In the small alley.
The thuggish-looking Endo, along with his two companions, stared with wicked smiles at the petite figure with glasses cowering in the corner. He pulled out a very realistic-looking toy gun and gestured with it towards the girl. "Asada, we're a bit tight on cash lately. How about lending us some money?"
The cute, short-haired girl with glasses was naturally unwilling. But the moment she saw the gun, her body lost all its strength, her mind went blank, and her body began to tremble. Her face turned deathly pale, a look of terror on it. Cowering against the corner, she was completely unable to speak.
Seeing this, Endo grew even more smug. His investigation was correct. Asada Shino had a psychological trauma from killing someone with a gun as a child. As long as she saw this gun, which was identical to the one she had used to kill someone back then, she would lose all her strength.
"Heh, Asada-san, since you're not saying anything, does that mean you agree to lend us money? Then hand it over. Don't worry, we don't need much, just 20,000 yen... Oh, that happens to be exactly what you earned from your part-time job. Haha, don't worry, we'll pay you back when we have money."
The other two also exchanged smiles, their eyes filled with greed as they stared at the bag Endo had snatched from the girl's hands.
The girl with glasses, cowering in the corner, covered her small mouth, trembling and struggling to breathe. She knew, of course, that these people were blackmailing her; they had no intention of paying her back. But seeing the gun in Endo's hand, she couldn't help but remember the time when she and her mother had stumbled into a bank robbery. Back then, in a panic, the then-very-young her had accidentally grabbed the robber's fallen gun and killed him.
Watching the bullet pierce through that person's head, the bloody scene left a powerful impact on the young girl, creating a severe psychological scar. And now, someone had exposed her past, spreading it around school. It had caused all her classmates, even her teachers, to avoid her like the plague, branding her with the name "murderer." And this Endo had now come to blackmail her out of nowhere.
Listening to Endo's vile voice, Asada Shino's heart was filled with endless grievance and sadness, yet she was completely helpless. She could only close her eyes and try to breathe, attempting to escape the shadow of her past.
The girl had clearly underestimated the evil of bad people.
Endo licked his lips as he looked at the cute face of the girl before him, who had lost all ability to resist. "Asada, seeing as you've lent us money, how about we walk you home? I know you live alone, right? Tsk tsk, even though you're a murderer, you're still pretty cute... How about we... hehe..."
As Endo spoke, he exchanged a lecherous look with the other two boys and reached his hand towards the girl in the corner. His intentions were self-evident.
However, before he could touch the girl's clothes, a brick came flying over with a loud smack. Before Endo could react, his head took a hit, and he screamed as he fell to the ground.
Just as the other two were about to make a move, a massive force struck them between their legs.
"Aaargh!"
The two sleazy men's faces instantly turned green as they knelt on the ground, experiencing the sour agony of having their balls crushed. Then, before they could continue screaming, the brick in Lin Mu's hand fell again. Without any hesitation, he delivered three "bang, bang, bang" blows to the heads of the three men.
A person's head is very fragile. With these hits, the three scumbags were knocked unconscious. Lin Mu had heard everything the three had said just now. They were truly human scum. In that case, there was no need to hold back. Let them eat brick.
After dealing with the three, Lin Mu finally looked at the girl with glasses, who was breathing heavily and trembling all over against the corner. "Hey, are you alright?"
Hearing them call her "Asada" earlier, Lin Mu had immediately recognized the girl. Asada Shino, from Sword Art Online, was one of the heroines and a very pitiable girl. He hadn't expected to run into her being blackmailed and almost assaulted just by coming out to buy some things.
Asada Shino looked at the person before her, and a light appeared in her originally vacant eyes. She hadn't thought that in her helpless state, someone would actually step forward to help her, a "murderer."
"Mmph! I... I'm fine. Thank you. But... Endo and the others... they're not dead, are they?"
At the thought of the word "dead," Asada Shino's delicate body couldn't help but tremble. The shadow of her childhood washed over her again, fear spreading through her heart. The heavy psychological pressure made it hard for her to breathe.
Lin Mu quickly reached out and put an arm around her, gently patting her back. "Don't get agitated. Those three just passed out. Don't worry, take a deep breath, then breathe out!"
Hearing that the three were alright, the girl finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to take deep breaths as he instructed. After a good while, she finally calmed down.
Only then did Lin Mu release her. He walked over to Endo and picked up the gun. "This is just a toy model gun."
Asada Shino clutched her chest and let out a long sigh. "I know... but because of certain things, I have a stress reaction when I see this model of handgun."
She hadn't expected someone like Endo to have such impressive information-gathering abilities, to have even found out the exact model of the handgun she used to kill the robber as a child. And this guy had even specially made a toy gun to test her reaction. Today, if this boy hadn't appeared, she would have been in danger.
Thinking of this, she quickly expressed her thanks. "Thank you for helping me. I'm Asada Shino. I go to the nearby Suiko High."
As she spoke, the girl gave him a deep, earnest bow, and then said seriously, "We should leave quickly. If someone sees the state these guys are in, we'll be in trouble."
Lin Mu, however, waved his hand and told her to go first. "Asada-san, you go ahead. I need to teach these guys a profound lesson, to stop them from coming to harass you again."
"I'm sure you don't want to continue being blackmailed by them, right?"
"Also, this wallet and the money inside are yours, right? Take them."
"Eh? But... you... I understand."
The girl was a bit stunned by his intention to stay behind and take care of the trouble, but thinking that she couldn't be of any help here, she had no choice but to agree to his proposal.
"Um... can I know your name? I will repay you." She mustered her courage and looked at the handsome boy before her with expectant eyes.
He was like a prince from a fairy tale, descending from the heavens when she was at her most afraid and most wronged, saving her from peril. Instinctively, Asada Shino didn't want to just let him go like this. She wanted to know his name.
Lin Mu smiled faintly and waved at her. "My name is Lin Mu. I'm currently studying at Seiho Imperial Academy. Asada-san, you should hurry home. We can talk about repayment later."
He naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to say something like "no need for repayment." He didn't do business at a loss.
"Okay. Then... I'll be leaving first. Thank you! Really, thank you!" Asada Shino took a deep breath, bowed to him in thanks once more, and then quickly left the alley on shaky legs.
Lin Mu, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes and looked at the three scumbags on the ground. If you don't cut the weeds by the root, they will grow again in the spring breeze.
Since Asada Shino had been saved, she would definitely become his familiar in the future. In that case, these three who intended to bully Shino could not be left alive. But how could he get rid of them without leaving a trace?
Just as he was thinking, Lin Mu suddenly saw a change appear on his Demon Development System panel.
[Kill red-named individuals to unlock Magic Power and awaken basic authorities.]
"Magic Power?"
Seeing this, Lin Mu's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he gripped the brick in his hand and, with a blank expression, smashed it onto the heads of the three red-named scumbags on the ground.
As the three lives were extinguished and he absorbed their three sinful souls, Lin Mu felt a special energy well up inside his body.
Without hesitation, now possessing Magic Power, he could use the abilities of a Magician. With a flip of his palm, a ball of demon fire ignited in his hand and landed on the three bodies.
A few seconds later, not even dregs were left of them.
Dusting off his hands, Lin Mu picked up his plastic bag and slowly left the place.