"Silver Wolf, report."
"As of now, the news article has over three hundred and twenty thousand clicks, but it's been deleted by personnel from The Family. No matter how many times I re-upload it, they delete it just as fast."
"Their reaction time is pretty quick."
Fu Zhu sounded impressed. Three system hours had passed, during which he had used Sparkle's identity to take out a total of six people. But now, The Family had caught on, and it would likely be much more difficult for him to continue spreading terror throughout the dream world.
Sparkle, having just returned from her mission in the real world, overheard their conversation. She glanced at Fu Zhu's contemplative profile and couldn't resist covering her mouth to giggle.
"Little bro, don't tell me you're out of ideas? Do you need to ask the great Sparkle for help? I've got backup plans, you know!"
"Out of ideas? What kind of stale joke is that? Sorry, but I win this 'try not to laugh challenge'."
Fu Zhu crossed his arms, confidently turning his head to look at Silver Wolf's projection. "Silver Wolf, did you find the information I asked for earlier?"
"I did."
Sparkle looked back and forth between the two with curiosity, her hands on her hips in annoyance. "Are you two secretly playing some fun game without the great Sparkle again?"
Fu Zhu shot her a glance. He hadn't planned on explaining, but since he would need her help later and they were temporary allies, he decided to speak.
"I said it before. The Family will not allow death to appear in the dream world, even a fake one. They will do everything in their power to cover it up."
Sparkle nodded. She knew this much, and it was exactly what The Family was doing now.
"I happened to find out that the person hosting the Charmony Festival this time is Sunday. The order to suppress the news must have come from him. If that's the case, everything becomes much simpler. Our target has shifted from the entire Family to just one person. Doesn't that make things much easier?"
"You've said a whole lot of nothing!" Sparkle pouted, displeased. But a second later, she realized Fu Zhu's true intention and couldn't help but clutch her stomach, bursting into laughter.
"I get it! You're a complete scoundrel, little bro. I'm starting to like you more and more!"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Fu Zhu replied casually and continued.
"All we need to do next is create a murder case that they cannot possibly cover up. A case shocking enough to make Sunday lose his mind, to make him lose all reason. And for that, there is only one target... Robin."
---o---
Inside a luxurious suite, Robin hummed a tune as she slipped off her high heels at the door, her bare feet sinking into the soft carpet. Accompanied by her own melody, she danced gracefully across the room, finally settling onto the sofa with a flutter. She picked up her phone and began scrolling through videos.
While watching a food video, she happened to spot a comment completely unrelated to the content. It was about the recent string of murders involving the pillar of light. Beneath that single comment were hundreds of replies.
It was obvious that after the original news was deleted, people who had witnessed the murders or seen the article had nowhere to discuss it. Fearing their comments would be deleted, they had resorted to talking about it under unrelated videos.
As Robin read through the replies, she noted that while they varied, she could feel the anxiety and fear in every word.
"Sigh... I hope things go smoothly for brother."
---o---
Downstairs from the hotel, a man with brown hair and stubble looked up at the floor where Robin's suite was located. His left hand was in his pocket, while his right restlessly flicked a flip-top lighter.
"What a huge place. Finding one person is a real pain."
Just as the man was about to move, he saw a pillar of cerulean light shoot down from the hotel's roof, landing squarely on the suite where Robin was staying.
"This is..."
The man froze for a second before his expression changed drastically. "That's the same pillar of light from the serial killer case!"
Although he wasn't a fan of reading the news, he was aware of the recent incident. From what he knew, anyone chosen by the pillar of light had, without exception, "died." And this time, the pillar had chosen his target: Robin.
The man cursed under his breath, immediately pocketing his lighter and rushing towards the suite's location.
Meanwhile, on the hotel roof, Fu Zhu, who had been waiting for a long time, finally received the system notification.
[Elite enemy Robin has awakened in the vicinity.]
"Finally. Sparkle, you took your sweet time. Wasn't your job just to drive away everyone but Robin from the surrounding area? What took you so long?"
A nearby Sparkle, panting from exhaustion, glared at Fu Zhu. "Do you have any idea how tiring it was to cast illusions on all those people?! There were thousands of them!"
"Alright, alright, I was wrong. Let's go. After we finish this second-to-last job, we'll be one step closer to completing the first phase."
Fu Zhu activated Observer Mode and phased directly through the building's structure, flying downwards.
Seeing him disappear so suddenly, Sparkle, though unsure of what method he used, understood that he had once again ditched her. She stomped her foot in frustration, then had no choice but to turn around and take the stairs.
---o---
A few minutes earlier, Robin had just put down her phone in her room, planning to pour herself a glass of water. Suddenly, a pillar of cerulean light descended upon her like a spotlight.
Her body trembled. Others might not know, but she was keenly aware of this murder case! The pillar of light that appeared in those killings looked exactly like this one! She had been chosen for "death"!
Just as Robin realized this, the door to her room was kicked open. The brown-haired man burst in. He glanced around, and upon confirming that Robin was the only one in the room, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Robin warily backed away, grabbing a fruit knife from a nearby table. "You're the culprit from the pillar of light murders? But the killer in those cases was a short woman. Are you her accomplice?"
The man waved his hand dismissively and casually kicked the door shut.
"While I'm not that killer's accomplice, my goal is the same as hers. I'm here to deliver 'death' to you, Miss Robin."
Just as Robin was about to say something, a playful voice suddenly interjected from the side.
"What's this? Is kill-stealing a thing even in the dream world? Sorry, buddy, but I had my eye on her first."
Fu Zhu had appeared in the room at some point. In his Sparkle disguise, he sat on the coffee table, waving cheerfully at Robin.
"Hey there, superstar. Would you rather die by the hands of this scruffy man, or would you prefer to die by mine?"