Sixteenth Street—within the ruins near C-97 Hollow.

"Brother Sol, there's an abandoned complex up ahead. We should be able to shake those cops off there," Anby said, standing beside Sol. Her tone carried the fatigue of a long chase—and a deep, bitter hatred for the Public Security Bureau.

"Not necessarily. Those bastards have noses sharper than bloodhounds. We've got to stay on guard."

Sol glanced at the overly immersed Anby, feeling half helpless, half amused.

Zhu Yuan and Qingyi hadn't even taken position yet—did they really have to get into character this early?

A few minutes later, the sharp blare of a siren echoed behind them.

Anby's silver teeth clenched tight as she declared heroically, "Brother Sol! The cops are on us again! You go first—I'll hold them off!"

"Hold off my ass! The script says we run together!"

Sol couldn't help but flick her on the head.

"Oh—right. I forgot," Anby scratched her hair awkwardly. "I just… saw it done like that in movies."

Meanwhile, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, and Seth led a squad of Public Security officers in hot pursuit.

"Qingyi, Seth—take your teams and sweep northwest. I'll lead the others northeast," Zhu Yuan ordered sharply. "We'll form a pincer—don't let those scumbags from Vision Corporation escape!"

"Understood, Captain Zhu Yuan! We'll make sure every last one of them is caught!"

Seth's voice was brimming with resolve. This sudden mission had his blood boiling.

Last time, only the Captain and Qingyi had handled the Vision case—he'd been left out. This time, he'd prove himself.

Zhu Yuan gave him a quick look. "The terrain here's complex. There could be other criminals hiding nearby. Don't focus solely on those two."

She hadn't told the squad about Sol's real plan—that would've introduced too many variables.

Everything had to look like a real pursuit. After all, with Sol's abilities, they could never actually catch him. And he and Anby would hold back enough not to harm anyone. The only real danger here… was the Black Panther Syndicate.

"Understood!"

The officers straightened up, their expressions solemn.

Zhu Yuan waved her hand and charged forward. "Move out!"

Moments later—

Sol and Anby darted between derelict buildings, cutting down any Black Panther members they came across—as casually as swatting flies.

Behind them, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Seth, and the other officers chased hard, determined to take them down alive.

Gunfire and shouting rang through the ruins like a storm.

But with Sol and Anby's coordination, a few quick feints and turns were all it took to toy with the entire Public Security team. They weren't even getting close—unless Sol and Anby let them.

"Qingyi-senpai, these two are impossible! I swear they're toying with us!" Seth gasped, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I've never dealt with anything this tricky!"

Qingyi nodded. "You're not wrong. They're good. But don't tell me you're giving up already?"

Even she was shocked—she'd assumed Sol and Anby would rely on brute strength to evade capture. Instead, they were using reconnaissance and counter-surveillance so masterfully that the entire squad looked like a bunch of amateurs.

They weren't acting like fugitives—they were fugitives.

"Give up? Never!" Seth grinned, eyes blazing. "This kind of challenge—this is what I live for!"

Meanwhile, Sol glanced sideways as they sprinted. "Anby, why are you so good at running?"

Throughout the chase, she'd been spotting ambushes before they happened, leading them away from Zhu Yuan's team every time.

For him, that was expected—his template practically guaranteed it.

But Anby? A Cunning Hare Agent with this kind of field instinct? That was new.

Anby's tone was calm, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Brother Sol, compared to the debt collectors I used to deal with, these guys are nothing."

She was hypersensitive to pursuit, trained by the Obsidian Division, and had field experience under Nicole's guidance. Evading tails was second nature by now.

Sol nodded. "Got it. Makes sense."

Then he spotted movement—Seth and Qingyi had caught up and were inspecting the corpses of Black Panther grunts.

Sol lobbed a gas grenade. In the ensuing chaos, a few Public Security officers dropped unconscious. Then, through the smoke, he tossed a fragmentation grenade—blasting the dead Black Panther members to pieces, showering the officers in blood.

The little cat's eyes went red as he howled in fury over his fallen comrades.

Qingyi, her face splattered with blood, stood frozen—her expression unreadable.

Of course she knew no one had actually died. But still—how long am I going to have to shower to get this crap off, Sol?!

…

Meanwhile, all the chaos had naturally drawn the attention of the Black Panther Syndicate.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Chekkat von Neumann leapt from his leather chair, heart pounding as the noise outside reached him.

The first thing he thought of—was Jane.

That woman had just returned, and now all hell was breaking loose.

Could she really be the problem?

He stormed out of his office into the hall, where his men were already armed to the teeth, faces pale and tense.

Jane stood among them, expression grim, eyes on the surveillance feed.

"Boss! The Public Security Bureau's attacking!"

A few sentries rushed up, panicked.

"They're here for us?"

Chekkat's face darkened. He was ready to go down fighting if he had to.

His base was well-armed—even the Bureau's elite would pay a heavy price.

And he had something else: high-grade Ether explosives. If the Bureau really meant to wipe them out, he could make sure none of them went home alive.

But still—if it came to that, his entire operation would crumble, even if he escaped through the Hollow rift.

"We don't know!" the sentries shook their heads. "But there are two maniacs running through the area! They're killing our guys—and the Bureau's chasing right behind them!"

Two lone killers? That didn't sound like any Bureau unit.

"Two people on a killing spree?"

Chekkat shoved past the men to see for himself.

On-screen, a man and woman cut through his forces like a blade through paper. Behind them, Bureau officers—clearly elite—couldn't even keep up.

After a grenade blast, smoke filled the view, and several officers went down. A feline officer with sword and shield trembled in fury.

And whenever his men appeared—the two didn't hesitate to slit throats and move on.

Jane's expression hardened. "Looks like two fugitives escaped this way. Might not be after us directly—though it could be a Bureau ploy."

"It's no damn ploy," Chekkat growled. "You can't act that kind of killer instinct. Those two are real—born outlaws."

He stared at the monitor, eyes wide with awe and rage. "They're lawless monsters!"

Too ruthless. The sheer brutality of those two made even him uneasy.

At least he no longer suspected Jane—no undercover agent could pull off something that unhinged.

This was more like the work of his treacherous old lieutenants.

Jane, all calm professionalism, spoke again: "So what do we do, Boss? Whether they're Bureau or not, our location's blown. Should we evacuate?"

"Not yet." Chekkat shook his head. "If we're pulling out, we're doing it clean. Either find out who they are—or kill them first. Then we move."

If the Bureau was chasing them here, that meant they could burst through his front door at any minute.

"Motherf—who the hell do they think they are, stirring up trouble in my house?!"

Chekkat slammed a fist on the console, eyes blazing as he stared at Sol and Anby on the screen.

He'd just been trying to sell some guns—why did trouble have to come find him?

If those two wanted to die, fine—but why drag the Bureau down on his operation?!

Whether it was intentional or not, he wasn't about to let them keep running wild on his turf.