By the riverside.
The wreckage of a crashed helicopter.
Butcher, covered in blood, limped out of the water with great effort, dragging two people in his hands—Red Poison and Viper.
The timed bomb had struck the helicopter, and Red Poison, being the closest, was now barely clinging to life. Without immediate medical attention, he would likely die here today.
"An Yi! Lin Chen!"
Butcher's expression was icy, his fists clenched so tightly that the muscles in his face trembled.
In the Paradise organization, S-rank assassins had their own teams.
He had worked diligently for over a decade to recruit five elite A-rank killers, dominating across nations with no match.
Never had he imagined that today, they would all be wiped out in this insignificant Jiangbei City.
Buzz buzz!
A vibration sounded from his waist.
Butcher pulled out a small, specially designed black phone and tapped it open.
A middle-aged man's voice came through: "Butcher, how did the mission go?"
"Mission failed. Almost died here. Blue Shark, Wolf Eye, and Tiger Cannon were captured. Viper and Red Poison are severely injured."
Butcher spoke calmly, but his eyes gleamed with cold fury.
"How is that possible? Were there others involved?"
The man on the phone sounded utterly disbelieving.
Even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit.
Though Lin Chen was young, he hadn’t underestimated him—even going so far as to pay a fortune to hire an S-rank assassin team from Paradise to ensure success.
Yet, even with such preparation, they had still failed.
"That kid Lin Chen brought backup," Butcher said darkly, sitting on the grassy bank.
"Who?"
The middle-aged man’s voice grew serious.
In Jiangbei City, there were only a handful of notable figures.
But given Butcher’s team’s strength, even if all those so-called experts joined forces, they wouldn’t necessarily stand a chance. Yet Lin Chen had only brought one person.
The man couldn’t help but wonder—which legendary figure had emerged?
Butcher gritted his teeth. "His name is An Yi. A damn weird kid."
Thinking back, that kid had been the biggest wildcard.
Especially in the last minute.
He had single-handedly turned the tide!
Butcher still couldn’t figure out how An Yi had dismantled that timed bomb in mere seconds, given its complex wiring.
"An Yi…"
The man on the phone sounded thoughtful.
Butcher caught the tone. "You know him?"
"I’ve heard of him. A young man with potential, but I always thought he was just a minor player. Never expected he’d be the one to trip you up."
Butcher’s face darkened at that.
Who could’ve predicted that a simple kidnapping would turn into such a disaster?
The original plan had been straightforward: spend a week surveilling Qin Yao’s every move, wait for her to be alone, lure Lin Chen away, and kidnap her.
Then, use Qin Yao to extort Qin Zhengwei for a ransom of one billion.
If the money wasn’t enough, they could’ve tricked Qin Zhengwei into transferring it in installments.
Once the money was secured, they’d kill Qin Yao, board a prearranged helicopter, and vanish.
There might’ve been variables, but with their skills, they could’ve handled anything.
Yet, in the end, they hadn’t gotten the money, hadn’t killed the target, and instead suffered devastating losses.
"Should we continue the mission?" Butcher asked, his voice laced with venom.
"No. We’ve already alerted them. Trying again would be far more complicated—and it might lead back to me."
"The helicopter’s destroyed. Send someone immediately. Viper and Red Poison need urgent medical care."
Butcher glanced at the two barely breathing men and exhaled sharply. "My three subordinates—Blue Shark, Tiger Cannon, and Wolf Eye—are in the hands of the Law Enforcement Bureau. Get them out."
"Impossible. Three A-rank assassins appearing at once? Even the higher-ups in the capital are paying attention. Extracting them would be harder than scaling the heavens."
"I don’t care! You have the connections—I know you do!"
Butcher hung up, his gaze lingering on the factory by the river before he hauled Red Poison and Viper into the forest.
---
"Ow, ow—easy! That hurts like hell!"
An Yi winced as Shen Muxuan carefully applied antiseptic and wrapped bandages around his bare torso.
"What happened last night? You’re so badly hurt," she murmured, her fingers lightly tracing the deep gash on his waist.
Had he not quickly pressed pressure points to stop the bleeding, he might’ve bled out.
"Nothing much. Just saved a billionaire’s daughter from a hit squad, fought an internationally notorious S-rank assassin, then they cheated by strapping a bomb to me. I dismantled it with ten seconds left, threw it back, and blew up their helicopter."
He said it casually, as if recounting a mundane errand.
Most people would’ve scoffed, calling him a liar.
But Shen Muxuan’s face paled, her eyes wide.
"Th-that sounds so dangerous! Why would you do something so reckless without telling anyone?"
She glared at him, her voice trembling with worry.
An Yi shrugged. "Didn’t think it’d be that bad—OW! Why’d you bite me?!"
Shen Muxuan had sunk her teeth into his arm, leaving a neat row of marks. She only let go when his skin turned red, huffing, "That’s to remind you! No more life-threatening stunts!"
"Oh? So you do care about me," An Yi teased, raising a brow.
"I—I just don’t want my rent-splitting roommate to die!" she retorted, hands on her hips.
An Yi chuckled. This girl couldn’t hide her feelings if she tried.
"Hey, An Yi… I have a surprise for you."
She suddenly grinned, looking mischievous.
An Yi eyed her suspiciously. "Please don’t tell me you broke something again."
"Broke something?! Ugh!"
He cleared his throat and began listing her past "surprises": "Last time, you tried cooking and set the range hood on fire. Before that, you poked the TV screen wondering where the people inside were. And let’s not forget the time you dismantled the toilet tank to see where the water came from—"
"Okay, okay! Stop!"
Shen Muxuan pouted, then proudly presented a shoebox.
"New sneakers?" An Yi’s eyes lit up.
"Open it and see if they fit!" She beamed, her smile crescent-shaped.
He eagerly tore it open—then froze.
…They were slippers.
Not the issue.
The issue was the price tag: 250 yuan.
Who spends 250 yuan on slippers?!
"Do you like them?" Shen Muxuan asked nervously, her face hopeful.
An Yi's face lit up with joy. "Of course I like them! I love wearing slippers the most! With these on for the school exam this afternoon, I’m sure to ace it!"
"Hehe, I knew you’d love them."
Shen Muxuan let out a relieved sigh, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes.
Then, a loud growl came from her stomach.
"You haven’t eaten?" An Yi asked with a wry smile.
Working for Aunt Zhou at that small grocery store barely brought in any money, given the low foot traffic. And with Shen Muxuan’s big appetite, most of her earnings went straight to food.
Two hundred and fifty yuan wasn’t much, but saving up that much from her meager wages was brutal—unless she cut back on meals, and not just for a day or two.
"No, no! I’d never starve myself just to save up for shoes," Shen Muxuan insisted, lying through her teeth.
An Yi’s eyes grew slightly red. He ruffled her hair and declared grandly, "Come on, your big bro’s got plenty of cash today. Let’s go for hot pot!"
"Really? What’s hot pot? Is it even better than meat buns?"
"Absolutely!"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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."
