Exposure

"That way, not only could he avoid exposing himself, but even if he were discovered, no one would suspect him. He could also eliminate this potential future threat."

Erbi Mengbilia hoped he could complete the mission. If he failed, he knew how terrifying Dormammu's methods were. Just thinking of the consequences made him shudder in fear.

Under a streetlamp, a young man's face twisted with rage. Reeking of alcohol, with no idea how much he had drunk, he frantically kicked the lamp post. Passersby who saw him thought he was some kind of lunatic and kept far away.

This young man was the one who had seen Chen Xu and Dina chatting happily at Kamar-Taj and attacked Chen Xu. Deeply hurt by Chen Xu and Dina's words, he had chosen to drown his sorrows in alcohol. His name was Wade.

"Damn it, Chen Xu, Dina, you should both die! Sooner or later, I'll make you pay. I'll make you suffer the consequences. I'll send you to hell!"

Wade cursed as he kicked the lamp post with all his strength, utterly ignoring his foot as if it did not belong to him.

"Do you want revenge?"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from nowhere.

"Who? Who's talking? Stop playing tricks and come out!"

"Do you want revenge? Revenge against those who angered you and looked down on you?"

"Yes. As long as you can help me get revenge, I'll give you anything you want."

At that moment, a shadow slowly emerged from a dark corner, clad in a black robe like a messenger from hell.

"Who exactly are you? A human? A ghost? A demon? Or something else..."

"You don't need to know who I am. You only need to know that I can give you power and let you take revenge."

"Fine. As long as you can help me take revenge and send them to hell, I'll give you anything you want."

In an instant, a stream of purplish-black energy entered Wade's body.

A red mark appeared on Wade's forehead, then vanished moments later. Afterward, Wade seemed to lose his mind.

"Yes, you must take revenge. Take revenge on those who caused you pain. No matter what methods you use, even if you cannot defeat them, you must use self-destruction to avenge yourself. Take revenge at any cost." The black-robed man's words seemed to carry magic as they echoed beside Wade's ears.

Wade unconsciously repeated the words.

"Take revenge at any cost. Even if I have to self-destruct, I'll kill them."

"Yes, exactly. At any cost."

Then Wade walked toward Kamar-Taj like a living corpse.

After seeing Wade leave, the black-robed man revealed his face.

That was right. This black-robed man was Erbi Mengbilia. He had originally intended to go to the New York Sanctum to find Dina and the others, planning to deceive them into killing Chen Xu. What he had not expected was that the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, was there as well. The sight had made Erbi Mengbilia's hair stand on end, forcing him to abandon the plan. He had intended to go to Kamar-Taj first and lure Chen Xu outside Kamar-Taj to kill him. Yet when he arrived at Kamar-Taj, he discovered that Chen Xu had not returned at all and had no idea where he had gone. This turn of events nearly drove Erbi Mengbilia mad with rage.

Just as he planned to return to the Sanctum he guarded and wait for another opportunity, he accidentally heard someone calling Chen Xu on the way back. When he entered the mirror dimension to see who it was, he found the drunken Wade beneath the streetlamp, venting his rage and hatred toward Chen Xu and Dina. He did not know who Dina was, but knowing Chen Xu was enough. More importantly, Wade harbored incomparable fury toward Chen Xu and was filled with negative energy. Such people were the easiest to deceive, and this made Erbi Mengbilia incredibly excited.

The troubles of the previous moment vanished completely. He directly injected dark energy into Wade's body. Even if Wade could not defeat Chen Xu, he could use self-destruction to ambush him. It might not kill Chen Xu, but it would make him pay a price.

As for Wade, who would die in that self-destruction, what did that have to do with him?

Erbi Mengbilia looked toward Kamar-Taj and sneered. "Chen Xu, just wait and see. I hope you'll like the gift I prepared for you. Hahaha."

He then opened a portal and walked toward the New York Sanctum with an evil grin.

And just like that, a ticking time bomb aimed at Chen Xu had been planted.

As for Chen Xu, he was currently eating at an upscale restaurant in New York. He truly could not stand Kamar-Taj's food anymore. It was all vegetarian. They were clearly sorcerers, yet they insisted on eating like monks. Chen Xu had only been there for a few days, but he had already had enough.

So, taking advantage of this opportunity to assess Tina, he slipped out to improve his meals and treat himself.

As Chen Xu enjoyed the delicious food, the thought of having to return—and being unable to avoid returning—filled him with frustration. Going back meant eating vegetarian food again. The very thought made him nauseous, so he immediately lowered his head and continued eating, afraid the food would run away.

Naturally, Chen Xu knew nothing about what had happened to Wade. Completely unaware of the crisis about to descend upon him, he continued enjoying the food with a blissful expression.

The next day, after sleeping at the hotel, Chen Xu returned to Kamar-Taj. Even as he left, he could not stop thinking about the hotel's luxurious Simmons bed.

After returning to Kamar-Taj, Chen Xu did not go straight back to his dormitory. Instead, he plunged directly into the library and did not come out again. This rendered the contingencies Erbi Mengbilia had left in Chen Xu's dormitory completely useless. Erbi Mengbilia's magical contingencies had a time limit because he feared they would be discovered by the sorcerers who regularly inspected the dormitories.

If Erbi Mengbilia could see this right now, Chen Xu would probably anger him enough to make him cough up blood. He might even perish together with Chen Xu on the spot and kill the brat himself.

After the hidden Wade heard from his instructor that Chen Xu had returned, the red mark on his forehead flashed briefly. He immediately stood and walked toward Kamar-Taj.

It was currently class time, and the instructor called after Wade from behind.

"Wade, what are you doing? It's class time. You aren't allowed to leave without permission."

But Wade acted as if he had not heard, doing as he pleased and making the instructor somewhat angry.

"Wade, if you leave now, don't come back."

Even in the face of the instructor's words, Wade remained unmoved. Like a man possessed, he headed toward Kamar-Taj—or more precisely, toward Chen Xu.

Inside the library.

"Wong, do we have any other magic books?" Chen Xu closed the magic book in his hands and asked Wong.

"What? Don't tell me you've finished every book here? There are over a thousand books, and some of them are extremely difficult to understand. You can't just read the words; you need to understand them too. Otherwise, reading through them once is completely useless."

Wong, the sorcerer from the Sanctum, stared at Chen Xu in shock. He had finished more than a thousand books? Who was he trying to fool?

"Don't worry. I've not only read them all, I understood them all too."

Wong did not believe him, leaving Chen Xu feeling helpless.

"Really. Please believe me."