"What deal?" Brother Zhuo snapped his head up like a wolf catching scent, staring at the blonde girl twirling her own strands of sunlight.

"Mm~ it’s simple," the Little Loli said, her pale fingers coiling loose gold behind her ear like silk on a spindle. "You get money to treat your mother. But you and your boys protect this mother and son, feed and clothe them, and send Xiao Tao to school." Her golden eyes shimmered, lively as fireflies over a pond.

"Fair." Brother Zhuo agreed without a blink, his men nodding like reeds in a breeze.

"Good, then here’s the plan," she said, voice steady as a bell at dusk.

"Floor it, step on it!" Sirens howled like winter wind as squad cars knifed toward the slums. "Captain Chen, if it’s really that blonde girl and we bring her back, promotions and cash are in the bag," cops in an Audi chattered, words buzzing like flies. "Don’t jump the gun," another said, tone cool as rain. "If the bounty’s that high, there’s a reason. Meat that easy usually has bones."

"True," someone grunted, a pebble dropped into a still pond.

Within minutes, SWAT and police ringed Xiao Tao’s home, cars hemming it in like iron horses. Tape whipped up across the streets, a net cast wide. Sirens drenched the slum like a red-blue tide.

"What happened? Usually you can’t find a cop for half a day. Today they’re growing like mushrooms," someone muttered at the cordon, breath fogging like smoke.

"Yeah, when it’s real work, these guys vanish," another spat, words sharp as gravel.

Inside the house, "The police are quick," the Little Loli rose from the sofa, a feather catching light. The hulks beside her stood as one, a wall of meat and shadow. "Then we do it by the plan."

"Leave it to me." Brother Zhuo thumped his chest, a drum in a narrow alley. Beside him, Xiao Tao and his mother stirred awake, confusion pooling like mist. Enemies who should be at each other’s throats spoke calmly, while outside, sirens beat like war drums.

"Ma’am, we’ll explain in a bit." The golden-haired girl dragged a chest from the floorboards, wood groaning like an old tree. Brother Zhuo roused two men who’d been knocked out earlier.

Crack. "Ah!" The sound split the room like a dry twig.

"Just resetting your leg," he growled, hands working like a blacksmith. "What’s a big man screaming for?"

"Boss, it really hurts!" the bruiser bawled, snot and tears streaming like broken beads.

Outside, "Captain Chen, the caller’s the notorious bully on this street," a cop said, worry crawling like ants. "What if he demands extras..."

"Get it straight," another cut in, voice flat as steel. "We’re here for a wanted target, not a hostage rescue. If he asks for something, we give it. It’s a government job. Heat won’t land on our heads."

Right then, a pack of bruisers came out. SWAT rifles snapped up, black muzzles like crows on a wire. "The wanted one you want is here!" Once the men cleared the doorway, Brother Zhuo yanked the Little Loli by the collar and stepped into the light.

"Captain Chen, it’s her, that girl!"

"Send a few. Bring her over."

"Easy, you big oaf. Gentle," the golden-haired girl muttered, discomfort prickling like thorns.

"Sorry, little sister." Brother Zhuo loosened his grip, fingers falling away like leaves.

"Where’s the money?" he roared at the police, voice booming like a gong. "Here’s your wanted! A soft-skinned middle school girl!" He nudged the Little Loli forward, a push light as a ripple.

"Give your card number to our staff. The money hits in two minutes!" a cop barked through a loudhailer, his words slicing the air. A neatly dressed clerk came up with a laptop cradled like a tray.

??? Brother Zhuo stared at the bank text when it came, eyes wide as plates. A fat sum bloomed in his account like a sudden firework. "Cops are this easy now?"

"Huh?" Even the Little Loli blinked, surprise flitting like a sparrow. She’d planned to squeeze them if they stalled, maybe by faking a bomb. She’d even tucked a blood crystal chunk under her clothes as a prop, cold as ice against her skin.

"I’ll be back later then." And just like that, SWAT led the golden-haired girl away from Brother Zhuo’s hand, her steps light as drifting petals. Brother Zhuo watched her retreating back, then the bank message, gratitude welling like a warm spring. "Thanks..."

"Officers, do you really have to put that on me?" The Little Loli looked up at the cuffs, eyes wet as dew, voice trembling with helplessness. Her golden twin-tails drooped over her shoulders like wilted fronds, her delicate face a picture of pity.

"Sorry. Just doing our job." The reply was flat, a door closing.

Click. The cuffs locked her hands in front, cold as moonlight on iron. "Didn’t think I’d get to wear these in this life," she thought, calm settling like still water. "Fine. Call it life experience." On the surface, tears flowed like spring rain.

"Just these few? To catch me?" Her whisper curled like smoke, a shadow of a smile at the edge.

Reporters trailed the group, cameras firing like summer hail. The golden-haired girl’s fragile look was caught frame after frame, a butterfly pinned by light. A few rushed right up with camcorders. "Are you the girl with the five-million bounty? Tell us how it felt to run—hey, don’t pull me!" SWAT dragged them back, boots grinding like millstones. But it was a live feed, and TV screens bloomed everywhere with her pitiful face. Photos from that moment spread online like wildfire.

"This girl’s too pitiful."

"Who knows what they’re playing at, arresting a middle schooler."

"Look at that expression, my heart’s twisting."

Once the commotion ebbed, several SWAT led the golden-haired girl into a prisoner transport, a metal box humming like a hive. She sobbed all the way, a soft animal sound, and doubt crept into the officers’ eyes like fog. Did they have the wrong person? Was the order rotten from the top?

The van was split in two. The cab was sealed off, a wall like a dam. You couldn’t see the compartment behind. "This design... just right." The Little Loli measured the interior with a glance, thoughts flowing like a quiet stream.

Several SWAT boarded and sat around her, loose as if on a train, because to them she was only a cute middle-schooler. They toyed with their guns, metal gleaming like fish scales.

At last the convoy rolled, wheels humming like locusts. "I’ll move in a bit," she decided, the corner of her mouth tilting like a crescent.

The ride was smooth. About five minutes in, "Uncles, where are you taking me?" The golden-haired girl huddled in a corner like a frightened fawn, tears spilling from golden eyes like strings of beads.

"We don’t know," a SWAT officer murmured, sympathy flickering like a candle. With any other girl, he thought, she’d have shattered already.

"Then, uncles, farewell~" Her golden irises shifted without warning to a chilling blood-red, light blooming like a harvest moon turned to omen.

"Wha—"

"Blood Crystal Arrow — Piercing Type."