And even though this floor—and this spot in particular—was the kind of place where such a gathering was to be expected... it still felt out of place.

All these people in suits were clearly not just ordinary rookies working for Noir. It was unlikely that any representatives of other Paths were among them, but in terms of power, they were certainly just as dangerous as that clean-up squad from the Pit.

What mission could they all have gathered to discuss in one of the planning rooms? Something big. It had to be... But could it be connected to Southville?

Mr. Nobody couldn’t ignore the thought. And the girl, especially.

It wasn’t hard to see that even among this group, she was special—and therefore the most dangerous.

"Oh..." She exaggeratedly covered her open mouth with her hand, and the people around her tensed. "You’re dressed like us and look like us, but you’re not one of us. How unusual... and unexpected. So—who are you?"

"Come closer, and you’ll find out," he replied calmly, clearly not expecting what followed.

"Yes, I’ll do just that." She took a step forward and took a demonstrative step toward him. "At the same time, we’ll see if that thing can put a hole in me."

He was sure he hadn’t made a single unnecessary movement. But she still realized that he was hiding a weapon under his jacket. One glance? How?

By the time these questions raced through his mind, she had already closed the distance. Dangerously close.

"You’re tall..." She tilted her head slightly to the side, almost brushing against his chest, and blinked.

*Click!* A revolver clicked. Its barrel nearly touched her jaw.

"Considering you’ll soon be rotting in the ground? Maybe."

*Click*

*Click*

*Click*

*Click*

*Click*

*Click*

*Click*

*Click*

Weapons clicked into place. The remaining eight men in suits aimed their pistols at him.

’And why does it almost always come to this...’ he thought gloomily, his expression unchanged.

"..." The cat on his shoulder didn’t look particularly frightened. She barely spared them a look and turned her gaze to the girl who had approached, as if she were nothing more than an annoying fly.

"Fast, too... Are you like that in other things, too? Do you think this thing’s fast enough to take my head off?"

"Don’t get too close, and you won’t have to worry about things like that. If you want to take another risk—believe me, you’ll burn for it. I don’t dance, honey," he replied, looking down at her.

"It doesn’t seem like you have a problem with women... Or is it people you have a problem with?"

"And you, it seems, have a problem with your head."

At that tense moment, the sound of an elevator arriving could be heard from behind, followed by a shocked gasp.

"Alright, alright, fellas. Let’s all calm down and relax."

No one moved at the sudden voice. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The man who had appeared began to approach and scrutinize the faces of the men in suits until he reached the two of them.

"Ah, there you are, Mr. Nobody," he said, sniffing lightly. "You, got a... new face? Only recognized you because of the cat."

"New face?" the girl repeated, squinting.

"Is this a trap? If not, then get that crazy bitch away from me, Noir."

"Of course, of course... By the way, meet Sofien—our coordinator. To tell you the truth, she’s a damn valuable asset we managed to snag for our mission. Sofien, this is Mr. Nobody."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Then how about you tell them to lower their guns?!"

The girl glanced over, and the men in suits lowered their guns. She then told them they could leave and added that she’d send them the date of the next meeting later. Finally, they left.

Mr. Nobody breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, dude in a mask — his mask’s cooler than yours."

"Hey! That’s actually insulting!" Noir exclaimed, grabbing his mask. It didn’t seem like he understood what the girl meant. Mr. Nobody exhaled inwardly again. "By the way, bro, your move."

Without breaking eye contact with Sofien, he spun the revolver and secured it to his belt.

"So, is this our coordinator?"

"Rock or rap?" she asked without missing a beat.

"Both."

"Mm, yeah. Nice to meet you — even if it’s... like this." Noir patted them on the shoulders. "By the way, is it just me, or did something just flash between you two? Like a first spark or something..."

He hadn’t finished speaking when something unusual happened.

*Tap* A drop slid down her cheek.

"..." He raised an eyebrow in surprise and noticed that there was now a scratch on the girl’s cheek.

"...I didn’t see it?" Sofien asked, wide-eyed and bewildered.

The black dot in her white eye began darting around until it met his blue eyes.

"..." The cat demonstratively licked its claw. It seemed she wasn’t particularly hiding what she had done.

"Quick," Sofien admitted, touching the scratch with her finger.

This strange moment could have attracted a lot of attention, but...

*It’s time! It’s time! We’re going to die!* The sudden alert blared in a cheerful mechanical voice.

Mr. Nobody placed his hand on the bracelet and muted the sound.

"Sorry, I’m testing a new alarm sound," he explained.

"Ahem. Alright, superheroes in black — shall we go?" Noir snapped out of it. "We have three hours until launch, so we’d better hurry."

Petting the cat, Mr. Nobody nodded and followed the two of them.

This meeting and introduction turned out to be quite dangerous. Besides, being in the wolves’ den, he constantly felt the tension hanging in the air and was ready to call on the constellations for help and flee at any moment.

However, even in such a stressful situation, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had grown accustomed to this, like something unpleasantly familiar. All too familiar.

A deeply... unpleasant feeling, evoking memories of his relationship with the tower in a past life.

*Click!* Before Noir could open the door, it suddenly swung open with a bang.

A girl in a revealing outfit and blue hair braided into two ponytails emerged from inside, her face irritated.

"Bitch...!" she spat out discontentedly, paying no attention to any of the three.

"Mm, it happens, I suppose." Noir scratched his cheek and went inside. Sofien followed him, still examining the cut on her cheek with her hand.

Mr. Nobody stopped and didn’t follow them.

Instead, he headed toward his acquaintance, who so loved to run into him unexpectedly in unusual places.

"Well, well, songbird. Mind giving me an autograph?" He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.