The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

game?

Is this... a provocation?

Ex narrowed his eyes slightly.

In that case... we should teach the provocateurs a lesson they will never forget.

Axe ran his fingers along the edge of the letter first.

The letter paper was made of fine linen, yet it was soaked through with a dark red, viscous liquid. It wasn't ink; it was blood. The dried bloodstains gleamed an eerie dark brown under the gaslight, as if countless tiny blood vessels were spreading across the paper.

X turned the page to the back and read the entire letter aloud again.

"Everyone at Miss Detective Agency: Want Catherine to live? Don't call the police."

Ax read the words from the letter in a low voice, his voice standing out clearly in the quiet living room.

"How about we... play a game? Tomorrow at noon, be at the old quarry, east of Greenwich Park, in the outskirts of London. Search carefully for the clues I left behind. No exceptions."

There was no signature at the bottom. There was only a twisted cross pattern, drawn in the same blood-red color. The lines were rough, carrying a kind of frenzied piety.

"game……"

Irene's voice carried unease.

"Sister Catherine..."

"The letter says the game starts tomorrow." AX placed the letter on the table, his movements as gentle as if handling a fragile object. "Right now, there's nothing we can do; they're probably observing us."

The other party was specifically after Catherine and knew that this was a newly opened detective agency for young ladies.

That means the other party has been observing Catherine for a long time, and has been observing her recently.

Ex looked up and pulled back the curtains to look out the window.

The rain continued its relentless drenching of London's streets. Water droplets crawled across the glass like transparent slugs.

In the darkness, though nothing could be seen, it felt as if a pair of eyes were watching this small detective agency.

But it could just be an illusion.

Unfortunately, X cannot take the risk.

"It's still early, you should go and rest..."

"But I..." Elena clenched her fists, "I can't sleep! My sister Catherine, she..."

"It's precisely because you can't sleep that you need rest even more."

Ex interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Elena, in your current state, you'll only be a burden. Angel, Mary, you two too."

The maid Mary, who was pale from her mistress's disappearance, nodded obediently.

Angel clung tightly to X's arm, her blue eyes filled with unease, but even more so with trust in her master.

"But..." Elena wanted to argue.

"No buts."

Ex's voice turned cold, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

"They want us exhausted, they want us to panic. The calmer we remain, the more control we can maintain. Now, go and rest. That's an order."

His gaze swept over the three of them, finally settling on Elena. His eyes, like cold iron, carried an undeniable weight.

Elena's body stiffened.

The urgency of the situation threw her into a panic.

But then she saw X's unfathomable eyes. There was no panic in them, only a profound stillness.

She calmed down, bit her lower lip, and finally nodded.

"...Okay," she replied softly.

"Very good." Ex's tone softened slightly. "Tomorrow, we'll play by their rules. But the outcome won't be up to them."

He turned to Angel and Mary: "You two go too. Save your energy; we'll need all our strength tomorrow."

Angel hesitated for a moment, but still let go of X's arm, ran to Elena's side, and took her hand: "Sister Elena, let's...let's rest."

Looking into Angel's clear blue eyes, Elena felt her anxiety subside somewhat.

She took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"Mmm," she replied.

The two walked up the stairs together. Mary, as if granted a pardon, quickly followed.

Suddenly, only Ax was left in the living room.

He walked to the window again and lifted a corner of the heavy velvet curtains.

The street outside the window appeared blurry and distorted in the rain. The glow of the gas lamps stretched out on the wet ground.

But still nothing was found.

Since we haven't found the other person and can't determine if they're there... let's consider following the rules first.

"A game..." Ex murmured to himself.

He drew back the curtains and turned to walk toward the mahogany desk in the center of the living room. Catherine's notebook was still open there, recording her itinerary for the day—Scotland Yard, then the Old Sailor's Bar, and then…disappearance.

Ax picked up the notebook and flipped through it page by page. However, he didn't find any obvious clues in the notebook.

Catherine did not mention in her notebook who she had offended.

Since we don't know the other party's identity, we can only prepare ourselves first.

Ex closed his laptop and continued to stand guard in the living room.

It's not just to prevent bad guys from getting in, but also to prevent attacks from alien species.

And so, Ax waited quietly for the dawn to break.

Waiting for the game to begin.

■

The next day, as dawn broke.

The rain had only lessened a bit today. The gray sky hung low, like a huge lead plate, pressing heavily over the city.

But for X, this was already considered good weather.

In the rainy world, when the rain lessens, it's like a sunny day in reality.

Seeing that everyone else had already gotten up, he went back to his room, changed into a dark coat that was easy to move in, and fastened the revolver to his waist.

Then he went downstairs.

At this moment, Elena and Angel were already waiting in the living room.

Irene's face was still somewhat pale, but her eyes were unusually firm.

Angel stayed close to her, her little face showing a hint of nervousness, but also a sense of eagerness.

"Breakfast is ready." Mary brought out some toast and a pot of hot tea from the kitchen. "Sir, you would like to...?"

"No need," Ex interrupted her. "I can do it myself if needed."

He walked to the table and picked up the blood-stained letter.

"About the first location... the old quarry, east of Greenwich Park in the suburbs of London." Ax read the address aloud. "Elena, how much do you know about that place?"

"A quarry?" Irene frowned. "Let me think... there..."

"I know where it is," the maid Mary said cautiously.

Everyone else's eyes immediately turned to her.

She instinctively shrank back: "A few years ago, there was a mutated disaster there. It was then purified by the Holy Church, but it was still abandoned. I heard that mutated creatures still roam around there."

"An abandoned quarry...and there are mutants there?"

"Ex couldn't help but ask."

"But if there are variants, wouldn't that lead to contaminated areas?"

"The presence of mutants doesn't automatically lead to a contaminated area," Elena corrected at this point. "The situation only begins to deteriorate when 'territorial mutants' emerge among them."

However, Elena added, "It's just that usually only those alien disasters that develop rapidly and cause serious consequences are remembered and noticed."

I understand, so everyone has developed a habitual way of thinking.

I have a feeling that the appearance of an alien species will be accompanied by a serious alien disaster.

In reality, it's just a matter of probability.

Furthermore, minor alien disasters might not even be reported in the newspapers, so people might not even remember them.

"However, there's something amiss... The other party hid the clues there; they don't have good intentions."

Ex sneered.

"They might want us to die."

"Then we..." Angel looked at Ex nervously.

"Of course we have to go." Ax walked to the window, his tone resolute. "Catherine is in their hands. And this is just the first step in the game. We can't back down."