Chapter One: An Escalating Situation

Shinjuku District, Sky Ginza.

Chen Zi’ang strode into the shopping mall, his eyes, hidden beneath sunglasses, discreetly scanning the surrounding pedestrians.

Through a lip-reading device fixed to the inside of his mouth, he silently reported to the command center:

“I’ve arrived at the North One entrance of Sky Ginza.”

“Received.” The serious voice of the section chief sounded in his earpiece. “Other operatives are on their way. Chen Zi’ang, this is an emergency assignment.”

“Fifteen minutes ago, the janitor responsible for the north area of the third floor, Tsugio Kawai (47), was witnessed exhibiting signs of aberration: canine teeth protruding, skin becoming wrinkled, conjunctival hemorrhage in the irises, and continuously grinding his teeth and growling at passersby with strong hostility and menace.”

“The threatened bystanders have already called the police. After initial screening, the case was transferred to the Sixth Countermeasure Division. Preliminary judgment: this is confirmed as a [Ghoul Transformation] anomaly. The capture order has been issued.”

As the section chief spoke, corresponding images flashed across Chen Zi’ang’s sunglasses: a three-dimensional structure map of Sky Ginza’s north area, and the facial features and physical data of their target, Tsugio Kawai.

“Be careful,” the voice continued through the earpiece. “After realizing someone alerted the authorities, the target didn’t attack but instead chose to hide and vanished. You’ll need to first confirm his current location.”

“Understood.” Chen Zi’ang confirmed, “Is the CCTV surveillance system online?”

“It’s connected,” the section chief said. “Based on the surveillance footage, the target hasn’t left the Sky Ginza area.”

“However, due to his long-term employment inside Ginza, he’s very familiar with the placement of all security cameras. We’ve lost track of him for ten minutes now.”

“Should we consider evacuating the people inside Ginza?” Reaching the emergency stairwell, Chen Zi’ang frowned as he asked.

Given the current intelligence, the target wasn’t just familiar with the environment but also demonstrated strong counter-surveillance awareness.

If they let him escape from Sky Ginza, the severity of the incident would escalate dramatically.

It might be better to evacuate the people inside under the pretext of a “fire incident” and station operatives at the evacuation exits.

If the target tries to slip out with the crowd, he would inevitably be exposed to surveillance and could be subdued immediately; if he doesn’t emerge—

Once the crowd is cleared out, the target would be a rat in a trap, no longer a threat.

“No,” the section chief quickly rejected the proposal. “Sky Ginza is one of the busiest commercial districts in all of Shinjuku. The public response to a forced evacuation is unpredictable, and the higher-ups wouldn’t approve.”

“Understood.” Chen Zi’ang ascended the stairs to the third floor and pushed open the door.

The third floor of Sky Ginza’s north area was dense with clothing boutiques, antique shops, and luxury stores—a river of people flowing ceaselessly through.

Chen Zi’ang quickly blended into the crowd, pressing a finger to the edge of his frames and pulling up the third-floor schematic again.

The last sighting of the target was near the northern ecological terrace.

Cross-referencing the placement of surrounding cameras, the possible hiding spots narrowed to six shops nearby.

He hadn’t had time to bring a spiritual pressure gauge, but as long as he searched each store in turn, he was bound to find the target... Wait—

A subtle, secret shiver crawled up his spine.

Something’s wrong. Could it be…

“Divine Descent Ritual!” Chen Zi’ang lowered his voice, quickly reporting, “My intuition senses a disturbance—I suspect an ongoing Divine Descent Ritual!”

The earpiece fell utterly silent for a moment before the tense voice of Section Chief Takahashi Kunsuke responded:

“Are you certain?”

“I’m certain!” Chen Zi’ang replied without hesitation.

“Very well.” Section Chief Takahashi issued orders in the background. “Evacuate all civilians from Ginza immediately! I’ll take responsibility!”

Within five seconds, an emergency broadcast alarm sounded nearby:

“Due to a sudden fire, all customers in this area are requested to proceed to the nearest emergency exit and evacuate in an orderly fashion. Thank you. Due to a sudden fire…”

At the sound of the alarm, Chen Zi’ang focused intently on the entrances to the six shops, his nerves taut.

A Divine Descent Ritual was a special ceremony attempting to communicate with Abyssal Deities. Considering that most such entities harbored intense malice toward intelligent life, any successful contact often resulted in catastrophic danger and disaster.

Yet, the floor was still crowded with shoppers; directly disrupting the ritual could provoke the target into a berserk rampage, causing unnecessary casualties.

Fortunately, the locals, upon hearing the broadcast, first halted with a start, then began to move in an orderly fashion toward the nearest exits—not because of some ingrained civic virtue, but because in North City, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions were so frequent that the populace was well-trained to obey official evacuation orders.

“Chen Zi’ang,” the earpiece chimed again. “Tsukimi is on her way to support you; coordinate as needed.”

“Tsukimi? Wasn’t she just inducted yesterday?” Chen Zi’ang asked with a frown.

“We’re short-handed,” the chief replied concisely. “She’s close by.”

In emergency deployments with too few operatives on site, the nearest reserves had to be activated—necessity knows no rules.

It wasn’t long before someone hurried over from the distance.

Suzuna Tsukimi, the new recruit who had just joined the Sixth Countermeasure Division of the Public Safety Bureau yesterday, was a striking beauty whose looks left an indelible impression.

Her eyes were large and luminous, framed by long lashes; her nose was small and delicate; her lips fine yet full; her skin was creamy and smooth as white jade. Every feature, in size and proportion, was just right. No wonder colleagues had debated yesterday whether her dazzling face was natural or the result of surgery.

Her hair, stylishly dyed a light brown, fell in soft waves beside her cheeks, tied loosely with a white hydrangea ribbon and draped over her ample chest.

Yet, Chen Zi’ang felt little for her beauty.

Such attractive girls appeared everywhere—on television, magazine covers, or on the huge billboards at every major intersection. There was nothing surprising about them.

But to find one at the scene of an anomaly did set his nerves on edge. After all, good looks couldn’t substitute for experience, and monsters cared nothing for a pretty face.

“Tsukimi?” Chen Zi’ang gave a small wave, signaling her over.

Apparently hearing him, Suzuna Tsukimi, who had been scanning the crowd, immediately looked his way.

The moment their eyes met, she stared at Chen Zi’ang in a daze, her beautiful eyes filled with a long-lost, affectionate, almost blissful emotion.

…Long time no see, senpai.

“Tsukimi!” Seeing the rookie in a stupor, Chen Zi’ang barked at her again over the comm channel.

“Senpai.” Snapping back to herself, Suzuna Tsukimi hurried to his side in quick, small steps, her eyes sparkling. “What should I do?”

“Hasten the evacuation of customers nearby,” Chen Zi’ang commanded sternly.

“Please hurry, everyone!” Suzuna Tsukimi promptly produced her Public Safety badge, flashing it as she raised her voice, “There’s a combustible gas leak in the area! Fire could break out at any moment—please evacuate this floor immediately!”

Shoppers, who had been hesitantly shuffling off after the broadcast—uncertain because they saw no sign of fire—grew alarmed at the sight of an officer urging them on and began to quicken their pace to leave.

Just as Chen Zi’ang breathed a sigh of relief, his instincts screamed a dire warning.

At that instant, the glass display of a nearby shop shattered, and from within leapt a creature on all fours, its fierce gaze locking onto the two of them.