Wahhh—!
White Li instinctively stepped back.
But behind her was the edge of the rooftop. One more step and she’d fall into the void dozens of meters high.
The knight walked toward her, his pace unhurried.
Each step carried an invisible pressure, like he was stepping on her heart.
“N-No… I mean…”
White Li’s hands were trembling, her legs shaking, her tail pressed tightly between her thighs.
She recalled their last encounter—how she’d clung to his leg, sobbing uncontrollably, then sneak-attacked him with ice crystals, escaped using water mist, and even mocked him viciously before fleeing.
He must be really angry right now.
‘Really, really angry.’
‘If I were him, being toyed with like that, I’d definitely want to beat the other person up too.’
“I mean…”
White Li forced a smile that looked uglier than crying, her voice quivering.
“I… what if I said I was just passing through? Would you believe me?”
“You already used that excuse last time.”
The knight stopped in front of her, silently staring down.
White Li lowered her head, her eyes darting around frantically, searching for a way to escape.
But there was nothing around her.
No foothold to use, no shadow to hide in, no source of water to create ice crystals.
Only this silver-armored murderer stood before her.
“Breaking into the museum in the middle of the night, damaging property, stealing artifacts, and injuring a security guard…”
He listed off her crimes one by one, like a judge banging his gavel in court.
“I originally thought you were different from the other freaks. Turns out you’re just a pretty face after all.”
“Ugh…”
White Li shrunk her neck, her tail drooping even lower.
She scanned the area once more and came to a conclusion she really didn’t want to admit:
‘I’m trapped today. There’s no way out.’
But just give up like that?
‘No way!’
‘Who is she? She’s White Li—the one who escaped the Flame Knight twice!’
“I… I’m sorry, okay?”
She lifted her head slightly, trying to make her eyes look watery, her eyelashes fluttering.
“But I have something to say!”
The knight silently watched her, arms crossed over his chest.
“Hear me out on my defense… I mean, explanation!”
White Li shifted the staff on her back to make it more visible, then cleared her throat.
“First of all, this thing doesn’t belong to you humans, right? You stole it from us!”
She pointed at the staff with righteous indignation, raising her voice a few notches.
“This belongs to us freaks! So taking it back is only right! It’s returning what’s rightfully ours! It’s an act of justice!”
The knight didn’t react.
White Li swallowed and continued.
“As for that security guard, I was just defending myself!”
She flailed her arms, gesticulating wildly in the air.
“He charged at me, yelled at me, and was about to hit me! I had no choice—I just barely touched him! Really, just barely! I didn’t even use any force!”
Of course, that was all a lie.
The guard had actually been facing away from her, and she was the one who sneak-attacked him from behind.
But White Li believed in her acting skills.
‘If it worked once, it’ll work again.’
‘As long as he lets his guard down, I’ll have my chance!’
“Are you done?”
The knight’s voice was ice-cold as he pulled a pair of handcuffs from behind his back.
White Li’s heart lurched as she stared at the handcuffs, trembling.
“According to Article 1, Section 1 of the Freak Management Regulations, as a freak who has committed hostile acts against humans, I am authorized by law to place you under arrest.”
“No! You have to believe me! I’m not lying to you!”
She spun around, hugged the staff tightly to her chest like it was a lifeline, and bolted.
Lin Du reached out, grabbed the back of her collar, and lifted her effortlessly into the air.
“Hey! Hey!”
White Li felt her collar tighten, and watched herself getting farther and farther from the ground. Even stretching her toes, she couldn’t touch the floor.
Her short little legs kicked wildly in the air, like a kitten being picked up by the scruff. Her fluffy tail spun around with the motion.
“Put me down!”
White Li tried to pry his hand off with both of hers, but it was like a vice—completely unmovable.
She tried to use magic, but a wave of scorching heat radiated from behind him, firmly suppressing the cold within her.
She could feel that the moment she condensed even a single ice crystal, it would instantly melt from that heat.
The knight snapped the handcuffs onto her wrists. The cuffs flashed once, and all her mana vanished as if it had evaporated into thin air.
Croak—! H-Help! Someone help!
White Li threw her head back and screamed, her voice echoing through the night sky.
But only empty echoes answered her.
The two of them were on the roof of an abandoned building. There wasn’t a soul around—not even a bird feather.
“C-Can we… settle this peacefully?”
White Li turned her face sideways, looking at the knight’s mask.
“I can’t settle anything with a freak,” Lin Du replied firmly. “But before I take you to the containment facility, I have a few questions for you.”
He lowered White Li halfway down, but didn’t release her collar. He only let her toes barely touch the ground.
“If you answer properly, I’ll make sure the containment staff treat you well.”
“O-Okay…”
“But if you don’t answer, or if you lie…”
He paused, then dangled her forward.
White Li looked down. Below her was the void again.
The night wind blew fiercely. She could even see the faint lights on the ground below, as tiny as ants.
“I wouldn’t mind knocking you out and carrying you back.”
“I’ll answer! I’ll answer! Anything I know!”
White Li nodded frantically, her tail wagging so fast it became a blur.
“First question. What’s your name?”
“I… let me think… Aghhh—!”
Before she could finish, Lin Du’s hand pushed forward.
White Li was now fully suspended in the air, with nothing beneath her feet.
The night wind rushed up from below, chilling her entire body.
From this height, handcuffed, she would definitely die from the fall!
“I’ll talk! My name is… my name is Liya!”
White Li thought fast on her feet and made up a name on the spot.
“My name is Liya! Really! I’m not lying!”
Lin Du stared at her. “Second. What were you going to do with the stolen staff?”
White Li opened her mouth, but a familiar suffocating sensation hit her—her throat felt like it was being squeezed shut.
‘I can’t tell the truth at all!’
“I… I was going to steal the staff and sell it for money!” White Li’s mind raced. “Sell it on the black market! This thing must be worth a lot! With the money, I could… I could…”
“Could what?”
“Buy tons and tons of meat!”
Lin Du was speechless, then continued asking:
“…Third. Who sent you?”
“No one sent me!” White Li declared firmly. “I did it all by myself! I watched the place for a long time, cased the area, and then made my move myself! I’m… I’m a lone wolf!”
Lin Du stared at her. White Li felt her skin crawl under his gaze, but she forced a sincere expression on her face.
He had a vague feeling something was off, but he didn’t press further.
‘There’s plenty of time to interrogate her later.’
But one thing he had to confirm—right now.
“Where were you hiding before you stole the staff?”
White Li blinked. ‘Where was I hiding?’
“In the sewers below? Or in that abandoned building next door?”
Lin Du’s grip tightened slightly.
“The changing room!” she blurted out. “I was hiding in the changing room!”
“Which changing room?”
“The employee changing room on the first floor of the museum.” White Li grew more confident as she spoke. “I hid inside a locker and waited until everyone had left before coming out.”
“Did you see anything?”
“No, nothing.” White Li shook her head frantically, but then a thought struck her. “Oh, right—I did hear someone’s voice!”
“What kind of voice?”
“Couldn’t really tell if it was a guy or a girl. It was kind of unclear.” White Li recalled her experience in the changing room that day, mixing truth with lies. “I saw the lights turn off and was about to come out, but that person was standing at the door the whole time. Later, when I peeked out, I saw there was someone else outside the door too…”
“Stop.”
Lin Du cut her off and let out a breath of relief.
‘If this freak named Liya isn’t lying to me, then that streak of silver hair I saw through the crack in the door finally makes sense.’
‘It was her. This freak named Liya was hiding in the changing room.’
‘Not…’ He glanced at the face in front of him.
Silver-white hair, azure eyes, pointed fox ears.
Exactly matching the figure he’d glimpsed through the door crack.
‘So White Li is innocent.’
‘She just happened to run into a freak hiding in the changing room that day.’
The stone that had been weighing on Lin Du’s heart for so long finally lifted.
“D-Do you have any more questions?”
White Li looked at him pitifully, her eyes watery, her tail wagging slightly.
Lin Du snapped back to reality and extended his other hand.
“Give me the staff.”
“Huh?”