CHAPTER 2.3.5.1

Ayako stepped into the male restroom. Sniffing the air, a dry, sweet metallic scent greeted her nose. Then glancing down, a pool of blood streamed from beneath the middle stall to the depth of a drainer. Death, the place spoke…. And surprise, she stood, as all of the officers investigating the scene were eyeing her gingerly. For Ayako was a mere woman, an embarrassment teased her thoughts upon seeing them whisper over her bold presence. Yet, only one man snapped a finger and clapped, silencing their gossips.

"Now now," a man with a laid-back voice, appearing to have purple shaggy hair and untrimmed whiskers, cried. "No time to gossip over your shock, guys. Just blame me for asking her to be here instead."

And as the purple shaggy-haired man approached her, Ayako mumbled towards him, "You haven't warned them a 'woman' will legally invade a men's domain?"

"Sorry, I was busy studying the scene."

"Come now, Evige," sighed Ayako. "You don't have to overanalyze the place with your own sense."

"Alright alright," chuckled Evige, rubbing his head. "Looks like we can rely on your eyes now…. What is it? Kus…gan?"

To silence Evige's incessant doubts and quell the murmurs of the onlookers, Ayako pressed her eyes shut, bracing for the familiar sting. Would it be a memory of searing anger, a fragment of a nightmare clinging to the edges of her mind? No matter, she would rather keep it to herself, letting her unspoken feelings alone play the part. Relief laced with dread washed over her as her vision darkened. Crimson bloomed within her irises, the veins around them erupting like malevolent tendrils, mirroring the twisted branches of a dark, ancient tree.

And most importantly, her sight became clearer like x-ray, as she could now see pellucid mana clouds residing all over the floor like a steamy puddle of water and even others' entire nervous systems painted in greyish blue. Speaking of which, there was indeed a mystical activity around the stall area.

"Kusengan," she clarified.

"Well," he pointed his eyes at the ventilating fan above and beside the stall. "All I can say is that something happened from the ventilation above to the stall below. I don't know what that is, but I'm certain our culprit here is no ordinary man."

She followed his sight and, lo and behold, more mana clouds emanating still inside a fan, "I can see it."

Studying the area, the mana streamed across the wall and floor of the restroom, all the way beneath the stall.

"Not surprised," said Ayako. "Our culprit did cast a spell here. Precisely, in the Eastern way."

"Eastern way?" replied Evige. "You mean, he can control his mana in the most complex way possible? Through hand-weaving signs?"

"Yes," Ayako opened one of the sidemost stalls and saw a thin string of mana on the floor continuing its way to the next stall. "As the Eastern way provides a caster to do whatever they want, of course, hand-weaving signs are required to decipher what they want them to do, unlike the Western way which basically pops off the spell with a chant that simply binds to rules like a prayer," she began weaving her hand gestures according to her intent, Zai, Fen, Zen, Sha, Jin, Retsu, Rin, Kai, To.

Then a sharp cut appeared on the wall, thrusted by her control of mana… or wind.

She continued, "Because of that, he bent his mana thinly, allowing the air to be encapsulated and sharpened like a sword. And with his sincere control of mana traversing across the stall, he finally slit directly to the victim's… throat, I believe."

"Precisely, my good fellows," Polo's voice agreed to her saying, overheard from the other stall beside it. "In other words, the primary conductor of life's final symphony was a crimson river, its melody whispered through a slender wound gracing his throat."

Then Ayako headed into the middle stall and watched Polo and his other colleagues examining the man's corpse laid on the toilet with his pants loosened down onto his feet and his throat dripping in blood. "That man, eh? By the looks of it, he seems to have missed out on having his good shit of the day."

"Well, at the very least, he truly had it. Though, it happened right after his passing, thanks to the gradual relaxation of his bowels. Of course, I had to flush it; a 'breath of fresh air,' must be our need before proceeding, you see."

"More like a breath of fresh death to me," chuckled Evige.

Looking around the victim's side, there came a grotesque round wound ruptured across his ear—a gunshot through his head. His hands also were bathed in blood from a touch on a wound. And on the wall beside, there was also a shattered hole—a collateral one that had gone straight to his wound. Its size was quite huge, almost as if an entire can of soda could fit through.

"So even if the culprit was able to slit the man's throat, why did he need a point to shoot him?" asked Ayako.

"Maybe he wasn't so sure if it really did hit him or not," replied Evige.

"No," said Polo, fingering towards a slit wound on the victim's throat. "Should he hear this 'Ugh argh' sound from the side, his ears doubted no more. By the bloodstains on both his hands, his bet was right. Moreover, a mere gunshot wound rather played a fool to our thought."

"Still why?"

Peering through the gap in the wall, Ayako's gaze landed on the fresh cut. It was like a chilling signature, an unmistakable indication of the perpetrator's presence throughout the crime. Despite this newfound knowledge, a knot of confusion persisted in her gut. Trying to see things from the perpetrator's eyes sent shivers down her spine. Why commit such a senseless act, leaving fear and scars in his wake? It seemed almost too foolish, this desperate bid to prove his murderous mettle.

Wait…

What?

"That's it," answered Ayako. "The killer's purpose of shooting that man was to scare people away, as he wants to remove all witnesses to the crime."

Evige scoffed, "Removing all witnesses? More like… giving them obvious clues that the crime scene or a suicide happened."

Ayako walked out of the stall, heading outside the restroom. Then Evige followed her.

"No," continued Ayako. "Rather, he wants to pave himself a way to escape by rushing towards the exit without anyone noticing him. Shoot once, and people grow curious. Shoot twice, and people grow doubtful. Shoot thrice or more, and people grow fear. According to most witnesses, they had heard the shot thrice, so the culprit took advantage of their flight response, then made his own way to escape."

In front of the restroom entrance stood a steel door, marked with the imposing label 'Emergency Exit' at the terminus of a dimly lit hallway. Treading gingerly, she stretched her hand to unlatch it, but encountered resistance. Intriguingly, the door's security appeared charier, boasting not one but two layers of locks.

"Eh?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," chuckled Evige. "The latches on every emergency exit door are strictly locked, lest to open for all unauthorised guests outside… like potential robbers, terrorists, and even hitmen like our culprit today. They can only be unlocked as soon as either an alarm goes off or the entire system shuts down."

"Oh, and have there been any events like that happened a while ago?"

"No," Evige shook his head. "I checked a security log, and no records relevant to this case were found."

"I see," Ayako turned around and walked back to the restrooms. "That means the killer couldn't have a way to escape through an emergency exit, but how was he still able to do it?"

Evige buzzed with helpful energy, offering solutions and suggestions at every turn. Yet, each offered respite for calm reflection or thorough investigation felt like an intrusion into Ayako's concentrated mental state. Ayako, in turn, recoiled at the thought of retracing her steps to the male restroom, wary of the disruption it might cause to her own thought process. But then, her sight passed across the deserted entrance to the female restroom, and a spark of possibility flickered within her.

"Or maybe he was hiding inside the female restroom all along…"

"Oh, what?" Evige gasped. "You can't be serious. Are you sure the killer… who is male, gonna hide there and peek at some ladies there like a perv?"

"No," Ayako rolled her eyes. "If he really wants to scare people away, of course, he has to remove people from the female restroom, too."

"Female restroom, eh?" Evige crimped his lips, then shook his head. "If that's the case, then you should go check there."

"Well, how about you?"

"Not gonna do that since I'm a man."

"Heh, says he who asks a woman to enter the male restroom."

Then Ayako stepped into the female restroom and shut her eyes, activating her Kusengan. A thorough scan of the environment revealed no traces of lingering mana. Even inside the restroom stalls, there were no signs of life, whether gasping for breath or lifeless on the floor. Not a whiff of death permeated the air. Yet, the answer must still exist, no matter how little or insignificant it seemed.

So she took her flashlight out and ignited its beam, inspecting every meticulous nook and cranny. Her thorough search revealed that most of the waste bins contained discarded tissues, soaked and crumpled into tight balls. Though, only one of them had a rather unusual thing laid as a waste.

"A paper bag?" Ayako picked a crumpled paper bag and unfolded it, revealing to have a name read… "Hydrogen?"

Hydrogen, she could adore her times shopping there and the name itself. The designs and textures of their wares were undoubtedly worthy of flaunting her poise, and she revelled in her charm and confidence. Their fashion was nothing short of stunning and tantalising, never failing to enthral her fantasies. Even her entire outfit came from them. And to think she found it inside the waste bin infuriated her ego, yet piqued her curiosity at the same time.

"Really? Who on earth throws a shopping bag into the bin?" scoffed Ayako, mumbling to herself. "Somebody had been pretty excited about how they dressed these days, eh?"

"Got anything?" cried Evige.

"Nah, no clue still."

"Looks like we just reached a cul-de-sac in this case."

Ayako walked out of the room and leaned against the wall, pondering over how the culprit moved after he shot.

Meanwhile, seeing Ayako lost in thoughts, Evige shrugged and entered the male restroom once again.

As no hint came across her mind, she turned on a watch—projecting a vibrant, translucent screen. Though, the back of it only painted black, whilst the front showed the whole I.D of the victim.

Last Name: Stone First Name: John Middle Name: Woodspeak

Age: 48 years old

Gender: M

Occupation: Branch Director of XL Company-Arian Faction

Birth Date: 06/09/2187

Nationality: Libertian

Physical Status: Deceased (TBI) [Murdered]

Cause of Death: Blood loss through a ruptured common carotid artery

Civil Status: Married

Wife: Isabelle Fourier-Stone

Criminal Records:

Minor involvement in a murder of Tao Lin (a Weian arms dealer), as he was a former colleague to Miss Lurna, the defendant of this case, who contributed to a disclosure of Tao Lin's statement of accounts, a feasible motive to his attempted act of murder.

"Tao Lin?" she read, piquing her curiosity.

That name seemed familiar to her, having heard it manifold times on the ever-scrolling of social media. Yet, caring less about things spiralling online used to be her habit, as focusing on her studies and maintaining grades were her last bastion in solitary living—time past her brink of misery. And that particular memory had long faded into thin air.

Or at least, she wished to.

"Surely the culprit has to be one who avenged Tao Lin, but who?"

She clicked on the name 'Miss Lurna', showing her I.D.

Last Name: Galea First Name: Lurna Middle Name: La Grace

Age: 34 years old

Gender: F

Occupation: Senior Public Accountant of Great Himel Bank

Birth Date: 03/15/2189

Nationality: Hexian

Physical Status: Deceased (09/18/2223 11:15 P.M SL+) [Murdered]

Cause of Death: Gunshot on her head

Civil Status: Single

Criminal Records:

Violated with malicious whistleblowing of Tao Lin's banking statements for 'exposing the truth of corruption'. She allegedly committed a murder against the Weian arms dealer, Tao Lin, but her defence was claimed to be an 'act of self-defence' with a hidden surveillance video showcasing the entire scene, leading her to 'Not Guilty' verdict. The identity of the sender (in Tao Lin's banking statements) is unknown, yet she claimed that a 'government official sells valuable contrabands to foreign companies'.

Unfortunately, her death had already been done, likely synched with Sheri's case.

"Thought I got an answer," sighed Ayako, rubbing her brow from the inevitable stress. "Looks like I gotta delve deeper into the networking of this case."

As she closed off the projecting screen, there came the hoary old hunk dressed in white fit police uniform, his face drew a firm look with glaring eyes and tough frown. He donned a silver sun-shaped shield badge, marking himself as a chief of Himel Police Department.

As soon as his eyes met Ayako's, the old hunk's glare sharpened. He had intended to continue his stride, yet an insatiable curiosity compelled him to pause and squarely confront her. His reaction was unsurprising; his vigilance stretched to anybody who might meddle in UAF affairs, particularly the SSIA agents.

"Victim's a foreigner?" asked the hunk.

"No doubt," replied Ayako. "That's why we're here."

"Sounds reasonable," the old hunk gestured to her, and she nodded and followed him. "And what about the identity?"

"The name's John Stone, a Libertian who worked under the XL Company here as a branch director."

"Tch," he scoffed. "XL Company? Libertian? Surely, these guys are rather a pain in the arse."

"Thought they can be the best provider to the advancement of your weapons."

"I'd rather stick to our rowny bullshit than their bloody turds that add up so much debt and interference to our nation."

"But the guys at your military are buying them."

"Don't try to sell their ridicule to us. Typical Westens really liked to drain their money down to the military's throat. Sending their arses to Mideast… all for mining 'rich' sils and coppers? Really appreciate the bloody cause."

Entering the male restroom, the police officers who caught sight of his presence halted their duty and saluted him at a braid. Then they resumed.

At the same time, Polo and his colleagues, who finished their examination, walked out of the stall and met the hoary chief, saluting before him.

Though, Polo himself instead bowed his head and smiled, "Good morning, Chief Geb. What brings you here all of a sudden?"

"I only want to see that man if he's really dead or not with my own eyes," replied Chief Geb, walking past him to gaze at John Stone's lifeless body, then chuckled. "Well, that son of a bitch is truly dead, indeed."

Evige then came beside Ayako and whispered, "What's that old chief geezer doin' here?"

"I dunno… probably he wants to secretly rejoice over his death since John Stone's pretty much a controversial figure around Arian's internal affairs."

"Are you kidding me? I thought the military favours them as valuable sponsors."

"But not to this guy… he seems to hate so-called 'Westens' here."

"Oh, I see. Now I understand."

"What does it really mean?"

Cautious from overhearing their whispering gossips, Evige pulled Ayako far away from Chief Geb, then murmured, "Geb are just one of the Osten guys who think that Westens are endorsing the issues that keep spiralling within the government. And recently, the majority within the military department are those people who served under West Sileland in the past."

"Why is he still thinking like that?"

"I don't know. But long story short, he grew up in the former East Sileland and was accustomed to loathing West Sileland. At least, in a simple historical context. Like, have you seen the movie called 'The Others' Lives'?"

Ayako nodded, then Evige continued, "Good, there's no need for 'furthermore' about that."

As Evige waved his hand and walked out of the restroom, Ayako watched Polo listening to Chief Geb's words. Polo's one eyebrow raised higher than the other, as doubts slowly warped inside his mind. But resoluteness was there in his pair of ears, as usual as seeing your superior telling their subordinate to do according to their wishes.

Inaudible to hear, she slunk closer to them without directing her steps towards them. Instead she leaned her back against the wall and turned on her small projecting screen, acting like she was reviewing the previous cases involving John Stone. Apparently, she enabled a voice recording feature, listening to their conversation.

"Anyhow, how're you gonna keep his body?" asked Chief Geb. "It's not like you're keeping them inside a morgue forever until a family member will come to fetch their corpse and bury them into proper burial."

"No, he's rescinded from my plan," replied Polo. "No longer once he was the abetter to the death of Miss Lurna during the year twenty-two twenty-three."

"Twenty-two twenty-three? If I'm not mistaken, that's also the same year your mother, Miss Sheri, had also been murdered. She also played a role in prosecuting Miss Lurna."

Polo smirked, his eyes, however, narrowed—hinting at a cold stare, "Do you think that might scare me off?"

"No, I was rather trying to connect the dots here, son."

"Fret not," chuckled Polo. "A trying one is better than a slipshod one."

"Scare me like that, and you'll have your position revoked."

"For messing you around? Surely, that'll prove your own incompetence."

"Relax, I was messing you around."

Polo stared frozen at a braid, then shook his head, "By the heavens, you really are a terrible joker."

Chief Geb chuckled, "At least, I'm a trying one."

Polo rolled his eyes. Then he bowed his head once again and walked past Chief Geb, leaving the restroom. Upon meeting Ayako's eyes, he winked at her for a moment.

Meanwhile, Ayako stopped the recording, saving the voice file into her storage offhand, and shut her projecting watch down as soon as possible. Then she began treading carefully out of the restroom.

Until…

"Hey," Chief Geb called Ayako. "You fareast lass!"

She clicked her tongue, then turned her head behind. "What?"

"I've got a favour for you," Chief Geb gestured her to come in front.

She heaved an exasperated sigh and approached him, "What is it? We're not done investigating the scene thoroughly yet."

"Yeah, I know, but I still have to go ASAP before the outside of the mall will be flooded with news media junkies, alright? Just escort John Stone's body towards your own HQ and keep him. I don't wanna have these useless bodies like his gonna keep populating slots in our morgue."

She silently nodded.

Chief Geb turned his head behind and faintly scoffed. Just then, he suddenly halted and gasped, rubbing his lower chin across, and shook his head. Curious, his thoughts might have struck him dumb, yet instead he maintained his poise and left the restroom without bidding her a sign of farewell.

"Huh," murmured Ayako. "That's weird. What caused his headache all of a sudden?"

She then shrugged and left the restroom. Upon passing through the female restroom, a sound of a burbling faucet caught her ears and drove her to check, only to find Evige cleaning his hands with a grimace.

"Hey," she cried. "What're you doing there?"

"Oh…," Evige's cheeks crimsoned, his eyes trembling from her surprise. "Yeah… just washing hands."

"But seriously, why there? Because it looks like you're really a liar to your own words a while ago."

"Oh no no no no… it's just that… ummm."

"Speak before I'll punch your gut."

Ayako glared at him. Then she slowly marched towards Evige whilst cracking her knuckles, intimidating him to spill his beans out.

"Well… well. Okay! Just hear me out… uhh… I think… you missed something around here!"

"Something? What 'something'?"

"The paper bag," cried Evige, his voice so loud that it echoed across the hall. "Hydrogen."

Then Ayako stopped and instead raised her eyebrows, "Huh?"

"You know… there's something weird about the paper bag."

"Paper bag? I've already checked it a while ago, and nothing there is worth attracting my attention."

"Well, only if you could've spent more time wondering about it, then I bet it'll change your mind."

"Speak your mind then."

"Imagine you've bought a nice set of clothes from Hydrogen and are already excited about wearing it today. So you dress it and there… being fresh and sexy. But what about your previous set of clothes? Where should you keep it? Of course, you gotta put it into the bag while rizzing yourself as if you made others go 'Gyatt!' and feel insecure about themselves. There, the end, but the question is… why do they have to throw the bag?"

"Maybe they carried a backpack that fits a set of clothes, like a high school girl who doesn't want to get caught shopping using her parents' money."

"Right, but are there any?"

"Maybe yes or maybe no. You can just check a surveillance video of people passing by this hallway and see if one of them carried a backpack or not."

"Ok, yeah yeah yeah… but just pretend that the answer is certainly no."

"Sure."

"Alright, so if the culprit couldn't escape his way through the Emergency Exit, what could be his last resort to dodge from being witnessed by anyone?"

"Hiding in the female restroom… dressing as one of them…. Wait, so who are the ones checking the scene first?"

"Surely, that could be the security guards."

"As someone who can carry and use guns legally inside the mall, there's no doubt that one of the security guards is the culprit."

"Yes yes, that's it," Evige smiled, then bursted out a laughter of joy. "We got it. We got through a bloody cul-de-sac."

"Not yet," Ayako shook his head and took out the paper bag from the bin. "We need evidence to answer the truth."

"Right, I'll call a forensics team for this."

Evige took the paper bag and rushed out of the female restroom.

Meanwhile, Ayako tapped on her earpiece and said, "Attention, please call all security guards and see me outside the restrooms real quick. I repeat, call all the security guards to meet me outside the restrooms."