“System!”
[Ding, I’m here!]
“Set a mission—I want to take Lin Fan’s ear!” Shen Wuxiao’s smile was twisted with cold intent.
[Ding! Mission initializing…]
[New mission issued: Remove one of Lin Fan’s ears. Since this causes both physical and psychological damage, mission reward: +100,000 points.]
[Failure results in no penalty. The mission remains available for future attempts, and the reward stays the same.]
[During the mission, bonus rewards may be triggered randomly. The quality of those rewards will depend on the perfection of the outcome.]
“Now that’s how you do things!” Shen Wuxiao laughed darkly. The operation would begin that evening.
…
Time passed quickly.Shen Wuxiao spent the entire day in another villa, away from Jiang Huaiyue, who stayed behind at the bay villa alone.
Without him around, she was listless all day, lost in her own thoughts. She cooked both lunch and dinner, but ended up not eating a single bite.
She tried calling Shen Wuxiao, but his phone was always switched off. That only made her anxiety worse.
Shen Wuxiao had turned off his phone on purpose. After all, it wouldn’t do to have it ringing while he was in the middle of a fight with Lin Fan. It was better to shut it off entirely.
Now, it was nine in the evening. Shen Wuxiao had arrived at an abandoned construction site.
He wore a black assault suit—windbreaker, tactical pants, and sturdy boots. A hood covered his head, and a ghost mask with a green face and fierce fangs hid his features, giving him a terrifying look.
He got out of the car, cracked his neck, and strode into the ruins. In his hand spun a weapon shaped like a brush—elegant, yet deadly.
Since he was pretending to be a bounty hunter, he needed a code name. After all, real bounty hunters always announced themselves.
He looked at the judge’s pen in his hand and smirked.
“Judge of Hell”—now that sounded menacing enough.
With that, he headed straight for Lin Fan’s hiding spot.
At that moment, Lin Fan was still lying motionless, pretending to be dead.
It wasn’t easy here. He hadn’t eaten in a while, and his mouth was dry and empty.
If he wasn’t avoiding trouble, he would never have forced himself to such an extent.
As usual, Lin Fan took out his phone and tried calling “Brother Sikong” to check in. But this time, the number was switched off.
Left with no choice, he put the phone away and lay back down. As always, Jiang Huaiyue’s face surfaced in his mind.
He missed her deeply and just wanted everything to end so he could find her and confess his feelings properly.
While he was daydreaming about their future, Lin Fan suddenly narrowed his eyes.
He sat up straight, alert.
Someone powerful was approaching.
Lin Fan’s perception was sharp. The person didn’t even bother to hide their aura—it was clear they were headed right for him.
He grabbed his weapon, the Crescent Moon Scimitar, and took his position in the living room.
The faint moonlight was just enough to illuminate the room.
He stood silently, waiting.
Suddenly—Bang!
The door burst open with a thunderous noise, blowing inward and slamming to the floor.
Lin Fan’s brows furrowed. This person was no amateur—their strength was on par with his own.
The footsteps that followed were calm and steady.
A shadow moved forward. As it drew closer, Lin Fan saw the ghost mask—fanged, green-faced, and horrifying in the dim light.
Shen Wuxiao saw Lin Fan too.
The disheveled hair, the rough beard, and the scattered mess around him—all of it showed how rough things had been for Lin Fan lately.
With a flick, Shen Wuxiao tossed a paper at him.
“Lin Fan, you’re mine now.”
Lin Fan picked up the paper and looked at it. It was the bounty notice from the Haisha Society.
Without hesitation, he crumpled it and tossed it aside.
Then he looked the masked man up and down. First the terrifying mask, then the spinning weapon in his hand.
With a sneer, Lin Fan said, “Green-faced ghost. Death Judge’s Pen. You must be the Judge of Hell—number seven on the Killer List.”
“The Haisha Society must be serious if they sent you.”
“…What?”
Shen Wuxiao was stunned.
What the hell? I just made up this name five minutes ago!
How was there already someone with this name—and on an actual list?
He thought the name was original!
If he had known, he would’ve gone with something like “Fire Cloud Evil God.”
Still, since Lin Fan already believed it, why not go with it?
“You’ve been hiding well,” Shen Wuxiao said, his tone now cold and cruel. “But tonight, you won’t escape.”
Lin Fan remained calm. “Oh really? It’s too early to say who’s winning. Be careful you don’t get humiliated.”
“I could say the same to you,” Shen Wuxiao said, stopping the rotation of his weapon and slamming it into the wall.
A flash of cold light glimmered in the air.
In response, Lin Fan also stabbed his Crescent Moon Scimitar into the wall.
This was the silent agreement between fighters—they would fight hand to hand!
Neither said a word. Their eyes locked.
In an instant, the urge to fight exploded.
One second… two… three…
Whoosh!
Lin Fan made the first move. He slammed his foot down, releasing a burst of true energy that swept the ground clear of dust and debris.
His body shot forward like an arrow from a bow. His iron fist aimed straight for Shen Wuxiao with terrifying force.
Shen Wuxiao didn’t back down.
He kicked off the wall, leapt forward, and drove his knee straight toward Lin Fan’s face.
It was too risky for Lin Fan to meet that knee head-on. He pulled back his attack and retreated three steps.
“Not bad,” he muttered, eyes sharp as blades, before charging again.
Whoosh—
He swung his right hand forward. Thumb and index finger curled like pincers, he aimed to clamp Shen Wuxiao’s throat.
It was an eagle-style move—swift, ruthless, and precise. Faster than any standard Xingyi technique.
Crack!
Just as his fingers neared their target, Shen Wuxiao grabbed Lin Fan’s thumb and bent it with incredible precision.
Lin Fan’s expression changed. He flipped in midair to relieve the pressure.
But Shen Wuxiao was ruthless. As Lin Fan flipped, he struck with another vicious knee toward his face.
Lin Fan managed to block with his left hand, pushing the knee downward and using the momentum to retreat again.
Then, he shook out his hands and went for another grab.
This time, Shen Wuxiao raised his right hand and aimed to crush Lin Fan’s hand with a powerful slap.
But Lin Fan reacted instantly, curling his fingers into a sharp beak-like shape and thrusting toward Shen Wuxiao’s palm.
Bang!
There was a dull thud. It looked like he had hit the target—but he hadn’t.
Shen Wuxiao had anticipated the move and changed his open palm into a tight fist just in time.
Lin Fan’s brows furrowed.
He had expected to rely on his combat experience to gain the upper hand—but this opponent’s reactions were just as sharp.
Not only that, he could sense it clearly now—Shen Wuxiao’s true power was stronger than his!
The battle was far from over.
Shen Wuxiao continued to attack fiercely. After landing a punch, he spun and kicked Lin Fan hard in the chest.
Lin Fan staggered back three steps but immediately grounded himself and prepared to launch forward again.