Chapter 294: An Bo

Wu Chang emerged from the glass, standing before An Bo, observing the lifeless world around him.

Interesting—beneath his very eyes, the classroom building concealed an entire hidden inner world.

Since An Bo mentioned someone wanted to kill her, Wu Chang had carefully investigated the previous attacks with his colleagues.

As An Bo said, the students she attacked rarely interacted with her normally, and their behavior before and after the attacks showed no difference.

No motive, no warning, no memory afterward.

If all of it was true, the answer was obvious—these children had been controlled.

Wu Chang initially assumed the controller was a person; he scoured the classroom building during class and questioned everyone who might have interacted with Dean, but found nothing.

When he prepared to find An Bo again during recess, he turned around and discovered she was gone.

Fortunately, after the fall incident, he had used Solidify the Illusory to manifest a miniature drone that had been following An Bo closely to prevent accidents.

Following the drone's last location, Wu Chang arrived at the edge of the corridor's girls' restroom, where he realized the controller wasn't a person—but this mirror inside the restroom.

Or rather, all the mirrors in the entire school.

The composition of the mirror world was bizarre—it wasn't pure spatial magic, nor was it mysticism; Wu Chang's Break-Magic Eyes and spatial magic could only sense its existence, but couldn't enter it.

In the end, he called in Eileen, and together they broke the outer seal of the mirror world, allowing Wu Chang to squeeze inside using his ability to manipulate the inner world.

But more importantly, they broke through in time because the mirror world's seal had suddenly weakened.

According to Eileen, spatial magic couldn't enter the mirror world because what lay inside wasn't a simple realm—it resembled a mental world.

Eileen weakened the mirror world's seal by using Light Purification and other magics, reducing its psychic attacks.

And the mirror world weakened because An Bo, trapped inside, showed a will to transcend herself.

Thinking of this, Wu Chang rubbed An Bo's head in the corner and said:

"You've tried hard enough—leave the rest to me."

An Bo had been holding her expression together, but now, comforted, she shrank further into herself, burying her face in her arms.

Wu Chang turned to face Grace, who had risen from the ground, his tone filled with anger.

"Let me see what kind of ghost is pretending to be something, tormenting my daughter."

Grace rose from the ground, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed:

"I've always loved you so much—why must you hurt me now that you have a fiancée?"

Wu Chang:?

You can eat anything, but don't speak nonsense—how can you make it sound like I ever liked you?

Feeling An Bo's strange gaze beside him, Wu Chang clenched his fist and swung it at Grace.

Grace's resentment deepened; her pale face turned purple-black. She crawled backward on all fours like a spider, climbing up the wall to dodge Wu Chang's punch.

Then Grace moved rapidly along the walls; Wu Chang dared not chase, instead backing against the corner to shield An Bo.

Grace darted forward swiftly, catching Wu Chang off-guard, lunging from a blind spot straight at him.

Wu Chang's eyes flashed—he unleashed a hidden uppercut—but just before it reached Grace's chin, she halted mid-air, executed a perfect backflip, landed, and instantly retreated to the restroom's depths, crouching in the corner and staring coldly at the two.

The corrupted Grace moved at incredible speed—her agility was estimated near 20 points, more than double Wu Chang's.

Though Wu Chang was skilled in combat, his techniques were too frail against absolute stats.

As long as Grace chose to dodge, even if she waited until the fist neared her face, she could still evade in time.

Wu Chang glanced at the crack he'd smashed into the glass—it was slowly healing itself, as if determined to trap them forever in the mirror world.

An Bo behind him also noticed the mirror's anomaly; her eyes filled with guilt as she gently tugged Wu Chang's sleeve.

Wu Chang reached back and patted An Bo's head, signaling her not to worry.

"Don't worry—it can't hurt me. I'll get you out first."

Just as Wu Chang prepared to send An Bo out first, Grace shot from the restroom's depths, screaming:

"Don't look at other women in front of me! None of you are leaving!"

Feeling the shadow rushing toward him, Wu Chang's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile.

Only a mechanism monster can defeat a stat monster.

He didn't even look at the lunging Grace—he shouted:

"Man!"

Grace's flying kick carried tremendous force—her speed combined with the power of a bare-fisted boxer made it equivalent to being hit by a car in the city.

Such a powerful kick sent Wu Chang flying backward, his body arching in the air.

What immense force—I can't imagine how An Bo ever escaped this monster before.

Wu Chang's body was kicked backward, but his elbow didn't fly—he used his elbow to anchor himself, forcibly halting his backward momentum. Under Grace's disbelief, his iron elbow traced a horizontal arc and smashed into her face.

The next instant, Grace was flung backward, rolling three times before stopping.

An Bo watched anxiously and asked: "Xiao En, are you alright…?"

Wu Chang brushed off the shoe print on his chest and smiled: "I'm fine—I've taken heavier flying kicks on the ring."

His transmutation skill, "Knight Never Dies by Bare Hands," stores his excess energy daily and converts it into a shield, with a maximum value of three times his Energy stat.

With the Abyssal Giant Snake's enhancement, his Energy value is 38—now he has a shield equivalent to 114 HP.

Nothing can harm him until the shield shatters.

Thinking of this, he gave Grace an apologetic look.

Sorry—I don't just have a mechanism; my stats aren't bad either.

The upgraded Mamba Iron Elbow not only extends control duration but also strengthens its effect.

Grace lay on the ground for over ten seconds, still feeling weak, her vision blurred, blood continuously pouring from her nose.

She staggered to her feet, her vision severely impaired, nearly blind, and whispered to Wu Chang:

"Kill you both—I'll make you stay here with me forever."

Limping, she made her way toward Wu Chang and An Bo. Five meters took her a long time—half a minute, or a full minute?

During this period, Wu Chang did not pursue. The control effects on her were gradually weakening, which made Grace very excited.

You really think you've got it in the bag? Just wait—once she recovers, she'll show the two of them what she's really capable of.

When she was one meter from Wu Chang, her eyes could already vaguely make out some things. Squinting, she saw the expressions on Wu Chang and An Bo's faces.

It wasn't wariness, nor anger. Wu Chang's eyes were full of mockery, while An Bo wore a look of surprise.

Why?

She noticed An Bo's gaze switching back and forth between her and something behind her. Following An Bo's line of sight, she turned and looked, and saw that on the spot where she had been elbowed away earlier, a human figure was still lying there.

Damn! It had actually been elbowed out of its possessed body!

It could not leave its body.

It turned to return to its vessel, but heard Wu Chang's voice from behind.

"I'll return those words to you—don't stare at someone else in front of me."

It spun around hastily, only to see an elbow growing ever larger in its eyes.

"Man!"

This time, Wu Chang did not hold back. He threw repeated heavy punches at the human figure shimmering with silver mirror-light before him. A minute later, amid the figure's screams, the mirror world collapsed, and Wu Chang and An Bo returned to the real world.

The moment they returned, Eileen quickly walked over and pulled them into her arms.

"Welcome back."

Nestled in Eileen's embrace, An Bo grabbed Eileen's arm with her hand. At first she wanted to struggle free, but in the end she didn't exert any force.

After a brief moment of warmth for the little family, hearing pained groans from not far away, they remembered—there was still one more person on the field.

Grace.

Grace, with blood streaming from her nose, slowly pushed herself up from the ground and muttered, "So dark, who turned off the lights? My face hurts so much, what happened?"

Wu Chang scratched his head. After An Bo had escaped the crisis, the possessed person would only sustain trivial injuries even from fatal blows, so when he struck he hadn't thought to hold back.

Who knew the Mamba Iron Elbow was so effective—not only did one elbow knock the eerie mirror-dweller out, it also brought the damage to Grace out of the mirror world along with it.

Oh no, hurry and get her to the medical room!

Although the Mamba Iron Elbow had brought the damage out of the mirror world, Grace, like the others before her, did not retain her memories from inside the mirror world.

Her memory only lasted until she left the bathroom stall; everything after that, she remembered nothing of.

According to Wu Chang, she had stepped on pooled water and slipped while leaving the bathroom, falling face-first onto the ground and knocking herself out. Fortunately, An Bo had happened to pass by and discovered her, called Wu Chang, and they had carried her to the school medical room just in time.

Upon learning that it was Wu Chang who had carried her to the school medical room, Grace's face broke into a lovesick smile, and she didn't bother asking for any further details.

Grace saw that An Bo had stayed behind to wait for her to recover. When An Bo was about to leave the medical room to go to class, Grace called out to her and said:

"Thank you for helping me. I can tell you're not actually what everyone says you are."

An Bo's body stiffened for a moment, and she nodded to Grace with her back turned, feeling a little guilty.

"You're welcome, it was the right thing to do."

Although Grace believed Wu Chang's story, An Bo herself was clear: Grace had been drawn into the mirror world because of her, and Grace's injuries were also because of Xiao En.

She had neither helped out, nor was she worthy of thanks.

Grace continued, "Next rest day, can I find you to hang out together?" A look of hesitation crossed An Bo's face—she wanted to agree, but was hesitating over something.

Just as she was about to speak, Wu Chang cut in first: "Of course, classmate Grace. I've always thought you were especially mature and steady. I hope you can take An Bo out more often."

An Bo tried to protest, but Wu Chang pushed her toward the door of the medical room. "Classmate Grace, you take your time recovering. I'll take An Bo back to class first."

After the two left, Grace was left behind, giggling foolishly and muttering, "Hehe, he said I'm mature."

Outside the medical room, An Bo wrinkled her nose and said unhappily, "Meddling busybody."

Wu Chang replied indifferently, "You need to interact more with people your own age. Come on, let's get back to class. If you dawdle, I'll have to carry you into the classroom to report in, you know."

"Don't!" An Bo's face went pale at the words, and she fled in a hurry.

After running a few steps, she stopped at the stairwell, turned back, and said softly, "Thank you for keeping your promise."

Wu Chang picked at his ear, cupped his hand behind it, and asked, "Huh? What did you say?"

"I said thank you!" An Bo shouted at the top of her lungs, then fled toward the classroom as if running for her life.

!

Wu Chang shook his head and said with a smile, "This kid—doesn't she know running is forbidden inside the office building?"

"You have successfully protected An Bo, causing her to no longer completely deny herself, and letting her be certain that she is not purely a perpetrator."

"You have gained partial recognition from An Bo. An Bo's current recognition value toward you is: 20 points."

"You have gained an additional 10% attribute liberation."

Wu Chang looked at the attribute panel. His current attributes were:

HP: 24

Strength: Base: 24 / True Self: 61

Agility: 16.5

Endurance: 18

Energy: Base: 76.5 / True Self: 45

Inspiration: 34

Will: 47

Although the increased attribute liberation was only 10%, compared to his previous attributes, it had indeed fully doubled.

Wu Chang spread his fingers, then slowly clenched them into a fist, feeling the increased power within his body.

While everyone else's stats were struggling in the single digits, or at most the teens, his base Energy attribute was already approaching a hundred.

Isn't this bullying the other players a bit too much?

Forget it, if the numbers don't crush everything, what's the point of being a numbers monster?

Although the numerical increase was pleasing, Wu Chang also noticed that after resolving the killer in the mirror world, Amber's approval value had only increased by 20, despite her clearly becoming much more cheerful.

Eliminating the mirror killer meant Amber no longer completely denied or doubted herself; according to this trend, he would need to help Amber resolve at least four more problems before her approval value reached 100.

Tsk, my own kid is really a troubled girl.

While Wu Chang's main body posed as an elementary school teacher to protect the troubled girl Amber, his true self was gradually taking over Bai Lao K, striving to become a major figure in Sigef City.

He originally chose Bai Lao K because Bai Lao K had large scale, strong backing, and no psychological burden when taking action.

But Bai Lao K's large scale and strong backing meant it could not be easily taken over.

He did eliminate Kent and most gang bosses, but those who attended the Night of Transactions were all Kent's inner circle; many other bosses were not present.

These bosses either operated independently, long harbored dissent, and eyed Kent's position; or they had powerful backers, merely using Bai Lao K to get things done—Kent could not command them, nor dare eliminate them.

Another portion were utterly marginal minor bosses—weak in strength, few in numbers, relying solely on Bai Lao K's shadow to strut around.

Setting aside the third category as insignificant, for the first two types, Kent's death would not intimidate them; instead, it would embolden them, even prompting them to prepare to divide up Bai Lao K.

Such internal strife, Wu Chang as the patriarch of the organization would never tolerate.

He wanted a complete Bai Lao K, not a shattered remnant requiring gradual integration—he had no time to waste.

So he planned to speak with several bosses, winning them over with virtue.

He asked Miles, who had stayed behind during the Night of Transactions, if he had any ideas; he didn't expect much, but Miles actually had a plan.

Miles was timid, but his position was not low—not only was his status high, his education was exceptionally high.

Stanford Business School, Master of Business Administration; Miles had a sharp mind, and after graduation, he did not join the scramble like other elite graduates or wealthy second-generation recruits, but took a different path—through his uncle's introduction, he joined Bai Lao K in his hometown.

He managed the gang's operations and underground trade, making the gang's business thrive, earning Kent's heavy trust, and becoming effectively Bai Lao K's chief steward.

Sigef City was merely a southern frontier town—barbaric, crude, backward, almost stamped onto the state flag.

Ordinary elite graduates, upon graduation, all shouted about freedom and human rights and fled to the northern coastal metropolises; few returned to Sigef, and even fewer joined gangs.

In Sigef City, joining a gang required only the ability to walk and swing a whip at black objects—you skipped twenty years of detours and gained twenty extra years of experience; returning to a gang after studying was simply unnecessary.

As a rare elite graduate in a gang, Miles was timid and lacked ambition, yet possessed exceptional ability, earning recognition from all factions.

Whether from Kent's side or other rebellious high-ups, all treated him with courtesy.

Miles first sealed the information, not releasing news of Kent's and the clients' deaths.

Then he sent messages to the other bosses, saying the clients wanted to expand business—they had built several new factory phases in the rainforest and hired several highly skilled chemistry teachers as technical consultants.

This would not only increase flour supply, but the flour would all be high-quality wheat-core flour—excellent texture, delicious taste, one bite and you'd fall silent.

Kent needed to gather them to discuss shipment issues and allocate quotas for each phase.

Thanks to his good reputation, the bosses trusted Miles without doubt; the next afternoon, they all arrived at the factory, ready to fiercely negotiate with Kent.

Previously, flour supply was scarce; Kent only cared for his own bosses, leaving those in their territories who favored noodles hungry—sometimes they had to pay extra just to buy flour.

Now that flour supply had expanded, if Kent tried any tricks again, they wouldn't accept it.

On the way, several had already agreed to stand together and force Kent to compromise.

Thus, the group arrived in full force, all present, ready to pressure Kent.

The factory's roller shutter rolled up; Miles stood at the entrance with an unfamiliar giant.

After brief greetings, Miles led the group into the factory.

Just inside, they heard thudding impacts of flesh—on a distant bare-knuckle ring, two fighters were battling fiercely.

Below the ring, Kent and his underbosses sat calmly in the audience seats, utterly absorbed, not even bothering to turn and look at them.

Hmph, quite the show of power.

Several bosses exchanged glances—they knew today's negotiations wouldn't be easy.

The group advanced step by step toward the bare-knuckle ring, their leather shoes echoing loudly, yet Kent and the bosses remained seated, utterly calm, ignoring them completely.

Fine, fine, fine—you want to play this game?

You can endure it—then keep ignoring us when we're right in front of you!

The group's representative was named Perico; he sported a crew cut and a gunshot wound cutting across his jaw.

The wound came from an ambush—he had tilted his head back half a second too late; the bullet would have entered his brain from the side. He endured the wound and killed the assassin, earning from his underworld peers the nickname Neo.

Neo—the man who dodged bullets.

He quickened his pace to Kent's front and called out: "Boss Kent, we're here!"

His only answer was silence.

Kent continued watching the fight, as if unaware of Perico's presence.

Perico laughed—a furious laugh—he looked at Kent, wearing sunglasses and a hat, and felt deeply insulted.

He pulled out a box of cigars and said: "Boss, these are new stock I got—each one rolled on a girl's thigh, I supervised the whole process, absolutely no fakes."

As he spoke, he flicked his hand, feigning a slip that sent Kent's hat flying: "Oh no, sorry, you see, I—"

Perico stared, frozen, at Kent's upper skull missing after the hat fell.

I just wanted to knock off your hat—I didn't plan to blow off your entire skullcap.

The next instant, he reacted, snatching the sunglasses off White's face—beneath them were gray-white pupils, filled with madness and terror.

Damn it!

The moment he realized, the two fighters on the ring had stopped, pulling out two machine guns and opening fire on Perico.

From cover around the warehouse, numerous gang members emerged, opening fire wildly while the bosses were still stunned.

Facing the two fighters' attack, Perico reacted instantly—a fish leap followed by continuous rolls, crawling and tumbling into cover.

Neo, the man who dodged bullets, was no empty reputation.

"You son of a bitch Miles, when I get out, I'll make you pay—I swear, I'll hang your whole family on every street sign in Sigef City—not one left alive!"

As Perico raged, he pulled a gun from his coat, waiting for the power vacuum period to break out.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance, having two miniature submachine guns concealed inside his suit.

These bastards can't stop him!

Perico hid behind Shi Zhu, counting the time, waiting for the moment the gunfire stopped before charging out of cover.

As the gunfire gradually thinned, Perico's eyes widened—now!

But before he could act, he suddenly discovered that the big fellow who had been moving with Myers had, at some unknown point, appeared right in front of him.

"You..."

Before Perico could finish speaking, a fist the size of a clay pot had already smashed into his face, silencing him completely.

Kid, you can dodge bullets, but can you dodge fists?

(End of chapter)