Snatching the Protagonist's Soul Ring, Only to Get Bitten by a Snake on His Behalf?

The system prompt had barely faded when the warmth left behind by the Luck Deprivation Card in Su Hang's body surged outward along his meridians.

In the low-lying ground, the Mandala Snake that had been relentlessly pursuing Tang San suddenly stopped moving.

Its serpentine body coiled on the muddy earth, its fleshy crest trembling slightly.

Tang San had just raised his sleeve, preparing to seize the opportunity to fire a Sleeve Arrow, but the snake did not lunge at him again.

It turned around.

That ink-green snake head faced the high ground.

On the high ground, Su Hang stood at the edge of the rocky slope with Xiao Wu shielded behind him, her arms still clutching that small bundle.

The Mandala Snake flicked its tongue, its body crushing the grass blades as it adjusted its direction bit by bit.

Tang San's wrist froze in mid-air.

The sense of danger that had been pressing down on him just moments ago had receded significantly.

Yet, at the same time, another very uncomfortable feeling welled up.

This snake was clearly his target for his first spirit ring.

From discovering its tracks to his teacher judging its route, and then to him risking injury to stall the creature—everything should have proceeded according to his rhythm.

Now, however, the Mandala Snake had turned toward Su Hang.

Tang San retracted his Sleeve Arrow by half an inch, standing in the mud without giving chase.

Yu Xiaogang was leaning against a tree root, having just retreated from the edge of the poisonous mist.

Seeing the Mandala Snake turn, he paused for a moment before speaking instinctively.

"Su Hang, watch out!"

After the words left his mouth, Yu Xiaogang himself faltered.

Just moments ago, Su Hang had crushed his theories, and Xiao Wu had refused to intervene when asked.

Yet now that the Mandala Snake had turned toward the high ground and the danger had shifted there, he had still shouted that warning.

Su Hang heard him, but he did not turn back.

Xiao Wu's fingertips had already gone stiff.

She was more sensitive to the situation than Tang San or Yu Xiaogang.

The Mandala Snake wasn't just targeting Su Hang.

It was targeting her, too.

Serpentine spirit beasts were naturally sensitive to the aura of a Soft Bone Rabbit. Even though she had been suppressing her spirit beast origin, her emotional fluctuations had been too intense just now, causing a sliver of her aura to leak out.

Coupled with the luck attraction emanating from Su Hang, the snake now viewed them as the more pressing targets to attack.

Xiao Wu shifted half a step forward.

"Brother Su Hang, why don't I go and lure it away?"

"I'm fast; it won't be able to catch me."

Su Hang raised his hand to press down on her shoulder, pushing her back behind him.

"Stay put."

Xiao Wu bit her lip and did not rush forward again.

The System Panel popped open before Su Hang.

[Warning: The luck deviation for Tang San's first spirit ring has exceeded the critical threshold.]

[The ownership of the Mandala Snake opportunity is shifting toward the host's camp.]

[Cost triggered: Retaliatory hatred from the serpentine spirit beast.]

[Option 1: Continue to deprive Tang San of his first spirit ring opportunity; the Mandala Snake will prioritize attacking the host and Xiao Wu. Upon success, the quality of Tang San's first spirit ring opportunity will drop significantly, and the host will gain luck benefits.]

[Option 2: Abandon this deprivation; the Mandala Snake's hatred will flow back to Tang San, and Tang San will still have a chance to obtain the original opportunity.]

[Note: To intercept a protagonist's opportunity, one must bear the corresponding risks.]

Su Hang looked at these lines of text, tapping his fingers twice against his sleeve.

As expected.

The system wouldn't let him pick up a bargain for nothing.

With a protagonist's destiny like Tang San's, opportunities weren't just buns dropped on the ground that anyone could pick up by bending over.

If he wanted to snatch it, he had to shoulder a portion of the danger for Tang San.

The Mandala Snake turning toward him now was the price.

The pressure on Tang San's side had lessened.

The danger on Xiao Wu's side had increased.

Su Hang lowered his head and glanced at the girl behind him.

Xiao Wu did not hide far away; instead, she gripped his hem, her feet rooted to the spot.

She was afraid of death.

She had never pretended otherwise.

Yet, just moments ago, she had wanted to lure the snake herself.

All just so he wouldn't get hurt.

The hesitation in Su Hang's heart quickly dissipated.

Rewards could be earned later.

But since he had already pried open this starting line for Tang San, he could not let it close again.

What's more, Xiao Wu was already standing behind him.

If he retreated now, how could he expect this rabbit to feel secure clinging to his thigh in the future?

High up among the branches, Yue Guan paused behind a broad leaf.

He watched the movements of the Mandala Snake below, his fingertips tapping twice against a petal.

"Gui Mei, do you see the problem?"

Black mist clung to the tree trunk as it shifted to the other side.

"The Mandala Snake was wounded by Tang San just now; logically, it should continue to pursue Tang San."

Yue Guan continued.

"Yet it turned toward Su Hang instead."

"This does not align with the habits of soul beasts."

Gui Mei was silent for a moment.

"The cause and effect have been altered."

Yue Guan did not refute this.

He thought of that indestructible diary in the Pope Palace, and then of the Mandala Snake that Su Hang had written about in advance.

Now that the snake's aggro had shifted, it was difficult to explain it away as a coincidence.

There was some invisible power on Su Hang.

Furthermore, this power was pulling Tang San's path off course.

In the low-lying area, Tang San took half a step back, the wound on his shoulder still numb.

He did not rush forward.

The Mandala Snake shifting its target was a chance for him to catch his breath.

Yet, the feeling of being robbed grew heavier in his heart.

Su Hang had not come to watch the show from the beginning.

He was truly snatching.

Snatching the soul ring, snatching Xiao Wu, snatching the rhythm that should have belonged to him.

Tang San tucked a few fine needles back between his fingers, neither intervening nor offering a warning.

Yu Xiaogang saw that Tang San did not move; he raised his hand to stop him, then lowered it again.

The situation was already chaotic.

Rushing in rashly would only drag them into it as well.

At the edge of the high ground, the Mandala Snake began to climb.

It was not slow; its belly scraped against the rocky slope, kicking up loose soil.

Poisonous mist dispersed from its mouth, surging upward along the slope.

Xiao Wu tugged at the corner of Su Hang's clothes.

"Brother Su Hang, the poison is coming up."

Su Hang flipped his hand to retrieve the Basic Antidote Pill and stuffed it into her palm.

"Hold it in your mouth."

Xiao Wu took the pill but did not eat it immediately.

"What about you?"

"I don't need it."

"But it's coming for you."

"Then let it come."

Su Hang stepped forward.

Dark purple lightning spread out from beneath his feet, tearing a gap through the poisonous mist on the rocky slope.

Behind him, a pitch-black wing shadow unfurled halfway.

It was not a complete set of wings, merely a semi-ethereal projection of the Dark Demon Evil God Wings.

Yet, the moment that sinister pressure emerged, the Mandala Snake's body instantly coiled tight, its fleshy crest trembling even more violently.

Xiao Wu stood behind him, clutching a medicinal pill in her hand, feeling unexpectedly steady in her heart.

As long as Su Hang stood in front, she felt that this snake was not so terrifying after all.

Su Hang raised his right arm, the aura of the Chaos Thunder Shadow Dragon and the power of the Dark Demon Evil God Wings pressing down simultaneously.

The system prompt rang out once more.

[Host has chosen to continue the deprivation.]

[Tang San's first soul ring luck deviation progress: 50%.]

[Mandala Snake hatred locked onto the host's faction.]

Su Hang watched the Mandala Snake crawl up the rocky slope, his tone flat.

"My opportunities, I will take for myself."

"And as for my people, it is not a snake's place to touch them."

The Mandala Snake hissed, the entire patch of shrubbery exploding at once as poisonous mist completely sealed off the retreat for Su Hang and Xiao Wu.