"Sorry, ma'am, but there's been an incident here. The area is still being secured, and we can't allow anyone past this point..."
"My son is inside!" Megan pushed past the two Secret Service agents attempting to block her way. "Move aside—I have to..."
"Mom, it's fine. I'm right here."
Charlie emerged from behind the cordon, his phone in hand, displaying his credentials from the Secret Service Division. The agents, recognizing the authorization, immediately stood down, saluting before stepping back.
Megan rushed to her son, wrapping him in a tight embrace. "Are you hurt? Are you okay? I never should have called you out. I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay, Mom. Really, I'm fine. See?" Charlie reassured her, gently patting her back. "I'm completely unscathed. It was just a minor incident—nothing to worry about..."
To Charlie, it genuinely felt like a small matter. But he knew that from his mother's perspective, it was far from routine. Even though the infection event seemed low-risk, such occurrences weren't something most people encountered in their daily lives. Even now, with the public more aware of infection sources, 99% of people only hear about these incidents on the news. Rarely do they intersect with ordinary lives.
For instance, Charlie had already experienced a minor infection incident at his university, and now it had happened again, just weeks later.
The odds of encountering two infection incidents in a row were astronomical. It was like having an unimaginable streak of bad luck, the kind that could easily leave someone feeling cursed. Charlie's situation felt akin to repeatedly stumbling upon the rarest and most dangerous events imaginable, like encountering the world's only few high-level anomalies by mere chance.
As he comforted his mother, Charlie became aware of someone watching him. He followed the sensation and soon met the gaze of a young girl standing a short distance away.
It was the same girl he had seen earlier at the coffee shop.
She was dressed in a charming white dress, her large, light blue eyes locked onto Charlie's with unwavering focus. When their eyes met, she smiled at him.
At that moment, Charlie began to piece together what had just happened.
The girl's name was Fana; she was a colleague, a fellow agent at the Service Division.
But unlike Charlie, who was more of a paid observer with minimal field experience, Fana was a fully-fledged field agent despite her youth. She possessed a unique ability that set her apart from most agents, possibly making her one of the most valuable operatives within the Division.
Just days earlier, Fana had become the first agent in the Division to split and control her own "Phantom."
The concept of a Phantom was introduced by Professor Miyazaki some time ago. It suggested that when the infection rate in certain individuals exceeded 100%, part of their mental body could detach from their physical form and manifest as an independent entity.
Ivan's case showed that a Phantom might emerge from the darkest corners of a person's psyche. It could develop its own consciousness, act independently, and, in some cases, even pose a threat to its host.
But Fana's experience with her Phantom was different. Shortly after her Phantom manifested, she proved that it wasn't necessarily uncontrollable.
The woman in red that Charlie had seen in the shop was Fana's Phantom.
Unlike Ivan's Phantom, which seemed like a rogue element, Fana's Phantom was more like an extension of her will—a remote-controlled protector. It was a manifestation of condensed spiritual energy endowed with powers beyond ordinary human capabilities. The Phantom could act on her behalf, defending her and even using specific special abilities.
This discovery immediately catapulted Fana from relative obscurity within the organization to a position of significant importance.
Today, she had been out shopping alone when she detected the scent of the infected person and pursued it, coincidentally crossing paths with Charlie.
Plainclothes agents from the Ninth Division had been following her and observing her actions. Once the situation escalated, they quickly alerted headquarters, and within minutes, reinforcements arrived to secure the scene.
Now, it all made sense to Charlie. No wonder the response team had shown up so fast—Fana had been the first on the scene, and her presence had triggered an immediate response.
Charlie's view of the Service Division had taken a hit over the past few weeks. Initially, he had regarded the organization with a sense of awe, but that had faded as he witnessed its inefficiencies. It began to feel less like a powerful and well-oiled machine and more like a chaotic, mismanaged entity—akin to a football team that consistently lost despite having all the resources needed to win.
But seeing Fana and her Phantom in action had slightly restored Charlie's faith in the organization. For the first time in a while, it seemed like the agency had some real, tangible fighting power.
After the scene was secured, Charlie was told to head home and rest, leaving the investigation to the professionals. He was informed that his official position would be ready in the next few days, and he could then focus on his own assignments.
Charlie had no objections to this. After exchanging a few words with the person in charge, he led his mother back home.
He thought that was the right course of action.
It made sense to him—this was a job for seasoned investigators, not a rookie like himself with no real experience. What was the point of dragging a newbie into a situation that required expert analysis?
It would be absurd, akin to drafting an inexperienced gamer into the military just because they excelled at video games.
It was completely unreasonable.
Megan went to bed early that night, as she always did. She had maintained the healthy habit of going to bed around nine for years.
Once his mother was asleep, Charlie finally had some time to himself.
He quickly closed the door to his room, put on his headphones, and powered up his computer. After navigating through a series of loading screens, the familiar figure of Batman, his designated character, appeared on the monitor.
Although the incident earlier wasn't something a rookie like him should get involved in, it was definitely within Batman's wheelhouse.
Usually, Charlie would remote control his hero to patrol and solve problems, but with an infected person having shown up so close to home, he felt a personal obligation to get to the bottom of it. Whether motivated by a sense of superhero duty or simply by the gamer's obsession with leveling up, he couldn't just let it go.
He needed to figure out the source of the infection and ensure that nothing similar would happen near his home again.
Charlie himself wasn't a detective, but that didn't matter—Batman was. The game provided a simplified detective mode, guiding the player through the investigative process. While it couldn't replicate the real-world expertise of the world's greatest detective, it was still a useful tool.
At the moment, the professional investigators from the Service Division were still combing through the coffee shop, making it difficult for Charlie to sneak Batman in for a closer look. But that wasn't a problem. The investigation's progress was being uploaded in real-time to the Division's app, which meant Charlie could monitor it remotely.
The last time he used Batman to investigate Ivan's case, he left a backdoor in their system. This allowed Charlie to access the investigation files without raising any alarms.
In a way, it was like having an all-access pass to a highly secure facility.
(End of Bonus Chapters)
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