A corpse was found on the east side of Greystone Town.
It was skinless, its mangled, bloody torso dumped right at a crossroads.
The passerby who discovered the body let out a piercing shriek, drawing a crowd and igniting instant panic.
Almost simultaneously, a violent brawl erupted in a clothing store elsewhere in town.
It started when a customer asked the shopkeeper, “Which of these clothes makes my hips look wider?”
The shopkeeper replied, “I wouldn't know. My own figure is quite graceful.”
A verbal spat immediately escalated into a physical fight. The two fought as if they shared a blood feud, grabbing whatever was at hand to bash each other.
Two streets away at an open-air food stall, several tables of drunken customers grew belligerent, smashing beer bottles over each other's heads. Shards of glass and blood sprayed everywhere.
A wave of violent incidents broke out all at once, rapidly sweeping through the once-quiet town.
Piercing sirens began to wail.
Hearing the sirens in the distance, the Minister’s expression turned extremely grim.
After quickly learning what was happening, he had only one thing to say: “Shit!”
“Dammit. This is far too coincidental.”
Alarm bells rang in the Minister’s mind as he immediately foresaw the trouble ahead.
A group of strangers had just entered the town, and suddenly, multiple violent crimes had occurred.
The local authorities would almost certainly mark them as prime suspects.
Once a deep interrogation began, their flimsy “tour group” cover story and fake IDs would be exposed instantly.
If the real culprit wasn't found, they might even be used as scapegoats to close the case quickly, giving the local officers a bit of easy credit.
The Minister was all too familiar with such tactics.
If they were discovered to be abnormal entities rather than ordinary humans, the consequences would be unthinkable.
“The timing couldn't be worse.”
The Minister made a split-second decision. Staying behind—whether to try and quell the riots with supernatural powers or to passively submit to questioning—was not a viable option.
“Retreat,” he told the companions beside him, who had also realized the gravity of the situation.
Without hesitation, they abandoned any plan of staying in the town.
Fortunately, they had moved quickly enough that they already had their supplies and basic intelligence.
Moving with haste, the group used the chaos to slip out through a quiet alley on the west side of town, vanishing into the encroaching night.
They regrouped with the main force waiting on the edge of the desert.
As he took a headcount, the Minister’s brow furrowed while his gaze swept over the crowd.
“Where is Yue Shi?”
No one answered.
They remembered him being in the group earlier, but no one knew when he had disappeared.
The Minister’s face grew even darker.
He knew exactly what kind of person Yue Shi was.
The skinning case in town and the sudden wave of violence had erupted far too conveniently right after they entered Greystone Town.
The style was far too reminiscent of a certain villain who thrived on chaos.
Consequently, the Minister strongly suspected Yue Shi.
Could it be him?
Why would Yue Shi intentionally manufacture these incidents?
Was it simply for fun, or did he have a deeper motive?
“Mr. Yue Shi is gone,” someone in the group whispered, though they didn't seem particularly surprised.
In truth, ever since they escaped the containment station the night before, people had been quietly slipping away from the main group.
Most were lone wolves or small teams confident in their own strength.
They likely felt that traveling in such a large group made them too big of a target and invited more trouble.
The remaining members had a tacit understanding regarding these departures; no one tried to stop them, and no one asked questions.
Theirs was a fragile alliance to begin with.
The Minister took a deep breath, suppressing his rising doubt and irritation. Now was not the time for an investigation, nor did he have the means to conduct one.
Raising his voice, he addressed everyone. “We can't stay here. We must get away from Greystone Town immediately.”
“The local police have likely been alerted. We cannot afford to be seen by the authorities.”
“Furthermore, our temporary alliance was formed to handle the immediate crisis. We have now escaped the containment station and gained a basic understanding of this world.”
“If anyone feels that staying with the main group is no longer their best option, or if you have your own plans, you are free to leave at any time.”
A slight commotion rippled through the crowd at his words.
“But let me be clear: you may leave, but let us part on good terms. Do not bring trouble to those who stay, and do not do anything foolish that might expose our trail. Otherwise...”
The Minister left the sentence unfinished, but the warning was crystal clear.
Several figures quietly detached themselves from the group under the cover of night, vanishing in different directions.
The Minister didn't stop them; he simply noted their general headings.
The main group set off once more, choosing a direction at random.
...
Back in Greystone Town, the chaos was only intensifying.
The police had rushed to the scene, quickly taking control, cordoning off areas, and questioning witnesses.
On the edge of the crowd of onlookers, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man stood holding a black cat, blending in perfectly.
His gaze drifted over the skinless corpse now covered by a white cloth, then turned toward the town’s exit. A malicious smile played on his lips.
“Boss Pi is still useful for something,” the disguised Yue Shi said, gently scratching the black cat under its chin.
The black cat wore a human-like expression as it looked around.
Yue Shi had never considered the Minister’s group his own, let alone planned to stick with them.
When had he ever possessed a sense of collective honor? Not killing them off was already a rare glimmer of his conscience.
He had only released them from the containment area to use them as pawns to muddy the waters.
“First, I need to figure out this world’s power system and its actual level of technology. Can you hack into the network here?” Yue Shi whispered to the cat.
The black cat gave him a reassuring look.
Yue Shi looked away in distaste. A kitten possessed by a ghost wasn't cute at all.
In truth, the Ghost was still in a state of utter confusion. He had been trapped in an extra-dimensional space and was only recently released. He’d thought Yue Shi was just causing trouble in a new city, only to be informed that they had changed worlds entirely.
Well... the Ghost suspected Yue Shi might be joking.
After all, in this so-called new world, humans spoke the same language, used the same script, looked roughly the same, and even the gravity was identical.
“Now that the show is over, it’s time to get down to business.”
Holding the cat, Yue Shi turned and moved against the retreating crowd, silently melting into the night.
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