Killing intent—frigid, razor-sharp killing intent—dropped without warning.
The moment Ch'en's eyes landed on the expressionless gray wolf, she did not bother to hide her hostility. It was as if something most precious to her had been stolen. The dragon woman's silent, icy stare turned the dormitory into a tomb—no one dared make a sound.
"…What an honor, Chen Sir." Exusiai's face twitched into a strained, ugly smile. "Uh, what brings you here? I really haven't gone out to play with Chen Mo lately, and I haven't even been messaging much either…"
Croissant, already scrambling to mute the TV, nodded so hard her horns almost fell off.
"Right, right! Exusiai's been super well-behaved! Chen Sir, you're a senior inspector in Lungmen—don't go abusing your authority just to get personal, okay?"
Ch'en ignored them.
From the instant she stepped inside, her gaze never once left Texas.
"How long are you planning to stay silent?" Ch'en's voice was flat and cold. "Or are you planning to 'settle this' with me right here?"
Chen Sir is talking to… Texas?
Exusiai and Croissant snapped their heads toward Texas. The gray wolf stood there wordlessly, fully dressed, her face unreadable.
Exusiai's mind immediately sprinted in the worst possible direction—especially with what she'd seen in Texas's room.
A truly terrifying thought slammed into her.
"Texas… last night, you didn't get drunk and—" Exusiai swallowed hard. "—force yourself on some guy, did you?"
No wonder, when she'd gone out to wipe down her motorcycle this morning, she'd caught that oddly pleasant scent.
So Texas had taken a stranger somewhere and gone absolutely feral.
And no wonder Chen Sir had come personally—this dragon woman had always wanted something she could nail Penguin Logistics with.
While Exusiai was spiraling, Texas had already stepped past her and walked straight up to Ch'en, stopping right in front of that cold, merciless stare.
"Let's go, Officer Ch'en."
"Huh? Texas, wait—"
The door shut with a heavy thud.
Exusiai slowly lowered her hand, which had been lifted to stop them, her face full of confusion.
"…I feel like this isn't as simple as I thought."
And Texas was acting especially weird today. She hadn't dared meet Exusiai's eyes even once.
Was it because she'd done something unforgivable for the first time, and now she didn't know how to face her coworkers?
"Don't overthink it, Exusiai." Croissant yawned as she sent the Emperor a brief summary of what just happened. "If Texas really did what you're imagining, we're not exactly in a position to say much."
She scratched the back of her head. "Besides, I don't believe Texas would commit an actual crime. Maybe she was riding your motorcycle last night, happened to get spotted by Chen Sir, and now she's being lectured."
…That did sound plausible.
Exusiai nodded thoughtfully, then planted her hands on her hips and flashed a bright, relieved grin.
"Yeah, you're right! Texas would never force a man."
"Because she's Texas!"
"Texas. How did my brother taste?"
Not far from the Penguin Logistics dorm, in a desolate, abandoned construction site, the gray, aloof Lupo and the frost-edged dragon woman stood facing each other from dozens of meters apart.
The air was saturated with murderous pressure.
A cold wind howled through the open space, snapping their coats and hems as if it wanted to tear them loose. It almost looked like something straight out of a wuxia novel—two experts squaring off before a life-and-death duel.
Texas said nothing.
Ch'en's mouth curled into a humorless smile.
"What, no words?" she sneered. "Or have you already accepted your fate?"
"…Thank you."
Ch'en's brows slammed together. Her sarcasm felt like it had punched cotton—soft, useless, and infuriating.
"You think one 'thank you' makes this go away?"
Texas shook her head, face calm. "No. I'm thanking you for not exposing the truth in front of Exusiai."
A thin, cold laugh escaped Ch'en.
"So you're admitting it."
Chi Xiao was already out of its sheath.
"The person standing in front of you right now isn't a senior inspector of Lungmen," Ch'en said, voice like ice scraping steel. "It's a younger sister, thinking about her brother."
"Don't worry about me abusing my position and dragging Penguin Logistics into this. I don't need authority to deal with you—nor would I stoop to it."
She lifted the sword one-handed. The blade flashed with a cruel, bright gleam.
"So you're not going to tell me it was 'forced,' or 'you had no choice,' or 'it wasn't your fault,' are you?"
Texas nodded. Her Originium light sword hummed in her grip, vibrating like restrained thunder.
"What happened, happened," she said. "No explanation will change that."
"I can understand your anger, Officer Ch'en. So I will bear it."
She raised her weapon, stance tight, expression solemn—ready for battle.
"But believe me," Texas continued, each word measured. "I did not do anything beyond that to Chen Mo. He is still… untouched."
"After this, I will visit to apologize properly and offer compensation. I'll do what I can to earn his forgiveness for my disrespect."
Even if that man had acted as though it were nothing.
Texas's lips moved, hesitation flickering for the briefest moment—then she lowered her gaze and added, quietly but sincerely:
"…And I'm sorry."
Steel screamed.
A burst of sparks exploded into the air, and the ear-splitting crash of metal rang across the empty site.
In the blink of an eye, Ch'en had crossed the distance—so fast it felt like she'd vanished and reappeared—and locked blades with Texas at point-blank range, forcing her back with sheer rage.
"You should be saying that to my brother," Ch'en hissed through clenched teeth, "not to me!"
She kicked Texas hard, sending her sliding several meters across the concrete.
Then Ch'en stamped forward again—so forcefully the ground spiderwebbed with cracks—and charged.
Texas did not counterattack.
Even after being driven back, she held only a guard, never once swinging to injure. It looked, from the outside, like a one-sided beating—like Ch'en was abusing her power and bullying a cold-faced Lupo.
That thought alone made Ch'en's blood boil.
"You think standing there and letting me hit you will make me calm down?!"
Chi Xiao came down from above, wrapped in a violent gale. Ch'en poured every ounce of a Yan dragon's terrifying strength into that strike.
Texas didn't dare take it head-on. She twisted her ankle, shifted her right foot, and her slim waist snapped her whole body aside in a clean, practiced dodge.
The red blade shaved off a few strands of gray hair and buried itself in the concrete like it was cutting tofu.
But it wasn't over.
The instant Chi Xiao bit into the ground, Ch'en released the hilt.
Her pale hand, veins standing out, clenched into a fist and rocketed straight for Texas's face.
Boom—
The punch stopped inches away.
Texas, who hadn't moved at all—who hadn't even tried to evade—frowned, genuinely baffled.
"Why didn't you hit?"
"…Tch." Ch'en didn't answer. She yanked Chi Xiao free and slid it back into its sheath, then turned toward the distance, irritation flashing across her face.
"Of all times… you had to show up now."
Heat surged in the air—sharp, rising, unmistakable.
Ch'en tugged at her collar, openly annoyed, and stared at the silver-haired figure approaching at an unhurried pace, tail swaying behind him.
"You came just in time."
....
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