Chapter 5: Save the Child
### Chapter 5: Save the Child
After the clearing, the first floor of the mall had a large open space left, with only four people in a standoff and Luo Jun hiding in the clothes pile.
Seeing no way out, the trench coat man's face twitched, and he placed his hand on the child's neck.
"If you come any closer, I'll kill him!" The man's voice was cold and hoarse, carrying a chilling pressure as if a beast were speaking instead of a human.
"Stop resisting pointlessly!" the muscle-bound man said sternly. "You've already killed one person. Killing that child won't benefit you. If you release the child and surrender, the Association can help purify your pollution. As for the crimes committed during your pollution, we will make a reasonable judgment."
"Pollution? Ha!" The trench coat man sneered. "That's just the coward's perspective! You hiding in the main world can never understand the greatness of evolution!"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, unintentionally lifting his hand off the child's neck.
At that moment, a golden crescent wave flew in from outside the mall, faster than an arrow, slicing off the trench coat man's right arm at the shoulder!
"Ah!" He screamed in pain, his left hand trembling, and the unconscious child fell to the ground.
"Good opportunity!" The three surrounding him saw the chance and charged forward.
Recovering from the intense pain, the trench coat man saw the three rushing at him and made a desperate move, using his fingers like a knife to stab at the child's neck!
Oh no, he's going for the kill... The three felt a chill, realizing the child was in danger and they were too far to save him in time.
At that critical moment, a figure suddenly leapt out from the clothes pile and grabbed the child!
While the trench coat man was focused on the three with superhuman abilities, he had unknowingly retreated to where Luo Jun was. His attention was entirely on the three, not realizing the boy he had kicked was right behind him!
Even if he had noticed, he might have assumed it was just a corpse.
Infuriated by his failed strike, the trench coat man turned to hit Luo Jun. But just as he was about to change his move, a half-torn shirt sleeve drifted onto his face, obscuring his vision, causing him to miss his punch!
The trench coat man ripped the sleeve off his face, watching Luo Jun crawl away with the child. He raised his left leg to kick Luo Jun in the back!
But as he exerted force, his supporting right leg slipped on a scarf, making him lose balance. The kick missed Luo Jun and left a crack in the floor tiles!
Unwilling to give up, the trench coat man used the momentum to twist his body, raising his right leg for a roundhouse kick aimed at Luo Jun!
This time, he was sure there was nothing to trip on or block his vision! The kid couldn't dodge!
At the last second, Luo Jun fell!
More accurately, he was tripped by the severed hand of the trench coat man!
Luo Jun tumbled forward, protecting the child as he rolled, finally escaping the trench coat man's attack range.
This series of evasive maneuvers left the three protectors amazed!
It wasn't Luo Jun's agility that surprised them; his movements, though nimble, were just average to them. What truly stunned them was his luck!
A powerful polluter's attacks were thwarted by sheer coincidences, one after another. Even one mistake would have left Luo Jun seriously injured or dead!
What incredible luck!
While marveling, the three protectors didn't waste time. Using the moments Luo Jun had bought them, they closed in!
Luo Jun felt relieved, thinking the mission was about to be successfully completed!
He had dared to jump out to save the child not just out of a sense of justice. When the trench coat man dropped the child and attempted to kill him, Luo Jun felt everything slow down.
"Ding!"
"Detected a complex event with a severity coefficient not less than two times the norm!"
"Mission system activated!"
"Mission objective: Save the child"
"Mission difficulty: 75"
"Severity coefficient: 4x"
"Mission cost: Three uses of the dice"
"Mission limit: Seven uses of the dice"
"Do you accept?"
"Note: Upon accepting the mission, dice uses related to the mission will be counted separately. Once the limit is reached, you cannot use the dice further. Any unused dice rolls will be reset after the mission. Experience gained during the mission will be awarded upon successful completion; if the mission fails, no experience will be granted."
"Since this is the user's first time activating the mission system, the final points rolled in this mission will be positively adjusted by 25 points."
...
Luo Jun hadn't expected the Destiny Dice to have a mission system. After a moment's surprise during the slowed time, he chose to accept!
According to the description, it meant spending three dice uses for a mission that allowed seven dice uses, all with an extra 25 points as a beginner's benefit!
With his luck already boosted by one level from acquiring "Everything is Dice," making high rolls more likely, and now with an extra 25 points, the success rate was greatly increased!
Three for seven, plus extra points and significantly boosted attributes – that was Luo Jun's confidence in taking on the mission!
Using the power of the Destiny Dice, Luo Jun narrowly avoided the trench coat man's attacks, successfully escaping with the child!
Seeing the child about to be rescued, the trench coat man's eyes turned red. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small transparent box containing a strange leaf specimen.
He crushed the box and the specimen with a forceful grip, releasing a powerful wave. A massive black hole expanded from his hand, generating a strong suction force on everything around it!
Luo Jun, initially running away, suddenly felt an immense resistance, even his enhanced attributes couldn't help him escape. He slipped and started being pulled back!
The three superhumans showed fear upon seeing the black hole, quickly retreating from its gravitational pull. The nearest muscle-bound man stomped his feet, breaking the tiles and anchoring himself, extending a hand to Luo Jun: "Quick, grab my hand!"
Luo Jun reached out, but slipped again, nearly falling. Realizing he couldn't escape on his own, he activated the Destiny Dice!
"Don't get pulled into the black hole!"
"Ding, event difficulty 93, final points 3+25, critical failure!"
"Damn, this too?" Luo Jun cursed. Failing was one thing, but a critical failure! It turned out critical failure wasn't affected by point adjustment – anything below 5 was a critical failure!
How much worse could it get...
Feeling himself slipping more, Luo Jun despaired.
"Haha, you brat, you won't escape me!" the trench coat man laughed maniacally. At that moment, two golden light blades flew in, one hitting his neck and the other his waist, slicing him into three parts. His dismembered body and blood were sucked into the black hole and vanished.
Even with the trench coat man dead, the black hole didn't stop. A long-haired woman wearing a mask leapt over the muscle-bound man, reaching out to Luo Jun.
At the same time, Luo Jun slipped further, falling into the black hole.
The dice had determined failure – getting sucked into the black hole was inevitable.
I can't escape, but at least...
In his final moments, Luo Jun activated the Destiny Dice: "Send the child out..."
"Ding, event difficulty 83, final points 62+25, congratulations, event succeeded!"
With the result, Luo Jun smiled, using his last strength to push the child toward the masked woman: "Take him! Forget about me!"
The woman's eyes behind the mask wavered. She grabbed the child with her left hand and conjured a transparent golden spear with her right, anchoring herself.
Seeing the child safe, Luo Jun sighed in relief, his body uncontrollably falling backward. As his consciousness faded, he processed one last event in his mind.
"No matter where the black hole leads, let me survive..."
Shortly after Luo Jun was sucked in, the black hole began to shrink and eventually disappeared.
The muscle-bound man pulled his legs free, and the athletic youth and short-haired woman approached.
The masked woman, still staring at where the black hole vanished, showed signs of regret and sorrow in her eyes. After a few seconds, she sighed, handing the child to the muscle-bound man: "I'm sorry, I was a step too late..."
"No, you did great," the muscle-bound man reassured, checking the child's condition. "If it weren't for your support, the three of us without ranged attacks couldn't have controlled him, possibly leading to more casualties."
"Exactly," the athletic youth, face slightly red, added. "As expected of the prodigy who reached the Mind-Concentration Stage at thirteen, amazing!"
"Idiot!" The short-haired woman punched the youth: "She's upset about the kid who got sucked in!"
The muscle-bound man frowned: "I didn't expect him to have a World Tree leaf... Even if the boy isn't dead from the spatial turbulence, finding him will be hard..."
The short-haired woman said, "I've contacted Captain Cheng. The cleanup team is coming and will analyze the remaining energy waves. We should be able to locate the connected world and find him!"
"Let's hope so..." The muscle-bound man nodded. "Such a brave person, it would be a shame if he sacrificed in vain..."
The masked woman sighed, taking off her mask to reveal a beautiful face.
Had Luo Jun been there, he would have shouted her name.
Ling Xin!