FangBro hesitated for only a moment before grinning wide, his two front teeth shining like headlights.

  “It’s not impossible,” he said. “But… it’ll cost extra.”

  “Easy,” Evan replied. “I’ll send you the equivalent of one Tier?6 extract per day.”

  FangBro’s eyes lit up.

  “No need for the gift shop. Just transfer it directly.”

  “Sure. Send me your account number later.”

  Hiring a Chrysalis?tier evolver for ten thousand Lin a day was cheap—almost too cheap.

  When Wendy Lewis crossed the Blackrock Mountains, even a Cocoon?peak fighter like Li Gaojie earned fifty thousand a day.

  And FangBro wasn’t even fighting.

  He was just guiding Evan around Rovan Kingdom.

  Plus, FangBro wasn’t a normal Chrysalis evolver.

  He was a pure survival specialist—zero combat power.

  So FangBro happily agreed.

  He could even keep streaming on the road and earn double income.

  “By the way, big bro,” FangBro said suddenly, “check my stream. I wonder if they finished fighting.”

  His phone was still somewhere in the Blackrock Mountains, streaming on autopilot.

  Evan opened the app.

  The screen was pitch?black.

  Judging from the chat, the Saint?tier battle had collapsed the mountain, burying the phone.

  No one saw the ending clearly—only that another Saint had joined the fight, apparently hostile to both Rovan and Muke.

  After dinner, Evan accompanied FangBro to buy a new streaming setup.

  That night, he stayed at FangBro’s place.

  FangBro lived alone.

  The house was big, messy, and smelled faintly of instant noodles.

  They discussed tomorrow’s plan.

  Evan suggested driving.

  He had no legal ID, so he couldn’t take public transportation.

  Rovan Academy was in the capital, Mori City—far from Monka.

  FangBro’s tunneling skill was fast, but using it for long?distance travel would exhaust him to death.

  FangBro wasn’t stupid.

  He could tell Evan’s identity was… sensitive.

  But Evan was generous, and FangBro wasn’t about to question the top donor’s secrets.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Seeing Evan didn’t want public transport, but also didn’t want to drive, FangBro offered an alternative.

  “We can take a boat.”

  “A boat?” Evan blinked—then remembered.

  Rovan Kingdom had the Vahn River, their so?called holy river, running through most of the country.

  “Yeah,” FangBro said. “We can charter a boat from Monka straight to Mori. Fast, direct, no detours.”

  He added, “If you don’t mind the cost, we can rent two trained Vahn River turtles to pull the boat. Even faster.”

  “Money isn’t a problem,” Evan said.

  Water travel was indeed better—faster, safer, and far less tiring.

  “Alright then,” FangBro said. “Tomorrow we rent a boat. And turtles.”

  The next morning, before they even left the house, the headlines hit them like a hammer.

  Muke Kingdom’s Saint?tier powerhouse Marcus Langford—dead.

  Evan immediately opened the article.

  Saint?tier evolvers were national treasures—symbols of power, deterrence, and stability.

  Under Linhua Empire’s rule, no Saint had died in decades.

  For one to fall now…

  The news detailed last night’s battle in the Blackrock Mountains.

  Evan already knew most of it—he was there.

  The report matched reality:

  Four Saints from Rovan and Muke interrupted the Rooted Spirit Tree’s evolution

  They severely injured the tree

  Just as they were about to finish it off, Silas Whitlock interfered

  Meanwhile, Quentin Vilewind infiltrated the root chamber to steal the spoils

  The four Saints discovered him and attacked

  So far, everything aligned with what Evan witnessed.

  But then—

  The article claimed Quentin underwent a bizarre mutation, his power skyrocketing, allowing him to fight four Saints at once.

  Evan’s eyelid twitched.

  Then Silas Whitlock returned to support Quentin, overwhelming the four Saints.

  The four used their trump cards to injure Silas—

  But that gave Quentin an opening.

  He used a strange ability to drain Marcus Langford to death.

  Silas escaped heavily wounded.

  Quentin vanished.

  Marcus Langford died.

  And the two kingdoms were left with a drained Rooted Spirit Tree—valuable, but nowhere near worth the loss.

  Especially for Muke.

  Even an aging Saint was a deterrent.

  Sometimes an old Saint was scarier than a young one.

  Evan stared at the screen, speechless.

  He had played a huge role in this disaster.

  If not for him:

  Quentin wouldn’t have tunneled underground

  Quentin wouldn’t have reached the root chamber

  Quentin wouldn’t have mutated into a twisted tree?spirit

  Quentin wouldn’t have been strong enough to fight four Saints

  Quentin wouldn’t have stayed to fight instead of fleeing

  Evan had only wanted to poison Quentin.

  He never expected to create a monster.

  Quentin was now stronger.

  And crazier.

  What a mess.

  The death of a Saint even alarmed the ruling Linhua Empire.

  They issued a continent?wide purge order against all Filthsoil members.

  The organization was about to suffer.

  Evan exhaled slowly.

  With the Rooted Spirit Tree incident over, Amida would soon leave Monka—taking Wendy Lewis with him.

  Whether he flew or used a movement skill, he’d reach Rovan Academy by tomorrow at the latest.

  Much faster than Evan’s boat.

  Meanwhile, Yeh Muni would likely stay in Monka to hunt Evan.

  “Let’s go,” Evan said. “Rent the boat. We leave today.”

  The world doesn’t wait for anyone.

  And Evan just learned that sometimes…

  your mistakes make the headlines before you do.