CHAPTER 923: CHAPTER 923 XU CAIROU

Lin Huan was well aware that he did not possess the ability to tell someone’s fortune with just a glance at their face or birthdate.

Although he had once been a ’Semi-Immortal’ at the Paranormal Affairs Office, he always looked down upon his peers who used such tricks to deceive people.

Even if such an ability truly existed, it shouldn’t be as some described, deducing everything merely from a birthdate and appearance; instead, it should be a highly complex knowledge.

Otherwise, with at least a thousand people born every hour in the Capital District, and a significant number of twins, would those born at the same time or who look alike all share the same destiny?

If that were the case, Lin Huan happened to be born in the same period as a certain ’District Husband’...

However, as a superpower user, Lin Huan had developed a mysterious kind of intuition after deceiving enough people. Although not infallible, he had a sense if an ordinary person was about to face a great calamity.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Huan decided not to chase after her. His Colorful Blue Amulet was enough to ward off an ordinary life-threatening danger; they had more important things to attend to, no time to watch over this lady.

By this time, several months had passed since the SRS Foundation was formally established.

Wen Wen specifically gathered some independent Containment Officers, unrelated to the Hunter Association, to assist the Foundation.

Thus, Lin Huan and two others arrived at the Foundation.

Compared to those Demon Hunters, these independent Containment Officers were still quite inexperienced, having no real Demon Hunter experience, so they underwent several months of training at the Foundation before being assigned their first mission.

Su Nuo possessed the ability to mechanize his hands, turning them into weapons; Hu Yanbing’s ability was to enhance combat power through aura, while Lin Huan had the Illusion Technique of intimidation.

The three of them temporarily formed a small team. Only after the Foundation’s evaluation met the standards could they operate independently.

Their mission this time was to resolve the missing person cases in Sihu City.

Sihu City is upstream of Qianhe City. Most of the rivers in Qianhe City flow through Sihu.

This place is also under the jurisdiction of the Foundation.

After the Foundation was established in Qianhe City, some of the local Demon Hunters were reassigned, leaving only a basic presence.

With the Foundation’s power supporting most of the Southern Xiangnan Province, the Hunter Association could redeploy superpower users to oversee less fortified areas.

Even though the Hunter Association appeared vast and influential, there was always a manpower shortage. With the increasing frequency of monster appearances, the Foundation’s presence allowed them to gladly delegate responsibilities.

The missing person cases in Sihu City began appearing half a month ago, with no discernible pattern among the missing individuals.

Initially, the local Hunter Association assumed it was just a regular missing person case or perhaps a new man-eating monster that had arrived in Sihu City. However, as the number of missing persons increased, and without finding any clues, they requested assistance from the Foundation.

Lin Huan and his group were determined to complete their first mission successfully and delved deep into the case research, only to have their wallets stolen by a few petty thieves.

However, they weren’t worried. They were working for the Hunter Association, part of the privileged class, so it was actually a problem for those little thieves who stole their wallets.

Simply mentioning it to the local Hunter Association meant someone would return their belongings by evening.

...

The lady jogged all the way back home, panting slightly.

"What a wretched day to encounter such a hooligan."

If it were any ordinary lady, Lin Huan’s handsome face alone wouldn’t have warranted a slap, no matter how cheeky his words were.

But this lady was different; she was a nun from the church in the Shita District of Sihu City.

Calling it a church was somewhat of an exaggeration, as it was just her keeping her home tidy and regularly gathering some like-minded sizeable lady believers for prayers.

Perhaps it was this ’role’ that made Xu Hongjiao always very resistant toward men, to the point of developing a fear of them.

Thus, Lin Huan’s handsome face had no significance to Xu Hongjiao.

After having her meal, Xu Hongjiao returned to her bedroom, which was filled with photos—each one of a young, beautiful girl.

Lying on the bed, she hugged a photo frame, unable to sleep for a long time.

The girl in the frame was her adopted daughter, Xu Cairou, who had always been her spiritual support.

And Xu Cairou never let Xu Hongjiao down, consistently being one of the most outstanding among her peers. Yet, this very girl met with a car accident just as she was about to graduate from Mingbai University.

Her daughter’s body was beyond recognition, with features dislocated, a white dress stained half-red with blood; from that day onwards, Xu Hongjiao lost her anchor.

Day and night, she could only pray to the creator, hoping for the day her daughter would return.

Yet, God does not hear the prayers of his followers.

Rather than say he cannot hear, it’s perhaps that he chooses not to, nor does he wish to fulfill their wishes.

Otherwise, God would have brought peace to the world long ago.

Since then, Xu Hongjiao grew more and more obsessed, becoming a woman who’s difficult to engage with.

Staring fixedly at those photos, Xu Hongjiao suddenly saw, as a car passed by out front, fleeting light that made it seem like there was a vague white shadow in a picture frame.

She rubbed her eyes, assuming she had seen wrongly, and felt a bit sleepy, so she closed her eyes and slowly drifted into sleep.

Soon after, she heard a sharp alarm sound from outside. Looking out, she saw a bird’s nest had fallen from a tree, with birds angrily hopping on a car, triggering the alarm.

Shaking her head, Xu Hongjiao lay back down, a corner of her eye glimpsed the frames again, seeing another blurred white shadow!

This time the white shadow was larger; judging by the reflection’s position, it seemed there was a figure in a white dress standing outside her bedroom door.

Xu Hongjiao felt a chill run through her body, regretting not having closed the bedroom door before sleeping.

Even though she always prayed for her daughter’s return, if she were to come back in this manner, Xu Hongjiao would be unable to accept it.

Gathering her courage, she looked towards the bedroom door, but saw nothing.

"Cairou, is that you? If you’re back, let mom see you."

After glancing a few times, she still didn’t see anything.

Lowering her head and looking again, still nothing.

Upon raising her head again, Xu Hongjiao saw her daughter in a white dress, standing at the door and staring at her.

Then, another figure appeared behind Xu Cairou.