CHAPTER 1: The Cold Catalyst
🌆 Scene: Night – Urban Bus Stand
The clock struck 11:30 PM.
The bus stand was swallowed by an eerie, absolute silence. A young girl stood there, trembling uncontrollably with fear. She clutched her handbag against her chest, her knuckles turning white from holding it so tightly.
Suddenly, three thugs materialized from the shadows. In one swift motion, they snatched her bag, aggressively ripped out the cash inside, and surrounded her, cutting off any escape.
Thug 1 (grinning filthily):
"Hey... look at her from behind. Not bad at all, huh?"
He stepped forward, reaching his hand out to rest it heavily on her shoulder.
Right at that exact moment, JOSEPH walked into the bus stand.
He was tall and built with a commanding physique, wearing a pitch-black hoodie that cast a deep shadow completely obscuring his face. Walking past them as if absolutely nothing was happening, he quietly retreated to a dark corner, observing the scene with chilling detachment.
Seeing no intervention, one of the three thugs emboldened himself and reached out to touch the girl's hip.
Before his fingers could make contact, Joseph walked forward with measured, steady steps and stood directly in front of them. There wasn't a single shred of panic or hesitation in his voice—only a dead, freezing calmness.
Joseph (cold tone):
"You wanted money, right? You already took it. Why are you still lingering here? Leave the girl alone and get lost."
The thugs burst into a mocking, arrogant laughter. The one leading the pack stepped right into Joseph's face, sneering with pure malice.
Thug 2 (laughing mockingly):
"Oh look, a hero! Why, brother? If we leave this girl and walk away, are you planning to take her for yourself and enjoy?"
That phrase.
Inside Joseph's head, deep within his psyche, a switch flipped.
He didn't utter a single word. He was holding an iron clipboard in his hand.
🩸 The Brutal Beatdown
First Attack: Before the thug could even finish his mocking smirk, Joseph swung with his full force. He drove the sharp, unforgiving edge of the iron clipboard directly across the thug's nose.
CRACKKK!
The sickening sound of snapping bone echoed through the empty station. Blood sprayed instantly like a fountain. Clutching his shattered face in agony, the thug collapsed hard onto the concrete.
Second Attack: The second thug frantically pulled out a knife, but before he could even raise it, Joseph kicked his knee with a brutal, calculated stomp that shattered his balance. The joint buckled and twisted completely backward—a horrific inverse fracture. As the man screamed in blinding pain, Joseph grabbed a loose cement brick from the ground and smashed it directly down onto the hand holding the knife. His fingers were completely crushed underneath the weight.
Third Attack: The first thug, face drenched in blood, desperately tried to push himself back up. Joseph lunged forward, grabbed him roughly by his shirt collar, and slammed his face violently against the structural iron pillar of the bus stand.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three merciless impacts left the pillar stained red. The thug's teeth shattered, spraying onto the floor.
Final Strike: The last remaining thug, completely paralyzed by terror, turned and tried to run. Joseph swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the dirt. In a flash, Joseph straddled his chest, pinning him down, and unleashed a barrage of rapid left and right hooks. The sheer force of the punches altered the man's facial structure entirely.
🌅 Scene Change: The Aftermath
Pure silence returned to the bus stand.
The three men lay in pools of their own blood, gasping raggedly for air, stripped of every ounce of strength to even stand. They were left on the absolute brink of death.
Joseph leaned over them. Wiping the dripping blood off his hands with a piece of cloth, he spoke.
Joseph (ruthless tone):
"Right now, I don't feel like killing you. I'm letting you walk away alive this one time. The next time you look at any girl, you better show respect. If you don't feel like it... make sure you remember my face. Because if you don't, your life won't belong to you anymore."
Terrified out of their minds and bleeding profusely, the three thugs dragged themselves across the floor, desperately crawling away from the bus stand to save their lives.
The girl stood frozen, completely paralyzed by shock from what she had just witnessed.
Joseph walked back over to her, picked up her scattered bag and the stolen cash, and handed them back.
Receiving them with violently trembling hands, she whispered.
The Girl (trembling voice):
"Th... Thank you..."
Joseph replied, his voice returning to a jarringly normal, flat tone.
Joseph:
"No need for thanks. Let it go. Go home safely."
He turned on his heel and began to walk away. For a few moments, silence stretched between them. The girl kept her eyes glued to Joseph as he stood near the edge of the platform.
Suddenly, the automated overhead speaker announced the arrival of a bus. As Joseph stepped forward to leave, the girl suddenly ran up, blocking his path, and looked directly into his eyes.
The Girl:
"When those three thugs demanded money from me, and even when they tried to touch me inappropriately, I was terrified. But... watching you beat them up, seeing all that blood, and witnessing your ruthless, brutal bloodlust... that scared me even more. Hearing you speak normally now, you seem like a good person. But why? Why are you so cold and brutal?"
Joseph stared straight back into her eyes.
Joseph:
"I helped you tonight, but the truth is, I don't help anyone anymore. But something made me want to step in for you, like a voice in my mind telling me to do it. And as for why I am like this... a girl is the reason."
The Girl:
"Tell me. I still have time before my bus arrives. Tell me your story."
Joseph leaned back against the rusted iron pillar of the bus stand, his eyes drifting into the distance as he began to speak.
Joseph:
"Two years ago, I was just a regular student, studying in my first year of college...
