Chapter 55: The Photograph

Xingyu curled her body inward, trying to blend herself into that pool of black liquid.
...The dry sensation was not alleviated in the slightest.
She could feel that she was craving some familiar fluid, yet she could not quite determine what it actually was.
Sighing helplessly, Xingyu managed to prop herself up.
An official agent's badge was resting quietly within that pool of black liquid.
Xingyu picked up the badge, slipping it into her pocket as if collecting a trophy.
The supervisor had deliberately led her to a deserted place, only to craft his own tombstone instead.
Fortunately... there were hardly any buildings nearby; she truly lacked the strength to go knocking on doors house by house.
Xingyu scarcely wanted to stand; she simply dragged her body with her arms, moving over to a corner untouched by light.
She ought to feel relieved, but... after the battle ended, a multitude of thoughts quickly flooded back into her mind, making it impossible to find peace.
Merely killing these two people might not be enough.
In the darkness, she retrieved the supervisor's terminal, attempting to search for useful information.
The blood-stained screen lit up, illuminating her cheeks in the dark.
[Please enter the password.]
"..."
Xingyu fell silent.
This was a four-digit password.
She recalled the supervisor's real name which she had seen earlier, and pressed the letters "R-O-S-S" one by one.
[Incorrect password, please try again!]
"Ah..." Xingyu covered her forehead in helplessness.
Even when she sat down just to eat a meal every day, she had to look at all sorts of food names; how could she possibly remember so much information regarding the supervisor?
Besides, his body was now smashed to smithereens, and even if she went back, it would be in vain...
She was far too exhausted and simply lay down on the ground. The ground was damp, and moisture seeped into her clothes.
[Information Retrieval] does not directly reveal a person's date of birth, but it can display their age down to the exact day and hour.
The supervisor's lifespan was 11,510 days.
With 364 days in a year, neatly divided into 52 complete weeks. It was currently the 7th day of the 45th week, which meant his birthday was... the 5th day of the 13th week, thirty years ago.
Xingyu tried entering 1305.
It unlocked.
The prompt sound of the terminal unlocking sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet night.
She first checked the call logs and message history. Most of the content was related to the routine work of the Nine-Ray Commission Agency.
Extortion, kidnapping, intimidation, control. No different from the behavior of ordinary gangs, save for the addition of a commission contract as a guarantee.
The Nine-Ray Commission Agency had a total of only five members, two transcendents, and the supervisor frequently visited a bar located in Ring C.
Noting down all the information, Xingyu searched for other potentially useful data.
This was... the resident roster of the Fringe Mutual Aid Alliance!
The turnover rate of residents here was extremely high. Most residents, while paying protection money... also had to provide him with blood.
Qi Xue was naturally no exception.
An album labeled "Commodity" caught her attention.
The latest photo in it was unmistakably a picture of herself.
Xingyu's eyes were tightly closed in the photograph, set against a grey and gloomy background, though it was unclear when it had been taken.
She... was the next commodity he had targeted.
Xingyu's fingers swiped eagerly across the screen, flipping through photographs taken even earlier.
Countless commission contracts flashed before her eyes, but her mind remained consumed by the contract Qi Xue had mentioned.
Time ticked away second by second, and the invisible pressure continued to mount.
Based on her understanding of commission contracts, as long as both parties' names were used as a guarantee, and at least one party was a registered agent, the contract would become an absolute "rule."
The effectiveness of a commission contract relied entirely on the written text, strictly adhering to its literal meaning.
Although there was some room for maneuver when it came to wordplay and exploiting loopholes, that was a strategy only experienced agents would consider.
Most commission agencies simply had no idea how to find room for flexible application within such strict rules.
Violating a contract would lead to severe consequences; this was a consensus among all agents.
Yet direct lethality?
That was far too extreme.
What kind of contract had Qi Xue signed to possess such a clause?
Her wounds throbbed dully, and even the motion of flipping through the photos caused her dull pain.
She had chosen to engage in direct combat only because she knew she had been discovered, but killing him did not mean all problems were resolved.
If the contract was not dependent on the supervisor, everything she had done might be in vain.
Even tonight, she had to hurry back to the area where the Fringe Mutual Aid Alliance was located.
How much time was left? What exact hour did passing into night refer to? Might there be even more incomprehensible restrictions and dangers on the contract?
Whom else, and how many more people, did she have to kill to ensure she was no longer subjected to inexplicable restrictions?
Her fingers swiped continuously across the photos.
After looking through countless commission contracts, Xingyu finally found the photo she needed.
The content of that contract was unexpectedly simple, consisting of just a single line.
"I shall submit to the supervision of Nine-Ray."
Beneath the contract, two distinct names stood out clearly.
One was the supervisor's real name, written in bold, powerful strokes; the other was Qi Xue's shaky, crooked handwriting, as if her hand had been trembling when she signed it.
Xingyu froze.
She read that simple line of text over and over again, blinking in utter disbelief.
Only... this single clause?
Her fingers swiped eagerly across several more photos, hoping to find more information, more explanations.
Yet no matter how she searched, there was only this one photograph concerning Qi Xue.
There was no contract signed in Xingyu's name—
Indeed, the content of this contract could not possibly constitute any constraint regarding time or place.
Xingyu smashed the terminal in her hand onto the ground; the device shattered instantly, exposing the intricate circuit boards and solar panels inside.
The contract that she had worried and fretted over for so long—the one she feared would constrain her very life—did not even exist?!
This was still not enough.
She clenched her teeth, enduring the agonizing pain that wracked her entire body, and struggled to force herself to stand up.
As if venting her fury, Xingyu raised her foot and crushed the shattered terminal.
Beneath her feet, the terminal turned into metallic gray powder and fragments, scattering across the cold ground.
Due to sustained blood loss, the simple act of standing up sent wave after wave of dizziness washing over her.
Her vision began to blur, the surrounding world seemed to spin, and she had to reach out and steady herself against a nearby wall.
She needed to...
She had to...
Go home.
This thought suddenly surfaced in her chaotic mind.
The passive effect of "The Unlost" took hold, and a clear direction once again emerged within her consciousness.
The difference was that the clear silver guiding path was now distorted and deformed; it no longer pointed to a definitive direction, but split into two intertwined paths that twisted ceaselessly.
She stumbled forward along the direction of those two distorted paths, moving with extreme difficulty.
Continuous blood loss left her feeling immensely confused and weak; both the physical and mental state of this body were approaching their limit, and she felt as though she could barely keep her footing.
Every step felt like walking on cotton, and the ground seemed to undulate up and down beneath her feet.
Dragging her failing legs, Xingyu staggered forward, forcing herself onward.
Her consciousness drifted between clarity and blurriness, lingering as if wandering between reality and a dream.
Yet... she had to demand a clear answer.
...A door.
She saw a door, with faint candlelight seeping through the crack.
Hearing the footsteps approaching the door, Qi Xue stood up quickly and flung the door open.
"Xingyu?"
However, the sight before her froze her blood instantly.
Qi Xue instinctively took a step back, drawing in a sharp breath as her face turned deathly pale.
Beneath the deep night, Xingyu stood at the doorway.
She could no longer stand straight; her entire body seemed draped in a shroud of blood.
Countless fine wounds covered her skin, dyeing her complexion almost entirely crimson.
Her black pupils were somewhat unfocused, yet they still burned with an unquenchable fury.
Xingyu raised her hand with difficulty, her blood-stained hands pressing against Qi Xue's cheeks.
The touch was cold and sticky, making Qi Xue shudder involuntarily.
This movement seemed to exhaust her final ounce of strength.
The moment Xingyu's fingers touched Qi Xue's face, they began to slide powerlessly downward, smearing two striking bloody trails across Qi Xue's skin.
"You..."
Xingyu's breathing was rapid and chaotic, her voice extremely faint.
"You lied to me. There was never..."
Before she could finish her accusation, her entire body tipped forward uncontrollably.
Qi Xue instinctively reached out her arms to catch Xingyu, pulling her into an embrace.
Warm blood instantly soaked through her clothes, the heat transferring through the fabric to Qi Xue's skin, making her hands tremble uncontrollably.
Yet...
She had returned after all.