As the entire Black God Gang was desperately searching for Yang Yi's whereabouts, a massive wave was stirred up not only in Jiangsu Province but across all of City A.

Fatty Lin and the others had already returned to the school. Three days had passed, and still, there was no word from Yang Yi. Unsurprisingly, the three of them were utterly dejected, their faces devoid of any cheer as the morning wore on.

"Eat!" Xu Ming called out weakly.

"Mmm—I can’t eat," Ye Xiaohou replied, pushing away the food placed before him and shaking his head.

Fatty Lin also looked deeply troubled, pushing his meal away without taking a bite.

Seeing this, Xu Ming sighed inwardly. Did he have any appetite himself? With their Boss missing, they felt like deflated basketballs, completely lacking in any discernible resilience.

“Uh… what’s wrong with you guys?”

The sudden female voices seemed to strip the self-proclaimed playboys of their interest. They merely glanced up at the newcomers before resting their chins on their hands, sighing mournfully.

“Seriously, what is going on? Where is Yi?” The arrivals were, without a doubt, Li Qian and Liu Qingqing.

Clang! The three—Fatty Lin, Xu Ming, and Ye Xiaohou—nearly forgot about someone in their distraction. Hearing the question, they immediately exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other: Li Qian absolutely cannot know that Brother Yi, our Boss, is missing.

“Hey—you three, did you take something wrong today? I’m asking you!” Liu Qingqing frowned, looking pointedly at the trio.

“Uh—haha, haha, nothing, nothing at all!” All three burst into laughter, as if trying desperately to conceal something.

Fatty Lin laughed awkwardly, stood up, and addressed Li Qian: “Hehe, Big Sister-in-law, Brother Yi has a sudden business trip, so he might be away for a while. I have something to attend to as well, so I won’t linger.”

With that, Fatty Lin scurried away in a flash. Xu Ming and Ye Xiaohou muttered inwardly, That disloyal second brother, running off just to save himself.

“Um, I have something too, gotta go, you two eat slowly,” Ye Xiaohou said, seemingly beating Xu Ming to the departure.

Damn it… that wretched fourth one. Xu Ming cursed inwardly, but at that moment, his expression shifted uncomfortably. A cold sweat broke out as he looked at Li Qian and Liu Qingqing, who were now sporting mischievous grins. His heart sank. He quickly threw out an excuse, “Big Sister-in-law, I still have underwear to wash! I’m leaving now, you two enjoy your meal.” Then, heedless of bumping the table, he bolted out the door.

“They’re crazy. Why are those three acting so weird today?” Liu Qingqing pursed her lips and glanced back at the figures disappearing into the distance.

However, Li Qian seemed to sense something deeper than Liu Qingqing suspected. Her brow furrowed intensely, and then she let out a sudden shriek: “Fatty Lin, Ye Xiaohou, Xu Ming! You three bastards, if you don’t tell me where Yi is, I’ll make you pay!”

Oh my heavens… The trio, having just bolted past the cafeteria entrance, heard the sound erupting from inside. They let out a low murmur and immediately picked up their pace, running faster.

“Uh, Qianqian, what happened?” Liu Qingqing asked, startled by Li Qian’s sudden outburst.

“Hmph, those three scoundrels are trying to hide something from me. No way. I need to go ask clearly, where exactly did Yi go?” Li Qian declared, immediately striding toward the cafeteria exit.

Liu Qingqing, though bewildered, followed Li Qian, calling out, “Qianqian, Qianqian, wait up for me…”

Meanwhile, on the other side, a pitch-black vehicle was parked at the mouth of a cave. The car was empty, looking like the scene of a crime. There were large quantities of bloodstains inside, coating the tray and seats alike—the sheer volume of fresh blood suggested that, under normal circumstances, anyone would have surely lost their life.

In front of the car lay a cavernous opening. Between the vehicle and the cave entrance, drops of blood could be clearly seen trailing on the ground, suggesting someone had dragged themselves inside.

Boom—! A sound like a sudden clap of thunder broke the silence.

“Uwaa!” “Uwaa!” Heizhu seemed utterly deranged; even with his throat slit by Yang Yi, he refused to collapse.

In the fierce exchange, Yang Yi hadn't bothered with notions of honor or dishonor. He whipped out his dagger and slashed across Heizhu’s throat. Yet, despite his precise aim, Heizhu managed to land another devastating blow to Yang Yi’s chest, cracking several ribs. Yang Yi had no time to think.

Gritting his teeth against the searing pain of his meridians about to rupture from the surging Zhenqi and the burning sensation in his chest, he immediately hurled a throwing knife. The blade met no resistance, burying itself deep into Heizhu’s chest. Blood sprayed everywhere as the opponent finally fell. Seeing Heizhu collapse, Yang Yi finally allowed himself a ragged breath, but his own body was clearly failing. The sight of the blood stimulated him, and his vision began to slowly turn a deep crimson.

Taking a deep breath, he propped himself up on one hand on the ground, panting heavily. He slowly staggered toward his car, step by painful step. Just as Yang Yi settled into the driver's seat, a figure suddenly materialized. The man was disheveled, blood continuously trickling from his throat, and he coughed violently, spewing huge mouthfuls of blood onto himself. Unfortunately, Yang Yi was already completely drained of strength.

Yang Yi watched helplessly as Heizhu, whom he thought was dead, pulled the throwing knife from his own chest and plunged it deep into Yang Yi’s abdomen. “Damn you to hell, die for me!”

Perhaps fueled by this final burst of agony, Yang Yi ignored his own injuries. He marshaled every last shred of Zhenqi and strength he possessed and unleashed a ferocious kick. It was a brutal strike that directly impacted Heizhu’s vital area, sending him flying back almost two meters before he finally lay still, completely devoid of breath.

After several minutes, Yang Yi opened his eyes, saw that he was still bleeding profusely, and quickly sealed his meridians. But in the next instant, he was stunned rigid: Heizhu, lying two meters away, was suddenly standing up again. Yang Yi let out a panicked yell, “F*** his mother, what kind of goddamn monster are you? How are you not dead yet… Are you an unkillable cockroach?”

“I want you dead, I want you dead, I’ll make you die…” A voice filled with pure hatred and resentment thundered through Yang Yi’s mind.

Yang Yi was about to draw his last throwing knife to finish off the now-crazed Heizhu, but as he tried, he found his body wouldn't obey him. “Damn it, my body, my body…”

“Ah—!” Yang Yi cried out, snapping his eyes open, followed immediately by a sharp groan. “Pain, pain, pain… Hell, where am I? Am I dead?”

“Hehe… You’re awake? Don't move around too much, or it’ll hurt…” A voice, somewhat clear, accompanied by a genuinely innocent and cute smile, asked as a figure knelt beside Yang Yi.

“Uh… Little sister, who are you? Am I dead?” To minimize the pain, Yang Yi obediently held still, looking suspiciously at a girl who appeared to be about seven or eight years old.

“Hmm? I won’t tell you, you bad man,” the little girl giggled lightly, pouting her adorable little lips.

“Bad man? Since she can tease me like that, she must be real? That means I didn’t kick the bucket? Oh—that was just a dream. Thank heavens, thank heavens! If I had died, my grand pursuit of women would be over. Waaah, thank heaven and earth!” Yang Yi thought secretly, his eyes fixed on the little girl, on the verge of welling up with tears.

“Bad man… Why are you staring at me?” The little girl noticed Yang Yi staring, his face pitiful, and she pouted, scolding him irritably.

“Uh, well… Little sister, can you tell me where this is? And who saved me?” As Yang Yi spoke, he seemed to lose energy rapidly; only then did he truly realize how fragile his body had become.

“Hmph, I won’t tell you,” the little girl snorted stubbornly. Then, with a sudden bounce, she landed on the ground, turned back to Yang Yi, and said mischievously, “Bad man, pervert! Thinking about beautiful women and your pursuit of ladies even when you’re hurt! Grandpa said that anyone who thinks like that isn't a good person. I’m ignoring you!”

The little girl paid no mind to Yang Yi’s expression of utter bewilderment, even shock. After speaking, she didn't forget to make a silly face at him before skipping merrily toward the exit.

“My god, did I just see a ghost?” Yang Yi mumbled to himself, his face grim.

It wasn't surprising. Yang Yi knew martial arts well. That single jump the little girl made, while seemingly simple, was executed with a speed that only a keen eye could track; it was too fast to follow. And she was so young, definitely no older than eight. What kind of power did that require?

The more Yang Yi pondered, the more bewildered he became. Where on earth was he? Based on the power the girl displayed, he could only pray he hadn’t fallen into a wolf den. “Damn it, I finally understand what it means to be utterly lost between life and death. Crap, isn’t that exactly what I am now? Where is this place? Am I alive or dead? Was that really just a dream? If it wasn't a dream, how did that little girl know what I was thinking? Heavens… Earth…”

Yang Yi kept muttering to himself, but in his current state, his cries seemed to echo into an abyss where heaven and earth offered no reply.