Shane didn’t seem surprised. His face had an ’I knew it’ expression as he stared at the woman. He also leaned against the tree.

"Now that you have revealed yourself, care to tell me what you want?"

"Nothing much," said Nao. She smiled and leaned toward him. "I just want us to continue our partnership. That’s all."

"Why? What will you get out of it?"

"That’s not for you to think about."

Shane sighed. "If we’re going to have cooperation, I need you, to be honest with me. Alright, let’s start with your name."

"Hope."

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"Is this your real name?"

The woman started chuckling. "You sure are smart. And yes, this isn’t my real name, this isn’t how my real voice sounds like, and this isn’t my true figure. I’m hiding everything from everyone else. Anything else?"

"How do you know my name?"

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The woman shrugged. "As someone who had saved your a** again and again, shouldn’t you be helpful?"

"When did you-" Shane paused as he remembered a few instances in the past.

Yes, someone did come to help him in the starting days. When Ed had thrown him into the sea of monsters when he had just entered the institute, someone had indeed helped him back then.

So it was this woman? But why?

He had a pure confused expression on his face. He knew he didn’t have any connection with this woman before. So why did she save him in the first place?

Hope laughed. "Don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything once you’re ready. For now, you’ll have to listen to me."

"Why should I listen to you? I’m doing fine by myself." Shane didn’t want to have anything to do with this woman anymore.

Hope raised her brows as she smiled. "Really? Let me show you something. I’m sure since you’re into hiding, you haven’t seen or heard a lot of news, especially since Dirt has disappeared."

Shane was even more shocked. How does she know about Dirt?!

"What….What are you talking about?"

"You don’t have to pretend. I won’t hurt you," said the woman before pausing and continuing. "Not anymore anyways."

"So you were going to hurt me?!" Shane, still in his shocked mood, turned to glance at her.

The woman shrugged. "How can you blame me? Your aura is exactly like-"

"-similar to the king of darkness," Shane sighed, "I know all that. Have heard it a lot from Ed’s mouth."

"So what? You’re somehow sure I’m that person?"

"Still not sure. But," the woman looked over at the sky as a nostalgic smile formed on her face, "he won’t be happy if I continue harming an innocent person. He was just that kind of person."

Shane frowned after listening to that. He felt uncomfortable all over as he turned his head. Then he straightened his body and walked out of that place.

"I’m gonna call it a day. Call me when another job comes up. Just send me the money through text."

After that, Shane didn’t linger any longer at that place. He hurried away as if his tail was on fire. This woman seemed to have been making him uncomfortable. He hoped his choice today wouldn’t affect him negatively.

Shane bid the woman goodbye and walked away. Behind him, the woman stood there leaning against the tree. She continued to watch his back until it vanished.

"What a shame!" She sighed. "He really looks a lot like him, but his aura is childish. He’s not as ruthless yet. Should I just kill him?"

She thought for a while and shook her head. "I don’t want to kill someone with that face. Damn it. This is a burden to me."

"Then why did you include him in your plans?" A familiar voice echoed in the background.

Hope turned back to see the hooded man behind her. She groaned.

"Why are you following me?"

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"Duh, I’m your subordinate, ain’t I?"

"Then act like one."

"Tch. You don’t care about your subordinates. Just like that dead boss of yours."

All of a sudden, Hope’s aura cooled down to the degree that the animals nearby trembled in fear. The dark aura that leaked out of her body turned her entire being into someone darker than the night. She looked like an Assassin who was about to make her first kill of the day.

The hooded man took a step back instinctively. His face paled as he stared at her. Then he heard her voice.

"Don’t…. Don’t ever utter his name. Do you hear me?"

"Huh?" The man gulped, but he still tried to act cool. "Didn’t you like him? I remember you being head over heels to the point you couldn’t even handle the separation. Why do you hate him now?"

"I don’t-" the woman sighed as she took a few deep breaths to control her dark aura. "-no point in talking to you. You useless punk. If you hadn’t been saved by our master personally, I’d have discarded you already."

The man’s face was hidden in the shadows as he lowered his head. "Then why didn’t he stay long for me to get to know him? Why did he have to die when I was f*cking one month old?! I don’t even remember his face!"

Hope stared at the man and hit him with her shoe. "Even though I can’t kick you out, I can still hit you! Don’t you dare to act as a victim to me, you get it? Now get your a** up and get back to the institute. Aren’t you still finding clues there?"

"Fine, fine. You’re so stubborn. Geez." He rubbed his back as he walked away.

Hope squinted her eyes and glanced at the place where Shane was standing. Then she sighed and turned away.

Meanwhile, Shane had just gotten off work and had some food as he went to the graveyard to see Ed once more. He might also get an update from there about who killed them in the first place. As he walked, he even hummed a song indicating that he was in a good mood.

When he reached there, he saw everything was a mess. People were rushing here and there while the receptionist was making phone call after phone call with an anxious expression on her face.

Just as the receptionist saw Shane, her expression froze as she quickly yelled, "Stop right there!"

Shane tilted his head and didn’t move. Although he could force his way out, he just wanted to be a gentleman for once.

The woman called the police as she glared at the man. "How cruel! If you wanted to steal him, why did you send him here in the first place?! You creepy b*stard!"

Shane was even more confused now, but he had a terrible premonition in his heart. "What happened?"

"What happened, you ask?" The woman chuckled. "Why don’t you see the dug-up grave of Master Ed?! Do you think I’m crazy enough to believe that you didn’t have a hand in this?!"

Wait, did he hear it correctly? Dug up grave?!

Shane took a deep breath to calm down. He had to deal with this current situation first. He couldn’t afford to get shocked at the moment.

"I’m really innocent," said Shane without a trace of anxiety in his voice. "If you don’t believe me, ask my partner. I just came back from my three-day job. Where do you think I’d find an opportunity to dig up something?"

"You must have found someone to do your job."

Shane simply rolled his eyes and crossed his arms on his chest. "You’ll say anything to prove your point without evidence. Bring the evidence that you’re so confident."

"You-" the woman was about to curse him again when the officers arrived.

This world had groups of officers working directly under the government to reduce the crime rate. They had special training to even capture the runaway and rogue systems who often hid in different worlds. So seeing them here wasn’t a surprising thing.

Shane stood there completely unfazed by the event. He watched the officers coming closer to him as they stared at him for a moment.

The main officer who looked slim and tall at the same time asked, "Are you the one who brought his dead body?"

Shane nodded.

"Come with us. We have to ask a few things."

Shane shrugged.

It took a few hours, but Shane finally managed to convince the entire police force that he was innocent. He was incidentally involved in the situation. Thanks to Dirt’s help, he had a fake identity officially that couldn’t be changed.

It was just that the police couldn’t find those bodies anymore. Shane felt helpless after coming out of the station. He made his way on the road as he thought about sleeping when. He realized that he didn’t even have a home.

He chuckled.

All this time, he turned so busy doing his work that he didn’t even realize he hadn’t purchased a house here despite having enough income in his account. Well, he wasn’t too late. He should purchase a small house in his name at least.

After deciding this, he walked away. But he was still curious. Who the heck was that person stealing Ed’s Dirt’s useless body? They didn’t have anything important on them. He had taken out everything he needed. Then why did it disappear out of the blue?

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