“I… have been hiding in the spatial rift in that mountain all along.” Lu Lingling hesitated for a long while before speaking cautiously. “The man who summoned Black Ze today goes by the codename Mingxiu in the Nether River. He’s not the leader of the Nether River—just one of the four key members.”
“I wanted to wait for Mingxiu to clash with you. Once he realized he was outmatched, he would call for reinforcements. Intelligence shows that Mingxie has been active in C City lately.”
“The Nether River is deeply entrenched. Uprooting it completely is especially tough. I wanted to use this chance to nab more of their members, so I held out a little longer. But Mingxie never showed, and I started worrying about you… so I stopped waiting.”
“Pairing Xiaoxiao with you on this mission wasn’t mainly about borrowing your strength to smash the Nether River. It was because Xiaoxiao likes you, and I wanted to give her some alone time with you. If the Alliance has to lean on Si Ming for every bump in the road, then it might as well not exist.”
“I told you, I’m not mad, and you don’t owe me an explanation. Even if I was angry, it wouldn’t be at you—it’d be at myself.” Lin Cheng drew a deep breath and looked up at Lu Lingling standing before him.
“But you yelled at me.”
“Because I’m just a kid who can’t control his emotions. Does that work as an excuse?”
Lu Lingling fell silent for a moment. “Your power is steadily recovering, so why the long face?”
“Then guess why I sealed my power back when it was completely drained.”
“I couldn’t say.” Lu Lingling answered frankly.
Lin Cheng paused in silence. “Once power hits a certain threshold, bad things start happening.”
“Bad things?”
“I’m not telling you.” Lin Cheng turned his face away, leaving Lu Lingling at a loss.
“Anyway, in your eyes, I’m always just some immature kid, aren’t I?” A hint of self-mockery colored Lin Cheng’s tone.
“I’ve never treated you like a kid.” Lu Lingling met Lin Cheng’s gaze with utmost seriousness. “You’ve done incredibly well. You wield enough power to level the world, yet you’ve never succumbed to Madness. Hell, you’ve even drawn a circle around yourself and chained yourself inside it. I don’t get why, but everything you’ve done comes damn close to perfection.”
【Madness】 was a commonplace term among Ability Users. When someone gained superhuman strength, when moral lines no longer held them back, when every whim could be indulged without effort—people slowly lost themselves. That was why, even now, independent groups boasted far more Ability Users than the Alliance. Deep down, everyone harbored selfish cravings. The Alliance existed to keep those in check, but countless Ability Users were still sliding toward insanity.
“Whatever. I’m done talking. Don’t bug me while I sleep.” Lin Cheng reached to switch off the room light, but Lu Lingling’s body suddenly toppled toward his bed.
“Get lost…” Lin Cheng’s protest came out feeble.
“You’re still pissed at me.” Lu Lingling sprawled across the bed. She pushed herself up slightly, knees still planted on the mattress, calves peeking from beneath her skirt hem and lifting just a touch. Her slender waist dipped low as she twisted to face Lin Cheng. “Because I lied to you.”
“So you got there or you didn’t—why bother lying?”
“Mm… maybe because I wanted to give you a reason to punish me?” Lu Lingling’s voice dripped with excessive laziness.
“Are you that shameless?!” Lin Cheng bolted upright, scooting farther from the woman. He flicked on every light in the room and stared at the sight before him: Lu Lingling on all fours on his bed, her round, plump rear raised high and veiled by the black fabric of her evening gown.
Black high heels still clung to her feet, sequins glittering. Her knees pressed together, calves parted just so, elbows braced on the sheets. Her slim waist and full hips curved into an exaggerated arch.
So tempting. No—infuriating!
“Do you actually think of Lu Xiaoxiao as your daughter?” Lin Cheng couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Then what’s this?”
“Waiting for my punishment.”
Maybe the pose finally hit her with a wave of embarrassment—pink tinged her cheeks. The more Lin Cheng stewed, the madder he got, until the urge to spank her burned too hot to ignore. But realizing this was exactly what she craved made him even angrier. Spank her, she’d love it; she’d love it, he’d hate it. The tangle knotted tighter until his palm cracked down hard.
Lu Lingling didn’t cry out. She just let slip a soft, muffled hum—like a kitten’s breathy sigh. Pain jerked her calves up instinctively anyway.
“That hurts…”
Her words barely landed before Lin Cheng’s hand slammed down again. Lu Lingling’s body slackened, collapsing fully onto the bed. No more kneeling pose. She glanced back at him with resentful eyes, while Lin Cheng fixed her with a stare, mockery and disdain flickering in his gaze.
Slowly, Lu Lingling pushed herself back up into position. Her expression shifted to imperious command now, eyes lazy yet taunting. “Keep going.”
Lin Cheng shoved her skirt up to her waist.
Purple lace. Sheer panels. A little bow.
Red welts bloomed on her pale skin. Lin Cheng’s anger swelled; anger fueled the itch to strike; striking fed the rage. A vicious cycle.
One. Two. Three. Ten. Twenty…
Until Lu Lingling lacked the strength to hold the pose any longer. She splayed flat on the bed, lips caught lightly between her teeth, eyes glazing with misty tears. She raised her head to Lin Cheng’s face, voice softening to tenderness. “Feeling any better?”
“Do all women of a certain age turn into this?”
Lin Cheng eyed the shadows playing over her clothes.
“Maybe I just like it this way? Or maybe it’s because it’s you…? Doesn’t matter. Better now?”
“It’s okay.”
“Raw urges to attack and reproduce form the heart of all desire. Venting them feels good, but afterward? Just hollow. And that’s what makes us human.”
“Oh, spot on.” Lin Cheng whipped out his phone and snapped a photo.
“You… what the hell?”
“Blackmail material. You wouldn’t want Xiaoxiao seeing this, would you?”
“The one who’d hate that isn’t me—it’s you.” Lu Lingling’s smile turned teasing. “Go ahead, send it now. I don’t care.”
“Oh, sent.”
He watched her reaction on the sly, but Lu Lingling stayed cool as ice. Lin Cheng hadn’t actually hit send, of course. He still had some pride.
The proud could never outplay the brazen.
Lu Lingling knew he lacked the nerve, so she just eyed him with amusement, giving her pale rear a playful wiggle. “That’s it for tonight?”
Lin Cheng sucked in a breath. “You think I won’t?”
“I still remember you begging for mercy three years back.” Lu Lingling’s laughter bubbled brighter.
Another sharp slap. Her eyes flew wide; the fabric slid to her thighs.
Lu Lingling locked eyes with Lin Cheng, unblinking. Then she burst out laughing. “Thought you could bury those urges completely. What a letdown.”
“You really think cheap taunts like that will reel me in?”
“Results matter. Not… the path there.”
Lu Lingling’s eyes bulged wide. Tears flooded her sockets in an instant. She glared daggers at Lin Cheng, teeth grinding. “You bastard… not there… you did that on purpose!”
Lin Cheng first met Lu Lingling five years ago.
She was already the Alliance’s Vice Leader by then, while he was just another grunt in an A-rank squad. His stellar showings amid repeated Abyss Descents pushed his rank higher, drawing her notice. He didn’t hang around the Alliance full-time—only dropping in for Training Field sessions or meetings now and then.
He’d joined at fifteen, faking eighteen on the forms. The Alliance had its own dedicated grounds. Lu Lingling started giving him special attention right away: homemade cakes, milk teas. Private chats where she’d probe if he fancied any girls in the Alliance, then slot them onto his squad for “opportunities.” New standard-issue gear? She’d greenlight his priority access.
Lin Cheng came off like a total nepotism kid back then, but he never dropped the ball for her. In a year and a half flat, he’d climbed to SS-rank—from greenhorn to captain of his own SS-grade squad. Lu Lingling kept spoiling him, zeroing in on his mental state, pulling him into office talks after sessions.
To him, she was the gentle Aunt Lu. That’s what he called her: Aunt Lu. Three years later, right before the final showdown with the Abyss, his Power of Destiny crested its peak, on the verge of transformation. For those few days, he’d lose all strength—ordinary as any mortal, short of keeling over dead. He shared the secret only with Lu Lingling. For his safety, she brought him home. That’s when Lin Cheng finally let his guard down completely, mask off in her presence.
They shared a bit of red wine in her room. Lu Lingling drew him gently into her arms, murmuring that he could call her “Mommy” from now on… Lin Cheng was damn glad he hadn’t—because that sip left him woozy. He woke bound, with Aunt Lu in a black suspender nightgown, gazing tenderly into his eyes.
“Aunt Lu…”
“No worries. I won’t hurt you.”
“Then what’re you planning?”
“I want… a child.”
“No… my ability means I can’t have kids… no… if I don’t want it, it’s impossible…”
“Abilities run on mental focus too. Everyone slips, gets tired. So… we’ll try a few times. Bound to work eventually, right?”
From that night, the gentle Aunt Lu was dead to Lin Cheng. Three days on, his power surged back. He spared one complicated glance for the drained Lu Lingling sprawled beside him, tucked a blanket over her, and headed solo to the Abyss Rift.
Once he’d sealed the rift, Lin Cheng came back to file his retirement papers.
