Chapter Ninety-Two: Yuki’s Crisis

Joyce was one of more than a dozen assassins who had crossed the sea from Crimson Moon City, and before setting out, he had already received his murder order from the Demon Shura.

He had to kill her before Snowball found Black Yasha.

If they, these assassins, failed to eliminate Snowball, this menace, in Winter Arrival City, then they would have no way back to Crimson Moon City; thus, the mission had to be completed.

The dozen-odd assassin demons, after all, had lived too long in the kingdom of monsters. Having come to a human city for the first time, they were not especially adept at concealing their identities and auras.

They were not as shrewd as the local creatures, who could hide among crowds by all manner of means and remain difficult for humans to detect.

And so, only a few days after arriving in Winter Arrival City, unfamiliar as they were with human ways of life, they inevitably began to expose themselves one by one.

Soon enough, human intelligence services discovered them, and after verification immediately dispatched demon hunters to wipe out every one of these dangerous infiltrators in the city.

It could only be said that Winter Arrival City truly deserved to be the headquarters of the Supernatural Disaster Association; there were far too many demon hunters guarding it, and at the slightest stir, no monster could keep itself hidden.

As a result, the Crimson Moon City assassination squad was left with only Joyce the monster. Yet even if the squad had been entirely wiped out and only he remained, that did not matter.

So long as Snowball was ultimately eliminated and the mission completed, then their deaths would not have been in vain.

Standing atop the roof of a fifteen-story building, the werewolf Joyce lowered his head and gazed down at the tiny figure in a white dress amid the shopping street below.

His ghostly green eyes locked tightly onto the girl, as though a predator had at last come upon prey long awaited, and a cruel smile could not help but curl at the corner of his mouth.

"At last I found you, little kitty."

Earlier, no matter how he searched, there had been no news at all; after so long of a hunt, he had not even seen the shadow of a single cat hair.

Having spent so much time, to finally see this target appear filled Joyce with particular delight.

This was the best moment, and he absolutely could not let it slip away.

...

At the intersection, a blue sedan was stopped behind the crosswalk, and the red light on the signal still had fifty seconds left on its countdown.

Liu Shiyu was helpless, and could only wait in silence for the sluggish red light to change.

Chen Feng, however, was already impatient. If he had been driving himself, he would have picked a safe moment on the road and run the red light outright.

If they waited through two more red lights, then even if they did make it to their destination, all they would be able to do was collect Snowball's body.

Chen Feng exhaled lightly and opened the car door.

Liu Shiyu looked puzzled: "What are you doing?"

"Of course I'm going over there."

With that, Chen Feng got out of the car and shut the door behind him.

As a born hunter, a vampire had an acute sense of smell; so long as even the faintest lingering trace remained in the air, he could keenly pick up the trail.

At this moment, the scents of Snowball and that monster seemed to have fused into a ribbon guiding the way, stretching off toward the distant end.

Therefore, Chen Feng could sense that Snowball and that monster were extremely close, and the two were probably already engaged.

He had to get over there fast.

Bright, dazzling electric light flared beneath Chen Feng's feet, and he activated Thunder Shadow Step on the sidewalk. His speed abruptly surged as he sprinted forward.

Whoosh!

He was so fast it was like a whirlwind had risen from the spot; in the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.

Several drivers waiting at the red light saw this and stared wide-eyed.

"What the hell?!"

"Whoa, that young guy!"

...

On the rooftop.

Joyce leaped into the air, his black clothes blending into the night as they snapped in the fierce wind, and under the pull of gravity, he plunged downward.

Whoosh!

In the darkness, Joyce was like a black shadow falling at high speed; the point directly beneath his descent was precisely where Snowball stood.

He sneered and swung out the monstrous three-bladed steel claw on his left arm, slashing down from midair.

As a superb and flawless assassin, it did not matter even if he killed in front of the masses; the primary objective was to kill the target at any cost.

In the lively shopping street, the crowd flowed in waves, and Snowball stood in place, looking around to either side.

The bone pendant hanging at her chest had lost its sensing response at this location, and she was troubled, wondering why.

Suddenly, all the hair on Snowball's body stood on end as an enormous sense of danger enveloped her, and without hesitation she sprang away from the spot.

Rip!

Blood flowers burst open.

She had been too late to evade; three deep bloody gashes, down to the bone, were torn across her slender arm.

Bang!

The figure that attacked her landed heavily on the ground, its crouching impact cracking the earth beneath its feet and kicking up clouds of dust.

Within the murky haze, a pair of monster-like ghostly green eyes appeared, fixed on Snowball like searchlights.

The pedestrians on this street sensed that something was wrong and fled in panic.

On the street, monsters suddenly leaping out and trying to devour people was no rare sight.

With patrol drones and roadside surveillance all around, whenever a monster dared to show itself in the open, even if no one called the police, demon hunters would soon arrive.

Not far away at the time stood a cat maid cafe that was about to close for the day.

The guests inside the restaurant had already left, and the maids were wiping the tables and washing the dishes, preparing to shut the doors.

The sound of something crashing to the ground outside drew the maids' attention.

"Huh? What happened outside?"

"That was a huge noise. Did someone jump off a building?"

"No way. Wouldn't that turn them into a meat pancake? So scary."

Behind the counter, the old shopkeeper was recording information and tallying today's receipts with pen and paper. Hearing the maids, he paused.

He glanced out through the display window, and his eyes shifted slightly. "A monster."

"Ah! It's actually a monster!" Cat Little Orange cried out.

Another maid shot her a look. "Aren't you a monster too? Why are you so surprised?"

"Oh, right. I've been mixing with humans for so long I forgot I was a cat demon."

Cat Little Orange scratched her head and looked at the old shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, should I go out and take a look?"

"No, just stay here." The shopkeeper's expression remained calm as he continued clearing the accounts.

He was already retired and only wanted to live quietly. Unless necessary, he did not want to interfere any longer in the disputes between humans and monsters.

...

Snowball saw the other party's appearance and felt a jolt of shock.

"Little cat demon, long time no see."

Joyce lifted his teasing gaze, licked the blood staining his steel claw, and let out bursts of eerie laughter. "Surely you still remember me?"

"Joyce..."

Snowball clutched her still-bleeding left arm with her right hand, her face showing clear panic. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Crimson Moon City?"

"Do I really need to explain that? I'm here under orders from Lord Demon Shura to kill you."

Joyce laughed without restraint. "Heh heh, the mission the princess gave you, His Highness had already guessed it. Letting you escape from Crimson Moon City was truly a mistake.

"Still, fortunately for us, from the look of you, you haven't found Black Yasha yet. So long as we kill you, there's still time."

"You... you won't meet a good end."

Snowball bit down hard on her silver teeth and retreated two steps in fear, a thin sheen of cold sweat beading on her forehead.