The Bald Man’s face darkened as he glared at the man who had just interrupted his pleasure.
The newcomer wore a black hoodie, black pants, and black running shoes.
The hood was pulled up over his head, and a black mask covered most of his face, concealing his features.
This was Gao Ming, who had come running upon hearing the commotion.
Seeing this cowardly figure hiding his face, the Bald Man naturally assumed he was some fool trying to play the hero.
He scoffed in contempt.
Seeing the fury in the other man’s eyes, the Bald Man’s disdain grew.
He grinned savagely and taunted, “Kid, you want to play the hero and save the damsel? Who do you think you are?”
Gao Ming stared at the young girl, who had nearly been harmed, and then at the arrogant Bald Man.
His heart felt like a powder keg that had just been lit, and fury instantly filled his entire being, temporarily banishing his previous hesitation.
*Thud!*
There seemed to be only a faint sound.
Before the Bald Man could even see a hint of movement, Gao Ming abruptly appeared before him, just a fist’s width away.
*What’s going on?!
How did he suddenly appear in front of me?*
The Bald Man realized with horror that he hadn’t sensed Gao Ming moving at all.
Even the young girl, who had collapsed on the ground in terror, momentarily forgot her fear.
She stopped crying and covered her mouth in shock, having also failed to see how Gao Ming had instantly appeared before the Bald Man.
Gao Ming stared coldly at the Bald Man, his voice equally chilling.
“So, do you think *you* are capable of saving anyone?”
Suddenly, Gao Ming moved in front of him like a ghost.
The Bald Man flinched, stumbling back a few steps.
“Fuck, what the hell is wrong with you?!” Faced with such a bizarre occurrence, his scalp tingled with dread.
Seeing Gao Ming steadily closing in, a flicker of panic crossed the Bald Man’s eyes.
He immediately tried to grab the young girl behind him to use as a hostage.
Before he could even touch her, a gust of wind whipped across his face.
A brutal slap sent several teeth flying from his mouth in a spray of blood.
The next moment, the Bald Man felt his neck tighten as Gao Ming seized him with one hand, hoisting him into the air.
Unable to breathe, his face gradually turned from red to purple.
He struggled frantically, pounding Gao Ming’s arm, but Gao Ming remained unmoved, his grip on the man’s neck unbreakable.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Gao Ming’s eyes, but as he recalled the man’s atrocities, his rage flared again.
He made his decision instantly.
“You don’t deserve to live in this world, you piece of shit!” Gao Ming declared his death sentence, his voice cold and ruthless.
With a slight twist of his hand—*crack*—he snapped the Bald Man’s neck.
The bald man instantly stopped struggling, his expression frozen.
A trace of terror still lingered in his eyes as his entire body went limp.
Tossing the lifeless body aside, Gao Ming said nothing more.
He stood there, motionless.
The young girl watched the scene unfold in horror.
The terror filling her heart made her want to scream, but she feared that any sound might provoke Gao Ming and get her killed too.
She could only clamp her hand tightly over her mouth to keep herself silent.
Once her emotions subsided slightly, the girl remembered that he had saved her.
Though he had killed a man, the victim was a villain who had tried to harm her.
After a moment’s hesitation, she summoned her courage and thanked Gao Ming in a trembling voice, “Th… thank you… for saving… me…”
Hearing this, the motionless Gao Ming finally reacted.
Under the girl’s startled gaze, he spun around, braced himself against the wall with one hand, and quickly yanked down his mask with the other, bending over to vomit.
Seeing her savior in black suddenly turn and vomit, the young girl was stunned.
She couldn’t understand why he was sick.
But then she caught sight of the bald man’s bulging eyes—a dead man who had died with his eyes open—and a wave of nausea washed over her.
She couldn’t help but turn her head away and start vomiting too.
For a moment, the scene was too gruesome to look at…
After vomiting for a while, nearly bringing up bile, the two finally began to recover.
Gao Ming slumped against the wall, sliding down it until he sat on the floor, his gaze vacant.
He hugged his knees, burying his face between them.
Killing was not an easy thing.
It wasn’t as simple as it was portrayed in TV dramas, where one could just take a life and move on without a second thought.
Even though he had killed a bad person, Gao Ming was still consumed by a profound sense of guilt, making him feel utterly sick.
Seeing Gao Ming so deeply immersed in remorse after the killing, the young girl’s fear of him gradually dissipated.
A person who felt guilty about killing was far more reassuring than those who killed without hesitation.
Slowly regaining her strength, the young girl rose to her feet.
Forcing herself not to look at the nauseating corpse, she slowly walked toward Gao Ming.
She stopped in front of him, but Gao Ming didn’t react.
The young girl knelt down, looked directly at him, and asked softly, “Are you… all right?”
“…”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Beyond a simple thank you, I really don’t know what else to say to express how I’m feeling right now.”
“You appeared when I was at my most desperate, saving me and pulling me from danger.”
“If it weren’t for you, I can’t imagine what terrible things would have happened to me.”
Gradually, the young girl forgot her fear and kept thanking him from the bottom of her heart.
Her repeated expressions of gratitude flowed like a warm current into Gao Ming’s cold heart.
He had killed someone to save another.
Though his hands were now stained with blood, he had no regrets.
To fight crime, he had to be determined to face the darkness.
Gao Ming slowly came to terms with it, casting aside his original gaming mindset and strengthening his resolve.
He would have to face even more vicious villains in the future.
He couldn’t afford a single moment of weakness; he had to adapt quickly.
If he was going to stop evil, he had to be thorough—even if it meant resorting to killing.
The confusion in his heart vanished, his eyes shone with a new intensity, and his entire being seemed reborn, radiating a fresh energy.
Gao Ming lifted his head, his face filled with confidence.
A faint smile touched his lips, one of gentleness and relief.
However, Gao Ming had forgotten one thing: he had pulled off his mask to vomit and hadn’t put it back on properly.
This meant his face was now completely exposed to the young girl.
Staring at the young, ordinary face before her, the girl froze in surprise.
She had never imagined what lay beneath the mask, but this Asian young man, who looked to be around her own age, was clearly not what she had expected.
*An Asian man?
Was that Chinese martial arts?
Superpowers?
Magic?*
His similar age caused her fear to vanish, replaced by an overwhelming surge of curiosity.
Noticing that the girl he had just rescued was staring blankly at him, Gao Ming was puzzled.
*Is there something on my face?* He instinctively reached up to touch his cheek.
When his hand met his mouth without any barrier, he realized his true face had been exposed.
Activating the super-speed of the Rabbit Talisman, Gao Ming snapped his mask back into place in a flash.
He forced himself to remain calm as he looked at the girl, still clinging to a sliver of hope.
However, the girl’s question shattered his fragile hope.
“Are you Huaxia? How did you appear so suddenly? Was that Huaxia martial arts?”
The girl, now like a burst-open chatterbox, kept questioning him with the curiosity of a child.
Gao Ming couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on and helplessly covered his forehead.
“What’s wrong? Is this a side effect of using your superpowers? I’m so sorry, maybe I should get you some help…”
The young girl completely misunderstood Gao Ming’s gesture and apologized with a look of guilt.
“Stop! I’m fine, you don’t need to apologize.” Gao Ming raised his voice slightly to interrupt her and prevent further misunderstanding.
*Do any of the eighteen talismans erase memories?
No…
I can’t exactly kill her to protect my secret identity, can I?* Gao Ming wasn’t that psychopathic, especially not against a beautiful girl.
Anyone who would lay a hand on her would definitely be an *autist*…
And yet, he’d been exposed in less than an hour.
His superhero career was over before it even began.
If the heroes from DC—the ones who suffered so much trying to hide their identities—found out about his failure, they’d probably form a team, break through the Source Wall, and come to the Marvel Universe to teach him a lesson.
Since his cover was already blown, there was no point in pretending any longer.
Gao Ming decided to be honest.
He took off his mask and hat, facing her completely.
“As you can see, I’m Chinese. My name is…”
Gao Ming hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to reveal his real name.
But then he thought, *We’ll probably never meet again anyway.
There shouldn’t be any problem with telling her.*
So he said, “Gao Ming. Gao is my surname.”
Hearing Gao Ming’s self-introduction, the young girl suddenly became flustered for some unknown reason.
She could only nod clumsily, her voice a mix of excitement and nervousness.
“Hello, hello! My name is Sophia, Sophia Temple. Temple is my surname!”
Seeing Sophia’s flustered reaction, Gao Ming couldn’t help but smile.
*This girl is really cute…*
Gao Ming’s laughter seemed to be contagious, gradually easing Sophia’s tension.
Recalling her own behavior just now, Sophia’s face instantly flushed red.
*How embarrassing!
Why am I acting like a child waiting for a compliment?*
Gao Ming also smiled gently, but quickly composed himself.
He put on a very serious expression and said, “Sophia…”
Startled by Gao Ming’s sudden change in expression, Sophia’s nerves shot taut.
Her heart leaped into her throat as she asked, trembling with fear, “Ga-Gao Ming, what’s wrong?”
*Am I about to be silenced?*
Hearing Sophia speak Chinese with the distinct accent of a native speaker from N Country, Gao Ming found the awkward tones so amusing he almost burst out laughing.
Under normal circumstances, he would have definitely teased her and corrected her pronunciation, but right now, his top priority was to keep his identity a secret.
Taking a deep breath, Gao Ming slowly raised his hands under Sophia’s terrified gaze, pointing both palms toward her…
*Slap!*
A loud sound echoed, and Sophia instinctively shut her eyes tight.
“I’m sorry to have given you such a terrible memory, but please keep my secret. I’m begging you!”
*Huh?* The death she had expected never came.
Instead, she heard a bizarre request.
Sophia opened her eyes in bewilderment, seeing Gao Ming with his hands pressed together in a prayer-like gesture, his expression one of utmost sincerity.
It couldn’t be helped.
Gao Ming didn’t know any memory-erasing techniques, so his only option was to beg her to keep his secret.
“…” Faced with Gao Ming’s humble and desperate plea, Sophia was momentarily at a loss.
She opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.
“Please, I’m begging you, keep my secret,” Gao Ming pleaded with absolute sincerity.