Lin Yu dresses in a black coat and pants, the fabric carrying the faint scent of seawind and ink.

He steps through the towering gates of the Extraordinary Guard Division’s medical branch in Pearlshade City, the capital of the Blue Whale Kingdom—a city gleaming by the tranquil waters of the Pearl Sea.

The lobby is quiet, sunlight spilling through tall glass windows, glinting off metal signs and polished floors.

Behind the front desk, a young girl slumps forward, cheek pressed to an open ledger. Soft snores rise from her lips.

Lin Yu approaches, his steps measured. He raps his knuckles lightly on the desk.

The girl jerks awake, hair—a mess of chestnut curls—bouncing as she shoots up straight. “I’m awake! I’m awake!” she blurts, blinking rapidly before her wide brown eyes land on him. “Oh! Who are you?”

“Dr Yu Ling,” Lin Yu says evenly, withdrawing an identity card from his coat and placing it before her.

Her face lights up with surprise. “Oh, you’re the doctor from the Shadow Dukedom! The one who applied for the coroner position!”

“Yes,” Lin Yu replies. “Could you lead me to Chief Tory’s office?”

The girl nods hurriedly, springing from her chair. “Yes, yes! Chief Tory’s been waiting for you—urgently.”

Lin Yu arches a brow. “Why urgently?”

Her tone shifts, dropping low with unease. “You don’t know? All the coroners working for us were killed six months ago. Every new applicant since then has… died too.”

Lin Yu’s expression doesn’t change. He hadn’t bothered checking into the details of the posting. He had seen the job through the Blue Whale Kingdom’s diplomatic office in Shadow City and taken it—because it kept him close to death, nothing more.

The girl studies him closely, nervous fingers fidgeting with her sleeve. “Are you… Regretting applying for the job now?”

Lin Yu meets her gaze, his eyes calm and unreadable. The shadow of a faint smile passes across his lips, cold and distant—like the surface of the Pearl Sea at dusk.

“No, take me to meet Chief Tory.”

The girl exhales, shoulders relaxing in visible relief. “Let’s go,” she says quickly, pushing her chair back and standing up.

She turns toward the left corridor, her footsteps brisk on the marble floor. Lin Yu follows, his pace unhurried, his eyes sliding over the rows of closed office doors and the faint shimmer of wards embedded in the walls.

After passing a few doors, the girl stops before one with a brass nameplate etched *Chief Tory*, knocks twice, then opens it.

“Chief, Dr Yu Ling has arrived,” she says, stepping in.

Lin Yu enters after her, standing silently beside as his gaze lands on the man behind the desk. Chief Tory looks middle-aged, with neatly combed dark brown hair and thin-rimmed glasses framing steady brown eyes.

Lin Yu inclines his head slightly. “Good morning, Chief Tory.”

The man blinks, visibly surprised by the doctor’s composed demeanour, then rises to his feet. “Good morning, Dr Yu Ling. Please, have a seat.”

Lin Yu nods once and takes the chair across from him.

Chief Tory glances at the girl. “Mary, you can leave.”

She nods obediently and slips out, closing the door softly behind her.

Chief Tory turns back to Lin Yu, his tone formal but sincere. “Dr Yu Ling, I’m very thankful that you decided to become the coroner for our department.”

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Lin Yu meets his eyes, voice even. “It’s all my pleasure.”

Chief Tory’s expression hardens, the polite veneer slipping away. His gaze sharpens, studying Lin Yu as though to read the truth beneath his calm tone. “I wonder,” he says slowly, “why you decided to take this job, even after knowing the trouble surrounding the coroner’s post.”

Lin Yu leans back, unfazed, his tone casual. “I heard about it from Mary a few minutes ago.”

Chief Tory’s brow furrows. “Oh? Then are you still willing to take the job?”

Lin Yu shrugs lightly, his eyes steady. “I’m a Tier Six extraordinary of the Way of Life. I’m not afraid of the killer.”

Chief Tory’s eyes widen. Surprise flickers across his face—he hadn’t expected this calm man to be an extraordinary, much less of such a high tier. When he accepted Lin Yu’s application, it had been out of desperation; no one wanted the coroner’s position. He had only noticed the note about Lin Yu’s medical background in the Shadow Dukedom’s main hospital, not his strength.

Gathering himself, Chief Tory asks, “Then what was your reason for taking this job?”

Lin Yu’s lips curve faintly. “Change of scenery. A new challenge.”

Chief Tory studies him a moment longer, then nods slowly. “Very well.”

Pushing his chair back, he stands and gestures toward the door. “Let’s go. I’ll show you to your work area.”

Lin Yu rises and follows him through the corridor. The building grows quieter as they descend a narrow flight of stairs and enter a cold, sterile hallway lined with iron doors.

Chief Tory stops before one of them, unlocking it with a key from his belt. He pushes the door open, and a faint smell of disinfectant and metal wafts out.

“This will be your workspace,” Chief Tory says quietly.

The room is empty—no assistants, no bodies, no signs of life.

Only the gleam of steel tables under pale light, and the lingering weight of silence left by those who worked here before and never walked out.

A few hours later, Chief Tory sits in a meeting room with the other two heads of the Extraordinary Guard Division — Administration Department Chief Abel and Investigation Department Chief Benjamin.

Abel, a sharp-featured man with gold-rimmed glasses, looks across the table at Benjamin. “Ben, whose team did you assign to solve MP Arthur Wenton’s daughter’s case?”

The mood in the room is heavy.

The daughter of MP Wenton was found dead an hour ago, locked inside a private dining room of a restaurant.

The case has drawn immediate political pressure, forcing the three chiefs into an emergency meeting.

Benjamin frowns at the use of his nickname. “I sent Team Three,” he says curtly, then turns his eyes toward Tory. “But they requested a coroner. Should I ask the city police to send one of theirs again?”

Abel interjects, glancing toward Tory. “Tory, I received a report that a new coroner joined your division just a few hours ago.”

Benjamin arches a brow. “Really? Is he not afraid of ending up dead like the others?”

Tory shrugs lightly, his tone dry. “He’s a Tier Six extraordinary.”

Benjamin’s eyes widen in disbelief. “Tier Six? The Shadow Duke actually let such a person leave his territory?”

Tory gives a half-smile. “Who knows what the Shadow Duke thinks? Maybe he came here under the Duke’s order. Either way, it doesn’t matter to us. What matters is that he solves our problem.”

Abel nods firmly. “Agreed. We can’t delay. Tory, send Dr Yu Ling to the crime scene immediately.”

Tory inclines his head. “I’ll see to it right away.”

He stands, leaving the room.

Moments later, a black carriage halts in front of a crowded street, its path blocked by onlookers gathered outside a tall, brightly lit restaurant.

The sound of murmuring voices fills the air, mixed with the faint wail of guards pushing people back.

Mary steps out first, straightening her uniform and glancing around nervously.

Then Lin Yu steps down after her, his long black coat settling around him, his eyes calm and distant as he looks at the building where death has just occurred.

The sun hangs high, its heat pouring down in waves, pressing against his coat and skin. Lin Yu briefly wonders if, upon reaching Tier Eight in his Life Evolution path, he should incorporate heat resistance into his body’s next refinement.

He follows Mary through the crowd as she pushes forward, flashing her identity card. The guards at the door step aside, and the two of them enter the building.

Inside, tension thickens the air. Armed men stand in formation, their faces set, weapons slung and ready. A cordon of guards blocks the staircase leading to the upper floor.

Mary and Lin Yu walk toward the stairs, but one of the guards steps in front of them, hand resting on the butt of his gun. “MP Weston instructed that nobody go upstairs,” the guard says sharply.

Mary’s tone hardens. “We’re from the Extraordinary Guard Division.”

The guard’s expression doesn’t change. He merely stares at them, and behind him, several others raise their hands to their weapons—ready to shoot at a single wrong move.

While Mary argues with the guard, Lin Yu stands still, his gaze calm, his senses quietly expanding without releasing his spirit sense. He listens.

Above them, faint echoes reach his ears—crying, the murmurs of distressed voices, and the sharp, commanding tone of a man shouting orders.

Mary’s raised voice draws more attention. Footsteps sound from above, firm and quick.

A moment later, a man appears at the top of the staircase and begins descending.

“Mary,” he calls, his brows furrowing, “why are you here?”

Mary’s face lights up in recognition. “Eloise, tell the guards to let us through! I brought the new coroner from the Medical Department.”

Eloise’s gaze shifts toward Lin Yu—sharp, measuring, and curious.

Lin Yu meets his eyes in silence.

The air between them stills.