The shadow on the wall

Under the bright lights outside the police station, the beautiful figure's face gradually came into focus. It was Gu Nian, the long-legged New Year's Watcher of the Qingfu District.

The moment Fat Dragon saw her, he lost all desire to fight. "Skinny Monkey, pull out!"

"Wordless Stele-Isolation!"

As Gu Nian softly recited the incantation, the small gray stone stele hanging at her waist suddenly glowed with a gentle light.

Whoom!

A ripple spread out, enveloping an area several hundred meters across in an instant. The pedestrians walking nearby all blurred, as though they had been isolated from this space.

Even Ren Qingning and her three friends were excluded. They were now running toward the police station in a panic.

Within the area covered by the ripple, the scenery became severely distorted, losing its sense of physical space and completely shutting out ordinary people who had no star source fluctuation.

Not far away, Fat Dragon had already turned to flee the moment the Wordless Stele activated its supernatural power.

With the sudden appearance of the New Year's Watchers, their chance to abduct her was gone. Only an idiot would try to force it now.

At the same time, sounds of fighting came from the alley where Skinny Monkey had been hiding.

Gu Nian watched Fat Dragon with calm eyes, raised her glowing magic wand, and softly intoned, "True Magic-Binding Cage!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!

As her words fell, the blue stone paving outside the police station flew into the air as though swept up by a gale, hurtling toward Fat Dragon from every direction.

Each stone gave off a faint glow as they converged on him. In the blink of an eye, they formed a huge oval cage that completely enclosed him.

Crack...!

The oval stone cage suddenly began contracting inward, crushing down until it had shrunk an entire size in an instant.

Trapped inside, Fat Dragon felt excruciating pain spread through his body. It felt as though he was about to be flattened, and his bones began to crack.

"Performance Magic-Fire Ring!"

Bang!

The magic wand exploded in midair, transforming into four blazing magic fire rings, each over a meter in diameter, which shot toward the cage.

Inside the cage, Fat Dragon's face was crushed out of shape as he screamed hysterically, "This New Year's Watcher is a spellcaster! Save me!"

Whoom...!

The fire rings swept through the air, about to slip around the stone cage.

"I'm here. Get ready to run."

His companion's voice reached Fat Dragon's ears.

Squeak, squeak...!

As soon as the voice faded, more than a dozen rats sprang out of the sewer behind Gu Nian. Their eyes were blood-red and their bodies misshapen. They leaped into the air, lunging to bite the back of her neck.

Whoosh!

Gu Nian swiftly shifted several steps sideways while recalling one fire ring, sweeping it behind her.

Bang, bang...!

Boom!

Flames erupted. The leaping rats squealed in agony amid the blaze, falling to the ground as their corpses turned to ash.

But that brief distraction was enough. One corner of Gu Nian's fully formed stone cage exploded with a bang. Fragments shot like bullets into the alley behind the police station, setting off two car alarms.

Thud!

Fat Dragon hit the ground with his limbs deformed and the bones in both legs fractured. Thick black fluid seeped from every pore. He shot Gu Nian a vicious glance, then turned and ran.

Squeak, squeak...!

Another swarm of rats surged out of the sewer, a dark mass gathering around Gu Nian's ankles.

Boom, boom...!

Three fire rings pressed down. Gu Nian turned and stepped onto the police station stairs, frowning toward the direction Fat Dragon had fled.

Meanwhile, the fighting in the other alley stopped. Two New Year's Watchers ran over. "Gu Nian, stay here. We'll chase them."

"Don't!" Gu Nian stopped them, her reasoning precise. "Remember our pursuit protocol. In a premeditated attack, the number of accomplices providing support is at least half the number of attackers. There are at least six of them. Our priority is to keep his sister safe."

The two gritted their teeth. They wanted to argue, but Gu Nian was their squad leader.

Tap, tap...!

Footsteps sounded nearby as another New Year's Watcher arrived. "I chased them a little, but they split up. I didn't dare go too far in case they were luring me into a trap. How are things here? Any casualties?"

"No." Gu Nian immediately gave orders. "Notify the bureau and request immediate backup. Withdraw the Wordless Stele and coordinate with the police right away."

The other three nodded in agreement.

"Retract!"

Whoom!

The light ripples receded like the ebbing tide, swiftly drawing back until they gathered inside the Wordless Stele hanging at Gu Nian's waist.

The surroundings returned to normal. The pedestrians noticed nothing amiss; they did not even question the sudden disappearance of a large stretch of stone paving.

Inside the police station.

Ren Qingning frantically explained to a police officer, "Someone was following us just now. I think they were trying to kidnap us, right outside!"

"Outside?!" Holding a large tea mug, the officer glanced toward the front entrance, where he saw a beautiful woman walking in with three people. "You're sure he was trying to kidnap you outside a police station?"

"Yes! There really was a fat man following us!" The chubby girl immediately chimed in. "He was charging toward us, but for some reason, he... suddenly ran away. Oh, right. Did any of you see how he ran off?"

"I don't remember. I don't think I saw..."

"What happened to your waist?" the officer asked, pointing at Ren Qingning's wound. "Are you okay?"

Just then, Gu Nian hurried over with her team and smiled at the officer. "Hello. Would you mind taking a phone call? We're from the Qingfu Branch Bureau."

The middle-aged officer paused, then instinctively followed Gu Nian into the adjoining corridor. "What's going on? Let me see your identification."

A young New Year's Watcher frowned at the wound on Ren Qingning's waist and immediately asked, "Miss, are you all right...?"

"Ah!"

Ren Qingning looked down at the two shallow, bloody punctures in her waist, and her face went pale. "Why am I bleeding...?"

"Quick, do you have any tissues?" one of her friends asked the chubby girl.

"It's okay. I'll clean it in the restroom." Ren Qingning took a packet of wet wipes from her friend's bag and instinctively touched the wound. Only after deciding it was not serious did she head toward the restroom. "Lanlan, help me buy some disinfectant. I'll wash it."

"I'm scared." The chubby girl trembled. Though her memory of Fat Dragon's appearance was a little hazy, she still admitted her fear. "That man was so scary...!"

"Will she be okay?" the young New Year's Watcher asked his colleague.

"She'll be fine." His colleague shook his head. "They were trying to capture her. There wasn't any poison on the chains. They probably wanted to knock her unconscious so she wouldn't resist..."

Only then did the young New Year's Watcher relax, though he still cautiously followed Ren Qingning to the women's restroom and stood quietly outside.

After entering, Ren Qingning discovered that the restroom was tiny, with only two stalls. She instinctively shut the door, then lifted her T-shirt and cleaned the wounds with a wet wipe.

The very day Ren Ye came out, he had told Huang Wei that the Bell Society might target his family in the real world.

For Huang Wei, whose career had gone poorly these past few years and who was deeply loyal by nature, those words were enough to put him on maximum alert. He had specifically assigned Gu Nian and three team members to follow Ren Qingning and protect her at close range. At least until Ren Ye cleared Qingliang Town, that protection would only increase, never decrease.

88 Lotus Lake Road.

Ren Ye and Xu Peng were eating in the dining room.

"Thanks for all your hard work these past few days." Ren Ye smiled. "I'm not earning anything right now, but once I... if everything goes smoothly... I'll really treat you properly."

"How properly?" Xu Peng asked curiously.

"I'll let you spend a couple of days at the club too." Ren Ye winked at him.

Xu Peng immediately waved him off. "Women would only slow down my medicine brewing. If you really want to thank your teacher... buy some medicine from me. I really am almost broke."

"...!" Looking at this stubborn man, Ren Ye was momentarily speechless.

Hurried footsteps sounded as Huang Wei suddenly rushed over. "Stop eating. Come with me to University Town."

Ren Ye snapped his head around. "What happened?!"

"That... that real-world attack you mentioned actually happened," Huang Wei answered truthfully.

Ren Ye instantly lost his composure. He shot to his feet and seized Huang Wei by the neck, the exact same expression he had worn when killing Liu Ling'er appearing on his face. His eyes were chilling as he demanded, "What happened to my sister? Tell me! What happened to her?!"

At that moment, fewer than five minutes had passed since the attempted abduction of Ren Qingning.

In a dimly lit alley.

Fat Dragon and Skinny Monkey had just regrouped and were hurrying along.

"We have a car, but they insist on making us walk." Fat Dragon's entire body was in agony, and his face had grown even darker.

Beside him, Skinny Monkey was equally displeased. "Because of you, you stupid pig! You couldn't even tail an ordinary person without getting spotted! Those two New Year's Watchers nearly beat me to death!"

"Who are you calling a pig?!" Fat Dragon demanded viciously, his ignorant, sinister eyes glaring.

"The New Year's Watchers might have tracking items. Mr. He wouldn't let us get in the car so we wouldn't expose everyone, understand, you stupid fuck?!" Skinny Monkey was comparatively sharper. "Keep moving... my stomach really hurts."

Fat Dragon clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, forcing out each word. "Fine. Let's. Go!"

After their argument, the two continued onward.

This was a shantytown on the outskirts, behind a row of residential courtyards. Not a soul was in sight, and the farther they went, the dimmer the lights became.

"Ugh...!"

Just then, Skinny Monkey suddenly bent over, clutching his abdomen in pain as blood streamed from his nostrils.

"Are you going to die?! If you are, I'll bury you before I leave so you won't expose us." Fat Dragon, the model teammate, asked with complete seriousness.

"Bury your fucking mother!" Skinny Monkey cursed through clenched teeth. "One of the New Year's Watchers uses the strength system... he practically wrecked my intestines. Hah...!"

After taking a moment to recover, Skinny Monkey felt a little better and braced his hands on his knees to stand.

Tap, tap...!

Just then, extremely faint footsteps sounded.

Skinny Monkey, whose senses were relatively keen, was still half bent over with his face toward the ground when his expression suddenly stiffened.

"If you're not dying, hurry up! I'm hungry!" Fat Dragon urged impatiently.

"N-no... something's wrong...!" Skinny Monkey's face suddenly filled with terror.

"What's wrong?"

"Your shadow! You have two shadows! Watch out!!" Skinny Monkey suddenly jumped backward and shouted.

At the warning, Fat Dragon instinctively glanced down. Within his huge shadow, he saw another faint shadow moving close against the ground. From its outline, it looked like a woman's shadow.

"Condense!"

"Petrify!"

Without thinking, Fat Dragon instantly activated his supernatural ability. Viscous black bubbles rose across his skin, turning him into a statue in moments.

Whoosh!

The shadow on the ground sprang up like a paper cutout.

The shadow had actually come alive and stood up! Judging by her outline, she was indeed a woman, with long hair.

Holding a sharp blade, the shadow sprang up and slashed straight across Fat Dragon's neck.

Slash!

With a single stroke, the shadow's blade sliced clean through Fat Dragon's neck. His hardened, petrified flesh offered no defense at all, as though it were made of paper.

On the wall, the shadow of Fat Dragon's upper body split apart. His head dropped like a watermelon and rolled beside the recessed sewer drain.

A short distance away, Skinny Monkey instantly burst into his fastest sprint, racing like a madman toward the brightly lit main road.

Beside the wall, blood still gushed from Fat Dragon's severed neck as his body twitched. But the black substance flowing out of him had grown very faint. His star source fluctuation went from violent to steady, then faded like a dying breath...

Whoosh!

Skinny Monkey ran like a speeding car, looking back as he fled. But just as he was about to reach the intersection, he saw that woman's shadow sitting eerily atop the courtyard wall to his left... her paper-thin hand endlessly tossing a paper-thin short blade...

His steps stopped. Skinny Monkey glared hatefully at the woman's shadow, suddenly unleashing a powerful star source fluctuation. "Die!"

Whoosh, whoosh...!

Three thick black iron chains abruptly shot from Skinny Monkey's left hand. His right arm swelled, grew, and stretched madly over a dozen meters, reaching straight for the shadow woman's neck.

The chains and arm shot forward together, aimed directly at her vitals.

But at that very moment, Skinny Monkey saw the shadow begin to split. One became two, two became four, and in the blink of an eye, there were over a dozen.

Some leaped, some charged, some blocked, and some dodged... in an instant, they sprang down from the wall.

Clang, clang!

Six shadows seized the three iron chains and hauled them backward.

Five shadows swung their blades and dodged in different stances, their movements incredibly fast and uncanny...

Slash, slash, slash...!

As Skinny Monkey withdrew his thick, extended arm, it was chopped into more than ten sections that fell heavily to the ground.

Tap, tap...!

His face pale, he staggered back several steps and roared in near despair, "I'm from the Bell Society! We have more people, and a second-stage player leading us! If you don't want to die...!"

Rattle!

The six shadows pulled the three chains, moving so fast they seemed to teleport as they circled Skinny Monkey several times, binding and immobilizing him.

Starlight flickered as the dozen or so shadows merged into one.

She seemed unable to speak. Merely tossing her blade, she walked at an unhurried pace toward the bound Skinny Monkey.

"...Who the hell are you?!" Skinny Monkey's voice trembled. Bound in the chains, he could not move at all.

"Heh!"

A trace of a smile appeared on the shadow woman's face, and she abruptly raised her arm.

Stab!

The first strike pierced Skinny Monkey's heart, then jerked downward, slicing open his chest.

Slash!

With the second strike, the shadow followed the open wound and cut out his heart.

Skinny Monkey loved eating other people's hearts, so... the shadow woman had chosen his favorite way to die.

A minute later, Skinny Monkey's corpse hung from a utility pole by iron chains, his own heart clenched between his teeth.

Under the brilliant lights, he swayed gently...

That ritualistic hanging also seemed to be a judgment.

A line of enormous words written in blood remained on the ground.

"Player friends who've come from far away, you've pissed me off. Don't any of you leave!"

With his back to the "hanging scene" and Fat Dragon, whose "head was biting his own corpse," the shadow slowly vanished into the night.

The police station.

Gu Nian had already left on her own, because she had sensed a Star Source Fluctuation where Skinny Monkey and Fat Dragon had died.

Bang!

The bathroom door was pushed open, and the chubby girl hurried over. "Here, disinfectant, gauze... Are you really okay? Should we go to the hospital?!"

"Thank you!" Ren Qingning replied, then turned to the New Year's Watcher beside her. "Are you a police officer too?"

"Heh, yes." The New Year's Watcher looked at the pretty girl before him. "I'll take you to the hospital for a checkup in a bit."

Ring, ring!

Just as he finished speaking, a phone rang. The classmate holding Qingning's bag called out, "Your phone!"

Ren Qingning took out her phone, stepped aside, and answered. "Hello?"

"Are you okay?!" Ren Ye's urgent voice came through.