Earlier
"I forgot that young man wasn't from New Eridu, and I just asked him to meet me in the office..." Qingyi mutters while facepalming. "What is wrong with me? Did my memory get corrupted?"
After unintentionally seeing Caelus' test results, she remembered that the young man had just arrived in New Eridu with no idea where to go. So, in the end, Qingyi decided to wait for the young man while trying not to think too much of her rookie mistake.
As she waits patiently, she suddenly receives a call. Looking up her phone, she notices that her junior, Zhu Yuan, had called her once again. Curious about why her junior called her not long after they ended the call, she decides to pick up the call. But before she could, she felt a chill on her skin, and she heard something freezing around her.
Qingyi looks around and, to her shock, she somehow gets teleported into a room filled with void, and the ground is filled with icy mist. She had no idea what was going on, unable to believe what she saw.
'I'm...hallucinating? But, an intelligent construct like me can't hallucinate...' Qingyi thought before a wall of ice suddenly emerged behind her. She turns around and sees her reflection on it, but something is not right.
Besides her physical appearance, her reflection displays her in different clothes. She wears a white sleeveless dress with a white fur scarf around her neck, her hand holding a folding fan, her hair tied up into a pair of braids, and other details that don't match her current appearance.
This made Qingyi take several steps back, wondering what she had just witnessed and how everything didn't make any sense. Then, the ice wall cracks before it shatters into a million pieces. Qingyi manages to take a glimpse at some of the shards; one of them displays a warrior version of her from ancient times.
Then, Qingyi returns to reality, sitting in the hospital waiting area while holding her still ringing phone. She shakes her head before refocusing on the current situation, picking up her junior's call.
"Hello, Zhu Yuan?" Qingyi calls.
"Senior Qingyi! You finally picked up my call! I've been trying to call you a few times! Did something happen!?!" Zhu Yuan asks in panic.
"I'm fine, Zhu Yuan," QIngyi says before she pauses. "Wait, what do you mean by 'trying to call you a few times'? Sure, I didn't immediately pick up the call, but you only called me not long ago."
"...senior, are you really okay?" Zhu Yuan asks in concern. "Your history would show that I've been calling you four times already."
"Huh?" Qingyi sounds genuinely confused and takes a look. Zhu Yuan was correct; she had received four missed calls. And she looks at the clock, noticing that 20 minutes have passed!
'I was hallucinating for that long!?' Qingyi asks in disbelief.
"Senior?" Zhu Yuan asks in concern.
"...Sorry for worrying," Qingyi replies. "Is there a reason why you started calling me not long after we finished talking earlier?"
"...we had done our investigation regarding this young man named Caelus," Zhu Yuan says as Qingyi raises her eyebrow. "Well, we don't have an official record, even after investigating the town near the Hollow where he comes out, but given the state of the town, it's safe to say no one there has their officialrecords."
"I...see, that will complicate things," Qingyi mutters.
"It is, but there is another evidence," Zhu Yuan explains. "This Caelus, his story matches the situation of that town. A gang that had flown under our radar had taken over the town. One of the members had admitted they had got rid of a family in a Hollow, saying how...fun it is to see parents trying to kill their children..."
"...I see," Qingyi mutters, feeling sympathetic towards the young man. "Zhu Yuan, can you-?"
"I've already been on it, senior. Seth even lent a hand with it. It'll take a while since he had zero records, but I'm sure it'll be done once he gets out of the hospital," Zhu Yuan says as Qingyi nods.
"I'll go and inform him about this," Qingyi says before ending the call.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now
"Whoa..." Caelus mutters in awe. Both he and Slyboo ride in an officer's car with Qingyi driving it.
Caelus had seen Lumina Square multiple times while playing, even exploring the entire city, either to find the HIA coins, doing commissions, fixing Bangboos, taking pictures, or anything else. But, compared to the real deal, Caelus can see that everything in the city screams retro-futuristic.
He sees humans walking around alongside Thirens like it's normal, reminding him of some fantasy media from his old world. Bangboos strolling around, minding their own business, and even some doing humans' jobs.
Qingyi notices Caelus' focus on the town, and simply thinks it was because it was his first time visiting a city. As she drives, she suddenly feels another 'hallucination' as she is once again inside a void. This made her panic as she remembered her first 'hallucination' ended for 20 minutes, before a wall of ice formed inside the void once again. Before she could look into her reflection, she was snapped out of her 'hallucination' thanks to Caelus.
She didn't get the chance to say anything as a loud horn can be heard from her front. She sees a truck coming towards them, and in an instant, manages to avoid an accident. Qingyi breathes heavily while Caelus looks pale, his body comically melts down, and his soul tries to leave his body. Slyboo pushes the soul back to him in panic.
'I almost got isekai'd for the second time!!!' Caelus thought in horror before looking at Qingyi, wondering what was going on.
"Miss Qingyi...are you okay?" Caelus was unsure what to ask. He can't exactly snap at her since she could kick his ass badly, and from her expression, something must have been wrong with her, so snapping at her will only worsen the situation.
"I am so sorry..." Qingyi says while rubbing her forehead. "I...have been unwell since the hospital. I didn't mean to endanger you..."
"...you should've talked to the doctor to see what happened," Caelus says, trying not to reveal that he knows she's an android.
"Caelus, I'm an intelligent construct. I am not a human, nor am I a Thiren," QIngyi can't help but laugh.
"Wait, what?!" Caelus acts shocked. "But, you look entirely human!"
"It's merely my appearance," Qingyi replies with a shrug. "You're not the first one to mistake me as a human, though."
"...you also act like one, which doesn't help either," Caelus points out.
"I still do not fully understand what made a human," Qingyi says, her lips twitching upward. "You can clearly see how bad my interaction with you was earlier."
"...well, I think you understand the basics enough," Caelus replies. "Which is more than the people from the gangs...."
"..." Qingyi is unsure how to reply to that, which ends their conversation with an awkward silence. Not long after, they're able to see a building alongside a board with 'New Eridu Public Security' written on it.
After parking the car, Qingyi let out a sigh before getting out of the car, followed by Caelus and Slyboo. The moment he got out, Caelus noticed a police dog sitting idly next to the entrance door and tried to get a closer look. The K9 notices this and stares at Caelus curiously.
"Hello there," Caelus says as he reaches to pet the dog. A nearby officer wearing a white and blue bodysuit, a blue helmet with black lenses, and armored gear notices this and tries to stop Caelus, only to stare in disbelief as the dog immediately leans into Caelus' hands, happily wags its tail, and sticks its tongue out like a normal house pet.
"Good boy," Caelus says while rubbing the dog, which only made the dog more excited. Qingyi witnesses this and smiles a little.
"Caelus," Qingyi calls, getting the young man's attention. "You can play with Eugene later. You still had to register yourself, remember?"
"A-ah, right," Caelus says before letting go, which makes the dog displeased as it stares at Qingyi. Meanwhile, the officer splutters, trying to wonder why Qingyi, his senior, encourages the boy to 'distract' the K9. "Keep up the good work, boy."
"Woof!" Eugene barks enthusiastically before Caelus, Qingyi, and Slyboo enter the office. The officer stares at the dog, who stares back before idly guarding the door, showing no signs of excitement at him.
"Traitor," The officer grumbles. "I've been your handler for so long, and yet, you prefer a stranger over me?"
"Ruff!" The dog huffs in displeasure, turning its head away.
Meanwhile, Caelus looks a bit anxious as he sees so many people inside the office. He's not an introvert, but he can't handle large crowds.
"Over here," Qingyi leads him to her office, which gains stares from other people. Some are curious, but a lot of them are displeased as they had to wait in a long line while this random young man got a free pass.
"Don't mind them," Qingyi says as she looks at Caelus' nervous look. "Most of them are the regulars."
"R-regulars?" Caelus asks in disbelief. Do people exist who are considered regulars in a police station?! What exactly are they reporting!?
"Most of them complain about how their daily lives are ruined by Hollows," Qingyi says in a plain tone. "They kept asking to...prioritize them over others. But, the Public Security is always more focused on how to keep the Hollows from endangering our citizens, so we are stretched thin, which leads to slow progress."
"Why don't you hire more people?" Caelus asks in confusion.
"We tried, but a lot of candidates failed in Law," Qingyi says in a deadpan manner, causing Caelus and Slyboo to imitate her.
"...how?" Caelus is afraid to ask, but he has an idea why.
"The candidates are mostly those with high Ether Aptitude and physically gifted," Qingyi says as Caelus and Slyboo facepalmed.
"Anyways, here we are, my office," Qingyi says while guiding Caelus and Slyboo into the office, but to their surprise, someone is inside the office. Caelus immediately recognizes her, a woman with black and orange hair with almost double Qingyi's height, and a more modest uniform compared to the old android. She is Zhu Yuan, captain of the Criminal Investigator Team, and his second team's main DPS.
He still has trauma from losing his 50/50 TWICE before finally getting her.
"Oh, senior Qingyi!" Zhu Yuan greets before looking at Caelus. "And you must be Caelus, right?"
"You know me?" Caelus asks, tilting his head.
"Senior had mentioned you earlier, and I helped her investigate your...situation." Zhu Yuan says, before giving him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"... I-it's fine," Caelus says while giving her a strained smile. He can't form a proper smile out of guilt, but Zhu Yuan mistakes it for someone who's on the verge of breaking down, making her believe she fucked up. This causes her to look at her senior helplessly, while Qingyi didn't say a word.
After all, she did 'fucked up' earlier, and she's afraid her malfunction would made things worse.
To be Continued