VESSEL - Extinction Countdown 979: Secluded Shadow

The biggest news on Sweet Potato Street was that Shisan Bakery’s owner, Ye Shisan, had been arrested.

Worse, three people claiming to be his parents and brother—He Dali, Li Fang, and He Qiang—moved into the shop and sold off all its equipment that day.

He Qiang tried to sell the shop too, but Vanilla’s tears and You Long’er’s threats stopped him. Instead, he set up slot machines, renaming Shisan Bakery “A-Qiang’s Game Parlor.”

Furious, You Long’er bought the shop next door, rebuilding Shisan Bakery exactly as before. But insiders said Ye Shisan wasn’t in jail. You Long’er and Vanilla checked every local precinct—no one knew him.

Ye Shisan had vanished.

Yingtian City outskirts.

Blue Sea Villa.

This vast villa complex, an upscale retreat on Yingtian’s edge, had round-the-clock security and tight entry checks.

A long-empty villa recently gained a tenant. Though she had one eye, she was gorgeous, drawing neighbors’ attention. Her icy gaze rebuffed their kindness, earning her the nickname “One-Eye Lass” among gossips.

It was Yi Qing, detective captain of Precinct 067.

In the villa’s basement, a thin man in his thirties sat tied to a chair, worn out. No bruises, but two days and nights without sleep had broken him.

The basement door opened, high heels clicking. “Ye Shisan, no truth, no dinner!”

It was Ye Shisan, stunned Yi Qing had tricked him here with a fake arrest warrant.

“I’ve told you everything! What do you want? You’re a cop—is this right? Won’t You Long’er and Vanilla report me missing?”

Yi Qing walked over, sinking into a sofa nearby. “This is a safe house. Even police can’t find it. You’re not leaving until you talk.”

“Talk about what?”

“Dragon Gate Inn and why You Long’er’s with you. Again.”

“I’ve said it dozens of times! Mr. Lin Changrong hired me to operate on an old man. I passed out after. That’s all!”

“Passed out? You think I’m a kid?”

“I worked a day and night, no food, no water, standing. Wouldn’t you collapse?”

“Hmph. Fine. Then what’s with You Long’er?”

“I woke up in her bed. She said I… did things to her while unconscious, so she followed me. Then you grabbed me. That’s it.”

“Keep lying, Ye Shisan! You know who You Long’er is. A young lady like her would follow you? She’s got fifty bodyguards, minimum. You think you could do that?”

Ye Shisan had thought about it. How could he “do things” unconscious? Impossible! Unless…

“Maybe she did things to me!”

Yi Qing’s face reddened. “Ye Shisan, you’re shameless!”

He groaned, desperate. “Think! I wake up naked in her bed, and she says I did it. How do I deny it? If I don’t own up to it, am I a man?”

Yi Qing gave him an odd look, muttering, “Tch, probably after her beauty.”

“Beauty? She’s a young lady! I wouldn’t dare with a hundred lives!”

Yi Qing sighed, standing. “That’s honest. Fine, you get a sniff today.”

“You… you devil!”

Before he could argue, Yi Qing brought out a steaming bowl of instant noodles, opening it under his nose.

In the sealed basement, the smell struck like a nuclear blast to a man starved for two days. Ye Shisan cracked. “Yi Qing, just kill me!”

She smirked, brow raised. “No way. You’re tied to two cases. Until you talk, you’re here. I’m not hitting or cursing you—what’s illegal?”

“This is torture! Sleep deprivation!”

“Hmph, I’m open about it. Unlike You Long’er, using dirty bed tricks so young!”

Ignoring him, Yi Qing slurped the noodles, savoring each bite.

As she ate, she said, “Ye Shisan, think. Are you hiding something? You know our policy: confess for leniency, resist for trouble. You won’t talk until you’re desperate!”

Before she finished, Ye Shisan snored, crushed by two sleepless days.

Yi Qing scoffed, setting the bowl down. She grabbed a thermos of ice water to wake him, but her eye caught the noodle bowl… moving.

She froze, thinking she’d misseen. Looking closer, the bowl slid toward Ye Shisan, drawn by some unseen force.

A shiver crawled down her spine like worms, prompting her to stagger back three steps, her limbs cold with a battle-ready fear she hadn’t felt in years.

Is this the Heart Demon YiQueen warned about?

A darker thought grew: What if Ye Shisan isn’t human, but an Otherkin—the kind Fireseed hunts, contains, or destroys?

YiQueen’s warning to drop this case wasn’t empty. Without her Azure Eye, Yi Qing couldn’t face an Otherkin.

Heavy footsteps echoed above, dress shoes clacking down the stairs to the basement.

Someone was coming.

Yi Qing snapped alert, tossing the noodles. She pulled Ye Shisan, pressed a wall spot, and a hidden closet opened.

Too weak, Ye Shisan was shoved inside. Yi Qing squeezed in.

In the dark closet, her mind raced. This was an Fireseed safe house, unused since she’d been here ten years ago.

She’d thought it perfect for questioning Ye Shisan. But two days in, someone arrived.

Even without her Azure Eye, Yi Qing sensed a thick reek of blood and a strange foulness. The newcomer had fought a brutal battle.

Only Fireseed knew this safe house.

If they found her and Ye Shisan, their rules would demand a kill order.

Yi Qing would die—and take Ye Shisan with her.