Seeing Night Shadow's utterly bewildered expression, the two men immediately showed him animated GIFs of Cifera's two moves.
He'd have been better off not looking. The moment Night Shadow saw the GIFs, he fell silent.
The insults he'd prepared vanished from his mind.
I'm numb. Big Sister Cifera, is this a bit too hardcore...
Night Shadow's already fragile confidence in facing Cifera was utterly crushed once again.
He had always believed he was inferior to Cifera in thieving techniques but superior in martial arts.
Yet the brutal truth slapped him hard across the face.
Catching up to Cifera and defeating her suddenly seemed more distant than ever...
But should he abandon his pursuit just because it seemed distant?
No!
Absolutely not!
Slap!
The sharp sound of a slap echoed in the park corner.
Night Shadow leaped off the rocking horse, his body ramrod straight.
His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles whitened, his chest heaving violently. A burning resentment and a rekindled fighting spirit surged through his heart.
He took a deep breath, tilted his head back, and his gaze seemed to pierce through the park's canopy, piercing the invisible sky, or perhaps piercing the mountain-like figure looming before him—Cifera.
"Heh... ha ha ha..."
A low, raspy chuckle escaped his throat, yet it carried an almost fanatical obsession.
"Cifera... Big Sister!"
He murmured the name, his tone now devoid of the previous confusion and despair.
"A backflip off a building? A Double Board Leap? How absurd! How... utterly terrifying!"
His voice suddenly rose, drawing curious glances from nearby parents with children, but he paid them no mind.
"I admit it! Night Shadow, here and now, acknowledges your complete dominance over me in the Path of Martial Arts! I'm but an ant gazing up at an eagle!"
He slammed his fist violently into the head of a rocking horse, his eyes burning with intensity.
"But so what?!
"I am the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief!
"The blood flowing through my veins is the lineage that dances in darkness and toys with light! How could the pinnacle of thievery allow another to claim sole dominance?! The gap in martial arts skill is merely a few extra stubborn stones on the path to the summit!"
He took a step forward, as if the park grass beneath his feet were not mere ground but the path to his Arch-Rival's battlefield.
"You're strong—absurdly, despairingly strong! But this despair..."
He clutched his chest, his eyes burning with a deep, dark flame. "This despair... is precisely the fuel that ignites my fighting spirit!"
His voice rose again, ringing through the park:
"Watch! Watch this little grandchild struggle! Watch this 'conservative coward'—as others see me—sharpen his claws in your shadow!
"Your strength isn't a reason for me to cower, but the lighthouse illuminating my path forward!
"I, Night Shadow, swear this oath!
"One day, I will stand before you, on my own terms—not by imitating your inhuman movements, but by drawing upon the legacy of the Phantom Thief Family, by using my wit, my will! Fair and square, I will seize the title of 'The Strongest' from your grasp!
"I will make the world know that I, the Grandson of the Phantom Thief, am no mere pretender to the name!
"Today's humiliation will be etched in my bones! Tomorrow's victory will shine with dazzling brilliance!"
"Cifera, just you wait! I, Night Shadow, will seize the protagonist's throne at this grand feast!"
With those words, he turned sharply and strode confidently out of the park.
But his swagger lasted only three seconds.
He'd barely taken a few steps when a calloused, powerful hand slapped heavily onto his shoulder with a resounding smack.
The force and angle were impossibly precise, instantly shattering the Chuunii-fueled BGM that had been surging through Night Shadow's mind.
"Hey! Young man! Stop right there!"
A booming middle-aged woman's voice rang out behind him, piercing through the air and instantly drowning out the children's laughter in the park.
Night Shadow froze, his "about to embark on a grand quest" aura instantly deflating by half. Irritated at being interrupted, he slowly turned around.
A stout woman in a dark blue park ranger uniform stood behind him, her small, permed curls framing a face etched with disapproval. She crossed her arms, her sharp eyes raking him up and down before settling on the knuckles of his right hand.
There, the skin was glaringly red, with two spots slightly broken and oozing tiny droplets of blood.
"Whoa! Well, well, well!"
The middle-aged woman's voice grew even louder as she pointed to a rocking horse nearby—a plastic horse's head bearing a clear, inward-dented fist mark, with fine cracks radiating from the edges!
It was the very same horse Night Shadow had punched earlier.
"So that's what that 'bang' was! You did this, you little brat!
"What's a young man like you getting all worked up over a plastic horse for? Look at this! Look! Such a huge dent! It's even cracked! This is public property!"
"..."
Night Shadow remained silent. Normally, if this woman had dared to be so rude to him, he would have snapped back, "Woman, you're playing with fire."
But the problem was, he was undeniably the one who had messed up...
This was deeply awkward.
Clearly, his composure still needed work. He had lost his cool after being provoked by Big Sister Cifera's overwhelming strength.
At this point, an apology was the only way out.
With this in mind, Night Shadow attempted to explain, his tone a stark contrast to the arrogant, cool, and swaggering persona he projected on his live streams—now sounding almost meek:
"I... I didn't mean to... I just got a little... Excited..."
"Excited? You think excitement justifies damaging public property?"
The middle-aged woman remained unimpressed, pointing at the dent with her finger:
"Look at this mark! The force behind it! Young man, you've trained in boxing, haven't you? Go punch a sandbag! What kind of hero do you think you are, beating up a rocking horse in the park? What did this horse ever do to you?"
The two men with children who had been nearby, along with several passersby drawn by the woman's loud voice, stopped to watch the scene unfold with amusement.
The two men even suppressed laughter, their expressions clearly saying, "Serves you right for showing off earlier. Look who's eating crow now."
"Um... Ma'am... no, Auntie, I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to do it."
Night Shadow, though usually thick-skinned, felt his cheeks flush:
"How much... how much do I owe for the damages?"
"Pay? Of course you'll pay!"
The woman pulled out a small notebook and began checking:
"Our park facilities have strict regulations. Damage to public property means full compensation! In this case... the horse's head is severely deformed and cracked, affecting its functionality and appearance. That qualifies as moderate damage!"
She flipped through her small notebook, solemnly reciting, "According to Article XX of the Park Management Regulations, you must compensate—five hundred yuan!"
"F-f-five hundred yuan?!"
Night Shadow was stunned. Isn't that a bit excessive...?
"What? Think it's too much?" The auntie glared. "This covers material costs, labor, and our park's 'emotional distress compensation'!
"Do you know how many children's childhoods this horse accompanied? Seeing it like this after your punch—the kids will be heartbroken!"
"..." Night Shadow was completely speechless.
Grandchild of the Phantom Thief? Challenging Cifera? Sitting on the protagonist's throne...?
All of it vanished like bubbles before the park auntie's powerful, down-to-earth logic and her claim for "emotional distress compensation."
Just asking me to pay 500 yuan... impossible! Absolutely impossible!
With this thought, Night Shadow suddenly adopted a sincere and earnest tone.
"I think we should forget about the compensation. How about I fix it for you instead? I guarantee it'll be even better than before."
Hearing Night Shadow's words, the old woman's eyes lit up, clearly intrigued by his proposal.
"Young man, do you really have the skills to do that?"
"Of course!"
"Alright, alright! Then I'll take you up on it. Just remember, there are security cameras here, so don't even think about pulling a fast one! I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth!"
"You have my word!"
"Then I'll go to the market to buy some groceries. You take your time fixing it, kid."
After the old woman left, Night Shadow stared at the battered rocking horse before him, his expression hardening with resolve.
Half an hour later, when the old woman returned with her groceries, she saw—
The sky had fallen!
The massive rocking horse had been completely uprooted and vanished without a trace! ! !
"Thief! Thief!"
The old woman stomped her foot, her shout echoing across the entire park.
Meanwhile, the Director had broadcasted Night Shadow's rather convoluted theft live. Compared to Cifera's earlier stunning performance, the audience erupted in laughter.
But credit where it's due—Night Shadow truly had a talent for creating chaos!
He had essentially carved out an entirely new niche in the competition.