Chapter 100
Translator: MJK
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Karmic Retribution Bill Arrives
“Kiyoooooot!”
Gorani reared up on its hind legs and let out a mighty roar.
“Groooaaar...”
Meanwhile, the Yeti slammed into the snowy mountain wall showed no signs of recovery. Its eternal frost armor across its chest had shattered into pieces, and its massive body was crumpled like a tin can. A single headbutt from Gorani had left this monster—hailed as a natural disaster—on the brink of death.
“Two years is way too long. I’m not exactly the patient type.”
I extended a hand to Xiao Lin, who sat there dazed, and spoke flatly.
“Huh? How did you...”
Xiao Lin grabbed my hand with a stunned expression and stood up. She hopped down from Gorani’s back and scanned the demonic beasts encircling us, along with the barrier stone at the center.
“We just need to deal with these guys, right?”
“B-but that’s an ancient seal...!”
“It’s fine. Gorani’s got this.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than Gorani’s eyes flashed. As if it had been waiting for this moment, it charged straight at the Yetis.
Thwack! Crunch!
An S-rank demonic beast Yeti? One swipe of Gorani’s front paw sent the Yeti’s head bouncing like a soccer ball. A follow-up kick from its hind leg launched the massive body skyrocketing into the air.
“Kiyoot!”
It was pure exhilaration. An overwhelming apex predator toying with lesser creatures in a one-sided disruption of the ecosystem! Wherever Gorani rampaged, not even the beasts’ screams remained.
“Let’s see here.”
In the meantime, I approached the barrier stone at the heart of the seal. Ju Lun had called it a seal to contain the beasts, but it looked entirely different to my eyes.
The structure’s intriguing.
I placed my hand on the barrier stone and circulated my [Hunyu Heart Method]. Mana pathways flowed through the stone’s interior. But those paths snaked deep underground, leading somewhere unexpected.
“It’s not a seal... it’s a straw.”
This barrier stone wasn’t suppressing the beasts’ power. Instead, it was refining the massive demonic energy they emitted and secretly siphoning it off somewhere. The destination? Deep beneath the Crown Prince Faction’s headquarters in Beijing.
Like a personal piggy bank?
Under the guise of national security, they’d been raising dangerous demonic beasts and diverting the energy for their own selfish gains. They probably used it to craft illegal artifacts or bolster their private forces. Sending Xiao Lin here was clearly an attempt to silence her and cover it all up.
“A straw sucking the lifeblood from others...”
Simply smashing it would just sever the connection. To really screw them over, I needed to expose Ju Lun’s hidden honey pot for all to see.
“Gorani, step back. I’m sending something packed their way.”
I pulled out the [Okinawa Black Crystal], born from Liu’s power just a few days ago. Infusing it with my internal energy, I jammed it forcibly into a gap in the barrier stone’s mana circuits.
“Special delivery—return to sender.”
BOOM!
I slammed my internal energy into the stone. It didn’t shatter. Instead, the energy I’d injected, combined with the black crystal’s explosive power, began surging back through the transmission line.
Mana transmission line overloading!
Estimated time to destination: 3 seconds
Rooooaaar—!
Like a clogged sewer finally bursting open, a colossal surge of energy raced toward Beijing at hypersonic speed. Pipes on the verge of exploding from overload. Mana backflow.
“Alright, time to watch the show.”
I grabbed the shoulder of Xiao Lin, who was still staring blankly.
“...Huh?”
The fireworks show over there? We could catch it on the news.
The same moment, deep in the secret underground bunker beneath Ju Lun’s mansion in Beijing, China.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A red alert blared through the once-peaceful facility.
“V-Vice President! Abnormal energy backflow from the Kunlun Mountains!”
“What? Cut it off! Shut it down now...!”
Ju Lun shouted, but it was too late.
KABOOOOOM—!!!
The mana storage tank in the underground bunker couldn’t withstand the backflow and detonated. The compressed pure mana, with nowhere to go, erupted toward the surface. Uncontrollable monstrous energy!
Hiss!
With the explosion came a spray of red and black energy that melted the bunker’s steel walls. Defensive magic circles? Cutting-edge shields? All of it was paper-thin against a mana bomb infused with an S-rank healer’s life force.
BOOM!
Right in the heart of Beijing, a massive blue mana pillar punched through the roof of Ju Lun’s mansion and shot into the sky. The light was so immense and vivid that every citizen of Beijing could witness it.
“W-what the hell is that?!”
“That location... isn’t that...?”
The real problem came next.
“No! My money! My energy!”
Ju Lun rampaged like a madman inside the flaming bunker. He flailed his arms as a lifetime’s hoard of mana scattered into the air.
“Do you know how I gathered all this... Ugh! No, you can’t escape!”
But the bigger issue was separate. The explosion’s shockwave had shattered the bunker’s concealment magic, scattering fragments of their long-hidden ugly truths everywhere.
Illegal bio-experiment data leaked!
National mana embezzlement records detected on Public Security main server!
“N-no! Shut that down! Close the servers!”
Ju Lun lunged at the monitors and yanked out power cords, but it was far too late. The data rode the mana waves spreading across Beijing’s skies, broadcasting to satellites worldwide.
Unregistered illegal mana facility discovered
Owner: Ju Lun.
Estimated embezzled amount: 15% of national budget
“T-this can’t be...”
Ju Lun collapsed in the ashen ruins of the bunker, utterly dazed. Clear evidence of deceiving the nation and siphoning its energy was now public knowledge. Treason against the state—punishable by the harshest penalties. The crime of privatizing mana, the nation’s most vital strategic resource, and holding national security hostage for personal gain.
Under Chinese Hunter Law, this was a top-tier felony: summary execution, confiscation of all family assets, and permanent erasure from societal records. No excuses, no mitigating circumstances.
Weee-ooo!
Sirens from dozens of Public Security vehicles and Hunter Association enforcers wailed outside the mansion. His political rivals would swarm like hyenas, and purge was inevitable.
Ding!
Then, a message arrived on his terminal. Sender: Unknown. But he knew who it was from.
Your pipes seemed clogged, so I cleared them out for you.
Oh, and from now on, please repay all that accumulated karma with your own body.
“Grrrrr...”
Ju Lun foamed at the mouth and collapsed. Overwhelmed by what was to come, he lost his mind.
Days later, at a Level 1 detention center on the outskirts of Beijing, China. This was where Ju Lun and his family were imprisoned on charges of national treason and special embezzlement. The glory of the once-splendid Crown Prince Faction had vanished, replaced by cold iron bars.
Step, step.
Footsteps echoed through the dim corridor. Mei Ling, huddled in her cell, looked up. Disheveled hair, gaunt face. Just days ago, she’d been the queen of high society, draped in the finest silk qipaos that accentuated her flawless skin and elegant curves. Now, she was merely a filthy prisoner crawling on the cold, grimy prison floor.
“...Who’s there?”
The shadow stopped before the bars. It was Xiao Lin.
“Lin?!”
Mei Ling clung to the bars and cried out. Hope flickered in her eyes. She still believed Xiao Lin saw her as a friend, that she could manipulate Lin’s kind nature to escape.
“Lin! Is that you, Lin? You’ve come to save me, right?”
Mei Ling reached out, voice breaking.
“Get me out! It was all my dad’s orders! I didn’t know anything, I swear!”
Mei Ling prostrated herself, desperate to grab even Xiao Lin’s pant leg.
“I’m scared, Lin. It’s cold and it stinks in here... This isn’t where I belong. They said if you just speak up for me, I can get out. We’ve been friends since we were kids. How well have I always treated you? Please, just save me this once!”
Xiao Lin looked down at Mei Ling without a word. That icy gaze gradually shrank Mei Ling’s voice to a whisper.
“...Lin?”
“Friends, huh...”
Lin spoke coldly.
“Yeah. Under the guise of friendship, you took so much from me.”
Xiao Lin pulled a small box from her pocket. Inside was a single black pill.
“All those elixirs you said you gathered for Liu.”
“Uh, y-yeah? You remember? I scoured all of China—not to mention European auctions—for three whole years to get them!”
Mei Ling latched onto the opening, spitting as she rattled off her “contributions.”
“You know how hard I worked to save Liu. Whenever there was a promising herb, I’d rush out overnight to buy it, even dipping into my own savings. No one wanted Liu to wake up more than I did!”
“Sure. That’s exactly what happened.”
Xiao Lin nodded softly.
“Every time I said I’d go into dungeons or abroad to find clues to save Liu, you’d tell me it was too dangerous and to stay by his side. And hilariously enough, you’d always come back with some ‘legendary’ herbs from somewhere.”
Xiao Lin recalled those days. Touched by her friend’s concern, she’d never suspected a thing and fed the herbs to Liu. Never realizing they were the noose tightening around her friend’s neck.
“Turns out... they were all chronic poisons that slowly withered his life force.”
“...!”
“You dared to feed my friend that crap for three whole years?”
Mei Ling’s face drained of color. Xiao Lin knew everything.
No way. I destroyed all the evidence. How much does she really know?
Mei Ling’s eyes darted wildly. Was this a bluff? If it was just suspicion without proof, she could deny it to the end.
“N-no! That’s a misunderstanding! I really thought they were good for him...!”
“Oh? So this must be good for you too, then.”
Xiao Lin picked up the pill.
“They say this one cures all ills. Want to try?”
The moment Mei Ling saw it, her pupils trembled. It was the refined pill made from the [Heart-Eating Poison Worm Eggs] she’d secretly mixed into Liu’s meals. No one knew better than her the horrific agony it brought as it slowly killed you.
“N-no! Get that away!”
Mei Ling scrambled backward. That reaction was as good as a confession—she knew exactly what it was.
“...So it was you.”
Xiao Lin felt the last shred of pity vanish as she watched. She reached through the bars and brutally seized Mei Ling’s jaw. Before the grip strength of an S-rank hunter, Mei Ling couldn’t even scream; her mouth gaped open.
“Eat it. Just like you did to Liu. With gratitude.”
Xiao Lin shoved the pill deep into Mei Ling’s mouth and forced her to swallow.
“Gack! Cough, heuk!”
Mei Ling clutched her throat and writhed on the floor. The crippler drug twisted her mana circuits, delivering excruciating pain as it gradually erased her mana.
“This is my final gift to you—a fraction of the suffering Liu endured. Just one percent.”
“I-it hurts... Save me...”
“Don’t worry. You won’t die. You’ll live a long time in there, regretting every single thing you’ve done.”
Mei Ling’s agonized screams and sobs echoed behind Xiao Lin’s cold retreating back.
Click.
Suddenly, Xiao Lin paused as if remembering something and turned around.
“Oh, almost forgot.”
She gazed down at the writhing Mei Ling and whispered in a voice both sweetly kind and utterly cruel.
“That Liu you and your dad tried so hard to kill? Know what was really inside him?”
“Cough... W-what...?”
“A World Tree seed.”
“...!”
Mei Ling’s eyes widened as if they’d split open. A shocking revelation.
“W-World... Tree?”
“Yeah. The mythical tree that supports dimensions and emits infinite mana. And you treated it like pollution, even signing it over with pleas for someone to take it off your hands.”
“No... way...”
“Make sure to tell your precious father this: You two personally dumped China’s future into the trash.”
Xiao Lin left with a smile. Mei Ling, left behind, stared blankly into space, too stunned to even scream before collapsing unconscious.
The same moment, in Ju Lun’s solitary confinement cell. He was hearing the insane message his daughter Mei Ling had relayed through her visiting lawyer.
“What?”
“...”
“Did you just say... World Tree?”
In that instant, Ju Lun’s train of thought derailed completely.