The Price of Arrogance

The saleswoman’s eyes flashed with a hint of malice.The next moment, she grabbed the walkie-talkie from her waist and called out:

“Hey? Yang Tianyi! I have two troublemakers here! Come quickly and deal with them!”

“If you handle this well for me, tonight… I’ll give you a chance, allowing you to treat me to dinner~”

On the other end of the walkie-talkie, the man who heard these words responded with an extremely excited voice:

“Really? Xiao Li! Wait for me! I’m coming right away!”

Upon hearing the man on the walkie-talkie agree to her request, a trace of relief appeared on the saleswoman’s face.

After all, Yang Tianyi, as the security supervisor of Jintai Department Store — essentially the head of security — possessed genuine skill, even if she typically didn’t hold him in high regard.

More importantly, he had been relentlessly pursuing her, always eager to obey her every command.

Now was the perfect moment for him to prove his worth and clear away these two troublesome individuals before her.

The saleswoman straightened her back again and declared to Liuxia and Li Chunsheng:

“I advise you to get out of here immediately! Otherwise, once the security supervisor arrives, you’ll face serious consequences!”

In her view, or rather, she had forced herself to believe, that this attractive pair before her were nothing more than penniless individuals, merely possessing good looks.

With just a few simple tactics, their facade would easily crumble.

Upon hearing this, Liuxia displayed a somewhat timid expression, yet Li Chunsheng gently took her hand.

“It’s alright, Senior,” he comforted her softly, “I can handle this.”

Just moments ago, Liuxia had stepped forward for his own dignity, even going so far as to call himself a maid again to elevate Li Chunsheng, and this act had filled Li Chunsheng’s heart with a wave of warmth.

Consequently, he, who had originally intended to find an excuse to leave immediately, swiftly changed his mind.

At the very least, this snobbish saleswoman, who looked down on others, needed to pay a price.

Otherwise, wouldn’t Liuxia’s kind intentions have been utterly wasted?

Thus, the two remained resolutely in place, awaiting the arrival of the so-called security supervisor.

Before long, a series of urgent, heavy footsteps echoed from a distance.

A man was seen rushing towards them with an imposing aura, his strides vigorous, his body a mass of coiled muscles, exuding a formidable prowess.

Even before he arrived, the powerful presence of a Black Iron-grade peak expert assailed them.

“Oh?” Li Chunsheng raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his gaze.

A Black Iron-grade peak expert was an exceedingly rare sight, being the closest an ordinary citizen could get to a Bronze Paladin—even the Head of Security at the Mu Corporation was far from reaching this pinnacle.

Generally, achieving this level required immense resource consumption and relentless, daily arduous training, both indispensable.

As for himself, it was only by brazenly spending with his cheat-like ‘Infinite Gold Coins’ ability that he had the opportunity to elevate his physical body to such a realm.

“You… how dare you… huh?!” Yang Tianyi arrived at the scene, his first action a booming reprimand, but as his eyes registered the faces of the two individuals before him, the rest of his words abruptly caught in his throat.

He instinctively cast an inquiring glance at Xiao Li, the saleswoman beside him: ‘What’s going on here?’

‘These two, despite their disheveled appearance, possessed a striking elegance that unmistakably hinted at wealth…’

As the saleswoman had summoned Yang Tianyi to handle the situation, she naturally felt compelled to explain patiently.

She leaned close to Yang Tianyi’s ear and sneered with a disdainful tone:

“Tianyi, don’t be fooled by their appearance! Look closely at their clothes; where do they look like rich people?”

“Besides, if they were truly wealthy, why would they waste nearly an hour here with a nobody like me?”

“True VIPs despise wasting time and words; they’d simply smash my face with their ‘gold content’!”

Upon hearing the saleswoman’s seemingly logical explanation, Yang Tianyi instantly understood, and his heart swelled with profound emotion.

‘Xiao Li, she actually called me Tianyi!’

‘It was the first time she’d used such an intimate address; she must care about me!’

In that moment, Yang Tianyi’s mind was already envisioning a beautiful future: walking down the aisle with Xiao Li, and himself generating even more gold coins.

His courage bolstered, he turned a fierce expression towards Liuxia and Li Chunsheng, declaring:

“Since you’ve stayed here and haven’t left, you’re clearly not just ordinary troublemakers; we must strike with full force!”

As he spoke, casting aside any pretense of martial ethics, he pulled a black cube from his pocket and gently squeezed it.

“Transform!” Yang Tianyi roared.

The next instant, accompanied by an unusual, metallic-sounding music, the black cube dissolved into countless black particles, which then formed a sleek, insectoid black armor, enveloping Yang Tianyi’s entire body.

A terrifying aura, far surpassing that of a Black Iron-grade peak expert, erupted from him instantly, solidifying into visible currents of air that surged towards those nearby, causing their clothes to snap and flutter violently.

“This is! A transformation-type Black Iron-grade artifact!” Liuxia let out an uncontrollable gasp.

“He… he’s actually allowed to use this in the city!”

Hearing the beautiful maid’s exclamation, the saleswoman inwardly sneered.

Yang Tianyi was an elite, having graduated from District 13’s top technical college, and had long since acquired a “Black Iron-grade Military Application License” issued by the Sanctuary.

This permit allowed him to legally and compliantly use military-grade Black Iron-grade artifacts within pre-registered zones.

Such power was not something ordinary Black Iron-grade citizens, who merely possessed the rank without true combat experience, could contend with.

“I am the pinnacle of technical college graduates! Who dares to challenge me, who can challenge me!” Yang Tianyi burst into a self-satisfied roar of laughter, then took a forceful step forward.

The air around him hummed, his presence utterly astonishing.

Possessing a military application license, Yang Tianyi naturally also had a certain level of military acumen.

He swiftly surveyed the scene and immediately sensed the “softest persimmon” present.

The next moment, Yang Tianyi moved, his form blurring into a black afterimage, and he lunged directly towards Liuxia!

Attack what the enemy must save!

Strike first, seize the initiative!

Should the man who appeared to be a bodyguard be forced to defend the maid, he would inevitably be swiftly overwhelmed and ultimately defeated by the formidable power of Yang Tianyi’s Black Iron-grade artifact-enhanced armor.

Conversely, if the man proved cowardly and chose not to intervene, Yang Tianyi could seize the exquisite maid as a hostage, thereby exerting immense psychological pressure upon him!

Thus, in that instant, both Yang Tianyi and Xiao Li, the saleswoman, simultaneously displayed confident and cruel smiles.

In their eyes, victory was already assured!

Even Liuxia showed a tense expression; yet, what about Li Chunsheng?

His eyes merely narrowed slightly, his eyelids drooping as if he were on the verge of sleep…

Yet, beneath his lowered eyelids, his originally dull, black pupils subtly shimmered with a brilliant golden light!

“Haha! Little girl, don’t move recklessly! If you do, you might get hurt!” Yang Tianyi cackled wildly, his hand already brushing the hem of the girl’s garment.

Just then, a voice, so calm it bordered on indifferent, echoed from behind him.

“Did I tell you to touch her?”

“When?” Yang Tianyi’s pupils contracted slightly.

Just one second prior, he had clearly seen the man in the security uniform standing motionless beside the maid!

“Get down…”

“Kneel!”

A seemingly ordinary hand extended from behind him and gently pressed against Yang Tianyi’s hard black armor.

“Boom!”

A profoundly dull thud resounded, and the next moment, the floor of this level seemed to tremble slightly in response.

Yang Tianyi, who moments ago had been so arrogant, now found his knees buckling uncontrollably, slamming heavily onto the ground under Li Chunsheng’s seemingly light tap.

The high-strength marble floor, where his knees had made contact, instantly fractured outwards from that central point, forming a clearly visible, spiderweb-like crater.

Furthermore, the shoulder armor he wore, under that seemingly light strike, silently… disintegrated into dust.

A deathly silence fell over the entire scene!

“Th-th-th-th-this…” the saleswoman shrieked like a startled hen, the color draining instantly from her face.

Meanwhile, Yang Tianyi, his knees shattered and himself kneeling on the ground, let out a groan mingled with excruciating pain and boundless terror.

“Bro-Bronze-grade!… It’s… a Paladin!”

In the surrounding shops, the employees who had been drawn by the immense commotion and poked their heads out to watch the spectacle, gasped in unison at the sight before them.

And Liuxia, on her part, finally became thoroughly anxious…

“He actually used that!… Now… Chunsheng, he’s definitely going to spend so, so many gold coins!”

In the girl’s eyes, she never worried that Li Chunsheng, possessing a Bronze-grade artifact, would lose to such an opponent.

She was simply, genuinely concerned that Li Chunsheng would have to spend a vast amount of money because of her.