The whole nation: You're put to survive on a desolate planet, you'll be running an alien b

Li Haotian stood in front of the full-length mirror and pulled his narrow silk tie up a little.

The well-tailored, bespoke suit hugged his back, accentuating the dangerous curve of his broad shoulders.

He tugged at his sleeve, revealing the calluses on his hand from years of wielding a knife.

The sound of Su Wan swallowing came through the earpiece.

"Boss, this suit is no joke. If you walked out looking like this, all those popular young male celebrities would jump into the river on the spot."

"Shut up."

Li Haotian straightened his collar in front of the mirror.

He reached down to his lower back, where the bronze dagger was tucked into his waistband.

The cool touch traveled through his shirt to his fingertips, calming his wildly beating heart.

"This garment is too tight; it might rip during a fight."

Li Haotian muttered something.

"You should be content. Lin Qingwan picked out that outfit herself; even the buttons are pure silver."

The sound of Su Wan's keyboard kept clicking.

"I detected that the security system at the Lin family manor has been restarted, and the signal source is still Lin Qingwan."

The door was pushed open.

Lin Qingwan changed into a backless black evening gown and walked barefoot on the carpet.

She was carrying a pair of crystal high heels, looking Li Haotian up and down.

"Looks like I had a good eye, Li Dazhu. This outfit is perfect for you to kill people."

She walked up to Li Haotian and reached out to straighten the pocket square on his chest.

That cool, subtle fragrance once again entered Li Haotian's nostrils.

"Murder is illegal, Mr. Lin. I'm just a salaried bodyguard."

Li Haotian took half a step back, creating some distance.

He noticed that the crescent-shaped jade pendant around Lin Qingwan's neck was missing.

Where the jade pendant used to be, there is now a skin-toned concealer.

"Where's the jade pendant?"

He asked the question casually.

Lin Qingwan's eyes flickered, and she turned around.

"That old-fashioned thing isn't suitable for today's occasion, so we've put it away."

She walked to the mirror and put on the crystal shoes.

"Let's go, the charity ball is about to start, don't keep those flies waiting too long."

Two minutes later, a Rolls-Royce Phantom drove out of the manor.

The carriage was very quiet.

Li Haotian turned his head to look at the street scene rushing past the car window.

That restless feeling in my blood grew stronger and stronger.

He felt the purple bead in his pocket getting slightly warm.

"Su Wan, is it causing a lot of interference?"

He silently recited it in his heart.

"It's huge. That bead is resonating with something at the ball."

"The frequency is still increasing; you need to be careful."

Half an hour later, at the entrance of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The red carpet stretched from the curb all the way into the lobby.

The flash of the camera made it hard for Li Haotian to open his eyes.

Lin Qingwan took Li Haotian's arm and straightened her back.

The moment the two entered the venue, the noisy conversation instantly halved.

Countless gazes were cast upon them.

Especially the socialites who were dressed in their finest attire stared at Li Haotian's sharply defined face and whispered among themselves.

"Who is this man? Lin Qingwan's new male concubine?"

"He's really good-looking, but his eyes are a bit scary."

Li Haotian had eyes in all directions and ears in all directions.

He saw several guards in gray uniforms standing in the shadows of the second-floor corridor.

Those guys kept their hands in their pockets, their thumbs clenched.

"Mr. Lin, this ball looks quite lively."

He said in a low voice.

Lin Qingwan picked up a glass of champagne from the waiter's tray and took a sip.

"They're all beasts in human skin, nothing to see here."

Just then, a man in a suit walked over, swirling a glass of red wine.

The man had slicked-back hair, which was slicked back and shiny, as if he had just been licked by a cow.

"Qingwan, it's been a long time."

The man pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone carrying an indescribable arrogance.

He looked at Li Haotian, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"And who is this? Which modeling agency did you recruit this newcomer from?"

Lin Qingwan replied expressionlessly.

"My personal assistant, Li Dazhu."

"Pfft."

The man burst out laughing, almost spitting out his drink.

"Dazhu? That's a really retro name."

He reached out his hand to Li Haotian, his eyes filled with mockery.

"My name is Zhao Siyuan. I just returned from Harvard Business School and now I help my family with some international trade."

Li Haotian did not reach out.

He stared at Zhao Siyuan's fingernails, where a faint purple powder was hidden.

The powder looked very similar to the crystals he had seen underground.

"What's up?"

Li Haotian spoke, his voice hoarse.

Zhao Siyuan withdrew his hand and rubbed it on his thigh.

"Little Li, in our circle, you can't just get in by being good-looking or good at fighting."

He turned to look at Lin Qingwan, his tone becoming earnest.

"Qingwan, I'm not trying to be mean, but having a bodyguard like this around is beneath your dignity."

"I know several professional security teams, all of whom are retired mercenaries. That's what you call high-class."

He looked at Li Haotian again, his eyes turning contemptuous.

"Do you understand English? Do you need me to explain it to you again in German or French?"

"Or, I can explain to you what 'class disparity' means in your local dialect."

Several overseas returnees gathered around and joined in the laughter.

"Young Master Zhao, he's a 'pillar of the family,' he probably only knows how to farm."

Li Haotian sighed.

He took the empty wine glass from Lin Qingwan's hand and placed it on the table next to her.

"Zhao Siyuan, right?"

He spoke in perfect Berlin-accented German, at an extremely fast pace, with a tone that carried a sense of judgment.

"You spent four years at Harvard, didn't your advisors teach you that falsifying your academic credentials can land you in jail?"

Zhao Siyuan's smile froze on his face.

Li Haotian didn't stop.

He switched to elegant, judge-like French.

"Your withdrawal certificate from Sorbonne University is still on my system's blacklist."

Then, he bombarded them with messages in Russian, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish.

Every time he switched to a different language, he exposed Zhao Siyuan's shady dealings of freeloading and falsifying investment records abroad.

Finally, he concluded his speech with a perfect London accent.

"To call you a fly is an insult to the species diversity of flies."

Zhao Siyuan's mouth was agape, and the glass of red wine in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

His face went from deathly pale to a deep purple.

Everyone around was stunned.

Those socialites who were originally prepared to laugh at Li Haotian now looked at him with gleaming eyes.

"That eloquence, that talent for languages... Is this a bodyguard?"

Lin Qingwan was also taken aback.

She turned to look at Li Haotian, a hint of inquiry in her eyes.

"Li Dazhu, you can do this too?"

"When I used to deliver food, I was worried that foreigners wouldn't give me good reviews, so I taught myself a little bit."

Li Haotian casually made up a joke.

Zhao Siyuan was furious and pointed at Li Haotian's nose, screaming.

"You! You lowlife, how dare you investigate me!"

He grabbed a knife from the side and stabbed it into Li Haotian's chest.

Li Haotian didn't move an inch.

He extended two fingers and firmly gripped the blade.

"Use this toy to cut steak."

He applied a little force.

"collapse!"

The steel knife snapped in two with a snap.

Li Haotian flicked it back.

The broken blade flew past Zhao Siyuan's ear and embedded itself in the mahogany pillar behind him.

Zhao Siyuan was so frightened that he wet his pants on the spot and collapsed to the ground trembling.

Just then, a piercing electronic sound suddenly came from the hall.

"Sizzle—"

The lights flickered a few times and then went out completely.

The entire ball fell into dead silence.

"What happened?"

"Security! Turn on the lights!"

The crowd began to riot.

Li Haotian instantly became alert.

He grabbed Lin Qingwan's waist and pulled her behind him.

"Su Wan, speak!"

He roared inwardly.

"The interference is off the charts! They've gotten in!"

Su Wan's voice was broken and trembling with fear.

"Look at the ceiling!"

Li Haotian raised his head.

In the pitch-black darkness, the plaster ceiling directly above the hall was violently twisting.

A dark crack was slowly opening up there.

That wasn't a crack; it was a wound from space being brutally torn apart.

A strong, pungent scent of rotting lilies wafted from the crack.

"They're here."

Li Haotian whispered.

Four dark figures suddenly emerged from the gap.

These shadows moved extremely fast, leaving trails of black smoke in the air, their target being Lin Qingwan behind Li Haotian.

"ah--!"

Screams erupted one after another.

The moment a dark figure landed, a jet-black blade swept across Lin Qingwan's neck.

Li Haotian pushed off the ground with his toes.

He carried Lin Qingwan and rolled off the smooth marble floor.

"Get away from me!"

He released his grip and casually drew the bronze dagger from his waist.

Lin Qingwan collapsed onto the carpet, her face deathly pale, staring intently at the assassins.

"That's... the Mirror Assassin..."

She uttered four words in a trembling voice.

Four dark figures formed a semi-circle and slowly approached Li Haotian.

They have no faces, only a black curtain covered with eyeballs.

"I want to poke those eyes every time I see them."

Li Haotian held his sword across his chest.

The golden light on the dagger was exceptionally dazzling in the darkness.

An assassin launched an attack.

It transformed into a blur, its sharp blade aimed at Li Haotian's throat.

Li Haotian ducked to avoid the attack.

He gripped the knife in reverse and slashed it horizontally at the assassin's abdomen.

"Sizzle!"

Golden flames exploded on the assassin's body.

The thing let out a non-human wail and vanished into black smoke.

The remaining three assassins exchanged a glance and then leaped into the air simultaneously.

Black chains extended from their hands, weaving into a giant black net in the air.

"A trivial skill."

Li Haotian snorted coldly.

He plunged the dagger into his palm.

The blood instantly activated the deepest runes on the dagger.

In an instant, the bronze dagger transformed into a two-meter-long golden blade of energy.

He swung a crescent-shaped sword aura at the black net in the air.

"Break it!"

Golden light pierced the darkness.

The entire hall was illuminated as brightly as day.

The black net tore apart inch by inch under the sword energy.

The three assassins fell heavily onto the champagne tower like kites with broken strings.

The glass shattered on the floor with a loud crash.

Before Li Haotian could even catch his breath, the crack expanded again.

This time, a pale, large hand emerged from the crack.

The hand gripped the edge of the crack, as if tearing a rag.

A man wearing a white, faceless mask slowly poked his head out from inside.

The men's voices overlapped and echoed in the hall.

"Long time no see, kid from the Li family."

Li Haotian gripped the air blade tightly.

He felt the purple bead on his chest was about to burn through his clothes.

"And from which grave did you crawl out?"

The masked man smiled.

The voice was eerie and terrifying.

"I've come to take... the shadow of the Mother back home."

His gaze passed over Li Haotian and landed on Lin Qingwan, who was huddled in the corner.

Lin Qingwan's eyes suddenly became vacant.

She slowly stood up and walked step by step toward the masked man.

"Qingwan! Come back!"

Li Haotian shouted.

Just as he was about to give chase, the ground beneath his feet suddenly turned into a pool of black water.

Countless pale little hands reached out from the water and grabbed his ankles tightly.

"Damn it!"

He struggled violently.

The masked man had already grabbed Lin Qingwan's wrist.

Lin Qingwan's once clean face was now covered with dense purple lines.

"Haotian...save...save me..."

Lin Qingwan uttered Lin Mo's voice.

Li Haotian's head exploded with a buzzing sound.

He roared suddenly, and the power of his bloodline went completely out of control.

Golden flames burst forth from his seven orifices.

Those pale little hands were instantly burned to ashes.

He leaped into the air, slashing the golden blade of energy in his hand down fiercely at the masked man.

"Give her back to me!"

The masked man sneered.

He extended two fingers and firmly grasped the edge of Li Haotian's sword.

"You're still...too slow."

He waved his hand casually.

Li Haotian flew out like a cannonball, smashing a marble pillar that took two people to hug.

Smoke and dust rose everywhere.

When Li Haotian crawled out of the ruins, the cracks above the hall had disappeared.

The lights came back on.

Only a pair of shattered crystal shoes remained on the ground.

Lin Qingwan has disappeared.

Li Haotian knelt on the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

Su Wan's heart-wrenching cries came through the earpiece.

"Boss! Lin Qingwan's life signal has entered the inner world!"

"Those coordinates... are in an old house in the desolate mountains of the northern suburbs!"

Li Haotian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He stared intently at the pair of tattered shoes.

The scar on his left palm became burning hot again.

"Prepare the car."

His voice was frighteningly calm.

He pushed through the crowd and strode out of the venue.

Outside, a dark cloud had loomed over the hotel rooftop.

Li Haotian touched the beads in his pocket.

The purple light within the bead had turned blood red.