Silence.

  A deathly stillness hung in the air. Everyone stood frozen， faces twisted with disbelief， as if time itself had stopped once more.

  The image of Jax smiling and pulling the trigger seemed burned into their eyes.

  “It… it actually misfired?!” someone gasped after a long moment.

  “That’s impossible?!” Ryker shot to his feet， eyes wide， bloodshot from rage and shock.

  More cries of astonishment erupted.

  “Six bullets in the Roulette of Fate! Not even the devil himself could walk away from that! And Jax didn’t get a scratch?!”

  “Do Forbidden Artifacts misfire? This thing is cheaply made!”

  “You know nothing! It’s not a misfire. Forbidden Artifacts have minds of their own. It must have accepted Jax — that’s why it didn’t fire!”

  “Look! The gun… it’s glowing!”

  Under their horrified stares， the Forbidden Artifact Breath of Bone burst into a blinding blood-red light. The light spread until it wrapped around Jax completely， as if a god were descending into the world.

  A strange feeling welled up inside Jax. He looked at the Breath of Bone in his hand as if it were his own right hand， as if they shared blood and bone.

  Bonding successful?

  Jax felt no surprise. If even a full six-bullet Roulette of Fate couldn’t complete the bond， then the Breath of Bone would just be plain rude.

  When the blood light faded， the twisted veins on the artifact slowly retracted， pulling out of Jax’s hand and shrinking back into the gun until they vanished entirely.

  The pure white bone surface faded into a matte， dark metal finish.

  In the end， the Breath of Bone looked no different from an ordinary revolver.

  “Well then，” Jax twirled the revolver lightly， one eyebrow raised with wild confidence. “This Forbidden Artifact has good taste.”

  He spun the gun in a neat trick and slipped it into his pocket.

  The boy’s arrogant words hung in the air， yet no one argued. Deep down， they all felt he deserved it. Perhaps only someone like him was worthy of a Forbidden Artifact.

  Only then did the crowd snap out of their shock， but they still stared at Jax with awe. What he had just done felt like a miracle.

  A loud laugh cut through the air. Talan， leader of the East District， wore a triumphant grin.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “The Forbidden Artifact belongs to the East District! Viper， what do you have to say now?!”

  Viper’s face turned cold. He said nothing， his sharp eyes darting between Talan and Jax. His men gripped their guns tightly， waiting for his order.

  Talan’s smile slowly faded. He signaled his men， and the atmosphere turned tense， ready to explode into violence at any moment.

  Suddenly， Viper chuckled softly.

  “Jax， you’re truly a talented young man. It’s a shame you were reduced to a slave in the East District. Would you be interested in joining the West District?”

  Talan’s face paled. He quickly stepped beside Jax and put an arm around his shoulders.

  “The slave thing was just a misunderstanding. Now Jax is my brother， the co-leader of the East District! There’s no way he’d join the West District. Right， Jax?”

  He looked at Jax with a mix of hope and threat.

  Jax smiled faintly， brushed Talan’s hand off， and spoke calmly.

  “Before I bonded with the Forbidden Artifact， you called me kid. I let it slide… But now that I have it， what do you think you should call me?”

  In front of everyone， Talan’s face shifted again and again. He forced down his fury and forced a smile.

  “Jax， my brother. I’m bad with words， but I always keep my promises. From today on， you’re my blood brother. We’ll rule the East District together!”

  Jax raised an eyebrow.

  “Talan， how many times have I told you? Use my title in front of others.”

  Talan froze. When had he ever said that?

  And Jax hadn’t even used his title either. But he dared not talk back， terrified Jax would switch sides. He forced a smile.

  “Right! Vice Leader Jax! Men， greet your Vice Leader!”

  Dozens of East District fighters mumbled and shouted: “Vice Leader Jax!”

  Jax nodded in satisfaction and waved a bold hand.

  “Alright， men! Let’s go home!”

  The East District men exchanged uneasy glances， not daring to move. They glanced at Talan’s dark expression from the corners of their eyes.

  Talan forced a smile.

  “What are you waiting for? Did you not hear Vice Leader Jax?”

  The group marched back to the East District in a large group.

  Viper and the West District members stood where they were， their faces dark with anger.

  “Leader， I…” Ryker trembled.

  “Shut up! Useless trash!” Viper snapped coldly. “Back to the West District.”

  Soon， they left too.

  As the two factions of Ashwood Town retreated， the onlookers also scattered.

  ---

  In the Tire Tavern， East District.

  Talan and his men crowded around Jax warmly， cheering and holding up cups of low-quality liquor， shouting crude words.

  The Tire Tavern hadn’t always been called that. The old wooden sign， painted red， once read: Old Times.

  The owner， Old Wang， was over forty， with graying hair. People said he had read books before the Cataclysm， giving him a faint artistic air… so he named it Old Times. No one knew what he was nostalgic for， and no one cared.

  Lacking money for proper furniture， he had dragged piles of worn tires from the junkyard to use as seats. Most people in Ashwood Town were illiterate and didn’t recognize the words Old Times. They just called it the Tire Tavern.

  “Now that Vice Leader Jax has the Forbidden Artifact， we don’t have to fear those mutated horrors outside anymore!”

  “Yeah! Those mutated beasts have surrounded Ashwood Town for almost a month. If we don’t take them out soon， we’ll all starve to death.”

  “These beasts are cunning. I swear their intelligence is almost human. They know attacking Ashwood Town directly would cost them too much， so they just camp outside， cutting off trade routes so we can’t leave for food.”

  “By the way， Vice Leader Jax， this is the first time any of us have seen someone bond with a Forbidden Artifact. Show us what it can do! Let us see its power!” someone flattered.

  Before Jax， who had been eating greedily， could reply， Talan suddenly snapped.

  “What are you talking about?! This isn’t a circus trick! And besides， every shot from the Breath of Bone drains the user’s life force. You think we can just show it off for fun?!”

  He immediately turned to Jax with a fake smile.

  “Vice Leader Jax， pay them no mind. Life force is precious. We should save our strength for the mutated beasts.”

  Jax clapped Talan on the shoulder with an oily hand.

  “At least you know how to talk sense. Someone， bring me more meat!”

  Talan’s eyes flickered with pain. Meat was an extreme luxury in Ashwood Town. Most people ate only once a day， no meat at all. Many went nine meals hungry over three days.

  With the mutated beasts surrounding the town， their food supplies were almost gone. Only Talan， as leader， could eat meat every day.