Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring Advanced Firearms Mastery!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring Basic Medical Skills!
Critical Reward Triggered! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring Intermediate Medical Skills!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring Basic Danger Perception!
Critical Reward Triggered! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring Intermediate Danger Perception!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the Child of Destiny's cultivation technique: Art of the True Dragon, First Revolution!
Critical Reward Triggered! Congratulations, Host, for acquiring Nine Revolutions of the True Dragon!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, you've gained +50 Physique Points.
Ding! …
…
At this moment, Veil's mind was filled with a constant stream of system notifications. One reward after another rained down, each more generous than the last. It was as if the destiny that had once belonged to the so-called Child of Destiny had now been utterly ripped away—his bones crushed, his soul stripped bare.
Nearly every reward had been directly seized from Roy, or upgraded based on what had been taken from him.
Especially that Art of the True Dragon—already a rare martial cultivation technique on its own. But the upgraded version, Nine Revolutions of the True Dragon, was on an entirely different level—ferocious and overwhelming, its explosive power stacking like the devastating force of compounded strikes.
With nine stages in total, each revolution layered immense power upon the last. Just by cultivating the First Revolution, one could unleash 1.5 times the physical potential of the body. The Second Revolution promised a similar terrifying amplification.
Ding! System upgrade successful. Villain Points have been calculated. Please check the system panel.
System Panel:
Name: Veil Lancaster
Age: 25
Physique: 250
Charm: 99
Villain Points: 1,216,700
Cultivation Method: Nine Revolutions of the True Dragon (First Revolution: 1.5x Physique Boost. Second Revolution unlocks at 200,000 Villain Points)
Skills: Affinity LV8 (Group Affinity +80), Advanced Piano Technique, Advanced Tea Arts, Advanced Aesthetics, Disguise Technique, Advanced Firearms Mastery, Intermediate Danger Perception, Intermediate Medical Skills
Shop: Unlocked
Lottery Center: Unlocked (Each draw consumes 1,000 Villain Points)
Inventory: Photobook x1, Breeze Tissues +1 (used for 100 draws), Electric Massager +1 (broken)
Veil sucked in a sharp breath. Even he couldn't help the chill that ran down his spine as he stared at the interface.
Over 1.2 million Villain Points?
How much had he gained just by eliminating Roy?
Over a million?
So this… this is the system.
This… is the Child of Destiny?
Ding! New plot thread successfully integrated. Consumes 200,000 Villain Points. Would Host like to preview the storyline in advance?
"Yes."
Veil gritted his teeth as 200,000 points were instantly deducted. It hurt. He had worked so hard for those points, spent so much effort and energy, and yet it was only enough for an early glimpse at the next chapter of the plot.
Good thing he eliminated Roy—he'd earned over a million points from that alone. Otherwise, who knew how long he'd have to slave away to save that amount?
A warm stream of information began flowing through his mind.
It was the plot arc of a miracle doctor descending the mountain. And the timeline was fast approaching. In fact, it was likely that the next Child of Destiny had already arrived in Veyport City!
The only silver lining?
This new 'Child of Destiny' seemed to still be in their early growth stage—not particularly strong yet. At best, they might barely rival Roy's level.
To Veil, that meant one thing: easy prey.
And as for the curvaceous female assassin who had just appeared on the mountain, Veil had a good idea who she was.
Blood Mandala.
One of the top three ranked assassins on the global kill list. Proud. Lethal. Carried the honor of a top-tier killer like a badge on her heart.
No wonder she was worth at least 50,000 Villain Points.
Wait… no.
The system had upgraded.
Even the lottery now required 1,000 points per draw. How could such a high-level character still be valued at only 50,000?
Probably far more.
"Young Master…"
Kai stood nearby, watching Veil alternate between thoughtful silence and eerily cold grins. He felt a strange chill crawl up his back and quietly called out.
His head was still buzzing with disbelief. Roy… actually died at the hands of his young master?
Even with both his legs shattered from gunfire, Roy's final deathblow had still been horrifying—an attack that could've left even Kai himself critically wounded or worse.
But under Veil's hand… Roy had died so cleanly, so… unnaturally.
It was almost unreal.
Veil turned, taking the submachine gun from Kai's hands.
Now armed with Advanced Firearms Mastery courtesy of the system, Veil's control over the weapon was already on par—if not far beyond—that of Kai and his men.
With Intermediate Danger Perception active, he immediately sensed three sources of threat. Two of them seemed linked together.
He raised his weapon, aimed toward a dense thicket in the forest, and unleashed a storm of bullets.
Kai and the others followed suit without hesitation.
Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat!
Two shrill screams pierced the air.
Moments later, Kai and the others dragged out two corpses riddled with bullet holes—assassins who had just climbed back up from the cliff to search for Roy's body.
It was Withered Spring and Shortfoot Seven.
Intermediate Danger Perception had far surpassed Roy's rudimentary version. Not only could Veil sense threats, he could now roughly judge their direction and intent.
With such wide coverage from automatic fire, how could a few hidden killers possibly evade?
Then, Veil's gaze shifted toward another patch of forest. He let out a cold snort.
"Roy is dead. No one is allowed to leak what happened here. Not even Kosdy Murphy. If you value your life, crawl back where you came from. Otherwise—don't blame me for unloading this magazine on you."
That threatening presence—the chill crawling up his spine—was almost tangible.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Veil sprayed a burst into a nearby shrub. He wasn't trying to kill—just a warning.
Blood Mandala, huh?
Proud, are you?
Then I'll crush that pride underfoot. And if stepping on it isn't enough, I'll spit on it too.
Sooner or later, you'll be mine. Whether it's on the battlefield, in bed, or anywhere else.
A woman that deadly… what if she ran after losing?
An assassin of her caliber, once on the move, could vanish without a trace. Even Veil might not be able to track her down in time.
So instead—provoke her. Leave a mark. Make her remember.
He'd wait. Like a hunter by the rabbit hole.
Moments later, that eerie feeling faded.
She was gone.
Veil gave a glance toward the forest, knowing Blood Mandala had retreated.
After instructing Kai and the others to clean up the scene, Veil turned and made haste in the opposite direction.
There was something else he needed to do. Something far more important.
And deep inside… a creeping unease had taken hold.
Fear?
Yes. Even someone like him could feel it.
Veil moved at breakneck speed, unleashing nearly the full potential of his 250 physique points.
He even considered activating the first transformation of Nine Revolutions of the True Dragon just to travel faster.
His heart was pounding with anxiety, waves of dread crashing against his chest, one after another.
Without hesitation, he charged toward the mountain where Saoirse had been, sprinting like a madman. After roughly ten minutes, he arrived at the previous location—only to find it empty.
Saoirse was gone.
Frowning, Veil pulled a pair of binoculars from the system backpack and began scanning the vast Mangdang Mountains.
Scattered corpses littered many of the valleys and ridges below. He searched for a long while, eyes tense and unwavering, until finally, in one blood-soaked location teeming with casualties, he spotted a familiar figure.
It was Saoirse.
Veil immediately tossed the binoculars back into the backpack and resumed his furious dash.
Ten more minutes passed. Drained from the exertion, Veil finally arrived.
Saoirse stood in the middle of the battlefield, her expression dark and grim as she directed incoming members of the Black Dragon Society to begin clearing the area.
The scale of the casualties had gone far beyond anything she anticipated.
Even for the Black Dragon Society, this kind of blow was almost unbearable.
Roy had gone completely insane.
How could he kill so many people without flinching? He was more beast than man—pure, unfeeling malice.
"Move all injured members of the Black Dragon Society. Full financial assistance will be provided. Get them the best medical treatment available.
As for the fallen… we will not abandon their families. We will take care of them, all of them!" Saoirse declared, her voice steady and commanding.
She knew it would take more than promises to soothe the chaos, but this was a start.
To rally the Black Dragon Society under her leadership, she would have to shoulder the cost—even if it meant paying a fortune.
Then a familiar voice called out behind her.
"Saoirse!"
She turned, startled, only to see Veil standing there, eyes red, breath ragged.
"Why the hell are you here?" he barked as he strode toward her, his expression ice-cold. "I told you to stay where it was safe!"
Saoirse frowned, unconvinced. "So many members of the Black Dragon Society were slaughtered. You expect me to do nothing?"
"And what could you have done if Roy came back?" Veil shouted. "You think you could've stopped him? That man's a monster—cold-blooded, ruthless! What if you had died?! What the hell would I have done then?!"
"You only think about your people. Did it ever occur to you to think about yourself?"
His voice cracked with fury, but buried beneath the rage was pure, unfiltered fear.
Saoirse opened her mouth to argue, then paused.
For some reason, seeing Veil like this—completely unguarded, trembling from anxiety—brought a strange warmth to her chest.
He was afraid. Not for himself, but for her.
Was she… more important to him than she thought?
"I… I'm fine. You don't need to worry." Her voice softened, eyes lowering. "Give me a second."
She turned back to the field and began barking orders at the arriving members.
"Do exactly as I said. Get the injured to the private hospital. Wipe down the scene. Not a single trace left behind."
From the earliest days of the Black Dragon Society, they'd faced countless turf wars. Casualties were part of the game.
To avoid attention, Saoirse's family had funded a private hospital over a decade ago.
Now, it was one of Veyport City's most renowned private medical centers.
After wrapping up the arrangements, Saoirse quietly reached for Veil's hand and led him deeper into the mountain.
They didn't speak.
Only when they arrived at a secluded cave did she finally stop and turn toward him, pouting faintly.
"There were so many people back there… I'm still the young lady of the Black Dragon Society, you know. I have authority to maintain. You treating me like some delicate girl in front of everyone isn't very… appropriate."
"You know exactly why I did it." Veil's tone was stern. "Why didn't you listen? This place is dangerous. What if something happened to you?"
He didn't point out the holes in her logic, either—"Don't act like that in front of others" clearly implied something else entirely for when they were alone.
Veil chose to let it slide.
Saoirse gripped his hand tighter. "I knew what I was doing. I only came down when I saw Roy disappear into the mountains."
"Did you get hurt? Are you bleeding?" Veil's face turned serious again as he stepped forward, carefully checking her over.
Saoirse squirmed under his touch, cheeks tinged red, but she couldn't bring herself to stop him.
Suddenly, Veil's eyes widened. "Saoirse, you're bleeding!"
"I am not!" she snapped, hugging herself and leaning against the rock. "Stop being dramatic!"
But she couldn't help rolling her eyes—this man was too much.
One minute, he was worried sick. The next, he was… taking liberties.
Unrepentantly misbehaving.
A minute passed.
Saoirse was gritting her teeth, trying to resist, pushing him away with soft, half-hearted scolding.
Three minutes later, her resistance had all but faded. Her eyes shimmered with warmth, filled with tenderness and longing.
Veil had shown her a side no one else had seen.
No matter how much Saoirse tried to bury her feelings, she couldn't deny the warmth swelling in her chest.
In the end, how could she refuse?
Two hours later…
...
"Ding! Congratulations, Host has gained +1000 Villain Points."
"Ding! Bonus Reward! Host has gained +2000 Villain Points."
The anxiety in Veil's chest finally melted away.
He had been terrified.
He feared that the death of a Child of Destiny might erase the plotline entirely, rendering all villain points invalid.
But clearly, that wasn't the case.
A Child of Destiny was a Child of Destiny.
A Daughter of Destiny was a Daughter of Destiny.
Each possessed their own fate—distinct, untangled, and calculable.
Which meant… even the things he hadn't gotten around to yet weren't lost.
He could finish them later and still reap the rewards.
Besides… for the sake of accumulating more villain points, he would have to continue his efforts.
Not for pleasure, of course.
Purely for the value.
Although… there were definitely some exciting perks to doing it in a forest compared to at home.
If you counted "thrill" as a perk, that is.