The Genius Evolution Store

The mayor came out of his car with a solemn expression, rushing toward the store. Due to the incident, the store was temporarily closed, so the mayor could enter just fine.

Police and other agents sent by the mayor had already arrived.

Inside, Auric and Mr. Popo were standing next to each other. Mr. Popo shrugged, making a statement. ”I’ve just come to help him. I’m pretty indebted to his master, so...”

The mayor couldn’t help but hear that statement. There was a suspicion that Auric actually had a master, specifically an evolution master.

Unfortunately, the mayor couldn’t care less about his master this time. He came here to check Auric’s well-being.

”Are you okay?” The mayor asked as he arrived in front of Auric.

”Yes, sir. I’m okay.” Auric nodded.

”That’s good.” The mayor felt relieved. ”So, do you know who did this?”

”No, sir.” Auric shook his head, lying to the mayor. He knew it was Simon, but if he told the mayor about it, the mayor would have to clash with the Lightning Emperor. There was also a chance that he couldn’t get his revenge.

So, Auric chose to lie for the time being.

The mayor nodded. ”Let me talk to these guys for a moment.”

The mayor immediately walked to the police chief and said, ”Arnold. I want you to investigate everything.”

”Understood, sir.”

”All right. Do you know anything yet?”

”For the time being, we’re getting their statement. According to them, three men followed Auric to the store. When Auric noticed them, he ran into an alley and fought the three men. Director Popo, who was nearby, noticed the fight and helped him.”

”Who attacked him?”

”Criminals. One of them was supposed to be on death row, but he escaped the prison. They seemed to have been living outside the city. From what we know, their group had been taking commissions to kill people. Most of the time, it was outside the city, but since Auric was an easy target, they probably wanted to end it quickly.”

”...” The mayor’s expression turned dark. ”Anything else? Who hired them?”

Arnold shook his head helplessly. ”Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the answer. Due to these three guys struggling, Director Popo killed them in action.”

”I don’t want this matter to blow up. Considering the situation, I guess this can be ruled out as self-defense. I will talk to the prosecutor about this. Meanwhile, you have to investigate this matter. The name.”

”Understood.” Arnold nodded. It wasn’t going to be easy, but since the mayor had asked personally, there was no way to reject it.

The mayor walked back to Auric to assure him that he would get justice.

Auric and Mr. Popo handled all the remaining matters. It was quite hard for Auric because he wasn’t used to this stuff, but Mr. Popo casually took care of everything as though he had done it many times before.

Meanwhile, Milinda was staying in Auric’s office, completely overwhelmed by what she had found.

She covered her face with her hands while recalling everything that had happened.

Auric killed those people without batting an eye. All this time, she had pictured Auric as a gentle savior who had changed her life.

However, Ellia might have been right all this time. That image had been planted in her mind because Auric appeared at her most desperate moment.

When she saw the other side of Auric that she never knew, she realized that everything wasn’t as bright as she had thought.

Auric said that he had always been this kind of person from the beginning. He held a single principle. Since they had been treating Auric well, Auric repaid their sentiment.

This time, people wanted his life, so Auric didn’t hesitate to kill them.

”I’m the one who chose to look at him with such a flowery gaze, and I’m the one being disappointed when everything is not roses after all.” Milinda let out a long sigh. ”I feel like I’m being pathetic.”

There were a lot of things on her mind. What Auric did might have been merciless, but he definitely had the right to do it.

This incident might be a wake-up call for Milinda.

”Huuu...” Milinda let out another sigh. She then slapped her cheeks to regain her focus.

There was a question in her head as to whether she should continue working there. She couldn’t see Auric the same way as before. At the same time, it didn’t change the fact that Auric had saved her from desperation in the past.

Hence, she made up her mind.

”Unless he is proven guilty, there is no need for me to look at him in any other way.”

However, this was also a good time to re-evaluate Auric in her mind. For the first time since they met, Milinda felt like she could see Auric for who he was.

Ultimately, the police returned after getting their statements.

With Milinda coming out of the room carrying such a resolve in her mind, Auric just smiled and decided that it might be fine to open the store.

Of course, it looked like closing the store for the rest of the day might be a good option, but allowing the store to open calmed the tension between them. By the time they opened again, their relationship might have returned to normal.

Mr. Popo didn’t say much. It might not be the best option, but he understood Auric’s decision. He was also proud of his daughter’s way of dealing with the problem.

Sadly, there weren’t many customers for the rest of the day. After the incident, the police had to disperse the crowd, so most people went home.

Nonetheless, the lack of customers gave Auric the justification to close the store early, allowing them to cool down.

When Auric was about to lock the store, Mr. Popo surprisingly said, ”Milinda. Why don’t you go back first?”

”Mhmm?” Milinda was perplexed, but her father just gave her a smile as if he were asking her to understand.

Milinda was a bit curious but chose to obey him.

Mr. Popo then turned to Auric, who was also confused by this decision. ”Why don’t we grab a snack for a bit?”

Auric thought for a moment before nodding. ”Sure.”

They ended up visiting a small stall on their way.

While handing Auric the hot, crispy fire chicken, Mr. Popo spoke. ”Experience is the best thing you can have for almost everything. There are a few things that you can do better, such as the timing of killing. If you just want to kill them, capturing and sending them to the police station can lead to their death as well.

”For example, the judge can give them the death penalty. This will lighten the situation while leading the police to capture the ones truly responsible.”

Auric shook his head. ”I still wonder if it’s really the best option. If I handle things this way, won’t that mean I can’t have my revenge? If they manage to imprison Simon, I won’t have the chance to kill him, right? I don’t want to break my principles. I feel that without my principles, I won’t be myself anymore.”

Mr. Popo agreed. ”That’s something I can understand. However, it creates a new problem. If the government is the one chasing after Simon, they will be the ones facing the Lightning Emperor.”

”...” Auric looked down, as if he were imagining the situation.

Mr. Popo explained to give him a more vivid picture of what was going to happen. ”Look here. If you kill Simon right now just to exact your revenge, suppose you carry out your revenge smoothly, you need to consider the Lightning Emperor’s face as well.”

”Pardon?”

”The Lightning Emperor still has the obligation to find out what has happened to his student. What if he finds out it’s you? He will have no choice but to go after you, even if it means going against your teacher. I don’t know if the ’Master’ behind you is real or not.”

Auric frowned. He was trying to piece everything together.

Mr. Popo continued to give him even more explanations. ”Think of it like this. What will the people think of the Lightning Emperor when his student is murdered? What will they think if the Lightning Emperor fails to avenge his own student? People will think the Lightning Emperor is useless.

”He doesn’t have what it takes to protect his own student. With this, the reputation of the Lightning Dojo will crumble. The Lightning Dojo is like his child. If the Lightning Dojo crumbles because of this, the Lightning Emperor will hold a grudge against you.

”Even if he’s not scared of your teacher, he will definitely kill you. After all, it will only take him a single move to kill you. He can face the wrath of your teacher, but you won’t be there to witness it.”

Auric froze. He couldn’t really deny this possibility. If he pushed the Lightning Emperor into a corner, he would have no choice but to retaliate.

”Of course, there is also a chance that he just loves his disciple dearly. If it’s for Milinda, even I can become a killing machine.” Mr. Popo shrugged. ”The point is that revenge has to be done right.”

”Karma...” Auric muttered.

”You can call it karma. If you take your revenge without thinking about the future, you can go to Simon right now and kill him. If you do it in public, you have to face the repercussions from the law. The Lightning Emperor will come for you too. And there might be someone with ties to the Lightning Emperor, who will come for you as well. Those people have ties with even more people. It will become a never-ending cycle for you.”

Auric understood it. If he died because of this, his teacher would probably avenge him. If his teacher were defeated, her family would be there for her. Her family had a lot of connections, so even the country might get involved.

”In that case, how am I supposed to fulfill my revenge?”

”You have to sever the so-called connections so that you don’t have to be troubled with them. For example, cut the relationship between Simon and the Lightning Emperor. I can’t tell you how to do that.”

Mr. Popo’s words struck deep into Auric’s heart. He might have his principles. His principles would cause him a lot of trouble in the future, so in order to avoid those troubles, he needed to fulfill his principles in a much smarter way.

”I’m not going to tell you not to fulfill your principles, but you have to do it carefully. Youngsters tend to do things recklessly to achieve what they want immediately without realizing that may not be the best way to do it. They will regret it in the future, but this experience will make them wiser.

”I believe you will experience these regrets many times in the future. It’s a part of your life that you will never be able to get away from. However, I want you to make sure that this regret doesn’t cost you as much as it otherwise would. This is advice from an old man who has a lot of regrets in his life.”

Mr. Popo ended his advice with a smile.

He had a lot of regrets. One of his biggest regrets would be the failure of helping Milinda’s evolution.

Auric closed his eyes. As he said, this was a part of life. He was just lucky enough to have an elder to give him advice on how to deal with his problems.

Auric stood up and gave Mr. Popo a deep bow. ”Thank you very much.”

Mr. Popo just smiled. The fact that Auric could accept this advice meant Auric was already better than many people.

This was the best he could do as an adult standing beside him. Auric had to handle the rest.

But this karma might soon change things in a lot of ways, for the better or for the worse.

Auric didn’t notice it yet because of all the matters he had to take care of that day, but a notification appeared on his phone.

[Liev has bought ’Heart of the Storm Method’ from your Sun Store.]