The communicator kept vibrating, as if urging Fang Cheng to make a choice.
Fang Cheng was still hesitating, but the longer he waited, the greater the chance he would be exposed.
And with every moment he hesitated, Kanzaki Rin's heart sank further.
If her teammates realized something was wrong and ended the call, Fang Cheng might resort to the worst possible option—killing her!
Sweat beaded on her palms, and every muscle in her body tensed like a leopard lying in wait.
If things really came to the worst, she would have to fight for her life. The ropes around her weren't enough to hold her completely.
She only had to hold out for a little while. Her teammates could arrive to back her up at any moment.
From their earlier exchange, it was clear that although the vampire before her had a clear objective and acted decisively, he had absolutely no fighting skills.
Give Kanzaki Rin another chance, and she could easily subdue Fang Cheng.
That brief moment seemed to stretch on forever, and an oppressive atmosphere settled between them.
Kanzaki Rin could barely stand the pressure. Just as she was about to fight back, Fang Cheng finally moved.
Her heart seemed to stop for a moment as he moved.
But Fang Cheng only switched the communicator to speakerphone, slowly stepped back, and gestured for Kanzaki Rin to answer.
In the end, he had chosen the least risky option.
His future mattered more than venting his anger.
"Phew—"
Kanzaki Rin let out a deep breath. She could feel that even her underwear was soaked with sweat.
"Kanzaki? Are you okay?"
A young-sounding man's anxious voice came through the communicator.
Kanzaki Rin took two deep breaths before replying, "I'm fine!"
The man let out a breath of relief. "Good. You weren't answering for so long, so I thought something had happened to you."
Fang Cheng also relaxed. Kanzaki Rin was clearly smart enough to understand the situation she was in.
Even if she could call her teammates over, doing so would risk making Fang Cheng desperate enough to fight her to the death.
The man asked again, "Kanzaki, did you catch anyone?"
Fang Cheng's heart leapt into his throat again.
Kanzaki Rin glanced at Fang Cheng and calmly replied, "I didn't find anyone."
"Do you need me to come up and help?"
"No. I'll be down soon."
With that, Kanzaki Rin used her chin to end the call.
Fang Cheng stared at her in surprise. What was that supposed to mean?
"Let's make a deal, classmate."
Kanzaki Rin showed no sign of acting like a captive. If anything, she seemed to be taking charge. "Let me go, and I'll pretend I never saw you."
Fang Cheng's mouth fell open slightly. "You can do that?"
Kanzaki Rin lounged comfortably against the sofa. If you ignored the Kikibari binding around her, she looked like she was kicking back in a lazy sprawl. "Why not? This city is full of monsters and other strange creatures. There are too many to catch. One more won't make a difference. Besides, I'm not the kind of person who believes in absolute justice."
By "believing in absolute justice," she meant people who couldn't tolerate even the slightest wrongdoing and always followed the rules to the letter.
Such people were rare, but they did exist—especially among young people who hadn't yet been beaten down by society.
Fang Cheng saw this woman in a new light. She was young, but she was pretty adaptable.
By "adaptable," he meant her way of thinking. Don't get the wrong idea.
"If I let you go, what's to stop you from calling your teammates over to corner me?"
Fang Cheng didn't trust her.
Kanzaki Rin smiled confidently. "You don't have a choice."
Fang Cheng scowled and said nothing. This was so frustrating, but he couldn't argue with her. There really was no other way.
Fang Cheng had only just crossed over. He hadn't yet become the sort of person who could kill without hesitation or even flinch.
Besides, this woman worked for the government, and her teammates were waiting outside, ready to come up at any moment.
Killing her just to vent his anger, then being forced to flee through this unfamiliar world while hunted by the government, wasn't a wise choice.
As an adult, knowing when to bend was second nature. He had to preserve what he had for now and wait for a chance to get revenge later.
They stared each other down for a while. Then Fang Cheng suddenly smiled, turned, and left the living room. When he came back, he was carrying an old phone and a bottle of yogurt.
The previous owner had replaced the old phone last year and left it in a bedroom drawer. It still worked after being charged.
Fang Cheng smiled at Kanzaki Rin. "In principle, I agree to your proposal. Do you mind if I take a precaution?"
The moment Kanzaki Rin saw the phone, she sensed trouble. She tried to stay calm. "What are you going to do?"
"What do you think a man and a woman alone together in the middle of the night might do?"
Fang Cheng rubbed his hands together and chuckled as he approached.
Kanzaki Rin's expression finally changed.
"What are you doing? Stop!"
She screamed, writhing on the sofa like a caterpillar.
No matter how smart or adaptable she was, there was no way she could stay calm at a time like this.
"Don't move around. I'm not going to do anything to you."
"Get away from me, you sick pervert! Don't touch me!"
It took Fang Cheng a great deal of effort to loosen Kanzaki Rin's collar, revealing her delicate collarbones. Then he pulled down her pants, exposing a pair of thighs that looked like works of art and would drive anyone with a thing for legs wild.
Then Fang Cheng picked up the yogurt, opened it, and took a sip. He poured the rest all over Kanzaki Rin.
Kanzaki Rin understood what Fang Cheng was planning. She glared at him, her face full of indignation, and cursed him viciously in her mind.
This guy was so twisted and shameless. He'd better hope I never get my hands on him.
Fang Cheng picked up the phone and snapped away, taking several shots from every angle to preserve this beautiful sight of Kanzaki Rin.
He clicked his tongue appreciatively as he took pictures. This was a masterpiece.
The white yogurt, her open collar, the artistic Kikibari binding, her dazzlingly pale thighs, and Kanzaki Rin's expression, equal parts indignation and embarrassment—all of it came together perfectly.
Anyone who saw a scene like this would never think it was a prank.
After he finished taking pictures, Fang Cheng took the phone back to the bedroom and uploaded the photos to his computer.
"I can make a deal with you, but I don't trust you. I've uploaded the photos to my personal account and set them to be sent at a scheduled time. I'm going to let you go now. If you go back on your word, they'll spread across the internet. I'll especially post them on the Countermeasure Department's official website. I'm sure people all over the world would love to admire these works of art."
Fang Cheng smiled at Kanzaki Rin. "If you leave quietly and don't bother me again, I can guarantee that no one else will ever see these photos. How does that sound?"
What else could she do? Kanzaki Rin could only swallow her anger and agree, humiliated.
Fang Cheng untied Kanzaki Rin and kept a moderate distance from her.
Kanzaki Rin silently buttoned her collar, never even glancing at Fang Cheng. She strode toward the front door, seemingly eager to get out of there.
Fang Cheng watched her closely as she reached the door, stopped, and turned around.
"You think this is over?"
There was a hint of mockery in Kanzaki Rin's voice.
Fang Cheng's expression changed. "You're going back on your word?"
"Of course not. I'm a woman of my word."
Kanzaki Rin smiled slightly. "But you may not know who the female vampire who bit you was. Her name is Isis, and she's known as the Blood Queen. She's an extremely dangerous monster."
The face of the blonde woman flashed through Fang Cheng's mind. He hadn't expected her to have such a ridiculously edgy nickname.
"What's that got to do with me? Does being bitten mean I belong to her?"
"Exactly."
There was something almost gleeful in Kanzaki Rin's voice.
"The Blood Queen has a nasty habit. Whenever she goes somewhere, she creates a whole bunch of vampires. They kill and devour one another, and only the strongest survives. I don't know how many vampires she created in Tokyo, but there are definitely a lot. They'll come looking for you soon. You're dead."
Fang Cheng frowned, looking deeply uncomfortable.
Kanzaki Rin folded her arms. "Scared now?"
Fang Cheng glanced at her and scoffed. "That's a problem for later. Now get out. And close the door behind you."
"You..."
"What about me? Hurry up and crawl."
Kanzaki Rin glared at Fang Cheng, then turned and left, slamming the front door shut.
"What's your problem?" Fang Cheng shouted at the door.
Only after he was sure Kanzaki Rin had really left did Fang Cheng let out a long breath and collapse onto the sofa.
After leaving Fang Cheng's home, Kanzaki Rin quickly regained her composure. You couldn't tell from her face that she was angry at all.
When she reached the apartment building's entrance, a boy in a black combat uniform was waiting for her.
He was handsome and composed, but only about seventeen—around the same age as Kanzaki Rin. They were both high school students.
"Kanzaki!"
The boy hurried over, concern on his face. He only relaxed after seeing that Kanzaki Rin was unharmed.
They were both interns with the Countermeasure Department and partners in tonight's operation, assigned to deal with a rookie like Fang Cheng.
The Blood Queen, who had caused all the commotion, was naturally being handled by more capable people.
"Aoki, sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm sorry, but I didn't find the target."
Kanzaki Rin lied calmly. Neither her expression nor her tone gave anything away.
Aoki Yusuke quickly replied, "It's fine. If those monsters come out and attack people, they'll reveal themselves. We can catch them then."
Kanzaki Rin nodded. "Then let's go. The command center has already ordered us to assemble."
She started walking. Aoki Yusuke was about to follow when he sniffed the air and asked in confusion, "Why does it smell like yogurt?"
Kanzaki Rin's expression stiffened, and her pace quickened.
Aoki Yusuke watched her hurrying away, then glanced back at the apartment building, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Kanzaki Rin hurried back to the operations command center. Most of the interns had already returned.
Most of the interns were quite young. The youngest was only fifteen, and they all looked like kids.
When she returned, Kanzaki Rin found the command center's atmosphere oppressive. Everyone was hurrying about with grim expressions.
Aoki Yusuke stopped an intern. "Kujo, what happened?"
Kujo Go glanced at Kanzaki Rin and lowered his voice. "The SAT task force suffered heavy casualties. The Blood Queen killed a lot of people."
Kanzaki Rin and Aoki Yusuke were both startled.
The SAT task force was the Disaster Countermeasure Department's armed force. It was well-equipped and rigorously trained, with combat capabilities far beyond those of an ordinary army. It was the best of the best.
After discovering that the Blood Queen was in Tokyo, the Disaster Countermeasure Department had quickly sent out the SAT task force to drive her away.
Drive her away, not kill her, because killing her was completely impossible.
Even so, they hadn't expected the attempt to drive her off to result in such heavy casualties.
Kujo Go's face turned pale. He lowered his voice. "Disaster-Class monsters really are terrifying. The Blood Queen is still in Tokyo. Do you think they'll send us interns to stop her too?"
Aoki Yusuke was about to answer when a middle-aged commander came out and shouted at the three of them, "You three, stop whispering and get into formation!"
"Yes!"
All three stood at attention and replied in unison, then hurried over to the assembly point.
Tonight, Tokyo was bound to be anything but peaceful.
Before you continue