The air was thick with old dust and the faint, rusty tang of cooled metal.
The courtyard space stretched upward into darkness. High above, sparse daylight seeped through a cracked glass dome, illuminating scattered debris and severed pipes.
With a dull grind of gears, a heavy iron gate slowly lifted, revealing a deep, wide passage beyond.
"The gate's open! Thank goodness!" Corin gripped her massive chainsaw with both hands. Her dark-green twin tails bounced with excitement, violet eyes shining with relief.
Progress—any progress—felt like a gift in a place like this.
Rina floated nearby. She wore a soft, relieved smile too, but a knot of worry still sat between her brows. She gently scooped up Eous—who was struggling to keep up with its short little legs—as if she were holding something fragile. In her warm, flowing voice, she asked with careful concern:
"Thanks to your efforts, Guide, we were able to restore part of the power so quickly… but are you sure you don't need to rest?"
"Fatigue is the most honest alarm. You shouldn't ignore it."
Her slender fingers stroked Eous's cold metal shell with a kind of tenderness that made it clear she wasn't only speaking to the Bangboo—she was speaking to the person behind it.
"No problem!" Rin replied through Eous, the voice slightly electronic but full of energy. "Qianye prepared stamina replenisher for me—one tube and I can recover—"
She didn't finish.
She saw it.
Rina's gentle smile froze instantly, like it had been covered in invisible frost.
And a few steps away, Von Lycaon—standing steady and watchful—didn't change expression, but the tip of his silver-gray wolf tail stiffened almost imperceptibly. The faint approving curve at his mouth vanished.
Eous tilted its "head," confused.
"Rina? Mr. Lycaon? What… what's wrong?"
Rin couldn't understand why simply mentioning Qianye's medicine caused such a sharp reaction. Corin looked naïve and lost as usual; Ellen still lounged with her lollipop, seemingly unaware.
Do Rina and Lycaon share some secret about Qianye… and these medicines?A thread of doubt slid into Rin's chest.
Perhaps sensing the sudden shift in the air, Ellen—who had been dragging behind the group like she couldn't be bothered—finally spoke in her lazy, nasal tone:
"Hey, boss, Rina… are you two hiding something from me and little Corin?"
"The rope-maker drinks something Qianye made. What's the big deal?"
Her red eyes angled over with mild curiosity.
A short, suffocating silence followed.
Lycaon drew in a slow breath and broke it. His voice remained deep and controlled, yet it carried a weight that wasn't there before.
"…It is not our intent to conceal anything."
"It's simply that watching you forcefully suppress fatigue with medicine—overdrawing yourself just to finish the mission—reminds me of… certain past matters."
His single red eye looked into the deep corridor ahead, as if staring through time itself.
Lord Qianye… your relative truly shares your blood.That same ruthless determination to burn everything for the goal…Phaethon. Asclepius.So the reputation is not hollow.
He crushed the thoughts down again, returning to his usual restraint—clearly unwilling to say more.
Rina's lips moved like she wanted to speak. A flash of struggle crossed her beautiful face. But in the end, she placed Eous back on the ground, put on that flawless, distant smile again, and chose silence.
Sensing their firm refusal, Ellen shrugged. Corin blinked. Rin buried the question for now—yet everyone mentally noted how strange that moment had been.
They continued upward along dust-choked stairs.
When they reached a relatively open, abandoned platform, Rin spotted something immediately—
In the center lay a battered yellow-and-red backpack.
"That's… Ruin's backpack!" Rin hurried Eous forward, carefully lifting it.
"She really was here! There might be clues inside—huh?"
Eous's short arms rummaged and pulled out a long, narrow device—like an old-fashioned timer.
When Rin saw the display showing a bold "0," her heart nearly stopped.
In an instant, every action movie scene about timed bombs exploded through her mind.
Instinct outran thought.
Eous let out a sharp electronic screech, hurled the "hot potato" into a distant empty corner, then flopped flat on the ground in a textbook prone-protection pose.
Almost at the same moment, a warm, strong gloved hand moved over it—shielding it from above.
But the expected explosion never came.
Instead—
a soft, flowing, beautiful melody drifted out of the device, echoing across the platform.
"…Music?" Lycaon narrowed his red eye, staring toward the sound source with full vigilance.
Once it was clear there was no danger, Eous scrambled up and shuffled over to retrieve the device.
"It looks like… just a music player set to start playing on a timer," Rin said through Eous, voice tinged with embarrassment and relief. "So it was a false alar—hm?"
"Watch out!" Rina's cry snapped out—sharp and urgent.
At the same time, a shrill metallic scraping sounded from the platform shadows.
A tall, twisted silhouette stood up slowly—radiating ominous pressure—and reached toward Eous.
Then—
"Hyaa!"
Corin and Ellen burst forward, chainsaw and blade cutting down hard—missing.
The shadow flipped back with elegant ease, sliding away, then spun on one foot like a ballerina and came to a stop.
The powerful Etheral—Mnynph—extended a hand in an "invitation," as if beckoning a dance partner.
Like a ballet dancer in the night, its warped body held the pose, wordlessly pressing down with suffocating force.
Eous turned stiffly to face it, trembling.
"Since it has graciously invited us to dance," Lycaon stepped forward, placing himself between Eous and the threat.
His tall body radiated icy battle intent, yet his movements remained butler-elegant. He even bowed slightly, answering the "invitation" as if at a formal ball—wrapping violence in velvet etiquette.
"Then… Victoria Housekeeping will oblige."
The fight detonated.
Lycaon's frost power crossed with Mnynph's eerie footwork. Corin's chainsaw roared. Ellen's swift thrusts cut in and out. Rina's Bangboos provided support.
In an instant, the platform became a death waltz—lethal, yet strangely beautiful.
"Wooow~" Nicole pressed her face against the window, staring down at the city like a miniature model beneath the rolling sea of clouds. Her face glowed with excited red.
"Never thought Cunning Hares would get to ride a luxury airship one day! Even if it's thanks to that short little criminal…"
She was already planning to add a new bullet point to Cunning Hares' promo brochure: Has boarded an airship for an important mission.
If we've ridden an airship, how far am I from becoming a multi-millionaire, bagging that cute little doctor Qianye, having a whole litter of lively kids, and living the rich, carefree life…?
Lost in blissful delusion, she leaned back into the plush leather seat and crossed her legs.
Just as she was about to ask an attendant for a drink, the tightly guarded suspect—Perlman—made another demand.
"Hey! Guard!" Perlman barked impatiently.
Nicole snapped her head around, annoyed. "What now? You're about to stand trial and you're still asking for water and drinks every five minutes. Anyone who didn't know better would think you're on vacation!"
"Hmph." Perlman shot back. "And you—stealing a whole backpack of the airship bathroom's free premium tissues—have the nerve to talk?"
Nicole's eyes nearly lit on fire.
Perlman ignored her and raised his voice toward the guards at the aisle end.
"Guard! Bring my suitcase with my suit. I need to check my personal belongings. That's not unreasonable, is it?"
"Which suitcase?" the guard asked flatly.
Perlman's eyes flickered. "…Both. Bring both. I need to inspect everything. What—do I not even have that right?"
He forced himself to look angry, masking panic.
The guard shrugged and pulled down two nearly identical black hard-shell briefcases from the overhead rack, setting them in front of Perlman.
"Be my guest."
"That's more like it," Perlman said, trying to stay calm—though his fingers trembled as they brushed the cases.
Damn it… they're identical. Which one is the one that woman warned me about? If I open the wrong one… is it a bomb? Poison gas? Something worse?
No—if it's a bomb and the ship goes down, there'd be an investigation. She wouldn't choose something so blunt if she wants to stay hidden.
More likely: sleeping gas. Hypnotic gas. Or… slow poison.
Cold sweat prickled.
I have to gamble. I have to hope the maid wasn't lying—hope the other case can save my life…
"Hey! What are you hesitating for?" Nicole stared at him suspiciously. "Don't tell me you've got contraband in there?"
"Hmph! These cases have followed me for years. We have history. I can't touch them?" Perlman snapped, trying to redirect.
"You have no sense. No wonder your agency's business is so terrible!"
"You—what?!" Nicole exploded instantly. "That's because customers have no taste!"
Perlman ignored her. He knew he had no time left.
He inhaled hard, made his decision.
Adults don't choose. I want both.
He held his breath and slammed both latches at the same time—snapping both cases open in one motion.
The instant the lids lifted—
One of the cases erupted with a thick cloud of pink smoke, carrying a cloying sweet scent. It spread through the sealed cabin at terrifying speed.
"Th-This… wha… my head… dizzy…" Nicole barely got half a sentence out before the world spun. She slumped sideways in her seat.
"Damn… it's… sleep… gas…" Perlman forced his eyes wide in the last second before consciousness failed, looking at the other case—
No smoke.
Only a locator beacon, silently flashing a red alarm light.
Hmph… so it still comes down to… the Public Security Bureau… damn it… then how do I run…?
That bitter thought was his last before he collapsed too.
"Little fish… I love you, meow…" Nekomata mumbled and tilted into sleep as well.
Only Billy stayed awake—because his breathing system was malfunctioning and filtered most of the gas.
"Perlman! You bastard…" He struggled to steady himself, staring at the sprawled bodies of his teammates and the suspect, panic surging.
"Right—call for help!"
He yanked out his old flip phone and tried to contact Random Play's owners.
The screen displayed a line that made his heart sink:
[Signal Error: Your device is too outdated. This airspace does not support service.]
"What?!" Billy nearly crushed the phone. "What kind of cursed place is this?! How long are we flying before I get signal?!"
Sunset painted the office in a dull yellow.
Zhu Yuan rubbed her brow in fatigue. She had just returned from Director Bringer's office, and her face looked bad.
"Well, Zhu Yuan," Qingyi said, holding her white porcelain teacup, voice lazy as ever. "Looks like Bringer shot you down again?"
"Yeah." Zhu Yuan sighed and sat at her station, tapping the desk unconsciously.
"And I don't know why… Bringer was in an especially foul mood today. He couldn't even be bothered with polite talk—just dismissed me immediately."
Not even calling him "Director" anymore, huh.Qingyi noted it silently.
Qingyi nodded thoughtfully, about to say something to comfort her—
when her green electronic eyes suddenly flickered. Data streams raced across them. Her entire body paused for a fraction of a second, as if it had received an abnormal signal.
After a brief silence, she snapped her head toward Zhu Yuan, and her tone gained a rare seriousness.
"Zhu Yuan. The airship transporting the main suspect Perlman and the relevant witnesses for the Yuanjing demolition case…"
"Has it been confirmed to still be flying normally on its planned route?"
"Huh?" Zhu Yuan blinked at the sudden question. "Senior, why are you asking that now? But… I'll check."
She opened the internal tracking system quickly and entered the airship's ID.
The route data appeared almost immediately.
"The system shows everything normal. Signal stable. It's proceeding as planned toward the court's location."
"What's wrong, Senior?"
Qingyi's brows tightened. She listened to what she'd just received, and her voice sank.
"Is that so?"
"Then why…"
"Why did I just receive an emergency distress signal…"
"…from that 'everything normal' airship?"
"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 147)
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 (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
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 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
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 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin