Something's wrong with how I'm watching anime.

Page 15

"If we don't want our superpowers to be revealed, we need to be even more discreet from now on."

"Anyway, the dog is great," Kazama concluded.

"Let's get back to the previous topic."

Kazama continued.

"The reason that parasite disguised itself must be because it discovered a huge threat to it from human society during this period."

Parasites are creatures that possess 'intelligence' just like humans. They have a clear understanding of their environment.

Imagine a dog that has just finished eating and is happily trotting out of the alley.

As I approached the utility pole, wondering whether I should urinate, I saw a television program in the window of an appliance store in front of me showing the anniversary military exercises of the Chinese armed forces.

Excerpt from a military exercise broadcast on television: Artillery fire rained down, leveling hills. A torrent of dark green steel swept through, crushing all obstacles in its path. Then came individual soldier demonstrations: machine gun fire, streaks of light raining down. A shell fired from a shoulder-fired rocket launcher shattered a bunker.

Watching TV, the dog fell silent, its wagging tail suddenly drooping and tucking itself in.

In terms of individual strength, it is true that parasites can transform their tentacles into blades capable of cutting through steel. When humans are unarmed, the combat power of parasites is overwhelming.

However, once humans use firearms and generate sufficient firepower, even if the parasites can harden their tentacles to form shields, they will not be able to protect their vital organs.

Even Goto, the final boss among the Parasites, who united the other four Parasites, could harden his entire body, making him impervious to bullets and blades.

But this doesn't mean Goto is truly immune to firearms; with sufficient firepower, he could still be riddled with bullets.

"However, if this parasite insists on disguising itself, it will indeed be difficult to find it."

"The most urgent task is to first delineate the area where this parasite might be hiding."

"This parasite disappeared just a week ago. Dogs are quite mobile, so it's entirely possible that it was determined to leave Xinghai City."

"However, such a possibility is still relatively small."

"First of all, in the anime, the parasites showed a certain degree of territoriality. There were basically no parasites that moved across cities."

"Furthermore, moving from a familiar environment to a completely unfamiliar one involves too many uncertainties. That parasite should also be aware of this."

"Therefore, for the time being, the scope will be limited to Xinghai City."

However, even so, the scope is still ridiculously large.

Xinghai City, as a first-tier metropolis, covers an area of over 3,000 square kilometers. There are countless places in the city that could accommodate a dog.

"So, that's why we're investigating now: to find clues and narrow down the scope step by step."

Chapter Seventeen Clues

Half an hour later, Kazama took the subway to the adjacent Zenjoc area.

His friend, Liu Kai, now works at the Tianding District Public Security Bureau.

"Unfortunately, we can't view the security footage..."

As he walked out of the subway station, Kazama sighed inwardly.

Surveillance is undoubtedly the most direct and simplest way to track down the parasite.

The police had previously reviewed surveillance footage but found nothing because they had targeted the wrong person. Who would have thought the real culprit was a seemingly harmless dog?

The police can access and view surveillance footage, but it's much harder for ordinary citizens like Kazama.

Moreover, it's practically impossible to get surveillance footage from the police station when looking for a dog.

According to regulations, for general civil disputes, including economic disputes, the principle of "whoever makes the claim must provide evidence" applies.

Only in major cases such as criminal cases that infringe upon national and public interests will judicial authorities legally retrieve surveillance records.

However, even without surveillance, there are still ways to obtain relevant clues, it's just not as intuitive.

After leaving the subway station, Kazama, as usual, carried his shoulder bag, boarded a bus, and got off at a certain stop about ten minutes later.

Yuheng Road.

This is where the dead dog incident occurred.

The online account of the incident also mentioned the detailed address where it occurred, so even without asking Liu Kai, Kazama could find the place.

"So, how do we find clues now? A week has passed, it's hard to find any clues left behind."

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Kerberos opened his satchel a crack and asked Kazama from inside.

"It's alright. For the initial leads, we just need to find someone familiar with this area."

Standing under a tree, Kazama put his hands behind his back. With the manipulation of magic, two Clow Cards appeared between Kazama's fingers and then disappeared in a stream of light.

'Fantasy Cards' and 'Song Cards'.

Kazama's current mastery of Clow Cards mostly falls into the categories of Spell Cards and Support Cards.

Although these cards cannot be used directly for attack, they can produce all sorts of strange effects.

After activating these two cards, Kazama looked to his right and, about ten meters away, saw an old man sitting on the steps smoking.

The old man's orange-yellow vest revealed his identity.

If you were to ask who knows the area best, sanitation workers would definitely be one of them.

Kazama strode over to the sanitation worker and greeted him softly, "Hello."

At this moment, the sanitation worker also noticed Kazama's arrival and couldn't help but show a wary look when he saw a stranger.

"Young man, is there anything I can help you with?"

"That's how it is..."

Kazama spoke up:

"I am a journalist."

"This is my press pass."

Kazama waved a sticky note in front of the old man.

As Kazama's words carried a strange power, a look of confusion appeared on the sanitation worker's face for a moment, before he returned to normal.

But by then Kazama had already taken the note back.

"Oh, it's a reporter..."

The old man nodded and asked:

Is something the matter?

"I do have something I'd like to ask you, sir."

"I want to know about the recent cases of stray dogs dying without cause here."

As Kazama spoke, the old man found Kazama in front of him pleasing to the eye and wanted to grant him every request.

"This matter... do you mean to ask me if I saw any suspicious people in this area before? The police asked me this question before as well."

The dog was dismembered with a sharp weapon, and the police were worried that a mentally unstable person might be wandering around the area with the murder weapon.

I also interviewed sanitation workers in the vicinity.

"However, I haven't actually seen anyone suspicious."

"No, what I wanted to ask was..."

Have you seen this dog?

Kazama opened his phone and showed the old man a photo.

It was a black dachshund.

Kazama didn't have a specific picture of the parasite, but he knew its species and color, so finding similar photos online wouldn't be a problem.

Dachshunds are easily identifiable due to their short legs and long bodies.

"This kind of dog..."

Looking at the dachshund in the photo, the old man nodded.

"You know what, I've seen it before."

"Oh?"

Kazama raised an eyebrow and said:

Could you elaborate?

"That's right, we sometimes give the stray dogs in the neighborhood a simple meal, after all, they are living beings too. Although what we give them is just some scraps of food that we pick up when we're cleaning up the trash."

"Over time, some of the dogs also got to know us."

"What I remember about the black dog in the picture you showed me is that when it was being fed, all the other dogs rushed to grab the food, but this dog just stood far away and watched."

"What a proud dog! It doesn't look like it was abandoned at all."

"After all, their fur was still shiny and glossy, which shows that they were fed very well."

“We had wondered if someone had let it roam free, but every time we saw it, it was always alone, not like its owner was around.”

"I see..."

Kazama narrowed his eyes.

"Grandpa, do you remember when you first saw this dog?"

"I remember, I remember, it should have been about two weeks ago, because that was right after the incident of the dog being killed in the alley."

"Well, one last thing, have you seen this dog recently? Or have you seen its carcass while cleaning the streets?"

"No, I haven't seen the dog for a week."

The old man paused, then said:

"They were probably taken away by the people at the shelter."

"Ok?"