The atmosphere between the four of them still carried the lingering weight of their previous conversation.
Yume was the first to speak.
"We need a first target."
She gently placed a thin file on the table.
"Kyouya Manabi."
Ginji raised an eyebrow slightly.
"…Sounds familiar."
"He's the one who won big on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Yume continued."Fifteen questions. No lifelines used."
"And—" she paused for a brief moment, "he answered extremely fast."
"Fast enough to be suspected of cheating."
Kairi spoke up.
"What's suspicious about that?""Maybe he's just that smart."
"If it were just intelligence…" Yume glanced at him. "…then there'd be nothing to discuss."
She lightly tapped her fingers on the table.
"The problem is—he doesn't understand anything he answered."
Kairi paused.
"…What do you mean?"
"When questioned further," Yume said calmly, "he avoids answering.""Or simply says: 'I guessed.'"
A brief silence followed.
"Fifteen out of fifteen," she continued."Each question has four choices."
"And one of them—" her gaze lowered slightly,"the moment it appeared… he answered instantly."
"As if… he already knew the answer."
Ginji let out a quiet chuckle, though his eyes remained cold.
"Fifteen questions. Twenty-five percent each."
"And he guessed them all right?"
He shook his head.
"Even with my ability… I couldn't pull that off."
Kairi fell silent for a few seconds.
His gaze darkened as his thoughts raced.
"…If we assume he's a Time Breaker…"
"Then it can't be memory."
Yume gave a slight nod.
"The butterfly effect," Kairi continued."You can't retain every answer across loops without deviation."
A short pause.
"…Then there's only one possibility."
He looked up.
"…Precognition."
Yume didn't deny it.
"…The Seer. Or something along those lines," Kairi concluded.
The air grew heavy.
"That's why," Yume said, "we're going to approach him."
"To confirm whether he's a Time Breaker."
A beat.
"And if possible—bring him to our side."
Suddenly—
Ginji froze.
His eyes sharpened instantly.
"…Not good."
Without hesitation, he shouted:
"I'll spend 8 points—solve this!"
The moment he finished—
CRASH!!!
Glass shattered violently.
A truck slammed straight into the café, crushing the area right where they had been sitting moments ago.
"Damn it—!" Yume shot up.
"They've started moving!"
"Run!" Ginji yelled.
He grabbed Kairi, and the three of them bolted outside.
"Was that—done by a Time Breaker?!"
Kairi shouted while running.
"Can't you see?!" Ginji snapped."That truck was aimed straight at us!"
"…If I hadn't used my skill—"
"you'd both be dead by now."
The moment they reached the street—
Kairi froze for a split second.
Cars.
Dozens of them.
Crashing into each other chaotically.
No pattern.
No logic.
Horns blaring, metal colliding, glass shattering—everything blended into a suffocating mess.
And—
they were coming straight at them.
"Follow me!"
Ginji rushed ahead.
In a way that made no sense—
he weaved through the out-of-control traffic.
Every step—
perfectly timed.
As if he already knew the only path to survive.
"Over here!"
A narrow alley opened up ahead.
The three of them rushed in without hesitation.
The atmosphere—
dropped instantly.
Silent.
Unnaturally so.
Kairi glanced at Ginji.
"…Those 'points' earlier… what are they?"
"…What a pain." Ginji clicked his tongue.
But he still answered.
"The Luck — The Gambler of Fortune."
"A class under The Architects."
"It lets me see my current luck… and gives me a certain number of luck points each day."
"I use those points… to turn low-probability outcomes into reality."
"The lower the probability—the higher the cost."
A brief pause.
"Like just now—"
"If I were only protecting myself… it'd cost 2 points."
"But with the two of you—"
"I had to spend 8."
Before he could finish—
a figure appeared at the end of the alley.
A man.
Wearing a mask.
A knife in his hand.
He stepped forward.
Slow.
Steady.
The space around him—
distorted.
As if reality itself was glitching.
"…Stop."
Yume drew her gun.
"I'm an investigator from Division 2 of the police."
"Drop your weapon."
No response.
Only—
a single step.
Then he rushed straight at them.
"Stop!"
BANG!
The bullet fired.
But—
"…It didn't hit?!"
Kairi froze.
The trajectory wasn't off.
And yet—
it didn't connect.
The bullet lodged into the space behind him.
"Run!"
All three turned and sprinted deeper into the alley.
Left.
Right.
Another turn.
But—
nothing changed.
The same wall.
The same alley.
"…Damn it…"
Kairi clenched his fist.
"We're… looping."
The footsteps behind them—
were getting closer.
"…We have to get out."
Kairi gritted his teeth.
At that moment—
a piece of paper appeared in his hand.
No warning.
No sign.
It was just—
there.
Kairi opened it.
One word:
"Explode."
At the same time—
an object appeared.
A fire extinguisher—
dropping straight into his hand.
Kairi tightened his grip.
No hesitation.
He turned to Yume.
"Do you have any bullets left?"
"One." Yume replied immediately.
"…That's enough."
"Shoot this."
Ginji instantly snatched the gun.
"…I'll do it."
Without delay—
Kairi hurled the fire extinguisher into the air.
"Shoot!"
BANG!
BOOM!!!
The extinguisher exploded midair.
A dense cloud of white smoke burst out, swallowing the entire alley.
"Go!"
The three of them rushed through the smoke.
Without looking back.
The footsteps behind them—
faded.
Then—
disappeared.
Only after they reached a safe distance—
did Kairi finally catch his breath.
"…That was close…"
If not for—
that Catalyst just now…
He wouldn't be standing here.
Kairi clenched his fist.
His gaze darkened.
"…This game…"
"…is more dangerous than I thought."
Suddenly—
"…Damn it… I'm in the negatives again."
Ginji had barely finished speaking—
THUD!
A flower pot dropped straight from above and smashed onto his head.
"AH—!!"
He clutched his head, stumbling back a few steps, face twisted in pain.
Both Yume and Kairi froze.
"…Are you okay?"
Kairi frowned.
"…And what do you mean by 'negative points'?"
Ginji rubbed his head, clearly irritated.
"My skill… lets me borrow luck points to use."
"But the debt limit is 10."
"If it goes negative—"
he exhaled,
"I'll have to go through equivalent bad luck… to pay it back."
Kairi fell silent.
Ginji continued, as if calculating things in his head.
"I had 18 points today."
"6… went into gambling."
A brief pause.
"8 to avoid the truck."
"4 to guide you two through the traffic."
"1 to land that shot on the extinguisher."
He shrugged.
"…So now I'm in the negatives."
Kairi and Yume both went silent.
They didn't say anything.
But their expressions said enough.
"…Don't look at me like that." Ginji clicked his tongue."Gambling is an investment."
He turned around, his tone turning serious again.
"Anyway—I'm out."
"No points left… staying means death."
Without waiting for a response—
Ginji left immediately.
Disappearing from sight in no time.
Only Yume and Kairi remained.
Silence returned.
"…You're being targeted now."
Yume spoke.
Her voice was low, but firm.
"Be more careful."
A pause.
"Pack your things."
"I've prepared a safe place."
Kairi looked at her.
"…When?"
"Midnight."
"It'll be safer to move then."
Without saying anything more—
Yume turned and left.
On the way back—
Kairi didn't say a word.
Everything that had just happened replayed in his mind.
The truck.
The chaotic traffic.
The endless looping alley.
Bullets that couldn't hit.
And—
the masked man.
"…That was too close…"
He clenched his hand slightly.
For the first time—
death had come that close.
"…It's not just me."
Kairi muttered.
"…Other Time Breakers… are hunting each other too."
He recalled what he saw earlier.
Distorted space.
Looping paths.
Untouchable target.
"…Space distortion…"
"…rules being bent…"
A pause.
"…That class…"
"…could be Glitchers."
He stopped for a moment.
"…Or…"
"…worse—Terminators."
Lost in thought—
Kairi suddenly bumped into someone.
"Ah—sorry."
He stepped back.
The man in front of him wore a neat suit.
Brown hair.
Calm expression.
But—
there was something familiar about him.
As if Kairi had seen him somewhere before.
Kairi only paused for a second.
Then shook his head and kept walking.
Not thinking much of it.
But—
the man slowly turned his head.
His gaze followed Kairi.
Cold.
Sharp.
"…Too many people here."
His voice was low.
"…And I still don't know his ability."
A pause.
"…I'll observe a little longer."
Elsewhere—
at the café from earlier.
A hand picked up the file left behind.
Flipped it open.
Eyes scanning through the pages.
"…Now this is interesting."