The door opened, bringing with it the cold damp scent of a rainy night.
The moment Lu Yi saw his face, she sucked in a sharp breath.
“…It’s you!”
The beastman from the crime scene that night…
The one who had nearly pulled a gun on her.
Perhaps because her fear had already sunk to its deepest point, Lu Yi was calmer than ever before.
Blurred memories from before she fainted surfaced within her mind.
The two gunshots beside her ear.
The pain of the dagger piercing her shoulder.
He had saved her.
And then what?
What kind of torture was waiting for her now?
You Min walked to the foot of the bed and looked down at the restrained Lu Yi from above.
The girl before him spoke with distant caution.
“…What are you trying to do?”
You Min disliked the way she treated him.
He did not like seeing Lu Yi so guarded.
Nor did he want her to remain this guarded.
He should have closed the distance between them earlier…
“You reminded me.”
You Min bent one knee onto the bed and leaned closer toward Lu Yi’s small face.
Almost instinctively, Lu Yi turned her head aside to avoid him.
Her curled lashes trembled nonstop, her beautiful profile resembling an exquisitely crafted doll…
You Min had never observed a female from such close proximity before.
His gloved hand passed before Lu Yi’s eyes as he pulled out a pair of gloves from beneath the pillow and slowly put them on in front of her.
The sound of plastic tearing immediately alerted Lu Yi.
Her eyes shifted downward just in time to see You Min unwrapping a piece of chocolate.
“You seem severely anemic, miss.”
He held the chocolate toward her and deliberately softened his voice.
“Eat some chocolate.”
The gentle tone paired with such a horrifying situation only made Lu Yi’s skin crawl.
This man was a lunatic.
Who knew whether the chocolate was poisoned?!
But…
Remembering how terrifying You Min had become after suddenly turning hostile last time, Lu Yi did not dare openly defy him. Thus, she cautiously took a small bite of the bitter chocolate.
Before losing consciousness, she had contacted President Yalan.
Even though she knew she should not place hope in him, relying entirely upon the appearance of her vampire form was equally unreliable…
Who would save her…?
…
BOOM!
A violent explosion interrupted the restless heat brewing inside You Min.
Brushing his hair back, his eyes instantly turned cold as he looked toward the door.
“What happened?”
An agitated voice came through the communicator.
“Boss! The power core’s been hacked! Damn it! The energy station got blown up too! It’s definitely those damn cops!”
The ceiling lights flickered twice before plunging the entire room into darkness.
Yet You Min remained perfectly calm.
“Take people and investigate.”
Police officers daring to storm gang territory alone?
That would simply be suicide…
Ending the call, he leaned close once more within the darkness and whispered softly beside Lu Yi’s ear:
“Don’t worry… nobody will hurt you.”
Lu Yi pressed her lips tightly together.
The most dangerous person here was standing right in front of her!
The force restraining her waist disappeared.
You Min stepped off the bed, threw on his overcoat, and left the bedroom.
High above the gang district, a shuttle equipped with optical camouflage hid silently within the night sky.
“I should’ve demanded sixty billion instead.”
Hermoke sat rigidly upright upon the sofa, completely forgetting the lollipop he had already unwrapped beside him.
Projection screens filled the cabin from wall to wall.
Every surveillance feed throughout gang territory had been marked with cat-ear symbols by him.
The 286th surveillance marker completed.
All projection screens vanished simultaneously.
Then, a rough holographic map of the gang district appeared midair.
[Cat-Ear AI calculations loading…]
Hermoke unconsciously held his breath.
Countless possibilities tangled within his mind.
His brain functioned like an enormous processor, calculating every conceivable rescue route and operation plan for Lu Yi.
All Cat-Ear missiles had already entered standby mode.
[Coordinates generated: K87, O88]
[Life signs detected… severe interference signal fluctuations present.]
[Cat-Ear No. 8 approaching destruction. Warning: Self-destruct sequence activated…]
Hermoke bit down lightly upon his lower lip and quickly locked onto nearby energy stations and power centers.
The instant the red button was pressed—
Six breakthrough missiles launched forward at terrifying speed.
“1, 2… 3.”
BOOM!
The entire gang district plunged into deathly darkness.
“Hmph. Fragile and idiotic security systems.”
A holographic control panel rose before him.
Hermoke stood up, connected his optical brain, and deployed the only detective machine in the entire interstellar world.
“Cat-Ear No. 9, this is your first mission. Don’t disappoint me!”
Meanwhile, at the Extraordinary Affairs Association emergency squad—
“Damn it! Which bastard blew up the energy station?!”
Every member of the Information Team suffered signal disruption backlash simultaneously.
“How’s everyone doing?”
Yalan’s voice sounded once more through the private communication channel.
“Any aftereffects from the disconnection? If you feel unwell, seek medical treatment immediately.”
“President, don’t worry about us. The important thing is your side.”
The team leader inhaled deeply, nearly breaking down while staring at the completely severed signal sources.
“All signal sources have been cut off. Good news: no more security threats. Your path is completely clear now. Bad news… we have absolutely no idea what’s happening inside gang territory anymore.”
Silence lingered on Yalan’s side for one second.
Then his calm voice responded:
“You’ve worked hard. Rest now.”
The sentence remained as cold and stern as ever.
But the emergency squad members who had followed Yalan for years understood—
This was his version of softness and responsibility.
“President, we—”
“Without my orders, nobody moves recklessly. In thirty minutes, bring the emergency squad to the entrance and pick me up.”
After leaving those final instructions, Yalan disconnected the call.
Within the darkness, he sprinted toward the distant villa.