Lovkis shivered and huddled closer to his brother, whose girlfriend sat curled up nearby, hugging her knees. Outside the cabin, the snowstorm grew fiercer, and Lovkis could feel his limbs stiffening. If they stayed seated like this, they would surely freeze… but he didn’t dare to get up and move around.
The only hope he had now was that his cousin Garfield, who had been left behind in the car, would call ho to complain, prompting their family to co looking for them.
But Lovkis often spent entire days out playing, so even if his phone went unanswered for a day or two, his family probably wouldn’t realize they had been “kidnapped.” Of course, Lovkis could also tell that this kidnapping was a spur-of-the-mont decision—crude and poorly planned.
The group’s original target had been “tourists.”
And it wasn’t even a kidnapping, just extortion. But coincidentally, his brother’s girlfriend was French and had been speaking French throughout the trip. When they encountered the “aurora hunter” at the ski resort, the man assud they were French too—
For so reason, Lovkis and the others didn’t correct him, letting the girlfriend handle the conversation.
Then, they were lured to this place, the southernmost tip of Digen Lake, where the frozen lake t the sky painted with the most beautiful auroras. But the man who ca out of the cabin introduced himself as the “forest ranger” and, together with the aurora hunter, began their extortion sche.
Perhaps they had shown off their wealth while skiing, or maybe the girlfriend had said sothing careless, but the extortion amount had beco outrageously high. In their panic, one of their companions revealed his local identity.
Lovkis noticed the leader’s expression darken instantly.
—This was bad!
The group targeted tourists for two reasons: so tourists didn’t know the local customs, and others couldn’t stay long. Communication barriers often ant that once tourists returned to their ho countries, any cases here would be quickly forgotten.
But with locals involved… the extortionists’ eyes grew dangerous.
In desperation, Lovkis pretended not to understand and claid he didn’t have enough cash on hand. Instead, he said he had bought a box of commorative coins at the post office in town, planning to retrieve them before leaving.
…And this wasn’t a lie, so it sounded flawless.
The town did sell these expensive commorative coins, especially to tourists, as a local specialty. His mother had asked him to pick them up as a gift for his cousin Garfield.
Lovkis didn’t know Garfield well, but the older relatives adored him, showering him with expensive and thoughtful gifts every year… which only made Lovkis dislike him more. His brother felt the sa. When Garfield saw the girlfriend, he even asked, “Haven’t I seen you sowhere before?” What kind of pickup line was that!?
Now, all Lovkis could hope for was that the couple who had driven off to retrieve the coins would leave so trace and get caught.
-
Shao Lingwu: “Thinking about it now… I’ve seen a photo of my cousin’s girlfriend on a prison website. She’s a wanted criminal, charged with telecom fraud. The photo looked a bit different from her, though—she might have had surgery.”
Chu Tingwu followed the lead and had her system search, only to find that the girlfriend had likely been accidentally caught up in this ss, not part of any conspiracy.
As for the two people they had encountered earlier, the search revealed a local gang with a history of repeat offenses. They usually targeted tourists, avoiding locals, as evidenced by the nurous tourist complaints on record.
While in the car, Shao Lingwu had called the police—after all, they couldn’t just leave the two failed robbers to freeze in the snow—but the police were indifferent. The hotel, however, was more proactive.
They sent soone to retrieve the car, promising to drop the criminals off at the police station on the way.
Chu Tingwu stopped the car. Ahead, the frozen lake ca into view. To her eyes, the surrounding traces faded, leaving only the glowing dots of life inside the ranger’s cabin.
But really, there was no need to look—
Outside the cabin, soone was grilling food, living it up.
The car blended into the snowy forest, its hood quickly covered in snow. Chu Tingwu didn’t explain to Shao Lingwu why she wasn’t heading straight to the police station or waiting for the authorities. Instead, she drove straight toward the criminals’ hideout. Shao Lingwu didn’t ask, as if it were the most natural thing… until they actually saw the group.
“So… we’ll tell the police their location?”
He wouldn’t be the one “telling” them—he’d be lucky not to give the wrong directions.
After asking, he glanced at Chu Tingwu and froze—
The girl beside him was squinting at the cabin, her presence almost vanishing, her posture unchanged, yet Shao Lingwu couldn’t shake the feeling that she could snap his neck in an instant.
Shao Lingwu: “They have shotguns.”
“Yeah,” Chu Tingwu said, “I can sll it.”
Over three hundred ters away, in the freezing outdoors, faces were barely visible, and there was no scent of grilled food, but Shao Lingwu believed her.
Chu Tingwu silently observed the scene. Despite the worsening snowstorm, both could hear faint sobs and argunts from the cabin, while the group outside continued their barbecue, undisturbed.
They exchanged a glance and said simultaneously: “Seven people.”
The gang had seven mbers—four outside, two on guard, and one asleep in the driver’s seat of another car.
In such a remote place, electronic devices were of limited use… so the system couldn’t help much, but Chu Tingwu’s heart raced inexplicably.
In this wilderness, even with guns, the line between humans and “beasts” blurred.
She studied the scene further and quickly deduced that only two of the five outside had fired guns before, while the other three had no blood on their hands.
Chu Tingwu glanced at Shao Lingwu, who t her gaze. But a second later, Shao Lingwu said, “Go.”
Even though saying this weighed heavily on him—if Chu Tingwu got hurt or killed, he’d feel responsible, even if he knew it wasn’t a rational decision—Shao Lingwu also knew that Chu Tingwu’s choices wouldn’t change because of others.
If everything had to be done rationally, there would be no such thing as “extre sports.”
Chu Tingwu and Shao Lingwu rummaged through the car’s trunk. Shao Lingwu’s violin was missing, but they found rope and duct tape, likely left by the two who had caught the salmon earlier, just in case. Now, Chu Tingwu could put them to good use.
However, carrying the supplies would slow her down, so Chu Tingwu agreed with Shao Lingwu that she’d send a signal once she was done, and he’d drive over to help tie up the criminals.
Chu Tingwu wasn’t boasting—without guns, she wouldn’t hesitate to charge in head-on. But with firearms involved, she’d have to take a more cautious approach and avoid drawing attention.
-
Lovkis was lost in thought.
But his reverie was interrupted when one of the gang mbers suddenly approached, identified him, and yanked him to his feet.
Listening to their conversation, Lovkis began to tremble.
Extortionists rarely escalated to murder, but if the victims were weak, with no witnesses or caras around, and the killers could escape cleanly, leaving no trace except for the victims themselves…
Then silencing them might seem like a necessary step.
The snow fell heavily, but the criminal gang hesitated. Only three of them had actually taken action—one outside and two inside the house. The others seed unwilling to share the burden of murder, yet they couldn't think of any other way to ensure Lovkis and his companions wouldn't reveal their secrets.
Even though Lovkis and the others repeatedly assured them that they wouldn’t call the police after leaving and were willing to hand over all their possessions, the gang mbers weren’t amateurs. They weren’t about to believe such promises.
Another person entered from outside, seemingly to diate. Lovkis began to struggle frantically, and soone next to him punched him.
Suddenly, the door blew open.
Soone went to close it, but as they reached for the latch, they paused for a mont.
In the next second, the criminal heard a scream from behind and the unmistakable sound of a bone breaking—an arm, perhaps.
He imdiately reached for his gun, turning around while shielding his back. But when he raised the gun, it was pointed directly at his terrified companion.
In that sa mont, he saw another companion already collapsed on the ground.
No, wait—when he had gone to close the door, he had noticed that the person outside was also lying on the ground, unconscious and possibly dead.
In that split second, the only surviving criminal didn’t lower his shotgun, still aiming it at his companion’s face… He suspected the enemy might be hiding behind his companion.
But when had the enemy appeared? How had they struck?
The companion hadn’t passed out yet, but in the next mont—the man, writhing in pain, was suddenly flung into the air.
Yes, it was as if he had been kicked, not simply falling forward but flying through the air. If the criminal didn’t shoot now, then… He didn’t hesitate. He pulled the trigger, and as blood splattered, he caught a glimpse of the open window across the room.
Then everything went black.
Chu Tingwu walked back in through the front door, glanced at the room littered with “corpses,” and then at the excited victims. She whistled softly.
Shao Lingwu drove up the path, jumped out of the car, and began tying up the criminals.
Three-Five-Five was faster, sniffing around the humans before stopping in front of the criminal with a bleeding shoulder. The others were unconscious, but this one was still awake, enduring the pain of broken arms, torn tendons, and a gunshot wound to the shoulder. His eyes were wide open, as if he wanted to get a clear look at the person who had done this to him…
Shao Lingwu quickly tied up the others and crouched in front of him, fiddling with sothing.
Chu Tingwu: “No need to close his eyes. He’s not dead.”
“Oh,” Shao Lingwu sighed in relief. “It’s so cold, I couldn’t even see him breathing.”
For a mont, he thought the man had frozen stiff.
Only Lovkis truly looked stiff. When Chu Tingwu had acted, he had seen it all clearly. Even as the others fell… he hadn’t dared to move. Because this girl—even if you explained her actions as “martial arts”—was terrifying. Superhuman strength, lightning-fast reflexes—you could say she was well-trained… but how had she managed to slip in and out of a vent barely wider than an adult’s hand? Did she not have bones?!
Chu Tingwu glanced at him.
Lovkis shivered.
In the next mont, Chu Tingwu suddenly stepped closer, and Lovskis let out a sharp scream—but she simply stepped over him, walking up to the other unlucky souls. She reached out and grabbed the woman who looked French, and in the next second, a small knife fell from the woman’s hand.
She had already cut her ropes and was waiting for an opportunity.
The woman instinctively began to plead for rcy, switching from French to Russian after a few words. But Chu Tingwu replied in clear, standard Mandarin: “Sorry, I don’t understand.”
Then she dragged the others, who had been shivering in the corner, closer to the fireplace. She didn’t untie them, and she bound the French woman as well. The others didn’t dare to beg again.
The room was quiet except for the sound of Chu Tingwu tending to the criminal’s wounds. At one point, the man tried to lunge at her, but Three-Five-Five was quicker, slapping him hard across the face.
—So, in addition to his injuries on his arms, legs, and shoulder, he now had three fresh claw marks on his neck.
The others kept their heads down, even more submissive now.
Lovkis called out to Shao Lingwu, his voice dry as he thanked him: “Garfield, thank you for coming to find .”
Chu Tingwu: “Pfft.” Hearing soone call Shao Lingwu “Garfield” was honestly a little funny.
Shao Lingwu: “==”
Lovkis glanced at her in terror, as if she might suddenly attack—
Just think about it: in this isolated forest cabin, just as the criminals were about to strike, a figure more ruthless, more terrifying, and more ghostly than them suddenly appeared, taking them all down with inhuman speed… And she was dressed lightly, showing no signs of being cold, like so forest spirit who might devour them all. And his brother was actually working with her—had he been tricked?
…There really are too many scamrs these days!
Shao Lingwu: “…Ah, found it!”
He had found his violin. It seed the criminals had recognized its value and stashed it in their own car.
Now they just had to wait for the police. There were injured people here, and too many of them. Chu Tingwu and Shao Lingwu didn’t have driver’s licenses, so they couldn’t just drive the car to the police station.
Hmm…
Outside, the heavy snow had turned to light flurries, once again covering the tire tracks and footprints. But among the faint, chaotic prints on the ground, there were none from Chu Tingwu. She had walked across the snow, but left no trace.
Still, Shao Lingwu didn’t dare to reach out and check if she was breathing.
The two of them didn’t go back inside. They sat in front of the cabin, and Chu Tingwu looked up at the vibrant colors of the aurora above. The northern lights reflected on the frozen lake, shimring faintly as if breathing, obscuring the bloody scene that had unfolded here.
Inside the cabin, the others’ breathing grew shallow, the tired, weak breaths of people finally letting go of their tension.
It was then that the sound of the violin began.
Chu Tingwu recognized it as a dance tune. The bow slid across the strings, the resonance of the instrunt filling the air… She had expected Shao Lingwu to play sothing quiet, sothing fitting for winter. But this piece was lively and spirited, with playful glissandos.
She didn’t turn her head, her gaze still fixed on the aurora and the stars.
The snow swirled in front of her, and the light seed to dance along with it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)