Boundless [Criminal Investigation]

(I've completely run out of inspiration, so feel free to save this story for later. From now on, I may update randomly with one or two chapters each month, though I'll post more whenever inspiration strikes. I'm very sorry to readers who have been following the updates and bought the story. I'll hold a giveaway. I'm truly sorry.)

A beautiful, sickly man showed up at the Xinyang City Police Department. Xing Lang, head of the Special Cases Unit, was quite unsettled by the new arrival. And yet, for some reason, the newcomer seemed familiar, as though they'd met before.

Jiang Jingnian had hyperthymesia and had suffered from nightmares for years. Looking at the aloof, distant team leader, he had only one thought: Tch, what an idiot.

Before long, their impressions of each other were completely overturned. Xing Lang discovered that this sickly beauty was practically capable of anything. He could go undercover and handle fieldwork, then unravel a case and swiftly catch the culprit with his extraordinary memory and talent for criminal profiling.

As for Xing Lang, Jiang Jingnian silently updated his impression of him: moron.

A blood-red ribbon around a young girl's neck; a puppet dancing to the strains of traditional opera on a theater stage; roses at an art exhibition stained with the souls of the guilty...

The Red Ribbon Case, the Puppet Theater Case, the Painter Case... The cases were full of suspicious details. They seemed to have uncovered just one corner of something unfathomably deep beneath them: a vast criminal organization was slowly emerging.

Jiang Jingnian had come to solve a cold case from years ago, but gradually, the man who carried the scent of mint brought warmth into his life.

At that moment, he envied moths that could throw themselves into a flame without hesitation. He could no longer give himself completely.

A white scar at his temple, repeated surveillance, stalking, and threats. The criminals were willing to use themselves as bait just to drag Jiang Jingnian into the mire. If the drowned spirits beneath the lake... The past could not be escaped. Jiang Jingnian could only keep walking, with no idea where he was going.

Jiang Jingnian was like glass. The slightest misstep could shatter him completely and send him plunging into the abyss, Xing Lang said.

“I wandered alone in the dark for so long that I seem to have lost myself. I can't find a direction or a way back.”

“If you have no direction, use a compass. If you can't find your way back, follow the signs. Don't be afraid of getting lost, because someone's always waiting for you to come home.”

P.S. 1. The story is entirely fictional and follows no real-world system. All cases are original works by the author. Any similarities are purely coincidental. Please don't associate them with real life.

2. Cold, evasive, sweet-on-the-outside-and-dark-on-the-inside bottom X outwardly aloof but secretly nurturing top

3. Includes relationships between men, between women, and between men and women, but no secondary couples

4. Extreme fans of either the top or bottom are not welcome

Next story blurb

The Retired Player Returns to Work

As global warming ushered in the Great Drift Era, the Infinite Game soon followed. The world quickly became a living hell, and people struggled to survive amid unimaginable hardship.

Then one day, the world returned to five years before the Great Drift Era began. Reborn people began to awaken all over the world, and a group of extreme, coldhearted environmentalists appeared. Predictions of an apocalypse surfaced, and the Infinite Game quietly began merging with reality.

Ying Chuan had recently been laid off and given up on working. After a great deal of hesitation, he decided to lie flat at home. His life of doing nothing was blissful, though little surprises occasionally came along.

For example, while he was shopping for vegetables, the old lady had turned into a fish, but her produce was even fresher than before.

Or take his neighbor, the big tree. He had turned into a clump of seaweed, but his cooking was still delicious.

And then there was...

Life was practically perfect, except for the uninvited friend.

But as the number of mutated creatures grew and more and more Infinite Game instances appeared, Ying Chuan's peaceful life was completely disrupted. A group of weirdos showed up at his door, begging him to save the world.

Ying Chuan was speechless. Bringing a retiree back to work was an outrage against nature and bound to bring down divine punishment. But fine, he'd treat it as exercise. Come to think of it, he did need to improve the rations for the good friend staying at his place. There wasn't a kinder person in the world than him.

Meanwhile, Ying Chuan came home with fresh rations only to be pinned beneath the friend staying at his place. His friend's tentacles slowly wound around his limbs, his expression dazed, as if he'd eaten something he shouldn't have.

The friend leaned down, his voice low and eerie as he whispered in Ying Chuan's ear:

“Friend, you smell so good.”

P.S. 1. A wooden-headed bottom with a few screws loose and off-the-charts combat strength X a wicked, flirtatious eldritch god top who only wants to be his darling's little sidekick. Most of the time, he turns into a little octopus and naps on his darling's head.

2. Extreme fans of either the top or bottom are not welcome

Theme: Prioritize mental health.