Four sharp cracks echoed, followed by the piercing whistle of bullets tearing through the air.

Before Nakamura Haruhiko could react, the spinning projectiles had already pierced his palm, shoulder, and both thighs.

“Aaah—!”

A guttural scream tore from his throat. Crippled by the four wounds, he collapsed, writhing on the ground. Blood seeped from his limbs, pooling darkly beneath him. The pain and blood loss blurred his vision into darkness. Yet consciousness clung stubbornly.

Gritting his teeth, his face twisted in fury, he lifted his head to glare at his attacker.

“Do you have any idea who I am?!” he spat. “You dare do this… the Azure Dragon Group will never let you go!”

He squirmed, trying to rise, but every movement sent fresh agony lancing through his wounds.

Yueci Porcelain watched the newcomer, relief softening the tension in her brow.

Standing there in a crisp police uniform was Nishikino An. Her face was ice-cold, eyes blazing with barely contained violence. The long scar over her right eye deepened with her scowl, sharpening her lethal aura. Smoke curled faintly from the muzzle of her service pistol, the air above it shimmering with heat from the rapid shots.

“Hmph…”

“Jumping clown…”

Nishikino An sneered down at Nakamura’s twitching form, then deliberately looked away as if he were filth.

Nakamura opened his mouth to curse—then froze. Someone stood behind Nishikino.

His eyes focused.

It was Ōhara—the very man who’d bitten a chunk out of his crew not long ago!

Ōhara glared down at the fallen Nakamura, his rugged, dark face hardened into a snarl.

At the sight of him, Nakamura’s blood-drained face turned ghostly pale.

*Was he seeing things…? Ōhara—the police attack dog?*

*Following a… cop?*

Only then did he register the insignia on Nishikino’s shoulder.

*Ch-Chief Superintendent?!*

This job was supposed to be off the books. How had they known?

He’d been bluffing about the gang’s reach—who’d expect the Chief Superintendent herself here?!

*Had that brat Tanaka Kenta set him up with the cops?!*

“You… you police lapdog…!” Nakamura rasped from the ground, straining to lift his head. His neck tendons stood out like ropes as he glared at Ōhara. To him, the Blood Shadow Group’s police connections made them nothing but attack dogs. Seeing them together confirmed it. *No wonder they rose so fast. No wonder they acted so boldly.*

“Shut your mouth!” Ōhara snapped, eyes bulging with fury. He held back only because Nishikino’s little lover was present. He’d been savoring the spoils from the West District crew, eager for his boss’s praise—until this ambush. When Nishikino saw those two missed calls, learned Yueci had been dismissed early… and witnessed Nakamura firing from afar… The sheer killing intent radiating from her had chilled even a hardened veteran like him. Rage simmered hotter in Ōhara’s chest; his glare alone seemed to flay Nakamura alive.

Nishikino raised her pistol, blew lightly across the muzzle, then holstered it at her waist.

“Call it in.”

Without looking at Ōhara, she tilted her head toward the phone. Then she strode toward Yueci.

“Yes, Boss…” Ōhara blinked, then quickly pulled out his phone. He walked away, dialing as he put distance between himself and the two women.

Nakamura lay sprawled between them, fading fast from blood loss. But the word “Boss” jolted him. He lifted his head, terror etching his face.

*Boss?*

“You… you’re… from Blood Shadow…?”

Nishikino’s gaze remained fixed on Yueci. She stepped over Nakamura’s mangled, bleeding hand without breaking stride.

“Aaagh—!”

Another shriek ripped through the air. Unimaginable pain flooded his mind. Nakamura’s eyes rolled back, and he finally slumped into unconsciousness. Dirt and grit from her shoe sole ground into his ruined flesh.

Nishikino ignored him completely. Only when she stood before Yueci did the killing chill in her eyes thaw. Seeing the torn fabric and bloodstains on Yueci’s shoulder, her expression flickered—first fury, then tenderness.

Yueci hadn’t fully processed it yet. The strange tingling in her shoulder had vanished; the skin beneath the torn uniform was smooth and unblemished again. *Such a waste of my new uniform.* At least they’d issued two sets. Still… a faint hunger stirred in her stomach.

She frowned slightly at Nishikino’s worried face.

“Are you hurt?” Nishikino asked.

Nishikino paused. *Shouldn’t I be asking you that?* A soft chuckle escaped her.

“Just gutter rats.” Her tone was light, but her eyes were stormy. *Vermin don’t deserve sunlight.* “If I hadn’t come… were you planning to find me covered in cuts?”

Yueci only pressed her lips together, looking almost innocent.

“…My fault,” Nishikino muttered, rubbing her brow. “I should’ve given you a phone.”

Just as Yueci opened her mouth to reply—

Chaos erupted again!

The thugs Yueci had downed earlier staggered up. They snatched their discarded pipes and lunged at Nishikino’s back—three directions at once!

“Watch out—!”

Yueci yanked Nishikino’s shirtfront, pulling her into a sudden, chest-to-chest collision. The scent of cool mint filled Nishikino’s nose. Sirens wailed closer. A shadow of something unreadable flashed in her eyes.

The pipe aimed at her head swung through empty air.

“Leave it to me.”

Her voice was calm. One thug flew backward, kicked hard in the chest. A sharp *crack* echoed as another dropped to his knees, clutching his broken nose. The last thug dropped his pipe, hands raised in surrender.

Police cars and ambulances screeched to a halt. Officers took in the bloody scene and swiftly cuffed the thugs. The lead officer saluted Nishikino. She gave a curt, icy nod.

Nakamura was loaded onto a stretcher.

As the last police van pulled away, Nishikino turned to Yueci. Her gaze held a new, probing sharpness.

“That phone you used to call me…”

“Was it… the girl you were with that day?”