"Hhh...hhh..." the sound of ragged breathing resounded as a girl in a pale white T-shirt ran fast as if her life depended on it.
Well, no, her life really depended on it!
She just went out to the store when a group of men chased after her...they were fcking debt collectors.
'Why am I so unlucky to go out when those men are around?! Damn. I shouldn't have gone outside!'
Lai Jiayi clenched her fists tightly. She occasionally looked back, trying to see whether those people were here yet.
At the moment, the street behind her was completely empty, with only the occasional stray cats strolling around.
A few meowing sounds filled the quiet street and the breeze hitting the rock became the background music of this dramatic thriller drama.
The glaring sun of the summer shone upon the old, abandoned asphalt road, increasing the temperature by several degrees.
Even the wind was hot. Look, her cheeks were already burning red like tomatoes!
Luckily, when Lai Jiayi surveyed the road behind, there's no sign of life except for cats. Only then she could sigh in relief.
Good, good! They're not here yet! If I keep running...I can get away, right? Well, if those people use their rocket shoes…
Lai Jiayi shuddered at the thought. No, no, think positive. As long as those people chose to cherish their shoes' energy and didn't activate the rocket, she could escape!
The girl continued to run with eyes full of hope. Her chest kept moving up and down following a rhythm. Whenever the girl took a deep breath, the stuffy air around slowly entered her lungs, heating her inside.
"Huff...huff.." The constant marathon stole her breath away, yet the girl didn't stop running.
Once she stopped, she'd be dead.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Occasionally, the shadow of the ruined buildings miles away from the futuristic city pitied her and sheltered her from the scorching hot sun. Whenever she passed through the cooling shade, she would smile gleefully.
Oh, God...so you're still kind to me–
The girl in navy blue jeans just thought so when out of the blue, a bulky man's rough voice pierced her ears from behind.
"I FOUN' DAT BIATCH!!" A man in a tight, blueish space-like suit raised his middle finger at the girl.
Lai Jiayi almost slipped.
'They're here! Ahhh!!'
Balancing her body, she quickly glanced back and saw a tanned-skin man with a large scar on his face was running toward her.
His disco-like LED hair instantly stung her eyes, almost making her blind.
'Gahhh!!'
Lai Jiayi squeezed her eyes tight. Horror filled her face.
'Is that a light bulb, or what?! Wait. No. That's not important. Now, it's time to…'
Lai Jiayi took a deep breath and…
Run!
Taking a quick dash, Lai Jiayi took a sharp turn, but then, a booming voice sounded behind her, almost making her deaf.
"BIATCH, STOP RUNNING! HEY! PAY YO' FUCKIN' 2 YEARS DEBT!" The thug yelled on top of his lungs until his throat bulged.
One could see his face turned red, blue veins popping everywhere.
Lai Jiayi's lips twitched without her control.
"I WOULD PAY ALREADY IF I GOT MILLION DOLLARS!!"
Lai Jiayi cursed out loud while raising a middle finger to the man behind her.
'The debt shouldn't be that much! And wait, that's not even my debt. That's my dad's debt!'
Lai Jiayi bit her lips hard, not paying attention to the front when suddenly, a flash of shadow appeared several meters in front of her.
"! MAMMA MIA!" Lai Jiayi almost peed her pants.
The shadow in front of her wasn't a ghost nor a cat. It was a super skinny, bald, skeleton-like man wearing a black tank top, blocking her way.
With a creepy smile on his wrinkled, pale face, he yelled in excitement,
"Gotcha!"
The skinny, all-bone man spread his arm wide as if waiting for Lai Jiayi to come willingly.
Yo, dude, only idiots would fall for that!
"Ha!" Lai Jiayi inhaled and abruptly stopped. The sound of her shoes screeching the road echoed along the street.
In a blink of an eye, she made a sharp, ankle breaker turner. She turned to the right, dodging the skinny man by a hair's length.
SWOOSH!
The strong wind blew, hitting the skinny man's face right after Lai Jiayi passed by. His eyes instantly popped out in shock.
"DAMN YA!!"
The man stomped his feet with steams gushing out of his nostrils when the robust man behind suddenly growled in anger,
"WAT THE F*CK R' YO' DOING? GIT HER ASSHOLE! ASAP!!"
The skinny man flinched. He almost peed his pants.
"Y-YES BOSS!!" replying loudly, he rushed to chase after Lai Jiayi, who already entered a maze-like alley thanks to the thin man.
THROB. THROB.
Lai Jiayi's ankles throbbed like mad. The sharp turn she made before finally took a toll on her legs.
Lai Jiayi squinted in pain, and her surroundings suddenly dimmed. Her eyes were filled with the maroon colour of the alley's brick.
Seeing this, Lai Jiayi wanted to bang her head to the wall.
'Oh, God...I enter an alley! Why am I so stupid?? How do I run away now?'
The girl ran with her eyes closed, weeping for her miserable fate, not noticing a particular yellow shadow flashed above her head.
'Oh, so this is my future partner, Lai Jiayi. Hm...the debt collectors are currently chasing her?'
The shadow didn't say anything and silently followed the girl using an invisible mode, hindering anyone from seeing it.
'Let's wait until she's done with her business. She's already chosen as a player candidate anyway. She can't go anywhere.'
The mysterious being mulled over in silence, not producing even a single noise but sadly,
the situation didn't last long.
The sound of three men's footsteps suddenly sounded, followed by a person's voice.
"Boss, boss, dat biatch enters the alley!" A high-pitched voice of a man sounding like a shemale rang behind the girl.
'Another one?? There are three people now?!'
Lai Jiayi's breath stilled. She turned her head around for a second, and her eyes met a plump figure of a super fat man looking like a Humpty-dumpty.
The gigantic man instilled fear into the girl's heart.
Lai Jiayi face paled. Her heart thumped loudly, but she didn't look back for too long. She knew that she had to focus on escaping.
Lai Jiayi immediately shifted her on the path in front of her when the sight of a dead-end welcomed her all of a sudden.
!
'A dead-end?!'
Lai Jiayi swiftly halted. A chill ran down her spine as she pivoted around, wanting to take another path only to see the three thugs stopped 4 meters away from her.
They had a dark, vulgar smile on their face as the walking disco lamp mocked, closing the distance between them.
"HAHAHA, YO' MEET A DEAD-END STOOPID SLUT!"
'Oh, no!!'
Lai Jiayi fearfully took a few steps back.
Her shoulder trembled, her face turned ghastly white, looking like a vampire without blood.
Lai Jiayi felt her palms turn cold.
Her eyes were fixed on the three men approaching her, keeping an eye on their movement.
"HEH, YO' THINK YO' CAN RUN FROM US?" The walking disco lamp suddenly lifted his chin, looking arrogant.
His harsh voice echoed in the dead silent alley. His swaying saber necklace was the only thing Lai Jiayi could see.
"I-i…" Lai Jiayi's lips trembled as her back moved even closer to the wall behind.
At this distance, only 2 meters away from the men, she could see their vulgar smile as their eyes scanned her body.
Her skin crawled, a storm brewed inside her stomach. Lai Jiayi felt like giving up, but she knew she shouldn't.
'No, no, I can't stay still!'
While still walking backwards, the girl's trembling right hand slowly reached out to her pants pocket to pick up her tool, but then...
THUD.
Her back touched the wall right away.
The girl's mind blanked for a second, realising that she really couldn't run anymore.
There's no way out!