The armor's built-in scanning system operated silently, swiftly capturing Wang Defa's biological characteristics and residual signals from his electronic devices.
Dynamic keys generated from this information, like invisible tentacles, broke through the fortress of Wang Defa's heavily encrypted personal accounts.
A massive amount of data—secret ledgers, covert communications, records of power-for-money transactions—poured out like a bursting dam, downloaded at high speed, organized, and encrypted into packages.
This evidence was ultimately converted into a USB storage device compatible with Shenzhou, which Kallen casually tossed on the floor, along with a few extra printed pages to attract the attention of the police who would soon arrive.
Mission complete. Efficient, cold, unquestionable.
Kallen took one last look at the shell of a man, curled up on the expensive carpet as if his soul had been ripped out, then turned away decisively.
She didn't exit through the window again. Instead, as if melting into the shadows, she silently passed through the ravaged living room and left the luxurious cage via an internal corridor.
In an unnoticed stairwell, she deactivated her full-body armor and activated the Mosquito's Breath.
The nanobots receded into the suitcase like a tide, which once again reverted to a seemingly ordinary metal case.
She leaned against the cold wall, let out a soft breath, and rubbed her temples.
The psychological burden of playing "Arahato" was far more exhausting than any physical toll. This was completely different from her experience as a phantom thief after kidnapping... no, after leaving with Otto.
A phantom thief just robs from the rich to give to the poor. Her role was essentially one of punishment and aid; she never had to directly confront such naked evil.
But now, what she was doing was fundamentally destroying a person. Even if this person deserved death ten times over, even if his downfall would only make most people applaud, she still felt a burden beneath it all.
The positions of the judge and the judged are never equal. One person unilaterally judging another? That's not how it works.
Even if the one being judged is scum, the one to judge them can only be "humanity as a whole," or the "rules" revered by all.
If helping the weak and punishing the strong is merely for one's own selfish reasons, to achieve one's own moral standing or reputation, then there would be no issue with this self-perceived superiority.
But Kallen wasn't like that. There was no thrill of victory in her heart, no righteous fury of retribution, only a quiet sorrow, as deep as the ocean.
She never considered herself superior. She genuinely revered the truth, goodness, and beauty of the world, and she was a person who firmly believed that all people are equal.
And her current actions were not only destroying a cancer hidden within human society; they were also destroying the very "equality" that defined her own position among people.
Is the first step to creating the world you desire to ensure you can never enter it yourself?
At this moment, Kallen suddenly recalled the Herrscher that Bianka, Theresa, and the others had faced in the City of Sighs—the Herrscher of Binding.
What she had wanted to do was so similar to what Kallen was doing now.
But she was more extreme, more paranoid... and more deeply invested, unable to extricate herself.
That was why the Herrscher of Binding had such a strong self-destructive urge. She also identified herself as scum that had to be eliminated for the ideal society to exist. She only allowed herself to continue her miserable existence because her mission was not yet complete.
Unlike ordinary self-loathing, the Herrscher of Binding's aversion stemmed from an absolute revulsion based on her own values. Every action she took challenged the limits of her own endurance.
She never gave up on herself, never indulged her actions or thoughts. Instead, with every act, she added another deep stroke to her own sins.
She must have saved the deepest, most cruel punishment for herself...
Kallen sighed deeply. She took the list out of her pocket and gently crossed off Wang Defa's name with a pen. The dried ink seemed to carry away a sliver of the heaviness in her heart.
If only Otto were here at a time like this...
"Next," she said softly to herself, her voice sounding a little lonely in the empty stairwell.
Sunlight streamed through the stairwell's transom window, dancing on her hair, which was illuminated in gold.
She squinted slightly, feeling that bit of warmth, trying to dispel the coldness left in her chest from carrying out this "extrajudicial" punishment.
She knew there was no turning back on this path, nor could she stop.
The list was still long, and Wang Defa was far from the only evil lurking in the sunlight.
Before the Honkai descended, she had to uproot as many of these venomous thorns as possible, even if the process went against the "due process" she had once believed in, even if every action left a new scar on her heart.
She took a deep breath, straightened her back, and her face regained its expression of mixed determination and gentleness.
She pushed open the door leading to the street outside and once again merged into the bustling crowd.
The loud crash and shower of glass from Wang Defa's apartment finally attracted attention.
The first to arrive was the building's own slow-to-react security team. When they rushed into the wrecked apartment, they only saw Wang Defa, limp on the ground, his eyes vacant, looking as if he had aged twenty years, along with a floor of glass shards and a misshapen brass paperweight.
There was no trace of an intruder, no signs of a fierce struggle, only a suffocating silence, as if something had been ruthlessly crushed by a higher existence.
Soon, the piercing sound of sirens grew closer, and the police quickly took over the scene.
The one leading the team was still Chen Hai. When he and a group of solemn officers stepped into the luxurious yet ravaged apartment, his brow immediately furrowed.
"Reporting, Captain Chen. Preliminary investigation shows the intruder broke in through the floor-to-ceiling window from the outside using unconventional methods. No valid fingerprints, footprints, or biological samples have been recovered.
"The target, Wang Defa, is in severe shock and has suffered a near-total mental breakdown. He is unable to communicate effectively, but shows no obvious external injuries," the forensics officer summarized the situation in less than a few minutes and reported quickly to Chen Hai.
Chen Hai's gaze swept over the twisted paperweight surrounded by a few officers, then at the shattered, supposedly bulletproof floor-to-ceiling window, his expression grim.
He walked over to Wang Defa. The surrounding officers made way. Chen Hai crouched down, trying to question him, but Wang Defa just shrank back in terror, repeatedly muttering words like "City of the Future... judgment... Arahato..."
Arahato—
Chen Hai stood up, his face even more serious.
As expected, it was the "urban vigilante" who had recently risen to prominence.
But this time was completely different.
Previously, Arahato's actions were mainly focused on fighting street crime, at most rescuing kidnapped individuals.
Although the methods were equally unconventional, the targets were mostly obvious criminals, and the interventions were in ongoing crimes, which in a way even relieved some of the police's pressure.
But this time, the other party had crossed the line from "heroic vigilantism" and had taken action that could genuinely destabilize society.