In a rented apartment.
Wine bottles and cigarette butts littered the floor. A black-haired girl sat covered in bruises, her eyes as lifeless as stagnant water.
In the room, a man smashed objects while screaming at her.
"You inherited that bitch's nature! After I fed and raised you, how dare you refuse to pay me back?"
"You even called the cops on your own father? Such filial piety!"
The man suddenly pulled off his belt. "I should've gotten rid of you long ago!"
Crack!
The leather strap struck the girl's body, but she remained silent and motionless.
Enraged by her defiance, the man swung harder.
"Cat got your tongue?!"
"You were so eloquent with the police! Speak now!"
Crack!
"Damn it—TALK!"
As he raised the belt again, a large bird shattered the window and crashed into the room!
Crash!
"What the hell… Where did this stupid bird come from!"
The man swung his belt at the creature, but it suddenly spoke in a woman's voice: "Still failing at life, Du Chun?"
"Barking like a rabid dog—cowering in the real world, only brave enough to bully the weak."
The man froze. He recognized that voice—his ex-wife's.
Not just the voice. The tone, the phrasing… Everything matched perfectly.
"You bitch… Back from the grave?!"
"Why won't you stay dead?!"
The bird's form shimmered, transforming into a middle-aged woman with pitch-black eyes devoid of whites.
"You swore you'd thrive after my death. That all your failures were my fault."
"Yet here you are—a pathetic shell. Why?"
"Because you're weak. You blamed me for your cowardice, vented your insecurities on me…"
"Pathetic."
The man staggered backward, heart pounding. "Are you… a ghost?"
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The spectral woman turned to the girl. "Does living hurt?"
The girl looked up vacantly. "Mother… Have you come for me?"
The entity smiled chillingly. "Let's erase this nuisance, shall we?"
As the words faded, the woman vanished—leaving a gleaming knife on the floor.
The girl mechanically picked up the blade.
The man tripped over himself. "Wait… Ying! I'm your father! You can't—"
Thud!
The knife plunged into his chest.
"Aaaaagh—!!"
...
Night fell, rain pelting the empty streets.
The girl wandered like a ghost, blood staining her hands and clothes. A raven trailed behind, observing her hollow gaze.
"Where do you go?" the bird spoke.
The girl turned slowly. "Mother…?"
The raven spread its wings. It had mimicked the woman using memories stolen from Du Chun's mind—a new ability to extract secrets and replicate remembered entities flawlessly. It could even hear whispers from shadows.
The girl knelt in the downpour. "Will you… devour me?"
The raven tilted its head, obsidian eyes gleaming. "Is existence pain? Very well—surrender your vessel."
It bit into the girl's shadow, inhaling the darkness. The body dissolved instantly as memories flooded the raven's consciousness—along with a permanent human form.
The bird's shape warped into the girl's likeness.
"Humans… perplexing creatures."
The raven—now Du Ying—absorbed the memories: an abusive father, a mother lost to illness at eleven, forced into prostitution to settle gambling debts, failed police intervention due to corrupt officials.
Overwhelming hatred pulsed through its new form.
"Seeking vengeance? I'll oblige."
Green scales rippled across the girl's hands, fingers elongating into razor claws. She scraped a wall—stone parting like soft tofu.
Mimicry—the raven's ultimate power. By understanding any lifeform, it could replicate abilities: mermaid, invisible man, queen bee, even reality-warper.
Following memories, she entered a dim alley.
Several thugs leered. "Look who's volunteering tonight!"
"Took you long enough to accept your role."
"Get inside—clients are waiting."
The girl passed silently. Claws flashed—schlick!
Blood arced as heads toppled from shoulders.
Thud… thud…
Bodies collapsed before realizing their decapitation.
