Proofread & Editor: Howard Wong

"Jin, the 'Fu' character seems a bit low."

"Ah? How about now?" 

"Mmm… now it's a bit to the right."

"How about now?"

"Hey, that's perfect! Just like that!"

In the narrow, aging corridor, Yang Jin held a bright red 'Fu' character, standing on a small stool, meticulously placing it on the door. He smoothed out every corner carefully.

After finishing, he lightly hopped off the stool and turned around to inspect it, nodding in approval.

"Mom, anywhere else we need to put one?"

"We need one on every room door!" his mom carefully selected a distinctively different 'Fu' character from the pile. This one was bigger, redder, and bordered with golden patterns.

"Put this one on your brother's door. He's far from home, and ordinary 'Fu' might not be enough. I specially got this one from the store, cost me over twenty bucks!"

His mon held the 'Fu' character, her fingers gently tracing its edges, speaking earnestly.

Yang Jin chuckled, "Mom, 'Fu' doesn't distinguish between near and far."

"Tsk, what do you know, kid? It's better to believe it works than not." His mom glared at him. "Your brother must have it tough out there. I hope this 'Fu' will bring him some divine blessing."

"Got it," Yang Jin shrugged.

Taking the 'Fu' character and tape, he opened the front door and kicked Little Black Pox, who was sleeping in the hallway. The animal lazily got up, yawned, and followed them inside.

Yang Jin affixed 'Fu' characters on each room door, while his mom tied on her apron and headed straight for the kitchen to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner.

"Your brother, not even a call for the New Year," she muttered while chopping vegetables.

"It's not easy to call often from the military. Maybe he's busy right now."

"Sigh… Alright, I'll call him later. It's New Year's; at least I should ask if he has a New Year's Eve dinner."

"Mom, let's cook less tonight. We can't finish it all by ourselves."

Her knife paused slightly, but she didn't respond.

Yang Jin glanced at the kitchen and sighed softly. He smoothed out the large 'Fu' character on Lin Qiye's door, nodding in satisfaction.

This 'Fu' was well placed.

***

Outside the low-rise building.

A black van was parked by the roadside, covered in snow, with only a few windows visible. The glass was specially treated, appearing pitch-black from outside.

The man in the driver's seat put down his binoculars and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Scorpion Three reporting, no unusual activity near the target, over."

Then another voice came through.

"Scorpion Nine reporting, target's woman is chopping vegetables in the kitchen, no anomalies, over." On the rooftop opposite the low-rise building, a man in white combat gear lay in the snow, holding a sniper rifle, speaking sternly.

"Scorpion Eight reporting, target's boy is active in the living room, no anomalies, over." Another sniper, hidden behind a net curtain at a different angle of the building, reported.

"Received, continue to stand by."

Hearing this, Scorpion Three in the van frowned slightly, picking up his walkie-talkie.

"Scorpion One, we've been here for two days. How much longer?"

"Until the target appears."

"And if he never does?"

There was a brief silence on the other end, then the man continued, "The Lady Serpent said if he doesn't show up by tonight, we'll seize the woman and the child and hand them over to her."

"Lady Serpent, Lady Serpent… Hmph, when did Mad Scorpion become a lapdog for a woman?"

"Scorpion Three, watch your words," Scorpion One's voice turned serious. "Since we chose to be devotees of the Ancient God Church, we must obey the will of the the gods!"

"Just a bunch of Deity's Agents, and they dare to call themselves 'the gods'?" Scorpion Three sneered.

"Scorpion Three." Scorpion One's anger was evident. "Since we turned to the Ancient God Church in desperation, we cannot break our covenant with the gods. Otherwise, you're not just endangering yourself but all of Mad Scorpion!"

Scorpion Three held the walkie-talkie, snorted, but said no more.

"Scorpion One, if our target is that Dual Deity's Agent, can we really handle him with just us?" Another man's voice came through.

"Scorpion Seven, since when did you become so cowardly?

Even if we can't handle it, there's her. She's the sixteenth devotee, just half a step away from the 'Sea' realm. Handling a 'Pond' realm newcomer should be no problem."

With that, all voices of doubt were suppressed.

As for Scorpion Three in the van, he just scoffed and kept silent.

"A devotee?" A voice came from outside the van.

Scorpion Three turned sharply, only to see a young man with two black boxes standing outside the van, his eyes dark as ink.

He stood there, and a wave of darkness rapidly expanded from him, engulfing the van in an instant!

Scorpion Three's pupils dilated, reaching for his walkie-talkie, but the young man outside fixated his gaze, and the walkie-talkie was torn into pieces, sparking.

The young man stood quietly outside the van, his fingertip tracing the door, which exploded outwards!

"A devotee… what is that?"

The young man's deep voice echoed in the snowy silence.

Scorpion Three, a seasoned soldier, drew a short knife from under his seat and lunged at Lin Qiye's throat!

Lin Qiye seemed to anticipate the move, stepping back slightly. The knife grazed his skin without leaving a mark, then his other hand swiftly struck Scorpion Three's wrist!

The knife fell from Scorpion Three's loosened grip. However, instead of shock, a sly smile crossed his face.

A black submachine gun, previously unseen, appeared in his left hand, aimed at Lin Qiye.

He pulled the trigger.

Blinding sparks flew as bullets spiraled out of the barrel, hurtling towards Lin Qiye with deadly force!