Infinite wealth In A New World-Chapter 354: Troublemakers
The holographic display pulsed a deep, warning crimson. The number solidified, vibrating with the sheer weight of its value:
[100,000,000,000.]
A heavy silence fell over the third floor of the Gilded Star, broken only by the sharp, hysterical bark of Carlton’s laughter.
"Hahahaha!! One hundred billion!! Bro, that is beyond my annual income!! How the hell can a nobody like you afford such a thing?" Carlton asked with a smirk. He looked around at the onlookers, feeding off their shocked expressions, before pointing his finger at his feet.
"I will forgive you if you get here and kneel at my feet, and admit defeat! At least, I won’t kill you or torture you," he said, his voice dripping with the casual cruelty of a man who believed he had already won.
Sunny didn’t respond with words. His face remained a calm, impenetrable mask. He reached into his coat and brought out a black card. Without a word, he tossed it at Julian. The clerk fumbled, his hands trembling as he caught it, his face filled with surprise at the strange weight of the card.
"Swipe the card," Sunny ordered.
"Swipe the card?!!" Carlton’s sneer turned into a look of genuine disbelief.
"Do you think this is 100 Galaxy crystals?! We’re talking of something which is one hundred billion. Even if you want to swipe the card, do you think you can pay that much money at once?!!"
He shook his head lightly, looking at Sunny with pity. "A fool... Truly a fool."
"Don’t mind him, Honey... He thinks he is God wolf... He should wake up from that dream," Elara said, clutching Carlton’s arm and leaning her head on his shoulder, her eyes mocking Josephine.
"God wolf? How can I be compared to that Emperor?" Sunny asked with a small smile, his eyes twinkling with a secret irony.
"Hmph! At least you have some sense... God wolf is beyond a god, he is someone that can touch the heavens, his wealth is immeasurable. There is no one that can rival such a person!" Carlton said, his eyes filled with genuine awe for the legendary figure. Even the onlookers nodded in solemn understanding.
"I am sorry, but I don’t know he is so strong... I thought he was just a wolf," Sunny said, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.
"You!! How dare you disrespect the emperor’s name!! Do you want to die!!" Carlton yelled, his face turning purple with rage. He gestured violently toward Julian. "What are you waiting for!!! Swipe the card!!"
’He is such a troublemaker...’ Morgana thought, watching the scene with a predatory boredom. She glanced at Sunny, then back at the trembling Carlton. ’If only Carlton knows the one he is betting with is God wolf himself.’ She shook her head lightly.
SWAP!
Julian ran the card through the high-capacity reader. For a second, the machine whirred, processing more wealth than the store had seen in a decade. Then, a clear, high-pitched chime echoed through the hall.
[PAYMENT SUCCESSFUL.]
".....?!!!"
"AHH!!"
"WTF!!!"
"Impossible!!!"
The whole third floor of Gilded Star was stunned in a daze. The shoppers, the guards, and even the other sales staff stood like statues, staring at the POS machine in total shock, their eyes wide open. One hundred billion had just moved from a single card into the store’s account as easily as if it were a handful of copper.
"How is that?" Sunny took his card back from the dazed Julian, his gaze settling on Carlton. The air in the room suddenly felt freezing, as if the oxygen was being sucked out of the space.
"It seems I can afford it. So why don’t you get to the bet," Sunny said, staring at the other party.
"You!! You... You tricked me! Yes, you tricked me, you despicable human!!" Carlton stammered, his bravado shattering into a thousand jagged pieces.
"Oh? You aren’t going down on your words, are you?" Sunny asked coldly.
In that instant, a drop of killing intent—pure, concentrated, and ancient—instantly spread all over the place. It felt like a mountain had suddenly dropped onto the shoulders of everyone in the room, causing them to tremble in primal fear.
"Come here," Sunny ordered.
"You. You?!" Carlton turned to the onlookers, desperate for support, but they were simply avoiding his gaze, their faces pale. This stranger wasn’t just wealthy; he was someone they realized they couldn’t mess with.
"Not coming?"
Before everyone knew what was happening, Sunny blurred. He appeared in front of Carlton, his hand moving like a lightning strike. He grabbed Carlton’s collar and threw him with effortless strength towards Josephine’s feet.
BAM!
Carlton hit the floor hard. He looked up in shock, his eyes watering from the impact.
"Get on your knees," Sunny commanded.
To the horror of everyone watching, Carlton’s body seemed to move on its own. His muscles locked and forced him down. He complied, getting on his knees as if a god had reached down and pressed him into the dirt.
"Now start."
With that, everyone watched in morbid fascination as Carlton, a powerful young master and the nephew of a high official, started kowtowing in front of Josephine. He kept hitting his head against the floor with such force that the marble cracked, and blood began to smear the tiles. He didn’t stop; he kept going until he reached one hundred kowtows. With the final strike, he collapsed on the ground, his spirit broken.
"I kept watching to see if he will follow the other part of the bet, but he didn’t." Sunny turned his cold gaze toward Elara.
"Why don’t you help your husband out, slap yourself one hundred times."
"You. How dare you?! Do you know who I am!?!!" Elara yelled, her voice shrill with terror as she pointed her finger at Sunny.
"I don’t care who you are... Start."
".....?!"
"Huh?"
Elara looked at her own hand in horror as it slowly rose into the air, moving against her will as if pulled by invisible strings.
"What... What is happening?!" she shrieked.
SLAP!!
The sound of the slap reverberated all over the floor, stunning everyone into a deeper silence.
"Wow, she is so ruthless to herself," someone whispered from the crowd.
"Hahah... Surprising. It seems like she can’t control herself," another said, the fear of the crowd turning into the dark amusement of watching the powerful fall.
"Who cares, this is a good show," a third added with a smile.
The customers and onlookers abandoned their shopping, gathering in a circle to watch Elara slap herself continuously. Her cheeks turned a bruised purple as she dropped to the ground, crying and pleading to Sunny.
"Master!! I am so sorry! It was a mistake!"
SLAP!!!
"Please, I will do anything, just make it stop."
SLAP!!
"My face is on fire... Please, Master!! No matter what you say, I will do it!!"
SLAP!!!
She didn’t reach the full amount. At the sixty-fifth strike, Elara’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed on the ground, unconscious from the trauma of her own hands.
"So pathetic, only stopped at 65 slaps." Sunny shook his head with a sigh of disappointment and gestured to Julian. "Bring me the necklace."
"Yes, Sir." Julian slowly unlocked the glass case, his movements reverent, and brought out the necklace, moving it toward Sunny.
Sunny casually took the 100-billion-crystal artifact from the case. He walked toward Carlton, who was still conscious, his forehead a bloody mess.
"You heard my wife before," Sunny said, squatting down before him and staring into his eyes. "My beautiful wife said she doesn’t like this necklace, so..."
".....?!!!"
Before everyone’s wide eyes, Sunny gripped the necklace. With his bare hands, he shattered the celestial metal. In seconds, he turned the entire masterpiece into ash. There were no flames, no energy signature, no flash of light; he simply willed the precious item out of existence.
"My god, I wanted to ask him to pay for it, then I remembered he already paid," a sales girl whispered, wiping sweat from her forehead despite the cool air of the store.
"I did this to show you that money is useless to me... Before me, even God wolf himself will bow," Sunny said. He stood up, dusted his hands, and walked toward Josephine. "Come on love, let’s continue our shopping," he said with a bright smile.
"Come on, you won’t stand there and stare all day." Morgana’s words snapped Julian out of his shock, and he quickly scurried to follow them.
"My god, that man is so wealthy... I can’t even imagine Julian’s commission from that necklace alone," another sales girl said, her voice heavy with envy.
____
[6 PM.]
The sun was beginning to dip, casting long, golden shadows across the elves’ city. Sunny, Josephine, and Morgana sat at an outdoor restaurant. They were licking ice cream and chatting quietly. After the incident, Josephine had developed a sudden craving for sweets.
"Why can’t we stay inside?" Morgana asked, her eyes constantly scanning the passing crowds for threats.
"Come on now... It’s better outside, we get fresh air and also see the city... If it gets dark, we can even see the stars," Josephine said with a peaceful smile, licking her ice cream.
Morgana stared at her and shook her head. "You are hopeless," she said, though her gaze softened slightly.
"Honey, I need more ice cream," Josephine said, completely ignoring Morgana’s grumbling.
"Which flavor?" Sunny asked, standing up.
"All flavors," Josephine yelled with a laugh.
"Ok. Ok... I will be back." Sunny walked inside the store to fetch the order.
Once he was out of earshot, Morgana’s posture shifted. She licked her black-colored ice cream, her eyes turning sharp. "Why did you send him away? You want them to act?" she asked in a low voice.
"They are getting on my nerves," Josephine said, her expression cooling. "I know he already sensed them, but I want to deal with them myself."
WHOOSH!!
The air suddenly turned cold. Twenty figures dressed in midnight-black gear descended from the sky like falling soot, landing in a perfect circle around the two women. The onlookers screamed, scattering as the atmosphere instantly grew heavy with killing intent.
"Ninjago arts!!" the attackers yelled in unison.
Before anyone could blink, a cloud of thick dust erupted. When it cleared, the two ladies and the strangers were gone.
_
Sunny walked out of the restaurant a moment later, a large ice cream bowl in hand. He stared at the empty chairs, a slight frown creasing his brow.
"Why are these two so childish?" He walked to the table and placed the ice cream down. He knew they hadn’t been "taken" against their will—not easily, anyway.
"I should go, Josephine is pregnant, I should at least look after her in the shadows."
He took a full spoon of the ice cream, tasting the sweetness. "Hmm... You are coming with me." He picked up the bowl and looked at the sky.
’The restrictions on the lower world have been destroyed... Those two strengths are beyond anything in the Lower world.’
With a soft pop of displaced air, Sunny vanished, leaving the remaining onlookers in a state of total collapse.
"What the hell is happening today?!!" someone yelled into the empty street.
