By the time Lin Han finished arranging the subsequent work, it was already late at night.

Tang Xiaoman and Xu Weian were responsible for sorting out the surveillance and vehicle records available through public channels.

Shen Qingshu, with Monica’s cooperation, went to compile information on Xiao Rou’s medical condition over the past few months.

Zhou Ran was in charge of investigating the doctor who treated Xiao Rou.

As for the few people from the Special Operations Division, Lin Han sent them to the streets and alleys to ask around for information related to the Metamorphosis Society.

“We’re going to be busy starting tomorrow.”

After saying this, Lin Han dismissed the meeting.

Once everyone had left, Lin Han took a shower and collapsed exhaustedly onto the hotel bed.

The light from the ceiling was a bit glaring.

He held his phone up to his face, his finger swiping back and forth on the home screen, but he didn’t know what exactly he wanted to open.

A pink little TV app, a messaging app, the memo pad…

The icons kept sliding past his eyes, but he didn’t want to tap on any of them.

His thoughts felt as if they had been soaked in the damp air just before a rainstorm, incredibly heavy.

X City had given him quite the rude awakening right from the start.

Although he had just appeared perfectly calm in front of everyone, Lin Han knew that his own state of mind was actually quite similar to Monica’s.

Even though the Metamorphosis Society was operating in the shadows, and a cute and sensible child like Xiao Rou was suffering in some unknown place…

Yet, upon arriving here, the first thing they had to face was not the enemy, but layer upon layer of inexplicable resistance.

“I was just lecturing Monica this morning, but it turns out I’m not much more mature myself.”

Lin Han let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

He knew, of course, that complaining wouldn’t solve the problem.

But knowing it was one thing; being able to accept it completely unfazed was another.

Thinking of Monica, Lin Han grew a bit worried again.

If the X City Branch’s attitude had thrown even him off balance, it would be even worse for Monica.

That usually carefree “big golden retriever” had already seemed emotionally off this morning, and now, with this added aggravation…

She wouldn’t do anything stupid, would she?

While lost in thought, Lin Han’s finger, which had been swiping back and forth across his phone screen, suddenly stopped.

—On the last page of his home screen, an app icon he had recently become exceedingly familiar with had appeared at some unknown time.

The icon featured a cute girl with long silver-white hair, resembling a mascot character from an anime mobile game, with scarlet eyes and an adorable yet intimidatingly evil smile…

Devil Incarnation.

Lin Han stared at the icon, his fingers freezing slightly.

He hadn’t noticed at all when this app had shown up.

And of all times, it had to be now.

“I used to have to play it using a computer and a Simulation Capsule, but now it’s appeared on my phone.”

Lin Han seemed to be muttering to himself.

“Is it because that so-called Reality Sync Rate has increased?”

Naturally, no one in the room answered him.

But for a brief moment, Lin Han seemed to hear a very faint chuckle.

It sounded like a fingertip lightly tapping against fine porcelain.

When Lin Han tried to listen carefully, the laughter vanished as if it were merely an illusion.

Lin Han fell silent for a long time.

Finally, he reached out and tapped the icon.

The screen went dark.

The next second, darkness spilled out from the phone screen, swallowing his vision like water.

The rooftop of an old residential building in the old urban district of X City.

Monica stood alone in the night wind, looking up at the sky, trying to identify the stars.

That one should be the North Star, right?

No, the North Star didn’t seem to be that bright.

Were those few stars over there connected to form a constellation?

Hmm…

Couldn’t tell.

Monica quickly gave up.

Actually, Director Grandma had taught her how to look at the stars before, saying that as long as she remembered a few landmark stars, she could identify directions at night.

It was a pity that she had listened very seriously at the time, and forgotten very seriously as well.

But then again, she didn’t really want to look at the stars right now anyway.

She just wanted to find something to do.

Find something to relieve the emotions in her heart.

Actually, Monica shouldn’t have known what this emotion in her heart was.

But just like how she had once told her the names of many stars, Director Grandma had also told her the name of this emotion, and this time Monica had not forgotten Director Grandma’s words—

“The emotion of the night, its name is loneliness.”

Monica suddenly missed Phil very much.

Even though it had only been half a day since they last saw each other.

Miss Phil wasn’t exactly a gentle and considerate person either. Perhaps her first words upon arriving would be, “Idiot, even if you stand on the rooftop identifying stars, you still won’t look like a literary girl.”

But Monica just really wanted to see her.

She wanted to tell her everything that had happened today.

She wanted to pour out all the grievances and unease in her heart to her.

She wanted to hear her say “idiot” in that half-smiling tone of hers.

Monica counted the stars.

As she counted, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the familiar voice would ring out from behind her in the very next second.

But the night breeze blew for a long time, and there was nothing behind her.

“Miss Phil…”

Monica hugged her knees, crouching by the edge of the rooftop, and whispered:

“Where are you?”

“You promised you would help me.”

Right at that moment, a drop of coldness fell onto her face.

Monica haphazardly wiped her face, but even more cold drops hit her skin. Only then did she realize that it wasn’t her own tears accidentally falling.

She froze for a moment and looked up.

Another drop.

And another.

Then came more…

The rainstorm that had been brewing in the sky for so long finally poured down with an unstoppable momentum.

“Ahhh! Oh no!”

Monica instantly panicked. She covered her head and tried to make a run for the stairwell.

However, she had only taken two steps when she realized something wasn’t quite right.

The imagined sensation of being drenched by the rain never came.

The sound of the wind vanished, and the sound of the rain vanished with it.

Even the distant honking of cars dissipated into nothingness.

Monica slowly opened her eyes.

Then she saw that the sky full of rain had stopped in mid-air.

It was as if someone had suddenly pressed the pause button on the entire world.

Countless transparent raindrops hung suspended in the night, illuminated by the city’s dim yellow lights like glass beads shimmering with mottled colors. The night itself seemed preserved within the drops of rain.

Dumbfounded, she reached out her hand, trying to touch the raindrop closest to her.

It felt rock-hard against her fingertips, like a tiny, frozen stone.

“This is…”

Monica’s eyes widened.

“Did you miss me this much after only half a day apart? I don’t recall raising you to be such a clingy child.”

Following the direction of the voice, Monica finally spotted the source of the anomaly.

The silver-white Devil was slowly walking over from the other side of the rooftop, holding an umbrella even blacker than the night itself.

Her skirt swayed gently in the windless air, and her scarlet eyes carried a familiar, reassuring smile.

She stepped through the frozen curtain of rain, as if walking out of an absurd dream and into reality.

Phil came to her side and raised the black umbrella over both their heads, shielding them from the countless suspended raindrops.

“Good evening.”

The girl said with a smile.

“My silly golden retriever seems to be in a bad mood, foolishly running up to the rooftop all by herself to stand in the rain. Have you seen her?”