Chapter 103: A Hollow Emptiness

Luo Shaotian jolted awake.

“…Hah… hah…”

He sucked in deep breaths, his vision still trailing faint double images.

“Ugh—”

He pressed his splitting head and slowly sat up.

His back was drenched in sticky cold sweat.

“What… happened?”

He scanned his surroundings.

No abandoned construction site.

No muddy pool of blood.

No mysterious masked maid standing before him.

This was his bedroom.

Outside the window, warm morning light streamed through the blinds, scattering bright patches across the floor.

Tiny dust motes floated in the beams of light, drifting in silence.

Everything looked painfully peaceful.

Was it a dream?

He tried to recall.

He remembered losing control—
becoming a beast—
tearing apart the people surrounding him one by one.

After that, he remembered running into the pitiful victim from that old case.

The guy had turned himself into some half-human, half-monster abomination, appearing in front of him and screaming about killing.

And the final memory paused on the mysterious maid.

That woman had pointed a gun at him…

And then?

What happened after?

Luo Shaotian couldn’t remember.
Trying to push deeper only sent stabbing pain through his mind.

So he gave up on remembering for now, tossed aside the blanket, and got out of bed.

“Eh?”

Only then did he notice—
the blood- and mud-soaked shirt he’d had on was gone, replaced with clean sleepwear.

“My clothes… changed?
Who changed them for me?”

Still confused, he walked to the mirror and examined himself carefully.

No wounds.

“How…?”

He pressed his left shoulder hard.
He vividly remembered the bone-crushing agony from last night.

Yet now, there was only faint muscle soreness.

Everything had healed.

As if nothing had happened at all.

He stepped out of the bedroom.

The living room was empty—so quiet he could hear only the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock.

The floor was spotless, freshly mopped, and even the pot of green ivy looked more lively than usual.

“…Lulu?”

He called out instinctively, used to seeing that small figure bustling around the kitchen every morning.

No response.

He walked to the sofa.

It was empty—
only a neatly folded thin blanket lay in one corner.

The girl who always curled up there like a sleeping kitten was gone.

Luo Shaotian’s heart dipped for no reason.

He searched the whole apartment—
the kitchen, the balcony, the bathroom…

Nowhere.

She was gone.

Like a gust of wind that had suddenly blown into his life—
and disappeared just as silently.

Leaving behind only this overly clean apartment, and the faint lingering scent in the air.

Luo Shaotian stood in the center of the empty living room for a long time.

After a while, he let out a soft, self-mocking laugh.

“Of course…”

He said,

“Any normal girl who saw something like that would run away screaming.”

“The fact that she didn’t call the police on the spot is already extremely kind.”

“This is good.”

He leaned against the window, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

The bitter nicotine helped steady his chaotic mind.

“This is good.”

He told himself,

“I’m basically a bomb that could explode anytime.
A monster being swallowed by darkness.”

“That brat staying with me was too dangerous.”

“She should go back to her own world…”

“Not follow me into this abyss with no light, trembling at every step.”

“Letting her leave…
is the best choice for both of us.”

“Yes…”

“The best choice.”

The cigarette burned down.

He crushed the stub into the ashtray on the windowsill, turned, and went to brew himself a cup of coffee.

But gradually, his movements slowed.

“……”

His gaze settled on the apartment—
quiet… too quiet.

The sunlight was beautiful, pouring through the clean glass windows and filling the living room with warmth.

Yet somehow, he felt cold.

A hollow chill rising from inside his chest.

Why?

He didn’t understand.

He had always lived alone.

This was just going back to how things used to be—
why did it feel so empty?

Sure, the little girl was cute,
and sometimes stirred certain… physiological reactions.

But she was far too young.

Conscience and the law both existed for a reason.

No matter what, he should not—
and could not—
have feelings for her.

“Ding—”

The coffee machine chimed, filling a white porcelain cup with a stream of bitter aroma.

Luo Shaotian carried the black coffee to the sofa and sat down.

The warm ceramic transferred heat into his cold palms.

He didn’t drink.

The rising steam pulled his thoughts far away.

He replayed the scenes from the past days—
from escaping Chicheng Gang,
to everything that happened last night.

Or perhaps even further back—
to the changes in his personality after gaining that power.

“What… happened to me?”

(Your heart has already become as dark as the scum you despise the most!)

His teacher’s disappointed face surfaced in his mind without warning.

Is that so?

“I’ve become… that kind of person?”

He closed his eyes, leaning against the sofa, exhaling a weary sigh.

Only now did he start to see clearly.

Maybe he really had gone astray.

The power that once intoxicated him seemed determined to lead him into the wrong path.

He had believed it was the ultimate form of justice.

But last night—
when he saw Wu Jianguo’s twisted face,
heard his blood-soaked, tear-filled accusations—

For the first time, he saw on that man—
who had also been betrayed by “order”—
a reflection of himself.

A reflection growing uglier by the day.

They were the same.

He and Wu Jianguo…

Both madmen controlled by hatred and rage.

“Tch…”

An indescribable irritation surged up.

Luo Shaotian set the coffee aside, pulled out his cigarette pack and lighter, ready to light another—

But the moment he flicked the lighter, his gaze drifted toward a corner of the living room.

There—
sitting quietly by the wall—
was a half-human-sized teddy bear.

Its black plastic eyes reflected innocent morning light, staring back at him with a silly, gentle expression.

His hand froze mid-motion.

“…Why is this thing here?”

He slowly stood up and walked toward it.

His gaze caught on the paper shopping bags placed neatly beside the bear.

Those were the bedding, pillows, and clothes he’d bought yesterday.

Everything was stacked tidily.
Nothing missing.

Something clicked in Luo Shaotian’s mind.

“So that’s… what happened?”

After he lost control last night, it was that girl who had dragged his unconscious body—
along with all these bags—
back to the apartment.

She had even changed his clothes.

Only after doing all that did she leave quietly.

Why?

Shouldn’t she have run away screaming?

Why go through so much trouble?

Luo Shaotian couldn’t understand.

“…What a fool.”

Just as he muttered that to himself—

Click.

The front door opened without warning.

“—!”

Luo Shaotian turned sharply.

Backlit by the morning sun, a petite figure appeared at the doorway.

“Ah, Uncle, you’re awake!”