16. City of Sin

Page 1 of 3

Lu Feng was well aware of the strict control measures in District 17. Beyond the third ring road, it was virtually impossible to find a proper, lethal blade; even vegetables and fruit sold in supermarkets were already pre-cut. The story went that a business owner from the inner third ring was once stabbed while inspecting the outer rings, and since then, not even fruit knives could be found outside the third ring.

Yet, here was a boy, no older than eight or nine, who had stolen a knife with the intent to kill. What was more, the boy spoke of it with such calm indifference that even the man standing nearby, whip in hand, felt a chill and shifted uneasily.

What kind of hatred would drive a young boy to pick up a blade to kill? How cruel must this world be to force such resolve upon a child? How cold and heartless must it be, for such madness to unfold?

Even Lu Feng, who had grown accustomed to pain, found it difficult to keep his expression under control at this moment.

“Who did you want to kill?” Lu Feng asked with curiosity.

“My father,” the boy answered, his face devoid of emotion.

“Why?” Lu Feng pressed, but the boy was silent.

“Did your father treat you badly?” Lu Feng guessed.

The boy shook his head.

“Did he do something to hurt your family?” Lu Feng continued.

Again, the boy shook his head.

Lu Feng was baffled, staring at the boy in confusion. The boy’s father treated him well, had done nothing to wrong the family, yet the son wanted to kill him. It made one suspect the child was either mad or deeply disturbed.

After a long pause, the boy finally spoke: “He told me to kill him. He was the one who showed me where the knife was.”

As soon as the boy finished, both Lu Feng and the man were stunned into silence.

No, the boy’s father must be mad as well.

“Why?” the man couldn’t help but ask.

The boy glared up at the man without responding, clearly holding a grudge for having been whipped earlier.

“Why?” Lu Feng asked.

When Lu Feng spoke, the boy turned his gaze to him, his eyes softening.

“He said he was in too much pain, that he couldn’t bear it anymore.”

“Is he sick?” Lu Feng asked.

The boy nodded, then shook his head.

Page 2 of 3

The man let out a sigh before catching himself and glanced warily at Lu Feng.

A wave of sorrow swept over Lu Feng. There seemed to be a kindred spirit in this child—his tranquility in the face of strangers, his matter-of-fact tone about murder, the knot of emotion he could not untangle. All these things were both familiar and strange. Only those who had endured extraordinary pain could display such depth at so young an age.

Lu Feng had lived through such pain.

“Can you take me to see your father?” Lu Feng asked.

The boy looked at him silently.

“See, I have knives—two of them,” Lu Feng said, patting the twin blades at his waist.

At the sight of the blades, the boy nodded. The man, too, glanced toward the lake.

His own knife was in the lake.

“I’ll drive,” the man said, pulling his gaze away from the water, his tone resolute.

“You want to come?” Lu Feng was puzzled.

“If I don’t, I won’t sleep tonight. I have this terrible habit—my curiosity always gets the better of me…” As he spoke, the man scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

Lu Feng was speechless.

The SUV pulled away from the barrier, plunging them once again into a world of blinding white. The snow outside was beginning to melt, but traces still lingered.

Inside the car, the boy kept his eyes fixed on Lu Feng’s knives, his gaze perfectly calm.

The man drove, occasionally asking the boy for directions.

After more than two hours, they reached the edge of the sixth ring in District 17.

As soon as they got out, the man became tense, having had no idea they had come all the way to the sixth ring.

This was the city’s outermost edge. To mention the edge was to conjure images of chaotic environments, lawlessness, murder, and sordid dealings. District 17’s sixth ring was no exception. Geographically, District 17 was the farthest corner of the continent, nestled in the remote southwest—a place few dared to tread.

Here, countless ruthless gangs reigned, the air thick with cold blood, violence, and dangers lurking in the shadows.

Rumor had it that in the dark forests on the city's edge, bloodthirsty monsters roamed, and soul-devouring creatures haunted the swamps. People avoided the place like the plague.

But for some, it was paradise—no guards, no rules, only the boundless evil of human nature.

This was the City of Sin.

The man’s nervousness stemmed not from concern for himself, but for Lu Feng. He knew well Lu Feng’s standing in the Ninth Bureau of Time, and so he stuck close to Lu Feng, eyes darting anxiously, ever watchful for any threat.

Page 3 of 3

Lu Feng did not object to the man’s presence; he could tell the man was trying to protect him. In contrast, both he and the boy were calm, perhaps because they were long accustomed to surviving in darkness.

They walked through the streets, flanked by buildings even more dilapidated than those of the fifth ring. Trash piled high everywhere, the air thick with stench.

Many people loitered by the roadside, eyeing Lu Feng and the man with a mixture of curiosity, menace, and glee at their misfortune.

The evil of the sixth ring was laid bare, chaos unchecked and unashamed.

Under the watchful gaze of the crowd, the three moved slowly onward. Each step for the man felt like a struggle through thorns.

“Brother Feng, if anything happens, you go ahead. I’ll cover the rear,” the man whispered, clinging to Lu Feng’s arm.

Despite being older than Lu Feng, he still addressed him as “Brother Feng.” The phrase sounded familiar; Liu Dazhuang had said the same thing once.

“We’ll be fine,” Lu Feng declared firmly. He had awakened many abilities, and above all, he would not allow another Liu Dazhuang to fall.

“What’s your name?” Lu Feng asked the man.

“Qing Zhou,” the man replied, eyes still scanning their surroundings warily.

As soon as Qing Zhou spoke, the young boy stopped walking. Lu Feng glanced ahead—

Before them stood a rusted iron gate, swaying in the wind and snow. To call it a gate was generous; it was little more than a frame, its few remaining scraps of metal the only evidence of what it once was.

Garbage was piled high at the entrance, the stench overpowering. Even after the heavy snow, countless white maggots still crawled over the refuse and up the walls, their writhing enough to sicken at a glance.

Above the gate hung a barely visible sign. The characters were blurred, but Lu Feng made out the word “Institution.”

He guessed it had once been some kind of facility.

The boy led them through the gate without bothering to open it.

They followed the boy to the doorway of a room, where he hesitated.

“What is it?” Lu Feng asked.

The boy pointed at Lu Feng’s knives. With a wry smile, Lu Feng removed his blades and handed them to Qing Zhou, leaving Liu Dazhuang’s knife still hanging at his waist.

Only then did the boy lead them cautiously toward the room.

“Xiao Mu, kill me—please, kill me…”

As they entered, a murmured voice drifted up from the floor.

Lu Feng and Qing Zhou looked down and were instantly breathless.

Lying there was a human being… or was it…

PS: Chapter 15 is still under review…