Chapter 45: 45 Chapter 12 Part 1

◎”You Hit Pretty Hard.”◎

On the arena ring, a woman with long hair slowly lowered herself down, leaning against the surrounding cage fence.

She was covered in wounds—bruises, swellings, blood, and deformed bones.

Her arm was likely broken; she could feel it.

Her breathing went from ragged to slow in just a few short minutes.

Blinding darkness filled her vision.

She knew she was about to die. Giving in to despair, she mustered the last of her strength to lift her hand and remove her face mask.

The Syndicate had strict rules: everyone must wear a mask, concealing their face and voice.

Once your identity was exposed, death wasn’t far behind.

She figured since she was dead either way, why die as a member?

At the critical moment, a hand shot out and clamped around her wrist.

Her opponent.

Her opponent, who had only defended, never attacked, was making the first move, reaching out solely to stop her from breaking the rules.

The surrounding light filtered through the cage, falling upon them. She finally saw the eyes in front of her clearly.

Eyes like glass marbles, crystal clear, brimming with unshed tears.

“An agent cannot feel emotion.”

This regulation suddenly flashed through her mind.

By the time she reacted, she had already lunged, pinning the person to the ground. With her one good hand, she grabbed a fistful of hair, forcing her opponent’s face towards the floor.

Don’t cry.

You’ll die.

She screamed inside her heart.

She didn’t know if her opponent could hear it.

All she knew was that she was later flipped over and pinned down. In what she thought was her final moment, she saw that person raise a hand, saying she wanted to forfeit.

Those who forfeited were sent to Solitary Confinement. A place of endless darkness, without light, without warmth, enduring not only cold but also starvation.

Countless members had died in those confinement rooms, even more than those who failed their missions.

She didn’t understand why that person forfeited, but she soon did.

That person was different from everyone else here.

That person was a good person, a despairing good person.

Perhaps from that moment on, her attitude towards Xu Jinyao changed. During the Purge Operation, she even risked altering The List, replacing Xu Jinyao’s name with her own.

And so, amidst that rivers-of-blood operation, ‘Shadow’ was born.

In all these years by Xu Jinyao’s side, there were occasional moments where she felt like she’d gone back to the past. Back to when she disguised herself as a guard to secretly deliver food. Back to the quiet companionship outside that Solitary Confinement cell. Back to when she still had a chance to do things over, to change all of this. But those were just ‘occasional’ moments.

Reality was a place where you had no control.

From the day she willingly chose to become Shadow, she was destined never to stand in the light.

But she was willing.

If the rest of her life could be spent accompanying Xu Jinyao like this, then she was willing.

Even if she couldn’t stand in the light, she would accept it gladly.

So why?

Why couldn’t she have even this one small wish fulfilled?

She didn’t understand why Xu Jinyao was so invested in that detective, why she would defy her superior’s orders to protect that person.

But she quickly found out the reason.

It turned out that person was her former lover.

Yet she still didn’t understand. Why, after twelve whole years, couldn’t Xu Jinyao let go?

Since she couldn’t let go, then as her Shadow, she would just have to help her let go.

She had seen so many people throw their lives away for love. She was truly curious how extraordinary the feelings between these two could be.

She didn’t believe there was any truly unbreakable feeling in this world.

And she wanted Xu Jinyao to understand that too.

Coming out of the internet cafe, the streetlights were already on.

Xia Xun pulled out her phone. Xu Jinyao still hadn’t replied, probably hadn’t seen the video yet.

She hesitated, wondering if she should call, when a strange sensation crept up behind her: it felt like someone was watching her.

This wasn’t the first time she’d felt this way.

Ever since leaving the casino, she’d had the constant feeling that a pair of eyes was lurking in the shadows, observing her every move.

Who that person was, she didn’t know.

All she could deduce from the conversation she’d overheard yesterday was that it might be someone Xu Jinyao had tasked with tailing her.

But what if it wasn’t?

She scanned her surroundings. As usual, she saw no one suspicious. Only passersby continuously moving past her. Not a single one of them even lingered their gaze on her.

Everyone had their own business. No one looked like a tail.

She slipped her phone into her pocket and walked casually down the street, trying to blend into the crowd.

Based on past experience, anyone coming for her who didn’t want trouble would choose a time when she was alone to make their move.

On a bustling main street like this, she could actually relax. No idiot would try anything against her with so many people around.

Now that she knew she was being watched, she couldn’t act recklessly. She had to temporarily put her current task aside and quicken her pace towards even busier streets.

If Xu Jinyao had sent someone to watch her, it was probably just curiosity about what she was up to. Or perhaps Xu Jinyao already knew what she was doing, hence the tail.

But it seemed Xu Jinyao didn’t know that this person watching her wasn’t entirely willing. Otherwise, why would they have stood by and done nothing in yesterday’s situation?

Lost in thought, Xia Xun entered a snack street. It was well past dinner time, but the roadside stalls were still doing a roaring business.

She picked a random curb-side table and sat down, ordering barbecue. While waiting for the food, she surreptitiously observed the people around her.

She stared for a long time but couldn’t make anything out. The barbecue arrived.

Xia Xun wasn’t actually hungry. But sitting alone in a place like this was conspicuous enough. Eating nothing would make her stand out even more.

As she lowered her head, scrolling through her phone and eating, Shadow sat at the very next table.

Only her hat had been swapped for a pink one. She wore a standard medical face mask. Her all-black outfit had been replaced with a long-sleeved pajama set. Anyone would take her for a college student living nearby who’d come out for a late-night snack.

Xia Xun thought the same.

Midway through her barbecue, a man’s voice suddenly rang out above her head. “Yo! My eyes ain’t deceiving me, is it?”

Xia Xun looked up. Standing opposite her table were several men, all fat-headed and big-eared, with bulging bellies. Almost the instant she recognized the speaker, she reacted. She grabbed the tissue box from the table, hurled it at him, then turned and ran.

“Stop right there!” the man who got hit in the eye by the tissue box yelled. “What are you gawking at? Grab her!”

The street was crowded. Xia Xun couldn’t run more than a few steps without bumping into someone. Her dash was more stumble than sprint. She’d even run off without paying, only to weave through the crowd, circle back to scan the QR code, and pay while running.

The barbecue stall owner was no stranger to trouble. He asked amidst the chaos, “Need me to call the cops for you?”

Xia Xun waved her hand. “Nah, thanks.”

She ducked down, evading the man lunging at her from behind.

The man stumbled from his lunge, his hand nearly slamming down on the scorching grill. This only fueled his rage further.

Another man reached to grab her. She twisted away nimbly, retreating agilely to an open space on the street.

In mere seconds, the crowd parted of its own accord. Xia Xun bolted. To keep her cap from being knocked off, she even held it down with one hand.

The men chased her all the way into a deserted alley.

A dead end loomed ahead, a towering wall blocking the way. Before, Xia Xun might have attempted it. But with her current injuries, she didn’t even need to think. She knew she couldn’t climb it. Trying would be a waste of time.

“Run some more, why don’t ya,” the fat man said.

Behind him, the other fat men exchanged glances and joined in with mocking laughter.

Xia Xun put her hands on her hips, sighing. “I’m tired of running. Not running anymore.”

“Heh! Thought you were some hotshot runner. Turns out that’s all you got?”

Xia Xun shrugged. “Yep.”

The fat man slowly approached. “I told you a long time ago, don’t let me see your face again, or I’ll beat you every time I do. You think I was joking?”

Xia Xun backed away. “Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. You lost your job because of me, and ended up broke with your wife and kid leaving you. I’ve been avoiding you, not daring to show my face. Who knew I’d run into you just grabbing a bite? Can’t blame me for that.”

The fat man leered, the flesh on his face scrunching together. “Coincidence, my ass! I’m telling you, you running into me today is just your bad luck. I’m a man of my word. This beating is coming your way, for sure!”

As his words ended, a fat hand reached out. Xia Xun jerked back sharply. Her fist flew out, too fast to see, and connected with the fat man’s face, drawing a howl of pain.

Although the stitches in her palm were removed, moving still pulled painfully at the flesh. Her shoulder wound was even worse. With each punch, the pain shot through her shoulder and flooded her brain. Even a simple quick jab required gritting her teeth.

Seeing this, the other men immediately surrounded her, joining the fray.

Handling one was difficult enough; fighting several at once was worse. Xia Xun quickly lost ground, slammed into a wall, and fell to the ground.

The men beat and kicked her relentlessly, trapping her in the corner and laying into her without any restraint, venting their fury for their own satisfaction.

Caught up in the excitement, the fat man suddenly pulled out a knife. A press of a button, and a gleaming blade snapped out.

“Hey, murder’s going a bit far, no?”

“Didn’t we agree to just teach her a lesson?”

“Put that away! You trying to get us done for murder?”

“You go that route, we’re outta here, man!”

The fat man pushed the others aside, slowly crouching down. He reached out, brushing aside the hair covering Xia Xun’s neck. Raising the knife high, he was about to bring it down.

In that flash of lightning moment, a pebble shot through the air.

Clang!

The knife was knocked away, clattering to the ground.

The fat man whirled around. Standing motionless under a streetlight in the alley was a Figure in Black, having appeared without a sound, like the descent of a death god.

“Crap, someone’s coming.”

“Let’s get out of here…”

“Yeah, yeah, move it! If the cops actually show up, we’re screwed.”

The fat man reached to retrieve his knife. Before his hand could touch it, another pebble shot over, this time striking his hand.

Such accuracy!

Startled, he scrambled to flee with the others.

But the alley had only one exit. To escape, they would have to rush right past the Figure in Black. Seeing the figure hadn’t moved, they steeled their nerves and made a break for it.

Shadow hadn’t intended to intervene.

Not until that man pulled out the knife.

As the men charged past her, she reached out, grabbed the one in front, planted her foot, pivoted, and using the force of her waist and core, slammed him viciously onto the ground.

The others froze in their tracks, stunned.

Shadow spun. A spinning back kick sent another man crashing down. A punch to the jaw knocked a third unconscious. The fourth, knowing he was no match, scrambled backwards. But he saw the Figure in Black draw a tactical baton. The metallic click rang out. In the next instant, before he could even see the strike, his whole body had been rapped, pain searing through him until he collapsed to his knees, begging for mercy.