REBORN IN THE CITY OF GODS

CHAPTER 4 — I AM NO LONGER YOUR DOG

Fresh blood spattered across the white marble floor of the Vance Tower's main lobby still reflected the brilliant glow of the grand crystal chandelier.

The fishy metallic scent lingered thinly in the air, creating a silence far denser than the night of death in the abandoned building.

Dozens of pairs of employee and security staff eyes froze, staring blankly at a sight entirely unimaginable in the history of the great Vance family corporation.

Julian Vance, the sole heir known for being arrogant, cruel, and untouchable, now lay crumpled weakly on the floor. His breathing was irregular and ragged, while his chin was stained with blood he had just vomited out due to the impact of the invisible aura from a low-ranking bodyguard.

The burning pain in his chest mingled with an overwhelming sense of humiliation. Before his very subordinates, Julian's pride was trampled upon without mercy.

Adrian stood towering before him. There was no trace of submissiveness, no hunched posture he had previously maintained as a mask of obedience. There was only a cold gray gaze, sharp as the blade of ice, radiating absolute dominance that made no one dare take a breath too loudly.

Julian lifted his head with great difficulty. His trembling hands clenched tightly against the floor, his nails nearly digging into the hard surface.

The fury boiling within the youth's chest nearly shattered his common sense. He tried to open his mouth, assembling threats to wipe out the life of the person before him right then and there, but his throat felt choked by the lingering impact of the extraordinarily massive psychic blow.

"Y-You..." Julian's voice was choked, hoarse, and filled with overflowing hatred. "How dare you... A lowly dog like you..."

Adrian did not let Julian finish his sentence. With a casual yet firm motion, he reached into his inner suit pocket, pulling out a silver badge bearing the symbol of a winged lion—the official emblem of elite security division employment for the Vance family that had long adorned his uniform as a sign of the chain of servitude.

Adrian glanced at the badge briefly, then without the slightest hesitation, he threw it straight toward Julian's face. The hard metal object landed squarely on the young heir's cheek before dropping with a sharp clatter onto the marble floor, rolling a few centimeters from Julian's clenched hand.

"Keep that stupid badge for another dog willing to let you step on him," Adrian spoke in a low, flat tone that pierced straight into the core of Julian's mental defenses. "Starting from this second, that contract of slavery is void. I am no longer your pet, Julian."

Those words rolled out effortlessly, carrying a psychological weight so heavy it made Julian violently jolt in his place.

Before Julian could retaliate or order the guards around him to act, Adrian had already turned his back. His footsteps tapped steadily, leaving the paralyzed crowd opening a wide path, letting the former bodyguard walk out through the main lobby glass doors without a single person daring to raise a hand to stop him.

Right as Adrian stepped past the building threshold and breathed in the fresh morning air of the city street, a digital shockwave rippled through his consciousness. The air before him quivered, projecting a bright blue transparent holographic panel glowing silently.

[System Identifying Subject Status Change...][Hidden Mission Completed: Publicly Humiliating the Legitimate Holder of System Authority.][Impact Evaluation: Highly Significant. Altering the Destiny Flow of the Vance Corporation.][Unlocked Reward: Exclusive Access to the God Skill Shop (Fully Unlocked Without Cost Due to User Bug Status).]

Adrian halted his steps for a moment on the busy sidewalk, narrowing his eyes as he read the lines of text floating in the air.

The God Skill Shop—a special feature that in his previous life could only be accessed by clan superiors by sacrificing millions of contribution points and subordinates' lives. Now, thanks to the bug anomaly rooted in his soul, the entire menu within that shop lay wide open without price restrictions, ready to be claimed at any time.

Without hesitation, Adrian's mental awareness swept across the skill catalog spinning rapidly within the system. Amidst thousands of combat ability choices, element manipulation, and high-tier destructive magic, one name immediately caught his attention—a mythological-tier shadow skill highly lethal for close-quarters combat and stealth infiltration.

[Selected Skill: Shadow Veil (Absolute Shadow Manipulation & Concealment - SSS-Tier).][Downloading skill data into Subject's biological memory...][Synchronization Successful. User can now merge completely with darkness, dampening all physical presence and moving without a trace.]

A refreshing, cool sensation seeped instantly into every skin pore and bloodstream of Adrian.

It felt as though the shadow on his own body came alive and breathed, ready to be controlled with just a flick of a thought. The corners of Adrian's lips lifted into a faint smile. His first provision to face this cruel world was now firmly within his grasp.

Meanwhile, inside the main floor of the Vance Tower, the situation had turned into total chaos. Two burly senior bodyguards finally managed to lift Julian to his feet.

The young heir's face was still pale, covered in dried bloodstains, with a gaze burning with blinding fury. He gripped one of his bodyguard's suit collars with his remaining strength, his breathing erratic and heavy.

"You idiots... what are you looking at?!" Julian snapped at the staff still bowing in fear around him. He glared sharply at the head of internal security who had just come running with ragged breaths.

The security captain bowed deeply, his face covered in cold sweat seeing his master's wretched condition. "Y-Young Master... what happened? Who dared to injure you this badly inside our own building?"

"That damn dog! Adrian!" Julian shouted, his voice hoarse with vengeance burning the crown of his head. "He humiliated me in front of everyone! He left me bleeding on my own office floor!"

Julian hissed sharply, his eyes flushing red as he stared at the lobby glass doors where Adrian had vanished earlier. The pride of the Vance family had been trampled upon, and the only way to restore that honor was to permanently erase the perpetrator's existence from the face of the earth.

"Listen to my command, Captain," Julian's voice turned into a terrifyingly cold whisper, filled with uncompromising, high-level murderous intent. "Bring the entire elite hunting squad tonight. Track him down wherever he goes, capture that bastard alive, and break every bone in his body until he begs at my feet. Make sure he doesn't see tomorrow's sunrise."

The security captain nodded firmly without uttering a single word, turning away with quick steps to prepare the company's best ambush squad. Outside the building, the shadows of night slowly began to creep down, concealing the tension ready to explode in the dark corners of the city.