18: Sometimes luck is also part of strength

Facing the cold options on the light screen, Su Ke Ke didn't hesitate for a moment.

Her eyes, once soaked in tears and despair, now held only a burning hatred that could consume everything.

She stretched out a trembling finger and tapped the option representing survival and revenge.

“Task accepted.”

“'Basic Fear' implantation permission enabled. Please select your target.”

In the Sea of Concepts, Gu Jianghan watched it all with indifference.

The girl's choice was merely the first step in his experimental process.

He wanted to see what kind of spark this 'sacrifice,' cursed by the world's malice, could ignite once given a sliver of power to resist.

Su Ke Ke's first target was the hypocritical math teacher, Zhao Lei.

When her hatred, channeled through the 'System,' locked onto Zhao Lei, a strange sense of perception unfolded in her mind.

She “saw” it!

She saw Zhao Lei sitting in his office, sipping tea and nodding obsequiously at his phone.

On the screen was Li Na's father's WeChat profile picture—the Deputy Director of the Municipal Education Bureau.

She heard it.

She heard the humble yet greedy calculations in Zhao Lei's heart.

He believed that by currying favor with the director, the 'Outstanding Teacher' award for the next semester, and even the position of assistant principal, would be within his grasp.

And sacrificing a powerless, disliked orphan was simply the most cost-effective deal.

The truth was even more malicious than mere prejudice.

Su Ke Ke's heart completely turned cold.

“Implant... Fear,” she murmured.

The next second, Zhao Lei, who was sipping tea, suddenly widened his eyes.

His office disappeared, replaced by a grand courtroom.

All the leaders of the Municipal Education Bureau sat on the judgment seats, staring at him with cold eyes, while Li Na's father pointed at his nose and roared, “It's him! He accepted bribes, bullied students, and is morally corrupt!”

All his filthy thoughts were exposed to the public.

He was fired, scorned.

Everything he pursued turned into a bubble... “Ah—!”

Zhao Lei let out a shrill scream, fell from his chair, drenched in cold sweat, looking like a madman.

Next were Li Na and her cronies.

Su Ke Ke transformed the pain she endured—the beatings, the insults—into the deepest nightmare, injecting it precisely into their minds.

In their hallucinations, they were surrounded by endless malice, screaming, crying, their minds on the verge of collapse.

However, Li Na was not an ordinary person after all.

After an extreme bout of fear, her spoiled, twisted mind immediately pointed the finger at the only possibility.

—Su Ke Ke!

“It's that bitch! It must be her doing!”

Li Na frantically dialed her “Third Brother's” number.

“Find me a few people and cripple that good-for-nothing Su Ke Ke! Now!”

...In a corner outside the school, the cold system prompt sounded at the opportune moment.

“Ding-dong ~ Congratulations! You have completed the ‘Repay Grievances with Justice’ task.”

“Task rewards are being distributed.”

“Congratulations! You have received Newbie Gift Pack x 1 (Contents: 'Calamity' Authority (Beginner) Fragment x 1, complete physical restoration, slight mental power increase).”

Su Ke Ke's complexion visibly became rosy.

Even the parts of her body that had been injured from years of bullying no longer throbbed with pain.

Even her languid spirit began to perk up.

She tried to guide and use the power of the 'Calamity' Authority.

Su Ke Ke directed the 'Calamity' at the bad dog in the street that had been chasing her earlier, without hesitation.

The next moment, “Woof woof...”

The bad dog choked on a swallowed bone.

That evening, on her usual route home, Su Ke Ke was cornered in a dark alley by three adult thugs wielding steel pipes.

“Ding-dong ~ Host detected to be ambushed.”

“Task issued: An Eye for an Eye.”

“Task objective: Inflict a heavy blow upon the hostile enemies around you!”

“Task reward: Basic Gift Pack x 1.”

“Failure penalty: Soul dissipation.”

Su Ke Ke cautiously backed away, her back pressed against the wall.

“Little girl, you've offended someone you shouldn't have; tough luck for you!”

The yellow-haired thug leading them sneered as he approached.

But what they saw was no longer the trembling girl.

There was no fear in Su Ke Ke's eyes, only an icy expanse.

She frantically activated the 'Calamity' Authority within her body.

An old light fixture on the alley ceiling suddenly exploded, sending glass shards raining down and forcing the thugs back.

She turned and ran.

A loose brick under her foot suddenly shifted, tripping another person who was chasing her.

She was like a black butterfly dancing amidst disaster, skillfully utilizing every available 'misfortune' in her environment to contend with the three adults.

She even gained the upper hand at one point, hitting the yellow-haired thug's forehead with a brick, then turning to rush out of the alley.

She did very well; for a sixteen-year-old girl, it was nothing short of a miracle.

But she ultimately lacked real combat experience.

Just as she was about to escape, a thug hidden in the shadows suddenly lunged out.

The steel pipe in his hand whistled through the air and slammed heavily into her back.

“Pfft—”

Intense pain struck.

Su Ke Ke's body flew out like a broken kite, falling heavily to the ground.

Her consciousness rapidly faded, and the world plunged into darkness.

In the Sea of Concepts, Gu Jianghan's will core popped up a message.

“Experiment subject No. 1's life signs have disappeared; task judged as failed. Executing failure penalty: Soul dissipation.”

Everything seemed so natural.

However, just as the 'eradication' procedure was about to begin, another higher-priority logical warning popped up.

“Logic domain anomaly: 'Failure penalty' command conflicts with the rule 'During task execution, target status locked to [Alive]'. Rule loophole detected.”

“Oh?”

A ripple appeared in Gu Jianghan's will.

This was a rule he had casually constructed the first time he acted as a system.

To prevent experimental subjects from accidentally dying during a task, which would interrupt data, he set a fundamental logic that they could not die before the countdown ended.

He hadn't expected this 'protection mechanism' to create a paradox with the 'failure penalty.'

“Correcting logic priority. 'Failure penalty' has absolute execution authority.”

His will flashed, and the rule loophole was perfectly mended in less than one Planck time.

For Su Ke Ke, this 'delay' of less than one Planck time was already a miracle.

In the alley, the girl who had just been lying motionless on the ground had the fatal wound through her back heal at a visible rate.

She suddenly opened her eyes.

She snorted, a mere fatal wound!

Then, with a carp-like flip, she stood up.

“Ghost—!”

The thugs were scared out of their wits, their fighting spirit completely gone.

Su Ke Ke seized this fleeting opportunity.

The fury of her resurrection and her hatred completely erupted.

She no longer dodged but actively charged forward.

The power of Calamity boiled around her.

A manhole cover under one thug's feet suddenly flipped over, causing him to fall in.

Another thug's steel pipe inexplicably slipped from his hand, hitting his own foot... Finally, under the terrified gazes of the thugs, Su Ke Ke picked up a steel pipe.

She knocked them all to the ground, blood continuously flowing.

“Task objective achieved.”

“Hostile personnel confirmed dead.”

“Task evaluation: S. Rewards are being distributed...”

“Basic Gift Pack has been sent to your storage space.”

Su Ke Ke stood at the alley entrance, gasping for breath.

She won, thanks to a bizarre 'death.'

“Luck born from rules is also part of strength,” a playful sentiment flashed through Gu Jianghan's will.

This girl, who should have been erased in failure, had miraculously turned the tables thanks to a 'minor flaw' in his rules.

This experiment seemed to be becoming more interesting than expected.

Just as Su Ke Ke was about to check her 'Newbie Gift Pack,' the cold system prompt sounded again.

But this time, it carried an unprecedented warning.

“Warning: The fluctuations of calamity and resentment energy you unleashed during the task have attracted the high attention of the local extraordinary organization, the 'Soul Suppression Bureau.' ”

“Newbie protection period has ended.”

“We wish you... a pleasant hunt.”