CHAPTER 140: AN UNEXPECTED GUNSHOT

"Nice."

Veil couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Was Mia stunning?

Did he absolutely have to have her?

Honestly, not really.

But the Son of Destiny, Derek, had tried over and over again to form a connection, even offering to help her escape from this place—only to be repeatedly rejected.

He didn’t even have to say anything, and yet Mia willingly threw herself into his arms.

This stark contrast in treatment? Even a villain like him couldn’t help but enjoy it.

He had to admit—using certain details from the original plot, he could now manipulate Derek’s moral high ground and completely suppress it.

Sure, the owner of Flora Spring had taken Mia in, but he had never once forced her to do anything against her will. Wasn’t that a bit too convenient?

Let’s be honest—it was clearly a setup to allow Derek and Mia to reunite later.

If Veil hadn’t interfered this time, Derek would’ve met Mia as soon as he arrived. Even if there had been some tension or a brief argument, it wouldn’t have gotten too ugly. Hell, with a little show of strength, Derek might’ve even caught the owner’s eye and been introduced to Tiger Roar.

And because Veil had helped Mia before, he felt a bit indebted—and had agreed to do a favor for Tiger Roar.

Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to act cool?

It was all a goddamn setup.

Every bit of it—just part of the script.

Too bad for them Veil knew the plot like the back of his hand. He took advantage of the loopholes and gave Derek a taste of his own medicine.

"Derek, how full of yourself do you have to be?"

Veil sat with one leg crossed over the other, glancing sideways at Derek with a mocking grin.

"You’ve already got a breathtaking beauty as your Fourth Elder Sister, and now you’re here chasing after your childhood sweetheart? What’s the plan—make her your Fifth Elder Sister too?"

Mia, sitting in his arms, frowned as she turned to look in Derek’s direction. The decision she had just made now felt even more right.

This guy had the audacity to show up alone and still stay entangled with some so-called Fourth Elder Sister?

And if there was a Fourth, didn’t that mean there had to be a First, Second, and Third too?

Men. All liars.

She had believed Derek was different, that he could at least remain loyal to one woman. But that one supposed virtue had just been crushed by Veil’s words.

"Veil! You... bastard!"

Derek narrowed his eyes, his teeth clenched in rage as he stared at the scene before him.

That little girl from his childhood—the one he had promised to marry someday—was now lying in the arms of another man. His enemy, no less.

A surge of blood rushed straight to his head.

Bang!

With a vicious kick, Derek sent one of Tiger Roar’s men flying over ten meters. The guy slammed into the private room’s wall like a bug, stuck there for a few seconds before sliding down.

Tiger Roar’s subordinates had long been terrified by Derek.

He was terrifying.

A monster.

Like a walking weaponized machine—none of them stood a chance. Dozens of elites had already been knocked out. What could this handful do?

Still, despite their fear, none of them dared stop. Under Tiger Roar’s cold glare, they charged in—only to be flung away like rag dolls.

Eventually, Tiger Roar, watching his men drop like flies, rolled up his sleeves, clearly ready to step in himself.

Then—

Bang!

A sudden gunshot rang out.

The sharp, piercing crack stopped Derek in his tracks. He stepped back cautiously, eyes locking onto the figure behind Veil.

Kai raised his handgun, smoke trailing from the barrel as he blew it away.

"Fast, aren’t you?" he sneered. "Come on, tough guy. Wanna see if your legs can outrun my bullets?"

Fuck you.

He’d been holding this in for a while now. He had given up revenge out of respect for his young master, but Derek just wouldn’t stop stirring up trouble.

And now this guy thought he could walk away untouched?

Derek sneered, his voice cold. "A single pistol, and you think that’s enough to make me back down? Don’t underestimate me."

Instead of retreating, he advanced—rushing toward Veil once again.

Kai pulled the trigger—another shot fired.

This time, he was aiming directly at Derek’s head, but in the split second before the bullet left the chamber, Derek’s body twisted ever so slightly, avoiding the shot by just inches.

Cody and the others couldn’t hold back any longer. They all pulled out their firearms and opened fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets whizzed past Derek’s skin, missing by centimeters.

So close—yet not a single shot hit him.

Gulp.

Someone in the room audibly swallowed.

First, the young master’s bodyguards had drawn their weapons and fired without hesitation. That was already terrifying enough.

But what Derek did next nearly made their eyeballs pop out.

He dodged bullets.

Literally dodged them.

"Fuck! This guy’s not human—he’s a damn monster!"

"Young Master, maybe you should leave first. He’s too strong—we won’t be able to hold him off for long."

"If only we had a bomb. I’d love to see him dodge that shit!"

Kai and Cody cursed under their breath, faces dark and tense.

No one dared underestimate this young man anymore—not when he was roughly the same age as Veil and could still pull this off.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Veil slowly applauded, a gleam of admiration in his eyes as he looked at Derek.

"Impressive. Very impressive. Dodging bullets—that kind of strength makes it nearly impossible to keep you here today. But still... you haven’t made a single step forward since the shooting started."

He pointed to Derek’s feet.

From the moment the first shot was fired, Derek hadn’t advanced—he had actually stepped back several times.

"Why don’t we just call it even? No deep hatred between us. I lost a friend—Dorian Wilson. You lost a childhood sweetheart—Mia. Let’s call it quits, yeah?"

A grin tugged at Veil’s lips as he pulled Mia—dressed in a sailor uniform—even closer into his embrace, further provoking Derek.

Hmph.

Derek snorted but said nothing.

His eyes were locked on Kai, Cody, and the six armed guards in front of him. His focus sharpened.

Then—he moved.

Charging straight at Veil.

Bang!

Kai fired first.

But the moment he raised his gun and squeezed the trigger, Derek made a tiny adjustment—tilting his head about five centimeters to the left.

The bullet grazed past his right cheek.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

More gunfire erupted.

This time, Derek didn’t retreat. On the contrary—he surged forward even faster.

He wasn’t leaving empty-handed.

Veil had crossed the line—and he needed to pay.

As Derek closed in—just over ten meters away from Veil, ready to leap—

Bang!

Another sudden gunshot.

Derek stumbled.

He dragged his left leg a few steps before stopping, eyes wide as he looked down at his shredded calf.

His mind went blank.

What the hell?

He’d already calculated all the bullet trajectories—none of them should’ve hit his leg.

Bang!

Before he could react, another shot tore through his right leg.

The bullet didn’t just puncture it—it blew it apart. The flesh and even bone were mangled.

Veil casually withdrew his hand from Mia’s embrace. Dangling from his fingers was a small silver-white handgun, roughly the size of half a palm, crafted from ivory.

Dodging bullets?

Bullshit.

Even Veil couldn’t pull that off, let alone someone potentially weaker than him.

Derek wasn’t faster than bullets.

He just used his instincts and prediction—adjusting his body before the shot was fired, based on subtle clues in the shooter’s posture.

All Veil had to do... was not let him see the trigger being pulled.

Hide the gun inside Mia’s sailor uniform?

Problem solved.