Sorry, the world is so dark.

"I'm sorry, Wei, this world is just so dark."

Hearing Sun Ying's final words, Wei said nothing and turned to run!

But he felt his feet go weak, unable to exert any force!

As a result, he only took a few steps before being pounced upon from behind by a vagrant!

At this point, Wei could only raise his fists and punch the vagrant as they grappled and rolled on the ground!

The intense scuffle drew the attention of many onlookers from nearby.

Some held coffee or drinks in their hands, some munched on seeds, all watching the spectacle with glee.

Sun Ying watched the two men wrestling on the ground, a look of disgust on her face as she took out tissues to wipe her tongue and arms.

Then, she picked up a rock from the roadside.

Approaching the brawling pair, she raised the rock high.

Wei was on the bottom, and he saw Sun Ying's motion, shouting as he fended off the vagrant's blows, "Look behind you!"

"This woman is trying to kill us both!"

The vagrant paid no heed to Wei's words, raining blow after blow upon the weaker Wei until he was utterly defenseless!

Gradually, Wei's once refined and scholarly face became a bloody, mangled mess, his wire-rimmed glasses completely bent out of shape as he slipped into unconsciousness!

It was at this moment that Sun Ying, holding the rock aloft, curved her lips into a faint smile, and THWACK—

She dealt the vagrant a crushing blow to the back of his skull, cracking it open.

The vagrant jolted, then slowly collapsed atop Wei, motionless.

Sun Ying's slender arm remained raised, the rock poised to strike Wei's head!

THWACK!

The rock struck the pavement.

Sun Ying's expression changed abruptly.

She saw before her a jester clad in a purple suit, a golden badge pinned to his chest, tilting his head as he observed her.

"Woo-hoo! I think... I might have come at a bad time?"

Sun Ying glanced at the nearly lifeless Wei on the ground, forcing out, "This is a private matter between us, it has nothing to do with you!"

"Of course!"

The jester sauntered forward, his crimson lips curling slightly upward. "I just wanted to ask, what was it... ah yes!"

"Why did you at Starlight Group suddenly refuse to cooperate with us?"

Sun Ying trembled faintly as she spoke, "It's... hard to explain in a few words. Simply put, if you want to resolve this issue, you'd best speak to Starlight Group's chairman."

The jester's crimson smile widened as realization dawned. "I see, so your chairman has a grudge against you?"

Sun Ying grew somewhat flustered.

Her previous statement seemed innocuous, but it subtly deflected the topic and shifted blame elsewhere.

The jester had asked about the reason behind this incident, but she replied with advice on resolving it instead.

In the back-and-forth, Sun Ying had concealed the true instigator behind this affair.

But the shrewd jester saw through her ploy in an instant.

With a flick of his wrist, the jester produced a small dagger.

"Listen well, I'm asking why your leadership reneged on a decision already made?"

"I only want to know who caused this, so don't try to deceive me, or else I'll make you..."

The jester gestured towards the mutilated Wei, continuing, "...end up like him."

Sun Ying's expression became helpless.

"It was Liu Bin, the head of our supply chain and logistics management department. If our cooperation succeeded, you would become part of Starlight Group's supply chain."

"Everything in the supply chain falls under Liu Bin's purview. According to industry norms, you'd need to give Liu Bin a little 'favor' – what's commonly called a kickback or bribe."

"Otherwise, why would a massive company like Starlight Group choose your products when so many others are vying to supply us?"

"Only our sales and R&D departments know the quality of your prosthetics, but R&D would never admit that a small clinic could produce anything better than their thousands-strong research team."

"Otherwise, what's the point of keeping them around?"

"So the information Liu Bin received from R&D was that your prosthetics are just average."

"An ordinary product from a supplier who doesn't 'pay respects' was bound to be rejected. That's more or less the process."

"Do... Do you understand now?"

The jester stood dazed for a long while before finally snapping out of it.

He blinked and said, "Spending too much time with Lu has made me think this world had become simple and clean."

"But now I see, yes, this is the feeling that once drove me insane – the complexity of human society..."

"Oh?"

The jester suddenly thought of a question.

"Why are you covering for Liu Bin by hiding this?"

Sun Ying's seductive face twitched ever so slightly. "We're... in a relationship."

The jester tilted his head and frowned. "How is that different from an affair?"

Sun Ying: "......"

"No... No major difference."

The jester stepped over the two men lying on the road and approached Sun Ying.

"I have a hunch you were trying to scheme against Lu. Am I right?"

Sun Ying thought back to what she had told Wei earlier.

But could that be called scheming?

At most, she only planned to monopolize Lu's supply.

That would just be giving Lu more money, wouldn't it?

Looking at the jester's face painted in ashen white, she said cautiously, "I really didn't scheme against Dr. Lu."

The jester shook his head. "I think you did."

"Because Lu told me, sometimes, you can guess what many people will do."

"With your seductive looks, strong personality, and single-minded ambition to climb higher, you'll scheme against anyone you encounter."

As he spoke, the jester retrieved something from his person, causing Sun Ying's seductive face to turn pale.

The jester pressed the object against Sun Ying's chin, grazing it lightly.

Then he circled her slender neck with it, binding her.

It was a long, cylindrical balloon.

The same color and style as the one he had tied around Wu Xiong's neck before.

As the jester secured the balloon, he said, "If I guessed right, then it's fitting to send you to the afterlife."

"But if I guessed wrong, then..."

"I'll just say sorry."

With the balloon bound, the jester stood before Sun Ying, observing her face contorted by envy and fear, and grinned.

"Now, I don't know if I guessed right or wrong, I don't know if you truly did something detrimental to Lu, but!"

"I've decided to say this first—"

"I'm sorry."

With that, the jester reached out and popped the balloon around Sun Ying's neck.

For a moment, Sun Ying was transported back to that night when she saw Lu Yuan carry Wu Xiong's severed head upstairs.

BANG!

The balloon burst.

Well, just the balloon burst.

"Heh heh heh heh! Don't be scared, I was just kidding with you!"

Seeing the jester's face twisted in an eerie smile, Sun Ying felt an urge to fling her high heel at him.

The jester pointed to a car by the roadside. "You can leave now."

Sun Ying glanced at the mutilated Wei lying on the ground and tried to pick up the rock to strike him again.

But after this chain of events, she was too shaken to muster any strength, and the rock fell with little force.

Sensing the jester's eerie smile and cold gaze, Sun Ying dared not linger.

She slipped off her high heels, clutching them as she hurried to the car, started it up, and with one last haunted look at the jester, drove off into the night.

Through the rearview mirror, Sun Ying watched the clown in the distance grow farther away, and she felt a sense of joy at having narrowly escaped alive.

However, what she didn't see was that as the car drove away, the clown took out a detonator from his body.

Extending the antenna, he muttered to himself, "I'm not as cruel as Lu Yuan. I send people to their happy ending when they're joyful."

As he spoke, boom—

Before the clown could press the button on the detonator, Sun Ying's car was already catapulted into the air in a blazing explosion.

Watching the magnificent flames ahead, the clown stood stunned.

He looked down at the detonator in his hand and cursed, "Damn!"

Tossing it far away carelessly.

On the other side, on the interstate highway of the S-31 Region.

Feeling the vibration from his phone, Wu Xiong had a meaningful smile on his face.

Sun Ying was scheming against Wu Xiong, but wasn't Wu Xiong also scheming against her?

"Sorry, Sun Ying, this world is just that dark."

......

"Hunter, don't you feel that Lu Yuan is actually kind-hearted?"

"Many times he's willing to give people a chance to live, unlike these two, who instantly resort to lethal force."