The East District crowd stared in shock. None of them expected someone actually crazy enough to volunteer for a suicide mission.
This wasn’t normal Roulette of Fate. Usually， one win was enough. But now they had to keep winning until the artifact approved， and Ryker had already won three rounds， fired five shots， and still hadn’t earned its favor. The difficulty was insane.
“Who is that? Who’s that reckless?”
Heads turned. A ragged boy， chained at the ankles， stepped slowly forward.
His face was caked in mud， his features hidden， but his eyes burned bright， unlike anyone else.
Everyone else’s eyes were empty， dull， cruel， or greedy. But Jax’s fire never died. It was a flame woven from civilization and wildness.
“Jax?!” someone gasped.
“Wasn’t he crazy a while ago?”
“Duh. You think anyone sane would step up now?”
“I heard he got hit by something while hunting in the Wasteland. Went totally nuts， kept yelling stuff like‘I am the god of a new age! From today I stand above all!’”
“More than that! I heard him spouting poems too! Something like‘Who reigns supreme at the Wasteland’s end? All bow before Jax!’‘Snow and storm have crushed me for years， but I’ll climb to the peak anyway…’”
Jax’s face darkened at the whispers. Cringeworthy memories flooded back.
Right after he crossed over and unlocked Time Stop， he’d immediately gone full“I don’t eat beef” villain mode.
Declared himself the god of a new era， looked down on everyone like they were insects.
Then Talan’s men showed up for protection money. Jax had lost his temper. What trash? A mere East District leader? An ant? Daring to collect from a god?
He’d talked a big game， stared down their guns， ready to unleash his divine power， then froze. Time Stop had cut out after two seconds， he’d wasted 50-odd seconds testing it earlier.
That was when he learned his Time Stop only lasted one minute a day.
And that was how he’d gone from underclassman to slave.
Madness from Wasteland contamination was common. Talan’s group had just thought he’d lost his mind， and didn’t want to waste a worker， so they enslaved him.
The past was humiliating， but luckily his face was covered in grime. No one could see his flush.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Talan’s face lit up when someone volunteered， then twisted into a weird expression when he saw who it was.
Jax?!
This kid was crazy， wasn’t he?
That same morning， he’d been ranting about being a god， rambling about building a new era…
“You…” Talan began， unsure what to say.
“I’m better. I ate a toxic mushroom in the wild earlier， had some hallucinations.” Jax lied without blinking.
He’d always been fond of a good fib.
Talan saw Jax spoke clearly， no longer claiming divinity， and relaxed. Toxic mushrooms in the Wasteland did cause hallucinations， some people even sought them out on purpose.
“Kid， I thought you’d been corrupted， that’s why I made you a slave. Don’t worry. If you bond with Breath of Bone…”
“I’ll not only restore your citizen status， I’ll swear brotherhood with you! From now on， the East District is ours!”
Talan’s tone was warm， but he was just making empty promises.
Jax scoffed inwardly. He’d eaten enough of those lies in his past life. His old boss had fed them to him daily. He wasn’t buying Talan’s act.
“Unlock them.” He rattled his ankle chains.
Talan’s eyes flashed cold at the rude order， but he smiled anyway.“My mistake. Someone， unlock him!”
A subordinate ran over with a key and freed Jax.
Jax stretched his stiff legs， then kicked the mummy off the chair.
Thud!
The corpse flew a meter， shattering apart.
His arrogant entrance made everyone stare. He wanted to keep a low profile， but how could you when you had Time Stop? Even one minute wasn’t enough to be a god， but it was more than enough to be arrogant.
Ryker“Sleight of Hand” narrowed his eyes， wary of the cocky boy in front of him.
He recognized the East District kid. Word was Jax was a lone wolf in the Wasteland， surviving alone by hunting.
In this world， anyone who hunted alone in the Wasteland was dangerous.
Then he’d heard Jax went crazy. Turned out it was just a toxic mushroom.
But would a Wasteland hunter really eat a random toxic mushroom? Starvation? Or thrill-seeking?
As Ryker overthought， Jax sat down across from him.
He would’ve waited longer to step up， if he wasn’t afraid Talan would forfeit.
The time was 23:55.
After his earlier embarrassment， Jax had fully figured out his Time Stop. He even understood its source: Time Desynchronization.
Time Desynchronization sounded complicated. And honestly? It was.
The mystery of time could only be fully understood from a higher dimension， low-dimensional beings could barely grasp it.
He couldn’t put the mechanics into words， only wrap his head around it with a metaphor.
Simply put: his old world， the civilized one 200 years ago， and this cataclysm world， flowed at different speeds.
There was a one-minute gap between them.
Both before and after the Cataclysm， humans defined a day as 24 hours.
But if you measured strictly: the old world’s day was 24 hours. This world’s day? 23 hours and 59 minutes.
He didn’t know why the gap existed， probably the Great Cataclysm a century ago.
His soul， a 24-hour creature， had landed in a 23h59m world. So every day， he gained one extra minute to use freely!
That was why Jax could stop time for one minute per day.
“Let’s start.” Ryker said.
“First or me?” Jax asked， stalling for time.
Ryker frowned.“We rock-paper-scissors for it. You didn’t watch just now?”
Bang!
Jax slammed his fist on the table. The noise made both districts jump， some even reached for their guns.
“Who you calling blind?! Who?! Say it again!”
Ryker stared， confused.“I never called you blind—”
“Shut up! You dare lie?!” Jax flew into a fake rage， grabbing Ryker’s floral shirt like he was about to fight.
Click-clack!
Viper and the West District pulled guns， aiming at Jax.
Talan’s men behind Jax reacted instantly， drawing their own weapons and pointing back.
The two sides were on the edge of a shootout.
