Fang Zhiyi followed her as they wandered through the lower district. She had enough experience to navigate the safest routes.
As they passed by a low-roofed shack, Mia pulled a few candies from her pocket and carefully placed them on the windowsill. A grubby little hand swiftly snatched them away.
"You know them?" Fang Zhiyi asked.
Mia nodded. "The Roland Sisters live there. But they’re in a bad way—probably won’t last much longer."
"Why?" Fang Zhiyi was taken aback by how casually she spoke of death.
Mia rummaged through the trash as she replied, "They’ve been pre-ordered."
"Pre-ordered?"
Mia planted her hands on her hips and looked at him with an instructive tone. "They’re organ donors. The buyer’s already paid."
"What?" Fang Zhiyi’s eyes widened. "What about their parents?"
Mia glanced back at the shack. "Their parents sold them to those people."
"So money really is everything," Mia sighed. "That’s why I’m working hard to earn some." She glanced at Fang Zhiyi. "Don’t worry, I’ll split my share with you too."
Back in the sewer, as Mia tinkered with discarded electronic parts, Fang Zhiyi suddenly spoke up. "Don’t you think this is wrong?"
"What’s wrong?" Mia kept her focus on her work.
Fang Zhiyi frowned slightly, his mind clouded with confusion. Right, this was just how the slums were. Why would it be wrong?
Silence settled in the sewer, broken only by the clinking of metal parts.
A long moment passed.
"Done!" Mia held up a small contraption. "We can sell this tomorrow."
"What is it?" Fang Zhiyi asked.
Mia grinned as she showed off her creation. "A bomb."
Fang Zhiyi’s jaw dropped. Mia knew how to make bombs?
"Not very powerful, though. It’s an order I got through a middleman." Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
Fang Zhiyi studied the oddly shaped bomb in her hand, suddenly seeing her in a new light.
The next day, Mia covered her face and brought Fang Zhiyi along for the exchange. The meeting point was a dilapidated factory, where a group of men with matching tattoos had been waiting.
A backpack full of bombs fetched only a pittance, and though Mia was dissatisfied, there was nothing she could do.
"That’s just how it is. No rules apply here—only money matters," she muttered.
Fang Zhiyi glanced back at the men.
Mia nudged him. "Don’t stare. These guys are dangerous."
"What are they planning to do with the bombs?"
Mia shrugged. "No idea. Maybe mining, maybe robbing a bank, or... settling a grudge? Murder’s just another Tuesday down here."
"You should’ve held an auction," Fang Zhiyi suggested. "Could’ve made more." He’d seen it on TV before.
Mia shot him a look, almost mocking. "An auction? Oh, you must’ve lived uptown. Someone actually tried that once. Guess what happened? They got robbed blind—and lost their life too."
So that’s how it was.
Fang Zhiyi looked up at the smog-choked sky, the weight in his chest growing heavier.
Mia had a battered old TV. Though it had no sound, they could still watch the programs. Since assembling parts didn’t require Fang Zhiyi’s help, he sat cross-legged, staring at the screen.
Back when his foster father was home, he’d have to scramble away from the TV—or risk a beating.
Then, an image flashed onscreen, sending a jolt through him.
"Patient... rescued..." He didn’t recognize many words, but the face that flickered across the screen made his nerves tighten. His foster father—he was still alive!
Mia noticed his tension and leaned in to watch.
"According to reports, one dead at the scene, one critically injured. The suspect remains at large." She read the news effortlessly, then turned to him. "They never catch these guys. Rich uptowners kill without making headlines, and slum criminals just disappear after."
Noticing Fang Zhiyi’s stiff expression, she seemed to realize something. "You know him? Or... was it you?"
Her tone was casual, as if discussing the weather.
Fang Zhiyi didn’t answer. Instead, he made a decision. "I need to go out."
Mia shrugged, silently agreeing.
Under the sterile hospital lights, Fang Zhiyi’s foster father slowly opened his eyes. Instinctively, he touched his neck and exhaled in relief. Every time he closed his eyes, nightmares haunted him—who’d have thought that worthless brat would become his tormentor? Anger simmered in his chest.
But he wasn’t dead. Now, all he had to do was pin the woman’s death on the kid too. A nobody like him would be finished the moment he got caught.
His yellowed teeth bared in a grin. Only the boy’s death could quell his rage.
As he plotted tomorrow’s interrogation, the hospital door creaked open. A figure in a white coat stepped inside.
The foster father glanced up, then froze. Why would a doctor come at this hour? He tried to shout, but a hand clamped over his mouth.
The "doctor" slowly pulled down the mask, revealing the very face that had haunted his dreams.
"Mmph—!" His eyes bulged in terror. How had the kid dared to come here? Were the cops at the door useless?
Fang Zhiyi pressed a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, but the man kept struggling—though his limbs were strapped to the bed. After all, he was still a suspect too.
A scalpel traced a shallow line across his throat. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to make breathing a struggle.
"Don’t worry, you won’t die yet. I’m just here to collect some interest. You know what interest is, right?" Fang Zhiyi whispered. He didn’t understand this change in himself—as if some buried part of him had always wanted this. Facing his foster father again, he felt no fear. And that satisfaction pleased him.
By dawn, the hospital reception received an urgent call: the patient with the slashed throat needed immediate surgery. The doctor who delivered the message hurried off.
Inside the room, the scene was gruesome. The man’s body was a patchwork of cuts, barely an inch of skin untouched.
"Prep for surgery now! His throat’s been slit—we need to save him!"
Fang Zhiyi shed the white coat and glanced back at the hospital. Life or death depended on the doctors’ skill now. Dead would be fine—but alive would be better. Two cops who’d skipped duty the night before brushed past him, one even bumping into him.
"What’re you staring at, kid?"
"Leave him. Let’s get back before the chief docks our pay."
Fang Zhiyi watched them go, then lifted his gaze to the ashen sky. What was it he’d forgotten?
Suddenly, his entire body went rigid.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
