Shen Ning had a lot of unanswered questions.
Why is the sky so blue? Why do clouds look so soft? Why do the stones deep in the mines glow? And more importantly…
“Black stockings are good, they’re aggressive. Get over-knees, thigh-highs, and full tights—one of each in varying levels of transparency.”
“Pajamas should be form-fitting, not too mature, just girly enough—since we’re not exactly… curvy.”
“That moonlight-white dress is beautiful, but not for us—buy it as a gift for Chuyao.”
“And you must get this hoodie—the brim is jagged like a shark’s mouth. Tie your hair in a ponytail and let it hang from under the hood—it’ll look like a shark’s tongue. It’s a design from a pre-Spiritual Era anime Chuyao likes.”
Shen Ning didn’t understand. The last time her future self appeared, she was a cold, ruthless assassin. Why was she now acting like some repressed pervert?
“Instead of picking clothes,” the girl tried steering the conversation back, “maybe you could give me actual advice—like what to do when the Clown Gang shows up?”
To her surprise, the reflection just shrugged. “Why ask me? Chuyao’s here. With her around, you think you’ll even need me?”
“…”
Shen Ning silently tossed all the mentioned clothes into the cart and began seriously wondering: What in the future made her turn out this way?
Meanwhile, Xu Chuyao was walking ahead, occasionally grabbing items off the shelves and tossing them to Yu Yuwei, who trailed behind, arms full.
Yu Yuwei had no idea why she was being dragged along on this shopping trip. But orders were orders, and whatever the commander handed her, she caught without complaint. During this, she also heard quite a bit—especially about Xu Chuyao’s relationship with Shen Ning.
“You two are a couple? Who confessed first?”
“Of course Shen Ning confessed to me.” Xu Chuyao said it with a straight face. “That day, the sun was high and the sky was foggy, like it had just rained. She stood there and said: ‘If you won’t be my girlfriend, I can’t go on. It’s like the rain before a rainbow—I can’t lie to myself anymore.’”
“Oh wow…” Yu Yuwei was moved.
She didn’t really understand a few of those lines, but she could feel the poetic weight of them. Unlike Mi Xiaolu, Yu Yuwei hadn’t known Xu Chuyao for long and didn’t realize how full of it she was—so she took everything as truth.
What a tragic, romantic story.
“Stop daydreaming.” Xu Chuyao glanced at her phone. “It’s time. Put on those things I gave you earlier.”
“Put them on?”
Yu Yuwei finally looked down and realized she was holding a thick winter coat, a wide sunhat, and a scarf.
“You’re tall. Wearing those, you’ll look like an ordinary adult with no spirit power,” Xu Chuyao explained.
Spirit users were more resilient to heat and cold, so even in this season, they dressed lightly—making them easy to distinguish from normal people.
“Oh.” Yu Yuwei began pulling on the coat. “Then what?”
“Then go stand near the mall entrance and pretend to talk on the phone. Soon, a group of people will walk in. Don’t worry about them. Just wait for the one guy who starts spraying graffiti near the wall. When he does, punch him in the head and shut the door behind him.”
The Clown Gang of Central City had gone through a unique restructuring—something that hadn’t happened in other regions.
The rumors about the previous mall incident grew more dramatic over time, fueled by the few survivors. But to outsiders, it just sounded like a bunch of rookies messing up a job.
The newly formed Central Clown Gang saw it that way too.
“The ‘Reaper from the Shadows’? Please, she was just a low-tier one-star. The survivors must’ve pissed themselves for nothing.”
“Weren’t three of our guys there that time?”
“They didn’t dare come back. Had to be transferred elsewhere.”
“Cowards.”
A group of ten or so chattered as they walked. Their clown masks were stuffed in their coat pockets. The plan was simple: walk into the mall, masks on, start the attack. Fast and clean.
“They’ve been inside for half an hour—should be relaxed by now. Perfect time to strike.” The squad leader said. “Go all out. Someone’s handling the academy’s reinforcements—we’ve got time to pull out.”
Clearly, even if the gang didn’t believe in the so-called “reaper”, their bosses had learned from last time and patched the holes in their plan.
Everyone was pumped. Some couldn’t wait and had already pulled out their masks.
“Put those on after we go in.” The leader scolded them. Then he pointed to someone at the back. “Black Duck, go paint the mark by the entrance. The rest of us, go inside.”
Menial jobs like that were always handed to the weakest members.
“Me? …Alright.”
Black Duck looked disappointed. His mask was black, with bulging lips like a duck bill—hence the codename.
“Let’s get to work.”
He strolled to the mall entrance, pulled out two spray cans from his bag, and was about to tag the wall—when he felt something was off.
He turned his head—and saw a woman in a thick coat, wide hat, and scarf staring silently at him.
“What’re you looking at?” Black Duck asked.
She said nothing. She just slowly pulled off her scarf and hat—then suddenly charged forward, raised her elbow—
Thud!
Inside the mall, the rest of the gang had just passed the reception area. They were about to cut the lights and hunt for students when suddenly—they saw two girls blocking their path.
One: a white-haired girl with no expression.
The other: a well-endowed, long-haired, black-haired girl with a demure look.
“That’s it?” the white-haired girl asked. “We’re going in direct?”
“Just beat them up. Doesn’t matter.” the black-haired girl replied. “We’ve got stat advantage this time.”
In the original story, this was the academy’s first bait mission—and the Clown Gang’s first time biting. Both sides were testing the waters. But in truth, Chuyao probably knew their strength better than they did themselves.
“White hair… red eyes… petite frame—you’re the one they called…”
The clown-faced leader never finished his sentence.
The girl pointed a finger at him. A surge of air coiled around her fingertip. The air distorted visibly.
“External spirit power? No, you’re second-tier?! How—”
Biu—!
It happened in a flash. Before the rest could react, the leader dropped lifelessly to the floor, a gaping hole through his chest and back.
At the same time—
BAM!
Behind them, the mall doors slammed shut.
RIP to those gang members 🫡