After removing the grotesque materials that had transformed the murdered man into a twisted statue, his body was carefully prepared and returned to his grieving family for a proper burial. The weight of the investigation loomed over the officers as they continued their relentless search for Snowflake.
Despite hours of scouring the city, they were no closer to catching him. Frustration mounted with each empty lead, so the police decided to take a new approach—distributing printed photographs of the suspect to every officer on patrol. They scrutinized every pedestrian, hoping to finally find the phantom who kept slipping through their fingers.
Then, something unexpected happened.
A young boy—no older than ten—approached a patrol officer nervously, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
"I know where the man in that picture lives."
He whispered, his voice was shaky, but the glint of certainty in his eyes made the officers listen.
A squad was immediately dispatched to follow the boy. They moved quietly through the narrow streets until they arrived at the address the boy had provided: a modest building on a silent street in the city.
And that's how they ended up at the doorstep of Uche's house, with an elite anti-criminal squad assembled, all armed and ready.
Sergeant Kim stood at the front of the group, dressed in full tactical gear—a black, metallic helmet on his head, a shield on his left arm, and a rifle gripped tightly in his right hand. Behind him, the men waited, their breaths steady but their hands tense around their weapons. At the rear of the group stood Inspector Ray, arms folded, an amused smirk playing on his lips. He was no fighter, and he had no intention of charging in with the assault team. He was there to observe and enjoy the victory.
"Everyone, get ready,"
Sergeant Kim barked.
"We're breaking in now!"
As the team of engineers moved away, a large section of the door being drilled already. The metal gave way, creating a jagged opening just large enough for the assault team to storm through.
"Assault team first! Stay sharp. We don't know what kind of surprises he's got waiting for us,"
Kim warned, his voice cold and commanding.
With a wave of his hand, the breach team moved in, rifles raised and safeties off. Kim led the charge, his shield up and rifle steady, sweeping the room for threats. They advanced carefully, expecting traps, but what they found was nothing close to what they had anticipated.
Standing calmly at the center of the room, hands raised in surrender, was Uche.
Every gun immediately swung toward him. Dozens of rifles locked onto their target, the deafening sound of chambers being cocked filled the room. Uche stood perfectly still, his face expressionless, as if he'd been expecting them all along.
"Stay where you are! Don't move, or we will fire!"
Sergeant Kim shouted, his eyes darting around the space, searching for hidden threats—explosives, weapons, or anything dangerous. But the room was eerily bare, devoid of traps.
After scanning the area for a few moments, Sergeant Kim lowered his rifle slightly.
"Cuff him."
Two officers approached cautiously, their weapons still trained on Uche. They snapped the iron cuffs around his wrists, clicking them into place.
To everyone's surprise, Uche offered no resistance. He remained silent, his expression unreadable, as if surrendering was all part of some plan. They pushed him roughly out of the room, but he didn't struggle or say a word.
'There's no way out of this, how is she going to break me out of here?'
Uche thought to himself, his mind racing even as he kept his outward composure.
"Search the house, leave nothing unturned."
Sergeant Kim ordered
The search team flooded the building, opening cabinets, tearing apart furniture, and flipping through books in search of anything incriminating.
Meanwhile, outside the building, Inspector Ray stood with his arms still crossed, a grin spreading across his face as Uche was escorted out in handcuffs.
"I can't believe it,"
Inspector Ray said with a chuckle, shaking his head.
'To think I finally get to kick your ass, Snowflake."
"You have the gut to tell me how a criminal should dress."
Uche's cold gaze settled on the young inspector. His lips curled into a faint smile, and he spoke softly, just loud enough for Ray to hear.
"You sure you'd even know if a criminal was hiding among your own men?"
Uche asked. His voice was calm, but the words carried a razor-sharp edge.
Inspector Ray's grin faltered for just a moment.
"What are you implying?"
"I'm saying, that for all your talk, you wouldn't even know if one of your own men worked for Snowflake."
Uche said, a faint smile on his lips.
Inspector Ray narrowed his eyes.
"Is that right?" he asked, tilting his head. "Well, if there's a mole here, why don't you tell me who it is? I'd love to take them down myself."
"Maybe it's you, who knows."
Uche said, his gaze never leaving Ray's face.
Ray burst out laughing.
"Me? What evidence do you have, you bastard?"
"Evidence? None,"
Uche said with a shrug.
"But then again… I should ask what evidence you fools have before coming here to arrest me."
Ray's smirk widened as he drew his pistol from its holster and pointed it directly at Uche's leg.
"Bastard, we have enough evidence, more than enough, even."
Before he could pull the trigger, a senior officer stepped forward from the headquarter blocking Ray's aim with a firm hand.
"Stand down," the officer said calmly. "The command from headquarters is clear—no shooting unless he tries to run."
Inspector Ray clenched his jaw, frustration burning in his eyes as he reluctantly lowered the gun. He glanced over at Sergeant Kim, who stood silently behind Uche, his expression unreadable. Ray's eyes narrowed.
'That old fool. I know it was him who gave that order—not headquarters. I'll deal with him after this is over.'
"Sir, we found something!"
A voice called from inside the house.
The search team emerged from the building, carrying several items wrapped in plastic evidence bags.
'Damn, how did they found those.'
Uche thought.
Among the items was Mira's bloody singlet, he knew they would search his house, so he had kept it somewhere he thought they wouldn't see it, but they did. The man was not just holding the young lady's singlet, her dress was also there, the dress she had use to disguise to save him was there, as well as his own dress too. The one he wore yesterday, also has a specks of blood on it, due to the fact that Mira had injured him in the name of testing something.
And unfortunately for him, that was the same dress the person both Sergeant Kim and Inspector Ray saw in the video wore, that was the same dress Snowflake had wore to kill the innocent man last night.
Inspector Ray's eyes lit up with triumph.
"Wow wow wow, I think this is enough evidence."
He strode over to the evidence, snapping pictures of the bloody clothes with his phone, savoring every click of the camera.
"Anything else?"
He asked the search officer, who shook his head.
"Keep searching," Ray instructed with a grin. "I'm sure there's more."
At that moment, Uche let out a low groan and twisted his body violently, shoving the two officers holding him aside with a burst of unnatural strength. The men stumbled backward, startled by the sheer force of the movement.
Every gun in the area snapped toward Uche.
"Do not move, or we will shoot!"
Sergeant Kim shouted, aiming his rifle at Uche's legs.
But Uche didn't try to run. Instead, he raised his cuffed hands to his face, pressing his fingers against his temple. A faint, familiar pain throbbed in his eye—something he couldn't quite understand.
The officers held their breath, waiting for his next move. Uche stood motionless, his head bowed, as the pain in his eye disappeared… replaced by something else.
And then, the vision returned—vivid and surreal.
Once again, he saw the hand flipping through the empty pages of a book. The hand paused midway through the book and, with deliberate care, began writing something on the blank pages with a pencil.
*Love the little game?*
The words scratched themselves into the paper, as if taunting him from another world.