London, Unified Bureau headquarters. In the hollow building, layer upon layer of gates descended, while the alarm lights still spun and flashed. But no human voices could be heard within the deathly silent structure.
Only a wind like an illusion swept through the cracks and pools of blood, transforming into a chilling song.
Under the flickering lights, faint afterimages emerged.
Like lingering souls, they wailed soundlessly, struggling in terror against invisible restraints before gradually withering away, leaving only ink-like marks.
The regulations hanging on the walls had turned scarlet at some point. A blood-like color spread across them, swiftly rewriting everything that had once been there.
Twisting and deforming the former ironclad rules until they became utterly unrecognizable.
Then, at last, a scarlet eye emerged from a surveillance camera. It opened, looked down, and coldly watched the violator below.
The figure struggling painfully in a pool of blood, trying to crawl to his feet.
He reached toward the corner of the corridor.
"Save me, help— I was only trying to recover the records, I, I..."
The movements of the unnamed middle-aged man grew slower and slower. Amid the solidification, his body gradually changed, scarlet crystals piercing through from beneath his flesh... Until, in the end, his entire body froze into a struggling statue.
But before the crystals could cover his face, a bullet tore through the air, piercing his skull and killing his consciousness and soul, bringing the scarlet color to a halt.
Only the last trace of his expression remained upon the unfinished statue.
It was so painful, yet he wore a smile of relief.
A scorching shell casing fell to the floor, bouncing beside the woman's dress shoes.
Ms. X lowered her head for one final look at the dead man's face, then sighed silently.
"I've said it