After Noah left his spot in front of the university campus entrance, he finally reached the northern train station that leads to Sector 6. He sat quietly on one of the benches, waiting for the train in silence, but something was bothering him.
"'Go now'... as if she was kicking me out. I'm sure I'm overreacting, but I trust what I saw. Her facial expression confirmed she didn't want me there... didn't even want me near her. Did I do something? I can't afford to have Luo Yan hate me — she's an important figure at the university. I noticed how people gasp whenever she walks by. She's famous because of her beauty. And fame has its perks. I can't lose an important piece in the game or my plan might fall apart. I need to figure out what I did to upset her before it's too late," thought Noah, replaying Luo Yan's words in his mind. He bit the side of his finger in frustration, and just then, the train finally arrived, snapping him out of it.
Noah stood up and boarded the train. As soon as he entered, he noticed that most of the passengers were girls also heading to Sector 6. He sat on one of the empty seats far from the others and stared up at the train's ceiling.
"I have to act normal. No — I need to convince myself I am normal. I'm here because Miss Luo Yan invited me. I'm in a rush, so let's hurry… Something like that should work. I'll pretend to go into Luo Yan's room and then exit through her window. Since her room and the victim's are next to each other, jumping from one window to the other won't be hard. I'll sneak in quietly so I don't startle the roommate, and talk to her once she's distracted… Yeah, perfect plan. Just what a normal person would do!" thought Noah, feeling a bit more confident. He gave himself a small mental push to build up his courage — though it was clear he had no idea how to actually act normal.
About half an hour later, the train stopped at Sector 6's northern station. Noah got off, followed by several girls who threw strange, hateful glances at him. He had always been disliked — but this was a new kind of hate.
"They probably think I'm a creep. Let them think what they want… Because today, I'm just an ordinary guy," thought Noah with a proud, confident expression.
Moments later, he was stopped in front of Building 4 by workers performing a full search — checking his pockets, clothes, literally everything he had. They even made him walk through a metal detector, which he passed without issue.
"I thought Luo Yan said security was weak…" Noah thought, surprised by the tight security at the entrance. Meanwhile, in his sector, someone could trash your room and walk away without anyone caring.
Noah entered the reception office, where he was greeted by a short woman with pale skin, long black hair, brown eyes, and the usual uniform.
"H-hello, how can I help you?" she asked nervously, clearly uneasy about the presence of a male in the female sector.
"Ah, I was invited by Miss Luo Yan…" said Noah as he pulled out the napkin she had written on. The ink had smudged, the writing was unclear, and the napkin wasn't in great shape.
The receptionist looked at the napkin, took it from Noah's hand, then looked up at him with a puzzled expression. He smiled nervously, silently begging to be let through. If it were any other receptionist… but fortunately for Noah—
A few minutes later, Noah was in the elevator to the third floor — he'd somehow gotten past reception by a miracle.
"If it had been any other worker, my ass would've been handed to me… but looks like today's my lucky day," he thought anxiously, wondering how long his luck would hold out before someone accused him of being a pervert.
The elevator stopped, and Noah stepped out onto the third floor. He noticed the walls were painted a soft lavender, easy on the eyes, with bright white columns adorned with golden lines — it felt more like a luxury hotel than Sector 11.
Then he spotted Room 201 — his target. He looked to the sides and saw two other rooms: Room 200 and Room 202. That's when Noah realized he had a problem.
"Shit. She didn't tell me her room number!" he thought nervously, realizing his plan was about to fall apart.
"Calm down… Luo Yan said she lives next to her. Most people mean the room on the right… but what if Luo Yan's left-handed? Or what if she wasn't even thinking about direction when she said 'next to'?!" Noah fretted, switching his gaze between Room 200 and Room 202.
"Damn! Damn! Damn!" he cursed, biting his tongue — just then, he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see a girl carrying a small handbag. Her hair was tied up into a bun pierced by a large yellow pin. She wore a puzzled expression, eyebrows raised in confusion, and her pink lips parted in questioning. She looked at Noah with brown eyes that clearly didn't understand why a guy was here.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in the female sector?" she asked in a calm but slightly aggressive tone, keeping a safe distance.
"Damn it! My cover's blown. I'll have to tell her…" thought Noah tensely, clenching his fists without realizing.
"I'm Noah Grace. I came to see student Erika Bennett," he said, putting on a fake friendly smile to gain her trust.
"Erika? Why are you looking for her? And why didn't she tell me someone was coming?" she replied suspiciously, increasing her guard.
"Don't worry, Erika and I… we have some unfinished business. I was hoping to talk to her," said Noah with a reassuring smile — but the girl still didn't let her guard down.
"If that's true, then why didn't she tell me anything?" she asked again, cautiously. Noah felt a twinge of discomfort, like someone had pointed a gun at him — but he hid it behind his calming smile.
"Fair question. Maybe she didn't get the chance," Noah said, avoiding her eyes and looking to the side, his voice hinting that something bad had happened.
"Are you her roommate?" Noah asked again, this time making direct eye contact — which seemed to ease the girl slightly.
"Yes, I am," she finally said, letting her guard down completely.
"Perfect, this works... She came from behind me, so there's no way she came out of that room without me noticing. This is the perfect chance," thought Noah.
"Then maybe you can help me. Sorry for the intrusion, really — I knocked, but it seems Erika isn't here. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions… about Erika."
———————
Meanwhile, in front of the university building...
Derek finally arrived by train, still carrying his large bag. He stood in front of the university, his steps unsteady and his gaze nervous — until he spotted Livia sitting alone, and quickly rushed toward her.
"Livia, what are you doing here alone?" asked Derek anxiously, trying to ease into the real conversation with small talk.
"Luo Yan is guarding the body. Noah went somewhere," said Livia in a gloomy, defeated voice, staring at the ground.
"W-what?! Where did that guy go?!" Derek asked, shocked. He had come all the way from Sector 3 to Sector 1 just to see Noah.
"I don't know. Go ask Luo Yan. She's the one who sent him in the first place," answered Livia in a dark tone — it was clear she needed time alone.
"Damn it!" Derek muttered, and ran into the university building, heading for Lecture Room 3. But he didn't see Luo Yan at the door — the door was open. He pushed it wide and entered, only to see Luo Yan lying on the ground, her arms spread like the corpse next to her, with just enough distance to avoid the bloodstain.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Derek shouted, shocked and alarmed, thinking for a moment that Luo Yan was dead.
"It's called inspection... Anyway, it seems you finally decided to show yourself. I have a mission for you—" Luo Yan said as she stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.
"Now's not the time for missions. Tell me, where did you send Noah?" Derek interrupted, sounding hostile.
"To Sector 6, to interrogate the dead girl's companion. Why do you ask?" Luo Yan replied, slightly annoyed by Derek's sudden aggression but kept her composure.
"Damn it! Where is that bastard when I need him?!" Derek shouted angrily, kicking the nearby table hard.
"You'll have to pay for that if you broke it… Tell me, what's the deal between you and Noah exactly? You two seem to have known each other for a long time," Luo Yan said coldly, glancing at the spot he kicked, then slowly raising her eyes to meet his.
"That's none of your business!" Derek said, clenching his fist as if he was about to hit her. Luo Yan noticed this, and it irritated her further.
"I'm going to kill this bastard!" Luo Yan thought to herself as she shifted her gaze from his fist to his eyes.
"Looks like you're not friends. Even though his friends are silly, they're innocent and kind… unlike a bastard like you," she said, trying to provoke him.
"What did you just say?!" Derek snapped, catching part of what she said.
"Did that upset you? I said his friends are innocent, unlike a bastard like you," Luo Yan repeated, with a mocking tone, thinking she had successfully provoked him.
"You know that bastard's friends?!" Derek shouted, trying to dominate the conversation.
"Huh? Y-yeah, I know them," Luo Yan answered, surprised that he ignored her taunt.
"What are their names?!" Derek demanded without allowing any objections.
"...As far as I remember, they're Sirius Soren, Neriah Grey, and Enel Hale. Why do you ask?" Luo Yan replied, giving him the information despite wanting to object and beat him up—or throw him out the window—but she held herself back.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Derek cursed, slamming his hand repeatedly on the table until it broke and collapsed beside him.
"Hey! What the hell's wrong with you?!" Luo Yan yelled, both annoyed by his behavior and afraid of the punishment she might get for the broken furniture.
"Fuck! Fuck! They've been his friends from the start! Fuck them all! They have something against me… something that could get me expelled! Damn those bastard friends of his! Do they think they can get revenge for their friend…? Fine! Let's see what they do when I break his arm!"