Humans were creatures wired for self-preservation—always chasing gain, dodging harm.
Lu Yunzhi knew this logic cold. She wasn’t naive; otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked her father for help.
She simply wanted to do her part to pull everyone out of this crisis.
Losing a job beat losing your life, right?
After tonight’s incident, they’d likely convinced themselves *she* was the primary target. Naturally, they’d think cutting ties would divert the heat.
Sacrifice the companion, save yourself—that was the unspoken rule.
And right then, a Witch appeared.
Even from the video footage, it was clear she wasn’t someone to trifle with: cruel methods, ruthless execution. She devoured souls for pleasure—tenants, Hunters, every last one consumed.
A normal Class B monster feasting on three or five souls was already impressive.
Like humans eating, there’s a limit. Push past it, and you’d burst.
Yet this Witch swallowed dozens of souls without so much as a flicker of expression.
Including a Grade A Hunter’s.
Grade A Hunters defied ordinary human logic. Through repeated enhancements, their bodies, minds, and souls vastly surpassed normals.
But that wasn’t the core issue.
Crossing the Class A threshold transformed a soul fundamentally—human or supernatural.
Imagine an ordinary soul as a pane of glass. Consuming more souls just made it thicker, clumsier… still shattering at a touch.
But devouring a Grade A+ soul refined your own “glass” into something clearer, harder—slowly crystallizing into *crystal*.
That’s why Grade B Hunters couldn’t climb ranks by seniority alone. They needed completed Grade A missions.
Transformation demanded higher-tier souls.
So after consuming so many? The Witch’s power must’ve surged.
If she killed Su Qing *before* the boost… what now?
And paired with her words to Lu Yunzhi in the video? Revenge was inevitable.
“Yunzhi,” Xu Hao stepped squarely into her path. “Take time off. Rest at home.”
“You’re in danger. She might’ve marked you. She could find you anytime.”
“Captain Chen agrees—that’s why you were excluded. They’re distancing themselves. He’s even transferring to Mapleleaf City. Honestly? Only I’d tell you this.”
Lu Yunzhi glanced up. “Thanks. I’ll consider it.”
She turned and hurried down the stairs, unwilling to linger.
“Yunzhi!” Xu Hao called after her.
Truth was, he’d stopped her to offer a ride home—a rare chance to earn goodwill.
Before, he’d insist she take his Porsche. Now, even with her glancing back, the words “Let me drive you” stuck in his throat.
“Anything else?” Her tone, usually bright and chatty, was flat. “My wife and daughter are waiting. If it’s not urgent, we’ll talk later.”
“Well… just skip that mission,” Xu Hao rushed down, stepping before her, hand reaching for her file. “You’re being reckless. Going alone is suicide. I can’t watch you die!”
Lu Yunzhi sidestepped his grab, retreating several steps. “What are you doing?!”
“Yunzhi, this chaos has clouded your judgment. In this state? It’s suicide!” Xu Hao’s face twisted in anguish.
He thought exactly like the others: her solo mission meant certain death.
“Thank you for the warning. I’ll consider it.”
Watching her vanish down the stairs, Xu Hao clicked his tongue.
Felt like a duck nearly off the stove was about to be snatched away.
“Damn it—if she dies, over a year of effort wasted!”
“Should’ve moved sooner. What idiot marries another woman? Gets tangled in this mess?”
“Marrying’s one thing—but a cripple? What was she *thinking*?”
“What did she see? Her lame legs? Her uselessness… that extra baggage of a kid?”
Muttering bitterly, Xu Hao winced. Why did *he* get stuck with this?
·
·
Meanwhile, Jiang Qianyu soaked her feet comfortably at home.
A large wooden tub, steeped with medicinal herbs—pure relaxation.
Her legs were numb, yet she still felt the warm water cradling her feet.
“When will this end?” She sighed, gazing at the black threads coiled around her calves. A flick of her wrist dissolved them; they vanished near the bedroom window.
The puppet had returned. She’d hoped to channel its absorbed soul energy to heal her legs—but nothing. Stone sinking in deep water.
Her original body was hopeless. But the puppet? Promising.
After consuming Su Qing’s soul, its growth was unmistakable.
That soul was purer than the other five Hunters’ combined—less quantity, more *quality*. A true qualitative leap.
“Need more Grade A Hunters or monsters. Boost the puppet first. Then… try crafting another clone.”
One clone wasn’t enough. After the Tomorrow Apartment mission, a bold idea sparked:
Could she become a domain’s master… and start “raising livestock”?
Like those tenants.
The world held many corrupted souls—outwardly normal, inwardly rotten.
Lure them with desire. Skim a fragment of each soul.
Take Tomorrow Apartment’s woman in white: a vessel for dark urges. Frame her as “desire,” and she’d draw more broken souls.
As Jiang Qianyu plotted this shadowy scheme, her phone rang.
Lu Yunzhi.
“Xiao Yu, I’m almost home. Wait for me~”
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