After Loshu left, the members of Achilles' Heel hesitated for a long time, too afraid to go upstairs.
The sheer variety of Loshu's abilities had left them deeply shaken.
Mechanical animation infiltrating surveillance systems.
Persuasion disrupting logic.
Martyr's Radiance's visual hazards.
Jianjia Cangcang's control over reality benders.
The eerie Unobservable Antimemetics.
The deadly combo of teleportation and neck-snapping.
Any one of these abilities would be formidable on its own—but Loshu had them all.
Faced with such a monster, even Barbie felt powerless.
Unless she recklessly broke through to Level 5, her current strength was no match for Loshu.
For the first time, she was forced to request aid from the O5 Council—an admission of defeat.
This was something she'd never done, even against Level 4 reality benders.
The humiliation burned.
A Hollow Victory
The O5 Council's reinforcements wouldn't arrive in Beijing immediately.
In the meantime, Site-CN-02 sent its own support—though it was hardly reassuring.
Aside from MTF Yi Chou-02 ("Flawed Beasts"), none of Site-CN-02's other Mobile Task Forces stood a chance against Loshu.
Most were just highly trained humans, utterly outclassed by an anomaly like him.
"Flawed Beasts", while strong, were primarily stationed to suppress contained anomalies and couldn't be deployed lightly.
Instead, Site-CN-02 sent a drone to sweep the building.
Only after confirming Loshu was gone did Achilles' Heel cautiously ascend.
On the rooftop, Barbie's vision turned red at the sight of "Cupid's" corpse.
The Level 3 reality bender lay sprawled, his head twisted 180 degrees, eyes wide and unseeing, frozen in rage and disbelief.
"Brutal," muttered "The Master."
"White Eyes", who had recovered from his earlier ordeal, shuddered at the sight, grateful he'd only suffered visual hazards and not death.
"The Master" gestured to a blonde girl behind him.
"'Memory,' take a look. See what happened."
The girl knelt beside "Cupid's" body, placing a hand on his forehead.
After a moment, she spoke.
"Loshu appeared behind him… twisted his neck… then left."
"That's it?" "The Master" was disappointed.
He'd hoped to uncover Loshu's weaknesses from "Cupid's" memories.
No such luck.
By the time they finished investigating, it was past 10 PM.
Exhausted, the team dragged themselves back to the "Baron Manor Resort Hotel."
They were supposed to sleep by day and hunt by night, but today's events had wrecked their rhythm.
After a joyless dinner, they retreated to their rooms.
The Return
"White Eyes" had just lain down when his marker sense triggered.
Loshu was nearby.
His gaze instinctively snapped to the target—and he saw Loshu riding a shared bike, heading straight for the hotel.
Does he not know we're here?
No. He had to know.
After today, there was no way he didn't.
So why was he coming back?
To finish the job?
"White Eyes" jolted upright with a gasp.
"The Master" stirred. "What's wrong?"
"White Eyes" almost blurted out the truth—but then he remembered "Cupid's" corpse.
If I speak up, will I be next?
Loshu had stayed at this hotel before, using it as a base to infiltrate Site-CN-02's underground sector.
He was probably here to do it again.
If so…
Should I even say anything?
From what he'd heard, Loshu had sneaked in multiple times without detection.
If not for the Anomaly-CN-1451 incident, Site-CN-02 might never have noticed.
If "White Eyes" stayed silent, no one would know.
But if he spoke up…
Achilles' Heel would have to act.
And Loshu?
Would he snap and slaughter them all?
"White Eyes" didn't know if Loshu would kill the others.
But he did know that he himself—the only tracker—would be the first target.
Better to pretend I saw nothing.
With a forced smile, he wiped sweat from his brow.
"Just… a nightmare."
"The Master" didn't press further. "Rest, then."
"White Eyes" lay back down, eyes shut, but his mind raced.
In his perception, Loshu drew closer.
300 meters—hotel entrance.
100 meters—lobby.
10 meters—fourth floor.
His body trembled, half-expecting Loshu to kick down their door.
Then, the signal began to fade.
15 meters…
20 meters…
90 meters…
100 meters…
He must've gone underground.
"White Eyes" exhaled in relief.
Then "The Master's" voice cut through the dark.
"What's really wrong with you?"