Chapter Forty-Four: Gasgasgas
The player was momentarily perplexed.
Renichi Shigure arrived just in time, completely beyond his expectations.
Ample precautions had been made in advance. Even if Renichi Shigure received the distress signal, it should have been impossible for him to arrive so promptly. So why...?
“Strange indeed! The Skull Killer Red Lion, the Wings oppose Shigure—could this be a stratagem?”
There was no way he had devised such a plan. The Death Wings and Renichi Shigure were not even comparable! They were pieces on entirely different levels.
The Skull Killer and his subordinates should have been enough to force Caldesia’s retreat. That was the expected outcome. Everything was prepared perfectly, so why?
“A flawless plan—could there be an error? Even the most meticulous can overlook a detail... It must be Kira.”
He had confirmed earlier: Dustburst entered the scene as scheduled, and Shigure’s phone only received one message.
“Sigh! To deceive others is to be deceived oneself!”
...!
There were two messages! Using the distress call as a cover, concealing the true purpose...
So that’s why that car appeared!
---
Wing District, a standalone garden house.
“Good afternoon, Mo. I hope you can give me an answer—were you behind this commotion?”
Mokuen Kai stared blankly at the television screen, ignoring the messages on his phone. Only after the middle-aged man on the other end reminded him again did he snap back to reality.
“Good afternoon, Principal. You might not believe me, but my car drove itself out of the garage and went to join the central district’s chaos on its own.”
Onoville’s voice was clearly laced with anger.
“Do you think I’m so old that I’d believe such a lie?”
“...Principal, you know me; it’s true.”
---
Just before Dustburst interrupted, Kira sent two commands.
Both commands targeted Renichi Shigure’s phone. The first, on the surface, was a distress message she composed. The second, deeper within, remotely summoned a highly functional sports car via a pre-installed app.
“Red Meteor has switched to autopilot. Network module lost; navigating via built-in map. Please manually correct route if errors occur. Passengers, fasten seatbelts and prepare to use built-in armaments. Friendly reminder: please be cautious of food debris when eating in the vehicle.”
The bright red sports car weaved rapidly through traffic. The onboard AI droned mechanical prompts, but Caldesia didn’t hear a word. She dried her hat with a small flame, eyes fixed on the young driver.
In Renichi Shigure’s hand gleamed a sharp dagger.
“The title is Skull Killer, position near the Fierce Wing District. Appearance: a burly man in black with a skull mask. Usual weapons: mechanical arm and exoskeleton armor,” he counted off enemy traits, “Any further details?”
The blonde girl responded immediately: “His real name is John Garcia. Underneath the skull mask is a scarred face, and his personality’s a trash heap. It’s been two minutes since you transferred Skull Killer’s ability, Renichi.”
“One minute left. That’s enough.” The dagger danced deftly on his fingertips. “Caldesia, I suggest you close your eyes first...”
The blonde girl curled her lips in a half-smile, barely masking disdain. He frowned in frustration, repeating the real name inside his mind.
(John Garcia.)
Real name, ability, title, appearance, personality—so much information was enough to build a bridge within his mind. In just ten seconds, he sensed the distant enemy.
(I’ve found you.)
He spoke mentally, ignoring any reply.
(Undo the ability or die. You have thirty seconds to decide.)
Renichi Shigure pressed the blade to his throat, releasing his suppression of suicidal intent. The blade sliced skin, severing the carotid artery; blood sprayed, staining the car window crimson, the sound sharp and chilling as the wind!
Amid the grisly scene, the suited youth’s voice remained calm.
“The price is accepting a curse; the reward is synchronizing that curse.”
---
Fierce Wing District, Death Wings headquarters.
The Skull Killer groaned upon arriving at the safe house. Blood sprayed from his neck, painting his subordinates’ faces a horrifying red.
The black-clad men panicked; many screamed in terror. The guards shielded their leader, firing wildly into empty air.
Clutching the wound, the Skull Killer shouted frantically, “Medical team!!”
---
“The price is one day’s memory; the reward is that a fatal wound will no longer bleed within one second.”
Pay a small price for an insignificant gain.
Within a single second, the fatal wound transformed into a harmless cut.
From there, the cost of healing would adjust accordingly.
“The price is ten minutes of memory; the reward is healing a harmless wound.”
One second passed; Renichi Shigure’s wound healed completely. Once the fatal injury ceased, no more blood flowed.
He was the creator of the Curse Balance trade.
He understood better than anyone the bitterness of this power and knew how to exploit loopholes in the transaction.
—He was both the fool who bargained with the devil and the devil who set the cursed scales.
---
Renichi Shigure stretched his neck with ease, his complexion pale from blood loss. He pointed his knife at his right wrist and thought:
(Still twenty-five seconds left. Now the right hand.)
The dagger pierced again.
---
The Skull Killer’s screams struck terror into all. His neck wound had just begun treatment when his right wrist bled profusely!
The scene before them was indescribably dreadful and sinister: the ruthless boss was helpless against this attack, his blood splattering everywhere, his life draining as if an invisible fiend had possessed him, clawing flesh and blood away!
An old veteran subordinate suddenly had a flash of insight, horrified, shouting, “It’s the demon’s invisible power! The demon has come to avenge the Red Lion!!!”
Chaos erupted in the safe house, screams and roars echoing. Only one person knew the truth.
(Still twenty-two seconds left. Next, back to the carotid artery.)
“Ah—!!”
The Skull Killer roared madly, canceling his ability. He knew his subordinates’ emergency skills well; with another fatal wound, survival was impossible. He had no choice!
(You’re obedient, that’s good. Now, one more stab to the carotid.)
His heart stopped instantly.
(You—)
The Skull Killer screamed in his mind for the first time.
Twenty seconds had passed; no new wounds appeared.
(Haha, just joking. Don’t mind it.)
The stranger’s laughter was soft as spring breeze yet chilling beyond measure.
(We’ll settle the rest face to face. See you soon, John Garcia.)
The mental link was severed. His subordinates fought desperately to save him, his clothes soaked with cold sweat.
He felt fear.
A fear unlike any before.
---
What was the principle behind the Skull Killer’s dreadful ability? Finding a rational explanation through natural science would be difficult. Yet from the supernatural perspective of the Impermanence Mages’ “common sense,” the ability was easier to understand.
“Death Wings” was a compound curse.
“Caldesia, do you know what a curse is—”
The blonde girl lunged forward halfway, carefully stroking the youth’s neck, forcibly swallowing the words he was about to speak.
Renichi Shigure awkwardly shrank back into his seat. “Um...”
After thorough inspection, the girl confirmed the wound had truly healed and breathed a sigh of relief.
She roughly pointed at the driver’s nose. “I don’t care what your real ability is, no cutting throats! What if you really die?! Next time, cut somewhere else, like the wrist!”
The suited youth rubbed his nose, suppressing a smile. “Caldesia, cutting the wrist is also fatal...”
The blonde was at a loss.
“Anyway, no cutting throats! I’d worry!”
“Alright,” the suited youth acquiesced. “Back to the earlier topic—do you understand curses?”
“...Nailing pins into scarecrows?”
Two hundred meters away, the Death Wings had stacked abandoned vehicles as barricades on the main road. Renichi Shigure tapped the console lightly; the car’s side structure shifted, revealing four missile launchers. The warheads exploded a hundred meters ahead, creating a small fireworks display!
“Strictly speaking, such superstitious rituals hold no effect in ordinary hands. However, the curse rituals of feudal superstition and those used by professionals share the same underlying principle: an unequal exchange manipulating probability.”
The barricades were obliterated cleanly. Caldesia grinned, watching the black-clad men scatter.
“Unequal exchange?”
“That’s right. Some Strange and Void Mages use alchemy as their base art, which involves equivalent exchange. Curses, by contrast, are fundamentally unequal. A vengeful mage nails a pin, and a distant target bleeds to death—makes no sense, right?”
Caldesia twirled a strand of hair. “Ah... like that lousy skull hiding far away while I get hit?”
“Typical Caldesia. But real curses aren’t that convenient. Unequal exchange requires strict conditions: social status difference, distance, negative emotions, physical state... only when these ‘hidden conditions’—which don’t appear on the surface—are met does the unequal exchange truly take effect.”
The most commonly applied conditions were “distance” and “damage.” The closer the caster and victim, and the more harm the caster suffers from the target, the stronger the curse’s effect and the less cost it demands.
That was why he first connected with the Skull Killer’s mind. Communication was a collision of hearts; telepathy symbolized “contact.” The curse caster and cursed shared an invisible link. Submitting to suicidal intent and self-injury fulfilled the curse’s conditions and simultaneously paid its price... Multiple factors combined, making Renichi Shigure almost as if he had clutched the Skull Killer’s throat himself.
However, once the Skull Killer canceled the Death Wings’ interference, one condition vanished. Casting the same level of curse again would cost more. Directly ending the opponent was the more rational choice.
He was about to explain this to Caldesia and detail the Skull Killer’s abilities when interrupted.
“I say, Renichi,” the blonde girl looked at him reproachfully, “what kind of guy talks about curses on a date?!”
“...I thought you’d want to know.”
Black-clad men on motorcycles closed in through the rearview mirror. Caldesia rolled down the window, tossing two fireballs backward. Boom! Crack! The Death Wings’ riders ignited, while unrelated vehicles remained untouched. She didn’t even glance at the carnage. “We talk about it when it’s quiet. Now, say something else!”
“...” Renichi Shigure hesitated, then finally said, “Do you listen to music?”
She smiled like a wriggling caterpillar.
“Please, no ‘Gong Xi Fa Cai’! I’m afraid I’d laugh till my powers go haywire.”
“I really didn’t expect that to be a pop song...”
Track 1 was lyrical, 2 classical, 3 light music, 4 pop, 5 folk. He hesitated for a few seconds, then chose track 2—classical should be safe.
“Oh, it’s classified as pop! Let me see what other songs are in this car’s pop playlist.”
---
Unfortunately, the driver was a step slow. Caldesia hadn’t forgotten his earlier move; she slammed track 4. Despair darkened the youth’s face.
The intro was a series of rhythmic electronic beats, the male vocalist lowly murmuring.
“Do you like my car...”
The music swelled, the song properly starting!
“Guess you’re ready. ‘Cause I’m waiting for you!?”
He sighed in relief; Caldesia whistled.
“That’s pop too? How old is it? Time to hit the gas!”
Black dots appeared again in the rearview mirror as the car AI’s warning chimed alongside the song.
“Warning: three armed helicopters approaching. Please unfasten seatbelts, take up weapons, and counterattack promptly.”
The Death Wings even deployed helicopters; it seemed the Skull Killer was truly terrified.
A single-person rocket launcher rose from the back seat’s center. Renichi Shigure tentatively asked,
“Caldesia, mind taking the wheel for a bit?”
The blonde girl cheered, eagerly snatching the steering wheel. He poked his head out the sunroof, hoisted the rocket launcher, then sliced his fingertip and traced a one-stroke crying face on his hand.
A rudimentary rune of the Wild Aspect, temporarily enhancing physical strength slightly.
“...I’m crazy... I wanna race for you, shall I go now??”
The song reached its climax; Caldesia sang loudly along.
He aimed at the helicopters; a roar from the muzzle, the rocket soared skyward in a smoky tail, turning one helicopter into a massive fireball!
The recoil was stronger than expected—the car trembled. He was grateful for the rune’s earlier reinforcement.
The remaining two helicopters split cautiously; he ducked a barrage of machine-gun fire. To be safe, the rest had to be handled with the Curse Balance—
At that moment, a sharp slicing sound pierced the air. Two black streaks darted by; the helicopters’ rotors were ripped off!
The steel machines spun wildly downward. A girl with flowing black hair stood on a nearby rooftop, holding a black longbow, looking at the red sports car and giving the young man a thumbs-up from afar.
Renichi Shigure returned the gesture.
“Thanks, Qin Qianbai.”
He returned to the driver’s seat. A few hundred meters ahead lay the White Fir Bridge leading to Fierce Wing District. Thick smoke billowed from the bridge’s midpoint; the destroyed roadway had collapsed onto the lower-level lanes, causing a traffic jam rivaling a Friday night.
Black-clad men stood at the bridge’s far end, shouting curses and hurling colorful superpower attacks at the sports car!
Caldesia reluctantly released the steering wheel.
“Detour below?”
“No need.”
The ominous cluster of black buildings loomed closer. Beyond the broken bridge lay Fierce Wing District, built on the dragon’s wing.
Renichi Shigure pressed the inviting bright red button at the steering wheel’s center. The Red Meteor surged at full power; jet fighter-like gliding wings extended from the car’s sides!
“Gas gas gas! I’m gohe, I’ll fly and be your lover!?”
The black-clad men stared in horror above, momentarily forgetting to attack.
The bright red sports car, supported by an intact ramp, soared into the air. Sunlight gilded it with dazzling gold, like the ancient sun god riding a chariot, boldly dancing in the sky!
The Red Meteor transformed midair, landing in Fierce Wing District with an iron fist smashing the ground, scattering the black-clad men!
Caldesia bobbed her head in the seat.
“Honestly, what were you thinking driving here to pick me up this morning?”
“I swear I just wanted to take you for a ride.” He glanced toward the winged path. “I never thought I’d actually need these functions.”
“And now?”
The transformed Red Meteor seemed to have its own ideas; the music was automatically set to play aloud as proof.
“Yeah yeah yeah! I’ll be so quick as a !?”
The singer in the CD shared his passion with the trembling black-clad men.
“And I’ll be your hero—!?”
Renichi Shigure muttered the lyrics, shrugging.
“Well, how to put it... I think Gongsun was right. Better to be prepared.”
The red robot strode forward majestically; the Skull Killer’s safe house was in sight.
---
—End of side story—
(Title is the song name)