Inside the elevator, the chase was on.
The guy charged at him, fist glowing green. Alex dodged—the punch whooshed past his shoulder.
The elevator shook like crazy. Metal groaned. Lights flickered.
"Let's see where you run, little rat!" The guy's voice was ice cold.
Alex's back hit the wall. The guy had him cornered from every angle.
Another punch came flying! Alex dropped low, rolled right between the guy's legs. That fist smashed the wall—punched a straight-up hole through the metal!
"You little—!"
The guy spun around to grab him.
Alex rolled away, but the teleportation potion slipped out of his pocket, sliding toward the corner.
"Shit—!"
Alex lunged for it. Fingers stretched out. Almost there—
A boot stomped down at the vial!
Right before it crushed it, Alex's hand shot out fast as hell, snatched the potion, and rolled to the other side in one move.
"You're dead!" The guy roared and came at him again.
Right then—DING!
Fifth floor.
The elevator doors slid open.
Alex didn't think twice. Clutching the potion, he rolled right out.
Hit the ground hard. Kept rolling a few more times.
When he looked up, he froze.
A wall of people surrounded him. Twenty, thirty, maybe more. All black suits. All staring at him like he was already a corpse.
And right in the middle, arms crossed, face twisted with pure hate—
Rex.
His clothes were still wet. Hair stuck to his forehead. Eyes bloodshot, wild like some beast.
Looked like a demon crawled out of hell.
"Found you." Rex's voice was quiet. Way too quiet. "Thought you could run? Thought you were smart?"
He stepped forward. The crowd automatically parted for him.
Alex tried to stand, but the people around him instantly closed in, oppressive pressure crashing down from all sides.
Rex crouched in front of him, face just inches away. Smiled. That smile was cold with zero warmth.
"I'm going to make you regret being alive." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Death? Too good for you."
"I'm gonna play with you slowly till you break."
"That good buddy of yours, Bob right? Tsk tsk, heard his parents run a little restaurant?"
"I'll have someone burn it down. His whole family. Not one of them's walking away."
Alex's pupils shrank instantly, ice-cold fury surging up.
Rex saw his reaction and smiled even wider.
"Oh? You care? Perfect. I'll make you watch how they die."
"Then I'll deal with you. Slowly."
The two lackeys beside him joined in with mockery:
"Young Master Rex is too merciful! I say just kill him and be done with it!"
"Right! This trash even deserves to live? Look at that pathetic look, bet he'll piss himself any second, hahaha!"
"I bet he's gonna kneel and beg! Tsk tsk, the so-called genius who triggered the X-rank portal, and this is it? Hilarious!"
"X-rank? Bullshit X-rank! F-rank slime is his true calling! Trash matches trash, perfect pair!"
The crowd closed in tighter. Suffocating pressure.
The mall's fifth floor—hollow in the middle, you could see straight down to the first-floor lobby. The railing was just a few meters away.
But right now, over thirty guys in black suits had Alex completely surrounded. Not even a fly could escape.
No way out.
No system choices appearing.
No miracle.
The teleportation potion was still clutched in his hand, but with this many people watching, he'd get subdued before he could drink it.
The mall music kept playing, but in Alex's ears it sounded like a funeral bell.
Was this it?
Was this how it ended?
Bob would die. Bob's parents would die. Because of him.
Alex's mind raced desperately, searching for any possible way out—
But there was nothing.
Just Rex's twisted smile getting closer.
And those lackeys' mocking laughter.
And that crushing weight of absolute despair.
Alex tightened his grip on the potion vial. His fingers went white from the pressure.
Rex reached out, about to grab his collar.
Right at that moment—
The system interface finally popped up!
Three options appeared before his eyes:
Option 1: Fight them! Summon your slime right here and battle to the death!
Reward: Upgrade to Rank 8 Beast Tamer! + Potion Gift Pack ×1
Bonus Title: The Departed Lives On
Effect: Your heroic deeds in life will be widely remembered!
Option 2: Drop to your knees and become Rex's dog, shout "Daddy I was wrong! Do whatever you want with me!"
Reward: Small amount of Spirit Energy
Title Gained: Coward
Effect: Opposite sex attraction -100%! Even Lilian will look down on you!
Option 3: Leap from the heights! My fate is mine alone!
Reward: Gigantification skill level +1
Alex looked at these three options, and suddenly the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.
Alex slowly stood up.
All the guys in black suits stared at him, but a smile appeared on his face.
"Then you're gonna be disappointed."
His voice was light, but every word crystal clear.
"Because I'll always be your father."
"And a father never loses to his son."
Rex froze for a second.
Then—
"YOU'RE DEAD!!!"
Fury consumed him, eyes bloodshot, he charged straight at Alex, hands reaching to strangle his neck!
The other black suits swarmed in too!
Alex rolled to the side, dodging Rex's lunge.
At the same time—
"Come out, my partner!"
Golden light flashed.
That tiny, yellow, looks-like-a-turd slime appeared on the ground.
It blinked its big watery eyes. "Glup?"
Next second—
"Gigantification!"
BOOM!!!
The slime exploded in size! Like a balloon being inflated!
In the blink of an eye it became a massive, golden-yellow, super bouncy giant ball!
"What the—?!" The black suits cried out.
The moment the slime hit the ground, the whole floor shook.
Then it bounced up!
Launched Alex, who was standing nearby, straight into the air!
"Holy shit—!"
Alex got catapulted toward the railing!
He flipped mid-air, landed steadily on the railing, one hand on the bar, glancing back with a smile.
Sunlight poured down from the mall's skylight, hitting his face perfectly.
In that moment, he looked devastatingly cool.
"You jump, I jump."
He said softly.
Then—
Leaped off!
From the fifth floor, straight down!
"Glup glup glup!!"
The slime cried out urgently and jumped after him!
Its massive body tumbled through the air, crushing every black suit in its path!
"AHHHHH!"
"Help!"
"My leg—!"
Screams erupted everywhere!
Several guys got flattened like pancakes, stuck to the ground unable to move.
The slime tumbled downward through the air, Alex falling too.
They got closer and closer.
Alex reached out and hugged the slime's soft, warm body.
"Good job, partner."
He said quietly.
Then a flash of light—the slime got recalled into his contract space.
In that instant—
The mall music happened to start playing.
"You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains..."
The iconic Titanic melody echoed through the mall.
Alex spread his arms mid-air, closed his eyes.
Wind rushed through his hair.
Sunlight bathed him.
The scene was beautiful like a painting.
Like a free soul.
Then—
He opened his eyes, pulled out the teleportation potion from his pocket, and chugged it in one gulp!
The moment the liquid hit his throat, his body started going transparent.
The first-floor ground got closer and closer—ten meters, five meters, three meters—
Just one second before smashing into the ground—
Whoosh!
Alex's figure vanished into thin air!
Only a gust of wind remained.
Fifth floor railing.
Rex rushed to the edge, hands gripping the bar, frantically looking down.
"Bastard! That bastard definitely died! Hahaha! Splattered into paste!"
He laughed like a maniac.
A lackey beside him said carefully, "Um... Young Master Rex..."
"What?!"
"He... he seems to have... disappeared..."
Rex's laughter froze.
He stared hard at the first floor.
Empty.
Nothing there.
No body.
No blood.
Nothing at all.
"Disappeared? What the hell does disappeared mean?!"
"It's just... when he was falling... he suddenly... vanished..."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Rex grabbed the lackey's collar and lifted him up.
"Find him! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to!"
"Y-yes yes!"
The lackey nearly pissed himself in fear.
Rex let go, both hands on the railing, his whole body trembling.
From rage.
That extreme, about-to-explode kind of rage.
"Alex... ALEX!!!"
He roared at the sky.
His voice echoed through the entire mall.
Everyone stopped and stared at this rich young master who'd completely lost it.
People pulled out phones and kept filming.
Comments flooded the livestreams again:
[LMAO Rex broke again]
[Two social deaths in a row, who could handle that]
[Cute boy: I'm literally your dad]
[Slime: glup glup!]
[That Titanic music killed me hahaha]
Rex's whole body shook, eyes bloodshot.
He spun around suddenly and punched the pillar beside him.
BOOM!
A crack split through the pillar.
"Find out where he lives!! Find out who's in his family!"
"I'm gonna make him regret being born!"