novelraw Chapter 32: Sea of Darkness - (32)
Chapter 32: Sea of Darkness - (32)
During repeated training sessions with her superhuman ability, Kui Xin discovered an awkward truth:
If she were not wearing any clothes, the volume of objects she could carry would significantly increase.
She stumbled upon this realization while trying to obtain an expired firefighting mask from the neighborhood security guard. She intended to use it to fully cover her face without any blind spots, ensuring that her features wouldn’t be exposed during her missions.
Kui Xin planned to wear long clothing to conceal her body when taking action; she had already prepared these garments. When she donned the mask, dressed in her attire, and attempted Shadow Shuttling with her weapon, she found that she couldn’t manage to bring along the large boning knife she had readied. Only by switching to a smaller dagger did she barely succeed.
Later, she experimented by adding or removing clothing and items, ultimately concluding that the volume of clothing also counted towards the total weight she could carry during Shadow Shuttling. To transport more weapons, she would have to wear fewer clothes and carry less equipment.
Indeed, one cannot expect too much from an E-grade superhuman ability.
At this moment, having access to a gun would be ideal. Guns are compact, lightweight, easy to carry, and can smoothly accompany her during Shadow Shuttling.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t handle firearms.
Without access to guns, her only option was to focus on alternative weapons.
Kui Xin could not abandon her disguise with clothing and a mask; she had to somehow find a suitable weapon.She obtained a piece of paper and began listing potential options:
Spring-loaded knife, triangular spike, Swiss Army knife, butterfly knife, dagger… These weapons were compact yet possessed decent lethality.
The problem lay in their regulated status; without proper channels, they simply couldn’t be purchased legally.
After writing down the list of weapons, Kui Xin opened a popular shopping app to search for knives. As expected, most knife-related searches yielded blank results, or if anything appeared, it was blunt toy replicas. Butterfly knives were quite trendy among certain youth circles online, resulting in numerous sellers offering them. However, the majority bought these knives for showmanship; they looked flashy but lacked actual effectiveness in causing harm.
Although these toy knives were made of metal, their strength, hardness, and durability fell far short of military-grade standards. Even if she managed to purchase one and have someone sharpen it, it would likely prove useless—easily bending upon striking bone during an attack.
Some pricier knives did meet the required material standards, making Kui Xin grimace as she considered buying them.
However, when she inquired about the materials from sellers and asked if they could help with sharpening the blades, every customer service representative replied that they could not assist in sharpening.
This posed quite a challenge.
The most challenging aspect wasn’t finding a weapon; it was getting the weapon through security checks.
Kui Xin initially planned to purchase a knife and have it shipped to a neighboring city. Then, taking the high-speed train, she would retrieve the package at the designated courier station, perfectly bypassing any security inspections.
But with each seller stating they couldn’t provide sharpening services, Kui Xin felt increasingly troubled.
Her only option was to shift her focus to kitchen knives. High-quality chef’s knives can be exceptionally sharp right out of the box, with good strength and resilience.
She carefully browsed various options and selected an online store based within her province. Their Damascus steel kitchen knives had excellent reviews, and after checking the prices, they were within an acceptable range.
Before making the payment, she asked the customer service representative, “Are these knives prone to becoming dull easily?”
Customer Service: “Our knives are made with guaranteed quality material, so they won’t become dull that quickly.”
Kui Xin: “How well do they handle cutting meat?”
Customer Service: “Absolutely smooth as silk, dear!”
Kui Xin: “What about chopping bones?”
Customer Service: “We recommend against chopping large bones, as knives require maintenance. However, when it comes to trimming along bone seams, their performance is top-notch! Everyone who has used them raves about it!”
Kui Xin: “How is the connection between the blade and handle? Will it risk detaching?”
Customer Service: “No customers have ever reported such an issue. Our knife’s handle-to-blade connection craftsmanship is top-notch within the industry, so you can purchase with confidence!”
Kui Xin: “Is the shipping speed fast?”
Customer Service: “Within the same province, delivery takes two to three days, or just one day if nearby.”
Despite feeling the financial pinch, Kui Xin proceeded with the payment, satisfied.
For two consecutive days, Kui Xin embarked on her morning runs along the riverside levee as dawn broke, stretching her muscles vigorously.
The levee was bustling with early-rising elderly folks who, upon seeing Kui Xin energetically jogging in her workout attire, clicked their tongues in admiration, saying, “It’s rare to see young people exercising this early.”
Kui Xin sighed inwardly, thinking, If not for the pressures of survival, who would willingly wake up so early?
She huffed and puffed through five kilometers, followed by basic joint mobilization and stretching exercises to acclimate her body to high-intensity movement.
After her workout, Kui Xin sat near the exercise equipment, massaging her muscles. Nearby, the elderly tuned in to the local radio station’s morning news broadcasts using their radios.
Coincidentally, at the time, the morning news was reporting on the trail of the suspected Cultist murderer.
“… As per reports, the suspect has already fled to Tonglin City.” Kui Xin was taken aback upon hearing this news on the radio.
She resided in Tonglin City—what a coincidence!
At that moment, Kui Xin didn’t feel surprise or panic; instead, she felt sheer delight. It was akin to the peculiar sensation of a hunter sharpening their blade, only for the prey to unexpectedly deliver itself right at their doorstep, free for the taking.
The elderly man clad in a sweatshirt wondered aloud, “How come they still haven’t caught him? The surveillance cameras even captured his image.”
“Who knows? Well, we should probably stay indoors more these days now that the killer’s made it here,” said the middle-aged woman, fanning herself with a palm leaf fan.
Kui Xin stopped listening to the broadcast and pulled out her phone to search for the latest news articles.
As expected, the most recent update reported that the suspect had escaped to Tonglin City. Suburban surveillance cameras had picked up his trail, and the footage was released publicly. In the video, the suspect wore a baseball cap, dressed unremarkably, and walked at an ordinary pace—no one could discern he was a deranged lunatic just by appearance.
He even went to a roadside convenience store, purchasing water and some food with cash. While walking along the road, he casually consumed his items, displaying no hint of alarm on his composed face.
The convenience store owner seemingly didn’t recognize his identity. Based solely on his facial features, he matched the description of the suspect in the Cultist Murder Case.
Kui Xin’s expression turned grave.
The suspect was remarkably composed; this wasn’t ordinary prey. He knew he had committed murder, but showed no panic. Despite being aware that he faced arrest and pursuit, there was not a hint of fear in him. Kui Xin found it even eerier that he killed his own family members yet acted as if nothing happened—his demeanor appeared utterly normal.
The more normal he behaved, the more Kui Xin perceived him as a terrifying madman.
Why did the suspect flee to Tonglin City?
No, he wasn’t merely fleeing. There wasn’t the slightest indication of someone running away from him; instead, it seemed like he deliberately came to Tonglin City… almost as if he was targeting something specific here.
Kui Xin was startled by her sudden conjecture, her gaze becoming intense.
She let out a breath, then opened the shopping app and messaged the seller of knives, “Can you change the delivery address? Send it to another city instead?”
The customer service replied instantly: “Sure thing, dear! I’ll contact the courier right away.”
Originally, Kui Xin had arranged for the knife shipment to be delivered directly to a neighboring city. She selected a convenient courier station where she could easily pick up the package upon arrival.
However, plans never quite keep pace with changes… But this change was favorable.
Investigating a murder across cities is much more challenging than doing so within one’s own city. Tonglin City, where Kui Xin resided, was her home turf—the place she knew best. The suspect’s voluntary arrival greatly eased her actions.
Tonglin City is a large metropolis with a substantial permanent population; finding the criminal suspect amidst such a crowd would be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
As Kui Xin walked home, a sudden, twisted, and unsettling intuition arose within her.
She felt that the suspect in the cultist murder case was specifically targeting her.
With numerous cities available for him to flee to, why did he choose the very city where she resides?
Kui Xin’s hair stood on end, feeling unnerved.
“You have upgraded your inherent ability.”
“Your inherent ability [Danger Evasion] has been upgraded to [Absolute Prediction].”
[Absolute Prediction]: Your repeated anticipation of fate’s trajectory, guided by intuition, represents warnings from the future—an unparalleled sixth sense honed to its peak. What you can now foresee and avoid extends beyond mere danger, encompassing the elusive and impenetrable forces of destiny.
Fang Zhi woke up in the abandoned factory on the outskirts of Tonglin City, his expression gloomy. He stood up and kicked away a brick in front of him, nervously biting his finger as he paced back and forth. “How many times has she killed me now?”
Was it the third or fourth time? It was slightly unclear; multiple deaths had blurred his memories, which was a consequence of repeatedly rewinding time.
Fang Zhi sat cross-legged, carefully recalling the events. He glanced at his phone to confirm the time and calculated that this was his fourth death.
Each death left him with a remarkably deep impression.
Fang Zhi’s superhuman ability was the Death Cycle. With each death, time would rewind several days prior, and as the number of his deaths increased, the timeframe for each rewind shortened. For instance, when he died the first time, it was three days ago; the second death brought him two days ago; and the third only one day ago.
His first death occurred on Monday. She immediately kicked him off a tall building, resulting in a shattering fall.
The second death happened on Sunday. Fang Zhi firmly believed that the reason she killed him last time was due to his lack of caution. If he reacted swiftly enough, guarding against her extraordinary ability to traverse shadows, she wouldn’t be able to harm him.
However, reality dealt Fang Zhi a harsh slap. The woman snapped his spine, rendering him immobile. Then she dragged him to the window and tossed him down again.
The third time was on Saturday. Fang Zhi knew that the woman was searching for him to hunt him down, so, relying on his advantage as a seer, he deliberately waited along her investigative route, intending to ambush her. However, it seemed like the woman had radar at the back of her head, effortlessly evading his lethal attack and swiftly incapacitating him instead.
Fang Zhi strongly suspected that the woman had a peculiar sadistic inclination; each time, she refused to kill him outright but instead threw him from a building to fall to his death—twice in a row! But during the third encounter, instead of being kicked off the building, his spine was severed, and he was tossed into a pond. The woman watched as he gradually sank to the bottom, suffocating to death.
Fang Zhi had no choice but to plead with his omniscient and omnipotent Lord, seeking divine guidance. To obtain sufficient revelation, Fang Zhi sacrificed several more people as offerings to the deity.
God responded.
God revealed to him the woman’s approximate location.
Overwhelmed with joy, Fang Zhi rushed to Tonglin City, determined to strike first before she could.
Yet again, he died.
It was still that same woman, using the identical drowning method.
This time, upon his death, he did not revert one day back but woke up on the very same day.
If he didn’t make any changes, the Huntress would inevitably catch up to him and kill him once more.
His next deadline approaches tonight!