The Inn Beyond Time and Space

Dusk was approaching, with slanted rays of sunlight streaming from the far end of the city, casting pale golden glows between the towering buildings. However, in the depths of the old city, surrounded by high-rises, where sunlight rarely reached, the narrow alleys had already sunk into darkness.

The lingering dampness and coolness in the air were starkly different from the dry air outside the alley. The rapidly melting ice fragments in the cracks between the bricks served as "evidence" that something unusual had recently occurred in this quiet street.

Several fleeting shadows darted across the gaps between the buildings, leaping weightlessly through the air before landing in a corner of the alley. The shadows quivered at the edges, swiftly coalescing into wolf-like forms. These indistinct-faced creatures prowled and sniffed around the alley for a while before gathering together. The leading shadow raised its head and let out a loud howl toward the sky:

"Aw-woo!"

"Thud!"

A rock struck the shadow-wolf square on the head, cutting off its howl midway. A reprimanding voice echoed from the shadows of a nearby building: "Shut it! No howling in the city—and don't you dare add a 'bark' to it! Humans aren't stupid; no one will believe you're dogs!"

The wolf-like shadows whimpered softly in response, obediently stepping aside. A petite figure emerged from the darkness not far away.

It was a short-haired girl dressed in a black skirt and a dark red jacket. A small tuft of hair on her forehead curved upward slightly. She looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, but her expression was remarkably composed and mature. She walked through the wolves, who lowered their heads deferentially, and approached the body of a man lying lifeless by the roadside.

A faint shadow passed over her face as she crouched down beside the corpse to examine it. One of the wolves approached, growling in a low, chaotic tone, seemingly communicating some information.

"...The scent of rain?" The girl frowned, raising her head to look at the sky, which had remained sunny for the past two days. Although it was nearing dusk, the sky visible between the skyscrapers was still clear and bright, with no sign of clouds. The sunlight was merely fading.

After a moment, she seemed to understand something. She lowered her head again to inspect the wound on the man's chest, muttering softly to herself, "...Rain, a heart, and the stench of frogs..."

Just then, the ringtone of a phone, emanating from a small pouch at her waist, interrupted her thoughts. The melody was the iconic theme from the Star Wars saga.

The short-haired girl answered the call before the lightsaber sound effect in the ringtone could fully play out.

"Hello? Oh, yes, it's me," she said, holding the phone to her ear. With her free hand, she gestured to the wolves to guard the scene. She stood up and stepped aside, continuing, "I've arrived. My wolves detected something unusual here... No, I didn't catch it—it slipped away."

She sighed, her gaze falling on the unfortunate corpse.

"It's 'rain,' which generated a physical entity—a 'rain frog.' But this rain appears to have been a localized projection, affecting only one person... Yes, incredibly unlucky. A rainstorm that falls for one person alone. By the time I arrived, it had already stopped. The depth here has reverted to L0, and the 'rain' has disengaged from the boundary zone."

She paused, listening patiently to the instructions and inquiries coming through the phone. After a moment, she glanced again at the lifeless body nearby.

"...Medical personnel? Just send someone to collect the body. There's no way an ordinary person could survive a direct encounter with a 'rain frog.' His heart's gone... Fine, I'll wait here. Don't forget to count the overtime fee separately."

The voice on the other end continued with what sounded like nagging instructions, but the girl was no longer interested. She responded absentmindedly, hung up, and sighed again. She returned to the scene, signaling one of the wolves to lie down. She then sat directly on the wolf's back, propping her chin on her hands as she stared at Adrian Wells' corpse.

"Unlucky guy. I wonder if you had any family... Dying alone like this. Well, I'll keep you company for a while. It must be cold, dying in the 'rain.' Too bad I'm not that girl selling matches; otherwise, I'd light a fire to warm you on your way."

She murmured quietly to herself, waiting patiently for the cleanup crew to arrive. Before long, the sound of a roaring engine echoed from the nearby intersection—so loud it seemed like a heavy armored vehicle towing a container was barreling down the street, hitting every speed bump along the way. Even the wolf beneath her shifted uneasily, almost leaping up in surprise, though it stayed still with her weight on its back.

The girl turned her head to see a large van rattling its way down the street. It trembled violently as it crossed the speed bumps, resembling a relic from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Unhurriedly, the short-haired girl got off the wolf's back and watched the van roll to a stop. A group of burly men clad in tactical gear and armed to the teeth spilled out of the vehicle, immediately beginning to push it from behind.

Trailing behind the group, a middle-aged man in a coffee-colored jacket with slightly dark skin and a strong build stepped out of the van. He was accompanied by a young woman in a white dress with shoulder-length brown hair. Both glanced back at the team pushing the van, their expressions a mix of helplessness and exasperation, before turning to walk toward the girl.

As they approached, the short-haired girl couldn't help but mutter, "Seriously, can't your second squad request a new vehicle? The Special Liaison Bureau can't be this strapped for cash, can it? I feel like just one piece of gear from your squad could easily pay for a replacement."

"Shh!" The sturdy middle-aged man immediately waved her off, lowering his voice as he glanced nervously at the van and his team pushing it. "Don't say that… You don't understand. Our division has special circumstances. This van… it's just having a bad day. It can't be replaced."

"Big organizations sure have their fair share of red tape," the short-haired girl muttered, clearly uninterested in the topic. She then turned her attention to the petite woman in the white dress. "Good afternoon, Dr. Evelyn. Long time no see."

"Shouldn't it be good evening by now, Little Red Riding Hood?" Dr. Evelyn replied with a faint smile. Her lips were thin, giving her an air of restraint and composure. "How's your injury?"

"Pretty much healed," the girl replied, flexing her right wrist. "You know, wolves tend to have decent recovery abilities."

"Humans have the strongest recovery abilities," Dr. Evelyn corrected her seriously. "They just have an aversion to getting injured in the first place."

"...Oh," the short-haired girl responded dismissively, clearly uninterested in arguing further. She redirected the conversation to the matter at hand. "Let's focus on this. The victim, male, appears to be in his twenties. His heart was taken by a rain frog. Estimated time of death is about two hours ago. I haven't searched his belongings yet—not sure if he has any ID on him. Forensics, you know."

As she spoke, she glanced curiously at Dr. Evelyn. "You came all the way out here… You're not seriously planning to treat this, are you? Can you even fix this?"

"No, I'm not a god," Dr. Evelyn shook her head and crouched beside Adrian Wells' body to examine it. "I just wanted to take a look. I live nearby."

She spent a moment inspecting the corpse, confirming the wound and searching through the victim's belongings. Eventually, she found an ID card.

"The victim's name is Adrian Wells, age twenty-four. Registered address: 66 Sycamore Street, Old Town," Dr. Evelyn said as she compared the ID photo to the body. "Captain Victor, check with the Bureau's database later and see if you can contact his family."

The burly man addressed as Captain Victor grunted in acknowledgment and leaned over to glance at the ID card. He frowned. "Why does the photo on this look so blurry?"

Hearing this, "Little Red Riding Hood" also leaned in out of curiosity. The ID photo was indeed smeared with a grayish-black stain, obscuring the face completely.

Dr. Evelyn tried rubbing the smudge with her fingers but found it impossible to clean off. The stain was more resilient than expected, covering most of the card.

"You can't even read the name," the girl muttered. "And the ID number is illegible too. You'll have to use a machine to read the chip."

Captain Victor sighed in frustration and nodded. Looking at the remains on the ground, he remarked regretfully, "It's a pity. If we could find more personal items, we might have some leads… But now, we have so few clues."

Dr. Evelyn nodded in agreement, gazing at the bloodstains on the ground, which had nearly been washed away by the rain. "Even the body has left no trace—it'll be hard to piece together what happened here."

The Little Red Riding Hood stood quietly for a moment, deep in thought, before suddenly raising her head to Dr. Evelyn. "Good evening, Dr. Evelyn."

"Good evening, Little Red Riding Hood," Dr. Evelyn replied with a smile, greeting her once again. "How's the patrol going?"

The girl stroked the head of the nearest wolf and said, "There was 'rain' here, and it may have generated an entity—a 'rain frog.' But there don't seem to be any victims."

Dr. Evelyn appeared relieved. "That's good to hear."

From a distance, the sound of the van's engine roared to life again. It sputtered and groaned before finally settling into a steady rhythm. The team members who had been pushing the vehicle walked around to the front, panting heavily. Their leader approached, addressing Captain Victor: "Captain, the van's running again. Shall we…?"

Captain Victor nodded, stepping toward his team. "Alright, let's head back to the Bureau. Don't forget to bring Dr. Evelyn along."