In the narrow alley, Sol and Anby walked hand in hand, moving slowly step by step.

Anby knew this was wrong. Sol's relationship with Nicole had already been made completely public within the organization, and what she was doing now—holding hands like this—was a little too intimate.

She wanted to pull her hand away, yet in the end, she didn't.

The deserted alley, barely a hundred meters long, felt like a world apart—an isolated pocket where she could breathe and enjoy a rare moment of peace.

The distance was short, but Sol walked slowly. It wasn't about desire; he simply enjoyed this tranquil moment with Anby.

At times like this, he felt that to deliberately pursue a girl as pure as Anby would be an act of desecration. Even without anything improper, just holding hands was enough.

In such a mood, Sol couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to the rune sorceress—the gangster girl trailing behind them. He only hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid.

Anby didn't urge him either; she simply matched his pace, quietly, patiently, walking slower and slower.

Their relationship didn't matter right now. What mattered was this fleeting moment together.

Seeing the alley's exit not far ahead, where the crowd outside bustled endlessly, Anby suddenly felt reluctant to leave.

And within that hesitation, she snapped back to awareness—realizing something she hadn't noticed during their peaceful stroll.

Her brows furrowed slightly as she spoke gravely, "Someone's following us."

"Yes." Sol nodded lightly, his relaxed smile fading. "But they won't be for long."

He could slaughter endlessly within a Hollow without hesitation—but he had no desire to kill a bug right now.

Even if all it would take was a casual pinch—effortless, insignificant—it would ruin his mood, and that alone made him want to break something.

Leena stepped swiftly out from the shadows of the alley, a wild grin twisting her face, a double-barreled shotgun in hand.

She licked her lips, her expression feral and cruel. "I hate people showing off their love in front of me. But you two just had to do it."

Her gaze fell on Anby with disgust. "Another white-haired fox. Don't even know where you crawled out from."

Then she turned to Sol, eyes glinting with vicious hunger. "Blame your bad luck—you met me today."

The shotgun spun nimbly between her fingers as she leveled it at them, looming over the pair. They looked capable, sure—but she was a desperate woman, and desperate women feared nothing.

Click.

The shotgun stopped spinning, barrel pointed straight at Sol's forehead.

Leena stared hard at him, waiting to see that familiar look of fear and trembling she loved so much on her victims.

But there was none. The young man's face remained utterly calm, his eyes still, as though gazing through her to something behind.

Even the white-haired girl beside him showed no fear at all—as if Leena were holding a piece of rotten wood instead of a gun. Even without Sol there, she wouldn't have been afraid. And with him here, she was certainly not afraid.

"Stop pretending."

Leena cursed under her breath, irritated by their calm.

Her finger tightened on the trigger. She was already considering giving Sol a lesson.

Sure, firing here went against her plan to keep things quiet—but who said someone carrying Ether explosives had to behave rationally?

Yet Sol didn't even glance at the deranged woman losing her mind. Instead, his eyes shifted past her, and he said calmly, "I don't like people hiding in the dark. You'd better not be her accomplice."

A short distance behind Leena, Jane Doe knew instantly she'd been discovered.

She sighed inwardly at Sol's frightening perception, then stepped out from the shadows openly.

Hands raised, she smiled pleasantly—playing the part of a harmless little gray mouse.

She understood the situation well enough: a young couple's romantic moment interrupted by a random gang thug. Tension was already high; she needed sincerity, not her usual undercover act.

Jane Doe looked at Sol and smiled—warm, radiant, as gentle as the spring breeze in March. "Hello. I'm from Public Security—one of the good guys."

Her hands remained raised high in what looked like a French-style salute, yet her movements were graceful, not the least bit awkward.

The metallic blade at the tip of her slender tail glinted faintly as she raised it slightly, further emphasizing her harmlessness.

"I believe you," Sol said.

Looking at the mature woman before him—her torn black stockings, her sapphire-blue eyes shining with sincerity—his irritation suddenly faded.

Not because lust clouded his mind, but because her gaze, though undoubtedly a mask, was so convincingly genuine it was hard to doubt.

"Do you know her?" Anby asked curiously, standing beside Sol.

It always seemed like wherever they went, Sol had some beautiful acquaintance waiting.

"No." Sol shook his head. "But I've got connections in Public Security. She can't fool me."

By now, being ignored for so long, Leena couldn't stand it anymore.

The young man before her was no ordinary target—he'd even made the undercover who'd chased her to exhaustion reveal herself voluntarily.

But so, what? She still had a belt of Ether explosives strapped around her waist.

She had confidence—explosively so.

"Looks like I picked two tough ones today," Leena sneered. "Look here! I've got a bomb on me!"

She flung open her leather jacket, revealing glimmering crystalline explosives. "Let me go, and no one gets hurt!"

"Condensed Ether explosives," Anby said gravely. "Judging by the design, they're civilian-modified, not standard issue. But given the size… the blast output is at least one thousand standard units."

A single unit of Ether energy was enough to destroy a small building or vehicle at close range.

One thousand units… was over fifty times stronger than the shell they'd faced in the Red Fang Gang's building.

"If that thing explodes here, half of Lumina Square would vanish," Jane said, glancing at Sol, her face growing serious.

Her pursuit had left one side open intentionally—to give Leena a path of escape, so she wouldn't act rashly.

But now the situation was out in the open, completely beyond her control.

If that condensed Ether bomb detonated here, the consequences would be catastrophic.

"You do know your stuff," Leena laughed wildly. "Then you know what to do. You two women—tie yourselves up and be my hostages. As long as I get out safely, no one gets hurt."

She didn't want Sol—clearly the man was trouble, someone even the undercover feared.

As she spoke, she tapped the bomb lightly. "With this, I'm sure you'll—"

Anby and Jane exchanged a glance, already ready to act. Both confident in their abilities, they were prepared to turn the tables.

All they needed was to feign weakness, infiltrate her defenses, and then let Sol strike from behind—the perfect inside-out coordination.

"You talk too much."

Sol had no patience to play with Leena any longer.

Like a monarch commanding the frost, the air around him obeyed his will.

Crack! Crack!

Pale blue ice surged upward from Leena's feet.

Calves, knees, thighs—

In an instant, her entire lower body was encased in crystalline ice.

"Ah—!"

Her scream froze halfway through, cut short as sound itself seemed trapped within the frost.

Her terrified expression sealed inside the ice, forming a flawless, lifelike sculpture.