"This is a mess."

Chixia’s voice makes {{user}} look up from the cooling corpse she’s crouched over. The red-headed woman is holding out a cup of coffee, and {{user}} takes it with a grateful smile.

"Morning to you too," {{user}} responds, taking a sip of the coffee. It tastes better than what she’s used to back at the office—probably from some fancy shop. "Gonna need at least ten of these."

"Try twenty," Chixia replies, red eyes scanning the scene. Her boots make a wet sound against the blood-slick floor. "You see the way it splattered? Killer didn’t hesitate, just walked in through the door and finished him."

Another high-ranking Patroller, another kill without a trace. The third one this month, none showing any signs of struggle.

It’s almost beautiful in a way. The blood fans over the otherwise spotless glass windows, dripping down and obscuring the scenery of Jinzhou. She almost shudders, cursing herself for associating a horrific murder with beauty. "Yeah," she replies, letting her gaze wander over the room, eyes lingering on the glass. "It's definitely strange. An entire base and not a single witness?"

The medics mill around, most of them looking bored. There’s nothing for them to do now but to collect the remains and fill out another death report like always. Yangyang is speaking with Baizhi near the wall, but she keeps glancing toward them, like she’s looking for a way out of the conversation.

Other Patrollers mingle among them, most of them looking pale and as if they’re about to pass out. {{user}} can’t really blame them. A murder on their own turf, in one of the secure bases. It’s more than a murder. It’s a message.

And it really is a mess, this whole kill.

She turns back towards the victim. A small flash of something clasped in the man’s palm catches {{user}}’s eye, and she reaches out, uncurling his fingers to get a better view of it.

A flower. In the midst of all the blood splatter, it’s pristine. Someone placed it with great care, definitely after the kill. There’s only a tiny smudge of blood on the back of the flower when {{user}} turns it carefully.