That evening.

Aiden felt he had run into trouble as he returned to his apartment after work.

He saw a woman squatting in front of his room door, and she looked...very familiar.

"Veronica?" Aiden called out tentatively.

The woman, leaning against the door with her head down, made it impossible for Aiden to see her face clearly, but he still vaguely recognized who she was.

Veronica seemed to be awakened from a slumber, slowly lifting her head.

"Chief," she said, a somewhat vague smile appearing on her face.

With just that one look, Aiden could tell her condition, "You...have been drinking?"

"Just a bit," Veronica slowly stood up, smiling awkwardly, "I came over wanting to have another drink with you, but I accidentally fell asleep at the door, hehe."

She picked up a tote bag, and Aiden spotted the bottles of alcohol inside.

"That doesn’t look like just a bit. You reek of alcohol as if you’ve been fermenting in a barrel," Aiden frowned, "Are you...okay? Hey, hey!"

Veronica suddenly staggered and was about to fall over when Aiden quickly supported her.

She was quite heavy; Veronica almost collapsed, but thankfully Aiden still had some strength and managed to prop her up by her shoulders.

Aiden smelled the alcohol on her.

"Hmm...my feet feel a bit numb," Veronica mumbled unclearly.

"It’s a full moon tonight, how could you get so drunk and come outside?" Aiden looked at her in surprise.

Veronica had hardly ever lost her composure like this in front of him.

"Don’t worry, Chief, I came here...just after four, when it was still light!" Veronica laughed in a frivolously manner that was usually impossible for her, "I got so bored waiting, I drank a little, and then I wanted to sleep..."

Aiden estimated that it was now past seven, which meant Veronica had been waiting by the door for almost three hours.

Taking advantage of their closeness, Veronica leaned into Aiden’s ear without any hesitation and said, "Chief, I have something to tell you!"

"You go inside and sober up first," said Aiden, sensing the potential reason for Veronica’s sudden drinking.

These days, the atmosphere between them had indeed been a bit strained, and it seemed Veronica had some reservations about his decision.

At that moment in the apartment corridor, a lady accompanied by her young son ascended the stairs; they were Aiden’s neighbors.

"Mom, the uncle across the way has picked up a drunk woman and is taking her home," the child said as soon as he saw Aiden, pointing at him.

"Shh, don’t point at people, it’s rude!" The young mother pressed her son’s hand down and then made eye contact with Aiden.

Aiden was about to explain when the young lady, almost as if fleeing disaster, opened her apartment door, pulled her son inside, and disappeared.

"..."

Listening as their door closed with a "bang," Aiden anticipated what kind of rumors would spread among the neighbors tomorrow and began to seriously consider whether it was necessary to find a new place to live tonight.

He sighed inwardly, opened his room door, helped Veronica in, and had her sit down by the dining table.

He decided to directly use the divine word "return" to sober Veronica up, but just as he was about to utter the sacred word, Veronica, who had just settled down, suddenly went into a drunken frenzy, slamming the table with force, "No!"

Aiden couldn’t help but pause.

"I drank... It took a lot of courage to come here to talk to you, and you can’t! Change me back!!" Veronica glared at Aiden, looking like a bristled cat.

"You’re going on a drunken rampage right now!" Aiden said, somewhat helplessly. Veronica knew the power he possessed, "How can we talk like this with you in this state?"

"Some things can’t be discussed when sober." Veronica stared at Aiden with an assertiveness he had never seen before, pointing at another seat, "Sit down, Commander."

Aiden thought about it and eventually sat down.

He could actually understand Veronica’s thoughts; he knew how she felt. Indeed, sometimes it’s impossible to talk about feelings when sober. Situations like this where one could pretend to be confused and laugh it off afterward were more suitable for a heart-to-heart conversation.

These days, he also felt the awkward atmosphere between him and Veronica was somewhat suffocating. Veronica seemed to want to bring things into the open, and if he avoided it here, this awkwardness would continue.

He decided to first listen to what Veronica had to say.

Just after making this decision, Veronica suddenly took out the bottle of strong liquor from her bag, a third of it already consumed, and pushed it toward Aiden: "Take a drink!"

"What is this about?" Aiden was a bit confused by her actions.

"It’s not okay just for me to be like this, Commander. You need to get into the mood too," Veronica insisted stubbornly, "I can’t say it otherwise."

Aiden could probably understand this line of thinking; when one person is sober and the other is drunk, it often turns into a one-sided monologue.

In the end, he still picked up the bottle and symbolically took a sip. Veronica watched Aiden drink that mouthful of alcohol.

"Alright, now you talk," Aiden put down the bottle.

Veronica kept looking at Aiden, silent, and Aiden patiently waited for a while.

"I’m sorry, Commander," Veronica looked at Aiden and said, "I’m really sorry."

"What?" Aiden paused for a moment.

Then, he felt uncomfortable... His body seemed to have a slight numbing sensation.

The alcohol was tampered with!

Just as he realized this, Aiden tried to utter a divine word.

At that moment, Veronica suddenly leaped over the table, agilely pounced on him, and pinned Aiden to the ground.

She straddled Aiden, pressing her hand against his neck.

At this moment, Aiden gasped in shock—Veronica had actually betrayed him and attacked him.

These hands on his neck hadn’t started to exert force yet, but a little more pressure could tighten around Aiden’s throat and prevent him from speaking. If she used the Pureblood Werewolf’s strength to its fullest, breaking an ordinary person’s neck would be no problem at all.

Although Aiden had heard from Veronica about the "betrayal" power of Mr. Blood Robe that could reverse someone’s Spirit, he had never seriously considered the possibility. He had always been monitoring Mr. Blood Robe’s movements, and according to the reports of the goddess of revenge, Mr. Blood Robe should still be in Song City.

Aiden heard footsteps; someone was approaching this apartment suite.

Veronica glanced at the door, and Aiden looked in that direction too. It seemed the mastermind behind all this was about to show themselves.

A cloaked figure stood there, short and slim, appearing to be either a woman or a youth. The last body Mr. Blood Robe had switched into was that of a young refugee.

"Didn’t expect it, did you? In the end, I’m the one who wins!" said the person.

Hearing the other person’s voice, Aiden suddenly froze.

It was a woman’s voice, and moreover... it sounded very familiar.