(Kuchiba Hiro walked aimlessly through the silent, deserted streets in the early morning hours, a sense of unprecedented bewilderment enveloping him.
Home was certainly out of the question. His current status was that of a nationally wanted 'terrorist'; going back would be no different from walking into a trap and would only bring endless trouble.
His enemies, Yota Yukinoshita and his family, had seemingly vanished into thin air without a single clue. In this vast sea of people and a wide world, how was he to find them? Where should he even start? He didn't have the slightest lead.
Then there was the 'kill order' hanging over his head. Hika Kuroko's words echoed in his mind like a warning bell, meaning that from now on, he would constantly live under the threat of unknown Transcendents.
A thousand loose ends, a tangled mess. He shook his head, deciding not to think about these things for the time being. The most urgent priority was to find a safe, inconspicuous place to rest, recover his strength, and clear his head.
Just as this thought flashed through his mind—
An extremely intense premonition of danger, almost sharp enough to pierce his nerves, surged through his entire body like a high-voltage current! It was so fast that his thoughts couldn't even react, and so intense that the hair on his body stood on end!
No time to think! Not even time to see where the danger was coming from!
His body had already made the most instinctive reaction before his brain could! His waist twisted with sudden force, and in a thousandth of a second, his right fist was covered in a cold black-gold sheen. Carrying the full weight of his body, it launched like a cannonball toward the empty air behind him—striking out ruthlessly!
Something bizarre happened!
Right in the path of his swinging fist, in what was originally an empty space, a figure suddenly appeared as if emerging from ripples in water! It was as if she had voluntarily slammed her face into Kuchiba Hiro's power-packed iron fist!
Bang!!!
A dull, teeth-aching thud!
The figure that had just emerged had no time to react at all before her face took the full force of that earth-shattering punch!
The massive impact caused her face to cave in and deform instantly; the sound of bones shattering was clearly audible! The person was sent flying backward, feet off the ground, as if hit by a high-speed truck!
Her slender body scraped and tumbled violently across the sidewalk, dragging out a long trail for over a dozen meters before slumping to the ground like a ragdoll, motionless.
Kuchiba Hiro remained in his punching stance, a look of bewilderment on his face.
What happened? This person... how did she appear? Invisibility? Teleportation?
A Transcendent! Is it a hunter drawn by the kill order? They got here so fast?!
His eyes instantly became bone-chillingly cold, filled with killing intent. He stepped forward quickly, approaching the body slumped on the ground.
It was a girl wearing a certain middle school uniform. She had a petite build and looked even shorter than an average middle schooler. Her brown hair was tied in twin tails with cute ribbons. At the moment, she was lying face down, silent and still.
Kuchiba Hiro didn't approach recklessly. He drew a dagger from his waist and flicked his arm hard!
Swish!
The dagger turned into a flash of cold light, accurately pinning itself into the back of the girl's head! The blade was almost completely submerged!
Only after performing this cruel finishing blow did he feel slightly more at ease. He walked forward and forcefully pulled the dagger out, bringing some red and white matter with it. Then, he used his foot to flip the girl's body over.
Her entire face was completely ruined. A clear fist print was deeply branded into her original features, looking shocking to the eye.
Kuchiba Hiro knelt down, placing his fingers on her slender neck to confirm that her pulse had completely stopped.
Dead.
A strange thought couldn't help but rise in his mind: Are these Transcendents... so fragile? By comparison, Hiratsuka Shizuka at least took over a dozen of his heavy blows before falling... Just as he was thinking about how to handle this sudden corpse—
Screech—
A slight sound of braking rang out.
A van, entirely white and without any trademarks or logos, slowly emerged from the street corner as silently as a ghost and stopped not far away.
The doors opened, and two people dressed in identical white coveralls, wearing white masks and gloves that completely hid their faces, stepped out. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, exuding a non-human, mechanical feel.
They walked straight to the corpse and looked down. One of them took out an instrument resembling a tablet and scanned the body, then spoke in a monotone, synthesized voice devoid of emotion:
"Target confirmed. Transcendent: Shirai Kuroko. Ability Rating: Level 6. Value Assessment: 6,000 gold coins."
The other person turned an unmoving gaze toward Kuchiba Hiro and said in the same flat, emotionless tone: "Sir, we are from the Resource Recovery Department under the 'Cleaner'. If you are willing to transfer this Transcendent's remains to us, we are willing to pay you 6,000 gold coins."
Kuchiba Hiro's pupils constricted, and his expression became incredibly grave. These people appeared too fast, too strangely! And they seemed accustomed to all of this!
"What do you... want the corpse for?" he asked coldly, tightening his grip on the dagger.
The Staff Member acted as if he hadn't heard the question, merely repeating mechanically: "If you are willing to transfer this Transcendent's remains to us, we are willing to pay you 6,000 gold coins."
Kuchiba Hiro's eyes turned cold, and his voice was like shards of ice: "Answer my question!"
The Staff Member paused for a moment, then spoke again in that emotionless voice: "Consultation fee: One gold coin per question. Please pay in advance."
Kuchiba Hiro remembered the gold coin Hika Kuroko had stuffed into his hand. He pulled the cold gold coin with its complex patterns from his jacket pocket and flicked it; the coin traced an arc through the air toward the Staff Member.
The Staff Member caught it accurately, verified it, and then placed it into a specialized pouch. Then, he answered in an extremely official tone, as if reciting regulations:
"There are three primary purposes for recovering remains: First, to prevent evidence of Transcendent existence from being exposed, causing social panic, and to maintain the 'Veil' protocol. Second, to recover usable biological materials. Third, some high-level remains, after special processing, can be used to create biological weapons or empowered armaments to better serve the maintenance of social order."
Turning corpses into weapons?! Biological weapons?!
Although he had a premonition, hearing this cold and cruel answer with his own ears still sent a chill up Kuchiba Hiro's spine, and his brow furrowed deeply.
The hidden darkness and cruelty of this underground Transcendent world were far deeper and more... nauseating than he had imagined.
Hika Kuroko's words about it being "worth a lot of money" now had a much more concrete and terrifying footnote.)
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