Deep in Sixth Street's narrow back alleys, the warm amber light of Heal spilled through the glass door, casting a hazy glow across the rain-darkened stone.
Inside, the air carried the distinctive scent of blended herbs—bitter at first, then faintly sweet. Rows of crystal-clear vials caught the lamplight and broke it into tiny, glittering specks. Qianye sat on a tall stool behind the counter, emerald eyes reflecting the dim streetlamp outside. A signature tuft of silver bedhead refused to lie flat, sticking up like a wet frond of silver fern.
He slid a plain wooden box across the polished oak countertop to the elderly man opposite him.
Jobert lifted his thick, salt-and-pepper brows, a knowing smile flickering in his eyes.
His callused hands flipped the lid open with practiced ease. Without so much as a pause, he took out the pale-gold vial inside, pulled the cork, tipped his head back, and drank it down in one clean motion—decisive and sharp, the kind of decisiveness forged back when life was measured in knife-edges.
"Cough, cough… Hah."
As the medicine went down, Jobert let out a long breath. The tension in his shoulders and neck visibly loosened, and healthy color rushed back into his weathered cheeks. He smacked his lips, feeling the warm current spreading through his body. On impulse, he shoved the metal cane leaning by the table aside and tried to straighten his back, even giving his lower spine a few firm pats. Unhidden approval flashed in his eyes.
"Thanks, kid. Seriously. Little Qianye."
"No problem, Old Joe." Qianye's voice was clear and gentle. He leaned forward slightly, fingers interlaced on the counter. "If you hadn't been willing to let me have that place back then, I might still be sleeping wherever I could. No way I'd be running this shop in peace."
"Heh." Jobert chuckled, the creases around his eyes smoothing with an easy, world-worn openness. "Someone with your talent not finding a place to live would be the strange part. I just happened to be the first one to reach out. That's all."
He rolled his shoulders, testing the lightness the medicine brought. Each stretch came with soft pops from his joints.
Even after all this time, every time Qianye produced a new dose tailored for him—something with immediate, almost unfairly good results—Jobert still felt that familiar mix of awe and regret rise up from somewhere deep.
"If the experts my Joe's Pharmacy keeps on payroll could cook up life-saving meds as fast and clean as you do," he sighed, shaking his head in frustrated lament, "I'd have a lot fewer headaches. But no—no one's got your hands. What a waste. What a damn waste."
"Old Joe," Qianye said, shaking his head, expression earnest, "it's not that they can't. Their formulations have to prioritize the average constitution of the general public in New Eridu. I—"
He gestured briefly, first to himself, then to Jobert.
"—I'm doing something closer to bespoke tailoring. It hits fast because my service radius is still tiny. I only have to look after a handful of very specific people—like you. They're fighting to give more people a chance to live."
"Is that so?" Jobert's clouded eyes sharpened as they studied Qianye. When Qianye nodded with quiet certainty, the old man finally just shook his head slowly—dark green cap bobbing—and let out a long, meaning-laden sigh.
The relaxed warmth drained from his face. In those eyes—eyes that had watched too much of New Eridu's underbelly—something heavy and attentive settled in.
"Alright, Little Qianye." Jobert sat up straighter, leaning forward with his elbows on the counter, gaze pinning Qianye like a spotlight. "You haven't come to this old fossil on your own initiative in a while. So talk. What happened?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Another brainless pervert sniffing around you? Some delusional rich miss trying to hide you away in a gilded cage? Or…" His voice lowered. "Someone shadowing you from the dark?"
"None of those." Qianye shook his head, silver hair swaying.
He organized his thoughts and described what happened at the Hollowfall Memorial Plaza—the ambush, the pressure, the violence. He carefully omitted why he'd been there in the first place.
Jobert caught the omission instantly.
He didn't comment.
He simply listened, veins standing out on the back of his hand as he picked up the tea Qianye offered and sipped in unhurried silence.
He understood too well: in this city, who doesn't have things they'd rather keep unspoken? Real friendship lived in the ability to respect that thin veil between a person and their secrets.
When Qianye finished, a brief silence fell. The ticking of the wall clock became painfully clear.
Jobert set the cup down. His knuckles tapped the rough wooden counter—thunk, thunk—as he sank into thought. His eyes moved behind heavy lids, rummaging through the dust of memory as if searching for a matching footprint.
Finally, he lifted his head and spoke with blunt certainty.
"Whoever hit you… probably weren't rebels."
Qianye looked up, faintly puzzled.
Jobert's mouth curled into something close to a sneer—clarity distilled through betrayals and bodies.
"Those rats live in the shadows. And the first thing they learn is how to value their own lives. The second the wind shifts, they run faster than anyone. They wouldn't do what you described—fighting to the bitter end, barely even trying to escape."
He gave an impatient snort, all disdain.
"To them, their life and the hardware in their hands are the only real capital. Denny? That's just steel-anchors to fund the next binge. Cheap consumables. Not worth dying over—or ending up as a corpse or an Ethereal."
He paused, brows knitting into a deep groove. His fingers rubbed the cup's surface absently, weighing his next words.
"And lately, the gutters of New Eridu have been buzzing about a little pack calling themselves the Mountain Lion Gang. They've been hopping around like they own the place. In the past few weeks they've chewed through several chunks of territory that used to belong to other crews."
He looked up, gaze sharp as a blade.
"They're not big enough to make waves, but they've made plenty of enemies. The bounties those displaced crews are putting up? Chump change to an old relic like me."
His eyes narrowed.
"But to starving hyenas? That's a payday."
Jobert leaned in again, voice dropping.
"So, Little Qianye… I'm afraid there's only one answer."
His stare seemed to pierce through Qianye and land somewhere deeper in the shadows behind him.
"Someone's watching you. Or watching the people who move with you. But if you ask me—" He emphasized each word, certainty like a hammer. "—the most likely target is still you."
After talking that long, Jobert finally looked a little drained. He leaned back, exhaled, and took up an old enamel teapot at his side to refill his cup with hot water.
Steam rose in soft curls, blurring part of his face. Through the haze, he asked casually:
"By the way—where's your little Bangboo who's loyal to the bone? Why isn't it circling your feet today?"
"Oh, Xu Ge Ya?" At the mention of his Bangboo, the coolness around Qianye's brows softened, and a small smile surfaced. "She's been working too hard lately, so I sent her off to play some soccer and unwind."
"…Huh?" Jobert's hand froze mid-lift. He nearly sloshed the tea. He looked up, incredulous. "With Ethereals?"
"How would that even work?" Qianye laughed, shaking his head. The silver cowlick bounced, cheerfully defiant. "No, of course not. With other Bangboo. She even took on an apprentice. Got really into it."
Jobert stared for two full seconds.
Then, as if his brain had briefly refused to process reality, he pinched the bridge of his nose and released a sound that was half laugh, half sigh.
"You little menace…" he muttered, voice full of helpless resignation. "Are you trying to make New Eridu's Bangboo repair shops permanently fully booked?"
Lumina Square Public Security Bureau Branch — Director's Office.
Beyond the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, New Eridu's steel forest glittered under the afternoon sun. Traffic flowed below like ribbons of light.
Inside, the air felt heavy—oppressive—despite the central AC's low hum.
Justin Bringer—Deputy Commissioner of Public Security—pressed thick fingers against his throbbing temples. He was built like a double-door refrigerator, blond hair combed perfectly into place, brown eyes sharp and hard.
Behind him, a massive portrait titled "The Heroes Who Conquered the Hollows" loomed over the office. In the angle of the sunlight, its shadow swallowed most of his desk.
"Commissioner Bringer! Why?!" Zhu Yuan's voice shook with restrained emotion. She stood in front of the broad desk, leaning forward, eyes blazing like a young beast pushed too far.
Bringer looked up. His weathered face carried a blend of weary patience and unmovable authority.
"Zhu-bird." His voice was low, the kind that had issued orders for so long it could cut through walls. "I know you. You hate evil. For the justice in your heart, you'd throw your life away without blinking."
He spoke slowly, as if laying down evidence.
"Your past hypotheses—half of them weren't even verified. But as long as it was for New Eridu, when have I not backed you?"
Then his tone turned like a blade.
"But not this time."
He slammed a palm into the heavy wooden desktop—BANG!—so hard even the metal pen holder jumped.
His huge body rose in an instant, corded muscle braced over the desk. The shadow of his frame swallowed the heroic portrait behind him—and completely covered Zhu Yuan's stubborn silhouette.
Holy fury burned in his brown eyes.
"Just because you've developed possessive feelings toward an innocent civilian," he thundered, "just because of this private, baseless delusion—you want to mobilize Bureau resources to surveil him? To violate his right to privacy?!"
"Zhu Yuan!" His voice sharpened into a roar. "What do you think the responsibility behind that badge on your shoulder is—a toy?!"
Zhu Yuan flinched. Bringer's explosion—and the weight behind his words—forced her to take an instinctive half-step back.
Her lips pressed together. Her face went pale.
But the fire in her eyes didn't go out. If anything, it tightened into something even more stubborn.
Bringer didn't look at her again. He turned and strode to the window, his broad shoulders outlined in sunlight. He pointed down at the living city below, voice loud, burdened with mission.
"When people are in trouble, they contact the New Eridu Public Security Bureau." His finger hovered over the skyline like an oath. "That sentence is carved into the heart of every citizen."
"And behind it," he said, voice deepening, "is the heavy trust of thousands upon thousands who place everything in our hands."
He spun back, gaze like a furnace, locking onto Zhu Yuan again.
"But that trust is not a pass for us to do whatever we please! We do not set it over a fire and call it 'justice'!"
He struck the desk again with the edge of his hand, each word carrying the force of doctrine.
"Once you put on this uniform, once you shoulder this duty, it means protecting, helping, and guiding are the reason we exist!"
"Not abusing authority the way you're trying to do right now. Not acting lawless!"
"But—" Zhu Yuan tried to argue, her voice trembling despite herself.
"No 'but'." Bringer cut her off, absolute. "Zhu-bird, go back. Think hard about the request you made today."
He paused, gaze hard but not without restraint.
"For your past merits, I won't punish you this time. However—" He stressed the next words, mercilessly clear. "Ten self-reflection reports. Handwritten. Personally."
"And don't learn from that slick fox Qingyi," he added with a scowl. "Last time she had the nerve to use a fax machine to mass-print a whole batch for me!"
The light in Zhu Yuan's eyes dimmed completely.
She straightened her back anyway. Jaw tight, she raised a regulation salute—perfect form, but full of stubborn hurt. Her knuckles whitened from how hard she forced her fingers into place.
Then she turned and walked toward the heavy wooden door with its brass handle.
Just as the latch clicked—
"Wait!" Bringer called.
Zhu Yuan whipped around, hope flaring instantly. "Sir! You've changed your mind?!" She even took two quick steps back toward him, eyes urgent.
Bringer looked at her sudden "resurrection" and the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he'd swallowed something sour.
"No." His tone flattened. "I'm reminding you not to forget the neighborhood safety outreach event I already assigned your team. If writing self-reflections makes you too busy, do the outreach first. Then write them. Now go."
The light died again.
Zhu Yuan lowered her eyes. "Yes, sir," she answered quietly, saluted once more, and left—shoulders rigid, footsteps carrying deeper disappointment as they faded down the empty hallway.
The door had been closed for less than three seconds when the righteous, civic-minded expression on Bringer's face shattered like ice.
He moved like a startled beast, lunging to the door with agility that didn't match his size. He pressed an ear to the wood, listening. Then he yanked it open, stuck his neatly groomed blond head out, and scanned left and right in quick, sharp sweeps.
Empty.
He pulled back in, clicked the lock, and dropped the heavy bolt. Thunk.
He hurried back to the desk without sitting, leaned close to the wide monitor, and typed rapidly. A hallway surveillance feed appeared.
Zhu Yuan's figure was gone at the elevator lobby.
Only then did Bringer release a long, deeply dissatisfied grunt—cold and grim, nothing like the booming righteousness from moments ago.
"Sarah," he growled, voice packed with restrained rage. "You're going to give me an explanation."
Almost the moment he finished, a section of the bookcase slid aside without a sound, revealing a hidden door.
Tap. Tap.
The crisp rhythm of heels on marble carried into the room, and a slender figure stepped out with leisurely composure.
Sarah wore a faint, careless smile.
Ignoring Bringer's fury, she walked straight to the director's chair behind the desk, sat down with elegant ease, and even rotated the chair half a turn as if she owned the room.
"An explanation?" Her voice was languid, edged with quiet mockery. Green eyes slanted up at Bringer, who looked like a caged animal. "Bringer, mind your phrasing. We're equals. You don't get to demand anything from me in that tone."
"Precisely because we're equals!" Bringer snapped, marching to the desk. He slammed both hands down and leaned over her, chest heaving so hard it looked ready to tear his uniform shirt. "I have even more right to know!"
"You moved Laudation Society stock without authorization—" His voice rose, sharp with panic and anger. "—the lowest-grade, easiest-to-trace stuff—fed it to sewer trash, then threw them out as cannon fodder to die!"
He glared, bloodshot intensity burning in his eyes.
"What are you trying to do?! Zhu Yuan and Qingyi are already enough of a headache! Before I even got to the scene, those two had collected residue samples and trajectory evidence and pushed it straight to HAND!"
His voice turned rough, almost a snarl.
"If they follow the trail back—"
"I want them to find something," Sarah cut in.
Her tone was so calm it was frightening. The faint smile deepened into something colder.
Bringer froze, staring at her as if he'd never truly seen her before.
"What…?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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