"No." Chen Luo outright rejected the woman's proposal.
"You should know this—since you used me to threaten those three, you must've done your research. After I started middle school, I became someone who loves helping others. So, taking a life… I just can't do it." Chen Luo shook his head.
"In a little while, I'll leave. Once I'm gone, your powers will return. Then you can try killing yourself, waiting for your lifespan to run out, or holding on for 80 years until the big shots emerge and maybe—just maybe—notice you and pull you out of this damned war domain."
"The only cruel part is that you'll have to spend those 80 years here—no internet, no water, no humans, not even any living creatures. Hope you can endure it." Chen Luo smirked, watching her with undisguised schadenfreude.
"If it were me, I probably wouldn't last ten days."
Think about it—no electricity, no internet, not even a single thing to distract you. A world where nothing exists except yourself.
How long could you survive in such a place?
How many years before you lose your mind?
"Kill me."
"No."
"Please… kill me." The blonde woman never imagined she'd one day beg someone to end her life, but this was her genuine plea now.
If he left like this, it meant she'd be imprisoned in this damned war domain for eternity.
"I just can't bring myself to do it."
"KILL ME!" the blonde woman roared at Chen Luo.
"Hmm~ Why so eager to die? Isn't clinging to life better?"
"...It seems the intel I gathered was wrong. The ever-helpful 'good person' Chen Luo might be kind, but you're no saint. You're the cruelest bastard in the world—your killing intent is palpable, yet you torment me with words instead." Her voice grew low, her gaze burning with hatred as she glared at Chen Luo.
Chen Luo casually checked her status in his [Friends List] and noticed her markup rate had jumped from 20% to 40%.
He wasn't entirely sure what the markup represented, but it probably meant she despised him to the core.
"You're right. I am doing this on purpose. After all, this war domain only ends when someone dies. Since you were dead set on killing me, why shouldn't I torment you with words?" Chen Luo admitted without hesitation.
He didn't consider himself a good person. If anything, he saw himself as a demon who harvested wishes.
"If I could, I'd love to lock you up here for decades before coming back. By then, you'd be begging me to kill you, wouldn't you?" The malicious thought crossed his mind.
After all, if it reached that point, her wish would grow even stronger—maybe even strong enough to spawn a 4 or 5-star commission.
"Kill me… and I'll give you all my treasures." Gritting her teeth against the pain, she used her left hand—broken earlier but now healed enough by her angelic powers—to yank a ring off her right finger and toss it at Chen Luo.
[Ding! New commission received!]
[Kill Me]: End Yvette Pegg's life. Grant her true release from millennias of solitude.
Reward: 600 Primogems + Random Skill
Difficulty: 3-star
"Hmm… you really are desperate to die, huh?" Chen Luo mused.
Only when a wish or obsession reached an extreme intensity could it manifest as a commission—especially a 3-star one.
The difficulty wasn't high, at least not for Chen Luo, so its 3-star rating came purely from the sheer fervor of her desire.
Like Mobius' commission, for example.
Speaking of Mobius, she hadn't shown up since taking that snake meat two days ago.
Had her limited-time "Special Customer" pass expired or something?
"Keeping you locked up for decades would probably net me more Primogems, but early-game and late-game resources aren't equal in value. So I'll just put you out of your misery now."
If he waited, her commission might upgrade to 4-star, but by then, Chen Luo wouldn't be as desperate for Primogems as he was now.
Gripping his [Dullt Sword], Chen Luo stepped closer. At the same time, a faint glow began radiating from her body—her power was returning.
Yet she made no move to resist. Chen Luo didn't kick her again. Instead, he simply slash the blade across her neck.
The last expression on her face was one of relief.
After her death, the [Blunt Sword] in Chen Luo's hand trembled slightly, as if feasting on something, thrumming with excitement.
[Ding! Commission complete!]
[Obtained Special Skill: 100% Guaranteed Fox's Gratitude]
A surge of heat flooded his body—not just from the commission's rewards, but also from the substantial boost gained by killing her.
"..."
Tch. What kind of trash skill is this?!
He'd assumed the "Random Skill" would be drawn from her abilities, but the reward never specified that.
"Whatever. A crap skill is still a skill." Chen Luo sighed.
As the woman died, the war domain began collapsing, the sky shattering like glass.
Before it fully dissipated, Chen Luo quickly stashed her corpse into his inventory. Then he hurried over and picked up his battered bicycle.
When the domain dissolved, even the bloodstains on the ground vanished, sparing Chen Luo the trouble of cleaning up. How considerate.
"She dropped some loot too, huh? Whatever, I'll check later." He eyed the three new items in his inventory—her storage ring, her body, and a glowing orb.
Only then did he remember: his talent didn't just reward Primogems and items for completing commissions. Killing enemies also dropped loot—sometimes even their skills.
But right now, the priority was fleeing the scene.
She'd chosen the alley's location perfectly—no surveillance cameras in sight.
Probably picked it specifically to commit the perfect crime.
From what she'd said, her plan was to kill Chen Luo, let Liu Wenxuan panic for a few days, then toss his head at him to provoke his rage.
Honestly, after seeing her talent, Chen Luo suspected her motives went beyond just fighting an S-rank. She might've been trying to incite something bigger.
The first thing Chen Luo did upon returning home? Fix the bicycle.
Yep. Better safe than sorry. If anyone investigated the woman's disappearance and noticed his bike was damaged, they might connect the dots.
Plus, the residual energy on it—tainted with angelic power—was another issue.
In the end, Chen Luo spent 10 Primogems to have the talent repair it. Not that he couldn't fix it himself, but he lacked the proper tools.
Even if he patched it up, the damage would still be visible—too suspicious.
Chen Luo believed in covering all his tracks.
Call it caution, call it paranoia—but picking unnecessary fights with powerful enemies was just stupid.
If you won't think for yourself, at least think about your parents.
Only losers avoid trouble?
Chen Luo strongly disagreed.
"Damn it... Yvette. You made me waste 10 Primogems. Feels like I lost a billion."
Chen Luo had almost forgotten her name, but the grudge over those 10 Primogems? That, he would remember.
Sure, he'd earned a ton of Primogems from her, but those 10 were a personal loss.
Whatever happened next had nothing to do with him.
If Chen Luo insisted he was innocent, what could anyone do?
He was just an A-rank talent, freshly awakened at that—how could he possibly defeat an S-rank talent?
If Yvette had any sense of reason, Chen Luo wouldn't have been their first target.
And if they didn't? Well, Chen Luo had unreasonable solutions too.
At least in this era where the true powerhouses hadn't yet emerged, the Herrscher of Sentience's combat strength was among the world's top tier.
Besides...
Chen Luo glanced at the glowing orb in his hand.
This was the item that dropped after defeating Yvette.
Defeating enemies did drop Primogems—and there was even a tiny chance of obtaining their abilities.
[War Domain]
Seeing this skill, Chen Luo couldn't help but laugh shamelessly.
How many steps does it take to kill someone?
Step 1: Activate [War Domain], drag them in, and force a deathmatch.
Step 2: Use the bar to escape immediately.
Step 3: Starve them for ten days—or even months.
Step 4: Call for backup and gang up on them.
Looking at the new skill in his panel, Chen Luo's heart raced.
On top of that, slaying a fully developed S-rank talent rewarded a whopping 1,000 Primogems.
But honestly? That wasn't even high.
An S-rank talent's total worth—skills, items, everything—could easily exceed 20,000 Primogems.
This also confirmed one of Chen Luo's theories: if a "friend" died, they'd be automatically removed from the friends list—but their skills and talents could still be purchased.
The only downside? All discounts vanished.
Meaning Yvette's items, previously marked up of 40%, reverted to their original prices.
Seems like in the future, there wouldn't just be "friends" and "enemies"—there'd also be "the deceased."
With that thought, Chen Luo summoned the bar and stepped straight from his living room into the Bar.
Once inside, he stared at Yvette's corpse in his inventory, deep in thought.
What should I do with this?
If it were just about disposing of evidence, it'd be simple—tomorrow, he could toss it into the Honkai world.
But something told him an S-rank talent's body had to be valuable.
She was an S-rank, after all.
Too bad his talent didn't accept corpses—selling it would've been convenient.
Mobius would probably be very interested, but Chen Luo worried about unforeseen consequences.
This was an angel. Even dead, who knew what kind of abominations Mobius could extract from her?
If she actually succeeded... well, whether the Herrscher of Finality could defeat the Previous Era's civilization would suddenly become very debatable.
Judging by the Herrscher of Sentience's core price—equal to a Gnosis and most S-rank talents—it was clear Herrscher authorities had limits.
Yvette's talent alone was worth 2,000 Primogems more than a Herrscher core, with potential to break into SS-rank.
Even the Herrscher of Finality's authority far surpassed Sentience's, but it is not certain it could compete with an SS-rank talent?
At the end of the day, a Herrscher was still just a Herrscher.
But if the Previous Era's world suddenly had angels flying around...
Defeating the Honkai might actually become possible—but at the cost of drastically altering Theresa's world.
Chen Luo shook his head, dispelling the insane idea.
He was willing to change tragedies—but not at the expense of an entire world.
Altering the past would reshape the future.
"Guess I'll just leave the corpse in my inventory. It's not like space is an issue."
Next, Chen Luo turned his attention to the last item Yvette left behind—a storage ring that could literally be described as priceless.
Storage rings were already insanely expensive, and the treasures inside this one would skyrocket its value even further.
So Chen Luo decided to...
[Sale successful. You have obtained 1,524 Primogems.]
...sell it to the talent panel.
Pfft—keeping this thing was just asking for death.
Sure, the contents were valuable, but Chen Luo dared not use them.
Yvette had mentioned her [War Domain] could block prophecy-type talents—meaning such talents existed in this world.
What if he used those items and got tracked down by one?
Chen Luo was self-aware enough to recognize he was still in his "growth phase."
Especially after reading the talent's description of the ring, he wanted nothing to do with it.
[Angel's Ring]: A storage ring with immense capacity, but its true function is monitoring the wearer's vital signs.
No wonder she handed it over so easily—she was setting a trap.
Though the talent's 50% buyback rate was a scam too.
*"Sigh... You never know which comes first—disaster or a 10-pull."*
Chen Luo had been wondering when he'd save up for two 10-pulls.
Turns out, the ring and its contents alone were worth one full 10-pull.
Yvette was practically a prosperity god in disguise.
Murder and looting really are the fastest ways to get rich.
A whole week of hard work? 1,830 Primogems.
Killing Yvette? 3,124 Primogems.
Life really is unpredictable…