After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The Moon Emperor's voice turned cold: "You don't want power?"

Zhou Ran replied, "I would like to, but I won't pick the ones you rushed to give me."

The Moon Emperor remained silent for a moment, then sneered.

You'll regret it.

Zhou Ran looked up at the red light of the old delivery room: "You've said this many times. But I'm never the one who regrets it."

He handed the evidence box to Chen Ya, who had just arrived.

Chen Ya was taken aback: "For me?"

Zhou Ran said, "You keep it."

Chen Ya looked at the box but didn't reach for it: "The Moon Emperor said I'm the Emperor's backup plan. If this thing is really related to the Emperor's son, it would be the riskiest for me to touch it."

Zhou Ran looked at her: "That's why I'm giving it to you."

Chen Ya frowned.

Zhou Ran continued, "Since they're all afraid you're the key, then the key can take control of the lock itself."

Chen Ya paused for two seconds before reaching out to take the evidence box.

Upon handling the box, it felt flat to the touch, without any light or vibration, and seemed completely normal.

She glanced down and thought, "Looks like I haven't become a hidden boss yet."

Fatty Wang breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Chen, if you've really changed, I'll surrender on the spot."

Chen Ya looked at him and said, "Your salary is still with me."

Fatty Wang immediately stood up straight: "Then I will fight to the death!"

This brief calm lasted only three seconds.

A series of explosions suddenly came from underground in Jiangcheng.

Lin Qingxue's voice tightened: "Zhou Ran! The gray line is rising!"

Li Zhiyao chimed in simultaneously: "The Yin Law Well is also reacting! The last batch of Life Nails from Holy Radiance has been detonated!"

Xiao Rou's voice followed: "The East City, West District, and South Suburbs—three ley lines have been contaminated simultaneously!"

The evidence box in Chen Ya's hand trembled slightly.

Zhou Ran looked up and saw the lights of distant buildings flashing wildly in the night outside the old hospital.

When the Moon Emperor failed to steal the bone, he overturned the chessboard.

She used the remaining life-giving nails from the Holy Light to push Jiangcheng's crisis to its peak once again.

Zhou Ran gripped the Taihuang Black Blade tightly, his voice cold and sharp.

"The entire city's defenses have been activated."

"Fatty, take the demon soldiers to remove the nails."

"Qin San, arrest the remaining party members."

"Xiao Rou, mark the earth's veins."

"Qingxue, keep an eye on the main storyline."

"Youwei, your left eye is pressed against the old building."

As the orders were issued, everyone acted immediately without further ado.

Chen Ya, clutching the evidence box, prepared to return to the command vehicle.

Just then, the bone fragments in the box suddenly vibrated.

On the transparent box wall, an ancient pattern lit up.

Zhou Ran reached out and pressed down on the box.

A burning pain shot through his palm; a single word was branded into his flesh.

and so on.

Zhou Ran looked down; the skin on his palm was charred black, and the word was imprinted in his flesh, lingering for a long time.

Chen Ya stared at the word, her breath catching in her throat.

Lin Qingxue's voice came through the communicator, her words tinged with hesitation.

"Zhou Ran, that word might not mean you have to wait."

She paused for a moment and then gave her judgment.

"It's more like a notification...that someone is waiting for you."

The red light in the old delivery room was completely turned off.

In the underground of Jiangcheng, thirty-six life-saving nails lit up simultaneously, illuminating the entire city's night sky in a ghastly white light.

The Moon Emperor's laughter echoed from the depths of the gray lines.

"That depends on whether you can wait that long."

"Zhou Ran, five days is too long."

I'm giving you one last night.

The night sky over Jiangcheng was a ghastly white, not the light of day. Thirty-six Sacred Radiance Life Nails were forcibly ignited, and gray lines broke through the soil, creeping across the streets and alleys, threatening to drag the entire city into nothingness.

The cracks in the hospital's exterior wall are seeping silver-gray.

Silk threads have grown out of the expansion joints of the bridge spanning the river.

The entire subway line is experiencing signal malfunctions; deep within the tracks, the sound of a heartbeat can be heard echoing.

Beside the deep pit of the old maternity and children's hospital, the brand on Zhou Ran's palm reads "Wait," the skin and flesh charred black, the writing still intact.

Fatty Wang swallowed hard, staring at the pale glow emanating from the distant buildings.

"Brother, the Moon Emperor is no longer pretending; he's flipping the table."

Qin San placed his hand on the hilt of his knife and uttered five words.

"She wants to put the city on the table."

Zhou Ran looked up.

The gray lines grew wildly.

The entire city of Jiangcheng was being pulled downwards by a force.

The three severed parts of the Heavenly Corpse—its heart, left eye, and right hand—were forcibly reconnected by the Moon Emperor using nails left behind by the Holy Radiance, transforming into a noose that tightened around Jiang Cheng's neck.

She no longer held back.

This was the last night she wanted.

In the communication cassette, Chen Ya spoke at an extremely fast pace, each word clear, issuing commands one after another.

"Dongcheng Third Hospital switched to manual dispatch. Subway service suspended. Schools, hospitals, and bridges evacuated at the highest level."

"What about the backup power grid?" Zhou Ran asked.

"Connected. Xiao's Energy fleet covers thirty-seven key nodes. The White Tower system is isolated, but is still fighting back."

Xiao Rou's voice entered the room calmly and precisely.

"There are thirty-six ley line contamination points. My men can nail down twenty-two of them, and the remaining fourteen will have to be dug out by demon soldiers."

Fatty Wang patted his chest.

"The demolition team knows how to do a job!"

Zhou Ran looked at him.

"Two hundred demon soldiers, divided into four teams. Hospital, bridge, subway, old building. Wherever you see a life-saving nail, seal it first and then pull it out; do not blow it up."

Fatty Wang's face fell.

"Brother, a job that can't be done with explosives has no soul."

"If you blow up the wrong one, half a street will be sent straight to the void."

Fatty Wang immediately raised his hand and gave a rather awkward military salute.

"Gentle demolition guaranteed!"

Zhou Ran turned to Qin San.

"Arrest the remnants of the Sheng Hui Party."

Qin San nodded.

"How many legs should be left?"

"As long as I can ask questions, that's fine."

Qin San understood.

The standards are very broad.

Xu Youwei, leaning on the broken hairpin that served as her cane, walked to the entrance of the old building. The cloth strip on her right palm was soaked with blood, and the silver eye in her palm, locked by black and gold runes, was still twitching.

She raised her hand and plunged the broken hairpin fiercely into the ground.

"Left eye, give it to me."

Zhou Ran looked at her.

Xu Youwei didn't let him speak.

"I can stand firm."

Zhou Ran did not try to persuade him.

Advising her to back out now would be treating her like an outsider.

He silently pressed a black and gold rune into the broken hairpin.

"I can't stand. Use my blood to hold on for three more breaths."

Xu Youwei responded in a low voice.

That's enough.

The manor, the heart of the formation.

Lin Qingxue sat upright in the center of the tidal array, her eyes covered with black silk.

His brows and eyes were already wide open.

What she saw was a diagram of a rapidly spreading, diseased neurological pattern.

Each gray line is connected to a real coordinate.

Ward.

Manhole cover.

tunnel.

Water pump room in old residential area.

There are also countless dark corners that ordinary people cannot see.

Lin Qingxue raised her slender fingers and precisely tapped them in the air.

"The main line of the Third Bridge in the West District is a disguise; it is actually nailed to the inside of the bridge pier."

"Cold storage at the South Suburb Pharmaceutical Factory, Pipeline No. 2."

"In the basement of the old maternity and child health building, the Moon Emperor is forging a second pregnancy gate."

Chen Ya synchronized all coordinates with each squad in the city in real time.

"Received. Fatty Wang, West District Bridge Pier."

He could be heard panting heavily from Wang Pangzi's side.

"Alright! I'll go get Daqiao a painless tooth extraction right away!"

"From the underworld," came Li Zhiyao's voice.

"The Third Hall's soul registers have been connected to the Yin Law Well, which can serve as support for the Yin side. However, the residual poison of Yama has not been cleared, and there is a limit to the pressure it can withstand."