Chapter 10 — The Illusion of Spring Peaches

My body trembled violently, a freezing chill sweeping down my spine as my hands instinctively pressed against the ice-cold cement floor, shoving me backward step by step. The blade drew closer and closer with every second, and the pungent, coppery scent of fresh blood lingering on its edge made every single cell in my body shriek with alarm. I tried desperately to swallow the lump in my throat, my vocal cords as dry as if they had been scraped over with coarse sandpaper, before I mustered every ounce of remaining courage and forced the words past my lips: "Wait! I... I have money! I can give you money!"

The footsteps of Lu Ye halted instantly. His gaze, heavily drenched in raw murderous intent, caught a flicker of wild realization before he slowly lowered his head to stare down at me. "Money?" His voice was chilling, drawn out, and dripping with suspicion. I nodded frantically, firing off words like a machine gun: "Yes, I have money! I do live-streaming, and I make quite a decent sum every month. If you spare my life, I will transfer the funds to you right this second, enough for you to buy beef, mutton, the absolute finest cuts for Mao Mao! You won't have to eat... that stuff anymore."

Lu Ye's eyes grew darker, boring straight through me with a heavy, stifling gaze. The atmosphere in the room turned suffocatingly thick. Then came the soft metallic click of a finger tapping lightly against the hilt of the knife, each tap resounding inside my chest like the beat of a death drum. Finally, he narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice raspy and low: "Where is it? Show me your account."

Trembling, I fished out my phone, my fingers sliding across a screen slick with cold sweat. Every single movement felt like a desperate gamble between life and death. I unlocked my banking app, fighting to keep my voice steady. "I have tens of thousands... Name your price, and I will transfer it immediately."

Lu Ye stared intently at the screen, the corners of his mouth twitching into a twisted, mirthless smile. "Transfer it all."

I hesitated for a fraction of a second. In that exact instant, the blade slashed through the air, flashing a blinding, freezing light less than an inch from my nose. "All of it."

I took a sharp gasp of air, my shaking fingers punching in the transfer. A crisp notification bell rang out in the dead silence of the room. Lu Ye received the funds, yet his expression remained entirely devoid of warmth. He tilted his head, his deep-set eyes sweeping across my face, his voice rumbling like gravel grinding against concrete: "Consider this... a temporary lease on your life."

He sheathed the knife, turned to gather Mao Mao into his arms, and stroked its silver-streaked fur while his pitch-black eyes shimmered with inscrutable emotions. "I trust no one. But you... you know how to speak with it." He raised his head, locking eyes with me, a dangerous glimmer flashing in the depths of his pupils. "From now on... you will help me. As long as you behave, I'll let you live."

The air inside the abandoned building felt completely frozen, every beat of my heart thudding violently in my ears like a war drum. I looked at Lu Ye—a man who had just murdered someone in a dark alley, who fed an ailing old dog human meat, and who was now forcing me to act as its translator. I knew with absolute certainty that from this very second, I had run out of roads to escape.

"Watch out!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, tearing my throat raw as I threw my entire weight against Li Shao, shoving him hard to the side.

With a sharp whistle, Lu Ye's long blade slashed downward, burying itself deep into the cold cement floor with a piercing metallic clang. In a split second, the quiet abandonment of the room shattered into chaos.

"Who the hell are you?! Who sent you here?!" Lu Ye roared, his voice hoarse, his eyes bloodshot, and the veins bulging aggressively along the arm gripping the knife. Li Shao, sent sprawling by my shove, scrambled back up from the floor. Even with the gleaming blade inches from his face, he gritted his teeth and stepped resolutely in front of me. "Let her go! I'm calling the police!"

"Police?" Lu Ye let out a dry, harsh bark of laughter, every single syllable grating viciously through his teeth like ice. "Go ahead and call them. Let's see if the police get here in time... or if you die first."

"Woof! Woof!" The cry of Mao Mao, the old dog huddled by Lu Ye's feet, suddenly pierced the air. But it was no ordinary bark; it was a long, harrowing wail, brimming with absolute despair.

I froze, desperately tuning in to "listen" during that fleeting second. Mao Mao transmitted a vivid image, a jumble of chaotic memories... a bundle of fresh meat wrapped in a transparent plastic bag, and on the person's lower leg... a strange tattoo depicting a hawk tearing into its prey.

My heart seized. That tattoo... I had seen it in a recent news report about a series of shocking disappearances in the city: a prominent gang leader had vanished mysteriously half a month ago, and the police strongly suspected an internal underworld purge. That hawk tattoo was the unmistakable emblem of the Flying Eagle Syndicate, a notorious criminal underworld organization based in the south side of the city.

Lu Ye... had killed a member of the Flying Eagle Syndicate. Not just one... but likely more. If word of this ever leaked out... the police wouldn't be the only ones hunting him down; the entire syndicate would ensure he did not survive.

Before I could react, Lu Ye lunged forward.

"Li Shao, get back!" I yelled, but it was already too late.

Clang! The heavy blade collided with the iron pipe in Li Shao's hands, sending a shower of sparks flying through the air. Li Shao gritted his teeth, locking his grip onto the metal pipe, sweat pouring down his face, yet his gaze remained unwavering. "If you dare hurt her, I'll fight you to the death!"

Amidst their frantic struggle, a dark shadow plunged straight through the shattered window pane from behind.

"Meow!" The cry of A Le, my black cat, rang out like a thunderclap in a clear sky. It unsheathed its claws, slashing fiercely across Lu Ye's knife-wielding arm.

"Ah!" Lu Ye shrieked in agony as the weapon slipped from his grasp, clattering loudly against the concrete. I instantly scrambled forward, snatching Mao Mao from his arms and scrambling backward into the corner, my trembling hands shielding the ailing dog.

Lu Ye spun around sharply, his eyes blazing red like a cornered beast driven to the absolute edge. "Damn you... you dare betray me too, Mao Mao?!"

"Woof... woof..." Mao Mao's voice was weak, piping straight into my mind: "Mom... run... he is... not human..."

The very next second, every hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I whipped my head toward A Le; the cat's fur was completely fluffed up, its amber eyes glaring fixedly at Lu Ye while a low, guttural growl vibrated in its throat—a sound entirely uncharacteristic of a feline. The air inside the decaying room grew thick and suffocating, as though some other horrifying truth had just been dragged out from beneath the innocent guise of a "poor young man scammed out of his wages."

The abandoned room reeked heavily of coppery blood and damp mildew. The fierce skirmish had left my heart pounding wildly, my limbs completely sapped of strength, and my head ringing as though struck by a heavy hammer. At that moment, Mao Mao, despite lying flat and struggling to recover, somehow mustered a sudden burst of energy. It let out a long, menacing growl, its clouded eyes briefly flashing with a ferocious light, before it lunged straight at Li Shao, sinking its teeth deep into his leg.

"Ah—!" A cry of agony echoed through the entire room.

Caught between the young man in the baseball cap and the sickly old dog, Li Shao was entirely outmatched and knocked violently to the ground within seconds. Lu Ye—that young man—allowed a twisted, crooked smile to tug at the corner of his lips as he hoisted the gleaming long blade high, pressing the sharp edge directly against Li Shao's throat. With just a flick of his wrist, blood would instantly stain the grey cement.

"Wait!!!" I shrieked until my voice cracked, my brain spinning at breakneck speed. "Don't kill him! He's a wealthy heir! His family is loaded, killing him... means a massive financial loss!"

Lu Ye paused. His deep-set eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, his breathing heavy and ragged. He slowly shifted his gaze toward Li Shao, inspecting him with the cold scrutiny of a merchant weighing the market value of a human life. A moment later, the corner of his mouth twitched upward as he rasped, "I remember now... you're that guy from the live-stream who dropped ten grand fireworks sets without blinking an eye."

I nodded so fast my neck felt like it might snap off. "Yes, yes! That's him! If you kill him, you won't get a single penny. But if you keep him alive... you can force him to transfer eighty or a hundred thousand—enough to cure Mao Mao, even rent a huge apartment, the two of you and the dog... you won't have to cram yourselves into this dump anymore!"

Lu Ye fell silent, his eyes darkening as he weighed the scales of blood and money. Finally, he growled, "Tie up his left hand, leave his right hand free. Make him transfer the cash."

Li Shao: "......" He stared at me with wide, complicated eyes, clearly wishing he could curse me out, but under the glint of the razor-sharp blade, he swallowed his words and gritted his teeth. Beneath Lu Ye's freezing gaze, he fumbled open his banking app, his fingers shaking as he punched in the password.

"Ding——" The transfer notification chimed, sending a sum of one hundred thousand yuan across the digital void. Lu Ye stared fixedly at the screen, a rare, genuine smile pulling at his lips as a strange light danced in his eyes.

He tossed the knife aside, rushing forward to scoop Mao Mao back into his arms, whispering breathlessly, "Mao Mao... we're... going to have a new home soon..."

Mao Mao seemed to sense its owner's joy, mustering the strength to lift its head and gently lick the back of Lu Ye's hand. But its body was too frail; mere seconds later, its limbs went completely limp, collapsing flat as it panted heavily, its eyes clouding over irreversibly.

"Mao Mao!" Panic flooded Lu Ye's face. He quickly set the dog down, franticly smoothing its matted fur as his voice shook. "Just sleep for a little while... we'll have a new house... good meat, a warm bed..."

He leaned in close, whispering words that sounded eerily like self-hypnosis. After coaxing it to rest properly, he grabbed his jacket and knife, stumbling heavily out the door.

Only Li Shao and I remained in the desolate room. He looked at me with an utterly complicated expression. "Why... why did you have to drag us into this mess?"

I bit my lip, feeling deeply wronged. "How was I supposed to know! I just opened the door for a delivery, next thing I know I'm getting knocked out and waking up here!" I furrowed my brow, glaring back at Li Shao. "Besides... why on earth did A Le manage to find you anyway?"

Li Shao choked on his own breath before suddenly turning his head to roar: "BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER FRIENDS, THAT'S WHY!"

Me: "???"