Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2454

2454 /2461

Chapter 2454 Lone Wolf

The Nihilist… was the stupid name the journalists had given the unhinged predator who stalked the dark alleys of Mirage City.

The killings seemed random, but were too flawlessly executed to be anything except meticulously planned. The murderer did not discriminate in choosing victims, either, so the whole city was on edge.

The incident that had led to Sunny being sent to mandatory counseling, as well as to the new captain's sudden promotion, were connected to the Nihilist, as well.

'Shit. Even I am starting to call him by that idiotic name.'

Not only did Sunny hate the idea of giving a sick, cowardly loser a name as pompous as that, but it was also somewhat of a personal sleight to him. The killer left absolutely no traces behind and chose his victims through a seemingly meaningless process, so the newspapers had invented an ominous moniker — the Nihilist — to draw more attention to the story and sell more copies.

Every time a new victim was found, their advertising revenue exploded. Politicians, meanwhile, gave impassioned speeches to build populist platforms while simultaneously introducing invasive laws under the false pretense of ensuring public safety to tighten their control over people. Many ghouls were reaping benefits from the gruesome deaths of the serial killer's victims…

But enough was enough.

The same politicians who had used the public panic to score points would start to look like fools if the Nihilist wasn't caught soon. The press could not keep selling the same story over and over again without losing the public's interest. And people in law enforcement who had climbed the career ladder with promises of swift results were growing more and more desperate to produce them.

So, no matter how much the new captain disliked and was threatened by Sunny, he could not do anything about it.

Because Sunny was indeed the best detective in the division, by far. He had come up through the ranks fair and square, first as a beat cop, then as a detective in the Organized Crime Division… naturally, he made more than a few enemies in the deeply corrupt and rotten Mirage City Police as a result.

The fact that he had never been demoted or dismissed was the best proof of how good he was at his job. Although his methods were often messy, Sunny always brought results.

The new captain glared at him silently, seething with fury. But Sunny did not care — he was going to catch the Nihilist, and a mere sicophant was not going to stop him. "So… can I go take a look at the crime scene before rain washes everything away? Sir."

The old man ground his teeth, then cursed loudly.

"Fine! I'll give you the case, damn it! Be warned, though — if you fail to bring that sick bastard in, it will be your head flying. I'll feed you to the newspapers and make you a proper scapegoat. Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Sunny shrugged with a derisive smile.

"What else is new? I'll get going then."

The captain leaned forward.

"Not so fast, asshole. I said that I'll give you the case, but I didn't say that there would not be strings attached. In fact, I have a condition."

Sunny let out a long sigh.

"Why does everyone want to give me conditions today? Captain… you're not going to slip me your number too, are you?"

The old man scoffed.

"What the hell are you even… actually, never mind. You can have the case, but I'll be assigning you a partner. Someone has to watch your back, anyway — lest the recent incident repeat itself."

Sunny frowned deeply, then said with a hint of barely contained anger in his voice:

"Like hell you will. You know I work alone, Captain."

The captain stared at him with wide eyes.

"What kind of bullshit are you spouting? Have you hit your head repeatedly on something hard, Sunny? You work alone... what? I don't care what your preference is, this is Mirage PD. There are rules that even bastards like you have to follow."