The residents' final, frenzied curtain call was as fierce as it was fleeting.
The shrieks and howls that had surged through the Central Police Station were cut off in an instant. It was as if a raving lunatic had suddenly been forced underwater mid-scream. As the echoes faded like a final, dying struggle, silence crept back, seeping into the building bit by bit.
Chaisi bolted for the stairs.
Those who hadn't been invaded and knew nothing about the Nest's residents seemed stunned by the sudden shift from shrieking to dead silence, unable to process what had happened.
Even Jin Xueli was frozen to the spot, staring at the suddenly collapsed Ashley, not yet thinking to run. As Chaisi turned to leave, she seemed to ask something, but he didn't catch it and was in no mood to make conversation.
