The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

The scorching summer heat was best enjoyed indoors, with an ice-cold cola and a video game.

"This is the life~"

Nestled on the sofa, Li Bei set down his cola and contentedly picked up his controller, resuming his in-game battle.

A month had passed since his time as Shoko had ended.

For the past two weeks, Li Bei had been enjoying his ideal peaceful life – eating, sleeping, playing, free from worries and responsibilities.

"Host, aren't you being a bit too lazy lately?" The System nagged in Li Bei's ear. "Other worlds are approaching, and this world is becoming increasingly dangerous! At this crucial juncture, how can you be so carefree, neglecting your duties?"

"Duties? My current duty is to finish this game~"

Ignoring the System's suggestion, Li Bei snapped his fingers. A small, round robot rolled over, balancing an ice cream cone on its head. "What other duties could I possibly have?"

"Creating more incarnations to farm energy and exchanging it for traits to become stronger, of course." The System stated matter-of-factly.

Li Bei burst out laughing, as if the System had told a joke. "Farm energy? Who are you talking to?"

"Before you utter such ludicrous words, perhaps you should check my account balance."

There's a saying, "Money emboldens heroes." While Li Bei didn't entirely agree, he acknowledged that money was a crucial prerequisite for a peaceful life. In fact, the main reason he'd achieved his peaceful life previously was winning the twenty-million lottery.

And now, in a world teetering on the brink of chaos, while money might not be as useful, energy served the same purpose. With enough energy, a peaceful life was within reach.

A peaceful life—Li Bei's one and only dream.

Fighting Honkai, scheming against those old geezers at Schicksal? Being a manipulative devil, constantly plotting to make others miserable?

Li Bei vehemently rejected such a life!

Moreover, he had no intention of returning to that lifestyle in the future. And the reason was simple – he'd achieved financial freedom once again!

Fifty-four million, three hundred and fifty thousand – this was Li Bei's current net worth.

Shoko's final gamble had paid off handsomely. Investing two million had yielded a return of four million, three hundred and fifty thousand – almost as much as he'd gained from the Earth readers' emotional reactions to Lihua!

But now, those four million were mere pocket change.

Fifty million.

Chainsaw Man, the wildly popular manga, had contributed a whopping fifty million energy points!

Thanks to Shoko's meticulous planning, she'd successfully secured the female lead position, even winning the top spot in three consecutive Chainsaw Man popularity polls. Her popularity was undeniable.

And her character's final twist had been a goldmine of emotional reactions.

From the start, Shoko had been a controversial character.

Some viewers saw her as a villain, citing the frequent ominous foreshadowing in the manga panels, her seemingly unprovoked kindness towards Denji, and the suspicion that she must be plotting something. Most importantly, they argued, such a purely good character couldn't exist in this story; a villainous twist was inevitable.

Others believed Shoko was genuinely kind, simply a gentle, motherly figure. Their reasoning was straightforward: the manga hadn't shown any evidence of Shoko harming Denji. They speculated she might be killed off later, driving the plot forward.

Both sides argued fiercely, their debate rivaling the intensity of waifu wars in romance manga.

When Shoko revealed her machinations to Aki, the "villain" camp celebrated their victory.

But when the full truth was revealed, when everyone learned the extent of Shoko's plan, the "good girl" camp rose up in protest – though their arguments didn't last long.

Because whether good girl or bad girl, she was now a dead girl.

But throughout this process, the readers' shifting emotions had been a boon for Li Bei.

Thinking about it now, Li Bei couldn't stop grinning.

Shoko, you died a glorious death! You're truly my favorite incarnation~

Lihua?

Who's that?

"With this much energy, there's nothing on Earth that can threaten me." Li Bei smiled confidently.

While the System Shop hadn't refreshed anything worth fifty million this month, he'd found a very interesting item.

An item from his old friend, the Honkai universe – something Lihua wouldn't have even dared to consider before. Now, he could easily exchange for it, and still have half his energy left over.

[Herrscher of Flames Package: 25,000,000]

According to the System, exchanging for this package would grant him the Herrscher of Flames' powers and abilities, free from the Will of Honkai's interference.

Moreover, he could even wield independent Honkai energy, unlike the Herrschers in the Honkai universe who relied on drawing power from the Imaginary Space.

Li Bei didn't know exactly how powerful the Herrscher of Flames was, but if the Domain of Sanction, created from its core, could split the Earth in two, the Herrscher itself must be incredibly formidable.

As someone capable of reshaping the planet at will, what could possibly threaten him?

It wasn't like he was in a world ruled by a magnetic maniac!

He, Li Bei, was now invincible. Surely the story wouldn't suddenly introduce some extraterrestrial threat, right?

If it did, he could always transform into Tiga.

"Host, you're quite optimistic..." The System sighed, its tone serious. "The Honkai universe is one of the closest worlds to Earth. Shouldn't you make some preparations?"

"Preparations for what?" Li Bei smiled confidently. "Schicksal and Anti-Entropy nearly failed against a little girl, Sirin, transformed into the Herrscher of the Void. I'm a fully grown, responsible adult Herrscher of Flames. Who can defeat me?"

"The strongest in the Honkai universe is probably Fu Hua, the Vermillion Knight. How many hits from the Might of An-Utu could she even take?"

"Unless the End of Humanity appears, I won't even bat an eye. I guarantee it!"

"Host, what if the Honkai universe had someone capable of easily freezing the Might of An-Utu with their bare hands…?"

Li Bei burst out laughing. "System, you're worrying over nothing."

"I've been playing that game lately. There's no one like that in it. And whether it's Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder, or Welt, the Herrscher of Reason, they're both weaker than me. I'll crush them all!"

"That's true…"

But there's a certain manga you haven't heard of, which has now vanished from the timeline…