That night, Zane sat alone by the window, staring blankly at the moon above his head, lost in thought.
Things were gradually becoming strange.
He had risked his life, spent three straight days infiltrating the enemy camp to gather intelligence, uncovered the secrets of the Mutual Aid Society, successfully captured the puppeteer, and even managed to get the Mutual Aid Society renamed into the Card-Playing Mutual Aid Society.
Given enough time, playing cards would replace puppets as an important part of their lives.
At a time like this, shouldn't he be surrounded by beauties, reaching the peak of life?
So why was he guarding an empty room alone?
Zane suddenly felt like his brain cells weren't enough again.
Just then, he heard a set of light footsteps outside his door, followed by a knock.
"Zane, are you asleep?"
Zane sprang up from his chair, rushed to the door in a few quick steps, straightened his clothes, and opened it like a gentleman.
"Please come in, beautiful lady."
The cute girl outside, who looked like a little emperor penguin, blinked her big eyes, unable to figure out why Zane was acting like this.
Full of confusion, the Doctor stood on her tiptoes and raised a hand to touch Zane's forehead.
"Hmm… not hot? Then why are you acting crazy?"
With his usual personality, shouldn't he be making strange requests when he saw her? Why was he acting like some kind of playboy now?
"Please grant me your stockings!"
"..."
Hiss!
The Doctor instantly sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively wanted to lift her foot and kick him.
But after thinking about it, kicking him might actually be a reward?
The Doctor took a deep breath, grabbed Zane's hand, and in his astonished gaze, pulled him into the room, casually locking the door behind them.
Watching her efficiently finish all that, Zane's heart began pounding wildly.
A thought surfaced in his mind and spread uncontrollably. He swallowed nervously. It was his first time, after all.
On a dark, windy night, a mature and strong young man, a charming and adorable girl, dry wood and raging fire ready to ignite at a touch. With the door locked, forming a sealed room where no one else could disturb them…
Did he even need to guess what would happen next?
Zane tried hard to steady his racing heart. At times like this, as a man, he had to appear mature and calm. He couldn't act like a little girl crying and panicking…
With that thought, Zane took a deep breath. At a moment like this, he had to seize the initiative. His senior sister had told him that when boys encounter danger outside, they should loudly call for help,
"Help! Murder!"
Clearly, the Doctor was also stunned by Zane's train of thought. She jumped up and delivered a sharp chop straight to his head.
His head was attacked once again. Zane instantly clutched it, grimacing as he squatted on the ground.
As for this, Zane had an opinion, the Doctor's hand strength was probably not much weaker than Rover's. As Rover's "grip strength tester," Zane believed he had enough authority to say so.
"What are you yelling for?"
Facing the Doctor's aggressive questioning, Zane hesitated for a moment. He felt that if he didn't explain clearly, he might die even more miserably.
"Look, murderer, victim, locked room, no witnesses, no surveillance, dark windy night… all the elements of a crime are there."
"Isn't this a locked-room murder case? The kind that could make two episodes of Detective Conan."
"What are you even talking about…" The Doctor couldn't help but rub her forehead and sigh, a few black lines appearing across her fair face.
"I'm not here to… forget it. Now I finally understand why the Rover wanted to hit you. You're just way too punchable."
There were probably very few people who could resist hitting him.
"So you're not here to kill me? Then what are you here for?" Hearing her words, Zane immediately relaxed and sprawled out on the bed in a starfish position…
"Can you remember what happened when you were at the Black Shores?"
Although Zane didn't know why she was asking, he still honestly shook his head.
After all, his frequency hadn't fused with his soul. Those memories were probably decomposed along with that frequency.
What puzzled Zane, however, was why the Doctor almost couldn't hold back her smile when she heard that he couldn't remember anything before his death.
"What are you laughing at?"
Hearing his question, the Doctor realized she had lost her composure. She quickly suppressed the joy in her heart and straightened her expression.
"Nothing. Just thought of something interesting."
'Yeah right. I don't believe you, you… sneaky little girl.'
Zane smacked his lips. Out of trust in the Doctor, he didn't press further.
Seeing that he didn't continue asking, a gentle smile appeared on the Doctor's cute round face.
"You've probably forgotten that you had a few friends… They were originally part of the plan to help revive you."
As she spoke, the Doctor smoothed her clothes and sat down on the bed next to Zane. Feeling the warmth so close, her heart couldn't help but tremble slightly, though none of it showed on her face.
"In the original plan, they were supposed to help stabilize your body and life. Then the Rover would retrieve your soul."
"But the weapon on your wrist repaired your body's damage before they could act, skipping their part entirely."
This was the first time Zane realized that his revival wasn't such a simple matter. Although the Doctor spoke briefly, how long those details had been planned was probably known only to her.
"Who are they?"
Since it was already in the past, there was no need to keep looking back. Compared to how he was revived, Zane cared more about who these "friends" were.
But in response to his question, the Doctor just giggled and had no intention of answering. After all, Zane had lost his previous memories, which meant she was far ahead of those others at this moment.
Although she was still far from the Rover's position, it didn't matter. Overtaking even one was still progress.
"Didn't you summon me? Maybe someday they'll come to your side too. So there's no need to rush."
"Is that so?"
Zane scratched the back of his head and opened the summoning interface right in front of her.
Since the Doctor herself had been summoned through the system, Zane didn't bother hiding it.
But this action made the Doctor unhappy.
"This is your trump card. You shouldn't show it so carelessly in front of others!"
Although the Doctor was also surprised by the strange things that kept happening to Zane, she was more worried that exposing this ability would attract unwanted attention.
But Zane waved his hand casually.
"That's because the person who knows about it is you. With how close and honest we are with each other, what would I need to hide from you?"
Before the Doctor could blush from his straightforward words, Zane continued, "It's a locked-room murder, after all. Isn't that 'opening your heart'?"
"Your long blade pierces my chest, my blood splashes onto your face. The blood connects us, we become inseparable, ow! Don't hit my face!"