76: Chapter 76 We usually can't finish this many dishes in half a year...

"We usually can't take down this many dens in half a year..."

The little girl was gripping the clothes on Lu Cheng's chest tightly, her fingers trembling.

She lifted her small, blood-stained face, her lips trembling twice, and with difficulty, she raised a hand to point toward the alley behind them.

"There... are... people..."

Lu Cheng's eyes narrowed instantly.

Almost at the same time, Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Bad Luck also gave a reaction.

A sharp sense of danger pierced through from the mouth of the alley, a chill crawling up his back, causing even his body, which hadn't fully recovered for long, to tense up instinctively.

Lu Cheng held the girl and looked up into the depths of the alley.

The streetlights were dim, leaving the alley half-lit and half-shadowed. There were mottled bloodstains on the wall, dragging all the way inside, as if something had just passed through.

But the next second.

That sense of danger suddenly vanished.

It disappeared extremely quickly.

It was as if the other party had already retreated the moment he looked over.

"Running away pretty fast..."

Lu Cheng cursed under his breath, but didn't pursue.

The little girl in his arms was already fading, and her wounds were still oozing blood.

If he really dropped her to chase, and she died halfway, that would be truly ridiculous.

He looked down at the girl. It was still a distance to the hospital, but the nearest guard station could provide basic treatment first.

"Hold on, I'm taking you to the guard station first."

The little girl's consciousness was already fading; she could only instinctively shrink into his arms.

Lu Cheng didn't delay any longer and rushed toward the nearest guard station while holding her.

He pushed off with his feet, his figure quickly weaving through the streets, the night wind whipping past his ears.

The girl in his arms was frighteningly light.

The more Lu Cheng ran, the darker his expression became.

This weight was not what a normal child should have; her bones were digging into his hands.

Halfway there, the little girl in his arms suddenly moved slightly.

Lu Cheng looked down and discovered that her eyes had opened a slit.

Those eyes were full of terror, her pupils dilating, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying.

She grabbed Lu Cheng's hem tightly, trembling violently, and squeezed out a few words intermittently.

"Eat... don't eat me..."

"Don't eat me..."

Her voice trembled, and she couldn't even cry, as if her throat had been shouted raw.

Lu Cheng's heart sank abruptly.

Eat? What the hell?

He quickened his pace and lowered his voice.

"No one is going to eat you. We're here, almost there."

Half a minute later, the guard station's light sign finally appeared ahead.

The two guards on duty at the door had just looked up when they saw a young man rushing in, carrying a little girl covered in blood, and they stood up immediately.

"What's the situation?!"

"Quick, a stretcher!"

Lu Cheng placed her on the bench next to the reception desk and spoke rapidly.

"I found her on my way home. She escaped from an alley, was severely injured, and there might still be people chasing her."

A young guard looked at the little girl's condition, and his expression changed.

"Is the child too traumatized? Let's not rush to conclusions."

Just as Lu Cheng was about to speak, a duty captain walked out quickly from inside.

He was a man in his thirties with sharp eyes. He first scanned Lu Cheng, then looked at the girl on the bench.

After seeing the injuries and the abnormally blue bruises under her skin, his expression changed on the spot.

"Stop talking nonsense, report this immediately!"

"Where is the medical team? Get her inside for an examination first!"

"Seal the scene records, pull the nearby surveillance footage, now!"

With that shout, the entire guard station immediately sprang into action.

Soon, medical personnel arrived and pushed the little girl into the temporary medical room inside.

Lu Cheng was also kept behind to provide a simple statement.

Ten minutes later, the door to the medical room opened, and a middle-aged doctor in a white coat walked out with a grim expression.

The duty captain immediately walked up to him.

"How is it?"

The doctor took off his gloves and lowered his voice.

"The situation is very bad."

"There are abnormal drug residues in her system. The composition is complex, with sedative, paralytic, and stimulating effects. It was clearly injected by someone."

"Additionally... her internal energy and blood are severely depleted."

The captain was stunned: "Depleted vitality and blood?"

The doctor nodded, his tone dropping.

"There are traces of it having been extracted, and it wasn't a normal loss; it was forcibly drained."

"This method is very brutal. It's a miracle the child managed to run out alive."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the guards nearby all changed.

The duty captain immediately picked up his communicator and continued reporting upwards.

On the other side, the information team quickly had results.

A female officer walked over quickly, holding a tablet, her expression tense.

"We found it."

"Her name is... Chu Xiuxiu."

"Her identity information matches one of the children from the recent batch of missing kids perfectly, and the photo comparison also matches."

...

Another hour passed.

Chu Xiuxiu's injuries were mostly treated. She was wrapped in quite a few bandages, and her complexion was a bit better than when she was first brought in.

She was placed in a lounge behind the police station, with an IV drip hanging by the bed.

A seemingly gentle female officer sat by the bed and asked her softly.

"Don't be afraid, I'm a police officer."

"Do you remember what happened? Who took you away?"

Chu Xiuxiu huddled in the blanket, her eyes vacant and blank.

She thought for a long time, then shook her head slightly.

"I don't remember..."

The female officer asked again: "Do you remember your name?"

The little girl pursed her pale lips and whispered: "Chu... Xiuxiu."

"My name is Chu Xiuxiu..."

Besides that, she couldn't say anything else when asked further questions.

Every time she tried hard to think, her face would go pale, and her breathing would become rapid; it was clear her mental state couldn't handle it yet.

The female officer had no choice but to stop and walk outside.

She looked at Lu Cheng, her tone softening.

"Student Lu, the girl's current condition isn't suitable for further questioning."

"Let her stay at the police station for now; it's relatively safer here."

"I will continue to communicate with you regarding subsequent developments."

Lu Cheng nodded. "Alright."

Originally, at this point, he should have left.

But when he turned to leave, Chu Xiuxiu on the bed seemed to sense something. She suddenly sat up, panic flooding her eyes, and reached out to grab him.

"Don't go..." "Don't leave me here..."

She grabbed Lu Cheng's sleeve, her hand shaking violently, tears welling up in her eyes, but she refused to let go.

The female officer was a bit helpless. "She is suffering from severe stress; she might see you as her only source of safety."

Lu Cheng looked down at that tiny hand and was silent for two seconds. "Alright, I'll stay for a while."

He sat back down by the bed.

Only then did Chu Xiuxiu slowly calm down, her hand still clutching his hem, as if afraid he would disappear if she let go.

Not long after, the medication took effect, and the little girl finally fell asleep again.

The lounge quieted down, leaving only the sound of the IV drip falling drop by drop.

Lu Cheng looked at her furrowed brows even in sleep, and his eyes slowly darkened.

He got up and walked outside, finding the duty captain from earlier.

"I can help assist with the investigation of this matter."

The captain was stunned, then frowned. "You are a concerned citizen, and you've already helped a lot tonight; leave the rest to us."

"This isn't an ordinary case; it's too dangerous for a student like you to get involved."

Lu Cheng said directly: "I can find the source of the danger."

The captain looked at him, obviously not taking it seriously. "Student Lu, I know you have good ability, but investigation isn't fighting."

Lu Cheng couldn't be bothered to explain the system to him and directly took out his phone. "Alright, then I'll make a call."

The call was answered quickly. "Instructor Qin, it's me, Lu Cheng."

On the other end, Instructor Qin Feng's voice was as straightforward as ever. "Speak."

Lu Cheng quickly explained the situation and added: "I want to assist with the investigation; please help me communicate with them."

The other end of the line was silent for two seconds. Soon, Instructor Qin Feng spoke: "Give the phone to your captain."

Lu Cheng handed over the phone. The duty captain took it, and after listening for a few moments, his expression changed significantly, and his posture even straightened up.

"Understood." "Yes, I understand."

After hanging up, he returned the phone to Lu Cheng and took a deep breath. "You can."

"You can assist with the investigation, but you must stay with the action team; you cannot act on your own."

Lu Cheng nodded. "Alright."

Over the next few hours, relying on his Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Bad Luck ability, Lu Cheng scoured half the dangerous areas of Rong City. He didn't find relevant clues, but he did dismantle quite a few small illegal groups.

There were those trading contraband drugs in abandoned warehouses.

There were those gathering at night for underground boxing matches.

There was also a gang that specialized in ambushing students for robbery; just as they were about to act, Lu Cheng and the guards caught them red-handed.

One of them, a guy with yellow hair, looked at the guards rushing in and Lu Cheng standing at the front, and he was stunned.

"WTF! Brother Cheng... we were just stealing a bag, did you bring the police to raid the den?!"

Lu Cheng was also speechless; he didn't expect to run into old acquaintances.

"How the hell was I supposed to know you guys counted as a source of danger."

After a night of tossing and turning, half the dangerous areas of Rong City had been scoured, yet there were still no relevant clues.

But the number of small illegal groups taken down was so high that the action guards were numb from it all.

A young officer panted, leaning against the car door, muttering. "We usually wouldn't even bump into this many dens in half a year."

Lu Cheng was also exhausted.

Just as he was preparing to switch to another area, his phone suddenly rang. It was from the police station.

"Student Lu, Chu Xiuxiu has woken up, and she says she wants to see you."