"How? There's an access control system at the entrance."
Mira Tsubakihara covered her mouth, keeping her voice low, her eyes filled with panic.
Now she suddenly understood why Luo Shu had pressed the button for the fourth floor.
Because the elevator display in the lobby would show which floor it stopped at. Right now, the stalker had clearly seen the elevator stop on the fourth floor and was now rushing up the stairs.
Thanks to Luo Shu's deliberate misdirection, the stalker currently believed she was on the fourth floor, buying them some room to manoeuvre.
"Let's go up to the fifth floor."
Luo Shu kept his voice barely above a whisper, even manipulating the surrounding wind elements to displace the air in the stairwell below, muffling any sound transmission.
Now somewhat calmer, Mira Tsubakihara quickly said: "But I'm wearing high heels."
High heels striking the ground at a quick pace would undoubtedly create an astonishingly loud noise, which would surely alert the newly arrived stalker below.
"Hold me."
Luo Shu couldn't easily explain that he'd created a soundproof air barrier, so he immediately stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Mira Tsubakihara's waist. With her cooperation, he lifted her in a princess carry.
Muffling his footsteps, Luo Shu swiftly carried Mira Tsubakihara up to the fifth floor and entered the corridor.
Fortunately, his body had been enhanced after gaining his abilities, allowing him to accomplish this with ease.
Upon reaching the corridor, Luo Shu paused outside room 501 and urgently asked: "Are there any vacant rooms on this floor?"
Still clinging to Luo Shu's neck with her face pressed against his shoulder, Mira Tsubakihara quickly replied:
"Room 503 hasn't been rented out yet. All the keys are in my bag."
Hearing this, Luo Shu hurried to 503's door, reached for Mira's bag, and rummaged through it to pull out a large bundle of keys—enough for the entire floor.
Seeing this, Luo Shu froze momentarily before looking up at Mira Tsubakihara with a questioning glance.
At that moment, Mira averted her gaze somewhat guiltily and explained:
"I own this entire building. I just delegated the renting to an agency."
'So the 1 million yen "landlord appreciation fee" I paid over five months' rent actually went to you...' Luo Shu mentally grumbled while swiftly locating the 503 key.
He opened the door, ushered Mira inside, and locked it behind them.
After completing these actions, Luo Shu moved towards the balcony while opening his schoolbag, explaining as he walked:
"Stay in this room. I'll go down via the balcony's emergency exit to deal with this guy."
He wanted to understand the stalker's situation. Having been seen by the man, retaliation seemed likely otherwise.
"Wait, that's too dangerous..."
Before Mira could finish her protest, she saw Luo Shu pull a black pistol from his bag and deftly retrieve spare magazines to pocket.
This display left Mira utterly dumbfounded.
Schoolbag in hand and nearly at the balcony, Luo Shu turned his head back in confusion: "What danger?"
"..." Mira hesitated, looking at Luo Shu before finally saying: "Please don't kill anyone... If... if you really must act, let me help you handle it."
Though finding the woman's concern somewhat amusing, Luo Shu joked in response:
"I didn't bring my police badge today."
'Of course, the reason I don't have it is because Mika's still processing the paperwork...' he mentally added.
"Ah? Oh!!" Mira's expression immediately cleared with understanding, her whole body relaxing visibly.
Though puzzled about when her neighbour's child had become a police officer, in this moment, Mira chose to trust him.
By then, Luo Shu had reached the balcony, lifted the fire escape hatch in the floor, and extended the retractable ladder stored there.
Japanese apartments did this well - every balcony had emergency access to the floor below.
Though this also risked upstairs neighbours breaking into empty units, which was why balcony windows were usually locked.
Clenching the strap of his school bag between his teeth, Luo Shu swiftly entered Room 403 via the retractable ladder of the emergency passage. After a quick glance at the balcony's glass door, he tugged at it – unsurprisingly, it was locked.
"Phew~"
He exhaled sharply and, without hesitation, promptly opened the adjacent emergency exit, descending to 303. This balcony was also locked, but Luo Shu didn't hesitate to smash the glass himself.
Why did he dare to do this? The reason was simple.
303 was Luo Shu's own flat!
Ignoring the empty instant noodle cup on the glass table, Luo Shu placed his bag down and retrieved a suit from within. He rapidly changed clothes, stripping off his current outfit. According to Chisato Nishikigi, this suit's defensive capabilities surpassed even the latest bulletproof vests and could withstand certain supernatural attacks.
"System, link my room to the Astronomy Club's space. Set the connection point at the study's right door, configured to open the Astronomy Club space after turning the knob three times."
This was a contingency plan for emergencies. For some reason, Luo Shu had sensed a faint aura of danger from that stalker earlier.
[Notification: 100 points deducted. Current balance: 14,983 points.]
Hearing the prompt, Luo Shu sighed in relief. Not bothering with the bowtie, he strode out of the room into the corridor, heading straight for the staircase to reach the fourth floor.
At the fourth-floor landing, Luo Shu paused, stealthily peering down the hallway.
Just as expected, the masked man from earlier was knocking on Room 405's door before moving towards the furthest Room 406.
Witnessing this, Luo Shu mentally prepared 5 points for immediate teleportation back to the Astronomy Club's alternate space. Emerging from the stairwell, he raised his gun and declared:
"Freeze. Police."
The masked man heading towards Room 406 instantly halted.
"Turn around."
Keeping his firearm trained, Luo Shu visualised the man as a shooting range target, aiming at his torso rather than the riskier headshot that could be dodged.
Upon hearing Luo Shu's command, the masked man slowly raised his hands and turned. Seeing Luo Shu's changed attire, he visibly startled.
"Hands behind your head. Get down."
The masked man remained silent and unmoving.
"I repeat – hands behind your head and kneel!" Luo Shu frowned, raising his voice.
Still, the man didn't comply. Instead, he suddenly sprinted away back-first from Luo Shu.
Seeing this, Luo Shu's already strained nerves triggered alarm bells. Acting on instinct, he immediately fired.
Bang!
Blood sprayed from the masked man's left leg as he grunted in pain. Staggering, he pushed off violently with his right foot and vaulted over the railing.
As his target leapt, Luo Shu froze momentarily before his expression darkened. He rushed forward to peer over the railing.
Yet in that instant, every survival instinct screamed warnings. His Intuition made his eyes perceive enormous bestial claws reaching up from below.
'Shit—'
Luo Shu instinctively leapt backwards, clearing half a metre before stumbling to regain balance.
Simultaneously, an elongated claw with razor-sharp talons – resembling a wolf's paw – slashed upwards from below in a iaijutsu-like draw cut, carving a crescent through the air.
It turned out that the masked man who had jumped earlier was clinging to the edge of the floor with his hands, waiting for Luo Shu to approach so he could seize the opportunity to slash his throat.
"You fucking..."
Having narrowly escaped death, Luo Shu didn't hesitate to pull the trigger—bang, bang.
Two bloody holes erupted from the man's chest near his heart. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at Luo Shu, his claws that had been gripping the railing now loosening helplessly before he plummeted downward.
Seeing this, Luo Shu—instinctively certain the man had died instantly—walked over and peered down at the corpse lying on the garage floor beside the apartment building.
By now, the man lay in a pool of blood, his body twitching unnaturally, his eyes wide open and fixed unblinkingly on Luo Shu.
Luo Shu's lips twitched as he met those dead, unseeing eyes. He took several deep breaths.
As he steadied himself, screams erupted from the street below.
Clearly, the gunshots and the sound of the falling body had alarmed the nearby residents.
At the same time, Luo Shu—still standing by the fourth-floor railing—spotted a patrol officer frozen in shock beside his bicycle on the roadside, gaping up at him.
Without a word, Luo Shu took out his special-issue phone and dialled Mika's number.