Shen Lu yawned and lay down on the sofa.
Even though Fu Cheng was unconscious and completely still, Shen Lu wasn't used to sharing a bed with a man.
The bed in the rented room was too narrow. It was fine for one person, but two would have to be squeezed together.
The night was quiet, and the room was silent.
Fu Cheng focused on the sound of Shen Lu's rhythmic breathing, and a trace of warmth spread through his heart.
When Shen Lu had suddenly returned that afternoon and dragged him out, he had thought she was going to throw him out.
But she had only taken him with her to set up her stall, and had even bought clean gauze to re-dress his wounds.
'So, is this the real Shen Lu?'
Fu Cheng couldn't help but think of the Shen Lu from before. Although they were betrothed, they had spent very little time together.
The betrothal was merely a verbal agreement between their parents. The original plan had been to hold an engagement party after he returned from the front lines, making their relationship public.
He hadn't had many requirements for a wife, and had naively believed his aunt and uncle were acting in his best interest. Even though he'd felt no affection or love for Shen Lu back then, he hadn't objected.
It was just that, based on their few brief encounters, Shen Lu was a rather delicate girl with a bit of a temper. There was nothing seriously wrong with her character, though.
She was a completely different person from the Shen Lu of today.
'Is this the kind of growth that comes from suffering?'
Fu Cheng suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for her.
CLICK. CLICK.
Fu Cheng was preparing to enter a semi-dormant state when the lock suddenly made a noise.
Someone was talking outside.
"I already asked around. There are only two of them. One's a useless cripple who's missing limbs, and the other is that little girl. Once we get this door open, heh heh..."
"Damn it, why is this lock so hard to pick? Li Si, what are you standing there grinning foolishly for? Get over here and help!"
"Coming, coming!"
"Next time, I'm gonna have a word with that Golden Woman. Why the hell would she make the door so damn sturdy for no reason?"
...
'Hoodlums trying to pick the lock.'
Fu Cheng's lips tightened into a thin line, his gaze falling on Shen Lu's lovely face.
'What should I do?'
'Shen Lu is an ordinary person who hasn't awakened a superpower. I can't use my own superpower. Faced with this imminent danger, what can she possibly do?'
Shen Lu was a heavy sleeper; small noises usually wouldn't wake her.
But the men outside were making far too much noise.
The young woman's eyes flew open. She sat there stunned on the sofa for a second, then turned her head to the door being frantically shaken and swore, "Fuck."
'It must be those people who were secretly watching me on the way back from buying gauze today.'
Shen Lu rose to her feet, tiptoeing. She frowned in thought for a moment, and then her brow smoothed out. A sly grin spread across her face.
The lock was about to give way. Shen Lu heard the whir of a power cutter start up outside. It seemed they had given up on a technical approach like lockpicking and had switched to a simpler, more brutish method.
'They're really determined to get in, aren't they?'
Shen Lu pulled out a 100,000-volt stun baton, pressed it gently against the metal door lock, and cranked the power straight to the maximum setting.
A bluish-purple light sparked at the baton's tip. Like a net of electricity, it instantly spread across the steel door, possessing a strange beauty in the darkness.
The clamor from outside the door fell silent in an instant. The only sound was the incessant buzzing of the power cutter, which had been dropped on the ground.
Fu Cheng: !
'Wh-What?!'
'Did Shen Lu awaken a superpower?'
'No, this isn't a superpower. It's more like... a weapon.'
Sudden realization dawned on Fu Cheng.
'No wonder Shen Lu dared to rent a place in the Seventeenth District. She was prepared all along.'
Just to be safe, Shen Lu kept the current running for a full five minutes before stopping.
She didn't dare open the door to see what was happening. Instead, she pressed her ear to the door and listened. There didn't seem to be any movement. 'They must have all been knocked unconscious.'
Afraid they might try to break the lock again when they woke up, Shen Lu simply moved a stool to the doorway and sat down. If they dared to try again, she would let the electricity fly again.
'Let's see just how tough they are. One hundred thousand volts isn't just a name. At the maximum setting, it's a literal one hundred thousand volts. It can kill someone!'
Shen Lu sat by the door all night. At some point, she leaned against the door and dazedly drifted off to sleep.
A knock on the door woke her up in the morning.
"Shen Lu, are you in there?"
Shen Lu shook her head to clear it, sat up straight, and called back, "I'm here."
She recognized the voice from outside. It was her landlord, Granny Jin.
"Granny Jin, what's up so early in the morning?"
"Just open the door first."
"Uh..." Shen Lu hesitated for a moment but did as she was told.
Cracking the door open, Shen Lu first glanced around quickly. Good. No one was there but Granny Jin.
Granny Jin looked Shen Lu up and down. The young woman was still in the same clothes, which were a bit dirty, but otherwise, she seemed fine.
'Looks like nothing too terrible happened last night.'
Granny Jin's tightly knitted brow relaxed a little. Her tone was harsh. "You've only been here a few days and you've already nearly broken the lock. I'll replace it for free this time. Next time, you're paying for it yourself."
"Okay," Shen Lu nodded. "Thank you for your trouble."
Granny Jin opened the toolbox she was carrying and took out a new lock and her tools to replace the old one.
Shen Lu coughed lightly into her hand. "Granny Jin, when you got here... did you see anyone else?"
Hearing this, Granny Jin gave her a meaningful look.
"I did."
She paused, then added, "There were a few dead men lying in front of your door this morning."
Huh?
Shen Lu's eyes widened in surprise.
'D-Dead?'
'Did I kill them?'
Shen Lu started to panic. It had been pitch black, and with the door between them, she had no idea what was happening outside.
'No wonder it was so quiet afterward. I thought they had learned their lesson and given up, but they're all... dead?'
'I'm not going to be arrested for murder and thrown in jail, am I?'
"Just a few pieces of scum. If they're dead, they're dead. No one will care," Granny Jin said slowly. "In the Seventeenth District, a human life isn't worth much."
The Seventeenth District was full of hoodlums and petty thugs.
When Shen Lu had come to Granny Jin looking to rent a room a few days ago, she'd had a feeling this would happen. When a pretty young girl lived in a place like this, the local punks were bound to get ideas.
She had even intentionally rented her the room with the sturdiest door and lock.
Times were tough. For an old woman like her, this was the greatest kindness she could offer.
Granny Jin was a light sleeper, so of course she knew when those punks were trying to break in last night. But there was nothing she could do.
It wasn't that she was cruel.
Even if she had intervened, she couldn't have stopped those thugs.
The only thing she could do was come over in the morning to check on Shen Lu. If something terrible had happened, she would have given her a pill to prevent a pregnancy.
Calling the police was useless. The police never bothered with the filthy affairs of the Seventeenth District. Reporting a crime was just a formality they'd brush off.
By the same token, no one would report the deaths of the punks who died at Shen Lu's door.
A look of shock appeared in Shen Lu's beautiful eyes, but it was quickly followed by a profound sense of sorrow.
'So this is what it feels like to truly understand the saying that human life is cheaper than dirt.'