Chapter Seven

Chu Jing had not run more than a few steps with You Xing when she abruptly stopped.

She released You Xing and once again drew the black short blade strapped to her thigh, striking out with lightning speed.

This short blade was a Tier 3 relic brought back from a ruin anomaly; it possessed a faint paralytic effect. If it struck an enemy or monster, it could paralyze them for two seconds, rendering them unable to move. In a skilled team, this was enough to concentrate firepower and eliminate the monster.

Unfortunately, Chu Jing had no teammates by her side. She pierced the monster’s chest and slashed lightly, cleaving it into two.

Its body, soft as tender tofu, collapsed and split into two separate entities. As they crawled up from the ground, their hideous, distorted faces gradually shifted into two distinct visages. They stared at Chu Jing with malevolent resentment, the black threads across their mouths snapping instantly.

You Xing frowned as she watched the two monsters gradually take on human forms. Instead of attacking, they huddled together and began to gossip.

"That’s her. Her younger brother died of poisoning, and her mother jumped off a building the next day. How pathetic."

"I heard her aptitude was good—S-rank in both mental power and physical fitness. What a waste of talent."

"What use is talent? She’s a jinx."

...

Chu Jing stepped back, gripping You Xing’s wrist with one hand, her face covered in cold sweat. You Xing fell into deep thought.

The two monsters behind them caught up as well. Like the ones in front, they stopped half a meter away from You Xing, their initially ugly and terrifying faces shifting into people You Xing recognized—two former colleagues from White Iris.

"Five years without a promotion; that’s her life, that’s all she’ll ever be."

"If it were me, I would have died of shame and quit. How can she have the face to keep hanging around here?"

"Besides a pretty face, what else does she even have?"

...

You Xing’s brow smoothed out; she had largely grasped the underlying rules of this anomaly. No wonder it was called the "Tongue-Blade Anomaly"—using words as blades to kill invisibly.

You Xing turned to look at Chu Jing. The young woman’s lips were pale and her gaze unfocused; she was already showing signs of mental pollution. *An S-rank mental stat is actually this fragile?*

You Xing grabbed Chu Jing’s wrist in return and squeezed firmly, pulling her focus back. "Don’t use the knife. The more you kill, the more they multiply."

Chu Jing’s face was deathly pale. "But I don't want to hear their voices."

You Xing grabbed Chu Jing with one hand and held the dog leash with the other. She ordered Mu Ren, "Run forward, toward the river."

Mu Ren let out a "woof" and bolted.

The four monsters followed, whispering incessantly in Chu Xing and You Xing’s ears like wandering ghosts. You Xing could not hear what the monsters were saying to Chu Jing, but she could feel the girl’s stamina draining rapidly; her face grew paler and her pace slowed.

As for You Xing, her own ears were filled with vicious words—some she had heard before, others she had not.

"A thirty-year-old woman, how could he possibly love you?"

"There are plenty of beautiful and capable young team members in the raid squad. Huo Yuan has probably had a change of heart long ago."

"Isn’t this Chu Jing one of his teammates? Maybe they’ve already..."

The chatter, like vines covered in thorns, burrowed into You Xing’s ears, attempting to shake her mind and her trust in Chu Jing.

You Xing raised a hand and pulled on Mu Ren. "Wait."

Beside her, Chu Jing had collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.

***

You Xing leaned down, letting Chu Jing rest against her legs, then spun around and slapped the monster’s twisted face, followed by a backhand slap to the other monster wearing a familiar face.

*Smack!*

The two crisp sounds jolted Chu Jing back to her senses. Far away in the Velvet Apartments in the 13th Star Sector, dozens of floor managers and Yan Zhen were also startled by the noise.

The two monsters, caught off guard by the slaps, widened their eyes in disbelief.

You Xing clapped her hands lightly, her expression indifferent. "You love to gossip so much, what's wrong? Weren't you prepared to get hit?"

The monster wearing the face of a records clerk stared straight at You Xing, shouting, "You aren't You Xing! Who are you?"

You Xing raised an eyebrow and retorted, "If I'm not You Xing, who else would I be?"

The logistics officer monster beside it clutched its face, pointing an accusing finger. "You Xing is timid and cowardly; she never dares to talk back, let alone strike out! You’re best at using that pitiful look to attract men’s attention and make them stand up for you—didn't the department head get seduced by you? To think you’re actually this vicious behind his back! I should let those men see this!"

*Smack!*

You Xing backhanded the monster again and flicked her wrist lightly. "You like being slapped so much—are you a masochist?"

On the 15th floor of the Velvet Apartments, a dark shadow asked curiously, "What does 'masochist' mean?"

The other shadows shook their heads. They didn't know. It was a blind spot in their knowledge.

Yan Zhen knew, of course, as he was the only resident besides the apartment manager who could access the internet. But this was clearly not an important issue, as You Xing’s adaptation to the domain far exceeded the expectations of the shadows.

The S-rank bodyguard by her side was shaken to the point of collapse, needing You Xing to protect her instead. Meanwhile, You Xing kept slapping the monsters' faces with a flat, emotionless expression. There was no sign of distress; her eyes were remarkably bright, as if she had discovered a novel toy she had never tried before.

The monsters stood frozen, clutching their faces. You Xing ordered Mu Ren to grow larger, enough to carry a person. She placed the incapacitated Chu Jing horizontally on Mu Ren’s back, took a binding strap from her backpack to secure her, took out a pack of tissues, tore them into balls to plug Chu Jing’s ears, then took the leash and sprinted toward the other end of the bridge.

The monsters were capable only of spewing cutting, heart-stabbing words—methods of mental pollution and willpower destruction. You Xing was not worried about being physically slashed, so she focused on escaping.

Perhaps due to years of working out, You Xing’s stamina, while not top-tier, was decent enough to keep up with Mu Ren’s frantic pace.

Just as they were about to cross the bridge and reach the shore, the monsters behind them surged forward in unison, reaching out to grab You Xing’s arms and drag her back.

Mu Ren bared its teeth, struggling forward. Drool dripped from its jowls, and its claws gouged deep furrows into the ground. Even with a person on its back, it was dragged backward inch by inch, unable to advance.

You Xing weighed her options for a moment and suddenly released the leash. "Take Chu Jing across the bridge. Wait for me on the other side."

Mu Ren looked back at You Xing, then bolted away without hesitation, dragging the loose leash.

You Xing was held on the bridge by the four monsters. Their faces had all shifted into those of people familiar to You Xing: colleagues from the office, the logistics head Duan Qiming with his lecherous gaze, and her parents, their eyes brimming with disappointment and impatience.

They held her, forcing her to look down.

Beneath the bridge lay a deep, muddy pit filled with corpses. Dark blood and rotting flesh pooled together, emitting a nauseating, warm stench.

The smell was strangely familiar...

You Xing, her back pressed down, narrowed her eyes. She gritted her teeth and spat out a single sentence: "444, you long-tongued ghost, what kind of crap did you put under my pillow?"

One of the monsters behind You Xing suddenly morphed into the appearance of 444, whispering into her ear: "Just rotting flesh filled with resentment. Does it bother you that much?"

You Xing closed her eyes, trying to steady her emotions. 444’s long, bony fingers crawled up You Xing’s spine, pressing down on her neck. "Open your eyes. Look, they all chose to find release."

You Xing braced her hands against the railing, her body tense as she resisted the force trying to push her off the bridge. "Let go of me."

***

444 leaned into You Xing’s ear, her malevolent curse burrowing into You Xing’s brain like a worm: "A worthless piece of trash like you—no house, no car, no savings; lost your man, lost your job, living to thirty in such a spineless way—don't you feel ashamed?"

You Xing suddenly relaxed her resistance and asked calmly, "Is that all you've got?"

444, who was about to speak again, paused. She tilted her head, brushing aside the long hair covering her face, trying to see You Xing’s expression.

The brown eyes were clear and bright, filled with coldness, devoid of any fear or shame.

444: "You didn't take a single word in?"

You Xing: "What you said is actually correct. I’ve lived thirty years spinelessly, thinking that by enduring, being sensible, and compromising, I would eventually be rewarded. But reality is just like this disgusting anomaly: the kinder and softer you are, the easier you are to bully."

The monsters in this anomaly were cheap; the more you feared them, the more they would spew vile words to disgust you and crush your spirit and will. But if you were fearless, they were the ones who became afraid.

The monsters that had been tightly constricting You Xing like thorny vines suddenly lost their strength. You Xing shook off the hands holding her and turned to walk toward the bridge head.

444 pursued her in disbelief: "You don't care about other people's judgments at all?"

You Xing: "What are other people? If some person or ghost spits on me, am I supposed to take it home and put it on a pedestal?"

444: "What about family? Your parents, relatives, friends—don't you care about their opinions?"

You Xing stopped and turned to look straight into 444’s dull, lifeless eyes, her tone flat: "I used to care a lot. In this life, no matter what, you can't escape being scrutinized, judged, and expected of. But even if you accept all those rejections and accusations and strive to meet everyone’s expectations, life doesn't get any better. It took me a long time to realize that one cannot live forever in the desires of others."

444 froze, her pupils shrinking.

For a brief moment, she felt like she had been captured by the woman before her, almost infected by that sense of despair and powerlessness.

She couldn't be shaken.

If she wasn't careful, she might even be influenced by the administrator’s words, because she found herself subconsciously wanting to agree.

444 looked at You Xing in astonishment.

The administrator might have been crazy for a long time, but she was incredibly good at enduring, controlling her emotions so well that no one had ever noticed, and she had never alienated.

444 couldn't help but guess: perhaps this was the real reason she had been chosen by the Apartment Manager.

You Xing walked off the bridge, the monsters behind her stopping at the edge. They seemed unable to leave the bridge, only staring at You Xing with eyes full of venom.

You Xing walked a few steps, then turned back to look at 444: "Aren't you coming?"

444 shook her head. The threads on her mouth had long since snapped, and her voice was as gentle as water: "You and I will meet again soon. As long as you can save me, never mind opening a shop—you can do anything you want within my domain."

You Xing’s eyes flickered: "So, the condition for obtaining the shop license is to save you?"

444 did not answer, and the monster that had transformed into her returned to its original form. She had left the bridge.

***

15th Floor, Velvet Apartments.

Among the dark shadows, one as thin and tall as a pen holder spoke gloomily: "The administrator can never fulfill 444’s condition."

Yan Zhen asked: "How do you know?"

The shadow shrugged: "444’s desire for destruction stems from people. A weak human heart can never resist the rules 444 upholds. Judging by the situation just now, our administrator is herself a target that fits the rules of 444’s domain; she will be devoured sooner or later."

Yan Zhen was surprised: "But just now on the bridge, You Xing wasn't affected at all."

The shadow: "That was just a trivial prelude. The real show is only just beginning."