Chapter Twelve: Wanpeng's Cousin

A few days had passed since the incident where Qin Yan, the eldest son of the Qin family, was killed. Shen Ye had returned to his usual life.

He spent his free time listening to music and reading novels.

After all, although Shen Ye’s attributes in every aspect far surpassed those of ordinary people, he was, at his core, still just a human being. It was impossible to spend his entire life battling evil in the shadows without ever stepping into the light.

Take tonight, for instance. It was nine thirty in the evening. The seaside cottages all closed at nine.

At this hour, Shen Ye was on his way to the internet café, intending to play a few rounds of League of Legends.

Back in middle school, he played Warcraft. In high school, it was DOTA. By the time he reached university, he’d moved on to League of Legends.

Gaming was an addiction for someone like Shen Ye, a self-confessed underachiever—it was impossible to quit, and he laughed at himself for it.

While attending Yangning Vocational College, he had plenty of time to play. He would often team up with his dorm mates for trios or quads, eventually reaching Platinum rank.

This past year, between running his restaurant, hunting down evildoers, and countless other matters piling up, he had less and less time for games. As a result, his hard-earned Platinum rank had slipped down to Gold, much to his dismay. Still, Shen Ye didn’t really care. Gaming was, after all, just for fun—it didn’t matter whether he won or lost.

If he lost too much and the frustration mounted, he’d simply start a new account in a fresh region, playing against other under-thirties, easily crushing beginners until he felt thoroughly satisfied.

Suddenly, a sleazy voice drifted from a dark alley ahead: “Hey, little girl, come keep us company for a while.”

Something was happening!

Shen Ye’s eyes narrowed as he walked into the shadowy alley.

Sometimes, he had to marvel at how much his strengthened constitution had improved his eyesight. Despite the lack of streetlights, he could see clearly in the darkness.

Inside the alley were three people.

One was a sweet-looking, delicate girl—she seemed like a little angel—dressed in the signature red-and-white uniform of County N No.1 High School. She looked only fourteen or fifteen. Using his Eye of Justice, Shen Ye glanced at her and saw a line of text above her head: “Lin Xiaolei, occupation: student, justice value: 0.2.”

The other two were men in their twenties, both sporting dyed hair. One, with yellow hair, was a hooligan. Above his head floated: “Liu Mao, alias Yellow Ghost, hooligan, evil value: 2.”

The other, with green hair, was also a thug. His read: “Liu Neng, alias Green Turtle, hooligan, evil value: 2.1.”

Yellow Ghost and Green Turtle, these two strangely coiffed ruffians, leered at the sweet-faced girl. Yellow Ghost grinned lasciviously. “Hey, pretty girl, come play with us. We’ll show you a good time.”

Green Turtle’s eyes gleamed as he stared. “Her skin’s so soft and fair. Let’s give it a good feel.”

The girl in the No.1 High School uniform backed away in fright.

Shen Ye stood behind the two thugs, feeling a pang of frustration. Both had evil values of only two—not enough to reach his threshold for execution. But if he hadn’t turned up, who knew what would have happened to the girl? Their evil values would no doubt have soared.

Yet, as things stood, their evil values weren’t high enough. Killing them would break his own code.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Ye decided to castrate the two as a stern warning.

He crept up behind Yellow Ghost and, with lightning speed, lashed out with his leg, swinging it under Yellow Ghost’s crotch.

A direct hit.

He could almost hear the sound of breaking eggs.

Yellow Ghost was sent flying, screaming in agony, before crashing to the ground. The body’s self-protection mechanism kicked in, and he passed out from the pain.

Green Turtle, startled by the cry, spun around, trying to see who had attacked them. But the darkness was too deep—he couldn’t make out anything. In the next instant, a fist crashed into his face, sending him reeling. As he staggered, a sudden gust of wind signaled another attack.

Then, an unbearable pain exploded between his legs.

He too heard the unmistakable sound of something shattering.

He was hurled forward and lost consciousness.

After dealing with the two thugs, Shen Ye clapped his hands. “Little girl, you’d better hurry home. It’s nearly ten o’clock, and this area isn’t safe at night. Go on, get home quickly.”

The girl, stunned by the turn of events, stood frozen for a long moment before hurrying out of the alley.

Shen Ye sauntered out after her.

Just then, the girl in the No.1 High School uniform suddenly turned, studying Shen Ye carefully. After a while, she asked with some confusion, “Are you Brother Shen Ye?”

“You know me?” Shen Ye was a little puzzled. He wasn’t exactly famous. But seeing her school uniform, perhaps she was a local.

“I’m Lin Xiaolei, Wan Peng’s cousin! We’ve met before.” The sweet-faced, oval-cheeked girl pouted at his blank look.

Wan Peng was Shen Ye’s best friend, now employed at the County N Tobacco Bureau. In fact, Shen Ye’s new Ford was Wan Peng’s recommendation.

“Lin Xiaolei… that name does sound familiar.” Shen Ye slapped his forehead. “Back when I used to hang out with Wan Peng, there was always a little tail behind him—a snot-nosed girl. But that was six or seven years ago. I haven’t seen you since.”

The sweet-faced girl stomped her foot in mock anger. “How can you talk about me like that?”

“So, what are you doing here?” Shen Ye asked casually.

“I ran away from home,” Lin Xiaolei muttered, pouting and looking a little upset.

“What? You ran away?” Shen Ye’s brows shot up. Kids these days, he thought. “Why would you do that? Your parents must be worried sick.”

“Hmph, let them worry!” she huffed, cheeks puffing out.

Just then, a strange rumbling interrupted them.

Lin Xiaolei’s face flushed red.

With Shen Ye’s sharp hearing, he immediately understood. Since she’d run away from home, she was probably starving. “You must be hungry. I happen to run a restaurant. Come, I’ll treat you to a meal—and you can tell me why you ran away.”

Lin Xiaolei wanted to refuse, but her hunger was too much. Blushing, she nodded.

...

Half an hour after Shen Ye and Lin Xiaolei had left, Yellow Ghost and Green Turtle slowly regained consciousness.

The first thing they felt was a searing pain in their lower abdomens.

“Damn, are my balls broken?” The last thing Yellow Ghost remembered before blacking out was the sound of his own eggs cracking.

Green Turtle yanked down his pants to check, but after a long examination, he still couldn’t tell if his were shattered.

“Maybe we should go to the hospital?” Green Turtle suggested.

“Yes, yes, let’s go right now,” Yellow Ghost replied. “By the way, who the hell smashed our balls? If I don’t get revenge, I’m not a man.”

“It was so dark, how should I know who did it?” Green Turtle groaned. “I couldn’t see a thing. Damn it.”

Supporting each other, the two hobbled to the nearest hospital. When asked what they needed checked, both wrote down “testicles,” causing the nurses to burst out laughing. Some even suspected the two had injured each other in a lovers’ quarrel.

After their examinations, Yellow Ghost and Green Turtle were even more depressed. Their testicles really were crushed, and the chance of recovery was less than fifteen percent.

Damn it! How is anyone supposed to live like this?

(I was supposed to update at midnight, but the backend kept crashing. I stayed up, refusing to sleep, and finally, at nearly one, it was fixed. Tears streaming down my face.)