"Whoosh"
With a sharp whooshing sound, Xie Yuyan, who seemed weak and powerless at first glance, swiftly drew the dagger from her waist and gripped it in her hand. Stepping forward, she mustered her last bit of strength to stab at the masked man.
No... I absolutely do not want to return to that place! I want to live my own life!
Oh? Poisoned?
Ye Feng, with his medical skills, noticed the wound on Xie Yuyan's abdomen under the faint light. Combined with her symptoms, it was highly likely that she had been poisoned with a paralyzing agent. It seemed that those pursuing her had no intention of taking her life.
"Die..."
The dagger was getting closer and closer to Ye Feng's heart, but he showed no intention of dodging.
No, this isn't right...
Xie Yuyan frowned, sensing something amiss in the blink of an eye. Although Ye Feng appeared to have his guard down, the cautious Xie Yuyan noticed his body slightly tilting to one side, as if preparing to dodge her attack.
Who is this guy? Could he be a newly trained assassin from the organization? Whatever, just kill him.
Thinking this, Xie Yuyan decided to rely on brute force to stab at Ye Feng's heart. With a quick step and a burst of strength, she lunged at him.
Just as the sharp dagger was about to pierce Ye Feng's heart, as Xie Yuyan had anticipated, the masked man lightly sidestepped, avoiding her attack. However, this seemingly obvious move was merely a feint on her part.
As their bodies brushed past each other, Xie Yuyan's hand suddenly moved. Her wrist deftly twisted, tossing the dagger from her right hand to her left, while her left hand reached out to grab the handle. This not only blocked the masked man's movement but also allowed her to deliver a fatal blow before he could react.
"Die!"
Xie Yuyan snorted coldly, gripping the flying dagger with her left hand and turning gracefully to stab at Ye Feng's exposed chest.
Just as Xie Yuyan thought everything was about to end, a sharp "clang" sound rang out, leaving her frozen in place.
The dagger spun in the air and eventually landed at her feet.
How... how could this be? He reacted so quickly? No! He had set this trap from the beginning, and I fell for it.
My own judgment led me to this...
"Bang"
Exhausted from using her last bit of strength, Xie Yuyan collapsed to her knees, barely managing to stay upright.
"Who... are you?"
"Me?"
Under the mask, Ye Feng put away his own dagger and pulled out a thick rope, testing its strength.
Hmm, she shouldn't be able to break free from this.
"I'm just a puppet following orders."
"Heh..."
Xie Yuyan wanted to say more, but the effects of the poison left her powerless, and she closed her eyes, collapsing to the ground.
Ye Feng did not approach immediately when Xie Yuyan fell. It wasn't until he saw her pale face and short, labored breaths that he finally relaxed.
In those brief moments of confrontation, Ye Feng had already sensed the difficulty of the situation, especially since Xie Yuyan was not at her full strength. Fortunately, her injury and the psychological pressure gave him the upper hand, or else he might have been killed with a single strike.
"This damn system really doesn't care about my life. If I didn't have intermediate skills in cold weapons and combat, I'd probably be dead by now."
Ye Feng muttered under his breath as he tied up the unconscious Xie Yuyan. Recalling her words earlier, he had already guessed a rough outline of her situation.
Xie Yuyan was likely an assassin, and her current state was probably due to being targeted by her own organization, leading to her downfall.
No, this place isn't safe. I need to get home quickly.
After tying a perfect knot around Xie Yuyan's wrists and ankles, Ye Feng covered the conspicuous rope with his outer coat. Although it was already past midnight, if they encountered anyone, it would be troublesome. So, he had to disguise it as if he were helping a drunk friend home to avoid suspicion.
Just as Ye Feng was about to carry Xie Yuyan away, he suddenly turned back to look at the dagger on the ground and the small amount of blood on the floor.
...
"Where is she? Tell me, where is she!"
Half an hour later, the place where Ye Feng and Xie Yuyan had been was now occupied by a bald man and several men with their heads bowed.
"Boss, we... we lost her trail here. The only trace left is a pool of blood, nothing else."
"So, you're saying she sprouted wings and flew away?"
"..."
The man who answered saw the murderous intent on his boss's face and trembled, lowering his head even further and not daring to speak again.
"Five minutes... If you don't find any clues within five minutes, then..."
"No need."
Before the bald man could finish, a voice filled with authority emerged from the shadows at the end of the alley, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps.
One of the subordinates, who had been staring at the ground, suddenly heard a strange noise. In the next moment, the bald man's figure appeared in his field of vision.
"Thud"
The bald man knelt on the ground, his face filled with terror, his forehead almost touching the floor.
"Please, Your Excellency, have mercy! That woman disappeared here, and I suspect someone took her. It wasn't me, really!"
"I have already shown you my mercy. Now, I am growing impatient."
As the footsteps drew closer, a dignified man in a suit emerged from the shadows, looking down at the bald man with disdain.
"You have missed your only chance. You will receive the appropriate punishment."
The suit man said calmly, his eyes showing no concern, as if the bald man were already a dead man.
"Screw you!"
Seeing that he couldn't gain the suit man's forgiveness, the bald man dropped his act.
"You're just a dog sent by the organization. I've given you enough face. Don't push your luck!"
With that, the bald man pulled out a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at the suit man.
"What if I kill you right now? No matter how strong you are, can you dodge a bullet...?"
Before the bald man could finish, his pistol fell to the ground, and his hands clutched his throat, revealing a look of horror.
"Cough... cough..."
A thin line had appeared on the bald man's neck, and as it widened, blood gushed uncontrollably.
In no time, the bald man collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open, clearly dead.
The suit man greedily inhaled the thick smell of blood, his hand holding a claw knife dripping with blood...
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
