Qian An Escaped

The medical room at Scott Outpost.

Lin Shuo sat beside the bed, a temporary patch over his left eye-the aftereffects of overusing his Mangekyō last night had yet to subside, leaving his vision as though behind frosted glass.

But at least he had survived.

Three broken ribs, a dislocated right shoulder, twenty-three scrapes of varying sizes across his body... As the doctor treated him, he shook his head and said, "Senior Lin, your retirement is even more exciting than your active service."

"An accident." That was all Lin Shuo had said at the time.

Now, the accident had come back for round two.

Bang!

The medical room door was shoved open roughly.

Lao Mo rushed in-not with his usual expressionless calm, but truly "rushed."

Dark red blood stained his tactical uniform, his mask hung askew, and a fury Lin Shuo had never seen before churned in his dark gray eyes.

"Qian An escaped."

Three words, like three ice picks driven into his heart.

Lin Shuo shot to his feet. "When? How?"

"Four in the morning. During transport."

Lao Mo's voice was as cold as a blade. "The six-person escort squad... wiped out."

He said "wiped out" far too calmly, so calmly it sent chills down the spine.

Lin Shuo's Adam's apple bobbed. "Where are the bodies?"

"There are no bodies," Lao Mo said.

"Only pieces-torn apart by claws, corroded by foul breath, and some... gnawed on."

The medical room fell silent.

The birdsong outside the window became particularly grating.

Lin Shuo closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. "Was anything left at the scene?"

"This."

Lao Mo pulled a transparent evidence bag from his tactical uniform pocket and tossed it onto the bed.

Inside was a broken section of restraint chain-Scott Outpost's highest-grade Ether suppression restraint, theoretically capable of suppressing a Mercury-class Ethereal's activity for thirty minutes.

But now, it had snapped in two like a crushed cracker.

The break had not been cut by a sharp weapon, but torn apart through sheer brute force. The metal edges were twisted and deformed, with traces of dark red foul-breath energy lingering on them.

"He broke it with his bare hands," Lao Mo said. "Based on our reconstruction of the traces at the scene, he first used foul breath to corrode the chain's Ether circuits, then grabbed both ends and tore it apart by force-his estimated peak strength was at least three times what it was last night."

Lin Shuo stared at the section of chain, rapidly analyzing it in his mind.

Qian An had been severely injured by the corrosion-inhibiting potion last night, and his Half-Ethereal Transformation had regressed. He should have been too weak to even stand steadily.

How could he have recovered within hours, and even become stronger?

Unless...

"He had a backup plan," Lin Shuo said quietly. "He injected some kind of... long-acting enhancer beforehand. Getting injured triggered its second stage instead."

"That's what I thought." Lao Mo pulled a smaller evidence bag from his pocket.

Inside was half a syringe needle, with a few drops of dark purple liquid remaining in its tube.

"Found at the scene, inserted at the site of his own carotid artery-roughly three minutes before he broke free of his restraints. Preliminary forensic analysis says its composition is similar to the Sacrifice Potion, but with several unknown catalysts added."

Lin Shuo took the evidence bag and examined it closely against the light.

The dark purple liquid gave off an eerie sheen in the sunlight, flowing slowly like a living thing.

"Did he develop it himself?" Lin Shuo asked.

"Possibly," Lao Mo said.

"Or... it was a 'lifesaving trump card' given to him by the higher-ups of the Order."

The two looked at each other in silence for several seconds.

Outside the window came the chants of Defense Force soldiers drilling, perfectly synchronized and full of order.

They stood in jarring contrast to the bloody massacre a few hours earlier.

"Where did he go?" Lin Shuo asked.

"We don't know." Lao Mo shook his head.

"There were no traces to track at the scene-he either erased them completely or used some kind of spatial transfer method.

"The outpost has already activated a level-one alert, but Hollow Special Operations Section 6..."

He paused, his tone turning colder. "Section Chief Miyabi set out with a team half an hour ago, saying she was 'prioritizing civilian safety.' In reality, she's just going to snatch the credit-after all, catching Qian An would be a huge boost to Section 6's reputation."

Lin Shuo frowned. "Did she go alone?"

He knew that, with Hoshimi Miyabi's airheaded nature, she probably would not think along those lines. It was very likely Tsukishiro Yanagi's idea.

"She took half the section's elite personnel," Lao Mo said.

"But I think... she won't catch him."

"Why?"

"Because of Qian An's current state."

Lao Mo pointed at the needle in the evidence bag. "Anyone who injects this stuff will rapidly lose their sanity, but their combat instincts will soar to the level of a wild beast.

"Hoshimi Miyabi cares too much about 'rules' and 'procedures.' She can't handle a true madman."

Lin Shuo understood what he meant. In terms of strength, Hoshimi Miyabi was unquestionably a Void Hunter. With Tailless, the treasured blade passed down by the Hoshimi family's third-generation ancestor, in her hands, even dealing with a Mercury-class Ethereal would be a cinch.

But they could not overlook the fact that Qian An's strength was no less than a Void Hunter's. Besides, he was no longer the enemy from last night who could still speak like a human.

Now, he was a completely out-of-control monster who knew only slaughter and revenge.

And the most dangerous thing about a monster like that was-you could never guess what he would do next.

"I have to go after him."

Lin Shuo stood and pulled the IV tubing from his hand.

"You?" Lao Mo held him by the shoulder.

"In your current condition? Going to get yourself killed?"

"We can't just leave him alone either." Lin Shuo gritted his teeth.

"His next target is very likely-"

Before he could finish.

The medical room's communicator rang.

It was not the encrypted military channel, but a civilian line-a number from Lumina Square.

Lin Shuo's heart tightened, and he grabbed the receiver. "Hello?"

"Lin Shuo!!" Yuzuha's voice was thick with tears, with explosions and children's screams mixed into the background.

"Little Mu-she suddenly went berserk! All of Kaidan House is spewing steam! Lucia's trying to soothe her, but she can't get her under control at all! And, and something's wrong with Lin You and Lin Yue too. Their eyes-ah!!"

The connection suddenly cut off, leaving only a piercing busy signal.

Lin Shuo's hand froze in midair.

The receiver slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a clatter.

Seeing his expression, Lao Mo had already guessed most of it. "Something happened at Lumina Square?"

"...Yes." Lin Shuo's voice was a little hoarse.

"Qian An... is smarter than we thought."

"A feint?" Lao Mo narrowed his eyes.

"No." Lin Shuo shook his head.

"It's 'two birds with one stone'-he knew I'd chase him, so he went after my 'weak spot' first. He's forcing me to choose: pursue him or save my family."

"And you chose the latter."

"There was never a choice."

Lin Shuo pulled off his eye patch, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan emerging amid bloodshot veins. "Lao Mo, I'm leaving things here to you-hold Hoshimi Miyabi back as long as you can. Don't let her throw her life away."

"What about you?"

"I'm going back to Lumina Square."

Lin Shuo grabbed the jacket draped over the chair. "As fast as possible."

"How fast?" Lao Mo frowned.

"The skyrail takes forty minutes, and driving takes half an hour-"

"I'll fly."

Lin Shuo walked to the window and pushed it open.

The early morning wind poured in, tousling his hair.

He glanced back at Lao Mo, then leaped out the window.