“Hey, idiot!”
I crouch to look into her dumbfounded eyes while she’s reading a comic, sitting upside-down on the couch like a moron.
“Stop calling me an idiot!” she retorts.
I completely ignore her and ask what I came for. “You… Do you have anything besides a knife?”
“Why do you care?” she disdainfully replies, performing broad kicking movements in the air.
I sigh. “I’m trying to come up with a plan to make money, remember? Show me your knife. You’re not using it right now, and you’re clearly useless for brainstorming.”
“Fine, but don’t break it!” she pouts, handing it to me.
I give it a quick look.
It’s a very uninteresting, unimpressive, and unexciting folding pocket knife, and I can’t help but feel disappointed.
I want to ask her why she’s only using this, but I don’t want to answer that question myself.
I know her answer will be disappointing anyway.
“Your eyes…” she whispers.
I lower my gaze from the knife to notice that she was staring into my eyes.
“What about my eyes?”
“They’re not red anymore.”
Ah, I understand… This idiot thought my eyes were naturally red or something.
“You’re right, I’m wearing contacts that improve my vision in dark environments.”
“So cool… Like a snake.”
“No way, snakes have poor eyesight. They find their way by smelling with their tongues. It’s more like a cat or a tiger, actually.”
“Snakes smell with their tongues???” she asks, sounding surprised.
I can’t help but let out a small laugh.
“Yeah, you should watch animal shows on your phone. You can learn a bunch of funny things.”
I stand up and start walking to the computer room, barely hearing her whisper.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it even if I wanted to.”
My mind is too busy to pay attention to what she said, and I’m already in the next room where Abhi is tinkering with a cleaning robot.
I rest my chin on his head, silently observing him for a moment.
“Is it really that fun?” I ask.
He looks over his shoulder to stare at me with his blank eyes.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he snorts.
I laugh while handing him the knife. “Yeah, you’re right. Here, take a look at this.”
“What do you want me to do with this junk?” he asks, going back to playing with screwdrivers.
“I want you to attach a beacon to it. I don’t want this crazy stray mongoloid to run away. We need to keep an eye on her.”
He finally sets aside his tools and takes the knife, analysing it carefully.
After examining it, he straightens up and frowns.
“You know it already has a beacon on it, right? Fortunately, our hideout is distorting the signal.”
My heart skips a beat.
Has this girl been under constant surveillance? For how long?
I can’t help but look behind me in her direction, even though a wall stands between us and I can’t see her.
“Remove it and put another one,” I say coldly.
He frowns. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t remove it if I were you.”
“Just do as I say,” I conclude, walking away.
The idea of being constantly watched, as I used to be, makes me feel nauseous.
If that girl is truly in this situation, I can’t help but empathize.
Paradoxically, I am the one putting her in this situation myself…
TIC!
TIC!
TIC!
The smartphone in my hand keeps ringing as I approach the devastated house.
This place… I remember seeing this address in the old man’s notes.
I retrieve the knife from the now-dead woman’s shoulder, cleaning it hastily.
In the end, this radar served to help you … no, to help us get rid of the target, not to keep an eye on you.
Curiosity gets the best of me, and I step into the house, searching for anything interesting.
I still wonder how this girl gained access to the agency… And where is that other guy, DARIUS?
Who were the people in the helicopter? Mercenaries? Who hired them?
Was it all her doing—contacting the agency, hiring the mercenaries, obtaining the guns? It’s impossible; she was a complete amateur.
Who did it for her?
That’s what I’m trying to find in this place—the only clue that might lead to unravelling this mystery.
Abhi opens the door to the apartment, and I burst in with pizzas in my hands.
“Home sweet home!” I yell. “Abhi, guess what I brought? Food! Dinner! Yummy yummy chicken curry pizza and spicy chicken wings! You love that, right? Oh, yes you do~”
“Don’t call me that, and what do you take me for? Some kind of animal that only eats the same thing?” he retorts, grumpily.
I place the pizzas in the kitchen and hurry downstairs to change my clothes.
“Ahhh, I’m finally free from this stupid suit!! My ribbon!! My earrings, ahhh, how I missed you~,” I sing.
I glance at the old man, still soundly sleeping on the operating table. He looks slightly paler than usual, but I offer a prayer of thanks for the money he will provide.
I bounce back into the living room, only to find Abhi sitting on the sofa with a slice of chicken curry pizza in his hand.
Our eyes meet, and I can see him blush.
“C-come on, it’s time for our anime,” he stutters.
“Hehehe, you’re so cute when you blush! You don’t have to be shy, it’s normal to eat the food I brought…”
“Shut up. I’ll start without you.”
I rush into the kitchen, grab my own pizza, and then plop back onto the sofa, causing Abhi to slightly lift off from the impact.
I smirk. “I hope Boobies arrives soon, or I’ll eat her slice too…”
DINGDING!
I am startled by the ringing of my phone in this empty and silent house.
Normally, my phone is always muted, but I had it on to use the radar earlier.
I look at the sender, and my heart skips a beat.
“Oh, fuck…”
'Dear ARTEMIS,
We are extremely disappointed to learn that you have failed in your mission.
As of today [XX/XX/XXXX], the client you were supposed to protect, codenamed Prince [XXXX], has died.
Your rank in the agency has plummeted from XXX to XXXX.
From now on, your credits and benefits will be seized until further notice.
You will enter into debt, and your future mission credits will be used to repay what you owe.
Please stay in touch for further updates regarding your case.'
It is quickly followed by a second message.
DINGDING!
'Dear ARTEMIS,
Your next mission has already been assigned.
The clients are members of the Chinese Triads clan Shensu Shu, known as TIAN HUO and TIAN SHUI, and they will be arriving at your residence shortly.
Your mission will be to cater to their needs for the next three months, starting from [XX/XX/XXXX].
We wish you the best of luck.'
“FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!” I scream.
First, I need to contact DIANA and Abhi!
“DIANA! Abhi! Can you hear me?!”
Damn, they’re not responding!!
I can’t believe the old man is dead! What the fuck!!! Did we go through all of that for nothing?!
I need to hurry back to the hideout as fast as possible!
DING DONG!
In the middle of our episode, with pizza still in our mouths, the doorbell suddenly starts ringing.
“Eh, it must be Boobies. If she forgot her keys, she’ll just have to wait until the episode ends as punishment!” I say proudly.
After all, it’s my home too now…
But the doorbell rings again, once, twice, thrice.
DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG!
I furrow my brow and stand up.
Abhi looks around anxiously. “Schwa never forgets her keys.”
I shrug. “It can happen to anyone. Maybe she actually lost them in the building that collapsed? I’ll go see who it is anyway.”
With a slice of pizza in my hand, I slowly approach the entrance door. “Hey, hey, hey, who might that be? Forgetting your keys like an imbecile, should I let you enter my ho—”
As I open it, ready to greet Boobies with a touch of pride and mischief, my body freezes and I drop the pizza to the ground.
Standing in the lobby is not ARTEMIS or anyone else but the tall and thin demon I see in my nightmares.
With a thin and terrifying smile spreading from one ear to the other, the demon finishes my sentence.
“Home? Your home? Is that what you were going to say, bitch?”
My thought process abruptly shuts down, and it takes me a while to realize that I am now falling to my knees.
Blood bursts from my belly as the thin demon grabs my chin and forces me to look into its eyes.
“Did you forget about me, you fucking piece of garbage? It took me a while to find you here! Did you remove my beacon? You’re going to pay for all the trouble you’ve caused me!”
Clutching my wound with one hand, tears start streaming down my face.
Home was a fleeting concept, but I had grown to love it.
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