Chapter 191: Good People Are Meant to Have Guns Pointed at Them

‘These ignorant fools. They got money, but couldn’t hold onto it, gambling and whoring it away until their families were ruined. That’s clearly their own damn fault, so how can they pin the blame on me?’

‘They had no business sense but insisted on starting businesses. Isn’t it perfectly normal to get outsmarted by others? What the hell does that have to do with luck?’

‘They fail at trading stocks, and that’s my fault too? Unbelievable!’

‘Idiots. A bunch of idiots. Incurably stupid…’

Xue Yang was beside himself with fury.

The examples Mr. Mu had cited were all real events.

But the reason those things happened was that their virtue didn’t match their wealth. They lost it all because they couldn’t control themselves or manage so much money.

It had absolutely nothing to do with luck.

It was the same principle as the many people on Earth who won the lottery or received demolition compensation money, only to be unable to restrain their desires, squandering it all, getting robbed or scammed, and ultimately ending up poor again…

But he had no way to refute any of it.

Right now, the public was in an uproar. He had been backed into a corner, roasting over a fire. Who would listen to him try to reason with them?

No one was willing to take responsibility for themselves. Besides, they had indeed obtained that wealth through the Flat Pan Group…

All of his explanations would just sound like excuses.

The most crucial part was that Mr. Mu had cleverly used the demonic creatures to make people believe that Divine Artifacts truly existed, and that different Divine Artifacts had different Attributes.

Overnight.

He had gone from a patriotic entrepreneur who served the people to a wildly ambitious conspirator…

‘Damn it all to hell!’

‘What the hell did that guy do before he became a Time Traveler?’

However.

As this wave of public resentment boiled over, the Flat Pan’s Demon Qi also exploded.

A bad reputation was still a reputation.

“You idiot, I told you long ago to end this quickly,” the Flat Pan’s exasperated voice rang out in Xue Yang’s mind. “After this wave, there won’t be any more Demon Qi. How are we supposed to break out of this world then?”

“The Ruins are huge. Even if I go looking for him, is there any guarantee I’ll find him?” Xue Yang retorted irritably. “This is an overt scheme. Whether I enter the Ruins or not, as long as he has an opportunity, this was bound to blow up. It’s impossible to stop. Unless I can kill all his people before they return to the Federation…”

His voice came to an abrupt stop.

Because a new Derived Skill had suddenly awakened in his mind:

Unbelievable Misfortune: Eating food you’ve cooked or wearing items you’ve gifted will trigger the target’s Bad Luck.

‘Son of a bitch!’

Seeing this Derived Skill that had been forced upon him, Xue Yang felt even more on the verge of collapse.

This new Derived Skill was incredibly powerful, but it also completely cut off any path of retreat.

Because the Bad Luck had become a fact.

Even if he defeated Mr. Mu, he could no longer operate the Flat Pan Group, because eating his food would now genuinely cause bad luck…

‘Why can a Derived Skill be triggered by others?’

Xue Yang couldn’t figure it out for the life of him.

Previously, he had also awakened another skill:

Delicious: Food personally cooked by him emits an irresistible aroma, and anyone who smells it will be unable to restrain their desire to eat.

Added to Unbelievable Misfortune, it formed a new Combined Skill.

‘They can’t resist eating my food, and once they eat it, they’re guaranteed to have bad luck!’

He had another skill, the Derived Skill that helped people break through their bottlenecks:

Epiphany: Eating his food allows one to smoothly break through their current bottleneck.

Epiphany was originally a Combined Skill with Delicious, meant to help people break through. Now, Unbelievable Misfortune was added to the mix.

Using those three skills together meant you’d break through and suffer bad luck at the same time…

He had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing anymore!

Fortunately, the demonic creature didn’t know the details of his Derived Skills, so there was still some room to maneuver.

Xue Yang took a deep breath and decided to placate the Flat Pan for now. “Yu King’s Tripod, don’t be hasty. I admit I was outmaneuvered, but we still have a chance. As long as the public hasn’t completely cut ties with the Flat Pan, your Demon Qi will continue to increase. If we find and kill Mr. Mu during this period, with our strength, we still have a chance to turn the tables…”

“How do I get my reputation back?” the Flat Pan asked in a cold voice.

“Do we need a reputation?” Xue Yang gritted his teeth and said viciously, “With my strength, I could have ruled the Federation long ago. I’ll just kill anyone who disobeys. Everyone living in the Federation will be forced to wear a Flat Pan. If you don’t wear one, you die. Since they call me a demon, what’s wrong with acting like one?”

“You’d better deal with him immediately,” the Flat Pan said. “I have a feeling that if we don’t take care of him soon, we might never get another chance.”

“Mm,” Xue Yang nodded, got up with the flat pan in hand, and vanished from his office in a flash.

「Half a day later.」

On the Federation’s official website, a video was pinned, playing on a loop:

“Mr. Mu, one day from now, at the President’s Mansion in the Federation’s Capital City, I want to have a talk with you. If you don’t come to meet me, I will go on a killing spree in the Capital City. You know I have the power to do it.”

“Don’t let me see you promoting the Erhu, or the consequences will be the same.”

“Just as you said, I don’t care about this world. Once I reach the Divine Demon Ruins, I can break through the misty restraints, leave this world, and enter a higher universe.”

“Before, I was only borrowing a little of their luck. But your actions will cause everyone to lose their lives, and may even destroy this world.”

“The fate of the Federation rests on your decision. Whether you meet me or not is up to you.”

“Remember, you’re the one who released the demon. The world’s destruction will be your fault.”

“See these people? They were the first to help you. If you don’t come, they will be the first to die. If you won’t even save the people who helped you, who will ever trust you again?”

Released along with the announcement was footage of the Federation President and a group of officials, all hanging from the parliament building.

And hanging in front of the officials were He Xu and his four companions.

The five of them were terrified, their eyes filled with pleading and fear as they looked at the camera.

Of course.

Xue Yang had also thoughtfully released the surveillance footage of He Xu and the others escorting Li Ye through the checkpoint, proving that they had indeed helped Li Ye.

Xue Yang finally revealed his true self to the public.

He was standing on the flat pan, hovering in the air. Below him lay the scattered bodies of the Federation Guard. The limbs of these elite soldiers were shattered; they were clearly all dead.

In the video, Xue Yang, riding his flat pan, demonstrated his power by physically demolishing over a dozen high-rise buildings in just ten-odd seconds.

Beneath the collapsing towers, panicked people were scattering and fleeing in all directions.

Dressed in black, Xue Yang looked like a Demon God who held life in contempt. He would occasionally flick out several streams of Star Power from his hands, snatching up cars from the roadside and hurling them at the fleeing populace, as if they were nothing more than toys for his amusement…

Behind Xue Yang, two more demonic artifacts hovered.

An exquisite scale, and a pair of scissors…

Xue Yang looked down coldly at the fleeing masses on the street and said, “The two items behind me also come from the Divine Demon Ruins. To those who are willing to submit to me, I will bestow upon you Divine Artifacts. I will lead you to excavate the Divine Demon Ruins and uncover the true secrets of the Ancient Civilization. Ultimately, we will leave this world and step into the starry sky once more.”

“Choose me, or choose Mr. Mu. That is also for you to decide.”

“Anything Mr. Mu can give you, I can give you as well. And what Mr. Mu cannot give you, I can also bring you—for instance, disaster…”

As soon as this video was released, the boisterous internet suddenly fell silent.

The dilemma had been thrown back at Li Ye.

When compared to luck, life was undoubtedly more important…

Some people even started to complain about Li Ye, grumbling that he shouldn’t have exposed Xue Yang’s conspiracy.

‘If his conspiracy hadn’t been exposed, everyone would still be living in peace. What’s the harm in losing a little luck? It’s not like they knew about it anyway.’

Now look, Xue Yang had decided to go all out and was threatening a massacre.

Xue Yang was so powerful; could Mr. Mu possibly stand up to him?

More than they respected good people, the masses feared unscrupulous villains…

“Seriously, Mr. Mu. If you didn’t have the ability, you shouldn’t have provoked Xue Yang. Now look, Xue Yang is going to destroy the world. With his power, he could slaughter everyone in the Capital City in less than two hours, couldn’t he? Sigh!”

“Mr. Mu, you started this mess, so you should be the one to deal with it! Don’t be a coward hiding in the shadows.”

“Mr. Mu isn’t actually going to hide and not show up for Xue Yang’s meeting, is he?”

“Logically, it’s right for Mr. Mu not to go. After all, the world shouldn’t be ruled by a demon. But if Mr. Mu really does chicken out, I’m afraid I’ll never be able to trust him again.”

“Mr. Mu, please save those kids.”

“Mr. Mu, if you’re not confident you can defeat Xue Yang, just let the world go back to how it was! If you sacrifice yourself, at least we can have peace…”

“Mr. Mu, you’re a great man. Please step forward. Don’t let more people die for your own selfish desires.”

「Star Map Group.」

All the top brass of the Ruins Alliance were gathered here. On the large screen before them, Xue Yang’s provocative video was playing on a loop.

Inside the conference room, no one looked pleased.

Chu Zhongtian, the chairman of Star Map Group, frowned deeply. The confidential letter the President had sent him explained Xue Yang’s origins.

But now, Xue Yang had personally admitted to the existence of the Divine Demon Ruins. This left him confused about who was telling the truth. Meanwhile, Chu Zhongyue and the others had clearly accepted Mr. Mu’s so-called explanation about the Divine Demon Ruins!

However, at a time like this, Chu Zhongtian didn’t dare to voice his doubts.

“Mr. Mu, what do you plan to do?” Chu Zhongyue asked. “Xue Yang isn’t actually going to go on a killing spree, is he?”

“…”

Li Ye glanced at him but said nothing.

Xue Yang’s move had caught him completely off guard. He had broken free of the trap Li Ye had set for him. Instead of defending himself, he had embraced the new persona Li Ye had crafted for him, solidifying his identity as the ultimate villain.

He was staging a classic dilemma where the villain holds the world hostage to force the hand of the righteous hero.

If he went to the Capital City to meet him, he would be forced into a direct confrontation with Xue Yang.

But if he didn’t go, he would lose the people’s trust, pushing everyone toward Xue Yang. Even if he tried to promote the Erhu, no one would support him then.

After all.

No one would be willing to follow a cold-blooded and ruthless person.

Even if he was a good person.

People would rather see a good person make a sacrifice to save the world than sacrifice themselves to let the good person succeed.

“Mr. Mu, don’t go!” Nan Shuyun said, looking at Li Ye. “If something happens to you, there will be no one left in this world to keep Xue Yang in check.”

“But if Mr. Mu doesn’t go, he’ll lose the hearts of the people,” Pang Baisheng said, shaking his head. “They won’t blame Xue Yang. They’ll only blame Mr. Mu for causing them to lose their lives…”