Late Friday night, nine o'clock, in the year 2026, Shencheng. The central air conditioning in the CBD office building had long ceased operating, and outside the glass curtain wall, a sea of colorful neon lights shimmered. On the nineteenth floor of this building, only the eerie green glow of the safety exit sign remained.
"Lin Yu, is this the proposal you came up with?"
A folder, carried by the wind, slammed harshly against Lin Yu's forehead before bouncing to the ground, scattering papers everywhere.
Lin Yu instinctively flinched, his slender frame and thick black-rimmed glasses making him look like a frightened quail. He didn't bother to pick up the fallen files, just lowered his head, his voice barely audible: "Manager Zhao, the data... I double-checked it three times. It can't be wrong."
"Can't be wrong?"
The man behind the desk stood up—none other than Zhao Tian, the top salesperson in the business department. He was dressed in designer suits, his tie hanging loosely around his neck, a cat-and-mouse smirk playing on his lips. Zhao Tian walked over to Lin Yu, reeking of a mix of tobacco and cologne, and slapped Lin Yu's cheek heavily with one hand—not hard enough to hurt, but the insult was palpable.
"Are you implying I'm wrongly accusing you?" Zhao Tian tilted his head, a cruel curve forming at the corners of his mouth. "Or do you think because you're a top graduate from a prestigious university, I won't dare touch you?"
Several interns who hadn't left yet peeked out from the doorway of the pantry, covering their mouths and whispering, their eyes devoid of sympathy, only filled with schadenfreude and fear of authority.
"No, that's not what I mean..." Lin Yu's hands clenched the hem of his shirt tightly, his knuckles turning white from the effort.
"If it's not that, then eat this." Zhao Tian pointed to the crumpled takeout box in the trash can beside him, which he had just dumped the leftovers into, soup still dripping down. "Eat it, and I'll believe you didn't make a mistake."
Lin Yu's head jerked up, a flash of humiliated red in his eyes behind his glasses.
"What? Not giving face?" Zhao Tian's face darkened, and he slapped Lin Yu again, this time on the face.
Crack!
The sharp sound echoed through the empty office. Lin Yu was knocked sideways, his glasses slipping halfway down his nose, blood immediately oozing from the corner of his mouth.
"Brother Zhao, don't hurt him too much; he still has to make PPT for us tomorrow," one of the intern lackeys interjected hypocritically, kicking the trash can closer to Lin Yu. "Hurry up, Lin Yu, don't make Brother Zhao angry; we all want to go home."
Lin Yu bent down, and in that instant, his world seemed to be muted. The laughter and the hum of the air conditioner faded away, leaving only the pounding of his heart—thump, thump, thump.
He looked at the greasy ball of rice on the ground, his mind flashing through every scene from the past three months: stolen credits, docked performance bonuses, unjustified scolding, and now this slap.
Why?
Because I was weak.
Because I tolerated it.
Because I thought if I worked hard and obeyed, the world would give me justice.
Lin Yu slowly straightened up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He didn't pick up the rice ball but instead raised his head, his once timid eyes now like a bottomless abyss, devoid of anger or fear, only a chilling coldness.
Zhao Tian felt a shiver run down his spine at that gaze, immediately becoming furious: "What are you looking at? Eat it already! Believe me, I can ruin your career in this industry!"
"Brother Zhao," Lin Yu spoke, his voice no longer trembling but oddly steady, like the calm sea before a storm. "Do you know why wolves can eat sheep?"
Zhao Tian froze: "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Because the sheep are still trying to reason before they're eaten," Lin Yu pushed his glasses back up his nose, moving slowly and deliberately, as if arranging his remains. "But from today on, I won't reason anymore."
"What did you say?!" Zhao Tian was furious, laughing sarcastically, and raised his hand to strike again.
Lin Yu didn't dodge. He just turned his head slightly, avoiding the vital points, letting the slap land on his shoulder. He looked at Zhao Tian, his mouth slowly curling into an extremely stiff, yet extremely ferocious smile.
"I said, I'll remember this slap. With interest."
With that, Lin Yu turned and walked away, not picking up the fallen files, nor glancing at his stunned colleagues. His silhouette stretched long under the eerie green light of the safety exit, appearing lonely yet resolute.
Stepping out of the office building, the cold night wind filled his collar, making Lin Yu shiver, but he didn't shrink his neck.
He looked up at the night sky tinged red by the neon lights, took out a pack of crushed cigarettes from his pocket—ones he had prepared for social occasions but had never smoked before. He fumbled to take out a cigarette, lit it with a trembling hand, took a deep puff, and immediately choked violently, tears streaming down his face.
But he didn't throw it away.
He coughed and laughed, his laughter hoarse and unpleasant, like the cry of a night owl.
"Hero..." he muttered to himself, gazing at the flickering flame at his fingertips. "Let whoever wants to be one do it. I'll be the villain."
He didn't know that at that very moment, a seed named "ambition" had taken root in his heart, nourished by hatred. Since this world was a jungle, he would become the fiercest wolf.
Since tolerance wouldn't bring him a bright future, he would carve out his own path with fangs.
Lin Yu stomped his cigarette butt hard on the glossy floor tiles, as if crushing his past self. He straightened his collar and strode into the night.
This was just the beginning.
The game was now truly on.