True Immortal Heart-Chapter 26: Have to hide behind the mask

If they reacted too strongly to being followed, it would only raise more suspicion. Viper contacted the other car.

"Just keep driving at a normal pace. We’ll stop here to deal with this. Don’t do anything that might look suspicious."

"Silas, pull over. I’ll go talk to them," she said, opening the door and stepping out of the car.

Seeing this, the police also pulled over. One officer stepped forward and spoke.

"Please show your identification."

At that moment, Dusk, still sitting in the car, suddenly opened his eyes wide. A system notification had just appeared before him.

[Ding! Son of Fate detected. Please proceed with caution, Master.]

Dusk frowned and looked outside at the officer. The man was somewhat good-looking, but Dusk couldn’t see anything particularly special about him.

’Well, it won’t hurt to be cautious. Who knows—maybe he’ll become my enemy in the future. Speaking of protagonists... Kael again. I wonder what that bastard is plotting now.’

The thought annoyed him. He was sick of dealing with these so-called "main characters." Someone was clearly trying to cause him trouble.

Meanwhile, Viper didn’t comply immediately with the officer’s request. Instead, she retorted:

"On what grounds are you pulling us over and asking for our IDs? I can guarantee my driver hasn’t broken any traffic laws."

The officer paused. Now that she mentioned it, they really hadn’t done anything illegal. Still, his instincts told him something was off.

"Please don’t waste time. Hand over your ID. If you have any complaints about my conduct, feel free to report it to the station."

The corner of Viper’s mouth twitched slightly. This was the first time she had encountered such an unreasonably stubborn cop.

With no better choice, she sighed and handed over her documents. She still had a bitch to deal with and didn’t want to waste time here.

"Here. I’m the owner of the Crimson Hotel. If you have a problem with me, feel free to come find me there."

She wasn’t afraid of anyone coming to inspect the hotel. After all, it was a family business passed down from her grandfather, known for its long-standing reputation.

Now that the officer had seen her complete paperwork and found no violations, would he just leave? Of course not. He trusted his instincts more than any document.

"I’d like to inspect your vehicle."

"You son of a bitch! Just because you’re a cop, you think you can do whatever the hell you want?" Viper cursed out loud, utterly baffled by whatever was going through this officer’s head.

Yet the officer remained completely unfazed. Despite the harsh words, his expression stayed firm. He was clearly not backing down.

Viper paused to consider if there was anything suspicious in the car. After mentally checking everything, she concluded there was nothing that could be seen as a clue. With that in mind, she nodded.

"Fine. Follow me."

She led the officer to the rear door of the car and opened it. The moment the door swung open, the officer laid eyes on Dusk’s face.

He stiffened in shock, trying to recall where he had seen that face before. Then it hit him—a sketch had been circulated recently among the police. The person in front of him matched the face of a notorious serial killer. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Dusk noticed the change in the officer’s eyes and immediately sensed that something had gone wrong.

’Damn it, these damn protagonists really were born to ruin my life.’

Cursing inwardly, his body moved on instinct. Before the officer could react, Dusk had drawn a knife, grabbed Viper, and pressed the blade to her throat.

Was she truly that weak? Of course not. She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but Dusk’s reaction told her enough—his identity had been exposed.

To her, he was a walking encyclopedia in this new age—too valuable to hand over to the authorities so easily.

"If you take another step, I’ll kill her," Dusk growled. His face was twisted with madness, his voice cold and sharp.

The officer was startled by Dusk’s sudden move. He instinctively reached for his gun but froze mid-motion, afraid the hostage might get hurt.

"Calm down. Let’s talk this out," he said, trying to deescalate the situation.

Viper panicked, her face twisted in fear, tears streaming down like a helpless girl who had fallen into the hands of a monster.

’Damn, she really knows how to act.’

Dusk cursed inwardly. If he hadn’t witnessed her madness firsthand, he might’ve actually believed she was this fragile.

"Driver, what are you waiting for? Get us out of here!" Dusk shouted.

Then, he turned his gaze back to the officer, eyes sharp and voice filled with threat.

"If you dare chase us, I swear—I’ll take her down with me!"

"No! Please don’t follow us. I... I don’t want to die... sob sob..." Viper whimpered, sobbing pitifully.

Her performance was so convincing it made the officer hesitate. He became a cop to uphold justice, to give people a better life. But now, if he insisted on making an arrest and it got a young woman killed, he couldn’t live with that.

"Fine, go. But remember this—if anything happens to her, I, Elias Rook, will hunt you down to the ends of the earth."

Dusk didn’t bother responding to Elias’s righteous declaration, but he did silently commit the protagonist’s name to memory.

He quickly slammed the door shut and motioned for Silas to drive.

As the car pulled away into the distance, the other officer looked at Elias with a deep frown. Something felt off—very off.

"What happened?"

"I just came face-to-face with that serial killer. But he had a hostage, so I couldn’t act. Contact HQ immediately. Tell them he’s in the Blackreach area. Lock this place down."

"Got it."

Meanwhile, inside the car, Dusk finally let go of Viper. If he’d held her for even a moment longer, things would’ve gone sideways fast.

"Did you enjoy that? Having my life in your hands?" Viper said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

"You chose to work with me, so don’t blame me for doing what I had to. If I get caught, it’s not like you’d benefit from it either," Dusk replied, unfazed by her attitude.

He ignored her entirely, now deep in thought. What had tipped off the police? How had they recognized him?

Viper, noticing his concern, reached into her bag and pulled out a plain white mask—shaped like a face with crescent eyes and a broad, eerie smile.

"Use this. From now on, you’ll operate under the identity of my personal bodyguard."