How to Use "Wrath"

Ring, ring-

Without warning, an alarm suddenly blared throughout the casino hall.

The gamblers remained oblivious, their eyes still glued to the hole cards in their hands.

The casino staff were the first to react. Without even having time to count the chips and cash piled on the tables, they decisively turned and ran for the staff passage.

"Hurry! The cops are here!!"

For an instant after those words, the noisy crowd fell silent. Then it erupted like a swarm of hornets.

"Who stole my big gold chain?!"

"Don't move! Nobody move! That's my money! I won it!"

"Piss off, that's obviously mine!"

"Old Li, come with me, quick!"

"Go where?! I've been losing all night, and I put everything I own on this hand, everything I own! If I win, I'll break even. If I just win..."

"Are you crazy?!"

"I owe hundreds of thousands to loan sharks! If I can't pay them back, I'm dead! Show the cards, hurry up and show them! Where are you all going? Get back here!"

At that moment, the casino hall seemed to become a lawless land. Smashing, robbing, stealing... the gamblers, red-eyed with bloodlust, showed every kind of ugly behavior imaginable.

As Su Bai passed the hall, he paused and glanced inside. He calmly looked away, his mind racing.

After we ran into the first wave of resistance at the casino entrance, we didn't encounter any more obstacles. That means Sister Hong knew she couldn't handle us, so she gave up trying to stop us.

Sister Hong isn't stupid, so she must have guessed that she's our target.

That leaves her with only two choices: hide or run.

If we search every room carefully and she's chosen to run, we definitely won't have enough time.

So if we want to catch Sister Hong, our only choice is to get ahead of her and block a route she might take. If we don't intercept her, we can go back and search every private room.

With that thought, Su Bai abruptly stopped, turned, and headed for the passage on the right. As he walked, he said,

"There are two hidden doors in the casino. One of them is at the back of the casino hall, and the passage leads straight outside. The other is next to the Heaven private room, and its passage leads to the basement parking lot. We're going to the second hidden door... yeah, it's the fourth room after turning right at the corner ahead. It's a passage disguised as a utility room."

Qingxue asked in puzzlement, "Brother Su Bai, how do you know where the casino's hidden doors are?"

"When I was looking through the Heavenly River International files last night, I found a 'structural design' file for this building in a hidden folder. It contained forty-three CAD floor plans, one for each floor. I spent some time committing them to memory."

Su Bai tapped his head.

Chu Ning strolled along behind them with her sword in hand and casually said, "If the first hidden door leads outside, shouldn't she take that one?"

Su Bai brushed her off. "Either way, it's a fifty-fifty chance. Let's try our luck."

He couldn't very well point at Chu Ning and tell her, It's because you two heroines made such a huge commotion. By now, the police who heard about it must have surrounded the building in force.

Taking the first hidden door would be walking straight into their gunsights.

As the police round up the fleeing gamblers for questioning, the casino at Heavenly River International is bound to come to light. Sister Hong manages the casino, so if she shows her face, she'll definitely be invited in for tea. Unless a donkey kicked her in the head, she won't choose the first hidden door.

Most importantly, I'm still carrying a gun and a grenade.

If the police catch me and question me, even jumping into the Yellow River won't wash me clean.

Assault with a weapon, illegal possession of arms-I can't afford either charge.

Even though I know Section Seven would get me out if I went in, it's still better not to go in at all if I can help it.

Being a Grave Keeper is exhausting, especially on a mission with two teammates who have 10 strength and 0 intelligence.

As Su Bai grumbled inwardly, he quickened his pace. He had just passed the corner when a gunshot rang out. Bang!

A bullet sped straight toward the space between Su Bai's brows.

Unable to dodge in time, Su Bai's expression changed abruptly.

At that critical instant.

Chu Ning sprang into action. Her petite body shot forward like lightning, leaving an afterimage as she reached Su Bai in an instant and raised her sword across her chest.

At the same time, the lightning elements dancing in the air gathered around her light sword like streams.

Boom!

After the thunderous report.

The bullet struck the sword precisely and embedded itself deep in the blade.

Chu Ning's expression remained calm, and she did not take a single step back.

Qingxue cried out anxiously, "Sister Chu Ning, are you all right?!"

"I'm fine." Chu Ning used the tip of her sword to lift her baseball cap slightly. Looking straight ahead, she said coldly, "Mission target spotted, codename 'Red.'"

The moment the words left her mouth.

Ten meters away, Sister Hong gave Su Bai and the other two a cold glance. She swiftly put away her pistol, pushed open the door to the low-voltage equipment room, and went inside. The crisp clatter of high heels striking the stairs in rapid succession rang out.

At that moment, Su Bai felt no relief at having escaped death. Instead, an emotion called "humiliation" welled up inside him.

From where he stood, he could see clearly that although the bullet had not pierced all the way through the blade, it had gone halfway through, leaving half of its silver-white tip exposed. That half of the bullet was only a few inches from the space between Chu Ning's brows.

If Chu Ning had not stopped the bullet in time, if the bullet had been a little more powerful, if... without a doubt, every imagined "if" would have ended in tragedy.

Only then did Su Bai truly feel afraid, but it was not his own death he feared. He feared someone else dying in his place.

The night did not thank the sun.

Those who stood lowly feared expectations placed upon them most of all.

Su Bai stared at the single door as it swung and creaked, his chest heaving. A fierce flame seemed to burn inside him, and his eyes gradually reddened. A few seconds later, as his breathing slowed, it slowly died out.

He looked down at Chu Ning, then at the sword in her hand. After a moment's silence, he slowly spoke in a tone sterner than he had ever used before:

"Next time something like this happens, don't stand in front of me again."

With that, Su Bai inserted a spare magazine, drew his gun and chambered a round, then stepped into the low-voltage equipment room and climbed the stairs.

If one ignored the pink dress he was wearing, the way he drew and loaded his gun, coupled with his steady, resolute stride, actually looked pretty cool.

The unsmiling Su Bai and the grinning Su Bai seemed like two entirely different people.

Chu Ning gazed at Su Bai's retreating figure, lost in thought. "So... that's how it is."

Qingxue stopped and turned around. "How what is?"

Chu Ning closed her eyes and frowned slightly. "Qingxue, I think I know why Su Bai can't use his Oracle."

Qingxue was utterly baffled. "Huh? Didn't Captain Li say it was because of his bloodline?"

"No, it has nothing to do with his bloodline." Chu Ning opened her eyes and spoke each word distinctly. "The real reason is that he... isn't angry enough yet."

Without enough anger to sustain him, he was not qualified to use "Wrath."

But human anger often came from recognizing and hating one's own helplessness.

As a student, Su Bai had a photographic memory, was exceptionally intelligent and mature, ranked near the top of his class, and had mastered all kinds of hacking techniques. Whatever he encountered, he could solve it with ease; he had never been powerless.

After stepping into the supernatural, Su Bai met Novelist and the little girl and was unwillingly drawn into the Hunter Guild incident. He finally realized that it was not that he had been so capable before, but that his horizons had been too narrow. And so he saw his own helplessness, began to hate it, and began to grow angry.

The "Wrath" flowing through Su Bai's body had also begun to awaken, little by little.

But what would this bring to the world?

Chu Ning's gaze was somewhat complicated as she murmured, "Was your decision... the right one?"

Gu Jiuge did not know, and neither did Li Ming.

No one knew.