After ordering a drink and some bar food. Rexy wriggles out of my hair, stretching on the table. I let her have the meal while my mind replays the events of the last few hours.

So, my theory about my… let’s call them “hair-transformation” powers seems to hold up. My hair flares up into an iridescent, in two distinct scenarios.

First, someone or something kicks the bucket within a certain distance from me. In this case, there's a high chance my consciousness gets yanked into the higher dimension. When I’m there, I get to see the memories of the deceased, if the iridescent strings wins the tug-of-war with that glowing golden sphere.

It’s like being forced to watch a memory documentary.

Time in this reality freezes when I’m over there. But aside from the memory reel, I don’t really get anything else. There are also certain requirements, apparently. Since when those bugs and small slug-like creatures died in front of me, nothing happened.

The second trigger is exposed Adamantine, Adamantine that isn’t completely encased in gold. The only time I was pulled to the higher dimension with Adamantine involved that art piece being absorbed, and a tree forming around my consciousness in that dimension.

Why does my consciousness even get pulled there? And why am I encased in a tree?!

The rest of the time, I remain in this reality, but time around me slows down. It’s like watching the world in slow-mo, which multiplies my movement speed and reaction time. And it feels as if every time my hair absorbs more Adamantine, I gain more control over what I can do with it.

So, Adamantine is like my MP and EXP. Next time, I probably shouldn’t test these things at such dire moments. But I can’t really waste these Adamantines.

Rexy licks my hands, so I tickle her chin. “You were the one who dug up the Adamantine for Dr. Keyser, weren’t you?” Rexy proudly nods in response.

“Can you find more for me?” I ask politely. She instantly turns her head away.

Guess she really doesn’t like that job.

I peek at the number of Adamantine bars I have. I should have enough to handle a number of bad situations.

It appears all the futuristic lasers and railgun bullets have no effect on me. However, I am still vulnerable to being trapped. I’m not strong enough to just brute-force my way through these high-tech defenses. The mech-suit-like armor the guards were wearing, and their shields, are a big problem.

Rexy dunks herself in my drink. Can she even drink that? I shake my head at her. I can’t rely too much on Rexy’s transformation. Her large form draws way too much attention. I need to find more discreet ways to protect myself and rescue Bailey.

Of course, if all else fails, Rexy’s transformation will be one of the aces up my sleeve.

After two rounds of drinks, I get up and pay my bill with another ding! before leaving the bar.

The entire city feels tenser today. Announcements blare across the city and on every street corner, explaining why.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Citizen Broadcast: Lucretier Mansion Incident.” The amplified voice booms. “This is a city-wide alert. Security Services have confirmed a catastrophic event at the Lucretier Mansion. Upon arrival, security units discovered extensive structural damage and, tragically, 249 fatalities.”

The broadcast continues, listing the casualties: mansion staff, security, an Astralis Table associate, and even Lawrence Lucretier. Caesar Lucretier remains missing. Citizens are advised to be vigilant and report anything suspicious. The broadcast repeats.

“Citizen Broadcast: Lucretier Mansion Incident…”

They… they’re all dead?!

No way. Their wounds… they all closed when their memories were taken. There’s no way… how? How did they all die?!

My hair doesn’t even flare. It didn’t pull me into the higher dimension. They can’t all be dead.

A wave of dread and regret washes over me. I hurry back towards the mansion, keeping my distance as I stare at the dome.

The entire dome is completely surrounded. Some bodies have already been moved, but most are still there. Hundreds of people scream and cry on the lawns of the mansion. Their wailing rings in my ears.

They look like they’re just asleep. No blood, no wounds, nothing. How…? I’m utterly confused. “Do you know what happened?” I ask Rexy, perched on my shoulder. She shakes her head.

“They were alive when we left, right?” I ask, needing confirmation. Rexy nods reassuringly. I sigh in relief.

However, I’m immediately dragged back into the vortex of emotions. A woman cries and screams, clutching her husband. Elderly parents sob beside the body of their son. Children stare blankly at the body of their mother, not understanding.

Glimpses of the memories from the past day still linger in my consciousness. I know they were all someone’s parents, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers. For some, their entire family’s livelihood rested on their shoulders. The abyss of emotions… if it were my loved ones who had died so suddenly… I’d probably go insane.

Why… Why did this happen…? Who is responsible…? Is this blood on my hands?

“What do I do now?” I mutter to myself, slapping my hands on my face, hoping to wake up from this nightmare.

For a moment, I even considered swiping another bar of adamantine to see if I could glimpse what happened before they died. But I know it’s too late.

If only I’d stayed a little longer. Maybe things would be different. If only… These two words are popping into my mind way too often in this isekai.

The dark, cloudy sky casts a long shadow over the entire dome city.

After changing my appearance again, I wander the streets, feeling soulless, desperately trying to piece together what went wrong. I’m positive they were alive when I left. What in the world could kill so many people so quickly? Why?! Why kill all these innocent people?! Is Caesar responsible?!

A hundred possibilities race through my mind, but none of them explain what happened. Unless there’s unintentional damage from memory extraction…

But there’s no way I could have killed them, right?

And two things still don’t add up. First, if there’s damage from memory extraction, Rexy’s perfectly fine. Second, where did Caesar go? He was the one who had the most memories extracted.

Unable to find or think of any logical explanation, I lean against a wall, sighing. “Whoever’s responsible for this…” I mutter, clenching my fist. “I’ll give them a fate worse than the one I gave Caesar!” I curse silently in my head.

As rain begins to fall outside the dome, I find myself in front of an unfamiliar building. I notice a massive sign that reads “Vault” above the reinforced-looking entrance.

What is this…? It reminds me of a certain post-apocalyptic game I played back in my teens.

Wait a minute… This is where the bounty hunter said Bailey left all his stuff!

Bailey! Now is not the time to be sad, I gotta hurry!