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Lauren felt a surge of panic unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Within the eyes of the seemingly harmless young girl before her, a profound darkness suddenly flowed, as though it could devour a person’s very soul.

This was the Inspection Bureau. Outside the interrogation room stood her most loyal subordinates, yet she felt as if she had been cast into an endless, moonless night, alone and utterly without support.

“Because… of intuition.” Lauren struggled to force out her answer.

“Intuition?” Lilith tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled. “You placed the fate of the entire Inspection Bureau on something as vague as your intuition? Isn’t that a little naive?”

“But wasn’t that our only choice?” At last, Lauren managed to gather a shred of courage. She forced herself not to look into those unfathomably deep eyes and instead focused on the freckles scattered across Lilith’s face.

Suddenly, those freckles looked strangely artificial to her, as though they had merely been pasted onto her skin.

“The moment the Ye family launched their attack against the Wang family tonight, the situation had already slipped beyond our control. Perhaps we’ve already become pieces on this chessboard, and chess pieces cannot break the game.”

“So you’re saying I can?”

“You came from outside. I doubt even the player behind this game anticipated that someone would suddenly jump onto the board itself.”

“And if I fail?”

“Then you fail. This was a gamble from the very beginning. Where there are winners, there will naturally be losers.”

“That makes sense.” Lilith nodded. The darkness within her eyes receded, and those pupils once again became as clear and brilliantly blue as precious gemstones.

As the oppressive pressure vanished, Lauren finally let out a long breath of relief. She slumped back into her chair, drenched in sweat, then looked toward the girl who appeared completely unaffected by everything that had just happened.

“So, do we have an agreement?”

“There is no agreement.” Lilith shook her head and smiled.

“Are you playing with me?” Lauren’s face turned pale. She had invested so much thought and effort into this conversation for a single reason, to secure this outsider’s support for the Inspection Bureau, which otherwise had virtually no chance of victory. If Lilith refused, then all her effort and sincerity would have been for nothing.

“I’m not playing with anyone.” Lilith clasped her hands behind her back. Though petite in stature, she somehow seemed impossibly imposing at that moment. “Like I said earlier, I don’t care. I don’t care who killed your lover. I don’t care whether the major families slaughter each other to the last man. And I certainly don’t care whether or not I cooperate with the Inspection Bureau. It’s just…”

Lilith raised her eyes and glanced at Lauren, taking in every trace of exhaustion and despair hidden within them. Her small nose wrinkled slightly. “It’s just that, for the sake of the pork chop rice and the bed you provided earlier, I’ll help you a little.”

Lauren froze for a moment before overwhelming joy flooded her heart. As if afraid Lilith might change her mind at any second, she immediately sprang to her feet. “I’ll arrange personnel for you right away.”

“No need.” Lilith raised a hand to stop her. “I’m used to working alone.”

“But…” Lauren hesitated.

Lilith paid it no mind and simply waved her hand. “I’m leaving now.”

“Right now?”

“Of course.” Lilith shot her a strange look. “The only reason I stayed here was because I wanted to find out who framed me. Since your Inspection Bureau can’t find that person, why would I remain here?”

“But without the help of the Inspection Bureau—”

“Whether I have the Inspection Bureau’s help or not makes no difference to me.” Lilith cut her off before she could finish and said teasingly, “Don’t think so highly of yourselves.”

“……”

“Goodbye.” Seeing that Lauren had nothing more to say, black flames flickered before Lilith, burning open a pitch-black passageway through space itself. She took a single step forward and vanished into the dark tunnel.

Silence returned once more.

Lauren slowly exhaled. Although she had already learned from the prisoners how Lilith left, witnessing it with her own eyes was still astonishing. Fortunately, at least for now, Lilith would not be their enemy.

Lauren felt as though every last ounce of strength had been drained from her body and slumped back into her chair once more. Recalling the conversation they had just had, she could not help shaking her head and letting out a faint laugh.

“Who would’ve thought? She’s actually such a hopeless tsundere.”

**Whoosh—**

A small object suddenly flickered out of space itself and struck Lauren squarely on the forehead with remarkable precision.

“Ouch!” Lauren cried out and instinctively covered her forehead.

“Who are you calling a hopeless tsundere?!” An indignant voice echoed from the void at the same time.

Having her private comment overheard left Lauren visibly embarrassed. As a result, she hurriedly shifted her attention to the object that had just hit her. It was a black crystal. Crystal-clear on the outside, yet within it lay an unfathomable darkness, as deep as an abyss.

“What’s this?” She picked up the black crystal. It felt cool to the touch, yet not the slightest trace of spiritual energy emanated from it.

“Keep it.” Lilith’s voice rang out from the void once more. “It might save your miserable life when the critical moment comes!”

***

That night. A faint pale glow began to emerge along the edge of the horizon. Dawn was approaching.

Lilith appeared atop the roof of a residential building. The breeze brushed against her slightly flushed cheeks, yet it did little to calm the irritation simmering within her.

“Who exactly is a hopeless tsundere? Me?” She angrily waved her fists through the air. “I was only helping because I didn’t want to owe her a favor! How does that make me a tsundere?!”

Besides, the tsundere archetype had long fallen out of fashion. There was no way she would ever admit to being one.

“So, what now?” After finally calming down, Lilith lifted her gaze and surveyed her surroundings. The building was quite tall, allowing her to overlook a vast portion of the city. However, it was still the hour before dawn. Apart from a few special groups of people, most of the city’s residents were sound asleep.

Very few lights remained lit throughout the city, and an eerie silence hung over everything. If she tried to find Liana solely by searching with her eyes, it would probably be no different from looking for a needle in the ocean.

“Or should I just head straight to the Ye family first?” As she pondered her next move, a burst of noisy commotion suddenly reached her ears. The sound came from far away, yet because of the quietness of the long night, it carried with remarkable clarity.

Lilith’s eyes narrowed. Golden radiance immediately began to swirl within her pupils. The darkness before her vision abruptly became clear. The distant scenery was drawn closer and closer. Soon, Lilith saw a luxurious estate.

The entire manor was brightly illuminated, and from within came intermittent sounds of heart-wrenching sobbing and agonized screams.

“That’s…” Her gaze landed upon the characters displayed above the estate’s main gate. “City Lord’s Manor?”

Her delicate brows rose slightly as she muttered in surprise. “It seems tonight’s troubles weren’t limited to the three great families and the Inspection Bureau. Even the City Lord’s Manor has been caught up in it. Is it a coincidence, or was it planned from the beginning? Most likely the latter.”

Linking all of the night’s events together, Lilith quickly identified the most likely culprit. “It was probably the Ye family. It seems Landon has hidden far more than I originally thought.”

As she recalled what she had seen in the Bestiary of Hundred Demons that she had picked up from the old Daoist, a layer of frost instantly settled across her beautiful face.

“No matter what, I should go take a look first.” Lilith’s figure blurred into an afterimage as she shot toward the City Lord’s Manor.

“Achoo!” While flying through the air, Lilith suddenly sneezed. “Brrr… It’s a little cold. I really could use a warm, comfortable scarf right about now.”