On Fourth Avenue, the people who had been fleeing in all directions simultaneously stopped in their tracks. The desperate cries and piercing screams gradually faded away as everyone lowered their heads and looked at their chests under the dim yellow light.
A cluster of eerie green fluorescence lit up on their chests, bringing a serene and protective force to their minds.
But the infected did not stop moving. One of them lunged toward a nearby person!
The person fell to the ground in fright, nearly screaming, but the next moment, they realized that what had pounced into their arms was just an ordinary wounded individual, weakly collapsing into their embrace with dazed eyes. The sticky black worm inside them disintegrated into ashes the instant it entered the green light.
The crowd’s fear and worry turned into relief and gratitude for surviving the ordeal. They clasped their hands tightly over their chests, tears streaming down their faces, as they called out “Lord Yongmie” again and again.
–
In the alley, Ashley gasped for breath, barely able to stand. Her little head buzzed loudly. Just moments ago, right before her eyes, Moracha had been crushed to death like a bug!
And it was complete annihilation—cleaner than burning garbage, without even a speck of residue left behind!
She desperately wanted to scream and shout, but her survival instinct gripped her brain like an icy hand, forcing her to stay calm!
Am… am I going to die?
The Blue-Haired Loli’s eyes widened, her hand clamped over her mouth, trembling breaths leaking through her fingers.
“Twilight Eternal Extinction” was the name of this ability, and it was also the famous title of the renowned Fountain City Lord.
The “City Lord” was the pinnacle of Union City’s municipal system among its three ruling pillars. Even “Mayor” wasn’t enough to describe the weight of this position—more akin to First Citizen, Consul, Tyrant, or General.
Ashley stared tensely at the fireflies dancing nearby. She had analyzed the ability with “Time Bird” and knew what it meant.
Wherever the twilight light enveloped was the River of the Underworld, barren of even a feather. Once stepped into, flesh and bone would dissolve. Only within the range of the green fireflies could one find protection, like a ferryman’s boat.
Suddenly, she noticed the surrounding fireflies drifting away leisurely!
“Don’t go!”
The Blue-Haired Loli pleaded, but as she approached, the glows scattered like they were avoiding a plague god, all flying up into the air. There was no boat for her in the River of the Underworld!
“Huh? Don’t abandon me!”
The loli jumped in place, reaching desperately to catch one, but the light orb mercilessly passed through her palm without mercy.
“I’m a good person! Waaah… I have nothing to do with that guy!”
Ashley cried out in grievance, but deep down, she wasn’t panicking at all. If the City Lord wanted to kill her, she would have done it already—she wouldn’t wait until now. Worst case, she could copy the City Lord’s ability and create her own fireflies for protection.
Suddenly, she spotted one firefly moving very slowly. She immediately understood and chased after it through the streets and alleys, arriving at a secluded courtyard.
A gnarled maple tree blocked the mottled, desolate long wall, its layers of red leaves like a painting scroll half-covering the sky.
At the base of the tree roots, a mound of earth was covered in a thick, dense layer of dark green moss.
A slender, fragile girl leaned obliquely against the tree roots, sitting amid the fallen leaves.
She looked gaunt and sickly, her wrists so thin that even a noblewoman’s bangle would slip off. Her fingertips were delicate like icicles under sunlight, as if they might melt and vanish at any moment.
A thin silk gown clung to her body, outlining the graceful curves of her waist and hips, her legs extremely long.
Her hair was like maple leaves, strands fading from orange-yellow to deep red.
Looking down, her forehead was like a full moon, her teeth pearly white, her eyebrows faint like smoke. Long, curled lashes rested like withered leaf butterflies on her half-open, half-closed eyes, as if she might fall asleep at any second. Heavy dark circles like smoky makeup made her small face look especially pitiable, her thin lips painted an eerie purple.
Ashley didn’t dare breathe. This woman had a delicately alluring, sickly face, but she was a hundred times more terrifying than any monster!
Although she didn’t know who would win in a close-quarters brawl between the Teacher and the City Lord, the range of her domain was ridiculously overpowered.
The firefly guided—or rather, coerced—her right up to the girl.
Ashley racked her brains like she was in a job interview, desperately trying to make a good first impression. She smiled shyly and introduced herself in a sweet, soft voice, nearly breaking into a talent show on the spot.
But the girl wasn’t looking at her. She focused intently on inspecting her nails, though she didn’t have long ones—just rounded edges, with unhealthy crescent moons on her nail polish.
“City Lord?”
After her performance, Ashley’s forehead beaded with sweat. She leaned forward and asked.
“How should I judge you? As the disciple of the Trial Judge, yet you’ve killed so many people. If word gets out, it’ll cause a huge uproar… Commit seppuku.” The girl flicked her nail and said faintly.
“Huh?!” Ashley was extremely aggrieved and hurriedly explained, “It wasn’t me!”
“If you’re the final beneficiary of a misdeed, then you did it.”
“I swear I didn’t absorb that spirituality. For some reason, it was all stolen by the bad rat in the end. If you want to punish someone, punish it…”
Ashley wanted to pull out Rat Rat to take the blame, but the girl interrupted her with a raised finger.
“So, in your logic, indirect benefit doesn’t count as benefiting?”
Ashley was speechless for a moment.
“You only have two choices: death, or a stay of execution.”
The girl picked up a maple leaf and examined its natural patterns closely.
“Can’t I live?” Ashley’s little face scrunched up bitterly.
After a long silence with no response, she swallowed and asked again:
“The stay of execution… how long?”
“One night.”
This time, the girl answered and turned her face. Her small hand balled into a fist against her chin as she appraised Ashley’s little face with unabashed, appraising eyes.
“One night?”
“Accompany me for one night of sleep, then I’ll strangle you.” The girl’s slender fingers clenched, her lips tightening slightly, making her look even more bewitching and alluring.
“Huh—?!” Ashley was utterly dumbfounded.
“This isn’t a joke. As an exception, I’ll explain: The Singularity’s rule for abilities is ‘oaths and sacrifices.’ To gain ‘Twilight Eternal Extinction,’ I paid the price of sleeplessness. It’s a curse called ‘One Thousand and One Nights.’ Every time I want to fall asleep, I must strangle a girl I like to death.”
“Th-then… how many have you strangled?” Ashley asked tremulously.
“Do I look like I’ve slept?” The girl covered her lips with her small hand, yawning nonstop, her body shivering. “I’m so sleepy, I really want to sleep. Let me strangle you. Don’t worry—before you die, I’ll play with you from head to toe, no waste. Then I’ll embrace your corpse skin-to-skin until dawn… It’s getting late. Right here, live out your last night.”
“Huh?!”
Ashley couldn’t describe her shock, but the firefly was inching closer to the girl. She shuffled forward reluctantly, keeping herself within the green glow.
Finally, the firefly merged into the girl’s chest, and the light circle slowly contracted, its radius shrinking from two meters to one.
Ashley was forced to curl up, knee-walking on the soft moss. The boundary of the light pressed against her until she fell into the girl’s embrace, shuddering as an unwilling hum escaped her lips and nose.
“You’re so cute. No wonder Letisia took you as a disciple. I really admire her patience for not eating you. Maybe her own flaws make her unsure what role to play.” The girl’s slender fingers pinched her chin, whispering in her ear.
Ashley kept her little head lowered, appearing compliant, but her eyes darted secretly as she pondered countermeasures.
A cool, ethereal body fragrance wafted past her nose, mixed with a faint tobacco scent—very pleasant.
“Heehee, before you strangle me, let me buy you a pack of smokes.” Ashley said fawningly.
“Go.”
Just as she expected—late-night nicotine cravings trumped everything; smokes first.
One firefly led Ashley to a street-side shop and even pointed out the brand.
She returned with the cigarettes and matches. The girl took them, her slender fingers deftly unpacking, drawing out a slim, pristine ladies’ cigarette and holding it elegantly between her fingers.
The girl’s legs pressed together evenly, her body straightened, accentuating her slender waist. Her thin, slightly chapped lips from exhaustion quirked up, and together with her moist, glistening tongue tip, they exhaled a faint smoke ring that swam through the air like a little fish before gradually dissipating.
