The smoke in the air tasted like oil and fear.
In an abandoned noodle joint tucked behind Yuncheng's forgotten streets, Shen Fu stared at Xiaodie's flickering monitor. No one spoke. No need. The mission was clear.
"Wanshou's trade routes are fragile," Xiaodie muttered, pushing a USB drive toward him. "Their street image is even weaker. We don't need to fight them. We just need to kill their myth."
Shen Fu didn't smile, but a flicker of satisfaction lit behind his eyes. The system hadn't pinged a new mission—yet. But he didn't need a prompt to know the next move.
"Upload the clips tonight. Anonymous. Make them traceable to someone else."
Xiaodie nodded, already pulling on her hoodie. "Someone like who?"
Shen leaned back, staring at the water-damaged ceiling.
"I know a girl."
Two Days Earlier
In the gleam of a luxury mall, a small coffee shop buzzed with influencers and aspiring elites. One of them leaned on a velvet cushion, iced Americano in hand, white AirPods in her ears, and a bored look perfected by years of practice.
Liu Shuang.
A name now spoken in digital spaces with a kind of reverent fear. Known for surgically exposing fake moguls and dodgy business practices on her viral series "Shuang Real Talk."
Her looks were sharp, but her words were sharper. Her latest exposé had cost a bootleg fashion label its investors in one week.
And now, as she scrolled through her DMs, one message caught her eye.
From: SilentSpecter99
Subject: "Scar-Lip"
Attachment: Three videos, one invoice trail, one folder of screenshots.
She tapped once. Then again.
She froze at the name on one document's metadata.
Shen Fu.
Back to Present
Xiaodie looked up from the screen. "Wait—you know Liu Shuang?"
"Junior in high school," Shen Fu said, voice low. "She was the top of our media club. Smart. Quiet. Ice-cold. But she had something to prove."
"You think she'll help?"
"I think…" he pulled out his phone. "…she won't be able to resist."
Later That Night
Liu Shuang sat at her desk, ring light off, eyes glued to her screen. The material was real—raw. A side of Wanshou no one had seen. This wasn't tabloid dirt.
This was gold.
And buried under that gold was a familiar name.
Shen Fu.
Her fingers hovered over her keyboard. Memories flickered—an older boy in a faded uniform, sitting alone by the window, reading financial newspapers while everyone else played games. Quiet. Poor. Untouchable.
She always knew he'd become something. She just didn't know it would be this.
She started typing.
@ShuangRealTalk (Post):
"Fake money. Fake chains. Fake empire. But when the mask drops… what's left?"
#ScarLipExposed #RealTalk #YunchengCriminals
The post hit 50k views in two hours. By sunrise, it was trending.
Wanshou's Response: Panic.
Suppliers began ghosting them. Clients sent refund demands. Scar-Lip's WeChat went dark. His face—bloody, shouting, exposed—had gone viral.
In the background, Liu Shuang's commentary added poison to the wound.
"They threaten kids and call it hustle," she said, sipping boba tea in a follow-up video. "But real influence doesn't need chains or gangs. Just truth—and a little camera."
Later That Day
They met on a rooftop, like something out of a spy film. Shen Fu stood with his hood up, arms folded.
Liu Shuang wore sunglasses and a silk jacket that caught the wind.
"You've changed," she said, removing the glasses. "But I should've known. No one else could drop content like that. The pacing, the angle, the final shot—classic you."
He gave her a nod. "I didn't think you'd remember me."
"I remember everything," she said. "Especially people who sat two rows behind me and refused to join group projects."
He smirked. "I work better alone."
She looked him up and down. "Do you?"
There was silence between them—static, tense, familiar.
She turned to leave. "Don't ever send me half-baked trash. You want real exposure? I want exclusives. Behind-the-scenes. Access."
Shen Fu stepped forward. "You help me build this empire—your reach grows. I climb, you rise. Simple."
Liu Shuang paused, head tilted slightly.
"I'm not a sidekick, Shen Fu. And I don't do charity."
"Neither do I."
Her lips curled, almost a smile.
"Good."
[Mission Complete: Disrupt Wanshou Circle]
• Scar-Lip Reputation: Destroyed
• Wanshou Supply Chain: Damaged
• Public Perception: +45%
• System Reward: New Skill Unlocked – "Digital Leverage"
• [Relationship Progress – Liu Shuang: 15/100 | Status: Business-Open | Mood: Curious]
• [Xiaodie Jealousy Meter: 4/100 ]
That night, Shen sat alone again in the darkened arcade.
Two women now stood in his orbit—both useful. Both dangerous in different ways. But if this game was going to scale…
He'd need more than revenge.
He'd need power. And the kind that couldn't be stolen or bought.
Only built.
And he'd build it from the ground up.