"Principal Angre, the hybrid we're pursuing seems… off. During the chase, he hasn't shown much aggression at all. He's stayed rational the whole time."
"Also, our surveillance target is in a pretty low mood right now. Based on our assessment, he likely believes the hybrid we're chasing died saving him from that Dead Servant that appeared out of nowhere."
After hearing the report on the other end of the line, Angre fell into a wordless silence. A few seconds later, he spoke.
"Then have you figured out what's going on with that hybrid?"
"Mm… our previous intel wasn't clear. It's like he just… appeared in this world."
Angre's eyes narrowed.
"No. It isn't time for them to wake yet."
The voice on the phone continued.
"As for what we know now: he showed up two days ago, got into a street brawl with three people, and that's when he met our surveillance target. After that, he went to Shilan High and beat someone up. And tonight, he encountered our surveillance target again…"
Angre chuckled. "A very clear objective."
"Yes. His objective is extremely clear—he's here for the surveillance target. But his purpose… we don't know."
Angre let out a slow breath. "…Catch him. Alive."
"Yes, sir."
The call ended. Angre slipped the phone into his pocket.
"Someone who appeared out of nowhere… whose handiwork is this?"
He put the thought aside and started walking. He was going to see for himself who had made a move.
"Ah—this is f*cking boring!" A punk with dyed yellow hair sprawled over a flashy modded motorcycle, grinding his ass against the seat in irritation.
"Can't this godforsaken life get a little more exciting?" He raked a greasy hand through his hair.
"Pull an all-nighter at the internet café?" someone suggested lazily.
"Shit! Games every day, games every day—I'm about to turn into some dumb NPC in them! I'm sick of it!" Yellow-hair spat a wad of phlegm.
"Then… go do a lap?" Another thug patted his own ride.
"Don't even start!" Yellow-hair's face twisted. "Last time that bastard snatched the big score, my tank's practically scraping bottom. The two stingy fossils at home won't give me a cent more. Race my ass!"
A short, tense silence. Then a low voice, greedy even when it whispered:
"How about… something big? Find a dark alley, make some quick cash—fast, easy, thrilling."
"Hell yeah!" "I'm in!" A few pairs of muddy eyes lit up at once, gleaming with hunger.
Right as they were rubbing their hands together—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Heavy, urgent footsteps tore through the night, closing in fast.
"What's that?" one thug turned in confusion.
Next second—
"Holy shit, it's that kid!" "F*ck—it's the bastard who robbed us!" They recognized the figure sprinting under the streetlight—the culprit who'd emptied their wallets.
"Dog-damn! Heaven has a road and you won't take it!" The leader on the motorcycle twisted the throttle hard. The engine roared like it smelled blood.
"Run him over!" The others swung onto their bikes.
But before they could gun it—
Whoosh!
A shadow cut in from the side like a ghost.
Bang—crack!
The leader who'd been yelling about running him down screamed as he was launched into the air, slamming into the pavement a few meters away like a ripped sack.
The engines' roar died in an instant.
The remaining thugs froze, staring slack-jawed.
Yu Jin didn't even look at them. He darted to the now-ownerless bike, planted a hand on the seat, and vaulted on.
He twisted the throttle to the floor. Tires shrieked. The bike shot off like an arrow and vanished down the street.
"F—" someone managed half a syllable—
Then, immediately,
Uniform footsteps flooded in from all directions.
A squad of lean figures in identical black combat uniforms appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the stunned thugs and their bikes like an iron barrel.
No one said a word.
In a blink, the thugs were yanked down to the ground, faces grinding into dust. Their motorcycles got seized, started, and driven away—clean, efficient, ruthless.
The thugs curled on the ground, too scared to even curse, eyes full of panic and blank confusion.
Yu Jin had the throttle pinned all the way down.
Night wind slapped his cheeks. The motorcycle howled through the city, its engine drowning out the rush of air in his ears.
"Is this basically real-life GTA? Like, five-star wanted level?" he couldn't help complaining in his head.
He flicked a glance at the rearview mirror. "They're relentless!"
If Yu Jin were sitting in a theater, he'd be applauding the black-clad guys' professionalism.
Too bad he was the fugitive being chased so hard he wished for wings.
"Brothers, please, don't be this dedicated, okay? You get paid what, a few thousand a month? Why are you risking your lives?" He was about to cry.
He forced his eyes forward. The city's tangled streets unfurled in a blur, every intersection a gamble.
"Alright, where the hell do I even run?" This place was blank paper to him.
Midnight had stripped the city of its daytime noise. The moon hung alone in a deep sky, cold light spilling over empty roads like it was guiding him toward nothing.
A weird, freezing loneliness welled up from somewhere deep inside and wrapped around him without warning—
like the world had shrunk to just him, sprinting through boundless night, no past, no home.
Then—
Smack!
Yu Jin slapped his own left cheek hard. "What am I doing? Why am I suddenly getting emo like some sad playlist?"
"Blood's sorrow at work."
Before the thought even finished forming, lethal engine noise surged in from the side streets.
Ten-plus black vehicles snapped into place, sealing off his front and flanks. Blinding high beams pinned him and his bike in a cage of light like a prisoner onstage.
Every escape route was dead. He was an animal in a trap.
"Shit. I'm getting dumpling-wrapped for real?" Heart sinking, Yu Jin scanned the area—then locked onto something. His mouth curled.
"Not over yet. Lady Luck's on my side tonight."
"All units, hold perfect containment formation. Compress his maneuver space. Do not let him slip through any gap!" The leader's voice crackled through the encrypted comms.
The black cars locked down the already narrow street. The net was tight. The target couldn't fly away.
The leader stared through his window at the rider trapped in the glare.
No sign of surrender. Instead, the engine shrieked even harder.
"Kamikaze? Or… does he have a trick?" A chill crawled up the leader's back.
Next second, under dozens of eyes, the fugitive yanked the handlebars and shot up a concrete ramp leading beside a residential building.
He—launched.
Yu Jin grinned down at the men gawking below. "Still gotta train more!"
The heavy bike slammed onto the roof of a black car, crushing it in with a screeching boom.
He pinned the throttle again and vanished into the night.
The black cars had been packed too close for a perfect encirclement, and now they became their own obstacle. By the time they untangled and turned around—
Yu Jin and his junk bike were long gone into a maze of alleys.
City silence shattered.
Residents woke up furious.
"F*ck, again?! Last time it was those brats racing bikes, now what the hell is this?!" An exhausted office worker shoved open his window and roared into the night.
"Can people sleep or not? We've got deadlines tomorrow!" a neighbor yelled back.
But when they actually saw the scene below, their rage died in their throats, replaced by dumbfounded shock.
"Are they… filming a movie?"
"What is this, a gang hit?"
A motorcycle screamed through tight alleys and wide streets, drifting like a man possessed—ten-plus cars ripping after it.
The rider used every scrap of terrain to dodge the four-wheeled beasts again and again.
Someone called the cops.
The officers said they were on the way. But tonight belonged to hybrids.
Yu Jin still felt like he had a real shot at escaping—if nothing went wrong…
"So of course today's this unlucky!!" he howled in despair.
Once the bike ran dry, he ditched it and sprinted on foot—
only to be swallowed by a full encirclement.
High beams nailed him to the wall.
Over thirty black-clad brutes closed in silently.
Back pressed to ice-cold concrete, Yu Jin swallowed hard and tried to negotiate.
"Uh… brothers, can we talk? I haven't done anything unforgivable, right? You don't gotta chase me this hard, do you?"
No surprise—the negotiation failed.
Gun barrels leveled at him. The marching footsteps kept coming.
"Alright, alright…" Yu Jin sighed, his body subtly tensing, power starting to gather. If he could help it, he didn't want to hurt them. He'd started this mess first.
Then—
A faint series of clicks came from the guns in their hands.
The leader froze, cold eyes flashing with rare confusion.
Not just him—every shooter hesitated at once.
They checked their weapons. Fingers pulled triggers.
The expected blast never came.
The guns… jammed?
A voice Yu Jin knew all too well drifted down from above:
"Yo! I'm not late, am I?"
Everyone—including Yu Jin—snapped their heads up.
On top of the high wall sat a figure casually swinging her legs.
Gray hair fluttered in the wind. A girl propped her chin on one hand, smiling lazily, and waved with the other.
"Who the hell is that?!" The black-clad men's minds filled with question marks.
A stranger? Here? And their weapons failing—was she doing it?
The instant their attention jolted upward—
A blur too fast for the eye slid soundlessly into their rear line.
Movement cranked to an unreal acceleration.
No grand spectacle. Just a smeared afterimage cutting through bodies and a chain of dull impacts.
Five seconds.
Only five—
and two dozen men on the outer edge crumpled like they'd been struck by an invisible sledgehammer, collapsing before they could even scream.
When the front line finally snapped out of their shock and whirled around—
"Yu Jin! What are you standing there for? Let's go!"
The girl on the wall barked, then hurled a metal baseball bat down.
The bat didn't hit the ground.
She leapt after it, feet landing perfectly on the bat midair.
Like she was riding an invisible draft, she surfed down the vertical wall on that floating bat.
The bat slammed into a brute's chest, blasting him back like a rag doll.
She landed smoothly, snatched the bat as it rebounded, and swung again, dropping another attacker.
She turned to the still-stunned Yu Jin and waved hard.
"Don't just stand there! Fight!"
"Wait—why are you guys here?!" Yu Jin blurted.
From the shadow of a side alley came a calm voice.
"Probably… because none of us could sleep."
The Doctor stepped out of the darkness.
"So we came to find you."
He paused, then tapped his temple. "And as for how we found you… thank that miracle of a group chat."
His eyes swept over the black-clad men sprawled all over the ground.
"Looks like we got here… just in time?"
An arm suddenly hooked around Yu Jin's shoulders.
"Hey! I told you to come help, and you're over here chatting and spacing out?" Star's annoyed voice snapped in his ear.
She yanked him hard. Yu Jin staggered and looked where she was staring.
The elite black-clad squad was down—every last one.
In the middle of them stood Kevin, slowly straightening up. He noticed Yu Jin and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Last time we were late. This time… we weren't."
Yu Jin's gaze lingered on the three pairs of golden eyes still shining—
then he awkwardly looked away.
"Didn't you say I was in trouble?"
"So we came to help, didn't we?" Star snorted, letting him go and even thumping his back. "Less talk. Move!"
Yu Jin opened his mouth to say something.
"Enough," the Doctor cut in, his serpent-like senses picking up something invisible. "We need to go. Someone's coming."
He turned and pointed into a narrow alley.
"Follow me. This way."
Star grabbed Yu Jin's wrist and dragged him along.
"Quit getting sentimental like some love-starved kid."
Yu Jin: "…"
"We're friends. Of course we do this," Kevin walked up beside him, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"Just like you stood in front of all of us back then, remember?"
"…That's different."
"It's the same." Kevin's voice went firm. "All the same."
Right then, the Doctor stopped dead, body going rigid.
Clap… clap… clap…
A crisp, steady, elegant applause rang out at the mouth of the alley, stabbing into the silence.
With it came a peaceful voice, clear to every ear present:
"Moving… your friendship is pure and burning. Even these old bones of mine feel a bit envious."
Footsteps approached—unhurried, deliberate.
"But…"
"Tonight's wonderful farce…"
"…has played long enough."
The voice wasn't loud, yet it hit like a hammer on everyone's heart.
"Stop here, young visitors."
Hilbert Jean Angre descended upon the scene.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (68 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (100 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (50 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it