The precinct hummed with restless energy, drenched in fluorescent gloom. Miki tossed her blood-stained gloves onto the desk. Outside, sirens stitched the night, each fading a little too soon. She opened her notebook and scribbled details—the missing hand, the card's imprint, the dead man's silent eyes.Kenji leaned close, voice a rasp. "One of the missing fingers turned up." His hand shook as he handed Miki a clear bag—a finger, pale and waterlogged, wrapped in twisted red yarn."Where?" Miki asked, her pulse hardening."Local canal. They found it with a message carved into the nail: 'Bring your own blood.'"A chill crept into Miki's bones. She knew this was no random act of terror. The violence wasn't for show; it was a language between hunter and prey. Last night's murder had been a warning.Miki's phone buzzed: Unknown number. She hesitated, then answered. The voice was distant, mechanical. "You're watching the shadows. Are you afraid of what you'll find?"She wanted to answer, but the call dropped. Something shifted in the air—a surge of dread that stretched into every corner. She looked at Kenji. "It's starting," she whispered.Kenji's eyes flashed panic. "We can't handle this alone.""I know," she replied. "But we have to."They suited up and left for The Drift, the bar smeared with city secrets. Rain plastered strips of neon onto broken glass. Inside, shattered whiskey bottles littered the floor. A bartender glared at them, too scared to talk. Miki found the bone-handled knife still stabbed into a blood-stained glass. She photographed it, noting the initials "Y.S." carved near the hilt—her mind jolting at the memory of vanished pediatric surgeon Yurei Sakamoto.Kenji nudged her. "We're already marked. They want us to bleed for the answers."Miki scanned empty faces at the bar, feeling the killer's eyes everywhere. The rain, the blood, the messages—all swirling toward them.Outside, someone screamed. Shots rang in the alley.Miki ran toward the chaos—knowing with brutal certainty that every step forward only pulled her deeper into the city's hungry darkness.
