"You must be Axel," one of the officers said, a slightly overweight Mediterranean man in his forties. He rose, walking over to Axel with a smile and clapping him on the shoulder. With his other hand, he casually closed the door behind him. The room grew dimmer.

"My name is Cross, deputy director of the Dune Police Department. Don’t be nervous. We just have a few questions for you."

The Police Department? Axel nodded, sitting next to Annabelle. They exchanged a brief glance, and saw the calm in her eyes. That was a good sign.

Cross eyed Annabelle for a moment before continuing, "This must be your sister, right? She's adorable, though she doesn’t speak much. A few days ago, when you helped the law enforcement team, you... melted a few bodies. Is that right?"

Axel’s heart skipped. So it’s about that. It seemed his actions were still causing ripples.

Still, something about the two officers felt off—this wasn’t just a routine inquiry. Axel took a deep breath and spoke carefully. "Yes, that’s correct. Is there a problem with that?"

Cross smiled, leaning back in his chair. "I’m just curious. Shouldn’t you have been scared? Why did you melt the bodies?"

Axel noticed that while Cross spoke, the other officer, a man with a hooked nose, kept glancing back and forth between him and Annabelle. The man’s sharp, darting gaze made Axel uneasy, even though he hadn’t said a word yet.

"Well, anyone who was scratched or bitten by the infected might turn into a zombie. I was worried the bodies might still be dangerous."

Cross nodded, wanting to take a sip of his water. But when he saw the chipped and worn teacup in front of him, he frowned slightly and opted to tap his fingers on the table instead.

Dong, dong, dong.

The sound echoed in the quiet room, filling the space with an almost oppressive rhythm. Cross didn’t speak, and neither did the hook-nosed man. Axel and Annabelle remained still, the tension in the air was thick.

After a long pause, the officer with the hooked nose squinted and finally spoke. "By common sense, after killing an infected, shouldn’t you have contacted the law enforcement team immediately?"

"With them here, even if a zombie shows up, you won’t need to do a thing."

The officer with the hooked nose leaned in, his voice cold and threatening. "Besides, Skye was seriously injured at the time. Instead of helping him, you chose to melt the bodies?"

"Boy, I suggest you be honest with me and tell me what you know." His eyes gleamed with cold malice, and his gaze bore into Axel like a venomous snake.

For a brief moment, Axel's brow twitched involuntarily, and his heartbeat quickened.

He took a deep breath, his expression hardening. "Officer, please watch your tone. I’m cooperating with your investigation, not being accused of a crime."

Axel leaned forward. "According to common sense, I'm just a high school student. I shouldn't be expected to deal with infected. In that situation, I thought about saving my life first. What's wrong with that?"

The hook-nosed man’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flickering within them.

Axel felt a shiver run down his spine. What a dangerous shit! The man’s presence felt suffocating, like an oppressive weight hanging in the air.

Could he be an awakener? If so, who was it that Axel had killed?

"Frost, watch yourself," Cross said sharply, breaking the tense silence. The man named Frost straightened up, his intense aura fading away.

Axel exhaled quietly.

"Axel, you don’t understand. We’re actually trying to protect you here."

Axel raised an eyebrow.

Cross leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "One of them has... well, a complicated background. Wolfe. Does that name ring a bell?"

"Wolfe’s a well-known entrepreneur in Dune. He runs a number of martial arts schools and entertainment businesses. One of them, his cousin, was sent to collect a debt. The next day, Wolfe got the bad news."

Wolfe… an entrepreneur running martial arts schools and entertainment venues? He was got to be someone with ties to both the legal and illegal worlds.

No wonder the deputy director himself had come here. Axel couldn’t help but curse in his head. This was my fucking bad luck.

"You’ve done nothing wrong. But Wolfe doesn’t take things lightly. If you know anything, now’s the time to speak up. Otherwise, I’m afraid Mr. Wolfe will pay you a personal visit."

If he told them the truth, he would be dead for sure.

"I really don’t know anything." Axel spread his hands, his expression helpless.

Cross frowned, he stopped smiling and leaned forward, tapping the table slowly with his fingers.

"You're really not going to cooperate?" He said, his voice steady but laced with threat. "You’re a graduate of Dune Brookhaven High this year. Do you believe I can make a phone call and stop you from graduating smoothly?"

"I don’t believe," Axel replied, staring back without flinching. "There are about 600 students graduating this year, and only around 20 or so in the special training class. I just happen to be one of them."

"Just joking," Cross said with a laugh. "How could I do something like that?"

Cross waved his hand, signaling Frost to get up. Axel thought they were about to leave when something unexpected and dangerous happened.

Frost’s cold gaze met his, and in that instant, Axel’s vision blurred. His whole body felt heavy and numb, as if his limbs weren’t his own.

To an outsider, Axel’s pupils looked empty, distant—as though he were a lifeless shell of a person.

"What did you take from those four men?" Frost’s voice was flat, but it carried a strange, compelling force.

Axel’s body wouldn’t obey. He had the overwhelming urge to tell the truth, to confess everything.

Axel realized that Frost’s ability was a rare one: a spiritual awakener. And now, Frost was using his power to manipulate Axel’s mind.

"I didn’t take anything," Axel muttered, his voice sounding stiff.

Cross visibly relaxed and Frost seemed slightly more at ease as well. But then, Frost asked the second question. "How did they die..."

Before Axel could respond, Annabelle suddenly rushed forward, practically throwing herself at him. She hugged him tightly, glaring at the two men with fierce eyes.

"Fuck you! Is that your method, huh?" Axel cursed, finally snapping out of the daze.

"Hmph." Frost muttered, his cold gaze lingering on Axel and Annabelle for a moment before he turned and walked out.

Cross cursed inwardly. These men really do things without scruples. If things had gone sideways, he’d have a hard time explaining himself to his superiors.

"Axel, thanks for your cooperation. It’s just routine, you understand." Cross forced a smile, before following Frost out the door.

Once they were gone, Axel let out a breath.

"Annabelle, I’m fine," he said, ruffling his sister’s hair. If Annabelle hadn’t stopped him in time, he might have been forced to speak under Frost’s influence. The power of an awakener was fucking dangerous and hard to guard against.

"Bro, are we safe?" Annabelle’s voice trembled as she looked up at Axel. He smiled and gently patted her head.

"It’s okay." He’d underestimated this so-called Wolfe. To send an awakener—a rare, spiritual awakener, no less—just to investigate him?

men like that were dangerous. What’s worse, Axel had clearly seen the cold, indifferent murderous intent in Frost’s eyes when he left.

If Axel had been just a regular student from the slums, he wasn’t sure what kind of tactics they might have used against him today.

......

"Yo, Axel! You’ve gotta protect me from now on!" Drayke’s voice crackled through the speaker.

"Cut the crap. I need info on someone. A guy named Wolfe?" Axel interrupted, getting straight to the point.

Drayke surprised. "Wolfe? Why the hell are you asking about him? Dude, you messed with him, didn’t you? You better run while you can."

"Seriously," Axel said, annoyed. "Wanna get hit?"