Chapter 5

"Oh my, what am I supposed to do without any money?"

Lingmeng rubbed her chin and thought it over.

She was a Spirit now, after all. Without an ID or household registration, there was no way she could get a job.

Begging on the street would be too humiliating. How could a Spirit like her do something so beneath her dignity?

"Argh, why is my life so hard? Why does a Spirit have to worry about money? I can't earn it the proper way, and it's not like I can sell my body!"

Lingmeng scratched her head, her face full of worry, and recalled a saying from her previous life—

"Money can't buy everything, but you can't do anything without it!"

She didn't know who had said it, but right now it made perfect sense to her.

"Damn it, I'm done worrying! Worst comes to worst, I'll use my powers to make a pile of counterfeit bills and fool people. Or I'll just take money by force. I'm a Spirit now. It's not like the police can do anything to me!"

With a fierce look on her face, Lingmeng gave up thinking.

Of course, she hadn't meant any of that. She had spent over twenty years of her previous life under the five-star red flag. She would never do anything so outrageous.

"Sigh. Looks like I'll have to give up on buying things. I'm lucky enough just to walk around the streets for a while."

Lingmeng let out a defeated sigh and accepted her fate.

"Wait! There might still be a way to make money!"

An idea seemed to strike her. The corners of her mouth rose, and her eyes gleamed.

Shido Was a Real Man!

"Damn it! I've searched more than a dozen alleys. How have I not run into a single thug?"

Lingmeng stood at the entrance to an alley, still grumbling.

Why had she come looking for thugs in a place like this? In the anime and novels she'd seen in her previous life, whenever the protagonist needed money, all they had to do was enter a dark alley. A bunch of thugs would show up and start trouble. Once the protagonist dealt with them, they could take the cash off them with a clear conscience.

Lingmeng had wanted to try making a little extra money that way. But after searching more than a dozen streets, she hadn't seen a thug—or even a dog. It was disheartening.

"Boohoo... Anime really is full of lies. Am I, Qian Lingmeng, that unappealing?"

Despite what she said, Lingmeng decided to try her luck in one more alley. If she still found nothing, she really would give up.

Just then, she spotted an alley beside a shop across the street that she hadn't checked yet. As though she'd found a lifeline, she hurried over.

"Buddha, please! Have pity on me and let me run into a thug!"

Lingmeng walked into the alley, making her wish as she went.

She reached the end, only to find that this alley was deserted too.

"..."

"I'm losing my mind! How can my luck be this bad? The protagonists in those novels run into thugs so easily. We're all protagonists, so why is it so different for me?"

Lingmeng cried out to the sky in despair. She was nearly at her breaking point.

"Hey, pretty girl. What are you doing here all alone?"

A sleazy voice suddenly cut off her complaints.

Lingmeng came back to her senses and noticed three men behind her, eyeing her lewdly.

Their faces, clothes, and whole manner were just like those of the expendable thugs in anime.

Have some thugs finally set their sights on me? Ohoho, I've been waiting forever! You're finally here!

Lingmeng's face lit up at the sight of them.

"Hey, let me ask you something. You want to get your hands on me, right?"

"Whoa, you're pretty blunt, little lady!" One of the thugs pointed at himself and said confidently, "Damn right I do. You'd better cooperate, or we won't be nice about it!"

"That's such a standard villain line." Lingmeng sighed and waved a hand dismissively. "Come on, then, if you think you can."

That clearly got under the thugs' skin. The three of them were grown men, yet a woman was looking down on them. They couldn't let that slide.

"You said it. Don't blame us if we aren't gentle!"

The three thugs stepped forward, intent on assaulting her.

Lingmeng couldn't have been less impressed. If a few ordinary people could overpower a Spirit like her, she might as well knock herself dead with a block of tofu.

But just as their hands were about to touch her and she was about to strike, a voice rang out—

"Stop it, you three! Aren't you ashamed of yourselves, three men picking on one girl?"

The sudden interruption left Lingmeng dumbfounded. What was with that protagonist-worthy line?

She turned toward the voice and saw a slim boy of about sixteen. He stood roughly 170 centimeters tall, with androgynous features, short blue hair, brown eyes, and casual clothes.

Shido Itsuka.

That was the boy's name.

Shido had been on his way back from buying Chupa Chups lollipops at the request of his adorable younger sister, Kotori Itsuka. He hadn't expected to come across thugs harassing a beautiful girl. Being the kindhearted person he was, he couldn't ignore it.

"What do you think you're doing, kid? Trying to play the hero? Look at you. What could you possibly do? I'm in a good mood right now, so get lost!"

The thug had no patience for Shido, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Um... I'm touched that you came to help me, but you should go," Lingmeng said awkwardly. "There's not much you can do alone. I can handle these guys."

Shido refused to leave, despite what both Lingmeng and the thugs had said. He straightened up and spoke firmly.

"Even if I can't beat you, I'm not leaving her here! If I walk away now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life!"

Wow, that was pretty cool. Put this guy in an anime and he'd be the lead in a harem series! (?o?)

Lingmeng stared at Shido, impressed by his words.

"You know what? I hate guys like you who are all talk!"

One of the thugs marched up to Shido and punched him hard in the face.

The unexpected blow knocked Shido to the ground, leaving a bruise on his face.

Come on, man. What you said was cool, but how is your performance the exact opposite?

Lingmeng looked at Shido on the ground, at a loss for words.

To her surprise, Shido got back up. He swayed on his feet as he spoke.

"Until... you let her go, I'm... not staying down!"

Wow. He might be weak, but he's got guts!

Shido rose several notches in Lingmeng's estimation.

"You can still stand? Let's see if you're so lively after another punch!"

The thug swung his fist at Shido again.

Shido instinctively closed his eyes as the fist approached. Strangely, the blow never landed.

"Hey, don't you think you're taking this a little too far?"

Hearing Lingmeng's voice, Shido slowly opened his eyes. She had somehow crossed the several meters between them and caught the thug's fist in her small hand. She looked completely at ease.

"How is that possible? How did she get over there? She was right beside us!"

The other two thugs stared in shock. Lingmeng had appeared beside the boy as if she'd teleported.

Finally, Some Money!

"Damn it... How is this chick so strong?"

The thug whose arm Lingmeng had grabbed tried to pull free, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't budge.

"I'm not sure. If I had to say, I guess it's a natural gift of my species?" Lingmeng replied with a smile, her eyes half-lidded.

"Hey! Yamanaka! What's wrong?"

Seeing their companion struggle, the other two thugs called out nervously.

"I... I don't know! She's way stronger than me! Hurry up and help!"

At his cry for help, the two thugs rushed toward Lingmeng.

"Don't be scared. She might be strong, but there are three of us! There's no way we'll lose if we gang up on her!"

One of them spoke as though having a couple more people gave them some incredible advantage.

"Be careful!" Shido called to Lingmeng, watching her with concern.

"Don't worry, man!" Lingmeng said lightly. "The last person who tried ganging up on me might still be in the hospital!"

She yanked Yamanaka toward her and sent him flying with a kick.

Whoosh! Yamanaka slammed into the opposite wall. A trace of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"That kick was payback for this guy!" Lingmeng declared, looking at Yamanaka slumped against the wall, barely conscious.

She called it payback, but she had deliberately held back. With a Spirit's strength, she could have killed him on the spot.

"As for you two..." Lingmeng glanced at the thugs charging at her like wolves. Without another word, she crouched and kicked off the ground. The instant she reached them, she struck each with a Friendship Face-Breaking Fist.

"Ah!" The two thugs cried out as they flew into the wall.

The fight had lasted only a few seconds, but it had given Shido quite a shock.

So I was just dead weight the whole time.

Shido smiled bitterly to himself.

"Um... you're actually that strong?" he asked, his mouth twitching.

"Uh... I know a little self-defense," Lingmeng said, scratching her cheek awkwardly.

Did I overdo it?

"Uh... haha... I see."

Shido didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He knew she was lying. Even if a girl had learned self-defense, she couldn't have taken down three men that quickly. But since Lingmeng didn't want to talk about it, he felt too awkward to press her.

"Ahem. Glad you understand." Lingmeng composed herself and walked over to the three thugs.

"D-don't come any closer! ?('д')?"

The thugs' faces filled with terror as she approached.

"Oh, you're still conscious?" Lingmeng looked down at them with a kindly smile. "Don't look so scared. I'm not a monster. Hand over all the cash you have, and I might go easy on you when I hit you. Of course, if you refuse..."

She cracked her knuckles.

"Yes! Here's all our cash! Please be gentle!"

Before she had even finished speaking, all three thugs took out their wallets and handed them over.

Lingmeng pulled out the bills and made a rough count.

The three wallets held about a hundred thousand yen in total, roughly six thousand yuan. That was more than enough to buy what she wanted.

Counting the bills in her hands, Lingmeng felt immensely satisfied.

"Wow! You guys are pretty loaded. Though I bet you stole most of this, didn't you?"

"..."

The thugs said nothing. Apparently, she was right.

"Well, as promised, I'll go easy on you. Ready?"

"Gulp."

The thugs swallowed and nodded. Better to get it over with.

"Here I go!" Lingmeng began their punishment. "Ora ora ora ora! Take my Dragon Claw Grab! Lineage-Ending Kick! Thousand-Year Death!"