Tyler spoke again. "Got it. I'll report this to our higher-ups. What to do next is their decision." Alger nodded with a smile. Tyler didn't add anything more, but he kept feeling that the issue with Shane would not end so easily. A few days later, in a far-off city called Yuleton, on top of a tall building... A naked man stood there with a skinny black cat, staring into the distance. He looked even worse than before. His skin was sunburned all over, covered in cuts and scrapes. But he didn't seem to care. His eyes were sharper than before, filled with stubborn focus. His lips kept moving, repeating something soundlessly. No one could hear the words, but it felt like he had whispered them thousands of times without getting the answer he wanted. The black cat beside him looked ragged too. Its fur had lost its shine, its thin body trembled with fear whenever it looked at the man. Suddenly, a group of people closed in around the man. They all wore matching uniforms, sharp and professional, every one of them moving with practiced precision. The man whipped around, eyes bloodshot. "What are you doing? Do you want to die? I killed so many people. Why haven't I found it yet... Where am I? Are you trying to kill me too?" By the end, the red in the man's eyes deepened, and his whole body shook from how worked up he was. The cat scrambled away from him, as if it knew something terrible was coming. But then someone in the group slowly lifted a cupcake. A soft, creamy cupcake with a sugar-glazed cherry on top. In the apocalypse, this was nearly a miracle."Shane, here. Have a cupcake. Come with us, okay?" The man soothed him like calming a wild animal. The man in front of him—Shane—stared at the cupcake, suddenly going still. There was even a hint of hope in his eyes. Then, without warning, he lunged straight at the group. But he didn't know that behind those people was a huge reinforced net made just for him. He snatched the cupcake and crammed it into his mouth, chewing greedily. His expression softened instantly. "Good. Cake is good." Seeing that, the group finally let out a breath of relief. While Shane was focused on eating, the net dropped straight over him. Even the black cat was trapped with him. Shane struggled, but another cupcake appeared right in front of his face. "If you stay calm inside the net, we'll give you more cupcakes." The person holding the cupcake sounded almost hypnotic, as if coaxing him. Shane suddenly smiled. "Okay. I still have to find Nelson. He promised to give me cupcake every day." "We'll take you to Nelson," someone said gently. Shane's smile grew even brighter. In the next moment, he was wrapped up in the giant net, clutching his little cake as they dragged him into a truck. The truck sped off. But the direction it headed was west, the opposite of Hornvale. Farther and farther away. That road led straight to the military's secret prison for dangerous ability users. "Heeheehee... Cake... Nelson..."Shane, knowing nothing, sat inside the truck eating his cake and giggling like a fool. On the other side, Caroline had originally planned to bring only Raven out with her. But after only a short walk, she suddenly felt someone following her. Strangely, Raven didn't react at all. That alone made Caroline even more alert. "Who's back there?" Her voice was cold. Silence followed. Only the sound of wind. Caroline narrowed her eyes, an ice blade forming in her hand as she shifted into a fighting stance. But under her, Raven nudged her leg with his big head, as if telling her to calm down. Caroline paused, ran through a few possibilities in her mind, then sighed. "Come out. I'm not mad." A moment later, Jet peeked out from behind a big rock, wings tucked tight, looking guilty. "Human... I wanted to come too." Jet fluttered over and landed on Raven's head, lowering his head and glancing upward with big, pitiful eyes. Caroline rubbed Jet's head and tapped his silly tuft of hair. "Fine. Come with us."