The police car sped toward the outskirts of Celephais.
During the drive, Luca took the opportunity to learn from Ivanka and the others about their reasons for coming to Celephais, as well as the current state of the Morning Star organization.
Morning Star operates five main divisions across Summer Country, covering the east, west, south, north, and central regions.
Celephais falls within the northern region, under the jurisdiction of Ivanka’s northern division, which now commands over a hundred players.
Excluding non-combat support personnel, there are currently about 12 teams actively carrying out missions. Each team has five members responsible for the safety of various cities within the northern region. The Transcendent incident near Celephais is being handled by Ivanka’s Quagmire Squad.
Quagmire’s team is the strongest Morning Star squad in the northern region. The squad leader, Quagmire, is said to be an S-Class danger-rated player—a level only a handful of individuals worldwide have reached, many of whom are renowned in later years. However, Luca had never heard of Quagmire in his previous life and guessed that he might have been a powerful figure who fell early on.
This time, Quagmire’s team came to Celephais specifically to handle a Transcendent incident tied to Coarmy.
A few days prior, Coarmy had used his abilities to track down a player he intended to recruit for Morning Star. However, upon revealing his identity, the player not only refused but also unleashed Transcendent powers, killing several police officers and escaping police custody.
This player is now classified as a B-Class threat. His last known location was a suburban neighborhood where he had massacred a family of five. The victims included a pregnant woman and a six-year-old child—a gruesome, brutal scene.
Ivanka’s team had come to deal with this monster. But as soon as they landed, they received orders regarding Coarmy’s kidnapping.
In response, their captain, Quagmire, headed directly to the scene, while Ivanka’s team was tasked with coordinating with Luca to retrieve the USB drive and rescue Coarmy.
Interestingly, despite the relatively low profile Luca had maintained, the danger level of the incident was assessed as A-Class—higher than that of the fugitive player.
The road was busy with traffic.
Outside, the scenery rushed past.
As the car sped towards the outskirts of Celephais.
Luca suddenly realized the road looked oddly familiar.
A strange feeling crept into his heart, and with a sense of foreboding, he glanced at Fuzzsir, who sat next to him, and asked, “Which neighborhood is that player hiding in?”
Fuzzsir thought for a moment, then replied, “No idea. I forgot.”
Luca: …
He knew he shouldn’t have asked this guy.
“It should be Sunshine Street in the Sixth District,” Ivanka interjected.
She then noticed Luca’s expression darkening and asked in surprise, “What’s wrong? Do you know that place?”
“My house is right there.” Luca rubbed his forehead, letting out a bitter smile.
He hadn’t expected someone this dangerous to be hiding so close to his home.
Hopefully, nothing bad would happen…
…
Meanwhile, on Sunshine Street.
A car slowly pulled up and came to a stop.
“Ah! Finally home!” Susie eagerly swung the door open, spread her arms, and embraced the air, her face radiating pure bliss.
After more than a week in the hospital, she had felt suffocated.
Now, she could finally go home and play her games!
“You didn’t even bring the keys. Always so scatterbrained—how will you ever find someone to marry like this?” Zoey sighed from behind her. Susie turned around and stuck out her tongue in a playful response.
“Alright, let’s go. I’ll make a big feast for everyone tonight,” Darabont said with a smile, opening the trunk and pulling out a large haul of groceries.
The past few days had been nerve-wracking for the whole family, but thankfully, Susie hadn’t had any more incidents. Now that she was finally discharged, they all wanted to celebrate properly.
“Yes! I want honey-glazed roast meat! Fruit pizza! And…” Susie’s face sparkled with excitement, and she was about to continue her list when she suddenly stopped and let out a soft “Huh,” her gaze fixed on a distant rooftop, her eyes wide with surprise.
“What’s wrong?” Zoey asked, noticing her reaction as she opened the front door.
Susie stood on her tiptoes, squinting at the rooftop. “I thought I just saw two people running across the roof, but they disappeared in the blink of an eye.”
“Probably just some reckless teenagers doing parkour. Ignore them. But Celephais has been a bit chaotic lately, so don’t go out at night,” Darabont replied, glancing back but not seeing anything unusual. Shaking his head slightly, he added a casual warning.
Susie nodded. Once her parents went inside, she looked back one more time but still saw nothing. She frowned slightly.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that the two figures she had just seen were moving too smoothly, almost like Spider-Man, unlike the extreme sports videos she’d seen online.
But she quickly dismissed the thought, deciding she’d just imagined it.
Closing the door, she slipped on her slippers and dashed upstairs immediately. After days of being away from her game, she was practically itching to play…
However, what Susie didn’t notice was that, just as she closed the door, the two figures she’d spotted on the roof had reappeared, now leaping swiftly from rooftop to rooftop, making their way directly toward her house.
On the roof, the two shadows moved with fluid precision. One of them, appearing to be in his twenties, had a grim expression and long hair. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about him at first glance, except that with a wave of his hand, several green, glowing wooden spikes shot forth.
The other figure was a scruffy man with a stubbled beard, holding a long knife and dressed in a black uniform. He had a cigarette dangling from his lips, a nonchalant expression on his face, and a star emblem pinned to his chest.
This was none other than Ivanka’s squad captain—Quagmire!
Facing the incoming wooden spikes, Quagmire remained completely calm. With a casual swipe of his long blade, he sliced every spike mid-air, then said coolly, “Kid, stop right now, and I’ll make your death quick. If I have to make a move, you won’t get the chance to beg for mercy.”
“Catch me first if you think you can!” the young man sneered, a glint of green flashing in his eyes.
Quagmire’s brow furrowed, and he halted abruptly.
In the next instant, the roof tiles shattered!
A sharp wooden spike shot up from beneath the rooftop!
Had he hesitated even a moment longer, it would have skewered him right through!
But in that brief delay, the young man was already sprinting toward a parked car by the curb.
It was Darabont’s car, the one he’d just parked, with the keys still in the ignition. If the young man got hold of that vehicle, he’d be much harder to catch.
“Courting death!” Quagmire let out a cold snort, his blade glowing red as he swung it toward the youth’s fleeing back.
In a flash, a sharp, blood-red arc of light sliced through the air, cutting into the young man just as he looked back in terror.
Splat!
Blood splattered everywhere!
The young man’s eyes went wide in shock.
One of his arms was severed cleanly at the shoulder!
“Aaahhh!!” His blood-curdling scream pierced the air.
As he writhed on the ground, clutching his bleeding stump in agony.
Blood pooled quickly on the street, staining the pavement.
Terrified bystanders looked on, horrified, at Quagmire standing there with his blade. Someone had already begun dialing the police, clearly mistaking him for an assailant.
Quagmire, however, didn’t care in the slightest.
He slung his blade over his shoulder and strolled leisurely over to the young man, then stomped down hard on the man’s wounded arm, grinding his heel into it.
Amid the agonized, inhuman screams, Quagmire sneered, “Didn’t I tell you not to make me take action, you idiot? You don’t listen, huh?”
The young man’s limbs twitched as his eyes rolled back, nearly passing out from the pain.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to face a madman like this. If he’d known, he might have just surrendered outright.
But it was too late for regrets now.
“Take my advice, kid—next time, listen to those who know better,” Quagmire muttered, spitting out his cigarette. With a swing of his arm, he prepared to sever the young man’s head.
Just then, a sudden shout rang out.
“Police! I order you to drop your weapon and release him immediately!” Darabont stepped out of the house, holding a handgun steady and aimed at Quagmire, his expression cautious.
Killing someone in broad daylight?
Such a ruthless criminal was rare, even for him to encounter.
“Huh?” Quagmire blinked, pointing to himself. “Are you talking to me?”
The bystanders looked on, exasperated—who else would he be talking to? Quagmire was clearly the most suspicious-looking person there.
Darabont scoffed. “I’m warning you, don’t try anything funny. Drop your weapon and surrender now, or I have the authority to shoot you on the spot!”
“What if I told you I’m also a cop? Would you believe me?” Quagmire glanced at the barrel pointed directly at him, then, after a pause, reluctantly set down his blade.
His abilities hadn’t yet reached the level of invulnerability to bullets.
“Do you take me for an idiot?” Darabont rolled his eyes. A guy who casually slashed people to pieces, claiming to be a cop? If that were true, he’d eat his own gun.
Susie peeked out from behind the door.
The moment she saw the fearsome-looking Quagmire and the bloodied, maimed figure on the ground with only one arm remaining, her face went pale, and she quickly pulled her head back.
Clutching her chest, Susie whispered, trembling, “Mom, there’s a killer out there. He looks so scary…”
Quagmire: …
At this point, Donald and Sini, drawn by the commotion outside, stepped out of the house. Their faces paled as they took in the scene before them.
“Call the police, and grab the first aid kit,” Donald said, his tone steady—he was no stranger to bloodshed.
“I’ll get it.” Sini nodded, glancing warily at Quagmire before hurrying back inside to retrieve her phone.
Quagmire was at a loss. He wanted to pull out his badge to prove his identity, but Darabont’s gaze remained fixed on him.
He ready to shoot at the slightest hint of movement.
“I’m really a cop…” Quagmire sighed, feeling more than a bit annoyed. But he wasn’t angry—this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
Darabont and Donald ignored him.
They’d heard it all before. “Police?” They’d met people claiming to be the chief’s illegitimate child.
“Let’s tend to the injured,” Darabont reminded as Sini brought over the first aid kit.
Donald nodded and approached the young man on the ground.
Quagmire’s relaxed expression immediately vanished. “Stay back!” he barked.
Donald paused, confused.
Suddenly, the young man on the ground lifted his head, a twisted grin on his face.
A green light flared!
Out of nowhere, a vine covered in barbed thorns burst up from the ground, lunging straight toward Donald!
Luca, who had just arrived, witnessed the scene and his pupils contracted in shock.