Li Xiaoyi is sprawled across her bed, eyes bright, because the creator she follows just dropped a new video.
But every creator has their share of ugly comments.
Clout chasing garbage.
I already called it. This guy will be hawking products and doing battle streams in no time. Disgusting.
Li Xiaoyi's blood boils. These brainless haters are everywhere lately. Pure jealousy. I'll argue every single one of you into the ground.
Her fingers fly across the screen. Some people understand nothing and just tear others down. Pure jealousy. That's all this is.
But mid-reply, she goes quiet. Because the truth is, there are so many people online who fake everything just for views. Her expression clouds over. You're not actually a fraud, are you? Please, please don't let this be some apology video.
She presses play. The title hits first. Bold and blunt. Hunt or Die.
In the video, Jang Yu crouches atop a skyscraper. The camera tilts down. Nothing below but a sheer, dizzying drop. Li Xiaoyi's eyes go wide, because this angle, it puts you right there with him.
Then he moves. Fast.
Li Xiaoyi gasps. Wait. He's not going to—
And then he does exactly that. Jang Yu leaps off a thirty-story abandoned building. A fall like that would leave nothing but wreckage. The first person perspective pulls her in so hard that Li Xiaoyi squeezes her eyes shut on instinct.
But the crash never comes. She cracks one eye open.
From his right hand, a long black line shoots out. He grabs it and swings between buildings like a living pendulum.
Li Xiaoyi stares, breathless. That's incredible. Is this what an awakened can actually do?
Then a searing beam of light slams into him. Jang Yu is driven hard into the ground. He looks up. A thick, sickly green foot is planted square on his chest.
Li Xiaoyi follows the camera and lets out a string of gasps. That's, that's actually an aberrant. A real one.
Jang Yu swings his left arm. A shadow wire launches from his wrist. He yanks hard and his whole body rockets forward with the momentum. The aberrant is hurled away by the force.
The sheer cool of it has Li Xiaoyi absolutely losing her mind in front of the screen. He is so incredibly cool.
A foot that hasn't been washed in two and a half years had just been planted on him. The fury alone drives Jang Yu to unload on that hideous face with everything he's got. Li Xiaoyi watches from the other side of the screen, completely fired up.
Jang Yu drives a fierce kick straight into the aberrant's ugly face. The aberrant hits back. A heavy blow to his gut that turns his insides upside down.
Li Xiaoyi grips her phone, heart pounding. This is insane. This is what an awakened versus an aberrant actually looks like. It's too real. There's no way this is fake.
The aberrant isn't done. It lunges again with another punch. Jang Yu leaps clear. Where he stood a moment ago, the ground now has a massive crater. The aberrant turns in confusion, searching, and before it can react, Jang Yu's dark hand has already passed straight through its body.
Li Xiaoyi's jaw drops. He's like an actual assassin.
Jang Yu shakes the sticky, reeking green fluid off his hand. He extends his hand and silently activates shadow devour. Dark threads unspool from his body, wrapping around the aberrant within seconds. It is swallowed whole. Then the threads recede like a tide flowing back into him.
Li Xiaoyi watches in stunned silence. Did he just absorb it? And that wire he fires, did he get that from absorbing an aberrant spider before? Does that mean he just gained another new ability?
Back in reality, Jang Yu tosses aside what's left of his shredded clothes. He touches the bruise on his face and hisses sharply at the pain. The aberrants in that district are no joke. If it hadn't already been badly injured, I'm not sure I would have won.
Then his phone buzzes. He taps it open. That smug, low-life Daer is alive again, wearing his signature sneer.
"The fake awakened who calls himself Shadow just dropped another video. Looks convincing this time, but not convincing enough to fool me. Let's break it down. Here's the thing. That aberrant was already critically injured. A weakened aberrant like that, a regular person with basic training could handle it. If he were a real awakened, why would he only go after easy targets?"
That one lands. Jang Yu's expression goes sour. He slams his phone down. Relentless. That Daer is genuinely insufferable.
He sinks onto the couch, ignoring the pain. His mind drifts back to the fight. My raw strength still isn't there. Struggling this hard against a single aberrant. That's not enough.
Then his eyes open and something steady moves through them. I can be stronger. Strong enough that no one will ever question me again.
These past few fights have taught me a few things. First, shadow points. I originally thought they worked like an experience bar, but they're also something closer to an energy gauge. Shadow wire costs roughly three points per use. Shadow eye costs one. Shadow execute, mark, pursuit hunt. Each has its own cost.
Jang Yu opens his palm and ink dark fluid swirls steadily within it. Shadow form, a sustained state, drains differently depending on the environment. In the shadow realm, zero cost. In linear shadow, low cost. In direct sunlight, high cost.
He closes his hand, pulling the fluid back. The aptitude assessment is coming up soon.
He stands and steps out onto the balcony. Someone with genuine awakened potential probably registers at the level of one to three shadow points in my system. Even if I stop growing before the official assessment, my current strength is already enough to make them take notice.
But the tallest tree catches the strongest wind. Stand out too much and you invite eyes from every direction.
Then Jang Yu bursts out laughing. Play it low-key? Not in this lifetime. I'm going to flex hard, and with Uncle Li watching my back, what do I have to worry about? Nothing makes me happier than this.
And he laughs, loud and unrestrained.
Downstairs, an old man watering his plants shakes his head with a tired sigh. There goes that fool upstairs again.