"She was quite a brave young lady."
Walking down the street, Lorena couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Duanmu Huai nodded.
"Indeed. Most people couldn't do that."
Just as Lorena said, that girl was truly reckless.
Of course, if it were someone's own pet cat, jumping into the river to save it would make sense.
But to see a random kitten fall into the water and immediately jump in without hesitation—
that wasn't something ordinary people could do.
Not to mention—
it was late autumn.
The river water was freezing cold.
And in the Fog City, the river wasn't exactly clean.
You could tell just by looking that it was heavily polluted.
To be honest, even Duanmu Huai wouldn't casually jump into water like that here.
Yet that girl had done it without a second thought.
Truly reckless as hell.
Not only that—
when he pulled her out, he had also observed her closely.
The girl was dressed in an exquisite black dress, clearly not something worn by ordinary people.
She looked more like nobility.
For a noble young lady to have that kind of courage—
it was genuinely surprising.
But for Duanmu Huai, there was only one thing he cared about.
"Did you see her right eye?"
"Huh?"
Lorena was taken aback.
"…Ah, I think it was golden?"
"That's right. A golden eye… I didn't expect to actually see one in real life. Lucky me."
Yes—
this was what truly caught Duanmu Huai's attention.
When he pulled the girl ashore, the first thing he noticed—
was her right eye.
A golden pupil.
Vertically slit like a cat's.
Completely different from her left eye, which was a clear blue.
A Golden Eye.
In the game, Duanmu Huai had seen it listed among the rewards.
After the collaboration event ended, players could use accumulated points to draw from special loot boxes—
Not exchange directly.
Don't even think about that.
It had to be drawn randomly.
Among those rewards, the Golden Eye was a five-star ultra-rare ability, with a drop rate of only 0.0002%.
Since it couldn't be obtained through spending money, only through event points—
it was extremely rare.
In the game, its description was:
[Golden Eye: Eyes that can see through the true nature of all things]
[Immune to Illusions]
[Magic Resistance +80%]
[Eye of Truth]
Just "Immune to Illusions" and "Magic Resistance +80%" alone—
were enough to drive most players insane.
With this eye, one essentially possessed the ultimate weapon against deceitful entities.
Being able to completely see through ever-changing illusions—
and having 80% magic resistance—
meant one could fight back against most magic.
Especially for those players who hated thinking—
the brute-force types—
this was a dream ability.
With the Golden Eye, they could just charge straight in.
Unfortunately—
its drop rate was absurdly low.
Even among five-star rewards, it was the rarest.
And since it couldn't be bought, only earned through post-event draws—
by the end of the event…
it seemed…
maybe…
no one had ever gotten it.
Even Duanmu Huai had tried.
But his luck was bad.
He never pulled it.
And yet now—
this Golden Eye that players went crazy over—
had appeared on a noble young lady?
Could she be its owner?
Thinking this, Duanmu Huai shrugged.
Well… she really is reckless.
Meanwhile—
the very girl they were talking about was sitting in a room, holding a cup of hot tea.
"Honestly, Mary, you almost scared us to death!"
Sitting beside her was a petite girl with black hair, dressed in a pink dress.
She looked like a middle schooler.
She stared anxiously at her friend.
"When I saw you sink into the water, I nearly fainted!"
"I'm fine…"
"How is that fine?!"
On the other side, a blonde girl with emerald-green eyes tightly held Mary's hand.
"It's so cold, and that river is filthy—you just jumped in! What if you got sick? I've already called a doctor. You must get checked properly!"
"Huh?"
Mary looked surprised.
"Th-that's not necessary… it's just a small matter…"
"How is that small?! You were in freezing water—and it was so dirty! You even swallowed several mouthfuls! Just thinking about it worries me—what if you caught something serious?"
"Ahaha…"
Mary laughed awkwardly.
After that incident, she had been dragged home by her two friends, bathed, and changed.
Logically speaking, that should be enough—
but as her friend said…
What if…
"Thankfully, that gentleman saved me. I didn't even get the chance to thank him."
Mary quickly changed the subject.
She knew her friend's personality well—
if she didn't redirect the conversation, she'd be lectured all day.
"Ah, speaking of which, that man who saved you was amazing—and he was so tall!"
The black-haired girl chimed in excitedly.
"It's my first time seeing someone that tall. He's probably not from here, right?"
"But he saved my life. I should thank him properly."
"First, you need to recover."
Unfortunately, Mary's attempt to shift the topic was instantly seen through by the blonde girl.
"That gentleman is so tall and eye-catching—he'll be easy to find. Ashe and I will look for him. If we find him, we'll bring you to thank him."
"N-no, that's not necessary! It's just thanking him—I can go myself…"
"Before that, you must obediently let the doctor examine you."
"… "
Looks like there's no escaping this checkup.
After staying one night at the hotel, Duanmu Huai officially began his investigation.
Finding accommodation was left to Lorena.
After all, they couldn't stay in a hotel forever.
Too many people coming and going—it was annoying.
Meanwhile, Duanmu Huai took the case files and began field investigation.
In simple terms—
examining the crime scenes.
Of course—
the so-called crime scenes were all along the river.
Or rather—
almost all the bodies were found in the river.
Because of the flowing water, identifying the original crime locations in a city of millions was nearly impossible.
"The victims are all young girls. All from good families. No bad habits. Autopsies show no drug use… just ordinary people. Then killed. Then dissected… hmm…"
Standing in the shadows by the river, Duanmu Huai studied the file while comparing it to the surroundings.
Logically, someone as large as him should be easily noticed.
Yet pedestrians passed by without a single glance.
This was natural—
he was using stealth techniques from the Dark Raven Guard.
He was investigating.
He didn't want to be seen.
If there was any commonality among the victims—
aside from being young and beautiful—
there was only one.
They were all students of the Royal Academy.
Duanmu Huai looked up at the map.
According to police questioning, the victims were from different years and departments.
They didn't know each other.
But since they were all students there—
there had to be some connection.
In that case—
he should go take a look at the Royal Academy.
(End of Chapter)