Luo Shu's Response

"How could he get in? There's an access control system at the entrance."

Mira Tsubakihara covered her mouth, lowering her voice, panic in her eyes.

At that moment, she suddenly understood why Luo Shu had pressed the elevator button for the fourth floor.

The elevator display on the first floor showed which floor the elevator reached. Clearly, the stalker had seen it stop on the fourth floor and run up the stairs.

Thanks to Luo Shu's deliberate misdirection, the man now believed she was on the fourth floor, giving them room to maneuver.

"Come on. We're going up to the fifth floor."

Luo Shu kept his voice low, even controlling the wind elements around them to displace the air in the stairwell below the fourth floor and prevent sound from traveling.

Having calmed down somewhat, Mira Tsubakihara hurriedly said, "I'm wearing high heels."

If she walked quickly in heels, the sound of them striking the floor would be incredibly loud. It would clearly alert the stalker who had just arrived below.

"Hold on to me."

Unable to easily explain that he had created an air barrier to block sound, Luo Shu stepped forward and put his arm around Mira Tsubakihara's waist. With her cooperation, he lifted her into a bridal carry.

Keeping his footsteps quiet, he carried Mira Tsubakihara swiftly up to the fifth floor and into the hallway.

Fortunately, his body had also been strengthened after he gained his abilities, allowing him to do this with ease.

Once in the hallway, Luo Shu stopped outside apartment 501 and asked, "Are there any vacant apartments on the fifth floor?"

With her arms around Luo Shu's neck and her cheek against his shoulder, Mira Tsubakihara hurriedly said:

"503 hasn't been rented out yet. All the keys are in my bag."

Hearing this, Luo Shu hurried to 503, reached out to take Mira Tsubakihara's bag, and rummaged through it, finding a large bunch of keys covering the entire floor.

Luo Shu froze for a moment at the sight, then looked up at Mira Tsubakihara.

Mira Tsubakihara averted her eyes guiltily and said:

"I own this whole building. I just leave the rentals to an agency."

So the one million yen in landlord gratitude money I paid when I rented my place-a full five months' rent-went to you... While grumbling inwardly, Luo Shu quickly found the key to 503, opened the door, carried Mira Tsubakihara inside, and locked it behind them.

Once that was done, Luo Shu walked toward the balcony, opening his schoolbag as he went and saying:

"Stay in this room. I'll go down through the emergency exit on the balcony and have a little meeting with this guy."

He wanted to find out what was going on with the man. Since the stalker had already seen his face, he couldn't rule out retaliation.

"Wait, that's too dangerous..."

Before Mira Tsubakihara could finish, she saw Luo Shu pull a black handgun from his schoolbag, then deftly take out a spare magazine and slip it into his pocket.

That move left Mira Tsubakihara dumbfounded.

Holding his schoolbag, Luo Shu was nearly at the balcony when he turned his head and asked in confusion, "What's dangerous?"

"..." Mira Tsubakihara looked at Luo Shu, hesitating to speak. After a pause, she said, "Please don't kill anyone... If... if you really have no choice, I'll help you deal with it."

Although Luo Shu found her thinking a little amusing, he answered jokingly:

"I didn't bring my police ID today."

Of course, that's because Mika is still arranging it... Luo Shu added inwardly.

"Huh? Oh, oh!" Understanding dawned on Mira Tsubakihara, and she immediately relaxed.

Although she was a little confused about when the boy her neighbors had left behind had become a police officer, Mira Tsubakihara chose to trust him at a time like this.

Meanwhile, Luo Shu had reached the balcony. He lifted the emergency fire escape hatch in the floor and extended the retractable ladder hanging there.

This was one thing Japanese apartments did well: their balconies had emergency access to the apartment below.

Of course, since this also created the risk of upstairs neighbors breaking into an empty apartment, the balcony windows were usually locked.

Holding the handle of his schoolbag between his teeth, Luo Shu quickly descended the emergency ladder to apartment 403. He glanced at the glass balcony door and tugged on it. Sure enough, it was locked.

"Phew..." He exhaled, then immediately opened the emergency hatch beside him and descended to 303. Its balcony door was locked too, but Luo Shu smashed the glass without a moment's hesitation.

The reason he dared to do that was simple.

303 was Luo Shu's own apartment!

Ignoring the finished cup of instant noodles on the glass table, Luo Shu set down his schoolbag, took out the suit inside, and quickly changed into it. After all, according to Chisato Nishikigi, these clothes offered better protection than the latest bulletproof vest and could even withstand a certain amount of damage from supernatural abilities.

"System, link my room to the Astronomy Club's space. Put the entrance at the door to the study on the right, and set it so turning the handle three times opens the door to the Astronomy Club's space."

This was a contingency plan for an emergency. For some reason, Luo Shu kept sensing a faint hint of danger from that stalker.

[Notice: 100 points deducted. Current remaining points: 14,983.]

Hearing the notification, Luo Shu sighed in relief. Without bothering to put on his bow tie, he went straight out into the hallway, headed for the stairs, and climbed to the fourth floor.

At the fourth-floor corner, Luo Shu stopped and covertly glanced down the hallway.

Sure

enough, the masked man from downstairs had just finished knocking on the door of 405 and was heading toward 406 at the far end.

Seeing this, Luo Shu mentally set aside five points, ready to teleport back to the Astronomy Club's alternate space at any moment. Then he stepped out of the stairwell, raised his gun, and said:

"Freeze! Police!"

The masked man, who had been walking toward apartment 406, stopped in his tracks.

"Turn around."

Luo Shu kept his gun raised, imagining the man as a target at the shooting range and aiming at his chest. Aiming for the head was too risky; it would be easy for the man to dodge.

At Luo Shu's words, the masked man slowly raised both hands and turned his head. He visibly froze when he saw Luo Shu in a different set of clothes.

"Hands on your head. Squat down."

The masked man remained silent for a moment without moving.

"I repeat, hands on your head! Squat down!" Luo Shu frowned and shouted again.

The masked man still refused to comply. Instead, he turned his back on Luo Shu and broke into a sprint.

Already on edge, Luo Shu felt a surge of unease. Following his instincts, he fired immediately.

Bang!

Blood burst from the masked man's left foot, and he let out a muffled groan. He staggered, then pushed hard with his right foot and vaulted over the railing.

Luo Shu froze when he saw the man jump. Then his expression changed, and he rushed forward, about to lean over the railing.

At that instant, alarm bells blared in Luo Shu's mind. His intuition made him almost see a pair of enormous beast claws reaching up from below.

Shit...

Luo Shu instinctively jumped backward, putting half a meter between himself and the railing. He stumbled several times before regaining his balance.

Just then, a long, slender claw with razor-sharp nails, resembling a wolf's paw, thrust up from below. It swept upward like a quick-draw sword strike, carving a crescent through the air.

The masked man who had jumped had actually caught the edge of the floor with his hand, waiting to tear out Luo Shu's throat when he came over to check.

"You fucking..."

Having narrowly escaped death, Luo Shu pulled the trigger without hesitation, firing several shots.

Two bursts of blood erupted over the man's heart. He stared at Luo Shu in disbelief, his claw losing its grip on the edge of the railing before he plummeted.

Certain by instinct that the man had died on the spot, Luo Shu walked over and leaned out to look at the body lying on the garage floor beside the apartment building.

The man lay in a pool of blood, his body twitching unnaturally. His eyes were wide open, staring straight up at Luo Shu.

Looking into those unblinking eyes, Luo Shu's mouth twitched. Then he took several deep breaths.

As he breathed deeply, screams rose from the road.

Clearly, the gunshots and the impact of the fall had alarmed the nearby pedestrians.

At the same time, standing beside the fourth-floor railing, Luo Shu spotted a patrol officer by the road, holding a bicycle and staring up at him in stunned disbelief.

Seeing this, Luo Shu silently took out his specially made communications phone and dialed Mika's number.