"In short," Lillian explained, "this young lady often came here, buying drinks for others. Then one day she saw them using coderoin, got angry, and never returned. After the fall of Wall Maria, the Stratmann family's main illicit trading business suffered, yet she still had a pocketful of money—and others were looking for her too."
Lillian nibbled on a piece of bread as he spoke. Annie was eating a simple sandwich beside him.
By the time they left the tavern, it was nearly noon. They bought some food from a street vendor and sat on a public bench to eat.
"Any thoughts?" Lillian asked.
"Her disappearance probably has something to do with her unspendable wealth," Annie said.
"Mm, good. Let's head to Kemper's place. If we're lucky, we might finish before nightfall."
They fell silent, eating in quiet concentration. Passersby bustled by; it was early summer, and golden sunlight bathed the streets. Everything felt calm.
A cat approached, and Annie tore off a piece of her sandwich to offer it.
"Meow!"
The cat didn't eat it. Instead, it let out a threatening hiss and ran away.
"…."
Annie blinked, withdrawing her hand. Her expression was complex. Lillian didn't comment, and they quietly finished their simple lunch before heading to the address the bartender had given them.
---
It was also in the slums. As Lillian approached, many tried to run, but Annie intercepted two of them and easily obtained Kemper's full address.
The door was ajar. They pushed it open, finding no one inside—just a scene of complete disarray. Trash littered the floor; bottles scattered on the table indicated Kemper's poor living conditions.
Lillian shook a half-empty bottle. "So this is the life of a rich girl's boyfriend?"
Annie silently searched for clues and soon found several boxes hidden in the wardrobe.
She opened them—and saw them filled with coderoin.
"So much… enough to buy a house downtown," Lillian said, frowning. "Unspendable money… Annie, do you remember what Elliot said about his daughter's university major?"
"Chemistry," Annie said—and suddenly it clicked. "She's manufacturing the drugs herself?"
"The timing matches," Lillian said. "This drug first appeared in the capital's underground streets over two years ago—right after carly graduated from university. Considering everything… it's unlikely to be a coincidence."
He looked down at the edge of the bed and noticed several red spots.
"Blood…"
Annie's eyes followed his gaze. She crouched and pulled back the bedsheet that had draped onto the floor.
In an instant—a horrifying face appeared! Bloodshot eyes glared furiously at Annie!
"Ah!"
Startled, Annie stumbled backward, colliding with Lillian. He was caught off guard, stepping back several paces. Reflexively, he grabbed her waist to steady her, then released her once she regained balance.
"Don't be afraid. Looks like he's already dead," Lillian said, reassuring her. He stepped closer, pulled the body out from under the bed, and felt its limp form—it hadn't been dead long.
"…."
Annie, still catching her breath, felt a surge of inexplicable anger at herself for her panicked reaction.
"So this is Kemper," Lillian murmured. He searched the wallet in the corpse's pocket and found an ID. Studying the face carefully, it was clear he had been a handsome young man in life—though the contorted expression in death was enough to startle someone seeing it up close.
"Just died recently. Looks like someone beat us here," Lillian said, glancing at Annie. "You okay?"
"…I'm fine."
Her racing heartbeat slowly settled. She watched Lillian crouch over the body, her emotions a complex mix of relief, curiosity, and unease.
Lillian then slid the corpse back under the bed, covering it again with the sheet.
Annie frowned. "Why?"
"Moving him now could alert others," Lillian explained. "It doesn't matter that he's dead—leaving him here for a while is no different from taking him to the Military Police."
He picked up a broken cigarette from the floor, glanced at it, and pocketed it.
"Let's go."
"…."
They left the apartment and descended to the street corner. A young man stood by the carriage they had arrived in, smiling at them.
Lillian glanced at him. Annie was about to step in, but as she lifted the curtain, a knife pressed against her neck.
"Don't move."
Inside the carriage sat a man in a sharp suit, one eye an artificial prosthetic—just as the thugs in the tavern had mentioned, one of the people searching for Carly.
The young man on the street drew a gun and aimed at Lillian. Before he could take aim, Lillian kicked him squarely in the chest.
Crack!
The sound of ribs breaking echoed. Annie stepped back as the man in the carriage lunged—but despite the knife, he was no match for her. Within moments, he was also subdued.
"Ahhhh! Aaahhh!"
The young man on the ground screamed in agony. Lillian picked up the dropped gun and pressed it to the man's forehead.
"Where is she?"
"Don't kill me!" The man trembled, tears and snot streaming. "Please, don't…"
"I'll ask again. Where is she?"
"I… I forgot! I don't remember the number! I only remember the way!"
"The Vangerda district, No. 197," said the man Annie had pinned down. Lillian looked over—he did indeed appear "elite."
"Who are you?" Annie asked.
"Just hired hands," the man admitted, realizing resistance was futile. "A few days ago, the Stratmanns hired us to find their daughter. We quickly tracked down Kemper. He agreed to tell us Carly's address and secrets… but only if we helped him with something."
"What?"
"Extortion," the man said. "We were to use her secrets to extort money from the Stratmanns. We agreed. We locked up Carly, planning to demand ransom in two days. We intended to walk away after that."
He sighed, sadness flickering across his face. "Every time there's a chance… it slips away. Five years ago it was the same. If we had been a day later, my son and I could have reunited in this city… Every time, just as I'm about to succeed, trouble appears and I fall hard…"
"Enough, sir," Lillian interrupted. "Your miserable life story can wait for your cellmates. We're not interested. Sure, your son died at the hands of the Titans—tragic. But how does that justify kidnapping and extortion?"
The man fell silent.
Lillian then dislocated the joints of the young man, causing unbearable pain, and he immediately passed out.
"Kidnapping, illegal possession of weapons, and assaulting the Military Police… even without casualties, you're looking at at least thirty years."
"Take them back first," Annie said. "I'll get Carly."
"No, it's too dangerous for you alone," Lillian said. "We'll just go with these two idiots." He dislocated the other man's arms as well, then shoved both into the back of the carriage. Lillian and Annie got in. The carriage driver, having overheard everything, knew exactly where to go: Vangerda district.
"Didn't expect to run into you," the man said. "I thought you were just some useless Military Police. Had I known, we wouldn't have come to silence her."
"You know me?" Lillian asked.
"Of course. Lillian Kafka—every criminal in Stohess District knows you," the man sighed. "You caught me, there's nothing more to say… but I don't want to die in jail."
"Is that so?" Lillian nodded. "Then it depends on what valuable information you can offer. If you have high-value intelligence on other criminals, I might be able to help you apply for a reduced sentence."
"I'll tell you everything I know."
---
What followed required little elaboration.
After Lillian and Annie arrived at the target location, they easily subdued the guards and found Carly. Strangely enough, she didn't look like a kidnapped victim at all—if anything, she seemed like a leisurely guest, merely restricted from leaving.
As for the fact that she was the creator of coderoin, she didn't attempt to hide it in the slightest.
"I made it," she said calmly. "As for why—five years ago, my father lost everything. I just wanted to take it all back."
"But that drug originated in the capital," Annie said.
"Yes," Carly nodded. "When I first started producing it, my father and I agreed it would never be sold in this city."
Lillian let out a scoff. "How noble."
Carly glanced at him and smiled indifferently. "I know my actions might seem ridiculous to you, but that's my principle."
"But your father broke that agreement," Annie said. "He sold the drug in Stohess District as well. That's why you got angry when you saw people using it in the tavern."
"Mm. I wanted to leave this place with Kemper, but he refused to give up the comfortable life funded by selling coderoin. Then those two showed up. Now that I think about it… Kemper brought this on himself. What a fool."
She took a drag from her cigarette and looked at Lillian.
"So… are you going to arrest me now, Captain Lillian?"