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

thump.

The three characters on the evidence box, "Emperor's Bone," along with "Wait, Trial, Kill," lit up simultaneously.

Above Zhou Ran's right hand, the illusory image of the white bone pen solidified, and the pen tip fell, engraving four characters on the box.

[Forced binding, verification.]

The black-gold light that was eroding Chen Ya emitted a sharp screech as it was completely dragged and poured into the evidence box!

A suppressed moan escaped Chen Ya's throat as her body fell backward.

Zhou Ran reached out and steadied her.

Immediately afterwards, the Taihuang Black Blade was drawn from its sheath! The Mountain-Splitting Battle Intent left by Ye Futian on the blade was fully activated, and a beam of demonic light shot straight up to the sky!

Hermann's eye twitched violently, and he shouted sharply, "You dare to sever the Emperor's backup plan?!"

Zhou Ran's attention was entirely focused on the black and gold main line connecting Chen Ya's palm to Sample No. 1.

"I will not cut off your backup plan, but only your dirty hands that reach out to me."

The blade flashed in an arc, deftly bypassing the sample and Chen Ya, and slashed straight at the rule line forcibly bound by the White Tower Council!

The black and gold main thread snapped instantly.

The entire hall's alloy structure emitted a piercing, twisting sound, and the ground shook!

The black eye on Sample One's chest was wide open to its limit!

Herman's gray-black markings undulated violently, rising from under his skin and twisting on their own.

The sharp alarm of the White Tower system echoed throughout the hall.

[Warning: The Council's auxiliary control has been compromised.]

[Warning: Forced intervention to inherit the interface failed.]

The cleaning plan... has been sealed off.

Chen Ya leaned on Zhou Ran's arm, struggling to catch her breath. She looked up and met Herman's gaze.

With Zhou Ran's support, she straightened up and quickly operated the main control screen.

[All individual privileges of the White Tower Council members are frozen.]

[The council's right to allocate extended-life equipment is frozen.]

[Freeze the council's sample operation permissions.]

[The council's authority to deploy armed forces on the islands is frozen.]

One freeze order after another was issued.

Sparks flew from the terminal on Herman's wrist, the white-robed woman's terminal screen went out, and the tablet in front of the general counsel locked up and became unresponsive.

Even the white tower emblem on the dome of the hall lost its luster and became dull.

Hermann's composure finally crumbled; his eyes were bloodshot, and he practically spat out the words through clenched teeth:

"What right do you, a mere mortal, have to freeze us?!"

Chen Ya raised her head, her tone flat:

"Just now, you personally handed over the authority to me."

She pointed to the expired inheritance agreement on the table, a hint of mockery in her voice:

"Furthermore, your world-destroying plan is not qualified to be my 'equity incentive'."

Herman's facial muscles began to twitch, and a dry laugh escaped his throat.

"Fine, very well. Since you refuse to clean, then... you'll have to bear the consequences yourself."

He raised his hand, holding a jet-black bone fragment in his palm. The patterns on the bone fragment echoed those of the imperial bone in the evidence box.

Herman clenched his fingers and crushed the bone fragments.

"Sample number one. Lift... guard restrictions."

A muffled explosion came from the ninth underground floor.

The outer wall of the cryo-chamber was completely ruptured!

Large swathes of cold mist billowed out.

Sample 1 emerged step by step from the shattered hull.

Its body is not large, but with each step it takes, the solid alloy ground cracks with spiderweb-like black and gold patterns.

Its eye, visible through a slit on its chest, was fully open.

The pure black eye first looked at Hermann.

Hermann raised his hand, a twisted expression of absolute confidence on his face: "Execute the purge."

Sample number one did not move.

It slowly raised its tiny hand, and Hermann's figure was clearly reflected in its black and gold eyes.

Then, it opened its mouth.

Despite having no head, a voice clearly came from the empty chest cavity.

"The guardian...contaminates."

Hermann's smug expression froze.

Sample Number One's eyes slowly turned towards Chen Ya.

"The heir... refuses the purge."

Finally, its gaze settled on Zhou Ran.

That black-gold eye, composed of pure rules, locked onto the door pattern on Zhou Ran's chest.

At this moment, all the lights on White Pagoda Island went out.

Darkness enveloped everything.

The voice emitted by Sample 1 changed; it was no longer a child's imitation, but a completely unfamiliar, ancient, and emotionless male voice.

She rejected me.

"Then you shall interrogate her."

The headless body of Sample Number One swayed slightly in the center of the hall, and the ancient male voice emanating from the cavity echoed back and forth between the alloy walls, its lingering sound deep and resonant.

Zhou Ran gripped the hilt of his sword, confronting the strange body in front of him. The black and gold gate pattern on his chest seemed to sense the power of the same source of rules and began to heat up.

Hermann, slumped on the ground, had his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably, and he was unconsciously repeating:

"Why... are we the ones who are the watchmen...?"

"Chairman!"

The woman in the white robe screamed; her tablet screen was filled with static.

"Sample riot; physical damage to the underlying database; isolation valves at levels five through nine have all failed!"

The only remaining emergency red light in the hall was flashing rapidly.

Hermann's panic subsided, replaced by a ruthless expression. He gestured to the legal director and the woman in the white robe, his lips barely moving as he silently uttered two words.

destroy.

Evacuate.

Qin San caught a glimpse of Hermann's gesture out of the corner of his eye, and the knuckles gripping the knife hilt twitched.

Zhou Ran didn't turn around, her attention still focused on Sample Number One, but her voice rang out clearly: "Chen Ya."

In front of the light screen, Chen Ya sat upright without raising her head, but simply pointed her finger at an abnormal data stream on the screen.

That was a self-destruct command leading to the fourth-level experimental subject containment area and archives.

Her fingertip hovered over the "Terminate" option as she looked up at Zhou Ran.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and everything was understood without being said.

"Trying to leave?" Zhou Ran finally turned around, the tip of the Taihuang Black Blade dragging on the ground, drawing a silent spark, aimed at Herman and his two companions who were preparing to slip away to the backup passage.

"The accounts haven't even been audited yet, who gave you permission to go bankrupt?"