Ryan Hughes and Claire Foster have been friends with Ethan Bennett for many years. They used to live in this area of single-story houses, but both families moved away one after another. They thought they would part ways for good, but unexpectedly, they met again in high school and even ended up in the same class. These two are the only classmates who know the real situation of Ethan Bennett's family. Of course, this does not include anything about the "Star Killing Technique."

　　Ethan Bennett asked curiously, "So where is Little Claire?"

　　Ryan Hughes scoffed, "A grown girl, saying she needs to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night."

　　Ethan Bennett said, "But the public toilets in this area have already been demolished!"

　　Ryan Hughes grinned slyly, "The houses are gone, but the ruins are still there!"

　　Ethan Bennett immediately broke out in a cold sweat. This kind of thing is indeed rare for an ordinary girl, but with Claire Foster, it could easily be true. Claire Foster had hung out with two absolute boys since childhood, and her feminine side had long since faded. It was said that this was one of the main reasons her family decided to move away.

　　At this moment, Ethan Bennett said, "You just let a girl go... do that by herself!"

　　Ryan Hughes said, "I wanted to stand by and keep watch for her, but only if she agreed!"

　　Ethan Bennett suddenly smiled and said, "I know you. If you weren't waiting here for me, you probably would have gone already!"

　　Ryan Hughes let out a cold laugh, "Please, if I wanted to see her, I'd have plenty of chances. No need to rush it now."

　　Ethan Bennett didn't say anything, but his smile grew more and more sinister. Ryan Hughes suddenly realized something. He turned his head, and sure enough, Claire Foster was standing right behind him—long hair draped over her shoulders, a loose white T-shirt, her face dark with anger, looking even scarier than Sadako under the dim streetlight. Ethan Bennett took the opportunity to let out a few creepy laughs. Ryan Hughes shivered and said, "Um... I... need to use the bathroom too."

　　"Stop right there." Claire Foster barked sharply. The apartment buildings on both sides of the street lit up with thousands of lights.

　　Ryan Hughes looked especially miserable. "I really can't hold it anymore."

　　Claire Foster waved her hand and said, "For Little Ethan's sake, since he's catching a train, I'll let it go this time."

　　Just a moment ago, Ryan Hughes could barely stand up straight, but as soon as he heard this, he perked up and nodded repeatedly, "Yeah, yeah, let's take care of the important stuff first."

　　Ethan Bennett asked, "Are you two planning to take me to the train station?"

　　Ryan Hughes looked at Claire Foster and said only one thing: "I didn't bring any money."

　　Claire Foster's face turned green again. Ethan Bennett smiled and said, "Forget it, I can go by myself. You two should head back now!"

　　At that moment, a sense of farewell filled the air. Ryan Hughes also became serious, stepped forward, patted Ethan Bennett on the shoulder, and said, "Good brother."

　　At this point, Claire Foster finally showed a bit of girlishness, choking up as she said, "Little Ethan, remember to come back!"

　　Ethan Bennett saw Ryan Hughes making a gagging gesture on the side, but still nodded seriously. In fact, the two of them already knew Ethan Bennett's plan. Maybe this departure meant they'd never see each other again, but they couldn't help but say something to comfort themselves.

　　A taxi approached from the distance. Ethan Bennett waved to flag it down, picked up his suitcase, and waved to the two of them.

　　The driver pulled over, quickly stuffed Ethan Bennett's suitcase into the trunk. Ethan Bennett waved to the two of them again, opened the front door to get in, but heard the driver say, "Hey, little brother, sit in the back. I accidentally spilled water on the front seat just now."

　　Ethan Bennett looked down and saw that it was indeed wet. He glanced at the driver, smiled slightly, and got into the back seat.

　　He rolled down the window and waved to the two of them again. The driver had already started the car and asked Ethan Bennett with a smile, "Heading off to school?"

　　Ethan Bennett nodded.

　　The driver asked again, "Those two are your classmates, right? Why isn't your family seeing you off?"

　　Ethan Bennett replied calmly, "I'm old enough. No need."

　　The driver nodded, "Young men really are different."

　　The car sped off, and in the blink of an eye, Claire Foster and Ryan Hughes were just two tiny dots. Ethan Bennett couldn't help but sigh softly, but at that moment, the car suddenly braked hard.

　　Both side doors were quickly opened, and two middle-aged men, about the same age as the driver, got in. Their hands were already on Ethan Bennett's shoulders. As soon as the doors closed, the car started up again.

　　A knife was pressed against Ethan Bennett's waist. The man on the left grinned and said, "Don't be scared, kid. We're a bit short on cash lately, so we're just going to borrow some from you."

　　Ethan Bennett didn't seem surprised and said calmly, "I don't have any money."

　　The man on the right said, "We know you don't have cash, but you have a card, right? We'll go with you to withdraw some in a bit."

　　The driver now said smugly, "See? Didn't I say there'd be a fat sheep tonight? This one is worth a lot."

　　The man on the left said, "You really have good ideas, kid. Those years in school weren't wasted."

　　The driver laughed, "Isn't everyone saying schools charge too many fees these days? We're just doing justice for once, making sure the school doesn't get this fee."

　　The man on the right added, "We're in for a good time tonight." With that, the three of them burst out laughing, treating Ethan Bennett as a lamb to be slaughtered, not even seeing him as a person.

　　Ethan Bennett smiled slightly, and suddenly both his hands moved at once.

　　The two men on either side saw it clearly. One opened his mouth to curse, the other wanted to move his knife, but just as they had the thought, before they could act, Ethan Bennett's fists had already landed on their faces.