Lust Meter System: Conquering Beauties-Chapter 106: I’m Not Crazy

Liam sat in the back of the police car, his hands still cuffed behind him.

The seat was uncomfortable, the hard plastic digging into his back, and the smell of stale coffee and cleaning solution hung in the air.

Grace was in the driver’s seat, her hands on the wheel as she navigated through traffic.

She hadn’t said anything since they’d left the workshop, and the silence was starting to feel heavy.

Liam looked out the window, watching the buildings pass by.

’I literally caught criminals for her, and now I’m the one in handcuffs. This is insane.’

His mind was still trying to process what had just happened.

He glanced up at the rearview mirror and caught Grace looking at him.

Her expression had changed.

The professional, no-nonsense cop from earlier was gone. Now she looked... uncertain.

Almost guilty.

Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her lips were pressed together in a thin line. She kept glancing at him in the mirror like she wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

Liam could see it clearly.

She was feeling bad about this.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the radio crackled to life.

"All units, we have a Code 187 in the vicinity of Fifth and Maple. Multiple victims. Requesting immediate assistance."

Grace’s expression shifted instantly. Her eyes widened slightly, and her jaw tightened.

She grabbed the radio. "This is Officer Grace Kim. I’m not far from that location. I’ll be there in five."

"Copy that, Officer Kim."

Liam looked at her, confused. ’What’s a Code 187?’

She immediately turned on the sirens and hit the gas.

The car surged forward, weaving through traffic as the lights flashed and the siren wailed. Liam was thrown back against the seat, his cuffed hands making it impossible to brace himself properly.

He watched Grace’s face as she drove. Her expression was serious now, focused. Whatever a Code 187 was, it wasn’t good.

They arrived at the scene within minutes.

The street was blocked off with police tape, and several patrol cars were already parked haphazardly along the curb.

An ambulance sat nearby, its back doors open.

Grace pulled up behind one of the patrol cars and killed the engine. She got out quickly, slamming the door behind her.

Liam stayed in the back seat, craning his neck to see what was going on.

Grace walked up to another officer standing near the tape.

They talked for a moment, their voices too low for Liam to hear, but he could see the officer gesturing toward the alley behind him.

And that’s when Liam saw them.

Bodies.

At least six of them, lying on the ground in various positions.

Some were covered with white sheets.

Others were being loaded onto gurneys by paramedics in dark blue uniforms.

Liam leaned forward as much as he could, his eyes scanning the scene.

One of the bodies being wheeled past had the sheet pulled back slightly, revealing the victim’s torso.

There was a mark on the chest. A large X carved into the skin.

Liam’s breath caught in his throat.

’That’s the signature.’

Just like Mr. L had described—the X carved into his victims. Seeing it in person was different though. Scarier. The edges weren’t clean cuts but ragged tears, as if something had torn through the flesh rather than sliced it.

Liam had never expected to see it up close like this. Not from the back of a cop car. Not while handcuffed.

’Only one guy could do this,’ he thought, staring at the bodies. ’And it’s still unbelievable, even knowing I might be able to pull something like this off myself.’

The sheer number of bodies was what got him. Six people. Maybe more inside the alley. All dead.

He kept staring, his mind racing.

Grace finished talking to the other officer and started walking back toward the car.

She glanced back at the scene once before opening the driver’s side door and getting in.

She didn’t say anything at first. She just sat there, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Then she looked at Liam in the rearview mirror.

His expression was serious. Intense.

He wasn’t looking at her.

He was still staring at the bodies through the window, his jaw clenched and his eyes sharp.

Grace watched him for a moment, then turned back around without saying a word.

She started the car and pulled away from the scene.

The drive to the station was silent.

---

The police station was a squat, two-story building with peeling paint and narrow windows covered with metal bars.

The front entrance had a set of glass doors that were perpetually smudged with fingerprints, and the fluorescent lights inside flickered occasionally.

Grace parked in the small lot behind the building and got out.

She opened the back door and helped Liam out of the car, her hand firm on his arm as she guided him toward the entrance.

Inside, the station was buzzing with activity.

Officers moved back and forth between desks, phones rang constantly, and the smell of burnt coffee filled the air.

Grace led Liam down a narrow hallway lined with holding cells.

The walls were painted a dull gray, and the floor was scuffed linoleum that squeaked under their feet.

She stopped in front of one of the cells and unlocked it. The door swung open with a loud creak.

"Inside," she said quietly.

Liam stepped in, and she closed the door behind him. The lock clicked into place.

She stood there for a moment, looking at him through the bars.

"I’ll let you out once one of them says you’re innocent," she said. Her voice was softer now, almost apologetic.

Liam didn’t say anything. He just sat down on the narrow bench attached to the wall and leaned back.

Grace hesitated for a second longer, then turned and walked away.

---

Liam sat in the cell for what felt like hours but was probably only twenty or thirty minutes.

He could hear the noise of the station outside. Phones ringing. People talking. Doors opening and closing.

Then he heard something different.

A man’s voice. Loud and panicked.

"Leave me alone! I didn’t do anything!"

Liam looked up.

The voice was getting closer, accompanied by heavy footsteps and the sound of a struggle.

"Calm down!" another voice said, sharp and authoritative. "Just relax!"

"I’m not doing anything! Let go of me!"

Two officers appeared in the hallway, dragging a man between them. He was struggling against their grip, his face red and sweaty.

Liam recognized him immediately.

It was the guy with the scar on his face. The one with the gun. The one Liam had knocked out in the workshop.

One of the officers pressed the man’s face against the see-through glass of Liam’s cell.

"Do you know him?" the officer asked.

The man’s eyes went wide when he saw Liam.

"That’s him!" he screamed, his voice cracking. "That’s the monster! He’s not human! He’s a fucking monster!"

The officer holding him looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"He moved so fast!" the man continued, his voice rising in pitch. "He dodged a bullet! A bullet! And then he just... he just..."

The other officer exchanged a glance with his partner. "This guy’s crazy."

"I’m not crazy!" the man shouted, still staring at Liam with wide, terrified eyes. "I’m telling you, he’s not normal! He’s a monster!"

The officers started dragging him away, and his voice echoed down the hallway as he continued shouting.

"You’ll see! You’ll all see! He’s not human!"

The hallway went quiet again.

A few seconds later, Grace appeared. She walked up to the cell and unlocked it, pulling the door open.

"You’re free to go," she said.

Liam stood up slowly. "Just like that?"

Grace nodded. "He confirmed you weren’t part of their group. Said you... attacked them." She paused, her expression uncertain. "Though he also said a lot of other things that didn’t make much sense."

Liam stepped out of the cell and rubbed his wrists where the cuffs had been.

Grace looked at him, and her shy demeanor from earlier started to come back. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down.

"I need to file a report," she said quietly. "Just... standard procedure. It won’t take long."

"Alright," Liam said.

She led him back through the station to a small desk in the corner. It was cluttered with papers, file folders, and an old laptop that looked like it had seen better days.

Grace sat down behind the desk and gestured to the chair across from her. "You can sit."

Liam sat down, watching as she opened the laptop and started typing.

The station was still busy around them, but this corner felt quieter. More isolated.

Grace’s fingers moved across the keyboard, her eyes focused on the screen. She was biting her lower lip slightly, the same nervous habit he’d noticed earlier.

Then someone approached the desk.

Liam looked up to see a man in his early thirties walking toward them.

He was tall, well-built, and dressed in a suit that was just a bit too tight across the shoulders. His dark hair was slicked back, and he had the kind of smile that looked practiced.

A detective, Liam guessed.

The man stopped at the desk and leaned against it casually, looking down at Grace with that same practiced smile.

"Hey, Grace," he said, his voice smooth. "How’s it going?"

Grace looked up from the laptop, and her expression shifted slightly. She smiled back, but it was polite. Distant.

"Hi, Mark," she said. "Just finishing up some paperwork."

"I can see that." Mark glanced at Liam briefly, then back at Grace. "So, I was thinking... maybe we could grab dinner sometime this week? There’s this new place downtown that just opened up. Italian. I think you’d like it."

Grace’s smile faltered slightly. "I appreciate the offer, but I already told you I’m not really looking to date right now."

"Come on," Mark said, his smile widening. "It’s just dinner. No pressure."

"I’m really busy with work," Grace said, her voice still polite but firm. "Maybe another time."

Mark’s smile didn’t change, but Liam could see the slight tightness around his eyes. "Sure. Another time."

He pushed off the desk and walked away, his hands in his pockets.

Liam watched him go, then looked back at Grace.

She was still smiling that same polite smile, but there was something tired about it. She tucked another strand of hair behind her ear and went back to typing.

Grace finished typing and closed the laptop. She stood up and looked at Liam.

"Alright, you’re good to go," she said.

She paused, and for a moment that professional mask slipped. Her eyes dropped to the desk, and she started organizing some papers that didn’t need organizing.

"I..." she started, then stopped. Her fingers fidgeted with the corner of a file folder. "About earlier. I was just doing my job, but I should’ve given you a chance to explain before putting you in cuffs."

Liam didn’t respond immediately. He just watched her, noting how different she was from the cop who’d arrested him.

Grace seemed to take his silence as acceptance and turned to grab something from her desk drawer. As she reached for it, she winced.

It was subtle. Just a slight tensing of her shoulders and a brief grimace that crossed her face before she smoothed it out.

But Liam saw it.

A notification appeared in his vision.

[New Target Detected]

[Target: Grace Kim]

[Bio: Has been hurt too many times in a relationship. Made up her mind that the only relationship she wants is with her job.

Status: Suffers from chronic back pain due to long hours on duty.]

Time stopped.

The station’s ambient noise—the ringing phones, shuffled papers, distant conversations—all went silent.

Grace was perfectly still, her hand suspended in mid-reach toward the drawer. A fluorescent light that had been flickering overhead was now frozen mid-flicker, casting half the room in shadow.

Liam’s eyes flicked to it briefly before returning to the notification in his vision.

[Option 1: "Do you have back pain?" +10 Lust Points]

[Option 2: "No worries, it’s cool." +1 Lust Point]

Liam tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing with interest.

’After everything I’ve been through today, I should at least get something out of it.’