Chapter 4

“You crazy lunatic!!!”

Methane is the primary component of gas, and when its concentration reaches a certain level, it will explode violently upon encountering an open flame.

So, at the moment the second bullet pierced the gas pipeline, a fireball erupted!

“Boom——!!!”

The intense reaction illuminated the entire room in an instant.

The scalding shockwave swept through, shattering distant cabinets and glass windows.

Not only that, but the raging flames surged through the air, igniting the sheets and curtains. The orange tongues of fire swiftly licked up, spreading along the flammable fabrics to all the wooden structures in the room.

And it was at this moment that the weirdness began.

In the face of the fierce flames and explosion, the shadows creeping around appeared to meet their nemesis, receding like a tide!

“You lunatic! You crazy lunatic!!!”

The Shadow Man yelled in anger while using his Shadow Power to shield himself from the flames and explosions.

He hadn’t anticipated such a wild stunt from his target right before completing the mission.

As someone responsible for intelligence and assassination tasks by the side of His Highness, the Shadow Man rarely revealed himself in front of others.

Most who had seen his face are no longer alive.

Moreover, due to the limitations of his extraordinary abilities, he never undertook missions during the day.

Even so, as a Third Stage Transcendent, the Shadow Man was certainly not someone an ordinary person could contend with.

But tonight, in this room.

Call it underestimating the enemy or showing mercy, he was caught off guard for a moment.

He never expected this kid to take such a reckless action.

Wasn’t he afraid of dying in the explosion too?! Right now, illuminated by the roaring flames, the Shadow Man squinted his eyes, his expression dark.

The black shadow that had originally guarded his body like armor was driven away by the firelight, slowly retreating like ink, revealing his slender body and pale face.

At the moment of the gas explosion, his power was significantly weakened by the flame; after all, shadows were most afraid of bright light.

Nevertheless, to comply with the orders of His Highness, he still managed to muster his strength to protect Lynn at the last moment.

On the other hand, his own defense was weak, leaving his body exposed to the air, but thankfully he had not been injured.

Without hesitation, he once again manipulated the nearby roaming shadows, attempting to slip into the darkness.

But before he could act, a calm voice reached his ears.

“Don’t move.”

Hearing this, the Shadow Man looked up.

The originally shadow-bound Lynn was free, gasping as he knelt on the ground, flames even licking at his clothes, while his revolver was steadily aimed at the Shadow Man.

Although he was dirty and battered, he grinned with excitement: “Guess what’s faster: your ability to control shadows or a bullet flying into your heart at 400 meters per second from less than five meters away?”

At this moment, without the time to summon his Shadow Power for defense, he was wide open, all fatal spots exposed to Lynn’s line of sight.

And there was one bullet left in the chamber.

For a Third Stage Transcendent, their body hadn’t reached the point of being able to withstand bullets.

“…”

The Shadow Man stared hard at Lynn.

The more than half a month of surveillance was intended to confirm intelligence and rule out the possibility of Lynn hiding powerful extraordinary items.

After all, he hailed from the Bartleyon Family, with a father who was a legendary marquess, and the family had deep roots.

And such a long period of calm not only made Lynn lose his vigilance but also led the Shadow Man to prematurely assume that the boy had become an ordinary person incapable of self-protection since that incident, merely surviving by petty theft.

So before coming tonight, he felt completely safe.

Little did he know, until the very last moment, this kid had not given up on the belief of turning the tables.

This made him very unwilling.

Clearly, under normal circumstances, if he went all out, he could easily eliminate a thousand or even ten thousand Lynns.

But today, he received orders from His Highness, and he had no choice but to take his life into account.

“If it weren’t for…”

The Shadow Man gritted his teeth, his voice low.

“What do you want to say?” Lynn suddenly frowned, somewhat impatient, “You want to say if it weren’t for underestimating the enemy, if it weren’t for protecting me, if you could go all out, this brat wouldn’t even have a chance to fight back?”

“…”

The Shadow Man didn’t answer.

But clearly, that was exactly what he thought.

“Idiot!” Lynn sneered, “You’ve been a Transcendent for so long, don’t you get it yet?”

“It’s not that the stronger always wins, but the one who wins is definitely stronger!”

This harsh shout made the Shadow Man’s pupils shrink.

The words Lynn just said echoed in his mind, stirring up a storm inside him.

After a moment, he closed his eyes and slowly lowered his head.

“I’ve learned my lesson.”

Lynn let out a slight breath of relief upon seeing this.

He’d casually blurted out some over-the-top lines, but it seemed he really got through to him. In fact, Lynn was also certain that the other side would definitely protect him in the instant of the explosion, which was why he dared to act so recklessly.

After all, judging from the other’s tone, it was clear he had a great respect for that lady, so he would stick to her orders and ensure his safety.

But Lynn, wanting to escape, didn’t have those concerns.

In fact, as an ordinary person, thinking about holding back in front of a Transcendent was truly the most foolish action.

After all, in a situation of being outmatched, all he could do was gamble his life.

At this moment, Lynn really wanted to kill him right here, but his finger just wouldn’t pull the trigger.

This guy wasn’t here to kill him; he was just there to take him to meet someone.

If he killed him, wouldn’t that simply offend another faction for no reason? Lynn couldn’t bear such consequences, especially since the guy had mentioned he had companions nearby.

“There’s a security office three hundred meters from this tavern. I just fired five shots, and with the gas explosion, it’s likely people have already been alerted, so the security team will be here soon enough.”

Lynn took a deep breath and made his final decision.

He was reminding the Shadow Man to leave quickly before the authorities arrived.

“You’re right.”

The Shadow Man spoke quietly.

Upon hearing this, Lynn felt a sense of relief, thinking his gamble with his life had paid off.

Thinking about it, together with the money he’d stolen from Carol, it should barely cover a ticket.

Lynn decided to run away as soon as this guy left.

But contrary to his expectations, the Shadow Man didn’t hurry to leave; after a few seconds of silence, he opened his eyes again.

This time, his gaze shifted to another direction, his tone helpless, “Stop watching the show; do you think you haven’t been humiliated enough tonight?”

Shit! Lynn cursed inwardly.

He really did have companions nearby! Just as Lynn braced himself, trying to look for another enemy, a melodious voice of a girl suddenly chimed in.

“Don’t look anymore, I’m right here, meow.”

Lynn froze, his pupils gradually widening.

How is that possible?

In his shocked gaze, the black cat originally held in the Shadow Man’s arms began to stretch out in a peculiar manner.

It kept growing bigger, gradually transforming into human form.

Moments later, a petite figure wearing tight leather and barefoot appeared out of thin air, kneeling on Lynn’s lap, floating lightly, giving no sense of weight.

The girl had porcelain-white skin and shoulder-length short hair, with pointed cat ears shaking in the parting of her hair.

She regarded Lynn curiously with her green slit pupils, her eyes sparkling as if she wanted to take a bite out of him.

“I never expected, as an ordinary person, you could achieve this level. So impressive!”

“Little Black? You…”

Lynn felt utterly despondent at this moment.

He finally understood that from the very beginning, he had unwittingly fallen into their hands like a toy.

Perhaps his earlier resistance seemed to them just childish playfulness.

From start to finish, there was no hope of winning.

“So, you see, I’m a girl. Stop calling me Little Black.” The girl in leather seemed somewhat displeased, leaping lightly into the air, “Let me introduce myself, I’m Afia, a Third Stage Transcendent who believes in ‘Abundance’.”

“And that guy over there, his name is Morris, he believes in—”

“No more chit-chat, hurry up and take him away while I clean up!”

Watching this blabbermouth almost spill everything, Morris shot Afia a glare and commanded.

However, Lynn was in no mood to remember any of that.

With a look of grief and anger, he exclaimed: “Little Black, I thought we were friends!”

“I’ve never let you go hungry, I even groomed you every day, scratched your chin, let you lay in my arms to sleep, I…”

Lynn recounted the warm moments they shared.

Thinking back, he did have a pretty comfortable time being with them, needing to worry about nothing at all.

It felt like he was the master.

Afia’s fluffy ears twitched a bit, seeming to soften.

“.Even when you were in heat last time, it was me who used my hand—”

“Pervert!!!”

By the time the realization hit, it was already too late.

Feeling Morris’s shocked gaze, Afia’s face bloomed with embarrassment and anger as she interrupted Lynn, her long tail swinging sharply across his face.

The blunt pain from the strike made Lynn’s vision darken, his consciousness slipping away.

In any case, the worst outcome after being captured would simply be death, and it’s better to have someone to share the blame with.

Who says social death isn’t still death? In the last second before losing consciousness, Lynn thought cunningly.