My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

[This story is entirely fictional; please do not apply it to real life.]

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At 11 p.m., in an alley in the old city of Beicheng, three streetlights were broken, leaving only a dim yellow light in the distance barely illuminating the ground.

Su Qing stood in front of a two-meter-high wall, looked up at the top of the wall, and stretched her wrists.

[Host, we're here to pick up the child; we have proper adoption paperwork.]

The system's voice echoed in his mind, still that cold, emotionless synthesized electronic tone: "[I'm not here to be a human trafficker.]"

Su Qing ignored it, took two steps back, took a running start, pushed off the wall with her right foot for leverage, grabbed the top of the wall with both hands, and flipped up as lightly as a cat.

It landed almost silently, with clean and swift movements.

She dusted off her hands, her tone tinged with helplessness.

"You don't understand. If you're going to infiltrate, you have to do it properly. If you just walk in through the front door and knock in the middle of the night, people will think you're here to check the water meter."

The system was silent for two seconds.

[Host, I'll say it again, we have legal adoption paperwork, the kind stamped by the Civil Affairs Bureau. You can come openly and legitimately tomorrow during the day.]

[And even if you insist on coming now, knocking on the door and showing your documents through the main entrance is much more reasonable than climbing over the wall.]

Su Qing chuckled upon hearing this, but said nothing and continued walking deeper into the alley.

The information the system had just retrieved was still in her mind—Jiang Ran, seven years old, was adopted after leaving the orphanage, and the guardian registered with the adoptive family was Liu Decheng.

The information provided by the system was very concise, summarizing everything about a child in just a few lines.

But Su Qing noticed some details.

The information mentioned that Liu Decheng had a history of alcoholism, and the community grid worker wrote in the notes of a follow-up visit three months ago, "It is recommended to continue to pay attention."

Su Qing knew all too well what these kinds of notes usually meant.

She's actually in a good mood tonight.

The deadline for the mission is fast approaching. If we bring Jiang Ran back and nurse her back to health for a few years, her life will be saved.

Everything is going according to plan, so smoothly it's almost boring.

Perfect, hitting someone will make me feel a little worse.

[Host, your adrenaline levels are rising.]

The system calmly announces, "Based on past data model analysis, every time you experience this change in physiological indicators, something unpleasant will follow. The predicted mission success rate has decreased by 12%."

"Then you should turn off the prediction model," Su Qing said casually.

This is beyond my control.

"Then shut up."

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[……OK.]

Su Qing turned a corner at the end of the alley and a five-story old residential building came into view.

Large patches of white tiles on the exterior walls have fallen off, revealing the blackened cement underneath. The security door at the entrance of the building is rusty and half-open, unable to be closed at all.

Instead of taking the stairwell, she went around to the side of the building.

There was a pile of junk left behind by someone, several stacked old wooden crates, a few bags of construction waste, and a few shared bicycles without wheels.

Su Qing estimated the height, stepped on the wooden box to test it, and found it to be stable.

One more step up, and your hands can just grab the edge of a balcony on the second floor.

She deftly pushed herself up, stepping one leg over the railing first, and silently vaulted onto the balcony.

"Perfect."

Su Qing mentally gave herself a perfect score, "With skills like this, I definitely had the potential to be an assassin in my past life."

The system's voice sounded eerily: [Host, when you landed, your right foot stepped on an empty plastic bottle. If anyone is on the balcony, you've been exposed.]

Su Qing looked down and saw a crushed mineral water bottle lying at her feet.

"...Why didn't you say so sooner?"

[Because you made me shut up.]

Su Qing took a deep breath and decided not to bother with a string of code.

She looked up, preparing to examine the door leading from the balcony to the interior...

Then she met a pair of eyes.

In the corner of the balcony, a small figure was curled up.

It was a little girl wearing an old T-shirt that was obviously several sizes too big, with stains that couldn't be washed off, and a loose thread at the collar.

She was huddled in the gap between two cardboard boxes, her knees drawn up to her chest, revealing a section of her thin calf with several bruises.

The little girl was looking up at her, her eyes big and dark, showing no fear or surprise, only a deep confusion that seemed completely out of place for her age.

The situation became awkward for a moment.

Su Qing remained half-squatting by the balcony railing, one leg still outside the railing, staring wide-eyed at the child huddled in the corner.

[Host, target confirmed.]

The system issued a timely notification: "[This is Jiang Ran, seven years old. Her adoptive parents are five meters behind you.]"

"I know," Su Qing answered in her heart, forcing out what she thought was a very friendly smile, preparing to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere.

For example, "Hello little friend, I am your future guardian"... No, that sounds too much like a child trafficker.

Or "Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person"... that's even more like it.

Before she could even think of her lines, the sliding door to the balcony was suddenly yanked open from the inside.

Su Qing saw the little girl's body and almost instinctively flinched, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She shrank further behind the cardboard box, her shoulders slightly raised, and the doubt in her eyes was instantly replaced by something indescribable.

Immediately afterwards, a man appeared at the balcony doorway.

He was in his forties, wearing a yellowish white vest, and reeked of alcohol; the smell could be detected from two or three meters away.

He had a cigarette between his fingers and was leaning against the doorframe with the other. He had clearly drunk quite a bit and could barely stand.

Liu Decheng.

He squinted and glanced at the balcony. He first saw Jiang Ran huddled in the corner, and an impatient disgust appeared on his face. Then his gaze shifted and landed on Su Qing, where he paused for a moment.

Who are you?

Su Qing slowly pulled her other leg back from outside the railing, straightened up, patted the dust off her trousers, and gave him a smile.

"Oh, I am..." she thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Just passing by."

The system emitted an electronic sound similar to a sigh in her mind.