"Shin, you're really just going to let her stay there?"
"I don't feel like it's very safe."
Yeyan walked alongside Shin, glancing back at the center of Dead End Hollow, the image of the Advanced Automaton constable lingering in her mind.
"She's safer there than anywhere else."
Shin waved her hand with a hint of helplessness. If those three black spheres were truly as she had witnessed, then the area around the Ether crystal was the safest place Qingyi could be.
Based on what she had seen in Hollow Zero, the power of those black spheres was enough to guarantee absolute safety for anyone.
"Hmm... Advanced Automaton, huh... pretty strange, really."
Hearing Shin's reply, Yeyan eased up, though she still looked a little puzzled and curious.
She had some knowledge of Advanced Automatons, and in her eyes, Qingyi was definitely an unusual case.
Shin, standing beside her, maintained a neutral expression.
Anyone close to the Fire Picker couldn't possibly be ordinary. That guy never had "normal" people around him.
Still, Qingyi was a senior investigator—there was a lot involved in that. Maybe she should remind Zane later...
Time passed slowly, snow continuing to fall.
It wasn't heavy, but it never stopped.
The situation in Dead End Hollow didn't stir much of a response.
Zane's disappearance didn't either.
Aside from Belobog Heavy Industries asking after him, and a certain shark girl keeping an eye out, neither Hare's House nor Belle seemed particularly worried.
That wasn't because they didn't care.
It was because ever since they'd met Zane, he had brought a strong sense of security and trust. They simply didn't believe anything bad could happen to him.
Especially since Qingyi had told them not to worry. With the word of Zane's own teacher, everyone felt reassured.
As the snow piled up, New Eridu entered a rare moment of "calm."
Everything settled down.
And for the city—strained as it had been—it was a much-needed chance to catch its breath.
At the Tanuki House, Nekomata continued her work, though the absence of Zane made the café feel incomplete.
At Hare's House, the heavy snow caused the already rare commissions to drop to nearly zero. Nicole and the others found themselves with little to do.
Aside from the occasional trinket Nekomata brought back, most days were empty. In the past, Hare's House barely scraped by—now they were barely scraping at all.
The ever-shrinking numbers in their account were on the verge of disaster.
Zane had previously given Hare's House a large sum of money. By all rights, they shouldn't be struggling—but Nicole had sworn not to touch that money.
That money was for the orphanage kids.
It was the most genuine connection between her and Zane.
Nicole tried to cut spending while looking for other sources of income, but opportunities were few and far between.
Billy had vanished on his journey to find a heating system, and Anby was trapped in a dreamland of hamburgers.
As for Nicole, she remained troubled by Hare's House's future.
Was this rare snowy day going to bury them for good?
So, even with this rare downtime, the trio at Hare's House wore nothing but anxious faces.
Over at the video store, business was slow due to the weather, but under Fairy's careful planning, Belle and Wise managed to get by.
Of course, Wise's secret stash helped—a lot.
Even if Belle had been the one to discover it...
The snow affected everything, but not the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team. As law enforcement officers, they didn't get time off.
Especially without Qingyi, Zhu Yuan was even busier than usual. Fortunately, Seth was around, so it wasn't overwhelming...
Time trickled on.
Snow kept falling in New Eridu.
...
...
...
The snow seemed endless.
Zane didn't know how long it had been. He hadn't even realized the silver-white snow had been falling.
He only felt one thing.
Cold. Bone-deep cold.
And it shouldn't have been like this.
He had been asleep in a sea of fire—a blazing world so hot it twisted the very air.
But now, everything was cold.
His consciousness drifted in a void of darkness. The chill reached into his soul, slowing his very thoughts.
It was unbearable.
At least, Zane hated it.
But he had no way to resist. No means to change his situation. All he could do was endure it.
Endlessly endure.
Until—
A beam of sunlight.
...
...
...
A sharp cry reached his ears—birds, chirping brightly and excitedly. The sound pierced into his mind, loud and clear.
Noisy.
But full of life.
The darkness ebbed like a receding tide. It faded. Zane slowly opened his eyes. A shaft of light landed directly on his face, painfully bright.
He instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes. As his deep-blue eyes gradually adjusted to the light, the scene before him came into focus.
A wooden ceiling.
Zane had never seen one before.
His body felt like it was resting in soft cotton. He shifted slightly, trying to move limbs that felt rusty from disuse. Bracing himself with his hands, he sat up.
"Where... is this?"
He looked around. The room was plain. So plain, he questioned whether he was still in New Eridu at all.
The furnishings were minimal—a pot of drooping white flowers on the balcony, a wooden cabinet, a wooden table, and a few small ornaments on top.
Still, the space was tidy and calming. Zane could even smell a faint, pleasant scent.
It was easy to recognize—the smell of plants and flowers.
Looking down, he saw he was lying on a modest bed with a thin blanket draped over him. The bed was soft. Comfortable.
"Did I get kidnapped?"
A few question marks floated over Zane's head. But then he shook it.
Who would even think to kidnap him? For what?
So he could tear their operation apart?
He examined his surroundings again, more carefully this time. Then he turned and looked at the wall behind him—where a photo, roughly the size of a head, hung in plain sight.
Zane blinked and leaned in to get a better look.
Front and center was Zhu Yuan holding the camera, Qingyi beside her with a calm face and a peace sign raised. Just behind them was Seth, clutching a stack of documents and leaning in.
In the corner of the photo's frame, there was a small bit of something gray—a little whip-like thing that looked suspiciously like a mouse's tail.
Yeah... Zane thought his comparison was pretty spot-on.
"So this is one of the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team's rooms?"