Chapter 205: Please, Let Me Drift One More Time

Imperial Hotel, Peacock Hall.

The original five members of Southern Cross, dressed in gowns custom-made by top designers, moved through the crowd like exquisite dolls.

“Miss Kazuki, your voice is truly heavenly. GSAC having an ambassador like you is something to look forward to,” a balding Parliamentarian said, holding a wine glass.

His murky gaze wandered undisguised over Kazuki Hanatsubame’s bare shoulders.

“You flatter me, Parliamentarian Yamada,” Kazuki Hanatsubame replied, a flawless smile plastered on her face.

She bowed slightly, politely avoiding the man’s greasy hand as it tried to reach for her shoulder.

“We will continue to work hard.”

The moment she turned away, a microscopic crack appeared in that perfect smile.

A hint of disgust and agitation flashed in her eyes.

‘So tired.’

It wasn’t just physical exhaustion; it was a sense of depletion, as if her soul were being drained dry.

To maintain this high-intensity social interaction and ensure everyone felt favorably toward her, she had been sustaining a faint Mind-Beguiling Sound ability almost the entire time.

‘This ability is like walking a tightrope. I have to make people feel as refreshed as a spring breeze without letting them notice any trace of mental interference.’

‘If these old fogies discovered I was manipulating their thoughts…’

‘But for now, it seems these guys haven’t noticed at all.’

‘My head hurts so much.’

Her temples throbbed as if thousands of needles were stabbing them.

That itching sensation, like ants crawling through her bone marrow, began to stir deep within her body again.

‘Just end it already…’

She desperately wanted to return to the dormitory, back to her own private space.

‘Light a stick of Quiet Dream.’

Only within that pale white smoke and strange, sweet fragrance could she feel her shattered soul being pieced back together.

Only then would the noise and pain recede.

“Sister Hanatsubame, are you okay? You look a bit pale.”

Beside her, MASU, wearing a small purple dress, leaned in and asked with concern.

“I’m fine. It’s just a bit stuffy in here.”

MASU looked thoughtfully at their other two teammates.

Rena was leaning against a pillar, clutching a glass of ice water with a dazed expression.

Gabi was unconsciously scratching the back of her hand.

Only Mizuki Hoshi, who usually seemed the clumsiest, was hiding in a corner with a relaxed expression.

Ironically, she appeared the most normal.

“Everyone, the car is ready. We can head out first.”

Manager Naito Mei finally approached.

To Kazuki Hanatsubame, his words sounded like heavenly music.

***

The black van drove smoothly through the Tokyo night.

The interior of the vehicle was deathly silent.

Even the usually lively MASU remained quiet.

Sharp as she was, she sensed the strange atmosphere.

Kazuki Hanatsubame kept her eyes closed, her hands clasped tightly on her knees.

Her nails dug deep into her palms.

‘Faster… faster…’

Finally, the vehicle pulled into the underground garage of the Zhuguang agency.

The moment the car stopped, Kazuki Hanatsubame didn’t even wait for Naito Mei to open the door; she pulled it open herself and rushed out.

“Miss Hanatsubame? Slow down!”

Ignoring the shouts behind her, she sprinted into the elevator in her heels, disregarding her image, and pressed the button for the dormitory floor.

The instant the elevator doors opened, she practically lunged toward her room.

She threw the door open, and the familiar decor came into view.

She didn’t even have time to take off her expensive gown or turn on the lights.

Using the light spilling in from the hallway, she dove toward the exquisite incense burner in the corner.

It wasn’t there.

The space next to the incense burner was empty.

The sandalwood box containing the Quiet Dream that should have been there was gone.

Kazuki Hanatsubame froze.

Her mind went blank for a second.

‘Where… where did it go?’

With trembling hands, she yanked open the drawer next to her.

Nothing.

The desk, the bedside table, and the makeup bag.

Nothing, nothing, nothing!

‘Impossible… it was clearly right here…’

Panic instantly submerged her, and she began to search frantically.

Crash!

An entire drawer was yanked out and slammed onto the floor, scattering cosmetics and jewelry everywhere.

She knelt on the floor, clawing through the mess like a lunatic.

“Where is it? Where is it?!”

—She wouldn’t find it, of course.

Jiang Jian Yue’s order from that afternoon had been mostly carried out by evening.

All incense within the DRG company had been confiscated.

Without that scent, the itching inside her body increased exponentially.

It felt as though thousands of invisible insects were gnawing at her nerves.

Her vision began to blur, and a sharp ringing erupted in her ears.

“Ah… ah…”

She clutched her own throat, letting out a gasp that sounded like someone on the brink of death.

‘Why is it gone?’

‘Who took it?’

‘Was it… the cleaning lady?’

“No… give it… give it back to me…”

Kazuki Hanatsubame curled up on the floor in agony.

Her gown was torn by the shards on the ground, and beads of blood seeped from her fair skin.

But she couldn’t feel the pain.

She only felt cold.

Cold to the bone, cold to the point where her soul was shivering.

The world began to twist.

The once-cozy room turned into a grotesque cage in her eyes.

The patterns on the wallpaper seemed to come alive, morphing into distorted faces that mocked her pathetic state.

“It hurts so much… someone help me…”

***

In the living room.

MASU was about to grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator when she suddenly heard a loud crash from Kazuki’s room.

“Sister Hanatsubame?”

She walked over, puzzled.

The door was slightly ajar.

“What are you doing? Why are you making such a ruckus—”

MASU pushed the door open, her voice cutting off abruptly.

By the light from the hallway, she witnessed a chilling sight.

The usually elegant and perfect Kazuki Hanatsubame, who looked like a goddess, was now rolling on the floor with her hair in a mess.

Her face was as white as paper, her eyes were sunken, and saliva trickled from her mouth.

Her hands were frantically clawing at her neck and arms, leaving behind shocking streaks of blood.

“It’s not here… give it to me… give it to me…”

The voice was hoarse and distorted, hardly sounding human.

“Ka… Sister Hanatsubame?!”

Terrified, MASU took a step back and slammed into the doorframe.

Hurk—!!

Just then, the sound of agonizing vomiting came from the room next door.

It was Rena’s room.

MASU turned her head and saw Rena stumbling out of her room.

Before she could reach the bathroom, she collapsed on the hallway floor, vomiting up mouthfuls of black bile.

On the other side, Gabi was crouching in a corner with her head in her hands, her body twitching.

She muttered incessantly, “Don’t come near me… don’t come near me… it’s so hot… it’s so hot…”

A crystallized luster actually began to shimmer on her skin.

It was a premonition of her ability spiraling out of control.

“What… what is going on?!”

MASU completely lost her composure.

Subconsciously, she sought help from the others.

“Hoshi! Hoshi, where are you?!”

Mizuki Hoshi’s door was tightly shut.

MASU rushed over and pounded on the door.

After a few seconds, the door opened cautiously, just a crack.

Mizuki Hoshi revealed only half her face, her eyes wide with terror as she looked at the hellish scene outside.

“M… MASU? Everyone… what’s happening to them?”

Seeing that Mizuki Hoshi was fine, MASU breathed a slight sigh of relief, but a greater fear immediately surged in her heart.

‘Why is only Hoshi okay?’

‘Right… the incense!’

MASU suddenly remembered.

Mizuki Hoshi didn’t like incense and never used that Quiet Dream.

As for herself, she hated anything that smelled overly sweet.

But Sister Hanatsubame used it almost every day!

Rena and Gabi often chatted with her, so they likely…

Although MASU usually seemed scatterbrained, her mind worked fast in a crisis.

“Hoshi! Quick! Help me drag everyone into the living room! Don’t let them hurt themselves!”

MASU shouted.

She pulled out her mobile phone, her hands shaking so much she could barely hold it.

‘I must contact the Overseer!’

***

In the office on the top floor of the DRG building, Akimoto Miki, who had just returned to the company, looked at the report she had just received.

It was a composition analysis of the Quiet Dream circulating on the market, an urgent message sent by the Research and Development Department.

The chemical components were almost unremarkable, yet how could it be so addictive?

There was only one possibility… this was a product of a Heart Worm ability.

This kind of thing!

Why was it still circulating on the market?

What on earth was the Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu doing?

The reason the Missy ordered the confiscation of the incense within the company this afternoon must be that she had known something for a while.

The Missy was currently unreachable, and the Zhuguang dormitory… they needed a reliable person to handle it.

She quickly scanned the list of available personnel.

Mark was leading a team to Kansai to deal with the people from the Adventurer Bulletin Board… Maria was with Morita Aoya wrapping things up at the hotel…

Just then, a name caught her eye.

Koji Hattori.

The former personal bodyguard whose status was somewhat special, making him roughly the fourth-highest ranking figure in DRG Japan.

***

Jiang Jian Yue stepped out of the car.

The night breeze ruffled the hem of her gown.

Under the reverent gazes of the black-suited bodyguards standing watch, she headed straight for the elevator.

Yuki Asahi followed closely behind, his expression exceptionally grave.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened on a certain floor.

Before even entering the room, they could hear low whimpering and chaotic footsteps coming from inside.

Stepping into the living room, they were met with a scene of total disaster.

Furniture was overturned, and the floor was covered in vomit and broken glass shards.

Rena and Gabi were surrounded by medical staff, while Kazuki Hanatsubame was trussed up like a bundle and tossed into a corner of the sofa.

Even with her mouth gagged, she continued to writhe frantically.

Her eyes were unfocused and wild, like a beast that had lost all reason.

Koji Hattori was guarding her.

When he saw Jiang Jian Yue enter, he immediately stood at attention.

“Missy.”

Yuki Asahi was somewhat stunned by the chaotic scene.

As he looked at the maddened Kazuki Hanatsubame, a hint of pity flashed in his eyes.

His Golden Pupils suddenly lit up.

He activated his ability — Emotion Devouring.

Yuki Asahi’s complexion gradually turned pale, and he eventually deactivated the ability.

‘No… There’s too much. I can’t consume it all. Besides, the source isn’t her emotions; it’s her body. Her brain is broken. As long as her body is in agony from withdrawal, those negative emotions will continue to regenerate endlessly…’

‘Is there no way?’

“Actually, there is a way,”

Jiang Jian Yue said.

She beckoned to someone behind her.

Black Mamba, dressed in a suit, strode in carrying a silver metal case.

He skillfully opened the case and took out an injection gun filled with a blue liquid.

“Pin her down.”

Hearing this, Koji Hattori leaned down and pinned Kazuki Hanatsubame’s shoulders.

Cshhh—

The injection gun was pressed against Kazuki Hanatsubame’s carotid artery.

High-pressure gas pushed the specially formulated potent tranquilizer into her body.

This dosage, strong enough to take down even an ability user who had gone berserk, finally took effect.

Kazuki Hanatsubame’s struggling gradually weakened.

Her tense muscles slowly relaxed, her upturned eyes returned to their normal position, and she finally fell into a deep sleep.