Chapter 33: Like Seeing a Ghost—The Person Has Vanished

"One minute left, that was too close!" Du Yun steadied herself against the wall, gasping for breath, her eyes fixed on the floating countdown frame that showed only a minute remaining. Yet despite the danger, the meat bun in her hand and the meat in her basket were still tightly guarded, not a single piece dropped.

The alley where Du Yun stood was not deep, barely a dozen or twenty meters long. She saw it was a dead end, with no doors on either side and no passersby, which put her mind at ease. The fewer people around, the less likely she was to be exposed.

But she had forgotten the two thugs who had been watching her earlier. By the time she remembered, they had already caught up.

"Too close? What's so close, anyway? Little sister, hand over your meat and money, and we promise you won't be in any danger!" The first thug, blocking Du Yun's way, listened to her mutter to herself and grinned, speaking in a mocking tone.

"Ah!" Startled by the sudden voice behind her, Du Yun jumped back a few paces and turned around. Seeing only two people, she relaxed slightly—at least there weren't too many.

At that moment, a curious onlooker craned their neck to peer into the alley, but was soon spotted by the two thugs, who brandished whips to scare them off. No one dared to poke their head in again.

Du Yun, though lamenting the coldness of the world, allowed a faint smile to touch her lips. The fewer witnesses, the better. No one would come to her rescue, and that suited her perfectly.

Countdown: fifty seconds

"Don't be afraid, little sister. You've made good money today, haven't you? Why not let us have a share?" The second thug, emboldened by Du Yun's frightened, rabbit-like manner, grinned and approached, reaching out for her.

"Let you spend it?" Du Yun eyed them disdainfully. They looked barely sixteen or seventeen, short and skinny, hardly better off than herself, who survived on thin porridge every day.

If there were more of them, or if they were burly and looked tough, she might have panicked, struggling to fend them off. But these two, barely the size of young roosters, were hardly a threat. Even if she couldn't fight them, she could outrun them for sure.

"Little sister doesn't seem scared, that's good. We're not bad people. Come on, hand over the meat and money. Tsk tsk, you even have money for meat buns—you must've earned a lot." The two thugs, seeing Du Yun's lack of fear, thought nothing amiss. They continued to grin, advancing, swinging horsewhips they'd acquired from who knows where.

Countdown: forty seconds

"Hand it over? Why should I! I don't have brothers like you!" Du Yun, though unafraid, remained cautious—after all, they were two men. Care is the mother of safety.

"You—stay where you are!" Du Yun glanced at the countdown, then at the two thugs. She loathed those who tried to profit without effort and wished to teach them a lesson.

But remembering she had more pressing matters than that, she sighed inwardly and brushed her forehead, deciding to knock them out first to deal with her imminent flash crossing. Could she handle them in forty seconds? She felt uncertain.

Fortunately, the dead-end alley offered privacy. Even if she vanished mid-fight, no one would believe the thugs if they tried to tell. The impact of her disappearance would be limited, she reassured herself.

"Stay still? Sure, sure, we won't move. Now, hurry and hand over your things and money." The first thug, catching a glimpse of Du Yun's pretty face as she looked up, felt a stir in his heart but stood respectfully two steps away, not reaching for her.

"Brother, this girl is really pretty!" The second thug, as if discovering a new continent, stared wide-eyed. His intention shifted from greed to lust, and he drooled as he lunged forward.

Countdown: thirty seconds

"What are you doing? We're here for the goods, not that. We're thugs, not scum. Don't get any funny ideas!" The first thug, seeing the other's move, instantly understood his intent, grabbed him, and slapped his forehead sharply, admonishing him.

Yet even as he spoke, his actions were swift—he shoved his companion aside, and with the other hand reached out to snatch Du Yun's basket.

Countdown: twenty seconds

"You want my things? You should ask whether I agree!" Du Yun lifted her head, her eyes bright. While they talked, she had quietly taken a bow from her storage compartment.

No need to draw or shoot—just a firm blow to their heads would do. She slung the bow behind her, stepped forward rather than back, and swung the wooden bow at the two thugs.

Caught off guard, the thugs found themselves in agony, clutching their heads and dodging frantically, crying out in pain.

"That's for being idle, for trying to rob me!" Du Yun wielded the bow with fierce energy, each strike landing on their heads or backs, making them wail and howl for their mothers.

"Ouch, ouch, we won't dare, please, we won't dare again!" The two thugs, beaten and bawling, realized the sheep they'd expected was a fierce little wolf. Who would have thought such a small girl could hit so hard? All thoughts of robbing her vanished; the pain forced them to beg for mercy.

Countdown: ten seconds

Du Yun kept up her attack, but now watched her surroundings carefully. Seeing no one peering into the alley, she felt more secure. She grabbed a tattered sack nearby, pulled it over the thugs' heads, and in a moment, stowed her meat buns and meat into her storage compartment.

Meat was precious in these times; losing it during a flash crossing would be a tragedy.

Ten seconds passed swiftly. Du Yun felt her mind sink, her vision plunged into darkness, and her rain of blows ceased.

The two thugs, finally free from the attack, hesitantly pulled the sack from their heads. Looking around, they found the alley empty—no one but themselves.

"Did we see a ghost? Where did she go?" Trembling, they collapsed to the ground, their heads throbbing with pain. If not for that, they'd believe the girl was nothing but a hallucination.

She had simply vanished!