Sitting on the prop crew’s knockoff Iron Throne, Chi Xiaoyuan lowered the brim of her fedora.
From a normal angle, the brim completely concealed her face, giving her an aura of a mysterious BOSS.
She crossed her legs, lifting her jade foot, the heel of her high heel slightly detached, hanging delicately on the front half of her foot.
The Bluetooth speaker on her chest vibrated softly.
From within came an unbelievably realistic voice, free of any mechanical distortion:
“Lighting technician, how long are you going to keep up this disguise?”
All eyes immediately fixed on the lighting technician.
He was the most senior lighting technician in the crew, with ten years of experience, a middle-aged man.
His lips curved slightly as he also lowered his hat brim— a baseball cap— and replied:
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You have to admit, the crew’s location is your perfect crime scene. For filming, it’s completely sealed off, cut off from sunlight, leaving every room in absolute darkness. And every light, every source of illumination here, is controlled by you…”
“Mm, that’s my job,” the lighting technician nodded. “Lighting is one of the most important aspects of filming; sunlight would interfere.”
“Exactly, this is your domain. You’re an excellent lighting technician,” Chi Xiaoyuan praised without restraint.
“So why me?”
“Because only you can move in and out of here like a ghost, and only you can make every victim give up resisting and be killed in one blow.”
“Explain.”
“It’s a simple principle—you exploited the instinctive reaction of the pupil.”
“The pupil?”
“When entering a dark environment, the human pupil instinctively dilates to let in more light, enabling vision in the darkness.
Conversely, when the surrounding light is too bright, the pupil instinctively contracts to reduce light entering the eye, protecting the retina from damage.”
“And what’s the significance of this?” the lighting technician countered.
“Of course it matters. All the lights in the studio are spotlight fixtures with shades; the shades concentrate the light into specific areas, creating sharp contrasts between brightly lit zones and dark zones—
When a person stands in the bright zone, their pupils contract instinctively to adapt to the intense brightness.
This makes it impossible for them to see clearly into the dark zones—
Anything happening in those dark zones goes completely unnoticed.”
“…”
“By remotely controlling the lighting, you can keep yourself entirely within the dark zones, nearly invisible.
With this method, even if you carried a cart full of victims’ heads, you could swagger through the set without being seen— so long as you dealt with the smell.”
The lighting technician stroked his chin, then sat down: “So you think the killer… you think I set up the murder room like this. But what about the killing method?”
“At first, I couldn’t be sure— until I saw the wounds on the victim’s hands.”
“Oh? The hands?”
“You have a habit— you always cut off the victims’ hands after killing them. At first, like everyone else, I thought those were trophies— until I saw the fresh corpse, Miyasu’s body.”
“What happened to her?” Xiaoyue Hermit asked this time.
“Between the back of her hands and elbows, there were slashing wounds. We initially thought the killer had been rushed and didn’t fully cut them off…
But now it’s clear, those aren’t deliberate cuts— they’re evidence you’ve been desperately trying to hide!”
“…”
“There’s only one truth!”
“We’re turning off all the lights now. Xiaoyue Hermit, stand here and don’t move— pretend you’re the victim.”
With Xiaoyue Hermit playing the victim, we rearranged the set— of course, Shi Tian caught the killer before the lights went out to prevent escape.
The lights went out; pitch black enveloped the room.
In the darkness, I quietly moved a fill light in front of Xiaoyue Hermit.
Suddenly, I turned it on!
Though the ring fill light wasn’t very bright, its sudden illumination in total darkness still caused discomfort.
Xiaoyue Hermit, facing the fill light directly, squinted and raised her arm to shield her eyes.
Her palm faced outward, the back of her hand against her cheek— an instinctive defensive posture.
At that moment, I lightly leapt forward, wielding a towel dipped in ink to simulate a knife, slashing across the back of her neck.
Ink splattered, marking the slash’s path.
“Eh?!”
Xiaoyue Hermit looked at the ink on her arm— proof the blade had passed right over it.
“The attacker struck from behind with great force! Not only did the blade sever the victim’s neck, but the tip also scraped the victim’s arm!” Detective Xiaoyuan analyzed sharply, “This happened because you were also affected by the strong light, partially blinded and unable to accurately judge the victim’s position!”
“…”
“Afterward, to destroy the evidence, you cut off all victims’ hands, pretending to collect trophies… but actually just covering up your mistaken strike!”
“…”
The lighting technician stared at Chi Xiaoyuan.
There was no despair on his face at having his scheme uncovered.
Instead, he began to applaud.
“Correct. But what about the motive?”
Motive?
We knew nothing about this lighting technician’s personality, relationships, or financial situation—how could we guess his motive?!
Animals.
I strained to recall any killers I’d ever known.
In the Cultivation World, most killings have reasons.
For treasure hunting, for fighting over opportunities, for vying for blessed lands.
Or those who sacrifice lives to refine their Evil Dao Cultivation and strengthen themselves.
Huh? Those? Right, not everyone is like that.
There are also killings without reason— purely for the sake of killing.
After the first kill, people take one of two paths.
Most take the first—making killing an option.
From then on, when conflicts arise, this option pops up in their mind and they gradually get used to choosing it.
A few take the second path—
Turning destruction into a source of pleasure.
Like those who obsess over videos of mice caught in traps, watching them twitch until charred, seeing their brains splattered, dissolving in acid, or suffocated by pepper smoke— they’re not happy the pests are gone, they enjoy the justified cruelty.
Speaking of cruelty, for them, what’s more thrilling than torturing humans?
“You had a happy childhood, a harmonious family,” Shi Tian read the lighting technician’s file. “You excelled in school, found a high-paying job after graduation, and your life is perfect… So you’re not seeking revenge due to childhood trauma.”
“You’re just chasing pleasure— a simple dopamine feedback,” Detective Xiaoyuan sighed.
“You’re half right,” the lighting technician shifted his gaze to me.
Alright, so he’s realized I’m a proxy player.
“And the other half?”
“My pleasure isn’t from dopamine.” The lighting technician smiled.
His smile widened unnaturally, stretching so far it almost split his skull in two!
Such a bizarre expression was clearly no longer human.
“Heh… what a wonderful feeling this is…”
His fingers turned into claws, his body covered with scales and fur, breathing out black smoke, his mouth transformed into a mass of bloody petals.
“This is… Attaching Spirit???”
No one had ever seen such a deranged Attaching Spirit.
Usually, Attaching Spirits only slightly alter their Master’s appearance— adding a tail, beast ears, a few scales or fur, never changing human anatomy drastically.
But the lighting technician’s body now was anything but human!
“Everyone, get back!”
Shi Tian scattered the crowd and prepared to attack— but suddenly his body felt crushed by an invisible mountain, and with a thud, he dropped to one knee!
Not just Shi Tian—
Everyone… even me!
I was suddenly gripped by an overwhelming fear of Jieda suppression!
There was only one possibility—
A Legendary Spirit!
And not just any, but a fully unleashed, max-level Legendary Spirit in the wild!
But this, this damn it… wasn’t this just a simple side case?!
“Ouwu—!!!”
Little Qilin appeared, struggling to shield me, a holy Light Shield rising around us.
That shield eased my tension considerably.
Moments ago, I felt as if standing naked in the Arctic wind, frozen solid, every joint stiffened… Now, at least I could move my fingers again.
That meant I could form seals and cast spells!
“Ouwu!!”
I’d never seen Little Qilin so on high alert.
Even when facing the Jiaolong last time, it had only been solemnly cautious.
But this time—
It seemed to have met its nemesis!
An absolute opposite rival!
“Bang!”
The lighting technician held the remote control for the entire studio, shutting off all lights.
The studio plunged into utter darkness, only the Qilin’s Light Shield maintaining a faint glow.
I seemed to glimpse countless black ghostly shadows fearlessly attacking the shield, making it flicker precariously.
The Qilin gritted its teeth and held on desperately.
The hatred blazing in its eyes was like facing a destined nemesis— it would rather die than lose to this foe!
“Since you’ve solved my riddle, it’s your turn now.”
A voice sounded in the darkness— part mechanical, part elderly, part the growling hunger of a beast, yet laced with the seductive whisper of a woman…
“Qilin, you cannot protect it. Let go, like you did a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times before…” The voice urged persuasively, filled with irresistible temptation.
“Sorry, I’m not protecting anyone!”
No more words. Law of Heaven and Earth!
Qinglong’s Might descends!
A surge of rich aquamarine vitality burst forth, instantly dispelling all the surrounding black smoke.
“Qinglong?!” The opponent’s voice lost its haughty tone.
Though not panicked, it sounded distinctly unsettled.
Moments later, it seemed to make a decision.
The black smoke shifted strategy, condensing from a vast, overwhelming mist into a thin, nearly invisible black snake.
With a plop it pierced the barrier!
Biting hard into my arm.