Darkness.
Endless darkness.
Yun Jiao felt as if she had been walking through an eternal abyss.
Her body was gone.
Her pain was gone.
Her hatred… however…
Still burned fiercely within her soul.
Yunjinna…
Chu Jintan…
The names echoed like ghosts inside the void.
She kept walking.
Step by step.
The darkness seemed endless… until—
A faint light appeared ahead.
Small.
Blurred.
But it was there.
Hope.
She struggled toward it.
Her consciousness felt heavy, like a thousand chains dragging her down. But she refused to stop.
Finally—
The light swallowed her whole.
Pain.
Intense pain.
Her entire body felt like it had been smashed by a thousand hammers.
Her bones ached.
Her head throbbed.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as if she had just crawled back from death itself.
"..."
Her eyelids trembled.
Slowly—
She opened them.
The first thing she saw was a familiar ceiling.
Peeling white paint.
A rusty fan creaking slowly above.
Her brows furrowed.
"...Where am I?"
Her voice was hoarse.
She struggled to sit up.
A wave of dizziness almost knocked her back onto the bed.
"What… is happening?"
Her eyes scanned the small room.
Metal bunk beds.
Simple wooden desks.
Pink curtains fluttering near the window.
Suddenly—
Her pupils shrank.
"This… looks like…"
Her voice trembled.
"My dormitory…?"
Then something struck her like lightning.
"Wait—!"
She jumped out of bed and stumbled toward the bathroom.
Her footsteps were unsteady, but she forced herself forward.
The mirror came into view.
And the moment she looked up—
She froze.
Reflected in the mirror…
Was a girl.
About seventeen or eighteen years old.
Petite.
Delicate.
Her long black hair cascaded down her back like silk.
Her skin was fair and flawless.
Large bright eyes framed a sweet, innocent face.
She looked like a harmless little doll.
A cute, noble lolita.
Yun Jiao slowly raised her hand and touched her face.
The girl in the mirror copied the movement.
Her breathing quickened.
"Damn…"
"Damn… damn… damn!"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"What the hell happened to me?!"
She rushed back into the dormitory and grabbed the calendar hanging on the wall.
Her hands trembled.
Her eyes locked onto the date.
And then—
Her heart stopped.
"This day…"
She remembered it clearly.
Too clearly.
This was the day Lin Yingxi pushed her into the well behind the orphanage.
The day she almost died.
If not for her survival instincts and a late rescue…
She would have died there quietly.
No justice.
No revenge.
Just a nameless corpse.
Yun Jiao slowly lowered the calendar.
Her breathing became uneven.
"Don't tell me…"
Her voice turned soft.
"Did I… get reborn?"
She laughed nervously.
"No, no, no…"
"That kind of thing only happens in novels…"
"But…"
Her eyes slowly hardened.
Her lips curled slightly.
"But I did die."
Her mind flashed back to the final moment of her previous life.
Her brother's severed head.
Yunjinna's cruel laughter.
The gunshot.
The darkness.
Her fingers slowly clenched.
A cold glint flashed through her eyes.
"So…"
"I really came back."
Silence filled the room.
Then—
A sweet smile slowly appeared on her lips.
But her eyes…
Were terrifyingly cold.
Yun Jiao returned to the bathroom.
Her body was still covered in dirt and dried blood.
The dorm mistress had simply thrown her onto the bed after the rescue.
No treatment.
No care.
Nothing.
She chuckled softly.
"What a lovely childhood."
She picked up a towel and began cleaning her wounds.
Each movement was calm and practiced.
Like someone used to treating injuries on the battlefield.
After washing up, she wrapped a towel around herself and stood in front of the mirror again.
Her gaze slowly traveled down her body.
Smooth white skin.
Perfect proportions.
Flawless features.
She clicked her tongue.
"Ha…"
"No wonder Yunjinna wanted me dead."
She leaned closer to the mirror and smiled playfully.
"Damn."
"I'm really beautiful."
Her smile turned mischievous.
"How could she bear to kill such a cute girl?"
But the moment her mind flashed back to her brother—
Her expression changed.
The sweetness disappeared.
Her eyes became cold.
Dark.
Terrifying.
An invisible killing intent slowly filled the room.
At that moment—
She looked nothing like the harmless lolita in the mirror.
She looked like a demon queen crawling out of hell.
Her lips curved into a dangerous smile.
"Yunjinna…"
"Chu Jintan…"
"And everyone who participated in our deaths…"
Her voice was soft.
But filled with absolute hatred.
"Prepare yourselves."
"I'll take back everything that belongs to me."
"Family?"
She laughed coldly.
"What a joke."
"I'll make sure you all wish you were dead."
Her eyes gleamed with terrifying confidence.
"I, Yun Jiao…"
"Am not someone you can play with and walk away."
Her smile deepened.
"I'll show you exactly why the underworld calls me…"
"The Queen of Mercenaries."
A moment later, her sweet smile returned.
The terrifying aura disappeared instantly.
She looked harmless again.
Cute.
Innocent.
Like nothing had happened.
Yun Jiao walked back into the room and crouched beside her bed.
She pressed a hidden switch beneath the wooden frame.
Click.
A secret compartment opened.
Inside was a small metallic box.
It was sealed with fingerprint and retina verification.
Her lips curled slightly.
"Still here."
She pressed her finger onto the scanner.
Then leaned closer.
The box scanned her retina.
Beep.
The lid popped open.
Suddenly—
A cheerful mechanical voice echoed out.
"MASTER! MASTER! MASTER!"
"I missed you!"
"I thought you abandoned me forever!"
Yun Jiao burst into laughter.
"I'm sorry, Hawk."
"I thought I would never return either."
"Now tell me."
"What's the situation?"
The AI immediately responded.
"You have 54 unread messages!"
"Thirty from Senior Sister Xuanxuan!"
"Ten from Senior Brother Muji!"
"And the rest from Dummy Head, Spotless Cheetah, and Scorpion!"
Yun Jiao raised an eyebrow.
"Hahaha…"
"Does Lu Jingxi know you still call him Dummy Head?"
"I won't save you when he finds out."
Hawk replied shamelessly.
"My master is sweet, cute, adorable, and lovely!"
"She would never betray me!"
Yun Jiao flipped her hair proudly.
"You have good taste."
"I'm so beautiful I envy myself."
Then she waved her hand.
"Alright, stop distracting me."
"Let's get serious."
Her expression slowly turned sharp.
"Hawk."
Her voice became calm.
But dangerous.
"I need your help."