| Chapter 006 | Prologue - Crime Investigation

4th of September, 2025

Manhattan, New York

United States of America

Inside the headquarters of the NYPD, One Police Plaza. A group of detective were called by their superiors to tackle a grave crime that took place within Manhattan this early morning. Seated in their respective chairs, the detectives boorishly discussed the case they might pursue.

"Another group of murders, huh?"

"It is the third time this week."

"The mayor wants us to apprehend the culprit as fast as possible."

"Goddamn cannibals!"

"What do you expect? This is New York, after all!"

Their rowdy voices echoed from the conference room. However, it was abruptly silenced when the lead investigator of the recent case entered the room. His stern gaze landed upon every detective before starting the meeting.

"4:48 am, someone contacted the emergency services about finding a dozen corpses within an alleyway. 4:55 am, NYPD officers arrived at the scene and sealed the narrow alleyway."

"5:08 am, our forensic specialists entered the crime scene and discovered that the twelve young men were murdered in cold blood. From further examination, .22 long rifles were uncovered from the heads of the corpses."

"6:03 am, a coroner determined their time of death. All of the young men were killed at the same time, precisely 0:35 am. It has been suggested that they were murdered by a trained professional."

"Unwrapping the mysteries of the murder, some of our officers dug up the security feeds from the surrounding CCTV cameras. It was from this, that we discovered moments before the crime."

The lead investigator opened the projector with a soft press of the remote in-between his fingers. The unearthed security footage was immediately projected upon the white board at the front of the conference room.

Displayed before the group of detectives was the entirety of the security footage from the beginning until the end. Murmurs escaped the mouths of the detectives, bewildered by the actuality of the crime. 

"0:27 am, the group of young men, now a bunch of corpses, had encircled the presumed murderer before dragging him into the alleyway, which became their tomb. 0:41 am, the culprit left the crime scene and continued in his way."

"We lost him after the third security footage, but we can surmise that he could be on the run."

"Any questions?"

The lead investigator glanced at the group of detectives, expecting their questions with intrigue. The detectives briefly glimpsed at one another before one of them raised his hands and questioned.

"So, the case isn't about a missing persons or a mauled civilian?"

Their astonished expressions were understandable since they had been caught off guard. After days of handling missing persons case throughout the city along with unfortunate mauled civilians, they expected it to be one of those previous instances.

Although, the lead investigator was about to pour a bucket of cold water upon their rising morale.

"Well, not exactly the same, but there are some similarities with the previous cases we have recently dealt. You see... Some parts of the corpses had been bitten off."

"The bite marks were of humanoid origin, which means that this case is correlated to many of our incidents in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. The target we have been searching for quite some time might be in Manhattan."

"An opportunity, you could say."

When the detectives heard his remarks, their eyes narrowed in deep thought. The NYPD has been searching for the culprit of the missing persons case and the mauled teenagers of the Bronx. To say the least, they had little to no lead regarding the suspect.

"Are you implying that the murderer of those twelve gangsters was the cannibal we have been searching?" 

A detective probed the lead investigator, but the latter shook his head and rejected his conjecture. The dozen murderer wasn't the cannibal that they had been searching for. That much was already confirmed.

"I am not tethering the murder of dozens to the troublesome case that caused the disappearance of three of our officers."

"After all, the forensic specialists and the coroner has confirmed that the bitten injuries and the bite marks of the twelve corpses occurred within the timeframe of 0:45 and 0:58 am. Four minutes following the moment the murderer left the scene."

"The cannibal might have been attracted by the murder of the dozen young men. It was unfortunate that lives were taken for us to discover that our target is on our island."

"Regardless, we must find the cannibal and the murderer of the dozen men. The mayor relies in the NYPD to maintain order within the city. We must do so no matter what. Or this place will become a hellhole."

The lead investigator ended the conference with a concluding speech about their importance to the metropolis that was New York. Although, one of the detectives giggled and teasingly remarked.

"Ain't it already one?"

His words earned the chuckles of the lead investigator and the detectives. It was the unspoken truth of those living within the so-called sanctuary city of the United States of America. 

---

Somewhere in the expanse of the illustrious central park of Manhattan, one of the detectives who recently participated in the preceding conference found himself sipping a soda while staring at the beautiful greenery of the enchanting expanse. 

Even though New York was considered a hellhole by many, the vast metropolis of the eastern coast bore a beauty that none of its sister cities could realized. 

It was, after all, the city of dreams, the Big Apple of America. 

His name was Kent, although his colleagues called him Detective Kent.

Solving crimes throughout the city had been a lifestyle of his since he became a part of the police force. It was decades of hard, grueling work. He abandoned everything to resolved the burdened of others. His wife had long left him along with their children.

He was alone. 

But just when he conceived the thought of an early retirement, the greatest criminal case unfolded into the lustrous cityscape. It was as though destiny reminded him that it was far from over.

Secrets and their conundrums clouded the world, and unravelling a fragment was not enough.

The recent mystery of the cannibal followed by the missing persons case had been bugging him. His doubts wasn't without reason since further investigations entailed that the reported cases didn't align in a sensible timeframe. 

The NYPD considered the missing persons case and the mauled teenagers to be carried out by a singular, insane criminal. However, Kent judged it as inherently illogical. 

The missing persons case of the Bronx and the mauled teenagers of Brooklyn couldn't have occurred at the same time, the same hour. It was improbable for a sole culprit to carry out the kidnapping and mauling at the same time in different boroughs. 

For this reason, Detective Kent conjectured a possibility of the spoken crimes to be perpetrated by a group of crazy people instead of a singular, lone one. 

Who knows, there might be several cannibals on the loose within the city of New York, and these bastards could be a part of some insane cult. But perhaps, he was getting a head of himself. 

Detective Kent took a deep breath and relaxed himself while settling on the wooden bench. As he gazed upon the calming sceneries of the park, his eyes landed upon the young man beside him.

The young man was sipping a cup of hot coffee while lounging on the bench, enjoying the exquisite landscape before him. Breathing the gentle breeze of morning never felt boring for the young man.

"Are you enjoying the view, young man?"

The detective asked and took out his cigar, igniting it with a lighter. One puff from a cigarette always lightened the day for a middle-aged man like him. 

"I'm savoring every moment of it, so yeah, I fancy the view."

The response of the young man reminded Detective Kent of an old man. It was the peculiar way of speaking that was only reserved to those who have already experienced most of their lives. Although his eyebrows rose, he lazily shook his head and smirked.

"You look like a man who just got themselves a girlfriend."

"Is she a beauty?"

The detective assumed the carefree and positive attitude of the young man to be correlated to him bagging a beautiful woman. He had seen many young men like the one before him.

In the first moments of the relationship, they would always act giddy and merry. But once they tasted the responsibilities that comes along with a relationship. Any false fantasies about a warm, easy love life would be thrown out of the window. 

"It might sound appalling, but it's not about a woman."

The young man rubbed the back of their head and gave a wry smile. It appears that the detective had misunderstood them, though Kent doubled down in his assumptions.

"So, a man, huh?"

"Well, good luck in your relationship, young man. The city is the perfect place for people like you."

Detective Kent took another puff from his cigar and tapped the embers of the bud onto the trashcan beside the wooden bench.

"Come on, don't be an asshole."

The young man complained and composedly threw the empty cup into the trash bin. The detective glanced at the guy beside him and wondered when the youngsters have become disrespectful to their elders.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry about that."

"I'm merely wondering how someone could be happy in this day and age-"

"-Sorry to offend you, kid."

Detective Kent reasoned but apologized to the young man, understanding that he was mistaken for making assumptions towards a stranger he wasn't even acquainted with. 

"I don't mind, anyhow... To be honest, it's just good to be back."

"It is why I am acting the way I am."

"I'm happy to return, ecstatic by the second chance."

The detective narrowed his gaze and wondered if the young man was a previously convicted juvenile. The way they was speaking made it seem as though they had escaped from a terrifying place.

"Well, good for you I guess."

"You should treasure this second chance of yours and avoid the mistakes that would repeat your regrets over again."

He gave the young man an adequate advice of tackling their current circumstance. But the young man didn't need to be reminded of their purpose. It had long been embedded in their mind.

"I know that, already. I don't need to be reminded of my purpose."

"Anyhow, thanks for the pep talk." 

The young man grinned as they stood up from the wooden bench and breathed out. Before walking away from the detective, they glanced at him and gave a final remark, or perhaps, warning. 

"Detective, you should quit smoking since it wouldn't be the best for your lungs. You don't want them to be busted when you need them the most. And you will need them."

"Take care of yourself, and I believe we will meet again."

They waved their hand while fading into the distance, becoming another stranger of the detective's life. Detective Kent gazed at the direction where the young man disappeared and contemplated.

Taking a brief glance at the cigar in-between his fingers, he sighed and pressed the bud onto the metallic surface of the trash bin before flinging it down. 

"I can't believe I'm listening to a kid..."

"Damn, I forgot to ask his name."

Meanwhile, Everest indifferently walked away from the central park and coldly gazed upon the newly-emerged bluish, translucent digital screen with a tinge of amusement. Leveling up was his utmost priority, it was the prerequisite of his survival. 

But, in order to do so, he would have to hunt ruffians and criminals scattered throughout the city. Unfortunately, it would be difficult without attracting more attention from the cops, especially when they now roamed every nook and cranny of Manhattan. 

And there were also the troublesome ones from the outside.

They aren't even bothering themselves to hide it anymore.

Turning his attention upward, Everest saw various transport helicopters, Black Hawks and Chinooks, soaring above the metropolis. Unbeknownst to the ignorant New Yorkers, the US Military and the National Guard had been deployed throughout major cities of the United States.