S-Class Judge: My ability is parasitism.

Everyone was enjoying their meal when a message from the police interrupted everything.

Gao Shen's phone vibrated. He put down his bowl, glanced at the screen, and his expression gradually became serious.

"The preliminary autopsy report is in." He looked up at his teammates sitting around the table. "There are obvious tissue remnants and lacerations on the remains, and the trace evidence shows... that it matches the predatory characteristics of an awakened animal. The case has been officially transferred to our adjudication bureau."

A brief silence fell over the table. Ni Shihua, holding a fish ball, hesitated, unsure whether to eat it or put it down, finally letting out a sigh:

"Huh? My fish balls... I haven't even eaten many yet."

Old Zhang patted her head kindly and helplessly: "Alright, girl, the case is important. We'll eat when we get back. I'll save some for you."

"Okay..." Ni Shihua reluctantly put down her chopsticks.

Gao Shen quickly assigned tasks:

"The incident occurred on the riverbank in the suburbs, near Zhangjia Village. We split up to visit the village and see if there have been any unusual situations or missing persons recently. As usual, be careful and stay connected."

He took the key from his waist, led everyone to the armory, checked each item, and distributed them to everyone.

The Adjudication Bureau has higher authority than ordinary police officers and has the power to judge and take necessary measures when facing highly dangerous "awakened" suspects.

Suspects may be shot if necessary.

The group drove to the somewhat secluded Zhangjia Village. The village was small, with sparse houses, and the afternoon sun gave it a lazy, tranquil feel.

They asked several households in groups, and most of the responses were shaking their heads, saying that they hadn't heard of anything special recently, nor had they heard of anyone missing.

Just when the investigation seemed to be at a standstill, an old man squatting under an old locust tree at the village entrance, smoking a pipe, listened to the profound question, squinted and thought for a long time, and pointed to the outskirts of the village with his pipe.

"Strange... Nothing's happened to the people in our village. But there are a few families who came from other places in that mountain valley. They all live in detached mud-brick houses with their own courtyards. They live far away and don't interact much with the villagers." The old man exhaled a puff of smoke. "It seems like... I haven't seen them for a while. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just feels like that area has been unusually quiet lately."

He pointed in a direction, but said the road was difficult to travel and that he was too old to lead the way.

Gao Shen immediately decided to split the search into groups: "Old Zhang, you're in my group, we'll go up from the east. Xu Nuo, you're still in Pan Yuan's group, check the north. Hou Hao, Shi Hua, you two are in charge of the west side."

"No way!" Ni Shihua immediately objected, frowning. "I don't want to be in a group with that stinky monkey! I want to be in a group with Xiao Xu!"

Gao Shen glanced at her, not bothering to argue: "Fine, then you switch with Pan Yuan. Pan Yuan, you go west with Monkey. Shi Hua and Xu Nuo form a group and investigate the north. Everyone be on high alert. If you find anything unusual, call for backup immediately. Don't act on your own."

Xu Nuo and Ni Shihua headed deeper northwards, as the old man had indicated.

After leaving the village, the road was quickly overgrown with weeds and bushes.

Even more striking is the fact that a type of Virginia creeper with fan-shaped leaves and stems covered with tiny barbs seems to be growing exceptionally well here, almost covering the rocks and dead trees along the way, and even winding into a net on the ground.

"This ivy... it looks so fierce." Ni Shihua carefully avoided the sharp thorns, but still couldn't help getting her trouser leg caught.

"Yes, and the area is very concentrated." Xu Nuo parted a clump of vines that almost reached the ground, probably due to a long period of neglect.

The two wandered through the green maze of vegetation for about twenty minutes before a small clearing suddenly appeared before them.

A solitary mud-brick house sits in the middle of an open space, its walls peeling and its windows small.

The courtyard gate was ajar.

Right there in the crack of the door and on the glass of the back window, Xu Nuo's pupils contracted slightly—he caught a few spots of crimson that had darkened but were still shockingly bright.

The most bizarre thing is the side of the house, an entire wall, completely swallowed up by thorny ivy.

The dark green vine leaves were layered upon layered, as thick as a blanket, completely obscuring the outline of the wall.

In the city, it might be praised as wild or natural art, but in this remote village, in a corner where sunlight rarely shines directly, this overly "vibrant" green exudes only a sticky, unsettling stillness.

Xu Nuo lowered his voice:

"Something's not right in this yard. Let's notify the captain."

"We don't know the specific situation inside the courtyard yet. It's not too late to notify us if anything happens," Ni Shihua offered a different opinion. In her view, although the courtyard was a bit strange, no danger had been found.

Xu Nuo hesitated for a moment. In his opinion, safety was the most important thing, and it was always better to be cautious. However, Ni Shihua was a senior with more experience than him, so he had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, whatever you say. Shall we go in and investigate?"

"Of course, it's so exciting."

Xu Nuo always felt that Ni Shihua was somewhat unreliable, unlike an experienced judge, and seemed a bit immature.

The two slowly approached the courtyard, and through the crack in the door, they could clearly see the scene inside.

The yard was a mess, with miscellaneous items and tools scattered about. There was also a mangled dead dog in the yard, which must have been dead for some time and had started to smell. There were also drag marks on the ground.

There were some humming and moaning sounds coming from inside the house.

"Is anyone there?" Ni Shihua called out.

The sounds inside the room stopped abruptly, but no one responded.

Ni Shihua and Xu Nuo exchanged a glance, already sensing that something was amiss.

If a normal person hears strangers suddenly barging into the yard, they should immediately come out to check, which means they are doing something shady.

The two men drew their pistols from their waists and slowly approached the door.

The moment the door was kicked open, an extremely nauseating stench of blood assaulted the senses, making one want to vomit.

The scene inside the house was even more mind-blowing.

A dog cage appeared inside the house, presumably the source of the drag marks.

But the cage didn't contain a dog; it contained a child who was about four or five years old.

The child's eyes were red and swollen, his gaze was blank, and there were dried tear stains on his cheeks. He had obviously seen something horrific and was in deep despair. He could no longer cry out.

This shouldn't happen to a child.

There were other people inside the house, three burly men with pig-like faces and fangs.

Not long ago, including the child locked in the cage, there should have been five people in the room.

But now, one person is missing. That person hasn't completely disappeared, but is dead.

The person who died must be the child's mother.

Because the mangled corpse on the bed had long hair.

Those three pig-faced, fanged beasts actually locked the child in a cage and then gnawed on her mother right in front of her.

This mother must have been screaming in agony before she died, not only from physical pain but also from inner fear. Her child's cries filled her with despair!