After several days of being “trained” by Mei Yanlan, Jing Pei calculated the timing and decided to return to school tomorrow.

Before going, she called Tao Ze again and told him to take Mo Weiwei to investigate another case the next day.

Ever since Mo Weiwei suffered a setback against Jing Pei at the museum, he had refused to accept it. This time, he was determined to give her another wrong answer and challenge her to the end.

While helping him put on a jacket so he would not catch cold, Tao Ze lectured him, “If you deliberately give the wrong answer again, the boss will really get angry. And I’ll be angry too.”

Mo Weiwei stuck out his tongue. “Bleh.”

So what if they got angry? What could they do, hit him? He was not afraid. It was not like he had never been beaten before.

That morning, Jing Pei woke up unusually early. As the driver started the car, she said, “Take a different route today. Do you know where they film the program ‘Good Morning, Hualan’? Go that way.”

The driver immediately became excited. “Young Miss wants to see the filming? Do you also like Zhou Yongzi?”

Zhou Yongzi was the popular idol known as the “Goddess’s Daughter.” One of her schedules today was appearing live on Good Morning, Hualan.

The program was filmed early in the morning and aired before people went to work. It was created by government departments to encourage people to face another difficult day. Because of that, the guests were usually very influential celebrities.

By the time the driver brought Jing Pei there, the filming site was already packed with people. Traffic police had to stop the crowd from spilling onto the road and blocking traffic. It showed just how popular Zhou Yongzi was.

Jing Pei sat in the back seat, scanning the surroundings as she waited.

Today was the day Long Ling’s fate would truly become tied to her loyal killer.

The one-eyed boy stood among the crowd, expressionless as he stared at the young woman on stage. Wherever her absurdly beautiful eye looked, screams erupted. Some fans were so excited they fainted and had to be carried out by security.

His hearing and eyesight had stabilized. He did not know why, but it should be a good thing. He could hear farther and see farther. His strength had also become unstable. Sometimes lifting a cup of water felt difficult. Other times, a light push almost smashed a table apart against the wall.

Because of this, he had managed to carry out his plan and finally succeeded late last night.

The news that Zhou Yongzi would appear on the show had been announced days ago. Since the stage was outdoors, he had secretly avoided the guards and cameras during the quiet nights before the event and tampered with the equipment.

His gloomy eyes locked onto the young woman on stage. In his hand was a shabby homemade remote control.

Above Zhou Yongzi’s head hung a huge machine shaped like a ceiling fan. It was used for moving stage equipment and lighting effects. But no one knew it had been modified for another purpose.

The edges of the blades had been sharpened like knives, and the machine could spin like a real fan. A switch had also been added. If he pressed the remote, the machine would fall and cut off the head of whoever stood below it.

He stared at Zhou Yongzi with eyes even crazier than her fans. He only wanted to kill her and did not want innocent people involved, so he waited.

Finally, the backup dancers moved away, leaving Zhou Yongzi alone beneath the “fan.”

The machine above her suddenly spun faster and faster until the blades became a blur. Just as Zhou Yongzi looked up after feeling the wind, he pressed the switch.

A faint click sounded.

Amid screams, the “fan” dropped, and the sharp blades sliced toward Zhou Yongzi’s neck.

Did it work?!

A twisted expression of joy appeared on his face, but in the next moment, cold sweat covered him.

Zhou Yongzi had not been crushed or decapitated. Instead, she crouched upside down on a stage pillar like an insect. Her eyes swept rapidly across the screaming crowd and quickly locked onto him.

Zhou Yongzi was actually an Atavist?!

No one had ever heard of an Atavist from a major family lowering themselves to become an entertainer.

At that moment, the one-eyed boy felt killing intent. He immediately turned and ran.

He absolutely could not get caught. If she discovered his identity, she would kill him. Then what about his revenge?

At the same time, Zhou Yongzi jumped down from the pillar and quickly said something to her manager while pointing toward the boy forcing his way through the crowd.

“Chase him!” the manager ordered immediately, and several people rushed after him.

It was still an hour before rush hour, so there were not many cars on the road. The chase through the streets was impossible to miss.

Meanwhile, Long Ling’s luxury apartment was in the city center, close to the filming site of Good Morning, Hualan. Going to the Twelve Zodiac Academy meant passing by the area.

So she witnessed the dramatic moment when the giant fan fell, and she also saw the chase between the one-eyed boy and Zhou Yongzi’s people.

Of course she remembered him. He had stayed outside the Twelve Zodiac Academy for a long time and had asked her for help before. She knew about his grudge against the Zhou family. Earlier, when Zhou Qian had joined her in handing out water and bread, the boy had looked at Zhou Qian with hatred, leaving Zhou Qian confused.

When he asked for help, Long Ling had responded the same way she always did—pretending she would do her best to help, then later acting helpless and apologetic. That way, he would only hate the coldness of the Atavists instead of blaming her, and she would even gain his gratitude.

But she never expected him to dare assassinate Zhou Yongzi. There was no reason for her to offend Zhou Yongzi for his sake. So she pretended not to notice and continued walking toward the academy.

But after walking for a while, she noticed something strange.

Why did the way he ran look so odd?

Even if being chased unlocked hidden physical potential, there should still be limits. How could someone casually leap three meters? How could he get hit by a car, fly several meters away, roll across the ground, then stand up unharmed and keep running? This was not a movie. And the boy looked weak and unhealthy.

Wait… could it be…?

At that moment, Long Ling’s expression changed.

Jing Pei saw the one-eyed boy causing chaos on the street. She also saw Long Ling staring at him in shock and jealousy.

This was the day Long Ling finally noticed him after seeing signs of Atavism appear in him following his failed assassination attempt on Zhou Yongzi.

After Zhou Yongzi’s people dumped him in the wilderness, Long Ling would take him home, care for him, comfort him, and discover his rare and powerful Atavist species. She would promise to help him get revenge.

As proof of her sincerity, she would trick the first member of the Zhou family—Zhou Qian, the boy who loved her both in the original story and now—and use him to kill another Zhou family member.

Because of this, the fifteen-year-old boy stained his hands with blood and became a wanted criminal. He fell from the light into darkness, unable to walk under the sun again. From then on, he would live with hatred and bloodshed in the shadows, becoming her loyal assassin and doing endless dirty work so her own hands could remain clean.

He regretted the impulsive choice he made when he was young and blinded by hatred. But once he killed Zhou Qian, there was no turning back.

At this moment, neither the fleeing boy nor Long Ling behind him knew anything about the future waiting for them.

…

Hujing Prefecture.

News had already spread online that Madam Ouyang’s younger sister was suspected to be the murderer.

The maid and Old Madam Ouyang were overjoyed. If the younger sister acted alone, there was no way Madam Ouyang could have known nothing. Otherwise, why had Madam Ouyang not drunk the fruit tea while Ouyang did?

They quickly hired the best lawyer in Hujing Prefecture. Even if the evidence was weak, the lawyer’s skill could still convince the jury to declare Madam Ouyang guilty and send both sisters to prison.

Cases where weak evidence still led to conviction—or strong evidence still ended in acquittal—were not rare in this world. In the end, it depended on the judges, jury, and lawyers.

With Madam Ouyang’s fame and the public attention on the case, bribing the judge was impossible. They could only rely on the lawyer.

When Madam Ouyang heard they had already hired the top lawyer, she felt uneasy. But she had chosen to trust the information broker and hired the unknown lawyer Xiang Huagong instead.

Xiang Huagong himself had been surprised to receive the case. He apparently did not know the information broker personally and was shocked to hear they had recommended him. Only then did Madam Ouyang realize she was not the first client sent to him by the broker.

Even so, Xiang Huagong accepted the case. Over the phone, he calmly instructed her on what to do next and warned her sister never to admit anything.

There was something strangely reassuring about his voice, and Madam Ouyang slowly calmed down. Perhaps he really did possess some special ability if he had caught the attention of the information broker.

Unfortunately, no matter how skilled a lawyer was, they could not legally stop the maid from inheriting part of the estate through the child in her womb.

That filled Madam Ouyang with hatred. But as long as she and her sister were safe, losing some money did not matter.

Meanwhile, the maid, who had been keeping track of Madam Ouyang’s side, burst into laughter when she learned they hired an unknown lawyer. It was as if she could already see her victory.

At that moment, she and her male best friend were eating breakfast in an expensive café. The sandwiches looked ordinary, yet cost absurd amounts of money. In the past, she would have mocked customers there as fools, but now she enjoyed eating there and being served.

The television on the wall was playing Good Morning, Hualan, but neither of them cared. They were discussing where to go shopping after breakfast while mocking Madam Ouyang.

“What’s the point of being beautiful if you don’t understand men?”

“Exactly.”

“Thanks again for introducing me to work at the Ouyang family,” the maid said with a smile.

The two exchanged knowing looks and clinked their coffee and milk cups together.

“But be careful later. Let me carry the bags. We can’t tire out the precious baby,” the male friend said.

“Just have the staff deliver everything home. Why carry anything?” the maid replied grandly, remembering how Madam Ouyang used to shop.

At that moment, a handsome man in a suit walked past them.

“Look, so handsome!” the male friend whispered.

The maid glanced over. He really was handsome. She had spent years with an older man like Mr. Ouyang. Once she inherited the Ouyang family wealth, she planned to enjoy herself with men like this.

“I’m going to the restroom,” she said as she stood up.

“Okay. Watch out in case the floor is slippery.”

The maid was indeed careful. The child in her belly represented her future happiness, and she would not let anything happen to it.

After she left, the handsome man also stood up and headed toward the restroom.

But instead of entering the men’s room, he walked directly into the women’s restroom.

The maid had just finished using a stall when she opened the door and saw the man standing outside.

She opened her mouth to scream, but he immediately covered it and shoved her backward. She fell hard onto the floor, her back crashing against the toilet.

Her eyes widened in terror.

The man slowly showed her a strange smile. It looked stiff and unnatural, while his eyes glimmered with something eerie.

“Miss, could you tell me how Madam Ouyang got information about me?”

At first, the maid was confused and frightened. Her stomach already hurt, but she still failed to understand. Then realization struck.

It was the serial killer who sent death notices.

After nearly being caught, the killer had gone into hiding. He could not stop thinking about how his information had suddenly been exposed. The only solution was to ask the people involved.

Mr. Ouyang was dead, and the estate was full of police, making it too risky. So he targeted the maid instead.

The maid did not dare resist. This was a monster who killed without hesitation. So she told him about the Puzzle Intelligence Agency.

“I told you everything. Please let me go. I’m pregnant…”

The killer, who had been about to leave after getting his answer, paused.

Normally, he only killed chosen targets. He liked sending death notices first as part of his ritual.

But she said she was carrying a child.

“A child raised by someone like you would probably grow into another shameless person, wouldn’t it?” the serial killer said with a strange smile.

The male friend had briefly forgotten about the maid after seeing the emergency involving Zhou Yongzi on television. When the live broadcast suddenly ended, he finally realized she had been gone too long and hurried to look for her.

He passed by the handsome man on the way.

Rushing into the restroom, he found the maid collapsed on the floor, clutching her stomach and crying.

“Hurry… take me to the hospital… my stomach hurts…”

The male friend turned pale and quickly called an ambulance.

The ambulance arrived quickly. The maid grabbed the doctor and begged, “Please save my baby. Please save my baby…”

“We’ll do everything we can,” the nurse comforted her.

The male friend also kept reassuring her. “The baby will be fine. This child is your lucky star. It came to change your life.”

The maid nodded repeatedly, desperately trying to convince herself and cling to the mysterious power of fate to protect the child that would make her rich.

Then she fainted.

When she woke up, Old Madam Ouyang had just arrived.

She heard the doctor sigh and say regretfully, “We couldn’t save the baby.”

Her world collapsed.