Dawn broke over Sector 7. The rain finally stopped, leaving the city washed in grey light.
Lin stood in front of the payment kiosk at St. Mary's Hospital. He had changed out of his blood-soaked trench coat and into his worn-out school uniform. The Goblin Mask was safely hidden in his inventory.
[Transaction Processing...] [Amount: 50,000 Credits] [Payment Successful.] [Surgery Schedule: Pending (30 Days Remaining for full balance)]
[Current Balance: 54,000 Credits.]
Lin stared at the screen. 50,000 Credits. Gone in a second. He felt a physical pang of loss, but then he looked through the glass window of the ICU. His sister, Lin Rou, lay inside the pod. Her breathing was steady. The red warning light above her bed had turned green.
"Worth it," Lin whispered.
A doctor walked by, glancing at his clipboard. He stopped when he saw Lin. "Mr. Lin? The payment... went through." The doctor looked suspicious. "That's a lot of money for a student. We have to report large cash transactions to the Guild Police."
"High-interest loan," Lin lied smoothly. His face was a mask of exhausted desperation. "I borrowed from the Black Sharks."
The doctor winced. Everyone knew the Black Sharks. They broke legs for late payments. "I see... well, good luck, kid." The doctor walked away, no longer suspicious, just pitying.
Lin turned and walked out. Pity was good. Pity meant no one looked too closely.
Hunter Academy, Sector 7 Branch.
The hallway buzzed with morning gossip. "Did you hear? The Iron Fist blockade failed last night!" "Yeah! Someone said a C-Rank monster wearing a goblin face killed the Boss and walked right past Captain Marco!" "I heard he killed the heir of Silver Wing too!"
Lin walked through the crowd, head down, clutching his backpack. He was invisible. Just another F-Rank nobody.
"Hey! Trash!"
A heavy hand slammed onto Lin's shoulder. Lin didn't flinch. His muscles tensed automatically, ready to snap the attacker's wrist. [Target: Zhao Hu (The Class Bully)] [Rank: E (Low)] [Threat: Negligible]
Lin forced himself to relax. Not here. Not now.
He turned around. Zhao Hu was grinning, surrounded by his lackeys. "I heard you were begging for porter work at the Guild yesterday," Zhao Hu sneered. "Did they hire you to clean the toilets?"
The hallway erupted in laughter.
Lin looked at Zhao Hu. Yesterday, this taunt would have stung. Today? Lin looked at Zhao Hu's neck. He visualized the angle of the stab. Twin Vipers. 0.3 seconds. Sever the carotid artery. Death in 10 seconds.
It was like a lion being barked at by a chihuahua. It wasn't insulting; it was cute.
"No," Lin said calmly. "They didn't hire me."
He shrugged Zhao Hu's hand off and kept walking.
Zhao Hu blinked. He expected fear. He expected anger. He didn't expect... boredom. "Don't ignore me, you F-Rank loser!" Zhao Hu shouted, stepping forward to shove Lin.
BAM!
The classroom door slammed open. A woman in tactical gear walked in. The room went silent instantly. Instructor Vance. Rank D. A retired veteran with a metal eyepatch.
"Sit down!" Vance roared. "Unless you want to run laps until you vomit blood!"
Zhao Hu glared at Lin, muttered a curse, and slumped into his seat.
Lin sat in the back corner, near the window. The perfect spot for a protagonist.
"Listen up," Instructor Vance slammed a stack of papers on the podium. "The annual Joint Combat Assessment starts next week."
The class groaned. "Assessment? Is it the simulation again?"
"No," Vance smiled. It was a cruel smile. "This year, the budget was increased. We are going to the Wilderness. Sector 9 Ruins."
Lin's eyes narrowed. Sector 9. The Goblin Nest area.
"You will be dropped in teams of four," Vance continued. "Objective: Survive for 3 days. Collect monster cores for points. The team with the highest score gets a recommendation for the Elite Academy in the Central City."
The class erupted in excitement. The Elite Academy was the dream.
"But be warned," Vance added, her one eye scanning the room. "The wilderness is lawless. The Guild monitors will be there, but accidents happen. Students die every year."
She looked straight at the F-Rank students in the back row. "If you are weak... I suggest you quit now."
Lin leaned back in his chair. A survival exam. Outside the city walls. No cameras. And Zhao Hu was staring at him with a look that said, 'I'm going to kill you out there.'
Lin's lips quirked up into a faint, cold smile. He touched the spatial ring in his pocket (where his mask and daggers were hidden).
"Accidents happen," Lin whispered to himself. "I'm counting on it."
（"Enjoying the massacre? Drop a Power Stone to feed the Clone Army!"）