From a bird's-eye view, Nova City at midnight looked like a towering jungle, its high-rise buildings shrouded in white mist, as if submerged beneath the sea. Occasionally, a pinpoint of light would flash, revealing the patrolling drones.

One of them noticed an abnormality in a sealed window, but after a quick scan showed no issues, it closed the window. Yet, for some unknown reason, it opened again moments later on its own.

The man inside was oblivious to all of this.

He was a cyber cop, wearing a haptic suit, embodying an angel as he sat in a digital church, listening to a sermon. When the preacher spoke of immortality and ascension to sainthood, he couldn’t help but lower his head, nearly laughing out loud.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared before him. Looking up, he was stunned to see a six-winged angel—the very one delivering today’s sermon.

Shocked, he listened to the angel’s accusations, then started to protest loudly. The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, until finally, he covered his face and wept as if deeply wronged.

But soon, he realized his performance was overly theatrical. So, when he lifted his head again, his expression had turned into a playful grin.

“Alright, fine, I just slipped in to watch the show. Not welcome? I’ll leave then, that’s cool, right?”

He stood up and moved toward the exit of the church, but suddenly, a red countdown popped up in front of him, accompanied by stern alarms: "Intrusion... intrusion..."

He was startled. Could this be a data trap?

No! Today’s data was crucial, and this person in front of him seemed to be a key figure. He couldn’t afford to leave now.

Without hesitation, he followed the planet’s preset rules, using an item to transform his avatar into a mighty dragon. With a powerful flap of its wings, he broke through the church roof and soared into the golden sky.

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But his opponent was clearly prepared. Several soul chains shot out, binding the dragon’s claws tightly.

"You want to compete with me using items? Fine, let’s have a proper fight then!"

In the real world, he released the magnetic tether on the roof, leaped onto an electromagnetic platform, and shot into the air like a wire stuntman. His haptic suit shifted into full-frequency mode, blazing with light as his headset filled with the sounds of ripping air, explosions, and roars.

In the Metaverse, the dragon swung its claws and breathed fire, reducing the church to ruins in an instant.

But just as the battle reached its peak, a bird’s cry rang out from the sky, and a massive shadow descended. Before the dragon could react, a flash of cold light split through the air, severing its head and body, which fell to the ground.

The man in the real world crashed heavily to the floor. He wasn’t injured, but he was drenched in cold sweat!

An ambush! Shameless!

He sat up, yanked off his visor, and angrily threw it on the floor.

He and his team had been undercover in the Metaverse for over a year investigating this case. From the available data, it was clear this was no small operation—if they cracked it, they might earn an Iron Cross.

But tonight, not only had he failed to secure the data, he’d also tipped off the target. How was he going to explain this to his team?

For a long moment, he fumed, but what could he do? With a long sigh, he stood up to change out of his soaking wet clothes.

He left the studio and walked to the bedroom door at the hallway corner. The light behind him cast a huge shadow on the walls. Just as he was about to push the door open, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

He immediately became alert, holding his breath, straining to listen. Faint sounds came from inside—low, muffled, intermittent. Something seemed to be hiding behind the door. Gripping the handle tightly, he gently twisted it.

The door opened silently, and a sulfurous wind rushed out to meet him.

“Ah, it must be the airtight window acting up again. That damn thing’s been malfunctioning lately."

He shook his head, mocking his own paranoia. But suddenly, something lunged from the darkness, like a flash of lightning or a white snake, sinking its teeth into his chest.

He stared in shock as blood poured from the wound, momentarily unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Pain surged through him as he collapsed to the floor, instinctively pressing on the wound, but both strength and blood were rapidly slipping away.

Everything in front of him became both bright and dark. He wondered, Am I going to die? What will happen to the case? Who will catch the bad guys?

Amidst his fading consciousness, a distant memory of an amusement park surfaced.

A tall figure pointed to the roller coaster in the distance.

"Isn’t this fun?"

"Boring. Too childish."

"Childish?" The figure laughed. "Then what do you want to do?"

"Catch bad guys."

"You want to be a cop?"

"No, I want to be the bad guy."

"Ah."

"Because the cops can never catch the bad guys."

With that, the child jumped off the fountain, laughing as he ran away. The man shook his head but followed after him.

Watching their figures disappear, a deep thought rose in his heart: The cops will eventually catch the bad guys, but it won’t be me. Sorry, I’ve let you down again.

Time passed, and the patrol drones finally detected the anomaly inside the house, setting off an ear-piercing alarm that echoed through the night. Neighbors peeked out, but quickly shut their doors.

The joys and sorrows of humans are never truly understood by others; all they felt was the noise.