Chapter 386 - 336: Mai Mingle: Also Responsible for Public Safety Today

Chapter 386: Chapter 336: Mai Mingle: Also Responsible for Public Safety Today

Ivan watched television for the entire night.

The bedroom was still filled with the smell of old age and medicine, but under the pillow was a gun Emily had given her. Mai Mingle lay in bed, watching the sliver of wavering dim light under the door and listening to the fluctuating voices from the TV.

"...Our new store is officially open! Grand opening discounts, this week’s special offers, thousands of new products..."

"You lied to me! You promised you wouldn’t do it..."

"...Chief, we’ve found a new lead..."

"...Criticism and questions regarding the suppression of the protests have reached a new peak..."

The TV volume wasn’t high. When Ivan occasionally mumbled along with the lines, practicing his recitation, his voice was even lower. Mai Mingle had to hold her breath and listen several times before she could finally confirm what he was doing.

She didn’t know what time it was when she finally, vaguely, drifted off to sleep.

She slept fitfully that night, her dreams a series of overlapping fragments. She dreamt that the new lock on her bedroom door was smashed and the door pushed open. Ivan stood in the doorway but didn’t come in—he just stood there, watching her, endlessly practicing his chewing.

But in the dream, as he practiced, he seemed to forget the steps. His mouth remained agape, like a black hole chiseled into his face.

Ivan had forgotten to close his mouth, but he was still watching Mai Mingle.

She knew she was dreaming but couldn’t wake up. It wasn’t until the morning light appeared outside her window that she finally managed to force her eyes open. Her head was groggy, as if she hadn’t slept at all—but the bedroom door was still closed, and she was alone in the room.

「December 3rd, 6:25 AM.」 ’It’s so early,’ she thought. ’No wonder I feel awful.’

Mai Mingle listened intently.

It was quiet outside. The TV had been turned off. ’Maybe Ivan needs to sleep too?’

She tucked the gun into the waistband of her pajama pants, slowly got up, and walked to the door as quietly as possible, pulling it open just a crack.

The living room sofa was empty. No one was there.

’Huh?’

’Did he go to the bathroom? The kitchen? He didn’t go out, did he?’

She couldn’t let him wander around—not because Ivan was badly injured, but because she was thinking of the citizens of Blackmoor City.

Mai Mingle opened the door and took a few steps into the living room, her eyes and body turning as she scanned the apartment. At the end of her sweep, a man stood motionless in front of the storage room door, his back to her.

She couldn’t help but cry out, stumbling back a few steps. "What are you doing?"

Ivan was standing very close to the door, his face almost pressed against it.

Hearing Mai Mingle’s question, he seemed to finally realize someone else was there. His upper body slowly twisted at the hips as he turned his head to look at her.

"Did I scare you?" His speech was much clearer than it had been yesterday. "I’m sorry, I saw there was a room here..."

’And? So you see a room, and you just stand there blankly, staring at the door without moving?’

"How long have you been standing here?" Mai Mingle asked.

"Not long," Ivan replied. "I was just lost in thought for half a minute, and then you came out."

’Lost in thought for half a minute...’ Mai Mingle thought back to the process of getting out of bed and opening the door. It really hadn’t taken more than thirty seconds. She couldn’t say for sure that he was lying.

’Huh? Wait a second.’

Mai Mingle knew Ivan’s gaze was fixed on her, but in that moment, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing back at her bedroom door.

’...When I got out of bed and opened the door just now, I missed a crucial step.’

The lock was newly installed yesterday. Mai Mingle had always lived alone and had never locked her bedroom door before last night. It was only now that she realized—she hadn’t unlocked the door. She had just pulled it open.

’What’s going on? That dream—’

Mai Mingle strode over and quickly checked the lock, but it was fine. There were no signs of damage.

’...Could it be that I only thought I’d locked it, but actually forgot?’

"What is this room for?" Ivan asked suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Mai Mingle didn’t register the question at first. "I just keep some junk in there..."

"It has a strong smell," Ivan said, turning his head back toward the door and leaning closer.

’How rude. Is it stronger than your smell?’

Mai Mingle bit back a retort and offered a strained explanation, "It’s probably just a lot of old things..."

She stopped mid-sentence.

That’s right, she hadn’t misheard him earlier. Not long after she stopped talking, Ivan once again took a deep breath, inhaling at the door as if trying to suck every last drop of the scent wafting from the storage room into his lungs, into his very blood.

He exhaled slowly, almost reluctantly.

"Old things?" Ivan placed a hand on the doorknob. He seemed to want to open it, but never turned the knob. "How old? How much is there?"

"Some of it has been piled up for decades..." Mai Mingle didn’t understand why he cared about the storage room. "There’s nothing valuable, it’s just a messy hoard. I rarely go in there myself."

’He doesn’t want to go inside, does he?’

The room really did contain nothing but worthless junk, but the way he had inhaled just now was deeply unsettling.

’Should I change the subject? Distract him?’

Before Mai Mingle could think of what to say, Ivan abruptly turned back around.

He seemed to have suddenly lost all interest in the storage room. As he walked, it was as if he were on rails, his face gliding toward her at a fixed height. He finally passed her and sat back down on the sofa.

He sat in the same spot as last night, his upper body ramrod straight, facing the TV.

"Don’t you want to take a look inside?" Mai Mingle ventured tentatively.

"No need," Ivan said.

From the moment she had seen him that morning, Mai Mingle had secretly made a decision.

"You rest here for a bit," she said before heading back to her bedroom. "I just remembered I have to go out for something today."

Ivan didn’t turn his head, but his eyes slid to the corners of their sockets. "Where are you going?"

"Just to run an errand," Mai Mingle said vaguely.

"Are you coming back?"

The question was irritating.

"This is my home, why wouldn’t I come back? I have nowhere else to go if I don’t." She thought for a moment, then added a warning, "Don’t go out. I only have one key. If you leave, you won’t be able to get back in."

She still had a spare key, but Ivan didn’t need to know that. She would just take it with her. Trapping him in the apartment was for the best; keeping him from going out was her responsibility to the public safety of Blackmoor City.

’Although Ivan’s behavior is just bizarre, he hasn’t shown any signs of being dangerous yet.’

Of course, she would still have to lock the door from the outside after she left. But again, there was no need to tell Ivan that directly.

After changing her clothes and slinging her bag over her shoulder, Mai Mingle paused before leaving and quietly slipped the pistol into her backpack. She didn’t have a license for it, and it would be bad if she got caught. But as a Hunter, she now knew that the world was filled with things far more terrifying than the police.

Following her memory, she took a bus, then a taxi, and after getting lost, walked for quite a while. By the time she finally reached the Kai Family Mansion, it was almost noon.

"What are you doing here?"

As luck would have it, the person who opened the door was Sha Xue. Although she wasn’t entirely clear on the full story, she seemed to know that Mai Mingle had played a part in rescuing Chaisi, and her face immediately lit up with a smile. "Does Tian Xi know you’re here? I didn’t hear him mention it."

"I forgot to get his number," Mai Mingle said, a little embarrassed. "I tried calling Chaisi, but he never picked up... and Suo Beihua seems to be out on a mission."

Compared to the last time they’d met, Sha Xue’s expression and demeanor were much brighter and more cheerful. As she led Mai Mingle inside, her steps were as light as a sparrow’s. "Brother Chaisi is sleeping. He’s been asleep since yesterday afternoon, but Tian Xi says it’s probably still not nearly enough. Did you need something? I can go get Tian Xi for you."

Mai Mingle suddenly stopped in her tracks. "He went to sleep yesterday?"

"Yes," Sha Xue said with a beaming smile.

’If Chaisi can sleep so soundly, does that mean...’

"Then—Han Liuyue—"

Sha Xue nodded, already understanding her meaning, her smile growing even brighter. "She’s back."

’No wonder she was so cheerful when she opened the door!’

"Really?"

Mai Mingle stammered, finding it hard to believe. She was genuinely happy, but at the same time, a sliver of worry arose, and she didn’t quite know what to say. "She’s really all back? Nothing was... left behind?"

She had never dealt with a healthy Han Liuyue, but what could be better than saving a young person’s life?

’But... that’s only if she was truly saved.’

Sha Xue hesitated for a moment.

"I’m not really clear on the details myself," she replied. "I heard that, for the most part, she’s all back. To be honest, even that way of putting it sounds strange to me... Why don’t you talk to Tian Xi? Or do you want to wait for Brother Chaisi to wake up? I’m afraid he won’t be up anytime soon—"

"I’m sorry, but I can’t wait." Mai Mingle said in a low voice. "I have to wake him up now... There’s something I need to talk to him about, and the sooner, the better."