Axel bought a bottle of beer and a pound of beef, his mood lightened by the simple pleasures. But as he walked back through the slums, he noticed the curious stares of the neighbors. Did they hear about my Force test? he wondered.

  He pushed open the door, only to find two unfamiliar figures sitting on the well-worn sofa inside.

  They were dressed in police uniforms. Annabelle sat between them, visibly fidgeting, her eyes downcast. Two cups of steaming tea sat untouched on the table.

  "You must be Axel," one of the officers said, a slightly overweight Mediterranean man in his forties. He rose, walking over to Axel with a smile and clapping him on the shoulder. With his other hand, he casually closed the door behind him. The room grew dimmer.

  "My name is Cross, deputy director of the Dune Police Department. Don’t be nervous. We just have a few questions for you."

  The Police Department? Axel nodded, sitting next to Annabelle. They exchanged a brief glance, and he saw the calm in her eyes. That was a good sign.

  Cross eyed Annabelle for a moment before continuing, "This must be your sister, right? She's adorable, though she doesn’t speak much. A few days ago, when you helped the law enforcement team, you... melted a few bodies. Is that right?"

  Axel’s heart skipped. So it’s about that. He had hoped that the law enforcement team would handle everything and no one would ask questions afterward, but it seemed his actions were still causing ripples.

  Still, something about the two officers felt off—this wasn’t just a routine inquiry. Axel had already prepared for a situation like this, so he took a deep breath and spoke carefully. "Yes, that’s correct. Is there a problem with that?"

  Cross smiled, leaning back in his chair as if casually pondering the matter. "I’m curious, though. You just fought the infected, shouldn’t you have been scared? Why did you decide to melt the bodies?"

  Axel noticed that while Cross spoke, the other officer, a man with a hooked nose, kept glancing back and forth between him and Annabelle. The silence in the room was heavy, and the man’s sharp, darting gaze made Axel uneasy, even though he hadn’t said a word yet.

  Axel kept his voice steady. "Well, the school teaches us that anyone who’s scratched or bitten by the infected might turn into a zombie. I was worried the bodies might still be dangerous."

  It was the same explanation he had given to Skye, and Axel knew that, despite being separate systems, the law enforcement team and the police would have shared their information by now. There was no need for him to lie.

  Cross nodded, wanting to take a sip of his tea. But when he saw the chipped and worn teacup in front of him, he frowned slightly and opted to tap his fingers on the table instead. Dong, dong, dong. The sound echoed in the quiet room, filling the space with an almost oppressive rhythm.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  The silence stretched. Cross didn’t speak, and neither did the hook-nosed man. Axel and Annabelle remained still, the tension in the air was thick.

  Cross wasn’t surprised by Axel’s answer. He had heard similar explanations before, even from the law enforcement team, and they hadn’t raised any questions. What caught Cross off surprised was Axel’s demeanor. For a high school student, Axel was unnervingly calm.

  Typically, when someone died in the slums, the locals didn’t call the police. It was written off as another attack by the infected. But this time, it was different. It's just that someone investigated this matter today, and he was not a small person. So he had to come, and Axel was recently promoted by the media as a civilian role model, so it was not convenient for him to use some means.

  After a long pause, the officer with the hooked nose squinted and finally spoke. "By common sense, after killing an infected, shouldn’t you have contacted the law enforcement team immediately? Shouldn’t you have been scared?"

  "With them here, even if a zombie shows up, you won’t need to do a thing."

  The officer with the hooked nose leaned in, his voice cold and threatening. "Besides, Skye was seriously injured at the time. Instead of helping him, you chose to melt the bodies? Boy, I suggest you be honest with me and tell me what you know." His eyes gleamed with cold malice, and his gaze bore into Axel like a venomous snake.

  For a brief moment, Axel's brow twitched involuntarily, and his heartbeat quickened. This man had just asked the one question Axel most dreaded answering. Fortunately, Axel had already prepared himself for this.

  He took a deep breath, his expression hardening. "Officer, please watch your tone. I’m cooperating with your investigation, not being accused of a crime. And as you said, it's common sense, right?"

  Axel leaned forward, his voice steady but firm. "According to common sense, I'm just a high school student. I shouldn't be expected to deal with infected people. In that situation, I thought about saving my life first. What's wrong with that?"

  The hook-nosed man’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flickering within them. Axel felt a shiver run down his spine as the man’s glare turned almost tangible.

  What a dangerous guy!

  Axel had sensed from the beginning that while Cross seemed to be the one in charge, the real authority here was the man sitting across from him. The man’s presence felt suffocating, like an oppressive weight hanging in the air.

  Could he be an awakener? If so, who was it that he had killed? Four slum thugs wouldn’t have warranted the attention of someone like this.

  "Frost, watch yourself," Cross said sharply, breaking the tense silence. The man named Frost straightened up, his intense aura fading away.

  Axel exhaled quietly, trying to regain his composure.

  Cross smiled lightly, but his eyes were calculating. "Axel, you don’t understand. We’re actually trying to protect you here. Your actions, while bold, were commendable. But there’s one problem."

  Axel raised an eyebrow, silently urging him to continue.

  Cross leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "One of the people has... well, a complicated background. Wolfe. Does that name ring a bell?"

  Seeing the confusion in Axel's eyes, Cross shook his head and said mysteriously. "Wolfe’s a well-known entrepreneur in Dune. He runs a number of martial arts schools and entertainment businesses. One of the people, his cousin, was sent to collect a debt. The next day, Wolfe got the bad news."

  A chill ran through Axel as the pieces clicked into place. Wolfe… an entrepreneur running martial arts schools and entertainment venues? He’s got to be someone with ties to both the legal and illegal worlds.

  No wonder the deputy director himself had come here. Axel couldn’t help but curse in his head. This is my fucking bad luck.

  Cross’s expression softened, but Axel could tell it was an act. "You’ve done nothing wrong. But Wolfe’s the kind of guy who doesn’t take things lightly. He might not be as friendly as we are. If you know anything, now’s the time to speak up. Otherwise, I’m afraid Mr. Wolfe will pay you a personal visit."

  If he tell the truth, he’ll be dead for sure.