Chapter 16

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Chapter 16: Showing Her Face

After feeding the cat, her total assets were so low that even surviving through April was starting to look difficult.

The cat had pooped on the balcony. Sasha mentioned that other cat owners bought cat litter to make cleanup easier.

Mi Xiaoliu, who had no idea what cat litter was, went downstairs to the children’s playground and scooped up some sand instead. The cat still used it just fine.

No one dared to say anything—people would grab their children and flee in fear whenever they saw her.

But never mind paying rent or raising a cat—just affording meals was becoming an issue.

She counted on her fingers and toes. Without this freelance job, she’d be surviving next month on steamed buns with spicy strips or pickled vegetables—barely enough to stay full.

She turned on the smartphone issued by the organization and logged into the website. After accepting the team-up invitation, she could even see the chat logs between Hayato and the client.

Hourglass: Are you there? Wanna meet up?

Client: No need. Here’s his photo and address. Just break both his legs. He owes me 1,000 and refuses to pay—real arrogant too.

Attached: a chat screenshot:

“It’s just 1,000 mira. Why’re you chasing me for it? Can’t believe you’re this kind of person. Heh. After all these years, I finally see your true colors. Let’s delete each other.”

Hourglass: Want us to get the money back for you?

Client: Sure, take more if you want. I just want my 1,000. You guys can keep the rest—just don’t give me exactly 1,000 to brush me off. I want to see his legs broken.

He didn’t care about the 1,000 mira itself—it was the principle. Someone freeloaded and refused to pay, with an utterly disgusting attitude.

Mi Xiaoliu began furiously spamming Hayato with ellipses on the chat. At first, he didn’t respond. But after two hours of nonstop dot-dot-dot messages, Hayato finally snapped.

“Fine, fine! You can have all the 2,000 mira, alright?”

Hayato couldn’t even imagine what was going on in this girl’s head. Didn’t she have homework or something?

Seeing this reply, Mi Xiaoliu finally stopped tapping.

She suited up again, turned off the lights, and jumped out from the balcony. Clad in all black, she vanished into the night.

Though she could only see in shades of gray, white, and black, it surprisingly didn’t hinder her much in the dark. Her vision was about the same as a regular person’s—but the lack of color made it harder to distinguish objects hidden in shadows.

The client had provided very detailed information—so detailed that Mi Xiaoliu couldn’t understand a word of it.

But that didn’t matter—Sasha could read and guide her.

—

“You’ve really got the wrong guy.”

The middle-aged man in the backseat of the car dropped his mouth bitterly.

He wore a suit, a red tie, and had greying hair at his temples.

Still out and about past 10 p.m., he was one of many older office workers hustling to make a living in the city. Despite his age, his social status hadn’t improved, stuck earning a modest salary while working unpaid overtime.

He couldn’t be tough like young people. At his age, switching jobs was hard. Promotions and raises were rare. All he could do was keep his head down as younger men—young enough to be his sons—became his bosses and barked orders at him.

It was all because of that crushing word: life. And so he had long learned to bow his head.

“Uncle, how old are you?” the driver in front sighed, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

“Forty-seven.”

“And how much do you make a month?”

“Five thousand.”

The middle-aged man leaned forward slightly.

“Young man, my life’s a mess. I haven’t saved a cent, and I’ve no chance of getting married or settling down. But every month, I still donate half my salary to charity. Why? If you saw those frail girls standing under dim lights in the cold, wearing next to nothing—could you just walk past without caring?”

“Heh, go on. There’s a recording device in the car,” the cop in front smirked.

Being a cop in this city was dangerous—but performance metrics were never a concern.

Sure enough, they hadn’t even dropped off this guy yet when a screech like a pig being slaughtered echoed from a nearby building.

The officer turned on the siren and swung the police car around to check it out.

Using the siren might scare the suspect off, but if it could stop a crime in progress, it was worth it.

Naturally, the suspect was alerted. That couldn’t be helped.

On the ninth floor, Mi Xiaoliu squatted down with a wad of cash in hand, puzzled as she examined the man on the floor screaming louder than a dying pig, writhing like a maggot and clutching his broken legs.

She didn’t understand. The last guy she killed in the pouring rain hadn’t made a sound. So why was this one so loud?

Hood up, her face hidden, the fat man hadn’t seen her clearly. The agony of his broken legs left him no energy to identify his attacker.

Then came a sound from outside—something she didn’t understand, but that made her inexplicably anxious.

“Master, run! That’s the police!”

She didn’t recognize sirens, but Sasha explained: the police existed to catch bad children like her, lock them in tiny dark rooms, starve them, and sometimes knock on their heads.

Sasha had warned her many times—keep the hood up to prevent the police from remembering her face.

From the balcony, she saw the officer already entering the stairwell. He even looked up toward her. But on the ninth floor, in the dark, and with her hood on, he couldn’t make out her face.

Still, the way she looked down seemed to confirm her location—and the officer headed straight into the building.

Because he knew—people dressed like this in the dead of night indoors could only be one of four things: a cosplayer, a psychic cop, a super-criminal, or a lunatic.

“He’ll take the elevator. If Master uses the stairs, then—”

Before Sasha could finish, the girl raised her leg and kicked through the balcony’s metal guard, leaping out.

It wasn’t a loud crash—she was too light. But the broken metal did make a noticeable noise, enough for the officer, who hadn’t entered the elevator yet, to notice.

She landed right in front of a short-haired girl, scaring her so badly she fell to the ground, her grocery bag flying from her hands.

One second she was walking, the next a human dropped from the sky and slammed down in front of her. If she’d walked three steps farther, she might’ve died on the spot.

“Mmm…”

Mi Xiaoliu frowned, rubbing her knee.

It was scrapped—but quickly healed.

She stood up, looking down at the girl she’d frightened.

“Master! Your hood!”

Sasha’s reminder snapped her back—her hood had fallen off. She had just leapt from the ninth floor, after all.

She pulled it back on, but the girl had already seen her face.

“Pretty, cute, and handsome all at once”—that was everyone’s first thought upon seeing Mi Xiaoliu’s bare face. No embellishments, yet strikingly vivid.

It made people’s hearts flutter. How could a girl be this beautiful? You just hoped she’d never grow up, because growing up meant the risk of losing that perfection.

By now, the officer had also emerged from the building. He didn’t yell “Freeze!” like in the dramas. Instead, he crept forward silently with handcuffs—but Mi Xiaoliu noticed the movement.

She darted away.

One look at her speed, and he knew there was no way he’d catch up.

He spoke into his radio, then walked over to help the short-haired girl off the ground.

“Are you okay?”

Upon seeing her face, the officer quickly stepped behind her to avoid her gaze.

“Mingxue, you’re not wearing your sunglasses today?”

“They fell.”

The girl named Mingxue picked up her sunglasses from the ground.

Even though one arm was broken, she still put them back on. To her, they were as essential as prescription glasses.

Only once she had them on did the officer dare face her again.

Mingxue gave him a mocking smirk, making the officer a little embarrassed.

“Mingxue, did you see what that person was thinking just now?”

By the time he arrived, Mi Xiaoliu had already pulled her hood back on—he didn’t know if Mingxue had seen her face.

“I almost got smashed to death and you want me to read her mind too?”

Rolling her eyes, Mingxue angrily picked up her groceries and headed into the building.

Translator’s Note: Please write Reviews for this Volume 1 [https://a.co/d/4uKlEnX] on Amazon.