Yin Yang rode the shared electric scooter steadily, weaving through various turns until he arrived in front of Uncle Hua's apartment.
“Is it here?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Zhou Kexin took off her helmet. Her cheeks were flushed, easily evoking a protective instinct in others.
Yin Yang smiled and waved his hand.
“No problem. I’ll head back now.”
As he spoke, Yin Yang began to turn the scooter around. Seeing this, Zhou Kexin hurriedly spoke up.
“Would you like to come up for a bit?”
“Ah? I’d better not. I have to get back to work.”
“A few more minutes won't hurt. My cat knows how to do backflips.”
“Oh? Well, I certainly have to see that.”
Yin Yang took off his helmet. The sunlight from above the rooftop spilled down, draping him in a veil of gold.
Zhou Kexin’s heart hammered against her ribs. She wanted to devour this delicious little snack more than ever.
The two went upstairs.
Uncle Hua’s place was also in the West District. The building was old and the soundproofing was poor.
They could hear a neighbor having an argument as they climbed the stairs.
“Come in. This is my place.”
Zhou Kexin pulled the door open. Yin Yang, ‘not thinking much of it,’ walked straight inside.
Click.
Zhou Kexin double-locked the door, the smile on her face growing wider and wider.
“Wait, where’s the cat?”
After glancing around, Yin Yang turned back to look at Zhou Kexin.
“Meow~”
Zhou Kexin let out a matching meow. Then, before Yin Yang could react, she lunged at him and pinned him down onto the sofa.
“Do you want to see me do a backflip?”
Yin Yang looked ‘completely shocked,’ as if he had never imagined she was this kind of person.
Seeing his reaction, Zhou Kexin’s smile became even more delighted. she reached out and slid her hand toward Yin Yang’s abdomen.
“Why that look? Don't tell me you don't want something to happen between us...”
The smile on her face suddenly turned strange. She realized Yin Yang’s abdominal muscles felt different from what she had expected.
He definitely had abs, but why did they feel so lumpy and uneven?
It felt... like a centipede!
She abruptly tore open Yin Yang’s shirt, and what met her eyes was a gruesome mess of surgical stitches!
It looked as though someone had torn a ragdoll to shreds and then sewn it back together.
“The one who was peeping at me before... it was you, wasn't it?”
Zhou Kexin immediately put distance between herself and Yin Yang.
She didn't believe for a second that someone with those kinds of scars could be an ordinary person.
Yin Yang looked utterly bewildered, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
“Stop pretending.”
Schwing.
As if by magic, a sushi knife appeared in Zhou Kexin’s hand out of thin air.
“When I walked out of the bookstore that day, I clearly felt a trace of coldness, though I thought it was just the wind at the time.”
“Then last night at home, I felt that cold wind again, along with the feeling of being watched.”
“That made me realize something was wrong. When I connected it to how I felt at the bookstore, the problem could only lie with you.”
“You’re a transcendent too!”
She spoke with absolute certainty, as if everything was already clear to her.
Yin Yang kept backing away, his expression filled with terror.
“W-what are you trying to do?”
“Did I offend you somehow?”
“I can apologize!”
Yin Yang spoke while retreating, looking every bit the easy target.
Zhou Kexin narrowed her eyes. She had to admit, Yin Yang’s performance was incredibly convincing.
‘Could it be that he isn't the transcendent who was peeping? Is it the girl who makes the coffee?’
‘Maybe they’re actually a couple, and my appearance provoked her, so she’s been stalking me?’
‘Damn it, does that mean I’ve exposed myself too early? Still, I’ve already killed six people during my time in Wang City. It’s about time I moved on anyway.’
Zhou Kexin approached again, spinning the sushi knife in her hand.
“Don’t be afraid. As long as you’re obedient, not only will you not be hurt, you’ll even get some benefits~”
She licked her lips, the contrast with her previous persona being extremely jarring.
“H-how can I help you?”
“There are plenty of ways you can help me.”
Zhou Kexin continued to advance. Yin Yang was backed into a corner with nowhere left to retreat.
She reached out to touch Yin Yang’s face.
“For example, by doing the things we love to do with me...”
“Sigh.”
The Yin Yang who had been cornered suddenly let out a sigh. That ordinary-sounding sigh made every hair on Zhou Kexin’s body stand on end.
‘This kid really is strange!’
However, just as she tried to pull back, she felt that icy chill again.
Without giving her a chance to resist, a massive force ‘grabbed’ her head from behind and slammed it violently into the adjacent wall!
Boom!
With just that one blow, Zhou Kexin’s face was ruined.
This was only because the wall was old and crumbling; if it had been a reinforced concrete wall, that impact might have killed her.
“You!”
Before she could finish, she felt a searing pain in her shoulder. An invisible sword pierced straight through her shoulder, hoisting her up by force.
“Ah!”
Zhou Kexin cried out in pain. With her shoulder joint compromised, the sushi knife slipped from her hand.
Yin Yang stood up and caught the knife. He smoothly slid it into the gap between her ribs, stopping less than a centimeter from her heart.
“You’ve killed so many people. You should know what will happen to you if I give this a little push, right?”
At that moment, Zhou Kexin seemed to switch personalities again. She looked at Yin Yang with a face full of innocent terror.
“W-what are you saying? What are you doing to me? Help! Help!”
She screamed for help at the top of her lungs, as if she were the victim.
“Hahahaha!”
Yin Yang’s laugh was full of mockery.
“Enough, stop screaming. You’re not the only one who knows how to set up a barrier.”
Hearing this, Zhou Kexin finally fell silent, her eyes glaring at Yin Yang with pure venom.
Putch!
Her other shoulder was also pierced. Agonizing pain surged through her nerves.
At that exact moment, she suddenly flashed a bright smile at Yin Yang.
Yin Yang paused. Zhou Kexin lashed out with a kick, trying to force him back.
But Yin Yang used his left hand to parry and press her leg down, pinning her. Then, he pushed the sushi knife in his right hand a bit deeper.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
Zhou Kexin’s heart was racing, her face deathly pale.
“Who the hell are you? How are you unaffected by my charm?”
Yin Yang pushed the knife forward another fraction.
“I ask, you answer.”
Zhou Kexin shut her mouth immediately. Even as a transcendent, she would die if her heart was pierced; she would simply last a dozen or so seconds longer than an ordinary person.
At some point, a ring had appeared on Yin Yang’s finger. He asked in a calm voice,
“What is your pathway, and what is your Sequence?”
Zhou Kexin’s face was ashen.
“Enchantress pathway, Sequence 8.”
“Courtesan.”
Yin Yang raised an eyebrow. He had heard of this pathway, but this was the first time he had encountered it.
However, he hadn't heard that the Enchantress pathway required killing people—especially serial killings.
He recalled that the promotion rule for the Enchantress pathway involved destroying families. Why was she performing physical destruction instead?
But since he was using the Liar-Eater Ring, he could be certain she wasn't lying.
“Why did you kill them?”
“To accumulate spirituality and advance to Sequence 7.”
That was also the truth.
“In that case, do you want to play big?”
Rate on N.U.
