(Open. The attacker, the minks’ survival, and the motive are the central Zou-arc mystery — to be paid off in later chapters. Keep pending; downstream synths append the on-page reveals as they land, and a broader Zou-destruction mystery thread is filed at its owning chapter.)
Why this matters
Establishes the central mystery of the Zou arc — what happened here, who did it, and where the residents went — to be paid off when the attacker and the minks’ survival are revealed. A textbook negative-space opening: the set-piece is introduced as a crime scene, the antagonist entirely off-page.