**—Death was his masterpiece. But fate had other plans.**
Feng Wujin had always known he'd die alone.
The prison cell reeked of piss and regret, but he inhaled deeply, savoring it. *Real. Tangible.* Unlike the hollow faces of his victims—**twenty-three** in total—who'd begged for mercy he never gave. Their voices haunted him, but not out of guilt.
*Annoyance.*
*"You're a monster,"* the last one had gasped, blood frothing on her lips.
Feng had tilted his head. *"And you're boring."*
Now, as he looped the noose around his neck, he wondered if the afterlife would be just as dull.
FLASHBACK:
The rope chafed. It reminded him of **his father's belt**—the one that had split his skin open when he was six for stealing a candy bar.
*"You'll never amount to shit,"* the old drunk had slurred.
Feng had laughed through the pain. That night, he'd **burned the house down** with his father inside.
The cops found him sitting on the curb, licking a lollipop.
*"Did you do this?"* they'd asked.
*"Do what?"* he'd replied, wide-eyed.
They'd called him a **sociopath**. He called it **survival**.
PRESENT:
The chair wobbled beneath him.
For once, his mind was quiet. No victims' screams. No cops' questions. Just the *creak* of rope and the **metallic taste** of the lollipop stick clenched between his teeth.
*Click. Click. Click.*
The bulb above him flickered. Shadows danced like the ghosts he'd soon meet.
He kicked the chair.
*—SNAP.*
Pain exploded in his neck—then **nothing**.
.
.
.
.
He opened his eyes to find himself on a lab table he tought he is in the hospital but sudenly The coroner's scalpel hovered over Feng's chest.
*"Welcome to Yinzhou, hangman,"* the man sneered, mistaking Feng's noose scar for a failed execution.
Feng's fingers twitched. His voice was raw from the rope, but the laugh that crawled out was **black as a rotting tooth**.
*"Funny."* He eyed the scalpel. *"Last guy who touched me died screaming."*
The coroner froze. *"You—"*
Feng **spat the lollipop stick into his eye**
.
WORLD-BUILDING: FIRST IMPRESSION:
- Yinzhou's vibe: "A city where the alleys bled neon and the skyscrapers hid teeth."
- The Coroner's Secret: His gloves hid
black veins —same as the graffiti outside (eclipse symbol).
- Feng's New Body: His reflection shows streaks of white hair (from the hanging) and a faint scar shaped like a noose.