The basketball rose into the air.
Yemir and Vion both looked up.
Before Yemir could reach for it, Vion lightly pushed the ball with his palm and sent it toward himself.
The game had begun.
Vion caught the ball and immediately started dribbling.
His movements were quick.
He moved forward, slipped the ball beneath his leg, and changed its direction from right to left. One step. Two. Three.
Then he jumped.
The ball went straight through the hoop.
One point.
Vion landed and glanced toward Sakura.
Sakura’s forehead tightened slightly.
Casia made a fist beside her.
"No. I know you, Yemir. You can do it."
Vini raised his voice.
"Come on, Yemir! You’ve never lost before. You’re winning this one too!"
Yemir caught the ball again.
He passed it toward Vion and stepped forward.
This time, he wanted to block him directly.
Vion moved toward him.
At the last second, the ball slipped through the gap between Yemir’s legs. Vion caught it on the other side and took three quick steps.
Another shot.
Another point.
"Come on, Yemir!" Casia shouted, covering her mouth with one hand.
Yemir watched Vion carefully.
His moves are good.
Vion came toward him again.
Yemir waited.
The moment Vion tried to cut past him, he threw the ball into the air.
Yemir reacted instantly.
His hand reached up.
He caught it.
"Blocked."
Casia and Sakura both jumped.
Vini stared at them with his mouth slightly open.
They’re both jumping.
His eyes moved from one to the other.
what a beautiful sight.
"Show him, Yemir!"
Vion gave a small nod.
"That’s fine."
He passed the ball back to Yemir.
Yemir took it with both hands and began dribbling.
His eyes stayed on the hoop.
Vion moved in front of him and waited for the right moment to block.
Yemir stepped forward.
Vion reached out.
Yemir suddenly turned his entire body to the right.
Vion missed his position.
Yemir took three steps.
Then he jumped.
The ball dropped through the hoop.
"Goal!"
Casia threw both hands up.
"I knew it, Yemir!"
Yemir smiled.
The next play went almost the same way.
Vion tried to read his movement, but Yemir changed direction at the last second and scored again.
Sakura clapped.
"Nice one!"
Vion glanced toward her.
She was smiling at Yemir.
His fingers tightened around the ball.
The next possession started.
Vion drove forward harder than before.
Yemir moved to stop him.
Vion pushed past the opening and, while fighting for space, used his elbow to force his way through.
He scored.
Vini immediately raised his hand.
"Hey! That’s a foul!"
Vion turned toward him.
"Was it a violation or a foul? Are you that fragile?"
Yemir’s forehead creased.
"Go on."
Vion smiled.
The score was now 4–4.
One final point would decide the match.
The ball went to Vion.
He moved quickly.
Yemir followed him.
Vion jumped and released the ball with full force.
It flew toward the hoop.
For a second, it looked like the shot would go in.
Yemir jumped.
His hand reached the rim.
He caught the ball before it could fall through.
The people around the court shouted.
"Whoa!"
Yemir landed with the ball secured against his chest.
Now it was his turn.
He moved toward the basket.
Vion blocked the path.
Yemir tried to find an opening.
Nothing.
He stepped left.
Vion followed.
He stepped right.
Vion followed again.
Yemir had no room.
Then he stopped.
Two steps.
He moved backward.
Vion watched him carefully.
Yemir raised the ball.
He shot from a distance.
The ball crossed the court in a clean arc.
Everyone looked up.
The ball struck the inside of the rim and dropped through.
"YES!"
Casia jumped.
Vini shouted.
Sakura stared at the hoop for a second before smiling.
Yemir had won.
Vion stood still.
Then he gave a crooked smile.
"Bad luck for me."
Yemir looked at him.
The match was over.
But something in Vion’s expression told him the game had meant more than a simple basketball challenge.
Dr. Xen’s Laboratory
Dr. Xen placed the small nail fragment beneath the microscope.
He adjusted the lens.
The image became clearer.
He stopped.
His hand remained on the machine.
"What..."
He adjusted the focus again.
The result stayed the same.
Dr. Xen quickly pulled the fragment away from the microscope and placed it inside a small examination tray.
"Lin."
Assistant Lin turned from the computer.
"Yes, sir?"
"We’re keeping this test between us."
Lin frowned.
"Sir?"
"Don’t mention this sample to anyone. Not the police. Not the other researchers."
Lin stared at him.
That request made no sense.
They had already examined evidence from the Hevix Vortex. They had identified traces connected to Hevix and the guards.
So why was Dr. Xen suddenly hiding one small piece?
Lin walked closer.
"What did you find?"
Dr. Xen didn’t answer immediately.
He looked at the fragment again.
What kind of creature does this belong to?
He opened the report on his computer.
The sample didn’t match the common animal records he had checked.
The shape was wrong.
The structure was unusual.
And there was something else.
Something that made him uncomfortable.
Lin looked at the report.
"So far, we know the fragment was found at the same location where the guards and Hevix users were exposed. Unknown Z was also involved."
Dr. Xen nodded.
"Yes."
He walked toward the whiteboard.
"Let’s remove the obvious possibilities first."
He wrote:
Human — unlikely.
Then:
Hevix users — possible, but unlikely.
He stared at the board.
"That leaves us with the person behind the incidents."
Lin understood immediately.
"Unknown Z?"
Dr. Xen nodded.
He opened another file.
Pictures of Unknown Z’s previous incidents appeared across the monitor.
Victims protected.
Criminals restrained.
A small injury left behind.
The letter Z.
Again and again.
Lin looked through the reports.
"Sir, there’s something strange."
"What?"
"Why doesn’t he kill them directly?"
Dr. Xen turned toward him.
"That’s exactly what I want to know."
He returned to the sample.
"Look carefully."
Lin stepped closer.
Dr. Xen pointed toward the fragment.
"There are traces of blood attached to it."
Lin stared.
"Blood?"
"Yes."
He enlarged the image.
The particles were visible beneath the microscope.
"Several samples."
Lin’s expression changed.
"From different people?"
"That’s what it appears to be."
Dr. Xen moved toward the computer and compared the sample records.
One.
Then another.
Then another.
The pattern continued.
Lin looked at him.
"Sir... does that mean Unknown Z has been collecting blood from the people he attacks?"
Dr. Xen shook his head.
"We can’t say that yet."
"But if the blood belongs to different criminals..."
"Then we may have discovered something far more important."
Lin looked at the fragment again.
Dr. Xen’s expression changed.
For the first time, genuine excitement appeared on his face.
"Interesting."
He quickly opened another database.
Unknown Z.
Dosha City.
Hevix.
Victims.
Criminals.
Blood samples.
He started searching through every piece of information available.
Lin watched him.
"What are you trying to confirm?"
Dr. Xen kept searching.
"If this fragment really belongs to Unknown Z, we need to know what he is."
Lin looked at the screen.
"And if it doesn’t?"
Dr. Xen stopped.
"Then something else was present at the Vortex."
Lin’s face became serious.
Dr. Xen picked up the fragment again.
"We need confirmation before we tell anyone."
"How do we confirm it?"
Dr. Xen looked toward him.
"That’s what we’re going to find out."
The Neighbor from the Next Block
Irin returned home later that day.
She placed her bag beside the bed and gathered the clothes she had worn outside.
After washing them, she placed them aside to dry.
Then she took a shower.
A little later, she stepped onto the balcony wearing simple home clothes with her scarf resting over her hair.
A cool breeze passed across her face.
Irin stood there for a while.
"What is this world?"
She tilted her head toward the open sky.
"The farther I walk... the farther behind I seem to fall."
She returned to her room and picked up one of her scripts.
Her fingers moved along the pages as she read the lines aloud.
Her voice changed with each character.
For a few minutes, she became someone else.
Then the script lowered.
"How long can I keep doing this?"
She sat on the edge of the bed.
"What is my value in this life?"
Her room gave no answer.
Irin reached for her headphones.
A few seconds later, the familiar squeak of the slippers came from the floor.
She laughed.
"What a childish thing."
She remembered Yemir bringing them to her.
Then her hand found the room spray he had bought.
She turned the bottle over in her hand.
"Let me try this."
She hesitated.
"Why am I embarrassed about things he brings home?"
She pressed the nozzle.
Pshhh!
Irin paused.
A fresh scent spread through the room.
"Hmm."
She took another breath.
"Not bad."
She smiled.
"It smells like ripe lemon."
She sprayed a little more.
"Actually... it’s nice."
Then—
Ding-dong.
Someone rang the doorbell.
Irin froze for a moment before reaching for her white cane. She slowly made her way toward the entrance.
As she approached the door, the room spray she had left near the edge of the table slipped to the floor and rolled toward the entrance. Irin didn’t notice.
She stopped beside the door.
"Who is it?"
A woman’s voice came from outside.
"Is Miss Lina there? I live in the next block. Don’t you remember me?"
Irin’s hand stopped above the door handle.
Miss Lina...?
She didn’t know the woman outside, but she seemed to be looking for Lina.
Irin tightened her grip on the cane.
What should I do now? Should I open the door?
She hesitated.
Even if I open it... what am I supposed to say?
Outside, the woman waited patiently for an answer.