Nemo took out a secure phone. As long as Matthew hadn’t disabled the location-tracking feature or lost his device, there was no need to play hide-and-seek. A glance at the secure phone revealed Matthew’s position—a yellow dot that had moved a kilometer away and was currently stationary.
“Damn it, Matthew! What the hell are you up to?” Nemo called his number, demanding answers.
“My hacker team just informed me that the central monitoring system of Carnation Community has been hijacked. The surveillance cameras appear to be functioning normally, but the feed has been replaced with AI-generated fake footage. It’s harder to detect than looping footage. The monitoring staff aren’t experts, and the electronic tracking system is likely compromised too. I told them not to rush restoring surveillance but to track the intruder’s traces first—don’t alert them. I’m curious to see what happens next,” Matthew replied in a relaxed tone.
Nemo held his breath, listening closely for any background noise. There were no voices or wind sounds, suggesting Matthew was indoors.
Standing in the backyard of a vacant house far from the tour routes, Nemo made the call. Hearing movement, he turned swiftly. From the corner of the house stumbled a figure in a hospital gown—a middle-aged woman with disheveled hair, skin red, swollen, and festering. Her bloodshot eyes stared at him as she bared her teeth with a feral hiss before charging at him with malicious intent.
That eerie sense of clarity resurfaced. Nemo instinctively pocketed the secure phone inside his suit jacket while simultaneously drawing an ice pick. As the infected woman advanced one step closer, Nemo mentally analyzed: subdue her, stabilize the neck, and minimize the spray of bodily fluids when using the weapon. He finalized his tactics by the second step of her approach.
All current Green researchers have proven with their bodies that the infection caused by the East Coast Kaiju’s blood is irreversible. Matthew’s earlier warning echoed in his mind.
When the symptoms of Greens deteriorate significantly and they lack sufficient hydration and nutrition—particularly salt and protein—patients with diminished intelligence may instinctively seek sustenance directly from biological organisms.
Nemo recalled a note from a Green researcher who had conducted a self-experiment involving dehydration and starvation, culminating in their suicide via automated device. Subsequent records confirmed the hypothesis, with a live pig used as the experimental subject.
“It’s time,” Nemo muttered.
He tripped the woman, grabbing a discarded gardening spade to wedge her jaw open. She made choking, gasping sounds as he worked. In less than a second, as she momentarily froze, Nemo drove the ice pick into the space above her eyeball, piercing the thin orbital bone and entering the cranial cavity at a precise depth of seven centimeters—not a millimeter more or less. There was no need for additional force, not even a hammer. It felt smoother than the practice runs he had done on bio-robots, like puncturing damp tissue paper.
With a slight flick of the wrist, he withdrew the ice pick, still almost pristine, and quickly wiped it on her clothing to remove any residual fluid. The infected woman fell silent, collapsing with limp limbs, staring blankly at the sky.
“Nemo?” Matthew’s voice came from within the suit jacket—he hadn’t hung up.
Nemo used his phone to take photos of the woman’s face and full body before sending them to Matthew.
“I’ve taken action. Where are you?”
“In the basement of the old hospital in the community. All the doors along the way were unlocked. It seems this place secretly housed numerous severely infected Greens. The floor is littered with shredded straitjackets. Nemo, are you okay?”
“Calmer than I expected. I feel sorry for the lady, but she’s still alive.” Nemo noted that his heartbeat and breathing remained steady. Was this the optimal killing state his abilities provided?
“Don’t overthink it. The U.S. military deployed special forces to protect the governor and issued a shoot-to-kill order against out-of-control Greens with implanted tracking chips. Otherwise, how do you think that old man dared to show up here?” Matthew replied.
“Someone intentionally released those severely infected Greens?” Nemo began changing his clothes, pulling items from his briefcase.
“What I’m more concerned about now is how many non-tour areas in Carnation Community are packed with severely infected Greens that have all been set free.” Matthew’s footsteps quickened—the hospital basement must have been too quiet.
“Send me the three-dimensional map of Carnation Community. Highlight the buildings that don’t house Greens and are above the third floor. I know you’re already prepared.”
“I can do that, but now we know the data provided by the state government is completely unreliable.”
“Then focus on the ones least likely to be hiding Greens. Choose structures that are weak, with open spaces and lots of doors and windows—not suitable as prisons but accessible for helicopter rescue.”
“Got it. Sending it to you now.”
“Next, find somewhere to hide. I’ll come to you,” Nemo instructed.
"My hero, pick a meeting point; I can still walk on my own," Matthew said, feeling that Nemo was being too overbearing. When it came to fighting skills and basic physical ability, Nemo still had a lot to learn from him.
"Because I need to find someone along the way, I can't afford to waste time waiting for you. If you run around aimlessly, it just adds trouble for me. I'll be there in half an hour, at most," Nemo replied while looking at the printed photo of the Asian man with the protective cover.
"Considering your fellow countrymen, I’ll wait for thirty minutes," Matthew said.
"Time starts counting from the moment your location stops moving. During that time, call in as much backup as you can," Nemo was quick to close any loopholes.
Matthew clicked his tongue and ended the call.
Dressed in lightweight knit material, air-cushioned running shoes, loose athletic pants, a black hoodie, and a disposable medical mask, the professional bodyguard had disappeared. Nemo slouched his back, pulling his shoulders down and hiding one hand in his pocket. He had deliberately swapped into the disguise of a suspicious-looking young man who might be a Green, looking sickly to scare off normal people. This way, they'd instinctively avoid him.
He stuffed his suit and shoes into his briefcase and hid it behind some junk in the backyard. As expected of a Grimm Group product—it had endless potential.
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Nemo continued moving in the general direction of Matthew's position to avoid the two of them ending up at opposite ends when the countdown reached zero—it would be awkward.
The Carnation Community was not small. It had electrified barbed wire enclosing part of the surrounding rural area. Nemo had initially only encountered one clearly threatening Green, about fifty meters away, and passed by quietly and unobtrusively, a habit he had honed over the years of avoiding game monsters.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The sound of gunshots echoed from roughly two hundred meters. Nemo gritted his teeth but chose to ignore it.
Ahead, a woman's scream pierced the air. Nemo hurried over and found a middle-aged mother and daughter, adorned in luxury clothes and gemstone jewelry, being gradually surrounded by three Greens.
Every tour group was supposed to have three fully-armed National Guard soldiers, not to mention the armed patrols already on duty. How did these two get separated?
Nemo grabbed one Green by the neck, dragged it to the ground, and kneeled on its throat, stabbing at the eye socket with a swift motion. He picked up a stone and threw it with force at the Green closest to the mother and daughter. In a fit of rage, the creature pivoted to face him, and Nemo immediately thrust his ice pick into its left eye. Fortunately, this was a scenario he had simulated countless times in the virtual training room.
The last Green was a little slower, and if the mother and daughter hadn't been screaming nonstop, based on their physique, they could have easily outrun the Green. However, the noise they created drove the Green crazy, and it advanced towards the source of the sound, seemingly ready to feast on them. Nemo had no choice but to give the creature a quick end.
"Where are your National Guard soldiers?" Nemo asked, his voice deliberately gruff.
"The monsters appeared! They’re like decayed zombies! We escaped when they were shooting at the zombies!" In her thirties, the daughter tearfully uttered.
Sisters, really! The soldiers had assault rifles, handguns, and grenades—the whole point was to escort the VIPs to safety. Why did they break away and attract monsters? Nemo silently groaned.
"Stay quiet and find a place to hide. Use your phone or small rocks, whatever you can. Wait until the soldiers pass by and then call for help," Nemo advised, understanding the mental state of the two women and not expecting more from them.
"No! This place is too dangerous! You have to help us!" the daughter insisted, while the mother looked at him with pleading eyes, even pulling off her huge emerald ring as if to offer it to him.
"Sorry, I’m tied up at the moment," Nemo firmly rejected, and the two women, like zombies, continued to chase after him—still the kind that run fast, like in Train to Busan. Nemo had to climb over several walls before shaking them off. No familiar sound of their screams followed, which meant the mother and daughter should be safe for now.
Nemo didn’t even have time to take out the missing person photo to inquire. His survival instincts took precedence.
The curly-haired young man stopped at the top of a wall and stood upright, scanning the surroundings. He noticed a group of socialites across the street, though this time, it was five normal people against four Greens. One man was wielding a plank of wood torn from a fence, while a purple-haired young woman, no older than twenty, was filming with her phone. The elderly and a middle-aged couple appeared to be looking for a way to escape, all visibly scared, but thankfully, no one was hysterical.
Dressed in black, Nemo took down the first two Greens with his ice pick, while the bravest of the group, the man with the plank, managed to knock one down as well. The masked vigilante warned him to keep his distance from the Greens before retreating.
Nemo quickly incapacitated the remaining Greens by severing their frontal lobe nerves, diffusing their violent impulses. Technically, the Greens could still stand and move, but the ones he had attacked were likely already severely affected by kaiju blood and had brain damage, not to mention being physically weakened from days of captivity and dehydration. They usually fell to the ground, unable to move.
Nemo was still enveloped in the calm that came with continuous combat, while he snapped photos of the Greens he had taken down for later identification, unaware that the purple-haired girl had also recorded the entire scene.
"Why weren't you with the National Guard?" Nemo asked again.
"There were too many frenzied Greens—almost twenty! They told us to run first!" the man with the wooden board explained.
It was understandable. Nemo finally had the chance to inquire about the missing person.
"Did you see anyone who looks like the person in this photo during the tour?" Nemo pulled out a printed photo, deliberately lowering his voice as he asked.
To this group of high-class Americans, all Asian faces looked the same. Nemo pointed at a prominent mole on the missing person’s neck.
Most of them shook their heads, but the elderly man quietly said he vaguely remembered: "He was very polite when he walked out of the little house to greet us. I really liked that Asian guy, though I found the mole a bit off-putting. Ah, it's not discrimination..."
Nemo grabbed the elderly man's tour guide manual and confirmed the location of the little house where the missing person might be. He quickly ushered the crowd to escape correctly. "Run to the rooftop! Lock the entrance and exit and wait for rescue. Don’t go charging at the checkpoints; you’ll be treated as potential infected and might be shot on sight!"
The rescued men and women blinked, not daring to breathe in front of the masked vigilante. Only the brave purple-haired influencer girl spoke up, "Can I take a photo with you? …Mr. V?"
"I’m not 'V,' protect yourselves," Nemo growled again, pointing towards the nearest safe building and quickly turning to leave.
The mysterious vigilante, who had been recording the Beelzebub files, had never claimed any identity. Nemo denied being 'V' (Vigilante), which was theoretically valid since the vigilante didn’t have a specific code name. But with his agile movements, ruthless attacks, and a heart dedicated to protecting innocent civilians, combined with the chaos in the tightly secured Carnation Community and the exposure of the governor’s inhumane confinement of severe patients, the wealthy people were convinced they had encountered the legendary mysterious vigilante!
The influencer girl, strangely enough, mimicked the black-clad vigilante's actions and even took close-up photos of the four fallen Greens. These later became the only identifiable records of the four patients involved in the Carnation Community incident. For a long time, the public had no idea how many terrifying Greens had been incapacitated by the vigilante, killed by the military, or secretly relocated elsewhere.
At this moment, Nemo still didn’t know that this group of wealthy people had formed a loyal five-person group dedicated to protecting the mysterious vigilante, vowing to never leak his traits or video footage in order to prevent him from being tracked and arrested by the police. Among them, the influencer, a wealthy second-generation purple-haired girl, had become a fanatic follower of 'V.'
Following the elderly man’s hint, Nemo found a small house along the tour route that appeared suitable for a family of three to live in. There was a security tape at the entrance. Without hesitation, he bent down and passed through. Looking through the window, it seemed there was no one inside.
Nemo knocked on the glass window, noticing the man's backside hiding under the dining table. He was speechless—was this a drill for an earthquake? Nemo grabbed a stone and broke a windowpane. When the Asian man startled and jumped up like a frightened bird, Nemo pressed the identical printed photo to the glass.
Seeing the photo, the man seemed electrified. He quickly walked toward Nemo but stopped just short of the window, taking a step back, stuttering in English, "Sorry, I have an infectious disease, I can't get close to you..."
Nemo responded with a rough reply in English, "It's just a mild case, talking won’t spread it. We’re still separated by a window and masks. Come over! I can’t stay long!"
The Taiwanese informant reluctantly walked up to the window.
"I saw on Meteor Shower Watchers that your friend posted a missing person request with your photo," Nemo rotated his phone screen, showing the saved post to the man.
The man's eyes immediately turned red."So, you're the superhero here to save me?"
"No, just a passerby trying to help. Do I look like a superhero in this outfit?" Nemo pointed to his cheap casual clothes and plain disposable medical mask. " I got in here through connections, trying to find out the real situation of the Greens being transferred here in bulk and to confirm if the people in the photo are still alive. If the man is dead, seeing his body would provide an answer."
"Doing something like this, that makes you a hero!" The Taiwanese informant said with a bitter-sweet smile.
"Just give me a concise explanation of what happened," Nemo ordered.
"I applied for a cleaning job here, and I was strictly restricted to cleaning specific areas. To dig up valuable intel, I crossed the line. One interviewee, who looked terrifying but I thought was still rational, suddenly lost control and bit me. After revealing my identity, the doctors here said I had to be isolated for examination. I had no choice but to agree, and then I showed allergic reactions and turned into a Green," the Taiwanese informant said, touching a wound under his sleeve.
"Because it's just an early-stage infection, the symptoms are mild. The doctor asked if I wanted to act as a model patient during the VIP tour. That would allow me to be prioritized for treatment, whether it was true or not, I agreed. And then, you found me."
Thankfully, the doctor or the person who arranged this tour had SJW tendencies, and they insisted on including an Asian face among the model patients, giving Nemo more chances to spot the missing person. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sure if he would find the person in such a short time—it was just a gamble with the Taiwanese boy's fate.
"I understand," Nemo said. The man was indeed infected, and Nemo couldn’t irresponsibly take him out.
The Taiwanese informant seemed to understand Nemo's dilemma and asked, "Can you record a message for me? 'I’m fine, just disappearing for a while to avoid the limelight.' He’ll recognize my voice." He deliberately spoke in Chinese, seemingly hoping Nemo wouldn’t understand, as if that was an important message for the masked hero.
Nemo brought his phone close to the broken window so the man could record the message. After replaying the short audio, the Taiwanese informant nodded in satisfaction, tears running down the sides of his nose.
"This is good enough. I want to stay here and wait for government treatment. I heard Grimm Group is coming to help. They’ll figure something out. At least there’s food, drink, and shelter here. I can’t go out and harm others!"
"Don’t you want to say anything else? You should be quite close," Nemo suddenly spoke in Chinese.
"Forget it, we’re just good friends, never officially made it clear. The chances of us meeting again are slim. We’re both men, I don't want to trouble him anymore," the Taiwanese informant said with a bitter smile, wiping away his tears.
"It’s not my business, but I’ll say this: don’t underestimate men. We’ll see," Nemo didn’t force the informant to leave the small house. Since his search had been successful, he had just enough time to meet with Matthew.
Nemo heard the clear sound of glass breaking and turned around to see the Taiwanese informant climbing out of the window, holding the same stone. He imitated Nemo’s action and smashed all the windows, leaving traces of an escape, as if the Greens had ravaged the area or the invaders had intimidated the infected patients. He covered up any suspicious traces of their interaction and waved goodbye to Nemo with a smile.
Even if it was just a minor finishing touch, not everyone could react so quickly. The guy was a loyal and smart person, Nemo thought.