Every ability user organization had its own specialized cleaning crew.
When Litchi arrived, Lin Cheng was sitting on the steps by the lake, enjoying the evening breeze. Behind him lay seven corpses, their bloodstains already starting to dry. Litchi carefully stepped past the bodies and sat down beside Lin Cheng.
She had not come alone. Trailing behind her were the cleaners, who had already begun methodically clearing the scene.
She was still wearing her cute white nightgown, clearly roused straight from bed. Lin Cheng turned to her. “You could’ve just called the cleaners. Why’d you come all the way out here?”
“I was already wide awake with insomnia, so I figured I’d drop by and check on you.” Litchi pulled a litchi-flavored lollipop from her storage ring, tore off the wrapper, and held it up to Lin Cheng’s mouth. He opened wide and leaned in, but she yanked it away at the last second. He chased after it, nipping playfully until he finally snatched the candy between his teeth.
The corners of Litchi’s lips curved into a smile.
“How’d this happen?” she asked offhandedly.
“I ran into a bloodsucking bug today by chance. It marked me as prey, and these ones followed the scent.” Lin Cheng explained calmly, then let out a helpless sigh. “I used up all my bullets.”
Litchi produced an exquisite box containing twenty explosive bullets.
Explosive bullets had originally been developed by the Alliance as standard-issue gear and had since circulated on the black market at a price of 100,000 each.
Of course, Litchi had anticipated this. After all, she’d handpicked that handgun for Lin Cheng as a defensive weapon. He took the box from her, reloaded his handgun one bullet at a time, and stowed the rest—box and all—into the storage space hidden in his ear clip.
“Nice marksmanship,” Litchi said, reaching out to ruffle his hair.
Lin Cheng’s smile grew even more wry. “Muscle memory.”
A faint metallic tang of blood hung in the air, undispersed even by the strong evening wind. Across the lake loomed a bank of deep mist. Lin Cheng looked up past it toward the moon. “How’d seven nearly evolved bloodsucking bugs end up in the city?”
The answer was simple enough. Litchi picked up his thread. “A high-tier mother insect, obviously.”
“The Alliance hasn’t caught it yet?”
“It’s peacetime. The two factions are busy with internal squabbles, plus they’ve got all the rogue espers to manage. The bloodsucking mother bugs’ nests are tough to track down anyway. I’ll report this sighting of seven mid-tier bloodsucking bugs to the Alliance. They’ll handle the rest.”
As if foreseeing something, Litchi extended a fingertip and tapped Lin Cheng lightly on the forehead. “What comes next isn’t your concern.”
Lin Cheng looked at her with a wry chuckle. “I know. I was just… asking.”
“I hope that’s all it is.” Litchi sighed helplessly, then suddenly cupped his face in both hands. Her voice softened. “You’re retired now. Embrace your ordinary life like a good boy, got it?”
“Of course.”
Their cheeks drew a little closer. Lin Cheng gazed at her eyelashes, moonlight casting shadows across them and her face. He realized that if he just leaned forward a touch more, he could kiss her soft pink lips.
What would they taste like?
Too bad his mouth was full of that lollipop.
He’d only just popped it in—no way was he biting down and shattering it yet.
“Alright, time to get you home.” Litchi stood up. The cleaners behind her were wrapping up their work. Lin Cheng followed her to the roadside and slid into the passenger seat of the silver supercar.
“This car’s so cool,” Lin Cheng couldn’t help remarking.
“It was meant for you anyway. Once you get your license, it’s yours to drive.” Litchi buckled her seatbelt as she replied casually.
“Nah, forget it. Getting a driver’s license is a nightmare.”
“Won’t it make picking up girls way easier, cruising around in a supercar?” Litchi switched into full sarcasm mode.
“Hell no. I don’t want stinking money ruining my top-tier game.”
Litchi floored the accelerator. Lin Cheng soon struggled to catch his breath and shouted, “Can you slow down? Have some mercy on this old man!”
“You’re barely a year and a half older than me.” Litchi had a lollipop of her own dangling from her mouth now, her words muffled. Lin Cheng’s face paled, but a strange spark of excitement lit her eyes. Ten minutes later, she dropped him off downstairs. He climbed out, giving her a light wave.
“Good night,” Litchi muttered.
“Good night.”
Lin Cheng watched until she vanished from sight.
Back home.
The room was empty—no sudden drop-in beauty waiting for him. Black Cat lounged lazily on the sofa. The TV droned on with some ancient costume romance drama. Rumor had it a new movie about adjudicators was coming out soon, starring that girl Lin Cheng had seen in an interview clip. He was actually looking forward to it.
Lin Cheng settled on the sofa beside Black Cat, watched TV for a bit, then switched it off. He headed to his room, turned out the light, and went to sleep.
The next morning, bright and early.
Lin Cheng woke earlier than usual. After washing up, he headed downstairs and grabbed a deluxe pancake wrap from the stall at the neighborhood entrance. Munching on it, he made his way to the garage, where his motorcycle waited.
He’d scored the bike secondhand. The motorcycle license had been a breeze compared to a car one. The weather was nice today—mildly humid yet refreshingly cool, not stuffy at all. Lin Cheng rode out of the neighborhood.
No particular destination in mind.
The motorcycle was his pride and joy. He often took it out for aimless joyrides. Sometimes he’d spot a pretty girl waiting at a bus stop and offer her a lift. Straight-up asking if she wanted a ride usually got shot down, but if he played it like, “Hey, where you headed? Fifteen bucks, hop on?”—the odds shot way up. Crank the speed, and she’d cling to his waist in a panic, pleading, “Slow down, mister!”
Lately, he’d been buried in mobile game events and grinding new bestiaries. It’d been ages since he’d gotten out for a breather. As a lifelong A City native, he knew the place like the back of his hand. Along the way, he sliced a small cut into his wrist. Blood oozed out unusually slowly, its faint scent blending into the wind.
He loved early spring. Peach blossoms bloomed riotously along the route as he wound through the city on his bike. Every so often, he’d pull over and reopen the healing wound. This time, he nicked too deep; blood trickled down his arm.
Lin Cheng figured he should rig up some speakers on the bike. Blasting tunes while riding would be epic. Motorcycles weren’t restricted in the city, so he cruised on and off for nearly four hours, bleeding out close to two hundred CCs. Still, no luck.
At noon, he stopped at a roadside joint for a bowl of braised chicken rice, then kept wandering. In the afternoon, he topped off the tank at a gas station. Full up, he looped from West City to South City until the sun dimmed completely, edging toward dusk. Lin Cheng gunned it toward the suburbs.
He headed to Carrot Mountain. The Coiling Mountain Highway was deserted—no cars or pedestrians. He picked up speed and crested the peak, finally parking the bike. He chugged an ice-cold cola from the cooler, then sat on a bluestone step to watch the sunset.
The sunset’s gentle rays were safe to stare into. A foxtail grass dangled from his mouth. The evening clouds glowed like embers lit by the dying sun. He sat there for ages, until darkness fell. He spat out the grass and murmured softly, “The sunset is infinitely beautiful.”
“Merely near dusk.”
A young man’s voice sounded from behind him. Lin Cheng turned. The young man behind him gazed at him calmly.
“You know that poem?” Lin Cheng remarked, surprised.
“I possess the memories of over sixty humans,” the young man replied evenly.
Its face was utterly ordinary, its voice far from robotic—like it was no different from any human. Lin Cheng frowned in confusion. “If you knew I was luring you into a trap, why come?”
“Your blood exerts a near-fatal pull on my instincts. Even without you deliberately releasing its scent, the mark my child left on you last night gave me no choice but to track you down. It’s instinct. Irresistible.”
“Fuck.”
Lin Cheng spat the curse, leisurely peeling open a bandage to cover the cut on his wrist. “Wasted all that blood.”
He reached up, touching the ear clip. Gripping the handgun, he leveled the barrel at the young man—or more precisely, the Bloodsucking Bug Queen.
“You know it’ll kill you, and you’re still coming?” Lin Cheng stared, baffled.
“I sense no energy from you whatsoever. Only age. Your power is spent, yet your blood remains exquisite. I have no reason to refuse. But I didn’t come to devour you.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Cooperation.” The Bloodsucking Bug Queen’s eyes had turned a deep crimson.
“Cooperation?”
“Humans are a frail race, unable to sustain our parasitism for long. I must constantly switch hosts. But you’re different. Even without your energy origin, your body remains supreme. Partner with me: offer blood sacrifices, and I’ll grant you power.”
Lin Cheng scoffed derisively. “You think I’d agree?”
“Your kind divides power into six tiers, from D-Grade to SS-Grade. Cooperate, provide enough blood sacrifices, and I can elevate you to SS-Grade. For one who once wielded power and authority, you have no reason to refuse.”
“I thought you actually understood humans.” Lin Cheng pulled the trigger.
The explosive bullet rocketed out in an instant, but the Bloodsucking Bug Queen merely swayed aside. The shot buried itself in a tree behind it, which exploded in a shower of splinters and slowly toppled. Birds scattered from its branches.
“I don’t understand. What’s your reason for refusing…?”
“Because I’m human. That’s all there is to it!”
Lin Cheng pulled the trigger again.
