Chapter Twenty-Five: The Queen’s Head Coin

After walking for about five or six minutes, the group stopped in front of a building that was about three or four stories tall, serving as both shops and lodgings.

“Is this the place?” Sanzhuo glanced up at the building.

It wasn’t tall. The arched doors and windows of the ground-floor shops had long since vanished, leaving only two gaping, black entrances. Inside, a couple of restaurant tables and the battered remains of what might once have been elegant chairs lay scattered about—evidence that it had once been a restaurant. Even the bar, which was likely the cashier’s counter, had been smashed to pieces, with only a few letters still clinging to the side facing the doorways.

“Yes, at least according to my senses, whatever we’re looking for is in this building—perhaps on the second or third floor,” Lily replied, studying the ruined restaurant.

“Sanzhuo, you and Stephenson stay on the first floor, in case the person we’re after doesn’t belong to John’s team and tries to escape. Camille, you and Dunn check if there’s a back door. If there is, keep watch there. If not, cover the side of the building—be wary of anyone jumping out a window,” Aiden rapidly assigned the tasks.

Everyone moved into position in silence.

“Lily, you’re with me… upstairs.” As he spoke, Aiden drew his Glock 19 once more, flicked off the safety, and led the way toward the staircase at the far left of the restaurant.

Lily followed behind, focusing on the rough location of the “high-value item” she sensed. She was certain it hadn’t moved, or at least hadn’t tried to escape—her sense only provided a general area, not even pinpointing the exact floor.

But as soon as she reached the second floor, intuition told her it wasn’t here. Without hesitation, she pointed to the third floor, signaling Aiden to continue upward.

Aiden didn’t pause, growing more vigilant as they climbed. Thanks to the similar layout of the second floor, he quickly swept his gaze over all the visible doors on his left as he reached the third floor. Finding them all closed, he gave Lily a hand signal and began to approach the first room at a slow, deliberate pace.

“Not this one.” Lily shook her head after a glance at the first door.

“Nor this one.” At the second door, she again shook her head.

Suddenly, Aiden moved swiftly, leading Lily straight to the door at the far end of the corridor. Lily was taken aback—weren’t they going to check each room in order? But when she looked at this last door, she realized her sense indeed pointed here. She couldn’t help but admire Aiden, thinking he must have spotted some clue that led him to the right place.

Little did she know, Aiden was simply following the trope he’d read in so many books: the target always hides in the last room, so he decided to check it first.

Lily, unable to see Aiden’s expression behind her, didn’t realize he’d rolled his eyes when he discovered the target really was in this room. As expected—how utterly unoriginal.

He tried the handle. Locked. He stepped back, weapon raised and ready. Lily, meanwhile, pulled a length of wire from her hair, folded it, knelt, and began to pick the lock. She hadn’t expected that as soon as the lock clicked open, a crisp sound rang out. She froze, but Aiden, without a moment’s hesitation, pushed past her, burst through the door, and aimed his gun.

There was no startled cry, no resistance or ambush. Instead, a young girl in a strangely styled robe was curled up silently on the floor—and in front of her, a coin floated in the air.

Aiden approached warily, his gaze flicking to the coin. Lily, curious as she was, chose to stay by the door, alert for any second occupant.

“The Queen’s… profile?” Aiden muttered in surprise, then called Lily over to take a look, stepping back to keep an eye on the apparently unconscious girl.

Lily checked the girl’s breathing—long and shallow, deep in unconsciousness—then turned her attention to the coin hovering in the air.

“How odd… this coin looks so familiar…”

She muttered, then waited as it spun once in the air. Unable to contain herself, she glanced at Aiden, her heart pounding.

“This… is this my coin?” she asked incredulously.

“I’m afraid… so. Even the nick… on the edge… is identical. There’s no way… it’s just a coincidence.”

“Check… if your coin… is still with you,” Aiden prompted.

Only then did Lily react, frantically reaching into her inner pocket.

“It’s st—” She didn’t finish; the moment she drew out her coin, it suddenly flew from her fingertips, darting straight to the floating coin in front of the unconscious girl. Under Aiden and Lily’s stunned gaze, the two coins slowly merged into one.

Clink… clink… clatter, clatter, clatter…

Once fused, the coin fell straight to the wooden floor, ringing out in a series of crisp metallic notes.

“This makes no sense…” Lily murmured, staring at the coin.

“Honestly… which of the things we’ve seen… have made sense? This is… the realm of the supernatural now,” Aiden replied with exasperation.

“I guess the high-value item I sensed was this coin. So what am I supposed to do—take it back? But it was mine to begin with… And why did it merge with the one floating by this girl?” Lily fretted.

“No idea. Don’t… ask me.” Aiden had given up trying to understand; if it made no sense, he wouldn’t bother thinking about it.

“So, is the person I sensed earlier—carrying the high-value item beneath us—the same as this girl?” Lily looked at Aiden, hoping for reassurance.

“A horror story,” Aiden said simply.

Clearly, John’s team wasn’t the only group of people active in this area.

Lily studied the girl in the peculiar cloak. Black-haired, about her own age—perhaps even younger—with distinctly Asian features. There were plenty of foreigners in Dunlun City, so Lily had no way of guessing her origins.

But the way her own coin had merged with the one floating beside this girl left Lily with a strange, petty feeling—like a child she’d raised had run off with someone else. Aside from the odd cloak, the girl wore only a simple dress, her hair loosely pinned up with a single hair stick.

Hesitating, Lily stepped forward, bent down, and reached for the coin on the floor—only to see it slide back of its own accord, away from her outstretched hand.

“…?” Lily’s hand froze in midair.