Lock-picking!
How could he have forgotten about that?
But what does lock-picking have to do with defusing a bomb?
With the remaining time, An Yi couldn’t afford to overthink. He wanted to upgrade his lock-picking skill but suddenly realized he had completely run out of Evil Power Value!
"Ding! Insufficient Evil Power Value, unable to upgrade!"
The system’s prompt, with only two minutes left, sounded especially grating.
And damn it, why did a simple lock-picking skill require so much Evil Power Value?!
Shit!
Where was he supposed to find that much Evil Power Value now?!
Cold sweat broke out on An Yi’s forehead.
With two minutes left, if he had any sense, he could still drop everything and run, leaving Qin Yao behind.
"An Yi!"
Qin Yao stared at him, her voice choked with emotion.
An Yi’s voice was firm as he met her gaze. "Don’t worry! If we die, I’ll die with you!"
Right now, Lin Chen’s Destiny Value had bounced back to 100!
An Yi was betting on it—
A protagonist with max Destiny Value and a near-perfect supporting character couldn’t possibly just die like this!
Qin Yao stared at An Yi, his domineering presence and sharp eyes like a vast galaxy, leaving her momentarily mesmerized.
Would she really end up in a tragic love story with this guy…?
Resigned, Qin Yao felt an eerie calm settle over her as death loomed.
"An Yi, in the next life… don’t be such a playboy," she said with a bittersweet smile.
An Yi’s hands were still frantically working on the bomb. He frowned. "The next life’s too far away—don’t give up so easily!"
Seriously, what kind of romantic drama was she trying to pull at a time like this?!
He was a man destined to become the King of Rogues—he couldn’t just die here!
Meanwhile…
With the Seven Kill Fist technique, Lin Chen was holding his own against Butcher.
The two exchanged blows, neither gaining the upper hand.
Butcher’s face was bruised.
Lin Chen was worse off, covered in bloody wounds.
Only his beast-like reflexes kept him alive, barely dodging fatal strikes.
Wiping blood from his lips, Butcher grinned. "Didn’t expect you to last this long. Doesn’t matter—you’ve got a minute left. Let’s see you escape now!"
Lin Chen, panting heavily, smirked back. "Then I’m dragging you to hell with me!"
An Yi’s forehead was drenched in sweat.
A little over a minute remained.
No miracle in sight. The protagonist, Lin Chen, was still tangled up with that sunglasses-wearing bastard.
With his measly Lv1 lock-picking skill, defusing the bomb was a pipe dream.
Had he guessed wrong?
Was Lin Chen’s story actually some angsty short-tragedy where the protagonist dies young?
Oh my god!
An Yi’s hands trembled as he worked. Death wasn’t scary—but dying like this? Unacceptable!
Qin Yao, on the other hand, seemed at peace, gazing at him with a serene smile.
Hey, hey! Snap out of it, princess! I don’t wanna die—I was just bluffing earlier!
"Damn it!"
An Yi suddenly remembered—he still had one unfinished mission!
[Aid the Chosen One]
The words "Incomplete" glared back at him.
He’d been stuck in a mental trap.
The Rogue System had exploitable bugs. For the past two years, he’d been abusing them—
Returning stolen goods, handing snatched wallets to the police… He’d done plenty of ridiculous things.
Could this mission be cheesed too?!
His eyes lit up with realization.
"Old Lin!" he roared. "Quick, say: ‘Thanks to your help, everything’s resolved perfectly. I’m so grateful!’"
Lin Chen: "…"
Butcher: "…"
The hell?! They were in a life-or-death showdown—why ruin the tension?!
Lin Chen: "Are you insane?!"
An Yi was livid. "Just fcking say it already!!!"
Seeing An Yi practically foaming at the mouth, Lin Chen gritted his teeth.
Fine. They were all gonna die anyway—might as well grant the guy his last wish.
With forced embarrassment, Lin Chen stammered: "Th-thanks to your help… everything’s resolved perfectly. I’m… so grateful."
"Ding! [Aid the Chosen One] mission complete! Reward: Evil Power Value +100! Charm +0.5! Lin Chen’s Favorability +50!"
The 0.5 Charm boost brought An Yi’s score to 8.8.
Instantly, his already handsome features sharpened further—chiseled jawline, piercing eyes, devastatingly attractive… Not that it mattered when death was seconds away.
Hearing the system’s voice, An Yi nearly burst into tears of joy.
He’d gambled right!
This trash system was full of holes!
The mission never specified that the aid had to actually succeed—just that the Chosen One had to acknowledge it.
And now, Lin Chen himself had declared the mission complete! How was this not a win?!
"Ding! Host severely violates system rules. Warning issued! Next offense will result in severe punishment!"
The system’s cold voice rang out again.
A warning? Whatever! If he died now, what did it matter?!
"Pour all 100 Evil Power Value into lock-picking!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host! [Lock-picking] skill upgraded to Lv3!"
With thirty seconds left, An Yi’s hands shook.
There was still time!
Everything could still work out!
Outside the abandoned factory, a deafening roar echoed.
"Finally!" Butcher grinned viciously. "Sorry, boys—I’m getting out alive. See you never!"
In a flash, he grabbed the unconscious Viper, slashed through the wall with his blade, and shoulder-charged through the gap.
Crack!
The wall crumbled, revealing the outside world.
A helicopter swooped in, lowering a rope ladder.
At the controls—none other than Red Poison, whom An Yi had met at the underground fight club.
Butcher hauled Viper up the ladder.
Lin Chen lunged forward—but too late. He could only watch as Butcher ascended out of reach.
Then—click.
Qin Yao gaped. In the final seconds, An Yi had disarmed the bomb.
And judging by how effortless it looked, it might as well have been easier than drinking water…
So what was the two-hour struggle for?!
Just to make the mission harder?!
"Old Lin! Kick it!"
An Yi hurled the timer at Lin Chen.
As if sensing it, Lin Chen spun mid-air and delivered a vicious flying kick—
Whoosh!
The timer shot like a missile toward the helicopter.
No no no no—!
Butcher’s face turned green as the timer hurtled toward him.
Mid-air, there was no time to dodge.
Boom!
The explosion lit up the night sky, a fireball blooming into a cloud of black smoke.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
