Chapter 1: What Do You Want?

Around 8:10 p.m., in a dark and secluded dead-end alley, there were no streetlights and few passersby. Only the indifferent moonlight cast a faint glow, barely illuminating a corner of the narrow lane.

At the very end of the alley stood two dark-colored trash bins, their surfaces mottled and grimy, emitting waves of sour stench. Every now and then, a few headless flies circled above the bins, buzzing incessantly.

Three boys in disheveled school uniforms stood there, seemingly waiting for someone. One of them, with his collar unbuttoned and a tattoo visible on his arm, had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His muttered curses were barely audible: “Fuck his mother… promised us money and asked to be extorted? Is this some kind of joke…”

Another boy, equally impatient, lit a cigarette and said, “No way. If he’s really messing with us, I’ll make him…” Before he could finish, a rustling sound broke the silence from the mouth of the alley, growing louder and closer.

Three thug-like boys stopped talking, straightened their postures, and cast impatient looks toward the alley entrance—waiting to collect money before beating someone up.

At the entrance of the alley, Xu Yannuo wore a black mask and a baseball cap, her jet-black hair casually tied into a simple yet secure bun at the back. Holding an iron rod her grandmother used for burning paper offerings, she walked step by step toward the agreed-upon alley. Then, she turned into the only entrance of the narrow lane and entered.

The iron rod in her hand scraped against the ground as she walked, producing faint yet grating screeching sounds.

The three boys, each a full head taller than her, watched her approach with disdainful smirks. The one with the tattooed arm jutted his chin forward. “So you’re the one who called us here? Hah, hurry up, shorty. Quit dragging your feet.”

Another guy walked up to Xu Yannuo, “Where’s the money? We’ve been waiting here for a while. If you didn’t bring enough today, don’t blame me…”

Before the boy could finish his sentence, Xu Yannuo suddenly raised the iron rod in her hand and struck his neck with lightning speed, delivering a precise and ruthless blow. Without hesitation, she swiftly changed positions, striking his side and knees with equal ferocity. The attack was so fast that the two boys behind him had no time to react. By the time they regained their senses, the boy in front of Xu Yannuo was already writhing on the ground, clutching his neck in agony—unable to speak or stand.

The two boys no longer wore their previous careless and disdainful expressions but instead looked warily at the person standing before them. “What do you mean? Looking for trouble? Who the hell are you?”

Behind the black mask, Xu Yannuo’s lips curled slightly. “Your daddy!” Before the words had even fully left her mouth, she swung the iron rod in her hand again, giving the two no chance to resist. Each received a blow—one to the abdomen and the other to the calf—followed by screams. Without hesitation, she delivered another strike to their backs and faces.

At this moment, the two men were also in so much pain that they crouched on the ground, seemingly unable to stand up. Xu Yannuo’s eyes gleamed coldly as he gripped the iron rod and continued walking toward them, step by step. The three men lying on the ground were so terrified that they immediately began pleading for mercy, their faces no longer displaying the arrogance they had shown during the extortion but instead filled with fear, terrified that this madman might end them in the next second.

When he reached them, Xu Yannuo raised the iron rod high. The three thugs hurriedly covered their heads, so scared they wet their pants. Then, the rod struck one of their ankles, and Xu Yannuo slowly crouched down.

Watching the cowardly expressions of the three, Xu Yannuo smiled faintly beneath his black mask, exuding a morbid beauty. “So you know fear too? If you know fear, why bully other kids? Extortion, robbery? But you already got the money—why couldn’t you just let them go?”

She paused, looking at the first person whose neck had been struck, “Hmm~, does it feel thrilling to choke someone’s neck, watching them beg in fear and pain yet unable to speak?” She then turned to the other two, speaking slowly with an air of indifference, her voice laced with cold ruthlessness, mockery, and barely concealed fury, “Forcing someone to kneel and eat trash in front of you, stepping on their back to make them lick your shoes—was that fun?”

The three of them turned ashen, whether from pain or terror, they couldn’t speak. Xu Yannuo murmured softly to herself, “Oh, was it fun? Was it thrilling?”

She raised the iron rod as if to strike, and just as the three boys wore the same terrified expressions as those they had bullied, the rod didn’t fall. Xu Yannuo chuckled lightly, “Fun!”

She looked at the iron rod in her hand and softly warned, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you want to experience it more thoroughly next time, just let me know.”

With that, she turned and left the alley. As she neared the exit, she removed her hat and mask, casually loosened her bun, and shook out her long hair, transforming back into a seemingly fragile and timid girl. Trembling as if afraid of the dark, she cautiously stepped out of the alley. At this hour, the alley exit was always deserted, and as usual, she let her guard down completely. Once she walked out of this secluded, empty street, the events of the night would have nothing to do with her.

But today, just a few steps after shaking out her hair, she lifted her head and saw a tall, slender young man standing not far away. He was across from the alley exit, dressed in a clean white hoodie and dark casual pants, his hands lazily tucked into his pockets as he watched her direction. Under the moonlight, he showed neither fear nor surprise, merely gazing calmly and composedly in her direction.

Xu Yannuo frowned slightly. How long had he been standing there watching? How much had he seen when she hit someone earlier?

Xu Yannuo slowly walked toward the person. By now, she had already removed her mask and hat—there was no time to hide anymore. As she approached, the distance between them narrowed. Under the cold moonlight, Xu Yannuo could clearly see the other’s face—a sharply defined, nearly perfect visage. His skin was so pale it almost blended into the freshly painted wall behind him, as if he had stepped out of a two-dimensional manga.

The first impression he gives is one of frailty, so delicate that a gust of wind might make him vanish.

A handsome, scholarly-looking young man with delicate features!

Staring at this fair-faced boy before her, Xu Yannuo cautiously asked, “Did you… see everything?”

The young man’s expression remained completely unreadable as he simply nodded faintly in response, “Mhm.”

Xu Yannuo’s eyes darkened, her gaze turning sharp—a stark contrast to her soft, rabbit-like appearance. “What do you want?” she demanded.