Chapter 144: Before Eclipse Conspiracy
The warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the curtains of Nobody’s apartment.
The television continued playing quietly in the background while Nobody finished washing his coffee mug.
For the first time in days, everything felt peaceful. Just an ordinary afternoon.
"...I could get used to this." Nobody placed the mug on the drying rack.
Just as he was about to sit down....
Ring!
His phone vibrated across the coffee table. Nobody glanced at the screen.
Caller ID: Toma
He immediately answered. "Hello?"
Toma sounded unusually serious. "Nobody..."
His expression instantly changed. "What happened?"
There was a brief silence before Toma spoke again.
"Yesterday night...there was a serial killer roaming around the city."
Nobody froze. "...What?"
"He was even about to attack me."
The words struck him like lightning what Toma might think.
"What?!" His voice echoed through the apartment. "Are you okay? I’m coming right now!" He had already rushed toward the bedroom and grabbed his jacket while keeping the phone pressed against his ear.
Toma quickly replied. "I’m fine."
"Really."
"Thanks to that maniac."
Nobody stopped halfway. "...Maniac? Who?"
"The bunny-helmeted crazy guy."
Nobody blinked. "..." A grin slowly spread across his face. In his mind, he sighed. "Damn... Maniac, huh?" He couldn’t help laughing quietly. "So that’s what people are calling me now."
Toma continued. "He suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I couldn’t even understand what happened. One moment that serial killer was right in front of me...The next moment he was running through the streets."
Nobody scratched his cheek. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"The bunny guy didn’t even say much. He just fought like a complete lunatic."
Nobody looked toward the crimson bunny helmet resting on the table. "I guess she’s not entirely wrong."
"I’ve seen videos online. People keep calling him the Bunny Maniac."
Nobody nearly laughed out loud. "The...Bunny Maniac?"
"Yeah. They say he appears without warning. He destroys criminals. Then disappears before the police arrive."
Nobody coughed to hide his amusement. "I see... What a...strange person."
"Exactly!" Toma replied. "I don’t know whether I should thank him or stay away from him. He scares me a little."
Nobody smiled awkwardly. "Mission accomplished...I guess." Then Nobody asked, "So...Are you really okay?"
"I’m fine. Just a little shaken. But I wanted to let you know."
"Thank you."
"I’m still coming."
"You don’t have to."
"I do."
A short silence followed.
Finally, Toma sighed. "...Alright."
"I’ll wait."
"I’ll be there soon."
The call ended. Nobody placed the phone in his pocket. He looked once more at the bunny helmet. "...Bunny Maniac... I’ve definitely earned a weird nickname."
A System notification appeared.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Public Reputation Updated
Alias Acquired:
"The Bunny Maniac"
Current Public Opinion:
Protective...but unpredictable.
Popularity Increased.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Nobody laughed. "So even the System acknowledges it." He picked up the crimson helmet. "Well...It could’ve been worse." He placed it inside a cabinet instead of wearing it. "No need for that right now."
He simply wanted to check on Toma as Nobody. Not as the city’s mysterious vigilante.
Outside...
Traffic flowed through Alkon City’s busy streets. People hurried toward work. Students filled the sidewalks. News about the previous night’s mysterious incident continued spreading across social media. Some believed the Bunny Maniac was a dangerous vigilante. Others called him a hero. Arguments filled every comment section.
Meanwhile...
Far across the city...
Inside the towering headquarters of Eclipse Corporation, An expensive conference room overlooked the skyline. A long black table stretched through the center. Executives sat silently. No one dared speak.
At the head of the table sat the chairman. His fingers tapped slowly against the polished wood.
Behind him, a massive screen displayed the logo of Nathan Industries.
The chairman smiled faintly. "So...Our preparations are complete."
One of the executives nodded. "Yes, Chairman. The documents are ready. The investment proposal has been finalized."
Another man adjusted his glasses. "Everything is proceeding according to schedule."
The chairman stood. He walked toward the large window overlooking the city. "Nathan Industries..." He quietly spoke the company’s name. "You’ve expanded too quickly. You’ve become too influential. And influence creates enemies."
He turned toward the room. "Today...We’re going to present them with a business proposal."
Several executives exchanged uncertain looks.
One finally asked, "A proposal?"
The chairman smiled. "One that looks beneficial. But once accepted...It will throw Nathan Industries into complete chaos."
The room became silent.
He continued. "The agreement contains hidden conditions. By the time they discover them...It will already be too late."
One executive slowly smiled. "A financial trap."
"Exactly." The chairman folded his hands behind his back. "Businesses don’t always fall because of competition. Sometimes they collapse because they trust the wrong people."
The large screen switched to another image.
This time...It displayed a blurry photograph captured by a traffic camera.
A crimson motorcycle. A rider wearing a pink bunny helmet. The chairman narrowed his eyes. "And then...There’s him. The Bunny Vigilante." His voice grew colder. "He has interfered with several operations. Our shipments, our associates, our influence. He has become...inconvenient."
Another executive spoke carefully. "Our investigators still haven’t identified him. They’ve searched every available database. No results."
"He simply appears...and disappears."
The chairman smiled. "Everyone leaves a trail. We simply haven’t found his yet."
He looked at the blurry image once more. "It doesn’t matter. Soon...He’ll fall too."
The room remained silent.
The chairman slowly placed both hands on the conference table. His eyes reflected absolute confidence.
"Nathan Industries...The Bunny Vigilante... I don’t care which one stands in my way. They will both fall."
No one questioned him. No one dared.
Far away...
Nobody locked the apartment door behind him. He had no idea that while he was heading toward Toma...
A completely different battle had already begun. One fought not with fists or weapons...
But with contracts, power, influence...And carefully hidden schemes. As he stepped into the elevator, the System quietly chimed.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Main Story Updated
New Arc Beginning...
Corporate Conspiracy Arc
Objective:
Protect Those Closest to You.
Investigate Eclipse Corporation.
Failure Conditions:
Unknown.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Nobody looked at the notification for a long moment. He smiled. "So much for a peaceful afternoon."
The elevator doors slid open.
He stepped outside and headed toward Toma, unaware that the next enemy wouldn’t strike from the shadows of the streets...But from the boardrooms at the top of the city.
The elevator doors opened with a soft ding.
Nobody stepped into the apartment lobby and walked toward the entrance. The afternoon air was pleasantly cool after the rain from the previous night. The streets were bustling once again, as if nothing unusual had happened.
He looked up at the clear blue sky. "Alkon City really recovers fast..."
Just hours ago, panic had spread through the city. Now people were laughing, shopping and hurrying to work.
Nobody smiled faintly. "Maybe that’s what makes this city special." He took out his phone and sent Toma a short message.
I’m on my way. Wait for me.
A reply arrived almost instantly.
Okay. I’m at the café near Riverside Park.
Nobody slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Riverside Park...not too far."
Instead of calling a taxi, he decided to walk. It gave him time to think. His footsteps echoed softly along the sidewalk.
People passed him without a second glance. To them, he was just another young man enjoying the afternoon. No one knew that the same person had been racing through the city in a crimson bunny helmet only a few hours earlier.
"...Quite the double life." He chuckled to himself. "One version drinks coffee. The other gets called a maniac."
The nickname still lingered in his mind. "Bunny Maniac... I’ve heard worse."
Suddenly.....
Ding.
A translucent blue window appeared before him.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Public Discussion Updated
Trending Topics:
#BunnyManiac
#WhoIsTheBunnyHero
#SerialKillerAttack
#NightGuardian
Current Public Recognition: 18%
Identity Exposure Risk: Low
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Nobody stopped walking. "Eighteen percent already? That increased quickly." He tapped the information icon.
Another window expanded.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Explanation:
Citizens have begun recognizing the Bunny Vigilante as an independent individual.
While your civilian identity remains hidden...
Repeated public appearances will gradually increase the probability of exposure.
Recommendation:
Avoid unnecessary attention.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Nobody sighed. "So being famous isn’t exactly a good thing."
The System disappeared. Nobody continued walking.
A few minutes later, he passed an electronics store.
Several televisions inside the display window were broadcasting the afternoon news.
A female reporter stood in front of a police station.
"...Authorities continue investigating last night’s attempted serial attacks. Multiple witnesses have reported seeing an unidentified individual wearing a pink bunny helmet intervening before the suspect disappeared."
The screen changed to shaky cellphone footage.
Only a few seconds were visible. A crimson blur, loud impact. Then static. The cameraman had clearly been too shocked to keep recording.
"...Police have not confirmed whether the mysterious individual is connected to law enforcement."
People gathered in front of the televisions.
An elderly man crossed his arms. "I don’t care who he is. He saved lives."
A university student shook his head. "Maybe. But what if he’s dangerous too?"
Another person joined the discussion. "If criminals are afraid of him, that’s enough for me."
Nobody quietly listened before continuing on his way. "So that’s how the city sees me..."
Neither completely trusted...Nor completely feared.
Nobody almost preferred it that way. Being underestimated often had its advantages.
"Not bad huh...?"