Chapter 190: Comprehending the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun

“Shadow of the Ark?”

Jiang Chaosheng murmured the name of his new Skill.

He liked this Skill a lot.

The Scythe of Death and the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun were both single-target attacks.

The Shadow of the Ark could summon Dark Matter, making it a large-scale, destructive Skill.

He knew the strongest power of the Shadow of the Ark was summoning the Dark Covenant Chest.

No matter how powerful the opponent, they would be devoured by the Shadow of the Ark.

However… the activation requirement was a bit too harsh. It required sacrificing one’s own body and soul.

It was a method of mutual destruction.

This ability was truly something he both loved and hated.

Jiang Chaosheng lowered his gaze from the sky.

Zhong Shu and Li Xinyuan quickly bowed, lowering their heads.

When Jiang Chaosheng’s gaze swept over the Evil Crow, a flicker of astonishment and an almost imperceptible hint of pleasant surprise appeared in his eyes.

‘This Crow is still alive?’

The Evil Crow prostrated itself, its head pressed to the ground, not daring to look up.

Its two wings were spread wide, pressed tightly against the ground.

Jiang Chaosheng found it rather amusing.

Although the Evil Crow called him Master, it had never truly regarded him as such from the bottom of its heart.

‘Did dying once change its personality?’

Jin Meiting endured the pain of her biological-level evolution, kneeling on the ground in respectful prostration.

Of the other six Witches, three had fallen unconscious.

The remaining three Witches followed Jin Meiting’s example, kneeling in pious worship.

They knew that this was their god, the Lord of Dusk.

Among these Witches was a familiar face.

The unconscious Greedy Witch was none other than Xu Wei from the coffee shop next door.

There wasn’t a ripple of emotion in Jiang Chaosheng’s eyes.

To him, Xu Wei was just an insignificant minor character, not worthy of his attention, even if she was an acquaintance.

Jiang Chaosheng sensed something and raised his head, looking toward the spot where the Black God had dissipated.

A black staff, covered in the marks of blades and axes, stood silently in the sky.

Jiang Chaosheng reached out a hand toward the black staff.

The black staff was drawn by an unseen force and floated into Jiang Chaosheng’s hand.

Grasping the black staff, Jiang Chaosheng said softly,

“Well done.”

The prostrating Witches’ beautiful eyes filled with surprise and excitement.

Even the ice-queen-like Proud Witch had an undisguised smile on her lips.

‘Praised by the deity they worshipped?’

‘This feeling… who could possibly understand?!’

Jiang Chaosheng lowered his head, looking at Jin Meiting.

“Meiting, what do you want?”

Jin Meiting trembled.

‘Meiting?’

‘This was the first time her master had ever called her that.’

She remained with her head lowered in prostration, her figure a breathtaking curve from waist to hip.

However, Jiang Chaosheng could only see the back of her head.

After a long moment, Jin Meiting closed her eyes and said,

“I have already received what I wanted.”

If one listened closely, they could hear the suppressed sobs in Jin Meiting’s voice and see the ground in front of her dampened by tears.

What she wanted most wasn’t Taboo Items, nor was it wealth and glory.

This Succubus, who was extremely attracted to power, only wanted one thing: the acknowledgment of her powerful master.

She didn’t want to be useless, didn’t want to be just a pretty face!

‘The simple words, “Well done,” were sweeter than anything else.’

‘Sure enough, the Evil Crow was right. As long as I’m useful, Master will value me.’

‘He… he actually called me Meiting!’

In truth, when Jiang Chaosheng said, “Well done,” it was his acknowledgment of Jin Meiting’s competence during the Black God incident.

Calling her “Meiting” had nothing to do with whether she had grown stronger.

A subtle change was occurring within Jiang Chaosheng.

A change that even he himself had not noticed.

He was becoming a little more human.

When did this change begin?

No one knew.

Perhaps it was that lively New Year’s Eve dinner.

These members of the Taboo Association, with their diverse personalities—people who could be called ‘nakama’ from a hot-blooded anime—were quietly healing Jiang Chaosheng’s empathy disorder.

Jiang Chaosheng was silent for a moment.

“When we get home later, I have something for you.”

Jin Meiting’s mouth fell open in astonishment.

‘Home?’

‘Was Antique Shop Zero… her home now?’

…

「At the gates of Twenty-Fourth Middle School.」

Li Mingyue watched Jiang Chaosheng ride away on a dark cloud, her expression complicated.

Her hands were clenched into tight fists, her nails digging into her palms, drawing blood.

The rookie Investigator, Xiaozhou, watched the dark cloud recede into the sky with a gaze full of adoration.

“So that’s Mr. Dusk?

He’s incredible!

With him around, the Xia Kingdom has nothing to worry about when it comes to anomalous incidents.”

Li Mingyue whipped her head around and stared daggers at Xiaozhou.

Startled by her look, Xiaozhou glanced around awkwardly.

“Team Leader, did I say something wrong?”

Li Mingyue opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her lips trembled for a long moment before she finally spoke.

“Take the students for psychological evaluations and physical check-ups.”

Xiaozhou quickly replied,

“Yes, ma’am!”

He hurried away as if fleeing.

Li Mingyue watched Xiaozhou’s retreating back, his earlier words replaying in her mind.

What she had wanted to say was:

‘Who is it that protects the Xia Kingdom? Mr. Dusk, or the Anomaly Administration Bureau?!’

‘And what does the Anomaly Administration Bureau do?’

‘Just shout and scream, issuing a pile of useless orders.’

‘Aren’t we just a fucking cheerleading squad?’

But she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Those words would truly bring shame to any Anomaly Investigator.

…

「South Sea, Antique Shop Zero.」

Jiang Chaosheng walked into the back room and placed the Spear of Destiny on shelf ‘0’.

The Ghost Gate Needle plus the Spear of Destiny made for exactly two Taboo Items.

According to the new sixth rule of Antique Shop Zero, every time he contained two Taboo Items, he could comprehend the Profound Mysteries of one Taboo Item.

Jiang Chaosheng chose Taboo Item 0-10—the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun.

In the unseen world, profound information flooded into his mind.

[Comprehending the Profound Mysteries of the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun!]

[Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun: The gun contains a cluster of Divine Fire from Olympus Mountain.]

[Divine Fire is the most profound object on Olympus Mountain.]

[If Zeus the God-King had possessed the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun when the Divine Fire on Olympus Mountain was extinguished, perhaps he would not have fallen.]

[Profound Mystery of the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun: Divine Fire.]

[By infusing Spiritual Power into the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun, the bullet, imbued with the breath of Divine Fire, can harm any target with a name within its range, according to the user’s intent.]

[These targets include but are not limited to: departed souls, physical bodies, viruses, deities, and Demons.]

[The more Spiritual Power is infused, the stronger the might of the Divine Fire.]

Jiang Chaosheng was taken aback.

‘Harm any target that has a name?’

That was very abstract, with a bit of a philosophical flavor to it, reminiscent of Ancient Greek philosophy.

Jiang Chaosheng gripped the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun, examining it closely.

The Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun looked the same as before—old, ancient, with a whiff of decay, like an antique that could fall apart at any moment.

It was strange.

After he comprehended the Scythe of Death, its appearance had changed dramatically, transforming from a rust-covered sickle into a menacing Giant Scythe.

The Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun, however, didn’t seem to have changed at all.

Jiang Chaosheng examined it closely again.

No, there were some changes after all.

Unlike before, the decorative patterns on the body of the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun now had a crimson light flowing within them, like bewitching Other Shore flowers.

‘That made sense.’

‘The value of this Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun wasn’t the gun itself, but the Divine Fire within its barrel.’

“Infuse Spiritual Power…”

All living beings possessed Spiritual Power.

The Witches were adept at siphoning Spiritual Power from humans and storing it in the Succubus’s Evil Mark on their lower abdomens.

However, ordinary living beings had very little Spiritual Power. Only after opening a Spiritual Aperture could one freely absorb Spiritual Power to train their own, and thus become an Extraordinary Life.

Jiang Chaosheng did have Spiritual Power, and far more than an ordinary person.

After all, he had been diligently practicing the [Spiritual Concentration Divine Art].

“It can harm any named entity within range, even viruses. That’s incredible.”

Jiang Chaosheng pursed his lips, a self-deprecating smile appearing.

“It’s just a shame my marksmanship isn’t very good.”

He gripped the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun and gave it a standard, cowboy-style gun twirl.

“If you can’t hit the target, it doesn’t matter how powerful the gun is.”

Jiang Chaosheng’s hand, holding the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun, suddenly froze. He recalled an important piece of information and narrowed his eyes.

“According to the user’s intent…”

Jiang Chaosheng walked through the back room and out into the backyard of Antique Shop Zero.

No one was here.

He raised the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun and aimed it at an irregularly shaped rock.

He infused Spiritual Power into the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun.

The Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun changed.

As if it were being charged, the patterns on its body gradually turned blood-red, and flames actually began to burn at the muzzle!

After a moment of astonishment at the gun’s transformation, Jiang Chaosheng casually fired a shot.

A crimson, bullet-shaped flame shot out of the muzzle, instantly blasting away the sharp edges of the irregular rock!

Pleasant surprise gradually filled Jiang Chaosheng’s eyes.

After comprehending the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun, there was a crucial piece of information in his mind that he had almost overlooked.

[Within its range, it can harm any target with a name, according to the user’s intent.]

‘According to the user’s intent—that’s the important part!’

Just now, Jiang Chaosheng’s intent had been: ‘harm the sharp edges of that rock’.

‘In a real battle, if my intent was to “hit the enemy’s heart,” I believe the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun would hit the target just the same!’

‘For example, Niu Lang’s heart.’

‘Because “Niu Lang’s heart” also counts as a target with a name!’

Jiang Chaosheng put away the Penalty Fire Flintlock Gun, a slow smile forming on his lips.

“Looks like someone just became a master gunslinger.”