Feng Ju’s mechanical arm emitted a deep hum, with the hydraulic system running in overload.

He grabbed a piece of rebar protruding from the wall, and as his metal fingers tightened, they emitted a teeth-gritting "screech" sound.

With a loud shout, the muscles of his arm and mechanical joints exerted force simultaneously, snapping the thumb-thick rebar into a bend!

"Boom!"

The first punch smashed into the concrete wall, sending debris flying.

Then came the second punch, the third punch...

The pitch-black metal fist repeatedly pounded the same spot, as fine cracks spread outward, the dull sounds of impact echoing in the sewer.

On the other side of the wall, Feng Yuhuai’s head slowly lowered, her hair falling into writhing crimson threads.

The dense red threads pulsed like blood vessels, reconnecting her head to her body.

Suddenly, her neck twisted backward at an inhuman angle.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Rhythmic thuds came from the wall, with fine cement powder sifting down from the cracks.

Feng Yuhuai tilted slightly, listening intently.

With another thunderous boom, a part of the wall suddenly bulged, a twisted rebar piercing straight through, shooting through her neck.

Continuing its momentum towards...[Mask] Zheng Hang.

Zheng Hang looked up, a mysterious smile forming on his lips.

With a flick of his right index finger, a segment of ghostly white finger bone suddenly shot out from his fingertip, precisely striking the flying rebar.

Ding—

The rebar reversed at an even faster speed, accompanied by the sound of slicing through the air, and deeply embedded itself into Feng Yuhuai’s full left chest.

Blood instantly soaked her clothing, a bright flower blooming on the thin fabric.

"Uh..."

Feng Yuhuai’s brow furrowed slightly, then relaxed.

She stretched out her hand to clasp the rebar in her chest, moving as gently as if she were removing a gift from a lover, then gripped it tightly in her palm.

Feng Yuhuai lifted her face, gazing affectionately at her boyfriend.

Only, her heart inexplicably clenched painfully, feeling as if the aura around her boyfriend grew increasingly sinister and frightening.

His already ominous eyes, those two spinning crimson hook jades, were inexplicably covered with the pallor of corpses.

Under the gaze of those eyes, Feng Yuhuai felt a chill uncontrollably, as if she stood naked on a dissection table, her flesh down to her bone marrow being meticulously dissected by the gaze.

There was no trace of a girl’s shyness or secrets.

Just as Feng Yuhuai was nearly suffocating, that terrifying gaze finally moved away.

"Whew..."

She barely let out half a sigh of relief, but her heart abruptly tightened again.

Zheng Hang’s voice drifted over:

"It seems no wall can truly separate a father’s concern for his daughter, how touching!"

Cement particles sifted down, creating small ripples in the pooled water.

Zheng Hang suddenly chuckled, a deep meaning in his laughter that Feng Yuhuai couldn’t grasp:

"Such moving family affection, Feng Yuhuai, you must learn to cherish it!"

The wall’s vibrations grew more intense, the groaning of twisting rebars becoming more unnerving.

Feng Yuhuai could faintly hear the hydraulic sounds of the mechanical arm behind the wall, every heavy blow seemingly pounding on her heart.

As if in the next moment, her father would break through the wall, catching her secretly meeting with...her boyfriend in the sewer?!!

The thought nearly froze all the blood in her veins.

Zheng Hang stepped forward, closing the distance between them in an instant.

His tall figure enveloped Feng Yuhuai, creating the perfect lover’s height difference.

"Finally, the day has come to meet the parents..."

He leaned close to Feng Yuhuai’s ear, whispering, his cold breath brushing against her trembling earlobe,

"Are you happy?"

The gentleness in his voice made Feng Yuhuai’s heart nearly shatter.

"I...I haven’t..."

Feng Yuhuai’s voice quivered:

"Had a chance to tell my family...about us..."

More than keeping her early romance a secret, she had enough secrets hidden from her father to fill an entire sewer.

The chiseling on the other side of the wall drew nearer, concrete chunks crumbling down.

Feng Yuhuai suddenly grabbed Zheng Hang’s sleeve, speaking so quickly she nearly bit her tongue:

"Let’s go, I’ll go with you."

Her voice carried unprecedented panic,

"My dad...he’s so old-fashioned and controlling, he can’t understand young people’s feelings at all..."

As she spoke these words, even Feng Yuhuai was stunned.

Clearly, all this time, she had been mentally preparing—imagining how to seat each family member at the table and have one last meal with them.

But now, hearing the crazed sound of wall-breaking, a familiar yet strange fear wildly grew in her chest cavity.

She couldn’t discern the origin of her trembling.

Was she afraid of eating her father today?

Was she afraid of this secret meal being seen by her boyfriend?

Or, was she afraid of her father seeing her turn into a monster?

This last thought plunged her into an icy abyss.

The red threads within her seemed to sense the extreme emotional change, excitedly creeping under her skin.

Feng Yuhuai’s throat went dry, and she suddenly awoke—more than having that last meal with her father, what she feared more was seeing her father’s possible...disappointment?!!

Zheng Hang bent slightly, his slender fingers threading through Feng Yuhuai’s blood-matted hair.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, suddenly breaking into a grin and saying:

"Ah, family...," he suddenly narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting into a chilling arc, "the most precious treasure in the world."

Feng Yuhuai looked up, her pupils reflecting Zheng Hang’s gradually changing eyes—those pallid hook jades melting away like snow, replaced by two bottomless pools of black.

Zheng Hang let out a soft sigh:

"Truly unfortunate, it seems you’re not yet ready, but that’s alright, I believe someday, you’ll be able to convince your father to accept it all."

Feng Yuhuai’s lips quivered lightly, yet no words escaped.

Zheng Hang took out a pristine white handkerchief from his suit pocket, meticulously wiping the congealed blood from her hair tips.

"A daughter going to meet her father..."

As he wiped gently, he remarked with deep meaning,

"Needs to present herself in the most beautiful and clean manner!"

Zheng Hang’s tenderness moved Feng Yuhuai to tears.

When everyone eagerly anticipated how high she could fly, only Zheng Hang tenderly wiped the bloodstains from her hair.

Really, I’m moved to tears!

Boom—

The wall burst into web-like cracks, a pitch-black mechanical fist piercing through the concrete, the hydraulic pipes emitting white smoke.

Zheng Hang stepped back, shadows coiling around his suit pants like living entities.

Before fading away completely, he gave Feng Yuhuai one last glance, laden with heart-wrenching anticipation. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Go ahead, Yuhuai, your father is calling you home for dinner~"

His voice faded along with his figure, leaving only a trace of chill lingering by her ear,

"Don’t worry, I believe it won’t be long before we can openly sit at a table, enjoying a wonderful family dinner together!"