"Seriously, there are way fewer now."

Charlotte peeked from behind the wall. This was no longer a ruin—or rather, they now stood at the very bottom of one.

An abandoned subway station. Mold and grime coated the walls, relics of who-knew-how-many decades past. But none of that mattered to Lin Zhong’s group right now.

Lin Zhong’s strategy had worked. The explosion had drawn crowds away. They’d encountered no enemies along the way, and only a handful of guards remained at this subway entrance—guards who never saw Sebastian’s blade coming.

Minions wouldn’t defy their leader, but they’d follow orders. They must have sensed Lin Zhong’s approach.

That explosion was a warning. A reason to thin the herd.

"Eliminate them outright?"

Aester whispered, glancing at Lin Zhong. She didn’t know his plan—or whether this monster held any value.

She pointed to the man perched on a wooden crate. Unlike the bald, one-eyed fat man earlier, this one was skeletal. But his ugliness overshadowed his thinness.

He was Lin Zhong’s polar opposite. If Lin Zhong embodied perfection, this creature embodied grotesquery—so hideous it defied humanity.

Eyes bulged like a Deep Diver’s. A hooked nose jutted like a witch’s from a fairy tale. His slack jaw drooled yellow-tinged saliva over blackened teeth. His hunched frame matched his face. Beside him lay a strange dagger.

"Get rid of him. He’s hard on the eyes."

Lin Zhong sighed. Why did he always meet such bizarre Monsters? Couldn’t they be as lovely as Snow White?

The first time he’d seen her, she’d been a majestic, giant white wolf king. Now? Just an absurdly cute little girl.

"Understood."

Aester turned to brief the others—but froze. Everyone was frantically searching. Su Han looked most panicked.

"Where’s Snow White?"

Su Han tugged Lin Zhong’s sleeve.

"Snow White’s gone?"

Lin Zhong’s brows knotted.

"Uncle, did you know you’re really ugly?"

A sweet, childish voice chirped from the other side. But relief didn’t follow.

Snow White stood before the grotesque monster.

"Shut it, brat—"

A minion snarled at the girl, but the Boss cut him off.

"Don’t be rude. Such a pretty child... she’d feel lovely to use."

The Boss didn’t flinch at her insult. Even those hated words couldn’t rattle him.

"Come play with Uncle, sweetheart?"

"Nope. You’re hard on the eyes. And Daddy really hates looking at you. So... could you die first?"

Snow White beamed—a radiant, fairy-like smile clashing violently with her words.

"Brat, you—"

The guard’s head rolled off his shoulders before he finished. His body crumpled. Blood and brains seeped across the filthy floor.

"Daddy says you’d be trouble. So... could you all die first?"

Her smile widened. Every minion except the Boss met the same fate. Heads thudded to the ground. The abandoned station became a slaughterhouse.

And Snow White, that adorable girl, reigned as its grim reaper.

Lin Zhong flinched. When he turned, his companions stared, jaws slack. How had they died?

"It’s... threads..."

Aester’s Supernatural Ability revealed the truth. Invisible threads—laid the moment Snow White entered—converged on her small, pale hands.

"Threads?"

Lin Zhong’s eye twitched. He’d worried about protecting her human form. But as the White Wolf King... shouldn’t she still be formidable?

Before he could process it, the strongest little girl in history had just staged a massacre—all because he called that monster "hard on the eyes."

He almost laughed. *Too* obedient.

"Father? That creature brings no happiness. Come to Uncle. I’ll show you a treasure."

The Boss ignored his fallen men. Death’s scythe hovered at his neck, yet he remained oblivious.

Snow White didn’t anger. She smiled—a dazzling, hypnotic curve of lips. The Boss grinned back. Then her icy whisper froze his expression.

The last sound he’d ever hear.

"Uncle, did you know? Those who insult Daddy die horribly."

Light flashed. The Boss’s body shattered mid-air, slamming into the wall. Bones cracked. Blood bloomed across his clothes.

*Dead.*

Before the remaining minions could react, a small white leg whipped out. They flew like footballs, crashing into the wall. All now lay broken against the newly painted "blood wall."

Snow White turned slowly. She flashed a V-sign at Lin Zhong’s group.

"Daddy! Snow White finished the mission~"