In the shadowed corner, Mirror October’s crimson-red eyes swept over the unfriendly message on his phone. His sister, Liuhua Jing, was coming to City C—and from the looks of it, she was dead set on moving in with him. She must have sensed something… After all, they’d been each other’s only family for so long. No matter how perfectly Mirror October disguised himself, Liuhua Jing could always catch faint traces of something amiss.

Mirror flowers and water moon—illusory and fleeting—each of the three had carved their own path.

The Dean’s three most prized children had now grown into adults, ready to shoulder their ideals and destinies. Among them, Mirror October once resembled Ruosui Jing the most, while Liuhua Jing remained the most reserved. Ironically, all three were entangled with superheroes in ways they couldn’t escape.

Mirror October had never pried into his sister’s work, but he knew it involved research on superheroes and the roots of the Dire Calamity. Coincidentally, the Jigsaw Sect he founded had also been tackling that very field.

Especially given Mirror October’s current identity…

If he modestly claimed second place in understanding the Dire Calamity, no scholar would dare claim first.

He pocketed his phone. The gentle, warm facade vanished in an instant, replaced by an icy indifference no force could thaw. Even if the world crumbled before his eyes, not a flicker of sorrow would stir within him—a presence that instinctively commanded awe and dread.

His features blurred like ripples on water. A slender figure draped in a black overcoat with blood-red lining emerged. Immaculate white gloves traced the lines of his long fingers.

He seemed worlds away—as if he no longer belonged to this reality.

People around him unconsciously ignored him, or perhaps simply lacked the right to see or touch him. Truly, they existed in entirely separate realms. Mirror October—or Saw—stepped lightly, as if walking down a starlit boulevard under a thousand gazes.

The more his humanity withered, the more he cherished what little remained.

He could admit it:

The most formidable criminal trembled with fear. He felt his ties to this world thinning. After witnessing endless crimes in the dead of night, a destructive, apocalyptic impulse surged within him. If he couldn’t purify this filthy world… then at least, he’d end it all.

"Apologies for keeping you waiting, Saw."

The voice belonged to a grinning young master whose casual attire contrasted sharply with the shadowy figure standing behind him—a silhouette mirroring his own form, yet radiating bone-chilling cold. Within that darkness, countless stitched seams crawled across the surface, making one’s scalp prickle.

"No need to apologize. I’ve only waited minutes, Dragon Sparrow." The Jigsaw Sect’s other heavyweight disciple—and the sole one who’d passed every trial to earn Mirror October’s trust. "But driving here yourself? Crimson Trade must be swamped."

"No trouble at all. Crimson Trade’s nearly there. I’d only get in the way. So… I came to see how I might assist." An eerie quality clung to Dragon Sparrow’s voice—a dual-layered tone with an almost imperceptible difference between the layers.

Dragon Sparrow opened the car door like a dutiful chauffeur, gesturing for Mirror October to enter.

Among Jigsaw Disciples, Dragon Sparrow ranked undisputed first in danger level. His methods were more extreme than others’. Even Crimson Trade, the executioner, harbored quiet doubts about his loyalty.

Yet Mirror October saw clearer than anyone.

Beneath that grotesque body lay a heart yearning to save. *A Saint*, Mirror October had once called him.

"Some music?" Dragon Sparrow suggested from the driver’s seat. Mirror October neither nodded nor shook his head, instead asking casually about Crimson Trade’s progress.

"Found ‘her’?"

"Ah, tricky. She’s the Central Bureau’s ace. Even broken, she’s still useful." Dragon Sparrow’s smile was blindingly sunny—*painfully* sunny. Especially when mentioning the Bureau and ‘her’, his delight was impossible to mask.

*Justice Knight. S-Class hero. Shelved away.*

"So I had Windwhisperer look into it. Hope you don’t mind?" The Jigsaw Sect’s hidden network of like-minded allies had grown terrifyingly vast.

"No."

Mirror October’s crimson eyes flickered faintly at Dragon Sparrow’s presumption. Windwhisperer was a superhero’s alias within the Sect—a figure bound to Saw by deep history.

"I’ll send the exact location via the Mirror Flower Node. Our dear Justice Knight is in… *terrible* shape. Even without a push, she’ll collapse on her own." The data was exhaustive—almost excessively so. But given Windwhisperer’s position, it made sense.

After absorbing the node’s information, Mirror October’s lips curved into an elegant, captivating smile.

"I must thank those Central Bureau pigs for setting such perfect conditions. Did they truly think an S-Class would surrender so easily? ‘She’ stayed there only because she’s waiting for *me*." A cold scoff escaped him. He saw exactly what the so-called Justice Knight craved.

*The game isn’t over. She can’t die yet.*

"I’ll need you to prepare something, Dragon Sparrow."

"Your command is my duty."

"Use your Bureau connections to… nudge one thing forward."

With their top-tier forces crippled, the Superhero Administration would recruit fresh blood. If someone merely hinted at Saw’s lingering relics within the Bureau, those bureaucrats would know exactly what to do. How could they resist such power? If they *had* resisted, Mirror October might’ve respected them.

*Valkyrie—the battlefield goddess. Her silhouette was breathtaking.*