Sinister Future

Chapter 2

The members of the AU team are elite operatives independently trained by the nation, and their individual capabilities are extraordinary. They are typically assigned only the most unconventional and difficult missions. They act only when necessary, and when they do, they never miss—every strike is a kill, or it subdues the enemy in one move.

Mercy is unnecessary, and showing it to the enemy is not allowed. Now, because of Levi's memories, he understands the rules of this era, so he's holding back when he makes his moves.

However, he wasn't doing it to show off. These thugs were bullies who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. Only by thoroughly beating them once would they remember the pain.

Preaching while showing off would only bring him more trouble.

The group had originally lured Levi to a secluded spot, intending to act without attracting attention. They hadn’t expected this to work in Levi's favor. As AU-21, Levi now needed to blend into society under his new identity because the real Levi was dead, and he couldn't afford to let anyone find out.

Earlier, when he was with Zhou Yu on the street, he had no intention of dealing with the two petty thugs.

As Levi glanced toward a nearby balcony, he noticed a shadow flit across it.

Though he hadn’t seen much, his neural assistant system, “Xiao Jiu,” immediately processed the situation and fed the information into his mind.

It was a young woman, who had just washed her hair and was holding her phone in one hand, speaking softly, while using the other hand to towel her hair dry. She had just stepped onto the balcony and was stunned by the scene below, standing frozen in surprise. The moment she saw Levi look up, she quickly ducked back inside.

Given her height and angle, Levi wasn’t worried she had seen him clearly.

So, after just a glance, he left before she had a chance to reappear.

---

Qu Dunhuang, who didn’t need to punch in for work, had an irregular schedule. It was common for her to work late into the night or even until dawn unless she had an interview scheduled or there was major breaking news to cover.

Today, she had just gotten up around noon, showered, and was answering a call from her column editor while drying her hair and stepping out onto the balcony.

A new day had begun, and breathing in the fresh morning air—it was morning to her, even if it was already noon—she felt refreshed.

Though her attention was divided, her instincts as a reporter made her habitually scan the surroundings as soon as she stepped onto the balcony.

This area rarely had anything newsworthy, but today she heard faint cries of pain from below, which made her quickly glance down.

From her vantage point, she had a clear view.

But Levi was too fast. By the time she leaned forward to look, all she saw was two standing figures and several others lying on the ground. She then saw Levi "bullying" five thugs, some of whom were already down.

Five people ganging up on one wasn’t newsworthy. But one person fighting off five? That could make the headlines.

Still, even though she witnessed it firsthand, it didn’t interest Qu Dunhuang much.

At most, it would get a small spot on the social page, with little impact and not worth much money. Why risk angering what appeared to be a dangerous criminal? This was her home, after all. The moment Levi glanced up at her, she instinctively shrank back inside.

Yet, she still felt as if his gaze had cut through her like a blade, making her frown. She didn’t like being stared at like that.

It puzzled her. She hadn’t even seen his face clearly from that height. Why did his gaze make her uneasy? After a moment of thought, she attributed it to shock from seeing how ruthless he had been.

When Qu Dunhuang peeked out again, Levi was already gone, leaving a scattering of injured people on the ground.

---

Levi retraced his steps and returned to a nearby café where Zhou Yu was waiting.

Not much time had passed. Zhou Yu had ordered a quick meal, but it hadn't arrived yet.

As Levi approached, Zhou Yu seemed like he had something to say, but the waiter arrived to take Levi’s order, so Zhou Yu held his tongue.

"What’s on your mind?" Levi asked with a smile after the waiter left, sensing Zhou Yu’s hesitation. "Don’t tell me you want to treat me to a meal? No need to be so polite. I’m not one to be stingy."

He wasn’t stingy, and neither was the current Levi, who had inherited his memories. The real Levi had been rather generous in life, often paying for friends and being taken advantage of.

Levi and Zhou Yu had only met yesterday, and they weren’t close enough to be treating each other to meals. They were just temporary coworkers for a few days, and when the job ended, they'd part ways. There was no need to build camaraderie, so splitting the bill or going Dutch would be the norm.

Yesterday, during lunch, Levi had been the first to pay and hadn’t asked Zhou Yu for his share.

Zhou Yu’s hesitation now made Levi think he might be asking him to pay again today.

With a wry smile, Zhou Yu said, “I know you’re not stingy. I just wanted to tell you that Supervisor Ren is here…” As he spoke, Levi had already noticed Supervisor Ren approaching from the direction of the café's restrooms.

Ren was a staff member in the real estate promotion department, the one who had hired them to hand out flyers. Calling him “supervisor” was more of a courtesy.

Seeing Ren’s displeased look, Levi already knew he was coming over to criticize their work.