[ Neon POV ]
VIP room 112.
"That was fun." Jess said with a wide smile on her face.
Fun fact, excluding the special biddings and the fiftieth bid, I wasn't responsible for the bids under my name since the fifth one. All the remaining biddings were made by her.
"Yeah, I bet spending someone else's money was fun," I teased, raising an eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes, tossing my own words back at me. "Hey, you were the one who said, 'Feel free and bid for whatever you like.' Besides, who was it that said, 'Money isn't a problem for Young Master Neon,' hmm?"
"True," I admitted with a grin. "But you're the one who owns the items now. You bid, you own 'em."
"Wait... what?" Her eyes widened, clearly not expecting that.
"Yeah. Everything you bid for is yours. I've got no use for that stuff." I shrugged, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Jess's smile faltered for a moment, replaced by a confused, almost conflicted expression. "But what am I supposed to do with all this? I mean..."
I started to respond, but she cut me off. "You know what? Fine. I'll claim them. My fans have been so loyal, this is my chance to give back. Neon…" She paused, a softness entering her tone. "Thank you."
"Ha, don't mention it. I'm rich, remember?"
"No. No matter how rich you are, this is a lot more than anyone would usually give away, so... thank you."
Her sincerity caught me off guard. I hadn't expected this moment to feel so significant, but somehow it did. I cleared my throat, and before I could get too caught up in it, I pulled out the fairy bracelet I'd kept aside.
"Here. My princess, your second gift of the night." I gently slipped the bracelet onto her wrist, watching as the delicate blue-gold design shimmered against her skin. Jess glanced at it, then back at me, her gaze lingering.
"So, are you gonna ask, or what?" she said with a playful smirk.
"Ask what?" I blinked, genuinely confused.
She rolled her eyes again. "Don't play dumb. You know exactly what I'm talking about."
"I mean… we just met. It'd be weird to ask, wouldn't it?"
"Weird?" she scoffed. "What's weird about it?"
"I don't know." I scratched the back of my head, feeling awkward now. "Since you already know what I'm thinking… Will you?"
Jess's smile softened. "I'll think about it," she teased, turning away as the auction drew to a close and the teleportation gate opened.
I stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, before snapping out of it. "Wait, what? What do you mean think abou—"
Halfway through my sentence, I felt it—the sudden, jarring shift in the atmosphere. Something was wrong.
I stopped mid-step. The teleportation gate had brought us out into... a wasteland. The black market, the grand building that housed it just minutes ago, was now nothing but ruins. Rubble stretched out for miles, buildings reduced to piles of debris. The once blue sky had turned a hellish red, casting an eerie glow over the devastation.
"Demons." We both said in unison.
"Neon, we need to get out of here and find Dad, fast," Jess said, urgency clear in her voice.
"Yeah, didn't you bid for a vehicle? Let's use it to get to the mansion," I said, quickly forming a plan. But as I thought about it, a strange thought popped up in my mind. 'Despite everything, this sudden destruction, I don't feel fear or anger. Just... nothing. Since I woke, I have noticed, am only interested in Jess and myself, nothing else. This is not the effect of [Power], its just... who I really am.'
Jess interrupted my thoughts. "We can't go to the mansion. Dad won't be there. He's at the military base on the eastern edge of the city. That's where the emergency evacuation teleportation gate is, too." She pointed her left hand toward a flat surface, and in a flash, her dimension ring glowed, revealing a sleek, wheeled sport bike.
"Alright, let's—" I stopped mid-sentence, sensing movement from the right.
A humanoid figure was racing toward us, fast.
I stood still, waiting. Thirty seconds later, the figure came into full view—level 1, humanoid, with a long tail trailing behind. Its yellow eyes locked onto mine as it charged.
"Human! We will win!" it bellowed, claws extending from its hands as it lunged at me.
In an instant, I grabbed its neck with my right hand, stopping it cold. With my left hand, I seized its head and, with a swift motion, tore it clean off. Blood sprayed, but I turned the body just enough to avoid being hit.
"Shut your lizard trap, bro," I muttered, tossing the head and body aside.
Jess didn't even flinch. "A Dragonite. So they're behind this," she said calmly.
"Looks like it," I replied, brushing off the encounter. "Let's show these disrespectful pests who's in charge."
She hopped onto the bike behind me. "Let's go."
With a quick rev of the engine, we were off.
The bike roared to life as I pushed it to its limits, racing through the city's ruins. Buildings lay in rubble, fights broke out everywhere between officials and Dragonite demons. Jess dispatched them with precise mana bolts, never missing a beat.
Not wanting to be left behind, I summoned energy blades, slicing through any demon in our path. But it wasn't about firing off attacks; it was about plowing right through them.
Two minutes later, we screeched to a halt at the military base. It was packed—civilians and officials, scrambling for safety.
I turned to Jess. "Let's find your dad and get out of here."