took out a small packet of cornstarch from my pocket and blew it where the girl had been standing. Footprints appeared in the cornstarch - left behind by the girl. Then I blew some on the wall. Clear cat paw prints emerged on the wall.
Huang Xiaotao couldn't see in the dark. She asked what I was doing. I told her about the discovery.
"What, more cat prints?" Huang Xiaotao gasped.
"Yes, the same as in the house." I answered.
Huang Xiaotao bit her finger. "I'm starting to feel this case wasn't done by a person!"
"No, I'm certain there's a perpetrator!"
I picked the girl up. A 12-year-old loli wasn't too heavy. Huang Xiaotao held my shirt behind me as we left the alley. Back at the crime scene, I told her to call Wang Yuanchao down. There was nothing left to investigate here - let's go back to the station.
After a while, Huang Xiaotao came down with Wang Yuanchao and brought the two lab mice too. She smiled, "These little guys are impressive to have survived your investigations twice. Let's find a place to set them free later."
"Lab mice like these don't have survival skills. Setting them free is akin to killing them. Why don't you take them home to raise?" I said.
"Okay, I'm a mouse too after all." Huang Xiaotao nodded.
"So you're three years older than me!" I exclaimed in surprise.
Huang Xiaotao glared at me. "No manners at all, don't randomly guess a girl's age."
I counted on my fingers in confusion. "I'm a tiger, you're a mouse, isn't it obvious? Or are you 15 years older than me?"
"Looking to die!" She threateningly shook her pink fist.
We got in the car and put the girl in the backseat. On the road, Huang Xiaotao asked me, "Song Yang, what did you say was the reason the victim's family went crazy?"
"Probably interference from some kind of magnetic field. The three of them heard a strange sound at the same time, which shouldn't have been a real sound, but a magnetic field directly acting on their bodies! It's like how cell phones get interfered with when placed near an open microwave." I patiently explained.
"Can magnetic fields make people go crazy?" Huang Xiaotao didn't really believe it.
"They can. The human body has many tiny magnetic fields. Being close to a powerful magnetic field can lead to hormonal imbalances and emotional instability, infinitely amplifying negative emotions. Have you heard of biomagnetic tides? When the moon is fullest, the moon's gravity affects the Earth's magnetic field. Suicides during this time are three times higher than usual." I said.
Huang Xiaotao said, "No wonder foreigners believe werewolves transform under the full moon. Looks like there's some scientific basis for these beliefs, not totally superstition."
I murmured, "I'm just guessing based on my own knowledge, but this whole case could also be explained by another reason..."
"What?"
"Evil spirits!" I calmly uttered those four words.
Huang Xiaotao gasped, "Evil spirits?"
My knowledge of evil spirits was limited, so I gave LaoYao a call. As soon as he picked up, his sly voice floated through, "Little Song Song, it's been so long since you contacted me, have you missed me?"
I immediately felt goosebumps. "LaoYao, can you do me a favor?"
"Tell me!" LaoYao immediately answered.
I asked him to check out paranormal forums for me, look for folktales related to cats, see if there were any stories about cat demons harming people, and pick out some credible ones to email me tomorrow.
A schemer like LaoYao wouldn't help for free. He immediately started negotiating terms. "What's in it for me?"
"Same as usual, 1,000 yuan payment." I replied.
"Humph, no way. I heard that last time Dali tagged along with you but didn't help at all, yet he split 9,000 yuan. I worked so hard but only get 1,000 yuan? That's too unfair. I see you love Dali more than you love me!" LaoYao's charming voice almost made me spit blood onto the windshield.