Bai Ming had considered the consequences of his actions. He wasn’t reckless—though neither was he particularly sharp.

He knew exactly what came from sticking his nose where it didn’t belong: another enemy made, another headache earned. By any measure, this errand had backfired spectacularly. Nothing bought, only trouble gathered…

*Yeah. Totally not worth it.*

This wasn’t something he *had* to do. No orders forced his hand. He simply acted because he wanted to.

Truth was, people only moved when forced. Life was like that—full of things you hated. Hating life itself, yet never quitting it.

“Thank goodness I didn’t underestimate you,” Bai Ming said, rubbing his wrist with a teasing glint. He watched Li Scar rise from the rubble. “I almost thought you’d prefer playing dead under those rocks.”

“You… how…” Li Scar couldn’t grasp what happened. For the first time, an attack had blindsided him—sending him flying without warning. He hadn’t sensed a thing.

One certainty remained: only the black-haired man before him could’ve done this.

“Human nerves have limits,” Bai Ming explained casually, pointing to a hole blasted through the far wall. “They’re neither as fast as light nor as widespread as electromagnetic waves. Of course, that’s just theory—for *normal* people.”

“You… you actually…”

*If what he says is true… the fight was decided from the start.*

Yes. That hole wasn’t Li Scar’s doing. Bai Ming had punched through it. Li Scar hadn’t noticed, charging in blindly. Now he realized: the moment his fist was caught, the counterstrike followed instantly.

Bai Ming had defended *and* retaliated without breaking a sweat.

“Ugh…”

Li Scar’s ribs screamed as he forced himself upright. Blood smeared his vision, but his eyes burned with fury and hatred. “Were you… in this mall from the beginning?”

“More or less. I watched your fight with that fox-eared girl for quite a while.”

“Then why wait? Why show yourself only now?”

*If he was here all along… why not stop me earlier?*

“You’re asking for my ‘reason’ to fight you?”

“Hmph. I’m asking your *intent*. Outsiders wouldn’t hold back. They’d end me in one move. But you? Your attack screamed: *‘Just make him unable to fight.’*” Li Scar dropped his hand from his wound, straightening his spine despite the pain. His analysis was flawless. Bai Ming never meant to kill—only to cripple.

“You’re a ‘Hero,’ aren’t you?”

Both intents stemmed from the same source. Li Scar’s conclusion was inevitable: Bai Ming belonged to the same group as the outsider. A *Hero*.

“Misunderstandings are just that—misunderstandings, not truth,” Bai Ming sighed, spreading his hands. He suddenly looked ten years older. “I’m no ‘Hero.’ Call me a nobody forced into heroics if you must. But understand this: don’t lump me with the *Hero Association* scum.”

Being mistaken for one of *them*—the people he despised most—still stung.

“Hahaha! ‘Forced into heroics’?” Li Scar’s laughter rasped through his torn throat. In these few exchanges, he’d seen through the “nobody” act. Only geniuses called themselves fools. Only fools called themselves geniuses.

To criminals like him, Bai Ming was a *threat*.

“Blame yourself for holding back. You gave me an opening.”

Li Scar planted his feet. His body swelled violently.

Muscles bulged, ripping through his shirt. Bones cracked like snapped twigs. Black claws burst from his fingers. Coarse fur sprouted across his skin. His back hunched, blood blurring his eyes.

Only when the transformation finished—when a mane of fur framed his face—did Bai Ming recognize him.

“Ah… a werewolf. So you’re not human after all.”

“Right,” Li Scar growled, crouching low. His gaze locked onto Bai Ming. “Playing nice with humans means choking back my bloodlust. But now? No more restraint.”

He lunged.

Wounds sealed shut. The air around him twisted into chaotic currents.

Two gifts: a werewolf’s rapid healing, and a rare innate power—control over *impact*.

With an unbreakable body and devastating force, victory seemed certain. Bai Ming would shatter the moment those claws grazed him.

Li Scar aimed for his heart.

But Bai Ming did the unthinkable.

He walked straight toward the charging beast, steps steady and unflinching.