The Playground Incident

Section 1: Playground Quel’Thalas

Lawson continued walking through Local Alley until he passed by a small playground.

He stopped.

“Ah, wondrous, playground Quel’Thalas. I haven’t been here since I was a boy.”

Beside the entrance stood a sign:

WELCOME TO PLAYGROUND QUEL’THALAS

As Lawson stared at the playground, his mind drifted back to nine years ago.

Back then, nine-year-old Lawson had been sitting alone on one of the swings, gently rocking back and forth with a small box of apple juice in his hand. Every now and then, he took another sip through the straw.

Near the entrance, two men stood by the fence, talking.

One of them was Colin, standing 175 centimeters tall. Dressed in a white shirt, dress pants, and leather shoes, he leaned loosely against the fence with his arms folded across his chest, looking completely relaxed.

Beside him stood Michael, the man with the golden-rimmed glasses. He was dressed just as formally in a white shirt, dress pants, and leather shoes, with his usual briefcase in one hand. Unlike Colin, however, Michael stood perfectly straight, his expression serious.

“Be wary, Boss. The Frugal Organization likely waits in ambush.”

“The Frugal Organization doesn’t concern me, Michael.”

“Don’t be too overconfident, Boss. They must not be taken lightly.”

Colin gave a faint smile.

“We shall see.”

Section 2: The Frugal Organization’s Ambush

Colin was still leaning against the fence, quietly humming to himself, when a figure suddenly came sprinting toward him with a series of impossibly quick steps.

In an instant, the figure accelerated like a rocket.

A streak of white light flashed through the air.

Colin didn’t even have time to react. The claw-like gust sliced across his neck, splitting the skin open. Blood immediately ran down the side of his throat.

Michael had never lowered his guard.

He swung his briefcase with both hands and smashed it straight into the attacker’s abdomen.

BANG!

The impact killed the attacker’s momentum, but the force of the collision still drove Michael backward, his leather shoes scraping nearly half a meter across the ground.

The attacker was thrown back into the air, flipped twice, and dropped into the sandbox, landing perfectly on both feet and one hand, while the other hand remained raised in the air.

The momentum carried the figure backward another half meter through the sand.

SHHHHHH—!

A huge wave of sand erupted behind the attacker, rising into the air like a cloud of dust.

As the cloud slowly settled, the attacker finally came into view.

It was a woman, barely over 160 centimeters tall.

She wore a traditional Chinese Zhongshan suit with the front left completely unbuttoned, revealing a floral-patterned bra underneath. Her dark hair fell just short of her shoulders, framing a face with unusually sharp, almost beastlike features. There was nothing soft about her expression. Her eyes were narrow and piercing, fixed coldly on Colin.

But the most striking feature was her hands.

Every finger ended in a long, razor-sharp nail, some nearly ten centimeters in length. One hand was buried in the sand beneath her, while the other remained raised beside her body, its five long claws gleaming in the light.

Michael stared at her for a moment. “Oh, Linda. I haven’t seen you in…” His expression immediately turned grim. “So you’re with the Frugal Organization now?”

Linda gave him a cold smile.

“That’s right. My sister and I both joined the Frugal Organization. You should come with us sometime.”

She slowly lifted her clawed hand and pointed past Michael, directly at Colin.

“But today, I’m here to eliminate him. Take Colin away, and the Humble Organization will collapse like a building without its foundation. There’ll be nothing left but a pile of rubble.”

Michael’s face tightened. He didn’t even look back.

“Boss, flee. Now.”

Colin remained against the fence behind him, one hand pressed against his bleeding neck. His face had gone pale. The attack had happened so quickly that he still seemed to be processing what had just happened.

“I don’t think I can beat her,” Michael continued. “I don’t know how long I can hold her off. Just go.”

He stepped forward, placing himself directly between Linda and Colin.

Still sitting on the swing, Lawson took another sip of his apple juice through the straw.

“Why is there so much dramatic talking?” he muttered. “Just fight already.”

Section 3: One Minute of Desperation

Michael hurled his briefcase like a flying disc.

Linda instantly dropped onto all fours. The briefcase whistled over her head as she charged forward like a wild beast, her hands and feet tearing through the sand.

Michael rushed straight toward her.

They collided in the middle of the playground and immediately erupted into a vicious close-range fight. Fists and kicks flew from every direction as the two exchanged blows at a speed Lawson could barely follow. Every few seconds, a silver flash sliced through the air as Linda’s claws swept past Michael’s body.

Michael could barely keep up.

Less than twenty seconds later, his neat white shirt had been torn to shreds in several places. Long claw marks ran across his chest, arms, and shoulders, blood soaking into the ripped fabric. Even his dress pants had been slashed open along the thigh and calf.

Michael knew he couldn’t beat her, but that had never been the objective. All he had to do was hold Linda here for as long as possible. Every second he bought was another second for Colin to escape. If he could somehow keep her occupied for one full minute, that would be enough.

But as another silver claw flashed inches from his face, Michael twisted desperately out of the way.

At this rate, he seriously doubted he would make it to one minute.

Lawson, meanwhile, was having the time of his life. To him, it was like watching a live-action movie right in front of him. Still sitting on the swing with his apple juice in one hand, he raised the other fist excitedly into the air.

“Oh, yeah! Bravo! Bravo!” he shouted. “Kick his ass, big sister!”

A second later, Linda’s foot slammed into Michael’s chest.

Michael skidded backward nearly a meter, his leather shoes scraping across the ground before he managed to steady himself. He immediately raised his guard again as Linda came rushing toward him.

“Damn,” Michael muttered. “I’m losing.”

Michael had never prayed to God in his life, but right now, he desperately wished God would give him just one minute. Colin’s life wasn’t the only thing at stake. The entire future of the Humble Organization depended on whether Michael could keep Linda here long enough for his boss to escape.

One minute. That was all he needed.

Linda’s foot crashed into him again.

Michael staggered backward, nearly losing his balance before forcing himself upright. Despite how desperately he had been fighting to buy Colin more time, in reality, not even twenty-five seconds had passed.

Lawson watched Michael struggling to stay on his feet and frowned. He took another sip of his apple juice, only for the straw to make a hollow slurping sound. The box was empty. He casually tossed it onto the ground beside the swing.

“Oh, it’s over so quickly?” he muttered. “What am I supposed to do for the rest of the afternoon?”

Section 4: Golden Speech

But by then, Colin had finally come back to his senses.

Still pressing one hand against his bleeding neck, he slowly steadied his breathing and focused his mental power. His expression changed as his concentration sharpened completely on Linda.

Then Colin spoke, his voice deliberate and commanding, each word measured and clear.

A faint golden light began to glow from his mouth.

“Linda, you gave up the life of a fighter a long time ago. That is no longer who you are. You have chosen a different path. From this day forward, you will dedicate yourself to one goal: to become the greatest prostitute the world has ever known.”

The golden light around Colin’s mouth intensified as he poured an enormous amount of mental energy into his final words.

“DON’T YOU REMEMBER, LINDA?”

The words themselves burst into existence as blazing golden letters.

For an instant, the entire playground seemed to darken around them as the glowing words shot forward. They passed harmlessly through Michael’s body and slammed directly into Linda, vanishing inside her.

For another few seconds, Linda kept fighting as if nothing had happened, exchanging several more blows with Michael. The Golden Speech needed a moment to take hold, as the new memories, logic, and sense of identity settled into her mind and became her new reality.

Then Linda stopped.

Michael saw the opening immediately.

He stepped in and drove a full-force punch straight into her abdomen.

BANG!

Linda folded around his fist and shot backward like a cannonball, flying across the playground before smashing into a concrete wall dozens of meters away.

BOOM!

The impact cracked the wall behind her. Linda dropped heavily to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Lawson’s eyes went wide.

He was so stunned by what he had just witnessed that he slipped straight off the swing and crashed onto the ground.

“What the… What just happened?”

Michael turned around and saw Colin leaning heavily against the fence with one hand. His face had gone pale, dark circles had formed beneath his eyes, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.

“Oh. Your Golden Speech is still as powerful as ever,” Michael said. “I completely forgot you had that move.”

Colin managed a faint smile and gave him a thumbs-up. “Golden Techniques never fail.”

Still sitting on the ground beside the swing, Lawson heard every word. His eyes lit up.

“Golden Techniques…” he repeated quietly. “So that’s what it’s called. Damn… I wish I knew how to do that.”

Section 5: The Origin of the Legendary No. 1 Prostitute

Linda slowly pushed herself off the ground, one hand pressed against her abdomen.

She looked around the playground in complete confusion.

“What’s going on? Where am I?” She stared down at her clawed hands, then at Michael. “Why am I fighting here? I swore I’d never fight again. What the hell is going on?”

Michael simply stared at her, unsure what to say.

Lawson stared at her in confusion. Had she gone crazy? Lost her memory?

Or… could this be the power of the Golden Techniques they were talking about?

Colin pushed himself away from the fence and took a few unsteady steps forward. Michael immediately walked over and supported him by the arm.

Colin watched Linda for a moment.

“Hmm. Looks like now isn’t the time to conserve my mental energy. All right. I’ll just push it a little further.”

He pointed toward a massage parlor not far from the playground. As he spoke again, a faint golden light glowed from his mouth.

“Linda. Now go back to work.”

The words emerged as glowing golden letters and shot toward Linda, disappearing into her body.

Linda followed Colin’s finger toward the massage parlor.

“Oh, yeah! I totally forgot I’m on my break. I better get back before I get fired.”

Without another word, she turned and hurried toward the massage parlor.

Lawson remained sprawled on the ground, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

“Unbelievable…”

Michael helped Colin away from the playground and supported him all the way back to the Humble Organization headquarters.

Section 6: The Ultimate Sacrifice

Later that day, inside a dimly lit office at the Humble Organization headquarters, Colin, Michael, and Brian sat around a table for an emergency meeting.

Colin was still visibly exhausted. Rewriting Linda’s memories, logic, and entire course of life had consumed an enormous amount of mental power.

“Starting today, I’m staying behind the scenes,” Colin said. “I’ll remain here at headquarters and operate from the shadows indefinitely.”

He paused for a moment.

“This is a strategic decision. As long as I remain hidden, neither of you will be easy targets. Anyone considering an attack against either of you will have to account for my existence. Even if the attack succeeds, my Golden Speech will ensure their eventual demise.”

He looked at Michael and Brian.

“I believe this arrangement is in the best interest of the organization.”

Michael frowned. “Boss, you’d be sacrificing so much of your own freedom. Do you really think it’s worth it?”

Colin looked at him calmly.

“My personal well-being is irrelevant when weighed against the future of the organization.”

Brian looked at him. “What about the massage parlors? The premium services?”

Colin remained completely calm.

“Don’t worry. There’s always in-call service.”