Chaisi had always been lucky, but catching Ashley in the final moments before the Nest Communication Network collapsed wasn’t purely a matter of luck.

"Let’s split up and search carefully again."

As everything neared its end and Chief Ashley was still nowhere to be found, Jin Xueli finally couldn’t hold back any longer. "There’s not much time left," she proposed. "If I find her, I’ll lock her up and come get you."

Chaisi knew she was looking for a chance to leave.

’Perhaps her "lifesaving measure" is too precious to carry on her. That would mean Jin Xueli has to leave here alone to use it without anyone noticing. Maybe it’s hidden somewhere in the Nest—’

’So what?’

Chaisi grunted his assent.

He didn’t even turn his head as Jin Xueli scurried away as if making an escape.

’She and whatever she’s hidden aren’t important right now.’

Once the Nest Communication Network collapsed, everything that had happened today in the Central Police Station—including the identity of the person behind the plot against him—would be swallowed by the shadows, vanishing from the Human World as the Nest receded.

It wasn’t that he cared what crime he was framed for. Killing one person or two, whether it was Westley or some street sweeper, made no difference to Chaisi.

But as time ticked away and he still couldn’t find any sign of Ashley, another thought began to weigh on him, growing heavier and darker like a storm cloud.

’...What am I?’

Chaisi knew perfectly well that he was nothing.

In the eyes of the world, he, an orphan, was nothing more than Uncle Kai’s dog.

’Eliminating me is pointless, unless it’s a personal vendetta. What’s more worrying is that the mastermind’s real target is the Kai Family, and today was all about removing me as an obstacle.’

’If Ashley and the information she has disappear from the Human World, does that mean the Kai Family will have to be on constant guard against an attack from the shadows, starting today?’

Yet until he found Ashley and forced the name from her, it was all just speculation—

A man’s face in his peripheral vision made Chaisi’s eye twitch, shattering his train of thought. He spun around, shot out his arm, and grabbed the mercenary by the shoulder.

The mercenary was so startled he nearly shrieked. He looked at Chaisi and stammered, "M-Mr. Monroe..."

"What were you looking at?"

Chaisi’s gaze followed the mercenary’s, and he saw the distant figure of Jin Xueli disappearing up a stairwell. But he asked anyway—because for a split second, as the mercenary watched her go, a flicker of surprise had crossed his face.

A look of surprise that had no business being there. It grated on him.

’By now, Mercury’s Mercenaries should have all heard that I wasn’t brought into the station alone, that another woman was released from the cells with me.’

’If he knew that, what was he surprised about?’

The mercenary, who had once been a Hunter himself, composed himself and said cautiously, "I didn’t mean anything by it... She just looked unfamiliar, so I gave her a second glance."

Chaisi scrutinized his expression.

It was as if he could already see the faint outline of Ashley’s back melting into the shadows, the blurred tracks she’d left behind in her flight.

This was a hunt. To be a Hunter in the Human World, you had to know where to look for clues, and what kind of clues to look for.

"Right," Chaisi said, his voice low. "This is your first time seeing her?"

The mercenary’s neck seemed to stiffen. He gave a tiny nod.

"You should know that there was another woman arrested and brought into the police station with me, right?"

"Yes... I know."

Chaisi looked at him. "Before this, did you see another woman you thought was my companion?"

The mercenary’s face paled. At this point, he must have pieced the clues together as well.

"Yes. Short, black, chin-length hair, covering one of her eyes..." he answered quietly. "She also asked me, ’Where’s Mercury?’"

’...So that’s how it was.’

In that moment, Chaisi almost wanted to laugh.

’So Ashley had exploited a loophole to survive this long: I don’t recognize the Mercenaries, and the Mercenaries have never seen Jin Xueli. She asked "Where’s Mercury?" because Mercury is the only one who recognizes both all the Mercenaries *and* Jin Xueli. She was the greatest threat.’

’Has she been invaded?’

’Thinking about it now, she must have been. Otherwise, she never would have escaped Mercury’s first sweep. But the mutation must not be too severe. Probably just one eye is affected.’

Mercury was really something else. The moment Chaisi told her "Ashley looks normal," she had immediately figured out the trick, even clapping her hands and laughing. "No wonder she’s been able to hide this long! It was the only way!"

Now that they knew what to look for, all that was left was the legwork.

Starting from the first floor, Chaisi swept through the building level by level like a gale force wind, his eyes scanning every possible hiding spot, every face he passed. Behind him, Mercury and her Mercenaries searched as they rounded up their own people, leaving Ashley no opportunity to blend back in.

As he walked up the stairs to the fifth floor, he heard the faint sound of conversation from deep down the distant corridor.

"...I’ve already promised that the police will not be your enemy..."

He lightened his steps, treading softly onto a stair.

’It’s Ashley... I can’t believe Jin Xueli found her first.’

It sounded like Ashley was trying to win Jin Xueli over to her side. Her words were logical and alluring.

’Ashley, as the chief of police, was promising to wipe her record clean, and Jin Xueli just so happened to have a case that couldn’t see the light of day. Since she doesn’t know what will happen after the Nest Communication Network collapses, she has no reason to refuse.’

’Even with her "lifesaving measure," the most she would do is stay neutral or play it by ear. No one in the world would choose my side.’

As he ascended, he flexed his fingers, preparing for the inevitable conflict in the silent gloom.

"...The first suspicious death was his adoptive father’s biological son, his step-brother, Damian."

Chaisi stood frozen in the darkness for several seconds, unmoving.

He suddenly remembered that it was still November nineteenth. The day wasn’t over. It seemed that once the Nest Communication Network had descended and cut off all outside signals, he had let out a breath of relief and allowed himself to forget the date. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Many years ago, he had seen a movie called The Truman Show.

’What if someone told me that everything happening today was just a special program for November nineteenth? That it was all arranged so I’d hear the name "Damian" when I least expected it, bringing me to this very moment to once again face the accusation that "I killed my own step-brother"? And what if, outside this show, Uncle Kai and Aunt Hai were staring at my face, just waiting for my reaction...?’

When he snapped out of it, Chaisi realized he had unconsciously hunched over, a cold sweat breaking out on his skin.

’How ridiculous. It’s been so many years.’

’I killed him. It’s done... If I had to do it all over again, I’d still kill Damian.’

’And I’d spend the rest of my life atoning for it.’

The duo’s conversation seemed to come from across an ocean, faint and distant, with only fragments of it reaching him.

"What good would it do me to break our deal?" Ashley was still trying to persuade her. "...You’re no ordinary person to be trifled with..."

Chaisi continued up the stairs, his steps deliberately silent. Ashley was one thing, but Jin Xueli was a Hunter. If she spotted him early, it would complicate things.

’Although I’m confident I can overpower them both, I don’t want to leave any room for error.’

’It must be close now, the moment Jin Xueli agrees.’

When he felt a faint vibration in his pants pocket, for a full second he couldn’t process what was happening.

There was only one person who could call this phone.

’...But why?’

He took out Jin Xueli’s phone, glanced at the unknown number on the screen, then listened again to the conversation down the hall. He finally collected himself and began walking toward Ashley’s back, one step at a time.

Jin Xueli stood half in pale light and half in shadow, her face and expression obscured.

’The first time I saw this girl, I thought she was cheerful and carefree, someone who’d never faced anything serious. Her being a Hunter seemed like just a hobby, the way some people enjoy watching horror movies.’

’A person like that, even if she’s committed some minor crime, is on a completely different track from someone like me, who’s mired in darkness.’

But now Chaisi wasn’t so sure.

He gave the half-lit, half-shadowed figure of Jin Xueli a slow, spreading smile as he gently placed his hand on Ashley’s shoulder.

"Hold on."

Ashley’s whole body was tense, but she seemed to have already decided on her course of action. She spoke in a rush, "You just want to know why you were brought in, right? I’m telling you, you don’t need to resort to murder! The person who contacted me didn’t reveal much, but I know they had you captured to get you out of the picture. They’re after the person behind you—"

’Damn it.’

As a jolt went through Chaisi, he realized something. There weren’t many things that could make him lose track of time, but he’d just run into two of them back-to-back on his way up the stairs. Ashley wouldn’t be able to finish her sentence.

The Nest Communication Network collapsed at that exact moment.

The next second, the rest of Ashley’s sentence twisted into a long, high-pitched cackle. She threw her head back violently as the shadows of two long arms shot out from her eye sockets, making Jin Xueli stumble back in shock.

Countless shrill, manic, and muffled laughs, screams, and cries echoed through the Central Police Station. The sound coalesced into a surging wave, crashing against the walls like a final, frenzied curtain call for the Nest’s residents as they receded from the Human World.

But Chaisi heard none of it.

Ashley’s last, unfinished sentence drowned out all the noise and madness.

Even after going so far as to declare war on the police department, he had still let the mastermind get what they wanted.