Tokyo, 2:00 AM. The back alleys of Shinjuku were like an open wound under the heavy rain.
Seventeen-year-old Mayumi ran until her lungs burned. Behind her, the monster peeled itself out of the shadows. It was an "Overtime Wraith." It had no face—only a vertical, pitch-black slit leaking an ink-like fluid. It hungered for the warm spark of life radiating from Mayumi, its only "medicine."
"Give me... just a little... warmth..." the monster hissed, its withered arms brushing against Mayumi's hair.
"ROAR—!!!"
A violent engine roar shattered the silence. A battered yellow taxi screamed into the alley, its rear end slamming the monster into the brick wall in a brutal skid.
CRACK. The wall buckled, and black sludge splattered everywhere.
The door opened. A young man in a black hoodie and worn-out canvas sneakers stepped into the rain. He looked to be in his early twenties, his eyes carrying a sleepy, lazy boredom. He didn't even glance at the terrifying monster. Instead, he walked straight to the front of the car, staring at the dented bumper with pure heartbreak.
"Are you kidding me..." the young man muttered, scratching his messy black hair and gnashing his teeth. "These repair costs are coming straight out of my grocery money again."
The monster roared, tearing itself from the wall, dozens of wet tongues lashing out from the black slit on its face. A suffocating stench of rot filled the air.
Lin Mo frowned, pulling an extra-sour lemon candy from his pocket and popping it into his mouth. The sharp sourness exploded on his tongue, masking the sickening smell of demonic rot and keeping him absolutely focused. He reached into the door pocket and pulled out a black bronze ruler—the Karmic Ruler. With his other hand, he grabbed the cracked Thai Amulet from his shirt.
The moment his fingers brushed the runes, a golden Bagua chart appeared deep in Lin Mo's pupils, spinning violently amidst a swarm of fate-reading characters.
"Bazi Calculation... Element: Wood. Death Gate at the third vertebrae."
Lin Mo took a powerful step forward, shattering the asphalt beneath his sneakers.
"Karma Release!"
In an instant, dark-red cursed energy erupted like molten lava, pouring into the bronze ruler. The black metal lit up with glowing crimson runes, radiating extreme heat.
"Bazi Art: Crimson Lotus Slash!"
Lin Mo moved like a shadow. The ruler drew a crescent of red light through the air, cleanly severing the monster's spine. There was no explosion—only absolute heat. The monster's body burned the moment the red light touched it, turning into a cloud of charred smoke that vanished into the rain.
Mayumi sat on the ground, staring blankly at her savior. Lin Mo stowed the ruler and tapped the taxi's meter.
"Since you're alive, go home. Saving your life was on the way. I'll just charge you the base fare. 3,000 Yen. Cash or card?"
[Scene Transition: 4 Hours Earlier]
10:00 PM. Lin Mo opened his eyes in an apartment that smelled of mold.
On the table, a thick stack of debt notices stamped with red Yakuza seals sat like death warrants. Nine years ago, his father vanished, leaving behind not just this junk taxi, but a mountain of "Karmic Debt" that could never be fully paid.
The men of the Lin family were born debt collectors for ghosts, yet they remained the poorest debtors in the world of men.
Ping—
The phone screen lit up in the dark, blood-red text filling the display:
[Urgent Mission: Abandoned Shibuya Hospital. Rank: Wraith. Reward: 500,000 Yen.]
Lin Mo stared at the numbers and let out a bitter, self-deprecating smirk. 500,000. Enough to cover this month's interest, and enough to keep him struggling in this meat-grinder of a city for another thirty days.
He popped an extra-sour lemon candy into his mouth and crushed it. The agonizing sourness wiped the exhaustion from his eyes, leaving them cold and hard as a blade.
"Another day, another way to die for a paycheck..."
He grabbed his chipped car keys and pulled the door shut behind him. Outside, Tokyo's neon lights flickered like the teeth of a giant beast. Lin Mo stepped forward, disappearing into the brilliant shadows.