Boom!
The night is like a cold cage, enveloping the earth.
The increasingly cold rain fell, pattering onto the back of a little girl's thin clothes.
She hid in the dense grass, her face as pale as a sheet of paper, the low temperature around her making her shiver uncontrollably.
"Tonight, only one of you will survive."
If you don't want to be killed, then kill everyone else!
The little girl recalled the orders the leader had just given, and tears streamed down her face.
"Why... why is everyone doing this? We're partners, friends! Why?"
After the leader gave the order, the people in the courtyard began to act.
The bald man was the first to strike. He was the oldest and strongest child in the yard, and if anyone in the yard was most likely to survive, his chances were undoubtedly the highest.
He died a few breaths later, killed by the combined efforts of several children.
There are thirty-eight orphans in this courtyard, all of whom the leader picked up from outside.
They were orphaned from a young age; their leader fed them, taught them skills, and assigned them assassination missions within his capabilities.
But today, the leader seems unwilling to support so many people.
The leader's orders were clear: whoever wanted to survive had to kill the others and prove they were the strongest.
Each orphan has a different personality and uses different methods, turning the courtyard into a hunting ground where the roles of hunter and prey constantly shift.
The little girl's name is Xiaoxiao, because she is the youngest and smallest of all the children.
Knowing she couldn't beat the others, she ran away to the backyard, to a secluded patch of grass.
She hid there for a long time. People would occasionally pass by, but she didn't move, so no one noticed her.
It was raining heavily tonight, there wasn't a single star in the sky, and it was pitch black all around. She felt very scared.
" Xiaoxiao, I've found you! Come out!"
Suddenly, a little boy stood outside the bushes and shouted.
Xiaoxiao recognized the owner of the voice; his A Liang. He was a kind-hearted man who was always polite to everyone and had helped her a lot in the past.
She hesitated for a moment, then remained silent.
" Xiaoxiao, don't worry! I'm not here to kill you, we're good friends!"
The leader just said that the hunting mission is over, and he asked me to call everyone back to the house to assemble.
Come out quickly! Otherwise, the chief will get angry.
The little boy said sternly.
Xiaoxiao finally couldn't hold back any longer. Although the little boy's lie wasn't very clever, she desperately wanted what he said to be true.
With a whoosh, she jumped out of the bushes and faced the little boy.
"Okay, I'm out. Let's go!"
She remained cautious and kept a certain distance from A Liang.
A Liang laughed, a really happy laugh. Xiaoxiao had never seen A Liang laugh like that before; he looked like a madman.
" Xiaoxiao, do you know?"
Everyone else is dead, all of them are dead. Now, only the two of us are left."
With a flick of his wrist, A Liang pulled out a dagger still stained with blood.
" Xiaoxiao, you're the last one. As long as I kill you, I'll become the final victor, the leader's most valued person, and enjoy the honor of a superior. I'll never have to suffer from cold and hunger again, hahaha..."
Xiaoxiao stared coldly at A Liang. She knew A Liang had lied to her; he had come to kill her.
She took a few steps back, trying to hide in the bushes again, but A Liang was faster and rushed in front of her before she could even enter the bushes.
Die!
A Liang, who usually has a kind and honest face, is now like a terrifying ghost, launching a crazy attack on Xiaoxiao.
Xiaoxiao was only six years old, A Liang was already ten. It was a battle where the strength was completely unequal. Despite Xiaoxiao's desperate attempts to dodge, he still suffered several bloody wounds.
Xiaoxiao felt herself getting weaker and weaker. She knew she was going to die, but she didn't feel pain. Instead, she felt a sense of relief and pleasure.
Just then, a figure rushed out from behind A Liang with incredible speed and stabbed A Liang in the back with a knife.
"You... you're not dead?"
A Liang turned around and stared intently at the person who had appeared behind him.
This is a little girl with an indifferent expression. She looks to be about the same age as A Liang. There are several bloody wounds on her clothes, but she moves freely. Obviously, these wounds are fake.
That last stab pierced A Liang's heart. A Liang stood there for only a moment before collapsing to the ground, life extinguished.
" A Yue!"
Xiaoxiao, covered in injuries, slumped on the ground and recognized the identity of the little girl who had suddenly appeared.
Her A Yue. She doesn't talk much and often likes to hide in a corner and daydream.
No one in the courtyard liked her, except for Xiaoxiao who would take the initiative to talk to her. However, she was very skilled in martial arts, and few people dared to provoke her.
Are you going to kill me too?
Xiaoxiao Xiao looked at A Yue with a pale face; she no longer had the strength to resist.
"I told you long ago, you're not cut out to be an assassin. Why didn't you run away?"
A Yue pulled the long knife from A Liang's chest, and as if venting her anger, kicked A Liang's corpse next to Xiaoxiao.
"I... I don't have a chance."
Xiaoxiao remembered that A Yue did say that she was timid and naive, and that she would definitely die if she stayed here.
"Alright, now's your chance! Run! Get out of here and don't look back."
A Yue said indifferently.
"Really? You're going to let me go?"
At that moment, Xiaoxiao accidentally discovered that A Liang's dagger was right next to her, and she quickly and secretly hid it in her sleeve.
"That's right. Turn around, climb over that wall, get out of this yard, and you'll be free."
A Yue remained as calm as ever, so calm that it seemed as if everything in the world was irrelevant to her.
"Okay! I'm leaving now, thank you A Yue!"
She turned around and ran quickly toward the distant wall.
Just then, she felt a chilling energy coming from behind her.
"Did you finally give in and make a move?"
A pang of pain shot through her heart, but her killer instincts, honed since childhood, allowed her to react instantly.
She stumbled forward, her body spinning in mid-air as she flung the dagger from her hand.
hiss...!
A sound of flesh being pierced rang out; she hadn't expected her attack to actually hit her.
In the torrential rain, a dagger handle hung from A Yue's chest, and copious amounts of blood gushed out, yet a relieved smile graced her face.
" A Yue!"
It was only then that Xiaoxiao realized that A Yue's long knife was still stuck in the ground, indicating that she hadn't intended to kill her.
Why...?
"Look at you, you're still so naive, so easily fooled!"
A Yue gasped for breath, managing to squeeze out a few words with great difficulty.
Promise me... you won't trust people so easily in the future!
I'm tired. From now on, you have to live on in this world for me. No matter what, live well...
In the end, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground, powerless.