Chen Luo stared at the 4,954 Primogems displayed on his talent interface, lost in thought.
He reached out toward the talent panel, and when he withdrew his hand, a glittering object rested in his palm.
"One Primogem can produce one gemstone. So what happens with 4,954 Primogems?" he muttered.
The answer became clear in the next instant.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the space housing his talent panel seemed to rupture like a bursting dam. A torrent of gemstones poured out, instantly blanketing the floor in a shimmering layer.
"Ahhh... Primogems." Chen Luo flopped onto the pile, a blissful grin spreading across his face.
Even if he never used them for gacha, he suspected selling just one of these gemstones would fetch a hefty sum. After all, each one looked like a flawless, naturally formed jewel with unique irregularities.
"Wow, what the hell are you doing?" The Herrscher of Sentience pushed the door open and froze at the sight of Chen Luo sprawled across a mountain of glittering gems, playing dead.
When she opened the door, some of the gems near the entrance spilled out, prompting Chen Luo to bolt upright. With a thought, all the gemstones obediently returned to his talent panel.
"Ahem, nothing important. Why'd you come to the bar?" he coughed.
"My right eyelid's been twitching nonstop. I had this gut feeling you were in danger, so I rushed back. I saw your bike outside but couldn't find you, so I checked the bar. Guess it was just my imagination." She rubbed her temples. "Eating too much in one go really isn't great."
"No, you weren't imagining things. I was in danger earlier—but I handled it. Oh, and I killed an S-rank talent." Casually, he tossed out the corpse.
Perhaps due to lingering angelic power, the fatal wound on the neck began slowly healing the moment the body was exposed to air. But there was no doubt—she was dead.
What intrigued Chen Luo more was the strange connection between him and the Herrscher of Sentience. Was this some kind of familial bond? Like the psychic link between twins?
"An S-rank talent? You beat an S-rank?" The Herrscher of Sentience looked incredulous.
She wouldn't deny Chen Luo had potential, but right now, she could crush him with one hand.
An S-rank talent in this world was roughly equivalent to a Herrscher—theoretically. But in her opinion, newly awakened S-ranks shouldn't be as strong as freshly ascended Herrschers.
Herrscher authorities manifested instantly, while talents needed time to mature (albeit quickly). The real advantage of this world's talents was their ability to grow—even break through to SS-rank.
"How the hell did you pull that off? Just looking at the corpse, I can tell she was a monster in life." Despite the evidence, she burned with curiosity.
"If she'd had any other talent, I'd have run straight to you for help. But she was an angel."
"So what? Angels are still very strong... Wait. That elementary schooler's dropkick?"
"It's not an elementary schooler's dropkick, but a Jashin's dropkick," Chen Luo corrected.
Since Chen Luo experimented with this skill, naturally the Herrscher of Sentience had been his test subject for this move. She knew exactly how devastating it was.
A literal elementary schooler dropkick.
"Damn, that's miserable." She winced.
A powerhouse with Herrscher-level potential, slain by an elementary schooler's dropkick.
Talk about dying with regrets.
"How many Primogems for killing an S-rank powerhouse?" Senti asked.
"1,000. But her gear sold for 1,500." Chen Luo explained.
"That's it? An S-rank's only worth pocket change?!" She looked offended.
Do you know how hard it is to kill a Herrscher-tier enemy? He killed one and this is the reward?
"My talent leans more toward fulfilling wishes and commissions. Maybe that's why I get less Primogems from killing." Chen Luo shrugged helplessly.
"Whatever. If you're fine, I'm going back to eat. My power is almost back to normal, but it feels like I can still eat, as if my upper limit has increased."
After confirming Chen Luo was unharmed, Senti waved and left.
"You're still eating dinner later, right?"
"Obviously. Spiritual sustenance and real food are completely different." Senti rolled her eyes at Chen Luo.
Once she was gone, Chen Luo turned back to his Primogems.
"I've got enough for 30 pulls now... Should I pull once to test my luck?" The sight of over 4,000 Primogems was tempting.
"No, no—save for 100 pulls. Then see if there is anything good." His rationality fought back.
"It's like playing Genshin Impact. You don't pull the moment you have Primogems. That's how you end up with garbage. After all, the pity system's a blessing and a curse." He clenched his fists, resisting the urge.
[Ding! Detected sufficient Primogem reserves. Limited-time event activated: First 10-pull during event receives a 0.1% discount!]
The talent panel's notification made him snort.
"Pathetic. A 0.1% discount saves me 16 Primogems. Who'd blow their savings for that?" Chen Luo smiled in contempt.
...
Yeah, that'd be me. It's me who can't save Primogems for the discount of 16 Primogems.
As his traitorous hand clicked the 10-pull button, despair washed over him.
Come on, 16 Primogems is more than you'd get stealing candy from three lolis! How could anyone resist?!
"Fuck!" The sea of blue and one purple light crushed his hopes before he even saw the results.
This crappy talent panel is screwing me over!
But he'd expected this. How could a 5-star gold item that was guaranteed at 100 pity be drawn by his first 10-pull.
His last 10-pull didn't count—that was the newbie guarantee.
Results:
5-star: None
4-star: Pet Egg (Non-Hatchable)
3-star: Universal Net ×5, Short-Range Tracking Talisman
2-star: Turbo Kart
1-star: Diamond Ring, Decoy Mines ×10
"Goddammit! Why so many Universal Nets?!"
Each net counted as a separate pull reward—so he'd gotten five of the damn things at once. He couldn't fathom why they'd cluster like this.
[Universal Net (Advance Version]
Can capture and subdue weak, sentient creatures.
As for the sole 4-star item, the pet egg...
[Pet Egg (ELF Limited Edition)]
Can hatch into a ELF, but requires infusion of soul, personality, or consciousness fragments. Otherwise, remains inert.
An egg that won't hatch? What's the point?!
Do I need to shove a soul into this thing to use it?
...Wait. Could the Herrscher of Sentience work?
His imagination ran wild—until his right eyelid started twitching violently.
Yeah, no. That might literally kill me.
"This egg might suit Klein, though... Wait, isn't she about to die? Then again, Mobius can probably create artificial lifeforms, so why bother..."
Chen Luo had some faith in Mobius's technical prowess, but the real question was whether she truly understood the nature of souls and consciousness transfer.
That said, there was no way Chen Luo would just hand over this priceless treasure—purchased for 1,600 Primogems—to Mobius for free. Not unless she offered a higher price.
"Today's been one hell of a ride." He sighed, marking the day with a comma rather than a period.[1]
Because who knew? The real excitement might come tonight.
You never knew which would arrive first—disaster or a new guest.
"Maybe I should stock the bar with playing cards and mahjong sets? Keep them entertained? The longer they stay, the more Primogems I can milk from them. Yeah, that's the move!" He slapped his thigh decisively and stepped out of the bar.
Let's just hope this place doesn't turn into a gambling den. Though honestly, what's the worst that can happen?
But the moment Chen Luo exited, his phone rang.
"Yun Xia?" His instincts tingled.
If he had to guess, this call was probably about… the War Angel.
Yvette, was it? He kept forgetting her name.
"Hello?" He answered.
"A'Luo, are you home yet?"
"Yeah, just got back. What's up?"
"So, since you're traveling this summer, you won't have time for summer homework, right?" Yun Xia asked.
"???" Good guy, you called just to ask about my homework?
"No big deal. Worst case, I'll say I lost it when school starts," Chen Luo replied casually.
"That's too risky. I've got a machine that auto-copies handwriting to finish assignments. I'll do yours while I'm at it."
"There's a machine for that? You hidden world people are something else." Chen Luo feigned shock.
"Also… have you been using this thing for all your homework?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Of course not! I'm an honor student—I'd never! I'm only doing this because you're traveling. Anyway, I'll send someone to pick up your assignments. Have them ready."
"Got it." Chen Luo nodded.
Even after she hung up, he stood there baffled.
He'd expected the call to be about Yvette, but summer homework? Something felt off.
His gut screamed this wasn't as simple as it seemed—but he couldn't pinpoint why.
"Ding-dong!" The doorbell rang.
"Fuck, that was fast?" Chen Luo jolted.
Despite his surprise at the efficiency, he calmly grabbed his backpack.
Holding it in his left hand, he checked the peephole before opening the door.
"Here for the homework?" He eyed the stranger warily.
This person was not one of Yun Xia's bodyguards.
Chen Luo sensed no energy fluctuations from the man, yet his instincts warned him—this guy was strong.
At least stronger than his own baseline combat ability.
"Yes." The black-suited man nodded, taking the offered backpack.
"Please verify all assignments are present." As he unzipped the bag, his gaze locked onto Chen Luo like a sniper's scope.
This didn't feel like a homework pickup. It felt like a prelude to murder.
Suppressing his unease, Chen Luo opened the bag to reveal a 10-centimeter-thick stack of summer worksheets across multiple subjects, then handed it back.
Only after the man left did Chen Luo exhale in relief.
Hostile, but didn't act.
What the hell was that about?
…
"Your Eminence, no anomalies detected. Subject is indeed a low-tier talent with minor wind energy traces—weaker than myself in combat assessment. No capacity to eliminate Lady Yvette. No signs of recent combat, no curse residues, and no traces of the Life Ring's signature."
After leaving the neighborhood, he tossed the backpack onto the passenger seat, the suited man reported via satellite phone, his tone reverent.
"Hm." A single grunt answered before the line went dead.
The caller stood atop a skyscraper, surveying the city below.
At the rooftop's edge beside him, a girl twirled a dragon-shaped jade pendant between her fingers.
"Your Eminence, now that it's proven Chen Luo's unrelated to Yvette's death, shouldn't compensation be due?" Yun Xia pocketed the pendant, she glared at the cardinal.
"Do you grasp the severity of provoking three S-rank talents at once? Especially when one of them unintentionally catalyzed Liu Wenxuan's talent? You know how he gets when enraged—he'd level the Vatican without blinking."
Though Yun Xia disliked talking about Yun Lian'er, if she learned of this?
She'd make Liu Wenxuan look tame.
Compared to herself, that one was the real Witch.
TL Note:
[1]: The comma metaphor here is a way to convey that Chen Luo sees this eventful day as unfinished business rather than a concluded matter.