Chapter 53: Firefly to the Bright Moon (Revision)

Bang—!!!

The bar's door had never been sturdy, merely a showy entrance, and it was crudely kicked open from the outside with a single foot.

The huge noise even caused the frenzied music to stutter for a moment, and the revelers instinctively turned their gaze toward the doorway.

The screams that had just come from outside weren't unnoticed, but in a Slum such scenes of brawls and even street killings are commonplace.

Yet few have the nerve—or rather the fate—to be so brazen as to kick the door open outright.

Chi Jinan's figure slowly emerged through the gaping doorway, his surrounding aura a bone‑chilling, icy killing intent that clashed starkly with the bar's psychedelic, decadent atmosphere.

His jet‑black eyes swept the room quickly, and upon seeing the figures whose hair was dyed crimson, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, all dancing in chaotic revelry, he immediately furrowed his brows.

Chi Jinan:......

At that moment, his eyes seemed to be assaulted by a barrage of colors......

"Hey! Kid! Who the hell are you? Do you even know the rules here?!"

A hulking man with a crest‑like rooster head, his whole body covered in tattoos, surrounded him with a few underlings, their swagger fierce as they tried to give the uninvited guest a taste of their color.

In front of Chi Jinan there were not only multicolored hairs but also a chaotic spray of flashing lights, instantly stirring a wave of irritation within him.

He rubbed his throbbing temples, ready to, just as he had cleared the trash outside the door moments ago, casually swat away the noisy flies before him and tidy up the battlefield in advance.

But before Chi Jinan could act, a trembling voice suddenly rose from behind the crowd.

"Stop—stop! All of you, get the hell out of my way!"

It was a middle‑aged man whose hair was dyed in a riot of colors like a spilled palette, wearing a comically bright leather jacket; he scrambled forward, face awash with terror and sweat.

He was one of the local big‑shots, nicknamed "Cai Mao Ge".

He clearly knew more than the others, instantly recognizing Chi Jinan—or rather, the iconic red hair and the terrifying legend that accompanied it.

"Judge Chi! I'm blind as a bat! My subordinates are clueless, please don't take offense!"

Cai Mao Ge bowed his head and waist, his body nearly bent at ninety degrees, as if desperate to kneel on the spot, while frantically gesturing with his eyes and hands for the still‑confused underlings to retreat as far away as possible.

Judge!

Only the madmen of the Heresy Tribunal could be addressed that way.

The previously swaggering underlings fell silent, scurrying like quails into the bar's corners, especially those who had just leapt out, shouting they'd teach Chi Jinan a lesson.

Chi Jinan didn't even bother lifting an eyelid; it was best if no one blocked his path, and his objective was crystal clear.

His gaze scanned the bar's layout, seeking the source of that earlier stare; Chi Jinan moved through the crowd that automatically cleared a path, stepping toward the small storage room at the back of the bar.

"Squeak—"

He leapt forward with a kick, forcefully slamming the door open.

Inside the storage room, a figure stood with its back to him, bent over as if rummaging through the floor.

Hearing the door, the person straightened up and turned around.

A head of blinding Ying Guang Lu short hair was the first thing that caught his eye.

The other wore a tattered T‑shirt with exaggerated, bizarre prints that seemed to have been pulled from some forgotten corner, a leather vest studded with rivets, and a few metal chains dangling from his pants.

His attire was no different from the crazed revelers outside, yet appearing in this filthy, chaotic storage room made him seem oddly out of place.

However, when Chi Jinan's gaze met the slowly turning eyes, his pupils contracted imperceptibly.

Gold.

They were a pair of hollow golden eyes.

Not long ago, the master with the same golden eyes had thrilled him with utterly crushing artillery fire.

It wasn't mere firepower suppression; it contained true annihilation.

Where the artillery passed, the air seemed to burn, and in that instant death clutched his throat with stark reality.

In all these years, it was his first time feeling this way.

It wasn't provocation or confrontation, but a complete, pure—life‑threatening—sense.

He pursued not to capture, but to personally destroy the being that had let him taste "annihilation".

But... the aura.

The energy fluctuations on this green‑haired kid were pitifully weak, like a freshly awakened Aberrant Arts novice you'd see everywhere in Tianmian City, perhaps even weaker than a novice.

Compared with the ferocious, refined, destructive energy he'd just experienced, this was like a firefly to a bright moon.

Chi Jinan's boiling murderous intent burst like a balloon pierced by a fine needle, hissing as it deflated, leaving only a hollow sense of absurdity.

He stared intently at Ying Duo's hollow golden eyes for several seconds, seemingly trying to detect any hint of disguise, but found only void.

"Tch."

Chi Jinan let out an extremely contemptuous snort, feeling he was merely wasting time.

Was he fooled by that person's illusion?

The time he'd lingered here was enough for that person to slip into a corner he couldn't locate.

Chi Jinan didn't even bother offering a superfluous question or warning; he turned cleanly, retraced his steps, and vanished into the even more chaotic night beyond the door.

Inside the storage room, Ying Duo innocently blinked his untroubled golden eyes, watching the star‑like intruder's sudden arrival and swift departure, his face still expressionless, like a delicate doll.

But he had to admit today, the game's freedom level is truly high.

One second he saw that red‑haired NPC outside the window, the next he was charging straight to the door.

It was still his first time receiving a system 【Stealth】 failure notice.

But without that sudden prompt, he'd never have known that merely glancing at the NPC through a vent had precisely revealed his position to the other side.

Fortunately, his hand was swift; he quickly stripped the disguise from his hair, removed the facial mask, and grabbed a random set of clothes from the box to change into.

He had originally intended to play the innocent passerby and say a few words, but the other side barely glanced at him, treating it as routine, and turned away after a glance.

His danger seemed to have been resolved.

Ying Duo gently lifted the slightly warped iron door, sealing off all the NPCs outside who had cast curious glances inward.

He leaned against the cold wall, summoned the system map again, and the glowing arrow pointing to the stronghold stayed steady.

Ying Duo needs to leave here as soon as possible.

That red‑haired NPC feels too dangerous; Yang Yixie even began to doubt that the next part will have us try to sneak away through that red‑haired subordinate, right?