Another week passed by. Fei Ming’s days were normal. Each day, he trained with the other faction members, pushing past his usual limit.

So far, Fateless had spent three weeks in Light’s Faction.

But not once did he try to make or form a connection or have a conversation with any of the members, except for Olive.

To Olive, this was really unusual.

Olive had watched Fei Ming closely throughout their shared training sessions. They spoke little.

Fei Ming kept his focus narrow, eyes locked on the ground or straight ahead during every set of push-ups, squats, and strikes. The silence between them felt comfortable enough for Olive.

He preferred it that way.

But what nagged him the most was when the dead bodies were found. Just when Fei Ming was brought into the faction, three deaths occurred.

As more days passed, even more dead bodies surfaced. The killer was yet to be caught.

’If this goes on longer, things will be bad. What even is his goal?’ Olive thought.

He sat on top of a large wooden crate at the edge of the training yard, legs dangling.

The rough wood pressed against his thighs through his pants.

He bit into a crisp apple, the sharp snap echoing slightly as juice burst across his tongue and trickled down his chin. A faint sweet-tart scent rose with each chew.

Gaze drifting across the yard where other men grunted through lifting metal weights, his attention settled on Fei Ming crouched a few meters away on the packed dirt

Fei Ming held small pieces of dried meat in his open palm. Justice stood between his knees, head lowered as he ate from Fei Ming’s palm.

A low, satisfied rumble came from the Maine Coon’s chest.

The longer Olive observed, the more he tried to push the suspicion aside.

A man who crouched patiently to feed his cat, letting the animal eat from his hand without hurry, could not be the same one who had dumped three broken bodies into that dumpster.

Still, the chance remained. It refused to reach zero. No murders had stained the faction before his arrival. The timing pressed on Olive’s mind like an itch he could not scratch.

’Even so. If I were to assume... How could he fight those buff men without having a scratch on him?’

Scratching the back of his head, with his nails dragging through short hair. The final bite of the apple crunched loudly between his teeth.

He tossed the core into a woven basket nearby, where it landed with a soft thud among other scraps. The faint smell of rotting fruit mixed with sweat and dust in the air.

Olive hopped down from the crate. Thud! His boots hit the dirt. Dust puffed up around his ankles.

However, his eyes never left Fei Ming.

Now that another week had begun. Olive planned to keep watching.

"Hey!" he called, voice cutting across the yard. ’I hope he takes the bait," he thought to himself.

Fei Ming turned his head and met Olive’s gaze straight on.

"You’ve been training with me for many days now," Olive said as he stepped closer. "I believe you aren’t as weak as before. No way in hell. You’re even taller now. And you don’t pretend that much like before."

Fei Ming rose smoothly from his crouch.

"What is it?" he asked.

Olive lifted his right hand. Thin threads slid out from his fingertips with a faint whispering sound.

They wove together rapidly in the open air, tightening and hardening until they formed a long, sharp blade that replaced his entire hand and forearm.

A light tension ran through his shoulder as the threads settled into place.

"Let’s duel," Olive declared.

’Huh.’ Fei Ming muttered to himself. Looking straight at Olive silver eyes, he cocked his head to the side, his dark hair falling past his collarbone.

"This was sudden. Why should I?" he asked. Now darting his eyes around, he noticed a small crowd forming around them.

"Just because." Olive shrugged.

But this scenario wasn’t what Fateless expected. Olive cornering him so he doesn’t run.

Murmurs around them began to grow. Even Xia and Helena joined the curious crowd to watch a brewing fight.

Olive let out a small laugh. Then his eyes sharpened. "Maybe I should rephrase this in another way..." he cracked his neck, rotating his neck side to side as he got into a fighting stance.

"Wanna fight?" he said. "I know something you don’t. Aren’t you curious? It’s also coward-like to refuse a duel. Aren’t you strong enough?"

Fei Ming lowered his gaze at the makeshift weapon pointed at him. ’A duel. What for? Considering his curious nature... he wants something from this.’

But to refuse or walk away was a choice he didn’t have. Many other members had circled them with their voices raised. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" They shouted in unison. Even Justice was nowhere to be seen in the thick crowd.

He shifted his gaze back to Olive. Not an emotion present in his face. "But... I’m not curious. Fight another member for your own amusement."

Forcing a smile, Olive refused to back down. "I bet Light will throw you out if he finds out you were behind it."

"..."

That caught Fateless attention.

Ding!

[Your Item ’Sword of Justice’ is being taken from your inventory!]

Extending his right hand to the side, his polearm manifested in his grip, the long shaft steady in both hands. "Fine."

"Hah." Olive lunged. His thread blade swept low, aiming for the waist.

Twisting at the hips, Fèi Míng slammed the polearm down hard. CLANG!

The blades met. Vibration shot up both arms.

Olive thrust higher, toward the shoulder this time.

Sidestepping to the side, Fateless dodged and swung the polearm in a wide arc.

Olive dropped low, rolled once across the dirt, and sprang back to his feet several meters away. ’That was close. It’s like he’s aiming to kill me,’ he heaved.

They circled each other.

Still keeping his breathing even, Fei Ming adjusted his footing on the packed ground and tightened his grip.

Olive pressed forward again. His threads extended for extra reach. It whipped the air.

Fei Ming parried the first strike, then the second.

Sparks flew with each clash.

Thrusting his blade forward, the curved edge tore through Olive’s sleeve.

Just before Fateless could retract his blade back into his palms, a thick metal thread whacked his face, sending him stumbling back.

Blood trickled down.

Pain flared across his cheek. Then it vanished. The wound closed almost at once. The split skin pulled together until only a faint pink line remained.

"Huh?" When Olive saw this, he hesitated for half a second, eyes blown wide.

Seeing this, Fei Ming stepped straight into the opening. He seized the thick bundle of threads with his bare hand and yanked hard. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Ack!" Olive lost his balance.

BAM!

Fei Ming kicked his stomach with full force.

Air exploded from Olive’s lungs in a harsh grunt.

’Too strong,’ he thought, gasping. ’Way too strong for someone who had no training three weeks ago.’

Before this injured young man could hold himself, Fei Ming spun the polearm and slammed the heavy butt end into the side of Olive’s head.

Staggering two steps, Olive knees buckled and he collapsed onto his side in the dirt, gasping for breath.

Fei Ming stood over him. His chest rose and fell evenly. He had won, but only because he had struck the moment Olive’s guard dropped after seeing the wound heal.

"Have I satisfied your curiosity, Olive?"

Pushing himself up, injured Olive spat blood onto the dirt. His ribs throbbed. Head pounding, he tried to refrain himself from collapsing back on the floor.

But none of that mattered.

He’d seen it. Half his suspicion was cleared.

Meeting Fei Ming’s dark eyes, he rasped,

"You’re... you’re not human anymore... are you?"