Chapter 33: The Hunter — Blade Edge

Dim lighting, intricate alleys, and the slight chill of early winter seeping in through the gaps in his clothes and sleeves made Ye Feng frown slightly.
Occasional barks of stray dogs drifting in from the depths of the alley gradually calmed his nerves, helping him suppress his impatience.
Walking slowly, Ye Feng moved forward alone, seemingly aimlessly.
In the darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes peeked from a shadowy corner for a moment before disappearing without a trace.
Turning his head and sniffing, Ye Feng’s lips curled slightly. “Idiots!” He easily detected the faint scent of blood in the air.
A slight rustling sound was heard, followed by a dark figure rushing toward him at lightning speed.
“Bang! Bang!” Two sharp gunshots shattered the silence of the night.
A monster covered in black fur collapsed to the ground. Its cold eyes flashed with confusion, defiance, and fear as it looked up at the young man approaching it step by step.
“Rest in peace,” Ye Feng said. He raised his silver pistol, aimed it at the monster’s head, and pulled the trigger without any emotion.
“Target — Werewolf Wolf, confirmed dead! Mission accomplished!” A somewhat lazy voice came through his ear. “Well done!”
Ye Feng simply smiled faintly and then left…
Dawn broke, and the sun rising in the east illuminated the small seaside town.
The ugly corpse lay there quietly until it was discovered by a girl jogging in the morning. She let out a terrifying scream of 150 decibels. That werewolf was a monster she had never seen before. At first, she thought it was a gorilla escaped from the zoo, but when she got closer and saw its grotesque face and blood-red eyes, she couldn’t help but scream in horror.
Her screams attracted the attention of many residents, and soon the poor werewolf’s corpse was gawked at by the entire town, with its backside exposed.
By the time the police arrived, the nearby residents had already scattered.
Looking at the monster’s corpse, the officer in charge of the case called his superiors. Within less than an hour, two men in plain clothes arrived.
The leader simply took out some identification from his pocket, and the police officer on duty immediately left with his men.

“Boss, this werewolf was actually shot to death!” The red-haired young man was filled with shock after seeing the corpse.

“There’s nothing strange about that. Haven’t many of these dark creatures near New York died in this way lately?” The middle-aged man at the head of the group was not tall, appearing to be around forty years old, with a somewhat sallow complexion. He had a cigarette still unburned in his mouth. Though he tried to appear calm, his eyes showed a strange glint upon seeing the corpse—something had piqued his interest.

He walked over to the corpse, crouched down, and began to examine it carefully.

“Boss, I mean, werewolves have skin harder than steel plates. Bullets can’t cause them any real damage, let alone affect the muscles and bones beneath the skin. Moreover, these dark creatures have an extremely fast healing ability, so bullets can’t possibly be fatal to them,” the red-haired young man explained.

“That’s what it thought too, which is why it’s lying here now…” Without turning around, the middle-aged man flipped the werewolf’s head, turning the side hit by the bullet toward himself.

“It was hit by three bullets—one in the chest, one in the heart, and the third, a fatal shot, in the head,” the middle-aged man quickly reached his conclusion.

“There are only three bullet casings on the ground, meaning that person only fired three shots to kill a werewolf?” Fear flashed in the red-haired young man’s eyes.

“The gun was specially modified, and the bullets were also specially treated. I took a look just now—the bullets are gone from the wounds, and there are signs of burning. I guess he mixed something else into the bullet casings to achieve this effect. The surface of the bullets must have been coated with silver, as silver disrupts the healing ability of dark creatures. The inner layer of the casings is magnesium; the intense heat generated when the bullet hits the werewolf’s body causes the magnesium to burn, releasing a lot of heat. The silver coating prevents the heat from escaping, leading to an explosion. I reckon his internal organs were blown to pieces by those two bullets. We’ll know the accuracy of my analysis once we dissect it later,” the middle-aged man calmly analyzed the limited information they had.

“But there’s one thing I don’t understand. If his aim was to kill the werewolf by hitting its heart and head, he could have used just two bullets. Why did he shoot it in the chest as well?” the red-haired man raised his doubt.

“The most vulnerable area on the human body is this one, because it’s the largest!” The middle-aged man drew a circle on his chest and continued, “Werewolves are terrifying creatures with great speed and explosive power. Over short distances, their movement is two to three times faster than that of humans of the same strength. In such cases, to ensure the bullet hits the target’s heart, the killer needs a brief pause—and the shot to the chest serves that purpose. After being shot, the werewolf experiences an extremely short pause in its movements due to the force of the bullet and the pain transmitted to the brain. The killer takes advantage of this pause and fires a second shot at the werewolf’s heart. After that, the werewolf’s heart is severely damaged, its entire body functions go into paralysis, and then comes the fatal third shot.”

“Amazing calculation skills…” the red-haired man exclaimed. “This case must be committed by the same person as those cases from a few days ago.”

“That’s right. It’s the hunter who assigned us this mission—Blade,” the middle-aged man said with a smile. “It seems the werewolf we deliberately released this time, along with the mission to kill it, has achieved its purpose. It’s really a good bait. I was even worried whether Blade, the one who took on the mission, was the person we were looking for…”

“Boss, isn’t his behavior legal among hunters? It seems we don’t have the right to pursue him; he’s just completing a mission,” the red-haired man shrugged helplessly.

“It’s fine. I just simply want to know who this guy is who uses such strange methods to complete missions in this world where strength reigns supreme. There’s no other meaning behind it…” The middle-aged man stood up, spat out his cigarette butt, and smiled slightly.