"Xi Wan, your cooking is amazing!"

Delicious~ So full! That was my only thought as I sat tying my shoelaces at the corridor entrance.

"If you like it, you’re welcome back anytime," Xi Wan said with a smile.

"Heh, kid, next time you come, bring a gift!" Uncle Ye called out, toothpick in mouth, legs propped up.

"I’ll definitely bring one," I laughed, turning to him. As I did, I saw Yeping pulling Ye Xianer toward us.

"Give me your phone," Yeping said.

"... ..." Without asking why, I pulled my phone from my pocket and handed it over. She took it, tapped a few quick inputs, then returned it. "That’s my number. Call if you need anything."

"Got it." I took the phone and saved the contact.

"Bye, big brother!"

"Bye, Xianer!" I waved as she left, then headed out of the Shadowless Abode office.

Once I’d left the Sky Terrace, Xi Wan approached Yeping. "Miss, I have intel. Coldsmile told me while I was buying groceries."

"Coldsmile? What did he find?"

"He said besides Black Rider, TWS sent another Outsider to our Southern District."

"Another Outsider? Details? Who is it?"

"Not known yet."

"Hmm… Fine, Xi Wan. Ignore the Outsiders."

"Understood." Xi Wan nodded and went back to clearing the dishes.

"Why would TWS send a new Mimic to the Southern District now?" Yeping muttered to herself at the doorway.

The Shadowless Abode apartment wasn’t far from mine—just a ten-minute walk. But the path was lined with identical buildings and views. It felt endless, the road stretching on with few passersby.

Night rain suddenly poured down…

"Seriously, Heaven? Messing with me again?" Luckily, it wasn’t heavy enough to force shelter.

The drizzle chilled my skin. As a Mimic, I felt cold more sharply than as a human! Thinking of returning home alone to game, compared to that warm little house moments ago, I suddenly missed my parents. A wave of homesickness hit.

"Ugh, never thought I’d miss home on day one." After nineteen years holed up back home, just days out and I was nostalgic. Heh, maybe these days packed more than my whole life—well, not "exciting," just overwhelming.

It shattered my worldview, dragging me into a different realm.

An unknown underworld…

"Whoa, rain’s getting worse. Gotta take shelter." I ducked under a random awning to wait it out.

Meanwhile, in a dark alley somewhere in the city, three men and a woman sprinted through the downpour. Panic twisted their faces; soaked clothes forgotten as they fled something unseen.

"What is that thing?!" the woman screamed while running.

"No idea!"

"Hey, look back!" the burly leader yelled.

One man whipped around. "Too dark! Can’t see anyone!"

"Watch out—above you!" a youth beside him shouted.

A shadowy figure, blending with the night, leaped from a high-rise above them.

"Careful!" the youth cried.

Too late. A sword flash, swift as wind, shot from the falling figure.

Before landing, the black blade slashed into the man’s left shoulder, cleaving deep to his heart!

The figure landed, yanked the sword free, twisted his wrist—and black steel flashed again!

The Black Sword grazed the man’s neck. His head separated instantly, flying through the alley. It hit a wall, bounced, rolled to a stop—his expression frozen in confusion.

The headless body sprayed a crimson fountain before collapsing to its knees, then the ground.

"Head and heart destroyed. Dead," the black-clad man muttered, gripping a black flexible sword over the corpse.

"... ..." The woman stood silent.

"You!" The youth’s voice trembled with rage—and fear.

"Who are you?!" the burly man roared.

"TWS waste disposal," the swordsman replied lowly.

"An Outsider!" the woman gasped.

"Why?! This breaks the rules, Outsider!" the youth shouted.

"You’re mistaken. We’ve broken no rules," the burly man insisted.

"I kill because I want to. Rules are collars for the weak…"

"Raaah!" The burly man bellowed. His 1.9-meter frame swelled to 2.5 meters. Muscles bulged; brown fur sprouted over his body. His jaw stretched, fangs erupting as he growled like a beast: "Designation 26: Brown Bear! Human! I don’t know you—but you die here today!"

The youth transformed too—his body swelling, hands morphing into crab-like claws, a hard shell forming on his torso. The woman grew fur, fangs, and cat-like reflective eyes with razor claws.

They surrounded the shadowy man.

"Die!" Brown Bear roared, a fist like a wok smashing down!

*Thud!* The punch cratered the spot where the swordsman stood—but he’d vanished. Rainwater rippled from the shattered floor.

"He jumped! Above—Crab—ah!" Brown Bear lunged upward, but a sword flash sliced his right cheek, blood spraying.

"My turn!" Crab Man charged the swordsman’s mid-air position, snapping his claw. "Nowhere to hide!"

At the last second, the swordsman tucked his knees mid-air, spun into a backflip—and paused briefly.

That split-second delay made Crab Man’s strike miss!

"What?!" Crab Man gasped.

Before he could react, a black sword flash accelerated from the spinning figure.

The man landed—but something else rose.

An arm!

"Aaah!" Crab Man screamed, staring at his severed limb, blood gushing from the stump.

Before his cry ended, the swordsman looked up. The black blade struck three times in one second—three blood blooms bloomed!

First slash: Crab Man’s abdomen. Second: his throat. Third: chest to heart!

Clutching his neck, Crab Man realized his heart was split—he collapsed, never to rise.

As Crab Man fell, Brown Bear seized the moment. He lunged, arms wide for a bear hug.

"Thick hide, huh?" The swordsman stepped forward just as the crushing embrace began.

*Smack!* The bear paws clapped empty air—and the swordsman stood chest-to-chest with him.

"What’s your weak spot?"

A deathly sword flash thrust upward!

Brown Bear sidestepped, raising an arm to block.

But the black blade curved around his palm, piercing his eye!

"Aaah!" Brown Bear howled, instinctively covering his face.

The instant his hand moved, the Black Sword struck again!

It stabbed his chin. The swordsman leaped, yanking the blade free.

"You’re already dead!"

He drove the sword into Brown Bear’s forehead—straight through his skull!

Brown Bear’s body went limp, crashing down. The swordsman stood on the corpse, facing the last Mimic. "Only you left…"

"No… please don’t kill me…?"

"Impossible."

She spun to flee—but hadn’t taken three steps when the black sword flew from his hand. Unlike Brown Bear’s hide or Crab Man’s shell, the blade pierced her back, bursting through her chest.

"Aaah!" she shrieked.

The swordsman strode over, planted a foot on her back, and yanked the sword out. Blood splattered.

"Don’t kill me…"

The blade flashed across her neck.