Risk It All: House Always Wins (ch. 35) (Patreon)

Prestige had become a lot more valuable. At least twice as valuable as it used to be, really. It was also harder to get on account that most people had far greater concerns than watching tutorial videos or looking at pictures of hot guys on the internet.

That, in turn, made my gambling mechanic a lot more important.

Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine

T5R1

An advanced barrier technique that expresses one’s innate domain. All attacks within this domain are guaranteed to land. Malevolent Shrine hits anything within its effective range relentlessly with slashing attacks.

Replacement Jutsu

T1R1

One of the foundational ninjutsu that ninja use -- with a prepared replacement, the user can swap himself out with the replacement to evade an attack that he would otherwise be unable to avoid.

Cero

T3R1

The practitioner fires a powerful blast of concentrated spiritual energy at the target.

I had won each ability with a round of gambling -- matching cards, a roulette that I didn’t trust, and a single game of blackjack. All of them were pretty powerful, or at the very least unique. However, I was far more interested in the Prestige generated by a few well-placed bets. I managed to make myself a decent chunk of change.

"The Justice League is looking for all possible solutions," I heard the TV in the living room say as I knelt in the center of my room, legs tucked underneath me as I did my best to focus on my breathing. Meditation was a difficult thing to do, especially when you were trying to keep track of your surroundings. "And we intend to resolve the situation as quickly as possible." I heard Superman say, the current president of the Justice League along with his copresident, the first Green Lantern.

"Can't you just… undo it?" A reporter pressed as they stood in what sounded like a crowded lobby somewhere. Space had become a premium, and even the Justice League didn't have a second Hall of Justice. This meant that none of the still-functioning news outlets had the luxury of reporting from a studio.

"We would if we could," Superman was quick to answer. "The situation is delicate, with forces on Earth that wish for this catastrophe to continue because it is beneficial to them. These forces are primordial and magical in nature. Due to this, simply undoing the transformation inflicted on Earth's wildlife is currently not feasible -- but it is something we are actively attempting. We believe with enough time, it will be possible."

I don't think that was a lie, I mused as I took in a slow breath, my lungs straining to contain the air within them. They felt like an overinflated balloon that was one pump away from popping. I maintained that feeling -- Total Concentration Breathing would increase my lung capacity, and thus my breathing endurance.

According to Zatanna, her father had worked with Dr. Fate, appealing to the Color Parliaments to ask them to more or less stop what they were doing. That appeal had been completely rejected with absolutely no possibility of negotiation. I hadn't been there for it, but from what I heard, the Parliaments were in an arms race and they liked the new normal that was inflicted on the world.

So, while Superman wasn't being completely dishonest, he wasn't mentioning that the next time the League talked to the Parliaments, it would be to make demands rather than requests.

"Why can't you just teleport all the infected monsters and send them into space?" Another reporter asked, her tone angry. The Justice League had been getting ripped into. Everyone had a solution to make the problem go away.

"The simplest reason would be that it would be an ecological disaster," Green Lantern answered. "It would also be seen as a declaration of war on the Red and the Clear -- the primordial forces Superman mentioned. Right now, humanity is a bystander in an ongoing conflict. Until we are prepared, we, the Justice League, recommend that we avoid becoming a target." It was a solid reason.

But people weren't in the mood for reason or logic. A week later and the aftermath of the Catastrophe had settled in somewhat. Three and a half billion people died in an hour across the world, but in the week since, roughly another five hundred million had joined them.

Earth housed a population of eight billion people a week ago. Now it housed four billion.

Those five hundred million had died in riots, in retaliation against the martial law being established, venturing out of the safe zones while the walls were being put up, and so on. Not to mention those that died from injuries because there suddenly wasn't enough medical supplies to go around. A week after the world ended, people were going through the stages of grief. The world was gripped by an insane, self-destructive, anger that had no real outlet. The Justice League was doing what it could, but things were bad everywhere.

I didn't need to see the screen to know that the room bristled at that. That four billion people were dead as collateral damage for something that they weren't involved in. However, Green Lantern continued. "Things are difficult and they are going to get harder. Companies like Wayne Enterprises, Kord Industries, and Queen Industries are doing all that they can to provide everything that humanity needs and implementing technology to help us survive-"

"Why can't you give us more?!" Another voice interrupted, and the answer was already on record, but he answered all the same.

"Because of red tape," Green Lantern answered, and he sounded just as angry as the people did. "The Guardians of the Universe, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that space-flight and food production is all that we need to survive this… disaster. My hands are tied. From the Guardian’s perspective, this is an issue that was caused by an Earth faction and is being prolonged by Earth forces. As such, it is considered an internal issue of Earth, not an external one. Again, we are doing everything we can to overturn that decision and explore other options. For now, we ask that you be patient."

I'm sure the Guardians of the Universe wouldn't appreciate being thrown under the bus like that, but they were apparently billions of years old, so they probably wouldn't care too much.

"We also ask that if you have developed metahuman abilities, either because of this disaster or if you had them prior to it, that you please step forward. If you hide your abilities out of fear of judgment or persecution, I understand. But I am asking that you swallow that fear and step forward to help safeguard all of humanity. The Justice League needs your help. Earth needs your help," Superman finished, repeating a call to arms that had been ringing out in every city for a week now.

The interview went on and on, the Justice League being roasted over a fire. Any answer they gave wasn't good enough. Any solution they had wasn't good enough because it didn't magically make all of the problems in the world go away. People were being unreasonable because they were pissed off. But, Superman and Green Lantern weathered the scorn and maintained their message -- that things were going to be okay.

And I hoped that wasn't a lie.

I heard the doors to the neighboring apartments opening and the sound of dragging feet. There were a few explosive sighs before they vanished into their own apartments. I heard the right number of footsteps, so things were fine. Being utterly exhausted was normal now.

Letting out a small breath, which would have been enough to empty someone else's lungs, I breathed in sharply and felt the burning sensation in my lungs again. Sweat built up on my body, the constant exertion getting to me despite my superhuman physique. My workout clothes were starting to soak through as a bead of sweat raced down my face. Opening my eyes, I saw my Market was open and a skill had been purchased.

Sun Breathing.

T1R1

The origin of all Breathing styles. The Sun Breathing Style follows the sun's examples -- unrelenting heat that scorches bones, to a gentle warmth that all life relies on.

I had underestimated the Sun Breathing Style. It had been available to me pretty early on, as had the Moon Breathing Style, so I figured that it was just more advanced fire techniques. That assumption had been laid to rest when I purchased it.

I let out all the air in my lungs, stirring the room -- my curtains fluttered, the blanket on my futon flipped over, the incense stirred in the room while a handful of papers on my desk flapped noisily. Once my lungs were empty, I breathed in sharply, using the Sun Breathing Style for the second time since I bought it -- strength flooded my body, beyond what the Moon Breathing Style could hope to offer. My body temperature rose sharply,! I acted as a radiator that warmed the room until it was sweltering.

But, a half-second later, my control over the breathing style slipped and I started coughing. Then, worse, I got the hiccups when my diaphragm rebelled. "Fuck-hic-me," I muttered, wiping sweat off of my brow.

The Sun Breathing Style was a different beast. And I think that was my fault.

I had more or less mastered the Moon Breathing Style, so my lungs had a massive capacity and my body was physically near a dozen times stronger than the strongest normal person. All of that fed into the Sun Breathing Style, making what would have already been a pretty powerful style into something that I could barely use.

Taking in a deep breath, this time to combat my hiccups, I forced myself to stand. I could put some points into it, but I think that might actually make the problem worse. Increasing the rank or tier of a technique made the technique stronger. If I went up a rank, then I might not be able to use Sun Breathing at all. As frustrating as it was, I also kinda enjoyed the challenge. I had forgotten what it was like to actually have to work at a skill to master it.

Plus, it meant that when I did get a handle on it, it was going to be a beast of a technique.

Leaving my room, I stepped into the living room of a rather nice apartment. It reminded me of the one that we had back in Gotham, only way more upscale. Nice wood floors, cream-colored walls, a short hallway that had two more doors on either side of it. Across from me was an open-air kitchen and the living room. It was a nice three-bedroom loft. Walking forward, I saw that Mom was currently sitting on the couch, watching the news report that I had been listening to.

I hadn’t made a sound, but she perked up anyway, somehow sensing me. “Are you going out?” She asked me, sounding worried. It was easy to see why as a video showed on the screen -- the walls for the designated safe zones across the world were being put up. Massive and unyielding walls that were slotted around the cities that were declared safe havens -- they were taller than any skyscraper and thicker than most buildings. Once they were up, the air above them would be protected by a force field, preventing anything from flying or dropping in without permission.

Nearly all of humanity was now housed in a hundred cities across the planet. Meaning that every single safe haven housed around forty million people. Some had more, some had less, but that was around the break-even point for now. There were plans to push out in short order, simply because most couldn’t handle that strain, but it was all talk at the moment.

It was an odd duality. Places that could have housed such a population, like Tokyo, which had somewhere around thirty-something million people already living in it before the apocalypse, had been hit the hardest. The population density made it a death zone for the hour where the disaster was left practically unchecked. Things had been bad at Happy Harbor, with around a hundred thousand people. I couldn’t imagine what they were like in Tokyo or other major cities. Megacities like Tokyo had been nearly demolished in terms of population devastation, but they were being rebuilt as fast as possible because they were some of the few places in the world that had the infrastructure to support that many people.

America, on the other hand, was struggling badly. Our largest cities had been congested with less than ten million people. The infrastructure to suddenly support five times that…There were millions of people on the streets. There just wasn’t enough room.

“I’m still on break,” I answered, reaching out and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I still have a few hours left.” Being a hero was now a nine-to-five job, in a way. It was the League's orders. Otherwise, we’d be out there for days on end and getting ourselves killed due to exhaustion. “Is Dad-hic-in?” I asked her, my lips thinning when the video on the screen changed.

It was a press release from the mainland.

From my family.

“China answers to the Song family and the Heavenly White Tiger Fist,” An old man that looked like an ancient wrinkled ballsack stated in no uncertain terms, wearing traditional Chinese garb colored black and white. “Do not look to us for aid, unless you come crawling on your knees. Do not ask us for strength, for we have none to offer for those too weak to help themselves. If you must approach, be humble in our presence and beseech us for our time. Prove your dedication, and we may decide that you are worth our time.”

That arrogant piece of shit was my great-grandfather, the Patriarch of the White Tiger Sect. According to Dad, he was a hundred and fifty years old.

I wish he had dropped dead a century ago.

The Song Family, my family, had orchestrated a coup in China. Though, it was less of a coup and more of the cultivator families that ruled behind the curtain no longer hiding behind the curtain. There were nearly a hundred different sects that had revealed themselves in the past week, but none of them had been as prepared for what happened as my family.

Because of it, the only damage to China and the territories that my family deemed theirs was self-inflicted. In East Asia, the Song Family were great heroes that had saved the day with their martial arts. But not only had they saved the day, they had also brought the ‘villains’ to justice.

Apparently, the group behind the worst day the world had ever known was a sect called the Blooming Lotus Raging Dragon Sect. Who just so happened to have been the arch-rivals of the Song Family for the past… forever. Who were all now dead because my family’s sect believed in swift ‘justice.’

As far as East Asia and the world was concerned, the culprits behind this hell had already been dealt with, and the Song Family and the Heavenly White Tiger Fist were better heroes than even the Justice League because East Asia was currently the safest place on Earth. Not because the elders were as strong as Superman or as versatile as Zatara, but because the White Tiger Sect had grown massively and cultivation had seen a rebirth.

Where the rest of the world was still using guns against the artificial Spirit Beasts, East Asia was using their fists. With each defeated Spirit Beast, a Qi pill would be distilled from their corpse, and the one that killed it would eat that pill. They would become stronger, then the process would repeat itself. That process attracted a lot of people. The world was just shown that it could end at any moment and the only person you could truly rely on was yourself.

“He was speaking with Batman the last I saw him, honey,” Mom told me, turning off the TV, knowing that I would get worked up. I had absolutely no clue what was going to be done with my family over in the mainland. There had to be some kind of retribution for murdering half the planet because of vanity. There just had to be. However, it seemed like karma was slow-moving when it came to them.

My thoughts were that the people that knew the truth were waiting for the White Tiger Sect to train up a number of disciples. When things were stable, then justice would be swift and, hopefully, brutal.

“Right,” I said, giving her hand another squeeze. “I’ll see him when I see him, I guess,” I said, letting go and heading for the door.

"Drink some water! It'll help with the hiccups," Mom instructed as I opened the door to reveal a long walkway that was shaped in a half-circle. Dotted along this half-circle were doors that resembled the one that I had just stepped through. I was on the second story, the open railing letting me see down into a sizable living room with a massive TV that let it serve as a briefing room. It was a seriously nice loft, built into the top of one of Wayne Enterprises' buildings.

It came complete with a training area, a pool, gym, kitchen, and even a Zeta Tube. Pretty much everything that we had at the Mountain that we were forced to abandon because it had been overrun by fire ants.

There was no room in the world anymore, so America was making room. But not by building up or down though. Pocket dimensions, created by either magic or technology, were becoming the solution to massive overcrowding. The size and complexity varied, but the one that we were currently in was made by Dr. Fate, a really old guy wearing a golden helmet who had been part of the Justice Society. We had a massive space with all the room that we could need, along with individual apartments for our families.

And if we walked through the front door, we would be greeted by a generic hallway in a sizable building. An entire apartment complex in a single room.

That same principle was being applied across the world. However, it was slow going. The tech was rare and expensive, and those that had the magical abilities to pull something like this off were in high demand. It would be months, maybe even years before the folded-space rooms would be implemented to the point that everyone could have a roof over their heads.

I hiccuped again, so I took in a deep breath and started to hold it.

Heading down, I saw devlished looking Beifong making coffee with our Barista skill. As soon as he passed me the cup, he faded out of existence, too exhausted to even say a word. The latte tasted amazing, even if it was just espresso with milk. While I tried to get control over my hiccups, I grabbed the datapad that Beifong had been working with to see that he was researching the next big step.

A week was enough for the dust to settle and to start asking questions. The most important question of them all -- what now?

The answer was space, or so it seemed. Lex Corp was pushing to build space stations and to focus on mining the asteroid belt. However, there was a glaring issue.

Modern industries relied on an intricate web of supply lines. Metal would be mined from the ground in one place, sent to a processing plant somewhere else, then sent to a company to turn that metal into a computer chip or something, then that chip would finally be shipped off to another company that would use it to make a car. A car that relied on a dozen other different industries needed to supply each part. Some of which would be shipped from the other side of the world. And, as of a week ago, every single industry on the planet was dead in the water. The processing and manufacturing facilities needed to make stuff were all outside of the walls.

All of that meant that complicated manufactured goods just became a rare and invaluable resource. Because right now, humanity didn't have the ability or the space to produce more.

"And I have no clue what we're going to do," I muttered, setting the datapad down when I heard the Zeta Tube activate. Looking over, I saw Conner, Wally, and Megan emerge from the light. All of them looked exhausted, even with the rest hours we were given. I had Alert to thank for my not looking the same, because now I only needed two hours of sleep a night. "How'd it go?"

"Bad," Wally answered, throwing himself face-first into the nearest couch. I looked to Conner for elaboration, who scowled.

"The League of Shadows have been busy with the Fog," he answered, taking a seat at the kitchen counter. He had a few scrapes along his arms and his knuckles, telling me that he found something that could hit as hard as he could. I winced at the reminder that the League of Shadows still had the Fog as I started to make coffee for everyone. "STAR Labs has been cleaned out. I don't think there's one of their servers left in America that they haven't gotten their hands on."

STAR Lab's cautiousness had bitten everyone in the ass. Important research that could help deal with this disaster didn't exist on the Cloud, where it was at risk of being hacked. Instead, the only way to get your hands on this valuable research was to get access through the servers at a particular STAR Labs location. Or, in the League of Shadow's case, use the Fog to eat the servers and the data they contained.

Abandoning our mission to destroy the Fog may have been a mistake on our part, but the world falling to pieces had been far more important. Even if it did mean that a league of cold-hearted murderers for hire now had possibly world-saving technology.

"But I heard that Superman will be cracking open the Fortress of Solitude to start implementing Kryptonian technology," Megan offered, trying to make sure that it wasn't all bad news. "And Uncle John is going back to Mars to get help!" That was good news, but it would still take like a month to get to Mars and back. At least until a Zeta Tube was set up there.

Conner scowled at the mention of Superman, but the scowl faded when I slid a cup of coffee before him. "Thanks," he grumbled, bringing it to his lips and letting out a sigh.

"Thanks, Ren," Megan seconded when I gave her a cup.

"We're now even for me saving your life from that mantis thing," Wally decided, taking the cup and drinking deeply from it. I rolled my eyes as a small laugh escaped me. "When are you...?"

"Soon. I'm going out with Zatanna, Robin, and Artemis," I told them. Basically, Team A and Team B. Aqualad was currently in Atlantis to help settle things. Even though The disaster had proven to be a boon for the underwater kingdom, and everyone knew it. Not only was Atlantis so deep underwater that it avoided the worst of the rain, but Aquaman could still control the fish that were affected.

The world had been flipped on its head. China was the worlds leading superpower, with Atlantis coming in at a close second, while America would barely qualify as a third-world country.

"Look out for them, okay?" Wally said, sitting up and giving me a serious look. "I didn't say anything, but… normal people really shouldn't be going out there. I mean, Robin and Artemis aren't normal, but…" I understood what he was getting at.

I glanced at Conner, who nodded. "They're strong. And skilled. Way more than me," he admitted, "but that's not going to matter against a lot of the things out there. If you can't outrun them, or out hit them, then you're dead." Megan's lips thinned, saying nothing, but I knew she agreed.

Because I did too. Things were rough out there. To the point that normal people just… couldn't survive.

"Do you think…" Wally started, throwing his arms over the back of the couch as he looked at us. "...that they would consider taking the Garrick formula?"

I cocked an eyebrow, "The what?"

"The formula that gave me my powers," Wally explained, making both eyebrows shoot to my hairline. "It's not perfect yet, but I could bring it to the Flash and he could help me with that. I know Robin and Artemis have this… badass normal thing going for them, and before, that was all they needed to kick bad-guy butt, but this... things are different now. We aren't occasionally fighting someone above their weight class anymore. We're… it's just a question of how far above their weight class we're fighting, now."

Robin and Artemis with super speed? That honestly sounded like an incredibly powerful combination. I was surprised by the idea of it. Especially when Wally had been so insecure at the thought of someone being faster than him on the Team.

"It's worth a conversation, at the very least," I encouraged.

"What about cultivation? Like what your family does, Ren?" Megan offered another idea. To that, I gave her a hollow, lopsided smile.

"I don't think learning the Heavenly White Tiger Fist is going to be popular when the world finds out what my family did," I pointed out. I wish I could unlearn the little I had from Dad. Knowing that I had anything in common with my family from the mainland made my skin crawl. I had to talk to my parents about getting my name changed because I wanted nothing to do with them. Even the knowledge that Jin was currently rotting in some jail cell after we handed her over to the authorities didn't help.

Megan offered me a much more genuine smile, "Not theirs. Yours! You're breathing techniques. They've gotten really strong, haven't they?" She pointed out, making Conner tilt his head.

"He hasn't breathed once so far. Since we arrived," He pointed out, earning a stunned look from Wally.

He gazed up at me with surprise, "Seriously? How long can you hold your breath for?"

"I don't know? I never tried to see how long I could go. Maybe like a day?" I questioned, because despite talking, I still felt like I had lungs full of air. As I spoke, I considered what Megan was saying.

I had never thought about passing my techniques on to others. The possibility had just never occurred to me. Mostly because we hadn't really felt like a team until recently and there wasn't ever a real need. Now though…

Robin and Artemis weren't weak. Not in any way. But once you took their tools from them, like I saw happen with Artemis when she ran out of arrows, they were left nearly helpless against most of the Spirit Beasts. If they had one of my breathing styles that would make them stronger or a technique that could make them hit harder? That would vastly increase their odds.

"Maybe Artemis and Robin aren't the only ones I could teach," I ventured, looking at Conner and Wally. "My breathing techniques could help out Zatanna with her lung capacity. Conner, you could benefit too. It won't replace your Kryptonian abilities, but at the very least, I can promise you that you'll hit harder. And I have a style that's focused on speed."

Wally let out an amused sigh, "Of course, you do."

Conner seemed more interested, "You think that would work?"

I nodded. So far, I had Sun, Moon, and Water Breathing. But I could purchase others -- Thunder for Wally, Water for Kaldur, Stone for Conner, Sound for Zatanna, Flower for Artemis, and Mist for Robin. Each style would enhance their talents and abilities.

It would be expensive, though. But I could afford it, if just barely. With the rise of the Song Family in East Asia, so did a question -- who was Ren Song? Was I related to the Song dynasty? Was I also a cultivator? Those questions were asked to everyone that had the last name Song, but I was facing more scrutiny because of my inhuman beauty and my popularity.

People were asking questions. No one officially made the connection because neither side confirmed it, but I was on people’s radar. Combined with my gambling winnings…

“Maybe,” I answered, thinking it through. I did have a teaching skill, though it was pretty basic and I had only ever used it for tutorials to post on Metube. I also liked the idea. I couldn’t think of a bigger fuck you to my family than starting my own sect. “It’s worth considering, at least. Not sure when we would find the time to do it, though.”

I finally let out a sigh, my hiccups long gone.

The world had changed. All we could do was change with it.

...

This was one of those chapters that it felt like I barely started when it ended. Next chapter will be an interlude from the Light and the Justice League.