Absolute VOID
Chapter 56 A Brutal Welcome (2)

Chapter 56: Chapter 56 A Brutal Welcome (2)

Chapter 56: A Brutal Welcome (2)

Before Lin Mu could react, her fist snapped forward, a blur of motion that connected with his lower jaw.

CRACK!

The blow was sharp, precise, and brutal, sending a jolt of pain through his skull as his jaw dislocated with a sickening pop. Blood sprayed from his mouth, warm and metallic, as he stumbled back, his vision blurring. The force knocked him several feet back, his body hitting the ground with a dull thud, the grass cool against his cheek. The sudden violence drew gasps and murmurs from nearby students, their eyes wide as they formed a loose circle around the scene.

Sasha sauntered toward him, her athletic frame radiating confidence, her pink hair catching the sunlight. She reached into her skirt pocket, pulling out a small stack of hundred-dollar bills, and tossed them onto his face with a flick of her wrist. The bills fluttered down, some sticking to the blood on his cheek. "There," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "Now you’re properly injured." She turned on her heel, her steps light and unhurried, and sauntered off, leaving the crowd buzzing with whispers.

’ You b*tch! ’

Lin Mu coughed, blood dribbling from his lips, his vision swimming as pain throbbed through his jaw. The world tilted, and darkness crept in, pulling him under. As he lost consciousness, the murmurs of the onlookers faded, but one figure stood apart, her presence distinct even in his fading awareness.

Zhao Lin, tall and regal, her pink hair tied back with a silk ribbon, watched from the edge of the crowd. Her sharp features, usually set in a look of cool superiority, were twisted with an unexpected displeasure. Her dark eyes, narrowed and intense, fixed on Lin Mu’s prone form, her lips moving in a barely audible mutter. "How is he here?!"

The question hung unanswered as Lin Mu’s world went black, the grass beneath him the last sensation he registered. The crowd’s whispers grew distant, their voices a mix of shock and curiosity, but Zhao Lin’s gaze lingered, her expression a puzzle of irritation.

’ First he actually dared to fight back! Then he managed to escape daddy’s claws, now he’s here at the academy?! But I didn’t see him during the entrance exams!’

’ Could he have taken them out of town?’ Zhao Lin wondered but didn’t find it plausible since why would he go to such lengths if he wanted to get into the academy.

’ Could it be that although he escaped father, he still chose to leave the city because he was afraid of us?’ For a moment, she stood motionless, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag, before turning away, her steps measured but swift, as if fleeing a thought she didn’t want to confront.

’ Nevermind! I’ll know everything soon enough!’

When Lin Mu came to, he found himself in the academy’s infirmary. His jaw throbbed, the pain still faintly there, and the taste of blood lingered in his mouth.

He pushed himself up, wincing, his fingers trembling slightly not from fear but shock. Sasha’s attack was far more powerful than he expected.

Her file said that she was a physical type superhuman with mutant cells in the double digits. but feeling that strength first hand told him that even though he was at the 6th stage of body refining, it wasn’t enough!

’ I can’t keep postponing my cultivation. I’ll have to use my stocked up system coins to cultivate, I can’t keep waiting for master to complete her end of the deal unless i might just end up killed.’

The realization was shocking but it also confirmed Sasha was a target worth watching.

’ That cocky b*tch, Her strength and her arrogance, are more than enough reason for her to be on the list.’

He massaged his forehead. Tian Jiang was no Serinerian camp. it was a stinging wake up call to reality, just as Li Fei had said, and he’d need every ounce of cunning and ability for him to be able to survive it in one piece.

He rose, steadying himself, After clarifying with the infirmary medical practitioners that he was ok enough to leave, he left the infirmary.

He decided to head home since the day had already gone by while he was unconscious. his steps slower now, his jaw aching with every movement.

The encounter with Sasha had been a setback, but it had also lit a fire in him. Though he was here to be a nobody, like Li Fei wanted.

It didn’t mean he also didn’t want to prove something to himself, to the academy and most importantly, to the world.

In order to get close to his targets, he at least needed enough strength so as not to end up being killed accidentally.

And since that meant facing down targets like Sasha Miguel, it couldn’t be helped that his nobody image might be forsaken one day.

Lin Mu first toured the academy grounds after leaving the infirmary, making sure to imprint every location in his mind, Incase the time came when he needed them.

Afterwards he hailed a taxi and headed home.

The taxi’s engine revved continuously as it wound through the city’s evening streets, carrying Lin Mu away from the gleaming spires of Tian Jiang Academy.

He leaned back in the worn leather seat, his jaw still faintly sore from Sasha Miguel’s brutal strike earlier that day, the memory of her crimson eyes burning in his mind.

The city’s sight’s flickered past, casting fleeting glows across his sharp features, but his thoughts were elsewhere, to be specific, he was trying to come up with a plane to get back at so called girl who dared to humiliate him.

Unbeknownst to him, a sleek black car trailed far behind the taxi at a discreet distance, its tinted windows concealing its occupant as it mirrored the taxi’s route through the urban roads.

" I’ll stop here. "

When the taxi pulled up to Lin Mu’s modest home, he paid the driverwith a crumpled bill and stepped out, the cool night air brushing against his skin.