Shawn stalked through the dimly lit alleys of Najian searching for his prey. So far it had eluded him, but he was confident he would find it. Nothing could hide from his sharp senses.

Gone was the fear that had previously plagued his every waking moment. He was the predator stalking through the grass, his stats were superior in every way. At least in regards to this opponent they were.

Shawn reached out with his [Minor Aerokinesis] and plucked a fly from the sky. Its small body cracked under the pressure of the wind, letting its guts ooze out. He cracked a grin, his target had been eliminated. With this fly, he would be able to discover what would happen when he completed the counter on his devourer skill.

Many Eyes of the Lesser Fly 4/5. +12 Perception

Activate Devourer Y/N? Charges 1/1

Shawn pressed yes, his vision faded to black and he was transported to his inner world. The white flames of his body roared to life as he gained consciousness. He hopped around checking his mobility, after his time in the virtual world with Heiki he found it was a lot easier to control his soul.

With a slight amount of concentration, he formed an arm of flames. Waving it in front of his face, he noticed the amount of gold in his body had drastically reduced. Before the gold flames representing Etar and Green’s consciousness took up about 30% of his body, but now they were relegated to a small corner, taking up at most 7% of his body.

He was relieved that he could suppress the fragments of consciousness with just a few cultivation sessions. It gave him the confidence to absorb more advanced stats in the future. He would have to be careful, but as long as he didn’t absorb anything too powerful he should be fine.

At an almost visible pace, the deep blue of the sky colored the pitch-black void, erasing its presence. The influence of the void was receding. It wouldn’t be long till his inner world would be indistinguishable from the outside world.

Well at least in terms of detail. His inner world still looked wacky. Half-formed trees stuck out of sand dunes like pitchforks and with the addition of Etar’s wisp, a complex web of tunnels ran through the very fabric of the world.

The largest of the tunnels stuck out of the sand dunes and connected to the trees, carving archaic patterns in their bark. A singular stone tube connected to the largest tree stretched into a cloud, forming a tunnel system in the air. His inner world was a bizarre collection of random objects and locations.

He stared into the sunless sky as wisps flooded into his inner world. “Is there any point in showing all the wisps? You already know what one you are going to pick,” a child-like voice said.

Shawn laughed. “You’re right there’s no point. Bring me the perception wisp.” A dark purple wisp floated to him. He had seen this wisp many times before, so he wasn’t surprised when it transformed into a giant eyeball.

Undisturbed by the sight, he reached out with his flame arm and grabbed the wisp. It struggled for a moment, then was fully subsumed by his flames. His skull itched as the wisp attempted to show him something, but he refused its call. There were already enough voices in his head.

His inner world shattered into a thousand pieces of glass and he found himself laying face first in a pile of trash. Used to waking up in weird places by now, he nonchalantly pulled a trash bag off of him and rose to his feet.

Congratulations, the requirements have been met. Many Eyes of the Lesser Fly 5/5. New mutation unlocked: The Many Eyes of Infinite Reflection Lvl 1. Accept Y/N?

Shawn pressed yes and a burning pain erupted in his eyes. It was as if someone had set them on fire. The burning sensation increased and his vision faded away. He was completely blind. Using his other senses, he stumbled about the alleyway.

Just as he was about to pass out, the pain receded and his vision returned. When he opened his eyes the world was different. It was more vibrant and he felt like this was the first time he could truly see the world for what it was. The fine textures of the concrete walls surrounding him were obvious even from a distance, the slightest of cracks couldn’t hide from his gaze. He could even see a broader range of colors. Even the blandest of colors had new shades hidden within their depths.

The Many Eyes of Infinite Reflection Lvl 1: See life from another's point of view. Currently limited to 3 reflections, but as the skill level increases, the number of possible reflections approaches infinity. Passively provides a major boost to eyesight.

The knowledge on how to use the skill was burnt into his DNA, he didn’t even need to read the description to know what it did. Channeling Qi to his eyes, he trained his gaze on a man’s back. Suddenly his vision split and he was in two different places at once. He couldn’t control the man’s gaze, but he could see everything the other person was looking at. The skill was limited by line of sight, but he knew an easy workaround to the problem.

Feeding even more Qi to the skill, he used the man walking down the street to catch a glimpse of someone standing by the window of their apartment. His consciousness split once more and now he saw from three different perspectives simultaneously. The experience wasn’t disorienting in the slightest, the mutation had changed his body to allow him to perfectly handle the new stimuli.

The chain of reflections broke down as the man walked out of his field of view. Shawn grinned, his Qi had only fallen by a single point. With this new skill, no one would be able to sneak up on him again.

He hopped out of the alley and walked down the road with a pep in his step. His work wasn’t finished. He had a lot to do today.

Even though they had managed to sabotage the meeting, The Alliance had not fully dissolved. In the immediate aftermath, many smaller gangs had dropped out, lowering their size and power, but the core members still remained. He had no doubt that Dorian wouldn’t give up. The man wouldn’t sleep till Shawn was dead and he had the jade back in his possession.

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However, the true danger of The Alliance had yet to be seen. The gang war would enter a new level of intensity soon. With that in mind, he was determined to use his last days of freedom wisely.

He wove his way around slower moving traffic as he took long confident steps. It felt good to no longer be the slow person holding up traffic. After a couple minutes of travel, he entered a train station and sat on a bench. Shattered glass was scattered across the floor and holographic maps flickered precariously; their batteries running low.

Shawn wasn’t surprised by the rundown state of the station. He had spent enough time in the outer district to expect a certain level of disrepair. However, he was surprised by the continued existence of trains. He thought that the invention of flying cars would make them obsolete. Of course, most people here couldn’t afford a vehicle like that so it was a moot point.

A graffiti-covered train entered the station and Shawn stood up. His ride had arrived. The neon overhead lights glared off of the cart’s windows, but using his enhanced perception, he was able to spot three distinctive purple headbands. He glanced down at his bare neck and smiled. After the first couple of times, he had learned it was safer to not wear the necklace once he exited The Den’s territory. There was a certain power to anonymity. He cracked his knuckles, they wouldn’t know what had hit them.

Without a care in the world, he entered the train. After many days of cultivation and absorbing many wisps, his stats far eclipsed the average person. If he used [Qi Enhancement] they wouldn’t be able to touch him.

He stepped into the cabin and stared down at the three men. The tension in the air increased as they looked back. “You got a problem punk?” the member of the Crimson Lotus asked as he pulled out a knife. His heartbeat quickened as he prepared to fight.

Memories flashed before his eyes: the kamikaze bomber at the scorpion’s Den, the sadistic man who tried to chop off his hand, and finally Chen - the man who had chased him through the streets. They were all members of the Crimson Lotus. Shawn’s hand clenched as he imagined the crimes the men in front of him undoubtedly committed.

They were a stain upon society. The world would be a better place without them. Their purple headbands were a symbol of evil, whoever wore them was guaranteed to be rotten to the core.

More important than any rational justification, he hated them with all his heart. He had been a naturally forgiving person, but each attempt on his life had caused his hate to grow. Now his anger was a raging fire that burnt all peaceful solutions to ashes. Shawn steeled his resolve as he circulated his Qi through his body.

Just as the tension had reached its boiling point and he was about to lash out, a young woman stepped onto the train. She looked around for a moment and then realized the situation. “Oops. Excuse me,” she said. Her dress fluttered as she rushed to the far end of the train.

“Sorry for staring, I just liked the way your shirt looked.” The words tasted bitter in his mouth, even the familiar blue screen didn’t make him feel better.

Congratulations! Your skill, Deception has reached level 9.

As much as he hated it, defusing the situation was necessary, he didn’t want to get an innocent person caught in the crossfire. The Crimson Lotus may be at war with him, but he had morals. He would be just as evil as them if he hurt an innocent person.

He sighed as he took a seat. The train rattled then sped away. Each passing second felt like torture, every fiber of his being screamed at him to fight the men. He bounced up and down slightly as the train ran over uneven rails.

His goal on stepping onto the train wasn’t to fight the Crimson Lotus. No, his goal was to go to the shopping district and investigate the tower he had seen Heiki looking at on that fateful night. The information jade felt heavy in his pocket. He needed answers.

“Come on baby, you know if you come with me I’ll give you the night of your life.” Shawn’s eyebrow twitched, the man had the flirting ability of a two-bit cartoon gangster.

“Leave me alone, I don’t have time to deal with this bullshit today,” the woman said with her eyes hidden under the brim of her round straw hat.

The man flinched, shocked that someone would turn him down. “I know you don’t mean that. I’m a very important man, you don’t want to make me angry.” The Crimson Lotus members stood around her threateningly. One went as far as to pull out a knife.

“Look, this is the last time I’m gonna say it. Leave me alone. I don’t care who you are,” she said slowly.

The men didn’t heed her warning and continued to harass her. Unable to let this go on for any longer, Shawn stood up. He had been waiting for an excuse to go over there, the men had given him one. He silently approached them, the sound of his footsteps completely masked by the train.

Shawn tapped the man on the shoulder. He whirled around in anger, spit flying from his mouth. Before the man could get a word in, Shawn punched him in the nose. Cartilage cracked under his fist and the man went flying. “I know you Crimson Lotus goons are stupid, but this honestly amazing. How many times does she have to tell you to leave her alone for you to get the message?”

The man picked himself up off the ground and pulled out a knife. “You’ll regret that.” The other Crimson Lotus members tensed their muscles, preparing for a fight. Shawn watched as the knife slowly crept towards his face, his newly gained perception made tracking his movements almost trivial. Shawn took a step back, letting the knife slice through the air inches away from his face.

“I don’t think I will.” Shawn activated [The Many Eyes of Infinite Reflection], immediately his vision split in four. With the skill active he would be able to track their moves from almost every angle.

Undeterred by missing, the man unleashed a flurry of slashes. Shawn weaved through all of them with ease, the fight only became challenging when the man’s friends entered the battle. The two goons charged him, intent on tackling him.

However, Shawn easily foiled their plan. From his multiple viewpoints, he saw their attacks coming from a mile away. He forced his Qi into his muscles and activated [Qi Enhancement]. In a burst of speed, Shawn elbowed the man closest to him in the forehead. He crumpled bonelessly to the floor.

The remaining two Crimson Lotus members backed away, shocked at Shawn’s strength. Even Shawn was surprised by how hard he could hit. Though it really shouldn’t have been a surprise. With [Qi Enhancement] activated his stats were more than triple what someone his level should have.

“Weren’t you going to make me regret fighting you?” The two men growled and charged Shawn. However, they never reached him. Shawn leaped backward to buy time while he used [Minor Aerokinesis]. As opposed to his usual gentle style, he compacted the wind as much as possible, forming a hammer of energy. The two continued to charge forward, unable to see his attack forming.

Gusts of wind tore through the cabin as he infused the attack with the Dao of the Wind. The bridge in his mind widened almost imperceptibly, further boosting his power. With a clench of his fist, he released the wind from his grasp, sending it rocketing towards the two men. One managed to dive out of the way at the last moment, but the other was caught completely unaware.

The wind hammered into him, the initial impact cracking his ribs, but the attack didn’t stop there. Unable to keep his balance, the injured man was swept off his feet and slammed against the window. Spiderweb cracks formed on the glass as Shawn kept up the pressure.

Pouring more Qi into [Minor Aerokinesis], he summoned a second gust of wind and slammed it into the injured man. The glass shattered and the man was sent flying out of the train. His screams of terror faded into the distance as the vehicle sped away.

“Nice,” the woman said as she sat calmly in her chair. Shawn shot her a thumbs up and dodged a swipe of the man's knife without looking. Or at least it looked like he wasn’t paying attention, he was actually closely watching how things were unfolding from her perspective using [The Many Eyes of Infinite Reflection].

With a simple jab-cross combo, Shawn knocked the man out. Exhilaration coursed through his veins as he stared at his defeated enemies. It felt good to win, better than anything he had ever felt before. Shattered glass crunched under his feet as he knelt down and tore off the man's purple headband. He stuffed it into his pocket for future use.

“Thanks for the assist. I’m Yu.” the woman waved at Shawn. The threads of her dress wiggled before launching out and picking up the fallen men and throwing them out of the broken train window.

Shawn winced, the woman probably hadn't even needed his help. He went off acting like a hero for no reason. “Don’t worry about it, I would have taken care of those guys even if you weren’t there. I’m Shawn.”

The train screeched to a halt as it arrived at the shopping district. The doors opened. Shawn opened his mouth then closed it, he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure what. She rolled her eyes at his indecision.

“You wanna go shopping?” the young woman asked.