Pampering Discarded Heroines Triggers My 10,000x Rebate System

The cold rain stung against Zephyra’s face as she pushed open the heavy emergency exit door and stepped into the dark side alley.

She pulled the hood of her shadow-silk coat over her head and walked quickly down the wet pavement. Water was pouring from the building’s gutters, splashing against her boots.

As she walked, her chest felt heavy with guilt and sorrow.

One hundred million dollars.

The sound of the auctioneer’s wooden mallet and Evren’s calm, confident smile were still clear in her mind.

In her entire life, nobody had ever treated her like that. To the shadow syndicate that raised her, she was just an orphan weapon to use, beat, and throw into an iron cage when her veins shattered.

But Evren didn’t see her as trash. He bought her warm clothes, gave her a safe room at Victoria Hill, and just spent a fortune in front of the entire Capital just to heal her hands.

Her hands weren’t shaking anymore thanks to the first medicine Evren gave her. But her mana veins were still broken. She had no mana, no strength, and no way to fight like she used to.

Then she remembered what Lord Varek Drossian whispered in the hallway.

In the Capital, buying something is easy... keeping it alive is the hard part. You belong in the dirt.

Zephyra’s eyes darkened as the cold wind whipped around her.

She knew Varek. He was greedy, cruel, and vindictive. He would never let a hundred-million-dollar embarrassment go. If she stayed with Evren, Varek would hire assassins, use poisoned needles, and cause endless trouble for Evren and Amber.

’I’m just a burden to him,’ Zephyra thought to herself as tears mixed with the rain on her cheeks. ’Evren has done too much for me already. If I run away into the slums, Varek’s hounds will chase me instead. Then Evren and Amber can go back to Veridia safely.’

She quickened her pace, heading toward the end of the narrow alley that opened into the main boulevard.

Suddenly, the glare of bright headlights blinded her from the front.

SCREECH!

An unmarked black surveillance van swerved hard into the mouth of the alley, cutting off her only way out. The large vehicle blocked the entire narrow street, trapping her against the high brick walls.

The side doors slid open and four big men in dark raincoats jumped out into the pouring rain. They fanned out across the wet alley, blocking any room to escape. In their hands were heavy energy stun batons crackling with blue electricity.

”Look who decided to take a walk in the rain,” the lead thug sneered, twirling his baton. ”Lord Varek said Crawford’s little pet might try to slip out the back. Grab her, boys.”

Zephyra backed up two steps. Her face went completely cold, and her violet eyes narrowed into sharp slits.

Her foot brushed against a discarded, two-foot rusted iron pipe lying by the wall. She bent down in one smooth motion and snatched the cold metal from the ground.

She tried to push a thread of mana into the pipe, but a sharp, burning pain shot through her chest and hands. Her mana channels were completely blocked. Her fingers felt numb from the cold rain, and she could barely grip the slippery iron.

The thugs laughed out loud.

”Look at her hands!” one of them mocked. ”The great Shadowblade can’t even hold a pipe without trembling! Take her down!”

Two thugs rushed forward at once, swinging their stun batons toward her head and ribs.

Zephyra tossed the heavy pipe aside immediately. ’If I don’t have mana... I still have my instincts.’

As the first baton came down, Zephyra stepped inside the man’s reach with lightning speed. She ducked under the blue electrical sparks, spun on her left heel, and threw a hard reverse kick.

CRACK!

Her boot struck the man’s right knee with pinpoint accuracy. The joint snapped backward with a loud crunch, and the two-hundred-pound thug dropped into the dirty puddle, screaming in agony.

Before the second thug could swing his baton, Zephyra dropped low to the wet ground.

She swept her right leg across the asphalt, catching him behind the ankles. The thug lost his balance and crashed flat onto his back. Zephyra didn’t hesitate; she drove her heel hard into his chest with all her weight, knocking the wind completely out of him.

The remaining two thugs froze, their eyes wide with shock.

”What the hell?!” one of them yelled. ”I thought her veins were completely destroyed!”

Zephyra stood in the rain, breathing heavily. Her chest heaved, and her leg muscles burned with exhaustion. Without mana reinforcement to protect her body from the impact, those two kicks had drained almost all her physical strength.

”Don’t get close to her!” the lead thug barked, stepping back. ”Use the nets!”

The two men flipped the switches on their batons and threw two heavy, wire-mesh electrical nets right at her.

Zephyra tried to jump back to dodge, but her boot slipped on the wet, muddy pavement. The blue net landed on her shoulders and wrapped around her body.

ZZZZZZT!

Pain exploded through every nerve in her body as thousands of volts of blue electricity shocked her unshielded muscles.

”Aaargh!”

Zephyra cried out in pain as her body locked up, and she collapsed hard onto the wet road.

She gritted her teeth until blood dripped from her lips, trying to force her fingers to move, but her paralyzed muscles refused to obey.

The lead thug walked over and kicked the side of her ribs, then raised his boot and slammed it down against her head.

CRACK.

Her head throbbed, and the alley began to spin.

Rough hands grabbed her arms and legs, lifting her limp body off the ground. She felt herself being thrown onto the cold steel floor in the back of the van.

SLAM!

The sliding doors slammed shut, cutting off the sound of the rain.

As the van’s engine roared and the tires screeched onto the main road, Zephyra heard the lead thug speak into his radio at the front.

”Boss, we got Crawford’s girl,” the man said, breathing hard. ”She broke two of our guys’ legs, but she’s out cold. We’re heading to the District Nine warehouse right now.”

Zephyra closed her eyes as the darkness took over. ’I’m sorry, Evren...’

Everything went black.