The silence in the underground arena is heavier than the weight of the corpses piled around Su Chen. His breath comes out ragged, his shirt torn and soaked in blood—none of it his. The last of the "Hunters" lies twitching at his feet, blade embedded in the eye socket.
[Kill Confirmed. +500 XP. Critical Strike Bonus Applied. System Level-Up Imminent.]
A pulse of cold energy washes through him. The system's mechanical voice buzzes in his skull like the whisper of a god he never prayed to.
[System Level 16 Reached.]New Trait Unlocked: "Crown of Slaughter" – Your presence causes fear. Enemies within 10 meters have reduced attack accuracy and morale.
Su Chen doesn't smile.
He doesn't have the luxury of satisfaction. Not yet.
He lifts his gaze to the balcony above, where the architect of this latest trap sits sipping wine like a theatergoer watching a tragedy unfold. General Kaien—the man who sold Su Chen's location to the Guild in exchange for a forged alliance. His crimson cape sways gently in the breeze coming from the broken ceiling above.
Su Chen wipes the blood from his mouth and steps forward, glass crunching underfoot.
"You thought I'd die here," he says, his voice cutting through the hush like a scalpel.
Kaien chuckles. "I thought you'd struggle. But I underestimated your rage. It's more... refined than before."
"That's because it's not just rage anymore," Su Chen mutters. "It's purpose."
With a sudden flare of his boots, he leaps. The balcony is thirty feet high—but he's faster now. Stronger. Death taught him how to fly.
Kaien doesn't flinch. His guards move in with mechanical precision—five elite soldiers, cybernetically enhanced and trained to kill enhanced targets like Su Chen. They don't hesitate.
But they don't know him.
Su Chen moves like shadow and lightning fused. The first man raises his gun—too slow. Su Chen grabs the barrel and twists, driving it into the man's throat and firing. Blood sprays.
The second swings a plasma blade. Su Chen catches it barehanded. Pain blossoms, but he twists his wrist and yanks the soldier into a brutal headbutt that caves in his visor.
Three seconds. Two dead.
The third fires a spread of arc rounds. Su Chen darts forward—one grazes his side, but he spins, vaulting off a corpse, flipping through the air. He lands behind the shooter and plunges a stolen dagger through his neck.
Four down.
The fifth hesitates.
Big mistake.
Su Chen doesn't waste the opportunity. A blur of red and steel—and the final guard's head hits the marble with a sickening thud.
Kaien finally stands. Applause, slow and mocking.
"Bravo. You've become something truly terrifying, Su Chen."
"I've become what you all made me," Su Chen replies.
He walks forward, every step echoing in the cavernous silence of the upper chamber. Kaien backs away now, reaching for the switch under the table. Emergency teleport.
"You're not escaping this time," Su Chen growls.
[System Skill Activated: Chrono Disruptor (Lv2) – 3s time manipulation field initiated.]
Time warps. The world slows. Su Chen sprints forward while Kaien moves like a sluggish marionette. In the span of a single breath, Su Chen slams the general against the wall, pinning him by the throat.
The time field ends.
Kaien gasps, claws at Su Chen's grip. "You… can't kill me. I'm your only link to her."
Everything stops.
"Her?"
Kaien smiles, blood running from his split lip. "Yun Xi is alive."
Su Chen's hand trembles for the first time in weeks.
"You're lying."
"Am I?" Kaien rasps. "She was taken—saved—by someone who still believes in her. She's not yours anymore. She never was."
And suddenly, all of Su Chen's rage floods into a new shape.
Not cold. Not calm.
Just broken.
He wants to crush Kaien's throat. Wants to break every bone in his body and paint the walls with his betrayal.
But he doesn't.
Not yet.
Instead, he leans in, eyes glowing faint blue as the System feeds him truth.
[Truth Pulse Activated. Target: General Kaien. Veracity Level: 97.3%]
He isn't lying.
Yun Xi. The one who betrayed him. The one who said I love you while plunging a dagger in his back.
Alive.
And protected.
By someone stronger.
Su Chen lets go.
Kaien collapses, coughing and laughing.
"You won't reach her," Kaien says. "She's in the Core. You'd have to kill half the High Council to—"
"Then I'll start tomorrow," Su Chen says.
He turns, walking toward the edge of the balcony. The city stretches beneath him—broken, bleeding, and yet alive. A reflection of himself.
A mission pulses in his mind.
[New Objective Unlocked: Breach the Core.]Targets: The Seven High Lords.Difficulty: Fatal.Reward: The truth. Retribution. And her.
As thunder cracks in the sky and war drums beat in the distance, Su Chen's voice cuts through the darkness:
"Yun Xi... I'm coming for you. Whether to save you—or bury you—I haven't decided yet."
End of Chapter 61