The Power of the Abyss

"Miss, are you sure you want to shelter her?" Sakura Honbu pulled open the basement door, confirming one last time with Chiyo.

"What do you mean, shelter her? She's not some citywide fugitive," Chiyo snorted dismissively.

—Though, according to the game's original progression, she'd be one in a couple of years.

Chen Shang silently commented to himself.

"Miss, you know exactly what I mean. No need to play dumb," Sakura said, rubbing her forehead, feeling as though the girl she had raised was being led astray by the wild man beside her, becoming a master of feigned ignorance. "She's wanted by the Xu Group. The news has already spread through the circles of the conglomerates. Publicly and privately, the Xu Group won't let her go."

"So what about the Xu Group? Are they the supreme rulers of Night Axis City?" This time, Chen Shang scoffed with disdain. "Just watch how I deal with them, that's all—"

"Enough, boy!" Sakura barked, feeling her blood pressure rise. "Is causing trouble for Miss all you know how to do? Don't you have anything better to occupy yourself with?"

"Why don't you write to Upper City High and suggest they assign more homework?" Chen Shang shrugged, continuing his relaxed banter.

Sakura clenched her fists, exasperated.

"Chen Shang!" Chiyo threatened, clearly annoyed. "If you don't shut up right now, I'll call the Xu Group myself!"

"Fine, I know my mistake." Seeing her fury, Chen Shang wisely put on a deadpan expression and raised his hands in surrender.

Having barely managed to rein in this troublesome junior, Chiyo snorted, a hint of pride in her posture.

White Fox cautiously stepped into the basement, surveying her surroundings with shining eyes.

"To ensure you aren't discovered by others, I can only let you stay in this basement," Sakura adjusted her sunglasses, her voice cold. "Unless there's an emergency, you can't leave in the next week. If anything happens, I won't be responsible."

"Wow! It's amazing here!" White Fox exclaimed with delight, her fox ears twitching rapidly. "There's no smell of rot, no mold. And there's a bed—I don't have to sleep on old tires! The rats and bugs here must taste better than those in the underground district!"

A round of coughs went through the group, as if to diffuse the awkwardness.

Indeed, the city's poor had it rough—most slept in drafty shacks or alley corners, surviving on moldy bread and highly irradiated food. But someone like White Fox, accustomed to eating rats and cockroaches raw, was a rare breed.

"Miss... do I need to send meals down here every day?" Sakura hesitated, asking.

"Are we really going to entertain guests with basement rats, Honbu?" Chiyo pressed her forehead and took a deep breath, suspecting Sakura's logic had been addled by Chen Shang. "Three meals a day, make sure you send someone trustworthy each time."

"Really? Actual meals?" White Fox's ears twitched even faster, so excited she almost pressed herself against Chiyo. "But... but I don't have that much money..."

"Your employer has already paid for you," Chiyo quickly retreated behind Sakura, reluctant to get too close to the infamous killer.

Though seeing White Fox in person had softened Chiyo's opinion of her, professional caution still kept her wary.

"So the strategist is my benefactor, after all?" White Fox scampered over to Chen Shang, ears wobbling. "You're really letting me stay somewhere this nice?"

"That's right. No repayment needed—just help me win in the finals," Chen Shang replied, eyeing the woman almost nose-to-nose with him, wondering if she was part dog.

Hearing his lukewarm answer, White Fox brushed her hair back, returning to her slightly proud and stubborn demeanor. "I understand! An assassin must always fulfill her employer's commission!"

Despite her words, her ears folded down uncontrollably, signaling her affection.

In Chen Shang's prompt box, White Fox's favorability had increased by another five points.

When calm, Miss White Fox was undeniably charming and lovable. Though she had a touch of pride, her fox ears betrayed her feelings entirely—just in this alone, she outstripped Chiyo by a wide margin.

Once Chen Shang cured her explosive, uncontrollable condition, Chiyo would have to settle for a tier-two spot on the list of proud personalities.

Watching White Fox press so close to Chen Shang, Chiyo unconsciously clenched her fists, feeling a twinge of irritation.

With White Fox's lodging settled, Chen Shang left the Tokugawa Society with Chu Jianlai, making a quick call to check in on another teammate.

"Oh, the Xu Group! A few assassins did attack us, but we fed them to the sandstorm worms... I'm playing at the five-point table with my teammates now, gotta go!"

Chen Shang relaxed a bit upon hearing this.

The Cangyan Star Poaching Gang were all as strong as frontier hunters, living outside the city in the desert. Unless the Xu Group deployed a military-grade armed force, they'd never take them down.

As for himself, Chen Shang had Chu Jianlai guarding him nearly twenty-four hours a day, with Black Kalise providing remote surveillance. If anyone suspicious started tailing him, Chen Shang had a hundred ways to make them vanish without a trace.

Back home, Chen Shang sorted through the props he planned to use in the finals.

He dared not carry the Book of Curses anymore—afraid that if he kept reciting, the Abyss Goddess would come drag him straight into her realm.

As for the light crossbow he won in the lottery, he decided against using it. It had become his signature tool for causing trouble, far too recognizable.

Finally, there was his pheromone suppressant—a stealth artifact that could almost completely mask others' perception of him. It was essential.

All told, Chen Shang had no effective means of attack. In the end, he would have to play passively, leaving the combat to his two teammates.

Despite having a pile of points, he still couldn't find a skill that suited him, nor could he keep using unstable enhancers to strengthen his body.

With this in mind, Chen Shang opened the Collapse System's shop to browse today's new items.

"Hmm?" He was surprised to see a new purple section: Abyss Store.

"What is this?" Chen Shang was baffled.

[Because you've opened the gate to a new world, this core has specially added a new feature for you.]

The core system explained promptly.

"A DLC, huh?" Chen Shang quipped.

Thankfully, this DLC cost nothing—unlike the handheld games from his previous life, where paid DLCs appeared before the base game was even finished.

The Abyss Store used Collapse Points for purchases, but at present, only one skill was available.

"'Abyssal Aura,' 500 points?"

"As someone who has used the Book of Curses and attracted the attention of the Goddess of the Abyss and Otherworld, you can release an aura from the Abyss, causing others to fall into a brief hallucination. The effect is equivalent to reciting the Book of Curses for two seconds."

"You can use it a maximum of three times every 24 hours. Exceeding this limit may cause irreversible damage to your mind."

Reading the explanation, Chen Shang couldn't help but marvel.

"This is basically a control skill!"

On the battlefield, circumstances changed in an instant. Giving the enemy two seconds of hallucination was tantamount to a death sentence.

"Buying it!" Chen Shang decisively clicked the purchase button.