Ashley discovered that the museum had plenty of small animal specimens—birds, rodents, insects—but very few large animals, and even fewer that had undergone supernatural transformation. Some exhibits only had a scale or claw on display, while others stood completely empty.
The Shriek Devil Crow was represented by just a single painting and one long black feather.
The portrait was life-sized, depicting it standing at least two meters tall, like a monster draped in a black raincoat. The feather felt light and fluffy, gleaming with a dark sheen.
The most obvious sign of its mutation was its bizarre head. Its skull was a complete spherical exoskeleton connected to a beak as thick as an adult’s arm. The bone sphere had six or seven holes, with nictitating membranes evolved into transparent crystals that sealed them shut. Pupil-less eyes peered out through these “windows,” emitting an eerie, ominous deep red glow.
“The Shriek Devil Crow is an ordinary crow that mutated after pecking at a ‘Blood Bud.’ It only appears in massive flocks made up of hundreds of smaller crow groups.
Once born, it monopolizes all the Blood Buds in its habitat, so no second Devil Crow can emerge in the same region.
The Blood Bud is a eukaryotic organism containing supernatural power, with behavior similar to barnacles. It lives in rock crevices and retracts at the slightest disturbance.
But clever crows approach silently, catching it off guard, then peck fiercely with their sharp beaks, biting and yanking it out to eat…”
Ashley described it vividly, even mimicking the smacking of lips, which had the tourists roaring with laughter. For a moment, the Nocturnal Creature Hall was filled with cheerful voices.
Meanwhile, the nearby restroom had a “Cleaning in Progress” sign hanging on the door. A golden-haired, pretty loli who clashed with her surroundings wore an oversized work uniform. She half-squatted, gripping a small brush tightly as she scrubbed the toilet bowl vigorously. The pungent fumes from the cleaner mixed with ammonia, stinging her eyes shut.
“Wahhh… It stinks so much… I’ve been poisoned… Why… why do I have to work so hard just to earn six points per hour… while she just moves her tongue and gets eight points per hour… Her tongue is so amazing… My dumb tongue can’t compare…”
At noon break, the two lolis sat in the staff lounge eating their work meal.
Flora felt dizzy and nauseous, unable to eat. Ashley, however, ate with relish, her little mouth working as she crunched the crisp lettuce loudly with smacking sounds.
“It feels awful… I’m dying… Hmmph…”
The golden-haired loli curled up on the sofa, her face twisted in pain.
Ashley got up, draped a blanket over her.
“I’ll cover your afternoon shift. You rest.”
“Wahhh… Thank you… I’m so useless…”
Ashley smiled faintly and returned to the table, flipping through a thick stack of materials.
This was the real reason she chose to work at the museum—the detailed information on the Shriek Devil Crow.
She had also learned of a sighting in the northern hills.
Her slender fingers moved the ruler to measure the distance from the sighting to the nearest city wall, scaling it proportionally—3.7 kilometers.
Then, she spun her pen, circled the icon of a theater in the north of the city, drew a straight line, and measured again: 4.5 kilometers. Perfect.
Finally, she pushed a paper cutout of Amber’s silly, grinning face toward the cinema with her finger. Ashley’s smile grew even brighter.
“Looks like I need a date.”
–
In the office, Ashley chatted with a pink-haired girl in a wheelchair.
“Curator Mavis, I’ve noticed some exhibits are missing specimens. Would you like me to fill them in? It would make the biological diversity more intuitive and boost the museum’s appeal.” Ashley stood with her hands clasped behind her back elegantly, speaking confidently.
The curator had no idea the little one in front of her was planning to hunt them herself. She assumed Ashley knew some collectors and wanted to act as a middleman.
A hint of embarrassment showed on the girl’s serene, round face. The museum, inherited from her grandfather, was outdated and stagnant, barely scraping by. There was no money to replenish specimens.
Her grandfather had wanted to sell it to fund treatment for her paralyzed legs, but she couldn’t bear to take away his beloved possession.
She didn’t understand management or capital operations, only possessing a stubborn courage that led to one head-on crash after another.
But courage had nothing to do with market economics. The museum’s losses mounted, and it couldn’t even afford full-time staff, relying on student workers on rest days.
Mavis Spind sighed inwardly, her eyes dimming.
Ashley blinked, reading the situation—the big sister reeked of poverty just like her.
After getting the points sheet and the curator’s signature, Ashley and Flora returned to the community and headed straight for the exchange shop.
“I’ll give you half the points. You covered my afternoon toilet duty; I shouldn’t take them.”
Flora was well-raised, neither greedy nor resentful—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been appointed shift leader before.
“Okay.” Ashley replied curtly.
“By the way, what are you in such a hurry to buy?”
“Two movie tickets.”
Flora froze, then a wave of excitement bubbled up from her heart.
Is she taking me to a movie? I-Is this a date?
Flora’s eyes widened. She pursed her lips hard to suppress her thrill, distorting her cheek dimples, anxiously twisting her skirt hem while waiting.
“I’m taking Little Judge Amber to a movie!” Ashley said happily, waving the two tickets.
“Huh?”
Flora was dumbfounded.
She remembered seeing Amber—that loli neurotically kicking the wall from the little chapel’s back window. What a weirdo.
Were they friends? Flora felt a twinge of sourness, a bad taste in her mouth.
She really wanted to ask why invite Amber to a movie, but held back. Ashley can play with whoever she wants. I’m just insignificant…
–
Community clinic.
It was more like a makeshift doctor’s office, with only an intern physician on duty.
Ashley smeared some charcoal ash under her eyes to look like dark circles, slumped her little head, and said with a woeful face:
“Sis Doctor, I’ve been having terrible insomnia lately.”
“Are you worried about something?”
The community doctor was a student from Vortax Medical College in the northern city of Vortax—Riley Langferro, a slightly chubby girl with glasses.
Her loose white coat couldn’t hide her astonishing curves. When she crossed her arms, her chest looked like a heavy sack stuffed with flour.
“I’ve been having nightmares… Blood… everywhere… I was like a painter… brushing and brushing and brushing nonstop… So tiring… Finally… finally, I got it smooth and even…”
Ashley sucked on her fingers neurotically, gnawing the tips, her tone laced with manic depression.
Riley held her breath in fear. She was just an unlucky 16-year-old med student assigned to intern in Saint Dormer Community.
The Onna Case was something she’d witnessed firsthand—even before the coroner saw the body. It was like a sack full of holes, too gruesome to look at.
Compared to dissection cadavers, this act of malicious anti-human cruelty triggered her instinctive revulsion. She’d had nightmares for days, and the loli before her was the little devil from the Jenkins Family who caused them!
“Hey, give me some sleeping pills.” Ashley held out her hand.
“Good… Okay!”
Though she was prescribing for a patient, Riley felt like she was being blackmailed.
Her reaction didn’t escape the little devil’s notice.
From then on, the little devil escalated, frequently demanding potions, bandages, syringes, alcohol, and other medical supplies—stopping just short of outright demanding money.
–
Ashley found it amusing—Why is this girl so terrified of me? She even gave me the key to the prescription cabinet.
She turned and grabbed a small brown bottle from the cabinet—smelling salts, a mix of ammonium carbonate and aromatics for alleviating fainting and headaches.
Holding the smelling salts, she paced around Riley.
Riley shrank her neck, feeling like a pitiful chick while the other was a pretty little snake slithering nearby, ready to coil around her and sink snow-white fangs into her throat.
Ashley meant no harm. Feeling guilty for taking so much, she bent down, leaned close to the med student’s ear, and whispered softly:
“This is our little secret, dear Sis Doctor. You’ve helped me, so I’ll help you too. Gratitude and reciprocity will deepen our friendship. I don’t know how to repay you, but I hear med student exams are tough…”
“N-No! Don’t!” Riley shuddered, squeezing her eyes shut in terror, her lips trembling like leaves in the wind. “I… I want to pass on my own strength… I… I’ll give you whatever you want… Please… don’t make me do bad things… I beg you…”
“Ah, this…”
Ashley had only meant to say she had a focus-enhancing potion recipe great for studying, but the other had misunderstood to the point of near-fainting.
