"You should be thinking about getting revenge on that guy Derek right now, shouldn’t you?"
Veil glanced at Kai, mildly annoyed.
How was it that the mont his arms started healing, this man completely forgot how he’d gotten wrecked in the first place? Didn’t seem to care that it was Derek who’d nearly crippled him.
Kai scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin. "Wasn’t much of a fight. I’d just be dragging you down if I tried to take revenge. That guy’s not soone you ss with."
"And do I look like soone you can ss with?" Veil sneered.
Kai might believe in waiting ten years to settle a score.
Veil thought it was already ten minutes too late.
He understood Kai’s indifference—so people just didn’t want to bother. But that wasn’t how he operated.
If not for the lingering sense of danger still clinging to him—no, not danger, killing intent—Veil wouldn’t have just let those two walk away.
If he didn’t have that Beauty Pill and the Marrow Cleansing Pill, Kai’s arms would be gone for good. And soone dares to try and cripple his people and think they can leave unscathed?
Dream on.
Even if the guy was the next so-called "Child of Fortune"—there had to be consequences.
"Tell Cody to prep the firearms," Veil said casually as they descended the mountain.
Kai’s expression turned serious. "Young Master, without advance clearance, that stuff’s hard to move. We’ve only got limited gear."
"That’s enough. Just get it ready."
...
Back at the mine, chaos reigned.
Helts bobbed everywhere in the floodlights, especially around the collapsed mine shaft.
"We got soone out!"
"Wait—another one?"
"Holy shit, is that Dorian Wilson?!"
That particular shaft hadn’t been scheduled for operations tonight—technically, no one was supposed to be in there.
And yet they hadn’t just pulled out the mine owner and a few execs—they’d sohow dug up Dorian Wilson, of all people.
It left everyone stunned.
Especially since the other n who ca out were mangled beyond recognition. The sight alone made so of the workers queasy.
Veil and Kai returned just in ti to see Dorian Wilson being carried out on a stretcher.
It wasn’t a pretty sight. His whole body was charred and bloodied. One of his arms was completely gone—left behind in the rubble—and what was left had already soaked through the makeshift bandages.
"That’s Dorian Wilson?"
Kai leaned in for a better look, disbelief written all over his face. He could barely recognize the arrogant young man from earlier.
Dorian’s assigned "bodyguard" pointed to the tag on the uniform. "Yeah. That’s him."
Kai’s lips twitched. "Wasn’t that shaft supposed to be closed? What the hell was he doing in there?"
He knew how much the Young Master valued Dorian Wilson. Clearly, the guy held sothing important.
But now? With injuries like that? It was a toss-up whether he’d even survive the night.
The bodyguard looked like he was chewing glass. "Dumbass thought he was being slick. I kept wondering why I never saw him around during night inspections. Turns out, he’s been hiding out in that shaft. Thought he’d be safe. Well, not anymore. Now he’s lucky to be alive."
Kai turned to Veil, unsure what to say.
Veil, by contrast, took it in stride.
Not surprising.
Dorian had been spiraling downward for a while now. That’s how he ended up getting trafficked into this black-market mining operation. His luck had taken repeated hits.
And now, after Veil collected a bunch of leverage from multiple heroines, his antagonist value skyrocketed again. No surprise Dorian hit rock bottom.
Veil stepped closer, peered down at the stretcher, and sighed.
"Such pride for soone so young. Just earlier today, he was all fire and confidence. Now look at him. What a fall. Where the hell is that ambulance?"
One of the mine security guards shuffled awkwardly. "Mr. Lancaster, this area’s remote. The ambulance is en route, but it’ll take a while. And with injuries like that... I don’t know if he’s gonna make it. We pulled him out from under a slab of concrete. He’s already lost an arm, and his chest took a beating from falling rocks. Chances aren’t good."
Veil paused, studying Dorian’s barely conscious face—his eyes just slits, struggling to stay open.
He shook his head, voice heavy. "Prepare a grave then."
"..."
Dorian’s barely-beating heart skipped a beat.
What kind of logic was this?!
Shouldn’t Veil be yelling, demanding the ambulance arrive faster, ordering ergency care?
Why was his first reaction to plan the burial?
He wasn’t dead yet!
He still had fight left in him!
"Ding! Child of Fortune Dorian Wilson has developed intense hatred toward the host. Congratulations—Villain Points 50,000!"
Veil’s gaze grew more solemn, more sympathetic.
He looked at the security team. "You know I ca here to discuss business with the mine owner. He may be gone, but I won’t just walk away like this."
"When it cos to the coffin—make sure it’s quality."
"Dorian Wilson had a hard life. Getting tricked into working here, suffering like this... The least we can do is treat his final monts with dignity."
The guards nodded frantically. "Absolutely, sir. We won’t cut corners."
"And don’t worry about the cost. I’ll cover it."
"Yes, sir!"
Just then, Kai leaned over and muttered, "Young Master... why’re we doing all this for a dead guy? He wasn’t exactly polite today. And now we’re buying him a coffin? This doesn’t feel like you. You’re being... too kind."
Veil chuckled, patted him on the shoulder.
"He’s dead—but his work isn’t."
"Once he’s gone, and that project falls into my hands, who’s going to question its origin?"
"A little money now is worth that payoff. Get it?"
"Uh... Uh~~ Uh~~!"
Before Kai could respond, Dorian Wilson suddenly jolted. His chest heaved violently. He let out several strangled gasps—and then went completely still.
The system chid in once again:
"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have successfully enraged the Child of Fortune to death. Villain Points are currently being calculated..."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host has acquired Interdiate Singing Technique! Critical reward triggered! Congratulations, Host has acquired Advanced Singing Technique! Reward fusion activated! Congratulations, Host has achieved Perfect-Level Singing Technique!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host has acquired Advanced Guitar Technique! Reward fusion activated! Congratulations, Host has achieved Perfect-Level Guitar Technique!"
"..."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host has received 20 mory Fruits!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host has unlocked the IP Store page. You may now exchange Villain Points or mory Fruits for various high-quality IPs."
Veil silently reviewed the haul. His eyes skimd past the string of entertainnt-related skills, too unimpressed to even give them a second glance.
Ridiculous.
Too weak. Though Dorian Wilson had died, he’d at least managed to provide one final contribution—unlocking the system’s IP Store. From now on, IPs could be directly exchanged, but Veil had never cared much about entertainnt anyway.
"Open system panel," Veil commanded ntally.
System Panel
[Na]: Veil Lancaster
[Age]: 25
[Physique]: 398
[Charm]: 99
[Villain Points]: 2,758,000
[Cultivation Techniques]:
Nine Revolutions of the True Dragon (Third Revolution – Amplification 3.375x. Requires 1,000,000 Villain Points to upgrade to Fourth Revolution)
Solar Overdrive Technique
Inner Breath Technique
[Skills]:
Affinity LV10 (Group affinity 100)
Perfect Piano Technique
Disguise
Advanced Firearms Mastery
Advanced Danger Sense
Perfect-Level dical Expertise
Perfect-Level Singing Technique
Perfect-Level Guitar Technique
Advanced Information Disruption
[Store]: Unlocked
[Lottery Center]: Unlocked (Each draw costs 1000 Villain Points)
[System Inventory]:
Marrow Cleansing Pill ×6
Beauty Pill ×15
Condoms ×10 (Unused)
mory Fruit ×29
...
After scanning through everything, Veil noted that aside from his Villain Points nearing three million, not much had changed.
There wasn’t much left to squeeze out of Dorian Wilson. Veil didn’t even bother giving the rewards a second glance.
If he truly wanted to hit it big, he’d have to rely on the system’s lottery once he got back.
Just then, the system chid again:
"Ding! New plotline successfully integrated. Requires 200,000 Villain Points to preview. Would the Host like to proceed?"
"Yes," Veil replied instantly, eyes lighting up without hesitation.
This was exactly what he had been waiting for.
That guy Derek—he was almost certainly a protagonist. The guy had just shown up and already had a physique that nearly matched Veil’s current stats.
If Veil didn’t get a head start by previewing the storyline, who knew what kind of trouble this would stir up later?
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