Chapter 14 : Are you going to come here to get beaten, or am I going to beat you up?

Night had fallen.

As the last soldier on the northwestern border retreated into the city, the wasteland became a playground for the aberrants.

“Rustle, rustle…”

Under the moonlight, a pair of worn cotton boots stepped unevenly through the muddy ruins of the old city.

A hunched figure appeared in this dead city overrun by aberrants, the scene exuding an eerie vibe no matter how one looked at it.

“Heh heh, truly a pitiful sight.”

A hoarse voice came from the shadows of the broken walls of a tall building.

The staggering, hunched figure paused and slowly turned toward the source of the voice.

In the moonlight, a three-meter-tall silhouette gradually became clear—covered entirely in a black fluid exoskeleton bio-armor, revealing only a pair of blood-red, sinister eyes.

Behind him, a cloak made from the stitched skins of countless Oracles fluttered silently in the night wind.

“You broke our agreement…” the man spoke as if he hadn’t spoken in a long time, his voice thick and slow.

“Where’s the promised extraction, Kilan?”

Kilan Biska of the Dusk King’s Cavalry, a high-level aberrant active in the Eurasian Continent’s Eastern Europe during his early years, was infamous for his tremendous individual combat power and brutal bloodthirstiness.

“Heh heh,” Kilan sneered dismissively, his armor surface rippling like viscous blood. “If you can’t even leave the city alone, you don’t deserve to cooperate with our king.”

Hearing this, the man lifted his head, his entire face exposed to the moonlight—it was Jinghu, the high-ranking spy of the Yao tribe who had recently escaped prison.

“Cooperate?” Jinghu sneered coldly. “I don’t see any sincerity from you.”

“My sincerity is not here…” Kilan’s crimson pupils flickered with a hint of cold light as his voice dropped lower.

“Binhai… the person you seek is in Binhai.”

“Binhai?” Jinghu repeated softly.

Kilan stepped closer, the countless blood-red veins on his armor faintly pulsating under the moonlight.

“Soon, a grand baptism ceremony will be held there, and the entire city will become our king’s hunting ground…” He fully stepped out of the shadows, looking down at Jinghu.

“And you, my friend, your task is to ensure this baptism proceeds smoothly.”

A finger covered in fluid armor lightly tapped Jinghu’s forehead.

“In exchange, my clan will help you accomplish what you wish… quite fair, isn’t it?”

Amid the howling cold wind, countless aberrants appeared and disappeared among the ruins, their savage and bloodthirsty aura completely engulfing the area.

Jinghu narrowed his eyes slightly.

So that’s it.

Kilan Biska had come all the way across the Eurasian Continent—what the aberrants sought was indeed significant.

But—what did it have to do with me?

Once hunted by humans and expelled by the Yao tribe, he was now a wandering lost soul in the world.

“Quite fair…” Jinghu’s expression was calm as he slowly lifted his gaze to meet Kilan’s.

“But from now on, don’t ever point your finger at me again, understood?”

The moment he finished speaking, an almost invisible Oracle thread flashed out of thin air.

“Pft—”

The arm Kilan had pressed against Jinghu’s forehead shattered like glass and fell to the ground.

A twisted smile spread across Jinghu’s face, growing more sinister and pleased.

“Boom—!”

The next second, Kilan was struck hard, flying backward violently, kicking up a storm of dust.

“Cough… cough cough…” As the dust settled, Jinghu staggered to his feet.

A bent steel rod pierced through his abdomen, yet he laughed loudly as if oblivious, “Hahaha… interesting, truly interesting!”

Opposite him, blood swirled around Kilan’s broken arm, countless web-like veins rapidly intertwining.

In the blink of an eye, a brand-new arm had grown out.

The two silently stared at each other.

Then, the usually silent Kilan Biska chuckled softly.

In each other’s eyes, they saw the same madness reflected.

The smoke and ruins receded like the tide.

After being pinned down and bullied by Lin Mo on the sofa last night, Chu You had an unprecedented sleepless night.

Frustrated and sulking all night, she was groggy in the morning when that bastard Lin Mo dragged her out of bed.

(;｀O´)o

In her twenties and still having to wake up at six in the morning for school—who would ever love this life?

Carrying a belly full of morning grumpiness, Chu You originally planned to skip school and slack off.

But the moment she saw Lin Mo’s dangerously darkening expression, her eyes instantly cleared.

o(╥﹏╥)o

Damn it, that bastard was trying to make a move again!

‘So—’

She ended up obediently shouldering her backpack and going to school.

“Chu You, right?”

A gloomy voice rang by her ear, pulling her out of the haze.

She looked up and saw the chubby, tall bully from the clique standing in the aisle by the desks, looking down on her with cold eyes.

“If you have guts, don’t leave after school.”

The confusion and sleepiness vanished from Chu You’s face immediately.

She stood up with a snap, closing the distance between them in an instant, tilting her chin up with startlingly bright eyes.

“Really? After school? Where should we meet?”

A surprise like this?

She had been worried about losing her mind in class, yet the bully was voluntarily bringing her a target!

The chubby bully, caught off guard by Chu You’s sudden proximity—almost face to face—stumbled back half a step, her forced composure crumbling, and stammered, “I-I was told by Sister Yu to give you the message… d-don’t come closer!”

“Don’t be scared, I’m not going to hit you,” Chu You smiled innocently, her tone even gentle.

“So, tell me, where exactly after school? Should I call the ambulance for you in advance?”

As she spoke, she felt Xia Ji tugging lightly on her wrist from behind.

Chu You turned to meet Xia Ji’s worried eyes, shaking her head gently, sending a reassuring look.

“Behind the old teaching building, in the small woods,” the chubby girl swallowed nervously, suddenly gathering some courage, and snorted coldly. “Hope you can be this cocky in front of Brother Lu.”

Then she slipped away with surprising agility for someone her size.

Chu You stayed where she was, watching the bully’s retreating figure disappear near the classroom door, blinking. …Brother Lu?

The one Xia Ji mentioned yesterday… what was his name again?

“Big Sister You, you better just go straight home after school,” Xia Ji’s voice came from behind, filled with concern and anxiety, with a faint hint of resoluteness. “I’ll handle Chen Xinyu’s matter myself.”

“It’s not a big problem, don’t worry!” Chu You said casually, a faint smile flickering in her eyes.

“But…” Xia Ji still looked worried, hesitating to speak further.

Chu You took the chance to reach out and rub her cheek, smiling warmly as she interrupted, “Alright, alright, look at that scrunched-up face, you’re turning into a bitter melon.”

Xia Ji puffed her cheeks, mumbling her protest, “L-Lu Ran is really powerful…”

Oh, now she remembered.

That supposedly powerful boyfriend of Chen Xinyu’s was named Lu Ran.

“Just go straight to your part-time job after school,” Chu You deftly changed the subject to ease Xia Ji’s worry. “Someone’s coming to pick me up anyway, so no need to worry.”

Hearing that, Xia Ji’s worried expression finally eased a little—whether that person was Chu You’s boyfriend or not, at least they were appearing at the school as a guardian.

Surely Chen Xinyu wouldn’t dare cause trouble in front of someone else’s parent.

“Got it.”

Xia Ji nodded cutely.

Since that bully barged into the classroom to issue her challenge, Chu You had been completely distracted during class.

She kept lowering her head to check her phone, silently praying: could time please move faster, faster?

“Ding ling ling—”

The bell finally rang.

Chu You coaxed and pushed Xia Ji out of the classroom, waving goodbye with a smile.

Once Xia Ji’s worried figure disappeared at the stairwell, Chu You immediately turned and dashed back to her seat, quickly packed her bag, and jogged toward the old teaching building.

After being bullied by that bastard Lin Mo last night and wearing a mask of pain to endure a whole day of classes, her anger was boiling. She desperately needed a good, satisfying fight to vent.

Hmm… could this be considered some kind of mutual pursuit?

Behind the old teaching building, in the bare woods, several figures gathered sparsely.

Just discharged from the hospital, Chen Xinyu, the other three followers of the bully clique, and two guys smoking and chatting—four girls and two boys in total.

“Did you bring the message or not?” Chen Xinyu glanced at the chubby bully beside her and frowned.

“I-I brought it…” the girl answered softly.

“For a transfer student, making such a big fuss?” one of the guys raised his eyebrows, looking at the boy beside him. “Lu Ran, should I go?”

The boy called Lu Ran looked indifferent, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and casually stubbed it out on the ground.

“I’ll handle my girlfriend’s business myself,” his tone flat. “I asked you to come so you could keep an eye out—I’m afraid I might lose control and cause a fatality.”

Chen Xinyu’s eyes lit up, looking at Lu Ran with adoration. “Brother Lu Ran, you’re so good to me…”

Lu Ran glanced at her sideways, still expressionless, but his voice softened, “Good girl, it’s what I should do.”

“Ugh—”

An exaggerated gag echoed through the woods, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

Squinting her eyes, Chu You strolled forward with a smile, taunting in a mocking tone as she walked, “Smoking as a kid is bad enough, but you also litter your cigarette butts. And then you even imitate adults by dating…”

As she finished speaking, she stopped right in front of them.

Chu You’s eyes curved like crescent moons as she looked at the indifferent Lu Ran and slowly raised her arm, curling her finger toward him under everyone’s stunned gaze.

“Do you want to get beaten up because you came on your own—”.

“Or should I come beat you up?”