As a celebrity Yan was officially invited to the gala.
Something Ning's father didn't think of.
Not even remotely.
She stormed the room kicking the doors wide open.
First she juped towards Bao.
The moment the cuffs clicked open, Bao moved.
No hesitation.
No second thoughts.
Just instinct.
The world slowed down around him.
[Skill Activated: Evasion - LvL 4]
[Skill Activated: Scuffle - LvL 5]
The first bouncer didn't even see it coming.
Bao surged forward, driving his forehead straight into the man's chin. A sickening crack echoed through the room as the massive body collapsed like a felled tree.
Pain shot through Bao's skull—
—but he didn't stop.
Couldn't.
"Free the shopkeeper," he barked, already moving.
Aika was next.
Her cuffs dropped, and the moment her hands were free, her entire demeanor changed. The docile, obedient servant vanished—replaced by the sharp, deadly fighter Bao knew.
"Finally," she muttered, rolling her shoulders.
Yan was a blur in the background.
Kicks, spins, precise strikes—every movement calculated. One guard flew into the desk, another slammed against the wall. Even the electric batons couldn't touch her.
"Try to keep up!" she shouted, ducking under a swing and sweeping a man off his feet.
Bao slid behind another bouncer, locking his arm around the man's neck.
For a split second—
[Skill Activated: Backstab - LvL 3]
—his body reacted like in Nelenia.
Precise.
Efficient.
Lethal.
He grabbed the baton from the man's belt and slammed it into his side. Electricity crackled violently as the body convulsed and dropped.
Bao stared at it for half a heartbeat.
Too real.
Still too real.
"Bao!" Aika snapped him out of it.
Right.
Focus.
The shopkeeper.
Two guards were dragging him toward the wall, trying to restrain his massive frame even while unconscious.
"Not happening," Bao growled.
He sprinted forward, closing the distance in seconds.
One punch to the ribs.A kick to the knee.A baton strike to the shoulder.
The guards folded.
Aika was already at his side, unlocking the cuffs.
"Wake up, old man," she said, slapping the shopkeeper lightly.
A groan.
Then—
Movement.
His eyes snapped open.
"…Did we win?" he muttered.
"Not even close," Bao replied. "But we're getting there."
Behind them, the last guard fell with a heavy thud.
Silence.
Heavy breathing filled the room.
Broken furniture.Unconscious bodies.The aftermath of pure chaos.
But one thing was missing.
Ning.
Bao turned toward the open double doors.
"…He went after his father."
Yan clicked her tongue. "Of course he did."
"That idiot…" Aika muttered.
Bao stepped forward, gripping the stolen baton tighter.
"No," he said. "He's not an idiot."
For a moment, his expression hardened.
"He's just… still hoping."
Hoping that somewhere, deep down, his father could still be saved.
Bao walked toward the doorway.
Then stopped.
For a brief second, something flickered again in his vision.
[David - Level 15]HP: 49/70
He exhaled slowly.
"Let's move," Bao said. "Before this turns into a slaughter."
Yan smirked.Aika cracked her knuckles.The shopkeeper picked up a fallen baton like it was nothing.
And together—
They stepped into the hallway.
Straight into whatever came next.