The next morning, when Luo Hai woke up, Eugene was gone.
He opened the surveillance app and took a quick glance. The small blinking green dot was stopped at a nearby breakfast shop, showing no sign of moving.
He got dressed and stepped out of the bedroom. The apartment was silent and empty. The chairs and miscellaneous items were exactly where they had been last night. There was no food prepared in the kitchen or on the dining table—everything was just as it had been before Eugene moved in.
No messages, no notes. Nothing at all.
Luo Hai stood still for two seconds, then picked up his coat and briefcase, put on his shoes, and stepped out of the door.
The sky was gray that morning, thick clouds pressing heavily overhead.
A light drizzle had been falling nonstop. Pedestrians on the street all carried umbrellas, shielding themselves from one another’s view—no one could see anyone else’s face.
As usual, Luo Hai entered the prosecutor’s office building and placed his umbrella in a plastic bag by the entrance.
Flock and Daina happened to pass by, chatting and laughing. Luo Hai greeted them as usual. “Good morning.”
Flock’s smile froze, and Daina’s expression immediately darkened. She grabbed Flock’s arm and walked past Luo Hai as if he were air, completely ignoring him.
“……” Luo Hai didn’t react, simply heading toward his office as usual.
He understood his colleagues’ coldness toward him.
Flock and the others had been kind enough to arrange a celebration party for him, but not only had he refused to appreciate it, he had also rudely left in the middle of it. No one would be happy with that kind of behavior.
As he reached the third floor, Chief Kliman happened to step out of her office and called out to him.
“Luo Hai, how’s the report I asked you to prepare?”
Luo Hai stopped in his tracks. “What report?”
Kliman immediately frowned. “The analysis and summary of Nantes’ Omega crime records over the years. I told Barney two days ago to gather the case materials for you—haven’t you prepared it yet?”
Luo Hai was silent for two seconds. “He never told me about it.”
“He didn’t?” Kliman raised an eyebrow in surprise. “But Prosecutor Doyle needs it for court tomorrow morning. Without that report, he won’t be able to proceed. You—”
“It’s fine. I’ll have the report in his inbox by morning.” Luo Hai said flatly.
Kliman didn’t say anything more. She simply patted his shoulder before hurrying off.
Luo Hai entered his office and found that the certificate of merit that had originally hung on his wall was gone. He didn’t know who had taken it or where it had been moved.
He let out a soft sigh, poured himself a cup of coffee, and opened his computer to start compiling the crime records.
The drizzling rain continued into the night. The temperature had dropped drastically over the past few days, completely erasing the heat from before. The cold wind outside and the swirling fallen leaves marked the official arrival of autumn in Nantes.
By the time Luo Hai finished the report, it was already past ten at night.
He clicked “send,” exhaled lightly, and leaned back in his chair.
Glancing at his phone, he saw nothing but the ocean scenery on his lock screen.
No messages, no texts, no calls. Even the green dot representing Eugene’s location had been stuck in the apartment for the past five hours, unmoving ever since.
Then, he heard a knock at his office door.
Colin peeked in cautiously, a thick stack of folders tucked under his arm. “Prosecutor Luo Hai… Are you still busy?”
“What is it?” Luo Hai turned around.
“Well, I just received an email from the criminal investigation department. They’ve found the truth behind the Duke of Goss’s murder case.” Colin walked in and placed the printed documents on Luo Hai’s desk. “It wasn’t done by the Lightwing Society after all.”
“Oh?” Luo Hai flipped through the files.
“Yeah. It was a mafia group from Duhaat. Apparently, they had business conflicts with the Duke of Goss, so they promised that Omega a huge reward to incite him to kill the duchess.” Colin explained. “They’re tracking down the gang now. As for the Lightwing Society symbol at the crime scene—that was just a framing tactic the Omega came up with himself.”
Luo Hai let out a slow breath. “Alright, I understand.”
His gaze lingered on the documents for a long while.
If the Goss case wasn’t committed by the Lightwing Society either, then ever since Eugene was imprisoned, there hadn’t been a single crime linked to the organization.
The once-feared terrorist group that had stirred up chaos in Nantes seemed to have vanished into thin air, never appearing in public again.
What exactly was the current state of the Lightwing Society?
Had they abandoned their leader?
And what was their leader thinking? Why had there been no action at all for such a long time?
“What do you think Eugene Oddis is thinking?” Luo Hai asked in a low voice.
Colin was taken aback, clearly not expecting the sudden shift in topic. “What do you mean?”
“It’s been several months since his arrest, and over a week since he was released from prison and moved into my home.” Luo Hai set down the documents and looked up at Colin. “Yesterday, he even asked me to temporarily lift the distance restriction on his ankle monitor so I could accompany him to the city center for shopping. I was almost certain he would use the opportunity to contact his organization and even arranged for a security team to be stationed nearby. But nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.”
Luo Hai glanced at his phone screen—still no messages. At the same time, the green dot representing Eugene’s location hadn’t moved from the apartment.
“He’s been out of prison for over a week, yet he shows no signs of taking action. Meanwhile, the Lightwing Society has gone completely silent. There are only twenty or so days left. If he doesn’t act soon, the only thing waiting for him will be execution by firing squad.”
Colin hesitated, carefully observing Luo Hai’s expression. “So… do you hope he doesn’t act, or do you hope he does?”
The question left Luo Hai in silence.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“To be honest, I hope he confesses everything about the Lightwing Society—their crimes, their plans—so that when sentencing comes, he might have a chance at leniency. Maybe he could get life in prison instead of the death penalty.” He paused, then neatly stacked the scattered documents on his desk. “But that’s impossible. If he were someone who could be so easily swayed, we wouldn’t have met in prison. We would have met in the squares of Nantes, on the streets, in any café.”
For a moment, Colin looked unsure of what to say. “Prosecutor Luo Hai…”
Luo Hai looked up and cut him off. “It’s already late. Get me another cup of coffee, then head home. I still have work to do.”
Hearing that, Colin’s face showed an awkward expression. “Uh… we’re out of coffee beans. There was supposed to be a new batch today, but for some reason, every other office got theirs except yours…”
Luo Hai let out a quiet sigh.
Colin wrung his hands uneasily. “I can go to the convenience store now—”
“No need, it’s fine,” Luo Hai said. “I’ll buy some myself tomorrow morning.”
Colin clearly saw this as his own failure. “No, no, I should—”
“There’s no need. You’ve already stayed late with me.” Luo Hai lightly tapped the stack of documents against Colin’s chest and gently pushed him back. “Go home and get some rest.”
Perhaps it was the certainty in Luo Hai’s tone, or perhaps it was the gentleness of his voice, but in the end, Colin didn’t insist. He nodded and walked out of the office. “Then please rest early too, after you finish your work.”
Luo Hai gave a slight nod. Colin carefully closed the door behind him, and before long, even his footsteps faded away.
Luo Hai turned his gaze back to the computer screen and immersed himself in work amidst the silent night.
The rain outside continued until past midnight, finally tapering off around 1 AM.
Droplets clung to the edges of the window frame, suspended as if hesitant to fall. On the glass, condensation slowly gathered into beads before rolling down in glistening trails.
It wasn’t until 2 AM that Luo Hai finally finished his work and stood up from his desk.
He closed his eyes for a moment to ease the dizziness and muscle aches, then put on his coat and picked up his phone.
Other than an advertisement for a neck massager, there were still no messages. The green dot on his monitoring app hadn’t moved either—it remained quietly in his apartment.
Luo Hai’s thumb slid across the screen. Before he even realized it, his finger was hovering over Eugene’s name in his contacts.
But he hesitated for only two seconds before locking the screen and slipping the phone back into his pocket.
The late-night streets of Nantes were silent.
Even in the bustling districts, human activity had long since ceased at this hour. Shops stood quietly along the streets, food carts sat abandoned in the corners, and a damp stray cat prowled cautiously near a trash bin. Rainwater dripped from the eaves, sending ripples through the puddles below.
The entire city was fast asleep, and Luo Hai alone walked through the vast expanse of night.
If he washed up quickly, he might still get two or three hours of sleep.
With that thought, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the front door.
But the apartment wasn’t as dark as he had expected.
The living room lights were off, yet in the darkness, warm candlelight flickered, casting a soft glow on the ceiling.
On the dining table sat several elegantly arranged scented candles, filling the room with a faint fragrance. In the center of the table was a large cream and fruit cake, topped with a meticulously crafted chocolate cat figurine.
And opposite the candles and cake, Eugene lounged casually against the couch cushions. He smiled at Luo Hai through the candlelight.
“Happy birthday, Luo Hai.”
