The air smelled like stolen divinity, counterfeit time, and the distinct musk of cosmic capitalism.
Luo Feng stood before the Black Bazaar of Broken Eternity, where the stalls sold things that technically didn't exist yet.
To his left: The Death Queen, examining a vial of liquid fate labeled "50% Off Apocalypses."
To his right: Li Qing, freezing a pickpocket mid-theft (the thief was now an ice sculpture titled "Regret in Three Acts").
Behind him: The Nine-Tails Goddess, already shoplifting a constellation.
[System Alert: High-Stakes Theft Detected]
[Mission: Acquire the God-Slaying Nail (Do Not Ask What It Nailed Before)]
[Reward: 1x Chaos VE Fragment (Now With 20% More Divine Trauma)]
[Failure Penalty: Eternal Employment as a Void Mall Cop]
The plush demon army (now dressed in tiny merchant robes) began setting up a distraction stand selling "Authentic Fake Memories."
The Heist Begins
Step 1: Locate the Merchant
The Void Delights Emporium was easy to spot—it was the stall floating upside-down, selling:
Jars of bottled karma ("Slightly Used")
Discount prophecies ("Expires Next Aeon")
And behind three layers of cursed glass... the God-Slaying Nail.
The merchant, a being of writhing shadows and too many teeth, grinned. "Interested in divine murder? We offer bulk discounts."
Step 2: The Distraction
The Nine-Tails Goddess sighed. "Fine. But you owe me."
Then she transformed—
Her fur became a gown of woven starlight
Her tails arranged themselves into the "Imperial Concubine's Official Knot"
Her voice dripped with honeyed deception: "Darling guards, shouldn't you be escorting me?"
The Void guards, who had never seen anything so convincingly seductive in their existence, immediately abandoned their posts.
("I hate that this works every time," Luo Feng muttered.)
Step 3: The Swap
The Death Queen slid forward, her poison-tipped fingers already prying open the cursed display.
"Darling, hold this." She handed Luo Feng a fake nail she'd crafted earlier—
—which immediately started screaming.
"Why does it have a MOUTH—"
"Shh, it's artisanal."
Step 4: The Escape
Li Qing froze the entire stall solid, including the merchant mid-sales pitch ("Now with extra—" CLICK).
The Nine-Tails Goddess, still playing her role, blew the guards a kiss—
—which exploded into a minor supernova, covering their retreat.
The Aftermath
Back in their hideout (a tear in reality they'd rented by the hour), they examined the nail.
It was smaller than expected.
And stained with something that might have been god-blood.
And humming a funeral dirge.
The Death Queen twirled it between her fingers. "Charming. I'll add it to my bridal dowry."
Li Qing's frost crept over it, silencing the dirge. "This thing reeks of dead divinities."
The Nine-Tails Goddess sniffed. "I've worn worse."
[System Notification: Mission Complete!]
[Chaos VE Fragment Acquired!]
[Warning: Nail May Contain Traces of Deicide. Do Not Lick.]
Then the nail twitched.
And the merchant's voice echoed from it: "THAT WAS A DEMONSTRATION MODEL. THE REAL ONE IS STILL IN YOUR POCKET."
Luo Feng checked his sleeve.
A second nail fell out.
This one was still dripping.
The Fox Spirit grinned. "Oops. Double heist."
END OF CHAPTER 52