The GPS bracelet I ordered online was originally designed to prevent kids from getting lost. It came in bright red, looking a bit like a toy, though you could stretch and call it a cute accessory that might suit a middle-schooler.

  Anyone familiar with these devices would spot its real purpose in an instant. But from what I'd observed over the past few days, Alice had only a surface-level understanding of modern gadgets. She knew what a fridge and a TV were, but smartphones were mostly foreign to her. When she saw the fitness tracker I'd bought on a whim once, she even asked what it was. That was the moment the idea of giving her this GPS bracelet first popped into my head.

  Sure, the heat signature was far more discreet, but since I'd already started doubting whether she might detect the spirit-based "Firefly," I couldn't put complete faith in the heat signature either—especially since it relied on the same kind of power.

  Superpowers have their place, but so does modern technology.

  Keeping Alice by my side was the single most important thing in my life right now. One layer of insurance wasn't nearly enough to feel secure.

  When she heard my voice, Alice froze for a second, then got up from the sofa with a puzzled look and walked over.

  "A gift for me?"

  "Yeah, this." I held out the red GPS bracelet, which could pass for ordinary jewelry.

  She didn't take it right away. Instead, she hesitated and murmured, "I'm leaving tomorrow."

  "I know. You don't have to feel awkward about it. Think of this as a going-away present." I spoke with as much sincerity as I could muster. "Even though it's only been three days, we've still eaten and slept under the same roof.

  "You're a fugitive wanted by the authorities, and I'm the accomplice who's been hiding you. From that angle, we share a secret that can't be told to anyone else. You could even call us partners in crime, right?"

  She thought it over for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "...That makes sense."

  "Even after you leave, I won't forget you. And I don't want you to forget me either." I continued, "This bracelet is my keepsake for you."

  She looked almost convinced. "...But I don't have anything to give you in return."

  "That's fine. As long as you remember me and maybe come back to see me someday, that'll be more than enough."

  With that, I slowly reached out and gently took hold of her left arm.

  I felt her tense up instinctively the moment I touched her, but she quickly relaxed and let me lift her arm. She was still wearing my oversized gray long-sleeve T-shirt. I rolled up the too-long sleeve, exposing her slender, pale wrist, and carefully fastened the red GPS bracelet around it.

  She drew her hand back and examined the bracelet with fresh curiosity.

  Seeing her study it so closely made my heart skip. To distract her, I couldn't help adding a few more words: "I'm just a student with limited money. If I could afford it, I'd have bought you something much more expensive and elegant. But for now, this is all I could get—something that looks kind of like a toy."

  "No, it's fine. I really like it."

  I couldn't tell if she genuinely liked it or was just being polite, but when someone gives you a gift, you're not going to say you hate it to their face.

  As she replied, a delighted smile spread across her face while she gently stroked the bracelet—whose true purpose was anything but innocent.

  "The last time I received a gift... how many years ago was that, I wonder..." A trace of wistfulness crept into her voice.

  It seemed she hadn't figured out what the bracelet really was.

  Honestly, giving a GPS tracker disguised as jewelry to a girl who looked thirteen or fourteen had to be the most twisted thing I'd ever done in my life. Even I was shocked at my own depravity. The teenage version of me from last night's dream could never have imagined that one day I'd turn into such a shameless, underhanded guy.

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  The mood was warming up nicely, so I decided to press my advantage and deliver the next move.

  "Alice, even though you said you're leaving tomorrow, I hope you'll wait just one more day."

  She snapped back to attention, eyeing me suspiciously. "Why?"

  "Look, you're still wearing my clothes, right?" I'd prepared this line in advance. "A normal girl wouldn't walk around outside in men's clothes that are way too big for her. You don't look like you did when you first arrived—covered in blood and wearing a hospital gown—but going out like this would still draw attention. Especially since the authorities are looking for an 'underage girl in possession of firearms and ammunition.' You'd stand out even more."

  "But as long as I avoid being seen by people..."

  "I don't know how crowded things were in your apocalyptic world, but in this society, cities are packed. If you're just hiding, maybe you could dodge everyone's eyes. But the moment you want to do anything out there, you can't avoid being noticed by everyone." I spoke seriously. "You might say you could steal someone else's clothes, but I don't want you resorting to theft. That's not right."

  "So what should I do, then?" she asked, turning the question back on me.

  "Simple. I've already ordered some clothes for you online, sized based on that hospital gown you were wearing when you took it off." I gave her the straight answer. "The delivery's on its way—it hasn't arrived yet today, but it should come tomorrow at the latest. Once it does, you can put on the new clothes and head out properly."

  I didn't dare say the day after tomorrow or later; she might just leave on the spot.

  For now, I'd buy a little more time and use it to keep persuading her to stay longer.

  She lowered her head in thought for a while, then gave a reluctant nod. "Alright... I'll wait until tomorrow, then. By the way, where's that hospital gown now?"

  "It was too dirty and torn, so I threw it away."

  In truth, I'd kept it as a "souvenir of our bizarre encounter."

  To avoid coming across as a total creep, I decided to keep that to myself.

  -

  Alice had said she'd "wait until tomorrow and then leave," but through my relentless efforts, I managed to stretch it to the day after.

  While I was busy stalling her, I was also digging for information online.

  The authorities hadn't made any official statement yet, but news of a "wanted underage girl in possession of firearms and ammunition" was already spreading across the internet. Fake victim stories from supposed incidents in the past few days had even made it onto trending lists, with all kinds of wild rumors running rampant.

  Just as Agent Kong had once said, the search for Alice had expanded nationwide. What we could see on the surface was only the ripples; whatever Luo Shan was doing behind the scenes was surely the real force at work.

  I'd subtly probed Zhu Shi for more details, and the answer was more or less the same. I also asked her about the "jinx constitution."

  Yes, the jinx constitution attracts anomalies, but anomalies are drawn to each other anyway, and demon hunters who wield anomalous powers attract them too. From a demon hunter's perspective, was Alice's jinx really all that special?

  Zhu Shi shot down that idea.

  Demon hunters do have an inherent pull toward anomalies, but it doesn't extend to the people around them—let alone the people around those people. Moreover, the frequency isn't that high; a hunter might only encounter a handful of incidents in a year, just enough to prevent them from living a completely normal life.

  Something as extreme as "picking up Alice at night and getting hit with an anomaly event the very next morning" was more like being cursed by something specific. If every demon hunter had such an absurdly powerful jinx, then—considering the six degrees of separation theory—human society probably wouldn't have survived to the present day.

  She also shared one extremely important piece of information: over the last two or three years, anomalous events had been occurring worldwide at a dramatically increasing rate.

  Online evidence backed this up. In the past couple of years, ghost stories, urban legends, and eyewitness accounts of supernatural events had surged. I'd noticed the trend long ago and even investigated several reported locations in person, but I always came up empty-handed.

  If Zhu Shi hadn't told me herself, I would have kept assuming those reports were all nonsense—just a new wave of internet creepypasta culture taking off.

  Whenever I thought about it deeply, it felt surreal. Even though this surge in anomalies had been going on for so long, I'd somehow missed every single one. Without meeting Alice, I'd probably still be chalking it up to a boom in modern ghost-story trends.

  On a side note, the scene where I cleaved through that abandoned building during my fight with Agent Kong had been witnessed by passersby. Someone nearby even recorded video and uploaded it. The uploader swore there were no special effects, and some locals commented below confirming they'd seen it too. Most viewers, though, dismissed it as either some explainable explosion or really well-made CGI.

  I never thought I'd end up as the protagonist of an incident myself. Who knows—maybe some urban-legend enthusiasts would come investigate the site.

  Now that I'd stepped onto the stage of the demon-hunter world as a superhuman, there was no point in hiding my abilities anymore. I wouldn't obsess over "never using powers in front of people" or similar taboos. When there was no need, I wouldn't show off; when there was, I wouldn't hold back out of caution. I'd just let things flow naturally.

  The problem was Alice. I'd built up the image of an ordinary person in front of her, so suddenly revealing my powers now might make her suspicious. I couldn't keep it hidden forever—I'd have to find the right moment to come clean.

  And today marked the fifth day since we'd met.

  This time, I had run out of excuses to delay her departure.

  Her mind was made up. She was leaving.