COZMART: Corner Shop of Visiting Gods

The pavilion heaved like a living lung, swallowing the flash of torches and coughing back moon-silver. A frigid silence filled the tent.

Bai Hu exhaled.

"How utterly disappointing."

Sound followed the words—no, a scythe of compressed divinity that carved the tent in half. It plunged directly towards Team 001, obliterating silk banners and leaving gaps in the stone floor.

Willow reacted instantly, slamming both hands down as shielding talismans burned bright beneath her palms. Talisman circles blazed scarlet, blossoming into a half-dome that met Bai Hu's attack head-on. She staggered beneath the impact, heels grinding against cracking stone tiles and blood threading from her lips.

The shield held—a cracked eggshell between them and extinction.

"Move!" she barked.

Eathan obeyed on instinct, tumbling away as a pillar detonated where his skull had been. His pulse hammered wildly, eyes wide as his HUD blared with warnings from the [Calamity Radar]. [Auspicious Aura] flared to life, a thin golden thread guiding his frantic movements.

[Calamity Radar β]

Status: Auto-online

Warning! Killing Intent Detected!

[Auspicious Aura (Lv. 2)] Passive Effect has been triggered!

Lucky miss! Run for your life while you still can!

He hit the ground painfully, rolling just clear of another falling pillar. A shadow loomed above him, and Eathan froze, eyes wide, only to be yanked aside just as debris slammed into the spot he'd occupied.

"Told you," Chewie muttered, dropping him to his butt. Irritation lay plain on her features. "Diplomacy's wasted on steel."

Yet even as the eleven-year-old spoke, her eyes gleamed with intent, muscles tensing imperceptibly. Without another word, she blurred—small silhouette, volcanic intent—hurtling straight for the throne.

Bai Hu didn't even turn his head.

"Stealth?" he murmured. "Under my eyes?"

He flicked his wrist, a mere gesture—and Chewie was hurled backward, petite frame skidding across the tent floor, kicking up a plume of dust before slamming into a pile of ruined silks. Her body stilled briefly before she pulled herself back upright.

"Tch." Chewie spat out a mouthful of blood, eyes narrowing.

Eathan stared in mute horror, feeling his vision swim. He'd seen Chewie fight countless times, unfazed by demons or disasters. Yet now, she stood shaken, breath uneven, and not even standing a chance. His heart plummeted, dread gnawed deep.

This wasn't Mister White, he thought.

Just Bai Hu, the Pale Judgement.

Mortal Shock Detected!

[Humanity] has decreased by 1%! (71% → 70%)

Without himself realizing it, a faint golden glow flickered within his irises, and his shadow stretched unnaturally. Twin hornlike silhouettes stemmed from his skull, visible for barely half a beat before snapping back into nothingness.

Across the rubble, Bai Hu remained eerily composed, unconcerned with collateral damage or the panicked guards fleeing the tent. He let his gaze drift over the intruders—Willow straining under her crumbling barrier, Finn wheezing behind her, Chewie wiping blood from a split lip, Eathan shaking. Those midnight irises settled on the mortal for an extra beat before turning to the Azure Dragon.

"Qing Long," he said, "is this 'show-and-tell'?"

Each syllable landed between them like an impenetrable wall.

"Bringing mortal dust—here of all places? Have you grown so desperate for amusement, or have you been infected by some strange optimism towards reality?"

Quine Long stepped between Bai Hu and Team 001, his presence a graceful counterpoint to the tiger's brutal aura.

"Old friend," he began, the faintest edge in his voice. "You and I both know reality isn't ever quite so neatly defined."

Bai Hu regarded him, something darker flickering in the depths of his already cold gaze. "Reality," he replied, "is defined by power. Mercy only breeds rust. Your sentimentality remains an incurable disease, Qing Long."

He stepped forward, robes rippling and divine qi surging again without restraint. Team 001 scattered immediately, morale shattered by the ruthless onslaught. Willow threw up barrier after barrier, body shaking with exhaustion. Finn scrambled between toppled pillars, coughing through dust and smoke, eyes darting wildly for an exit that no longer existed.

"This isn't a commander," Willow hissed, crimson streaking down her lips as she held the barrier with one hand. "It's a natural disaster."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Eathan moved without thought, instinct overriding fear as he surged forward.

[Minor Reconstruction (Lv.2)] has been activated!

3 Qi Tokens have been subtracted from your [PROFILE]! (296 → 293)

He let gold flow from his fingers as he frantically patched the damage on Willow's crumbling shield and torn muscles.

[Humanity] has decreased by 1%! (70% → 69%)

70% Threshold Breach: Physical Resonance Triggered!

As Bai Hu pressed forward, Eathan could feel his pulse thundering louder, desperation squeezing around his throat.

The next second, qi that he himself didn't know existed surged outward, gold briefly flaring again in his eyes. For an instant, an aura—something ancient—brushed against the edges of perception, filling the air with something distinctly divine.

Bai Hu's strike paused mid-air. His gaze snapped onto Eathan, and a flicker of something almost curious glimmered behind that dead calm.

"…You."

He took a step—

—and Quine Long slammed a wall of dragon-scale qi between the deity and Team 001, teal currents roaring like a storm tide.

With one sweeping gesture, the dragon scooped mortals and half-spirits alike into retreat, smoke and rubble cloaking their sprint.

"You're exactly as charming as I remember, Bai Hu," he called over his shoulder, voice velvet over shattering stone. "Perhaps we'll chat again when you're less homicidal."

The White Tiger's voice sliced through their retreating forms:

"Next time, Qing Long, your boredom will be indulged with annihilation."

***

Team 001 stumbled back through fractured pathways, fleeing the War Council's encampment as though pursued by echoes of the Pale Judgement's wrath. Each desperate breath and heartbeat drove them forward until the brutal aura finally ebbed.

As soon as they crossed the shimmering boundary that marked the Azure Dragon's domain, they all collapsed behind a rocky outcrop, lungs heaving and nerves frayed to threads.

Willow hit one knee, gauntlet braced against the rock, lungs sawing. "I live," she rasped, copper on her tongue. "I live, and I am ready to transfer."

Finn hit the ground beside her in a graceless heap, coughing dust. He lifted his head. "Honestly, I preferred our boss when he just fired people at HQ, instead of firing people's heads off."

"Commander's nightmare, huh," Chewie grumbled, shaking rubble from her sneakers.

Silence settled over them as they processed what had just happened. Eathan glanced at Willow. He staggered toward her, concern creasing his brow.

"You okay?"

She nodded, breathing laboured but stable. "Physically, I'll survive," she said. "More importantly—if that's our commander, what in the hell kind of nightmare is he trapped in? Worse, what nightmare are we trapped in?"

Quine Long straightened, dusting nonexistent lint from his sleeves. Much to their infuriation, his expression remained deceptively serene despite all that'd happened.

"Three millennia can temper even the hardest steel," he remarked, his gaze steering toward the horizon. "Immortals are no exception."

Finn rolled onto his back, staring at the smoke-blurred stars. "Well, initial plan—diplomacy—obviously detonated," he rasped. "Anyone have a backup plan? Preferably one that doesn't involve us becoming collateral damage?"

Silence hung thick between them, broken only by the uneven breathing and the far-off rattle of siege engines. Eathan stared blankly at the dirt, replaying the White Tiger's attacks over in his mind—the ruthless, careless violence so utterly unlike the Mister White he knew. After seeing that, even the Azure Dragon's presence seemed more like a temporary shield than a permanent solution.

He forced himself upright.

"Let's leave," he declared, voice emerging tight but resolute. "We exit the game. Now. I'd rather Mister White chew us out in the briefing room than get erased here by… whatever that was."

No one argued. They had all tasted Bai Hu's indifference; it was thicker than blood. The deity they'd encountered was something entirely beyond their understanding or strength. Aside from Quine Long, whose calm only highlighted their inadequacy, none of them could realistically survive another encounter.

"No arguments here." Finn exhaled shakily. "Survival sounds great."

Willow, still steadying her breath, flicked eyes at him. "Exit means forfeiting the round."

"Better forfeited than fossilized by our own commander," Eathan countered, already gripping the emergency seal in his palm. "We can't even land a finger on him."

Quine Long, uncharacteristically serious, stepped beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Vessel's right. The White Tiger at this point in history isn't exactly a being you can reason with. The moment his curiosity wanes, or worse, the moment you truly irritate him—"

He shrugged.

"—he won't leave enough of you to carry home."

"Back there, he spared us because of you." Chewie jabbed a finger at Eathan. "Your aura tickled his curiosity. Next time, he'll scratch that itch."

"Right—the aura." Eathan blinked as he swerved toward the group. "What in the world was that?"

He was faced with equally clueless looks from his teammates. Eathan shivered, remembering vividly how Bai Hu's eyes had briefly pinned him like an insect beneath glass. The thought chilled him more than he cared to admit.

"Actually, forget it. I can worry about that later."

He immediately summoned the emergency seal. The translucent screen unfolded like a parachute:

WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXIT ROUND THREE OF THE 39TH REALM-BARRIER GAMES?

NOTE: Your team will automatically be eliminated from ranking considerations.

He reached automatically toward the glowing [YES]—

When suddenly, another line flashed beneath it, almost like an afterthought:

NOTE 2: Forced termination will cause irreversible core damage to the participating commander.

"…What?"

Air stalled in his lungs, and Eathan's hand froze mid-air. The team fell utterly silent, staring at the new line of text on the screen. His heart began to race, panic squeezing his lungs as he rechecked the seal. The once reassuring exit now pulsed a sickly, malicious red.

"…Guys?" His voice was a thread. "The seal just grew teeth."

Finn pushed himself upright, reading. "That line was not there before."

"Check again," Willow ordered immediately, battle adrenaline returning as steel. "Now."

Hands trembling, Eathan retraced the sigils, eyes darting over each symbol, sharp enough to drill holes into them—yet the result remained unchanged. The red warning pulsed a malignant crimson, unmoved and irrevocably damning.

He looked up, dread pooling in his eyes.

"It's real."

Cold settled over the team like wet iron. Chewie slowly clenched her fists. She lifted her gaze toward the horizon, as if searching for answers beyond their reach.

"Something's gone seriously wrong," she said. "Someone just rewrote the Cloud-Jade Ledger rules beneath our noses."

"Great," Finn groaned. "Add cosmic hacker to today's guest list."

Willow looked from the seal to the distant pavilion. "So we can't leave. We also can't fight him. What's left?"

Eathan swallowed, gaze locked on the crimson text that the nightmare had just drafted without asking permission. A breeze swept between them, carrying distant war drums.

The sky was smeared in bruised violet across the horizon, but warmth felt very, very far away.