Nothing at All
"Punishment mission: Capture internet celebrity Victor Kane!"
Victor Kane?
I knew this person. He was a local celebrity, and there had been news about him before.
My husband had told me about the time Adrian Cross led a team to capture a violent criminal. The police had repeatedly warned nearby residents to stay indoors because a dangerous operation was in progress.
Just as the criminal was cornered and about to surrender, Victor Kane — chasing views and tips — ignored all warnings and livestreamed the police operation, agitating the armed suspect.
A police officer had shielded Victor Kane with his body and was killed by a homemade shotgun blast loaded with iron pellets.
After the incident, Victor Kane went on livestream looking genuinely puzzled and said, "Police saving people... isn't that their job? They get paid for it. It's their duty. It's not like I begged him to save me."
I remembered it clearly — that day my husband held me on the sofa, watching the news, grinding his teeth in fury.
I knew he felt it personally, because he encountered people like this on duty all the time.
Eventually Victor Kane got what was coming to him.
The original Sin Hunter targeted him and stabbed him in the stomach.
But Victor Kane was lucky — he survived. It was huge news at the time. I remembered him crying to reporters, saying he knew he was wrong and begging the Sin Hunter to spare him.
Why had he offended again?
"Unrelenting heavens, torrential rains. The central-eastern region experienced catastrophic flooding, with rainfall equivalent to 106 West Lakes in a single hour. People came from all directions to help. Victor Kane also went to assist."
"But he was only there for views and traffic — he was play-acting! He lay in shallow water filming himself 'rescuing' people, when in reality he saved no one, while earning a fortune from viewers' emotional tips."
"During the crisis, Victor Kane even stole a rescue team's inflatable boat! He filmed videos pretending to rescue people! While he was stealing the boat, someone was trapped in floodwaters. Rescue workers desperately needed the boat but couldn't find it — and an innocent girl died as a result!"
"Victor Kane was never punished. His account was banned by the platform, but legally it was classified as an accidental event!"
"If the law won't punish him, the Sin Hunters still exist! He had his chance before and didn't cherish it. The Sin Hunters don't mind striking the same target twice!"
"Victor Kane has violated basic human decency. His crimes are intolerable! Sin Hunters don't kill — but in this case, the evidence is conclusive, and he has harmed people again. If Victor Kane resists... kill him!"
Valerian read the mission description and gasped.
He said, "Did you see 'kill him'? Those three words rarely appear on punishment missions. Judgment Tower must be truly furious this time."
"He was punished by a Sin Hunter before and survived because he was lucky — yet he still hasn't changed..." I said. "No wonder Judgment Tower is so angry. This is basically a slap in their face."
The punishment mission file also included full video footage.
Valerian started driving while I played the video.
Judging by the angle, someone had filmed from a building above.
Floodwater everywhere. People held hands, struggling to stay upright in the current.
A girl with a schoolbag stood on top of a car. The water wasn't rushing fast where she was, but the level was too high — she couldn't keep her balance, swaying with the car, half her body wobbling.
She was crying and screaming for help.
A rescue worker shouted to her, "Don't cry, little sister! I promise I'll get you home!"
He turned around and shouted, "Did anyone find the boat?"
"No!"
They struggled to move forward, but the flood made every step a battle.
Suddenly!
The car flipped over.
My heart wrenched as I watched the little girl swept into the floodwater.
She thrashed desperately. People nearby screamed. Everyone wanted to help, but how could they?
Then the video cut.
A man appeared.
He held the inflatable boat and spoke to the camera: "Fam, I've made it to the disaster zone! All the big influencers are donating money and supplies, but I, Victor Kane, don't have that kind of money. What I have is a sincere and passionate heart! I've brought myself here, because I believe this is the responsibility of every person right now! Kane Army fam, click into my livestream — rescue in progress!"
I went silent. Then I smiled.
It was a smile of exhaustion and helplessness, with no joy. I don't know why — when anger reaches a certain point, you just laugh out loud.
I accepted the mission.
A notification appeared.
"Victor Kane lives at No. 35 Tianhe Road. His streaming account has been banned, so he currently works as a delivery driver to maintain income. His schedule is irregular."
Irregular hours?
Didn't matter.
If we had his address, finding him was only a matter of time.
We arrived at No. 35 Tianhe Road — an old street with rundown three-story buildings on both sides.
These buildings had three floors but minimal usable space, poor natural light, and chronic dampness and mold.
Few people lived in these units now — mostly those facing financial hardship.
The second and third floors had balconies. The ground floor door was locked tight. Valerian studied the building and asked, "Sister, how do we get in?"
I said, "Climb onto the car roof, then onto the second-floor balcony."
He had a eureka moment and quickly parked the car in front, climbed onto the roof, grabbed the balcony railing, and scrambled up with difficulty.
Then he looked confused. "Sister, I just realized — if both of us go up, who hides the car?"
"Simple."
I drove the car into a nearby alley to conceal it, then ran back, leaped up, and grabbed the balcony railing.
Valerian hurried to reach down and help me, but I said, "Move."
"Okay!"
He backed away. I pulled myself up and vaulted over.
From the balcony, we could see through the window that the interior was pitch black.
Valerian whispered, "Sister, do you think he's home sleeping, or out working?"
"What time is it?"
"Eight PM."
"Why would a delivery driver sleep at eight PM?"
"Maybe... he wants to wake up early for breakfast orders?"
"Most restaurants don't open until after ten AM. Only a few deliver that early. Why would he sleep at eight?"
Valerian was speechless. I tried the balcony door handle — it was locked, but the window wasn't.
We climbed through the window, carefully wiping our fingerprints.
The apartment was empty. The walls were covered with award certificates and a few dolls.
Valerian said, "These look like a little girl's things. Does Victor Kane have a daughter?"
"Yeah, he has a daughter. I saw it in the news — he brought her on camera to gain sympathy, hoping the Sin Hunter would spare him. But don't worry, the news said he's divorced, and his ex-wife has custody."
Valerian muttered, "Then I can go ahead without guilt."
We checked the apartment. If we were doing this here, we needed to know the layout.
It was simple — piles of household garbage. Victor Kane clearly wasn't neat.
There were two doors downstairs, but the back had been walled off since the landlord divided the building for separate rentals. Victor Kane always used the front door.
I asked Valerian, "This isn't a protection mission — any Sin Hunter can take it. Are you sure Sage will show up?"
"Not sure. Since it's a punishment mission, the system might assign Juniper or Sage — fifty-fifty chance. But since you're Heaven-level, if Sage isn't on a mission, the system should prioritize him. There are fewer protection missions than punishment missions, so Sage must share the workload, otherwise Juniper would be worked to death."
I nodded. It was a gamble.
I told Valerian, "You go outside. We'll split up — you wait for him outside in case he runs, and I'll wait inside. There's only one exit, so he can't escape!"
"Got it!"
Valerian hurried out, and I hid in the bathroom.
We waited from 8 PM until 2 AM before Victor Kane finally came home.
He opened the door, pushed his e-bike inside, and plugged it in to charge. After closing the door, he sat down tiredly.
I stepped out of the bathroom.
"Who—"
He jumped up and looked straight at me.
I walked toward him slowly and said quietly, "I saw your story on TV before — you killed an innocent police officer. I remember you saying you were just a father trying to make a living, doing livestreams to support your daughter, and you got carried away by fans' tips. You begged for forgiveness. You had a second chance. Why didn't you truly change?"
Victor Kane stared at my mask, swallowed hard, and stammered, "S-Sin Hunter?"
I said, "Oh, so you're already familiar with masked people."
He backed up several steps, panicked. "You're lying! I met a Sin Hunter before — he was a guy, not a woman! And I heard they caught a Sin Hunter!"
This guy knew a lot.
Too bad there wasn't just one Sin Hunter.
I said, "Don't be nervous. I'm just a woman with no weapons. What can I do to you?"
He was breathing hard, eyes full of fear.
The last Sin Hunter had clearly left a deep impression on him. Why couldn't he learn his lesson?
Suddenly, he started backing toward the door, stammering, "Don't come near—"
I smiled.
He was moving toward the exit, which meant he wanted to run.
Everything was going according to plan.
Once he opened the door, Valerian would appear and ambush him!
But just as I thought that, Victor Kane did something completely unexpected!
He gathered his courage and lunged straight at me!
Hmm?
Victor Kane grabbed a chair and swung it hard at my head, snarling, "You're just a woman — what am I afraid of!"
I dodged the chair and couldn't help but laugh.
A rental apartment is tiny — using a chair was stupid.
Sure enough, Victor Kane missed. He couldn't control the momentum, and the chair leg slammed into the wall, making him cry out in pain.
In a flash, I jabbed at his eyes!
Victor Kane screamed again and instinctively raised his hands to protect his face, but then realized he couldn't do that and dropped the chair, flailing wildly at me with haymaker punches!
I backed up repeatedly.
Because there was an awkward truth... haymakers were actually very effective.
Victor Kane was significantly larger than me, and the problem with haymakers was that they were nearly impossible to approach. If one connected, it was basically a one-hit knockout.
Anyone who underestimated haymakers paid the price.
I retreated up the stairs.
I couldn't retreat further — the wall was behind me, and I'd have nowhere to go!
Fighting was an extremely exhausting anaerobic activity. Just ten or fifteen seconds of continuous combat could exhaust an ordinary person.
Especially someone like Victor Kane who didn't control his breathing — he was screaming with every wild swing.
In action movies, fights might last forever. In reality, the human body couldn't sustain that kind of endurance.
Soon his punches slowed. He simply didn't have the energy for more haymakers, and I had the high ground on the stairs.
Fighting from below was a terrible tactical position!
Victor Kane hadn't realized his mistake. Seeing me retreat, he grew confident and roared, "Come on! You want to fight me? Come on!"
He started climbing the stairs.
I feinted a retreat. Victor Kane sped up, but it was a fake — I kicked him square in the face!
He fell backward and crashed into the wall behind him.
Dazed, he tried to swing again, but I followed down the stairs and kicked him square in the crotch. He couldn't even scream.
I had to admit, a man's crotch was a wonderful target. Cassian Vance had taught me to kick men there since we were kids — it never failed.
He instinctively tried to protect himself, but I'd anticipated the move, grabbed both his hands, and drove my knee into his crotch three times in a row!
Victor Kane was finished.
I said coldly, "Someone like you shouldn't produce any more offspring. They might grow up to be just like you."
I grabbed him by the hair and dragged his agonized body into the bathroom.
I opened the toilet lid and shoved his head in.
Victor Kane tried to resist, but I planted my foot on the back of his neck!
Now he couldn't get up!
I pressed the flush button.
The swirling water engulfed his head. Every time he tried to lift up, I shoved him back down.
He thrashed his arms uselessly.
"Uncomfortable?" I said softly. "Drowning feels terrible, doesn't it? Did you ever think about that innocent girl who drowned?"
His head submerged in the toilet, he weakly said, "I'm... sorry..."
"Never say sorry. I despise hearing bad people apologize. Good people never apologize for such things because they'd never do them."
I pressed the flush button again.
The old toilet filled quickly.
Victor Kane retched. I pushed his head down harder, then pulled out my phone and said softly, "You love making videos and livestreaming, right? Come on, little influencer, let's take a selfie."
I turned on the front camera, aimed it at us, and grabbed his hair, yanking his head up.
I said tenderly, "Smile. Say cheese."
The shutter clicked, but Victor Kane wasn't smiling — just wheezing, half-dead.
I punched him in the nose. Blood spurted, and I said coldly, "Did I not just ask you to smile?"
He forced a bloody grin through his pain.
"Say cheese."
"Ch-cheese..."
The shutter clicked again. Victor Kane finally smiled.
I looked at the photo of him bleeding and grinning, frowning. "Ugly... you shouldn't have bothered. Disgusting."
"I'm... sorry..."
"I accept your apology this time."
I put my phone away and said seriously, "Now I have two choices. One, I kill you. Two, you spend the rest of your life atoning. Tell me — do you want to die, or do you want to live?"
He begged, "I... I want to live."
"Great answer. So my reward for you is death — because I absolutely despise people who benefit from 'accidental events.'"
I grabbed Victor Kane's hair and dragged him outside.
I wasn't going to kill him myself. Valerian should do it.
He was a useless coward — he needed the experience, or how would he ever grow?
I opened the door and muttered, "Sorry, I handled it myself—"
Mid-sentence, the words died in my throat.
Valerian, who should have been waiting outside to ambush our target, was unconscious on the ground.
Adrian Cross stood beside him.
He stood there with one hand in his pocket and muttered, "Is he a Sin Hunter too?"
I couldn't speak.
My body started trembling.
Adrian Cross said flatly, "Sin Hunters really are getting worse with each generation... nothing at all... don't you think?"
He was approaching.
I was backing away in terror!
Every pore on my body seemed to contract. Pure fear flooded my heart!
Adrian Cross glanced at me and said softly, "Oh right, you're not much better than him... nothing at all."