Bai Yulao: The Night Watcher's Debt to the King of Hell

Zhang Hansheng's figure once again became the focus. His face, illuminated by the cold light of the screen, was as white as plaster.

"What you see," each word he uttered was like an ice pellet hitting the ground, "is my deceased brother's wife, Zhu Linlin!"

Su Wantang gasped. The four ancient words, "brother dies, brother succeeds"—felt as heavy as a thousand pounds at this moment.

"And not long ago... my other wife, Xu Congcong, also tragically passed away due to an 'accidental' car accident!"

As Zhang Hansheng finished speaking, his shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly. When he looked up again, a streak of bright red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Senior sister, look at his hand!" Lin Shoumo suddenly grabbed Su Wantang's wrist.

Su Wantang's gaze snapped to life. On Zhang Hansheng's blood-stained finger was a stark white bone china thumb ring—its unique dark red gemstone, its warm, bone-like texture…

Su Wantang was struck dumb, and she subconsciously looked down at the "evidence" she was clutching tightly in her hand.

Exactly the same! Even the tiny crack on the ring is exactly the same!

This "cursed object" brought out from the unfinished building turned out to be the very item Zhang Hansheng carried with him at that bloody press conference!

"puff!"

Zhang Hansheng coughed up a mouthful of blood, which sprayed violently and without warning onto the smooth black podium!

Blood splattered everywhere, some even landing on the "camera" lens in the front row.

"He's burning the candle at his own throat!" Lin Shoumo suddenly grabbed Su Wantang's wrist, his nails almost digging into her flesh!

In Lin Shoumo's vision, a layer of invisible, ghostly blue flames was burning around Zhang Hansheng's body.

He was burning his very life force to sustain this final act of protest.

Zhang Hansheng braced himself against the edge of the podium, wiped his mouth, and a mocking smile appeared on his face.

He raised his blood-stained hand and took a thick document from his secretary.

"I hereby declare—"

The entire room fell silent. Even the oppressive atmosphere of the illusion seemed to freeze.

"Starting tomorrow, Hansheng Pharmaceutical Group will unconditionally disclose the complete formulas, production processes, and all related patents for the following core technologies—"

"M2 type muscle and skin activator..."

"The ultimate inhibitor for M5 rabies..."

"M7 type chronic limb regeneration technology..."

"And drug addiction neurotransmitter blockers, H2-type cell particle activators, and M6-type eye cell activators that are currently undergoing clinical trials!"

Each word was like a bombshell, exploding in Su Wantang's ears!

"He's gone mad...he's gone mad..." Su Wantang muttered to herself, "These technologies sound like they're worth trillions, and he just...gives them away like that?"

"No, he's 'committing suicide'!" Lin Shoumo stared intently at the man. "He's using his own blood, and these technologies, to attack that 'cannibalistic' altar. He's forcing his way out of the situation!"

Zhang Hansheng's voice was hoarse but exceptionally clear:

"All technical data... will be uploaded precisely at 2 PM tomorrow... and will be freely available worldwide, with no possibility of withdrawal!"

"These technologies should never be monopolized by any individual or group, used as tools for profiteering or political blackmail!"

"Today, with my blood, and the blood of my loved ones, I return them to the world!"

After saying that, he turned around.

The bone china thumb ring gleamed with a lonely and hard luster under the light on his blood-stained finger.

"boom--!!!"

Although they were in an illusion, the overwhelming sense of a world-shattering tidal wave still swept over Su Wantang and Lin Shoumo's consciousness.

It was a mental storm formed by the shock, ecstasy, fear, and greed of countless people.

The scene began to collapse.

Zhang Hansheng's figure gradually disappeared into the shadows of the side stage, leaving only the blood-stained document on the podium and the still-uncongealed blood beside it.

"Senior sister! Wake up!"

Lin Shoumo suddenly crushed something in his hand, and a pungent smell entered his nostrils.

Su Wantang shuddered and suddenly opened her eyes.

……

The evidence room was deathly silent.

Su Wantang gasped for breath, her back soaked with cold sweat.

She found herself slumped on the ground, while Lin Shoumo knelt in front of her, his face as pale as paper, with two streaks of blood flowing from his nostrils.

"Lin Shoumo! Are you alright?" Su Wantang asked in alarm, trying to help him up.

"Don't touch me, I'm fine..." Lin Shoumo waved his hand, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from his nose, but his eyes were unusually bright, even with a hint of fanaticism.

"This ring...this ring is amazing. It doesn't just record the images; it records the entire 'scene' of that press conference. That grief, that determination—it's all been etched into it!"

Su Wantang looked at the lead box.

The ring still lay there quietly, but the ruby ​​seemed even more cloudy, as if it had just been crying.

"Zhang Hansheng..." Su Wantang murmured, "Since he has made the formula public, it means that he is completely opposed to the physical agent."

How come his name was mentioned last night?

"This is the weirdest part!" Lin Shoumo stood up, swayed a couple of times, walked to the lead box, and examined the ring. "If it were a normal press conference, there would be no need to use such a 'cursed object' to record it."

This ring is the same as the one Zhang Hansheng is wearing! It seems to be made of human bone, capable of capturing a person's dying resentment!

He turned his head and stared intently at Su Wantang:

"Senior sister, Zhang Hansheng in the illusion said that the formula will be revealed at 2 PM tomorrow."

But the fact that this ring ended up in the hands of that hiker suggests that this press conference... might not have even happened in the real world! Or rather, it happened, but was 'erased'!

Su Wantang felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head!

"You mean... what we just saw was the future? Or... a parallel universe?"

"No, it's 'the time that was interrupted'!" Lin Shoumo took a deep breath, his tone becoming unusually solemn.

"Those hikers who went to explore unfinished buildings may have accidentally stumbled into the spacetime node of 'Guixu' used for experiments."

And this ring is the 'black box' that was lost at that point!

"If what I just saw was real..." Su Wantang's voice trembled, "then Zhang Hansheng is now..."

"He's already dead, or living a life worse than death," Lin Shoumo interrupted her. "But his attack was too ruthless!"

Revealing the recipe means that those rent-seekers in 'Guixu' and even higher levels have completely lost their leverage over human life. He's dragging the entire old world down with him!

Su Wantang looked at the ring, her eyes gradually changing from fear to determination.

"We have to go to the abandoned building in the west of the city." She stood up, drew her sidearm, and checked the magazine. "No matter what's hidden there, no matter if Zhang Hansheng is dead or alive, we have to find the truth!"

Lin Shoumo looked at her murderous expression and suddenly smiled.

He wiped away the last drop of blood from his nose and resumed his nonchalant demeanor:

"Hey senior sister, can you please not be in such a hurry? That's the territory of Guixu. Have you forgotten those paper figures from last time? What kind of place is that? It's hell!"

"Since we're going on a tour of hell, can I ask for a break? This spitting out of blood has made me a little hypoglycemic!"

"Don't worry! I'll request reinforcements this time," Su Wantang said, carefully putting the lead box back on. "They'll dig that place upside down, I guarantee you'll be fine!"

They walked out of the evidence room one after the other, the lights at the end of the corridor flickering.

Su Wantang looked down at her feet, and the eerie, distorted shadow had reformed.

"It's recovered?" Su Wantang was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Don't be too happy yet!" Lin Shoumo said with a gloomy face, staring at her feet. "Senior sister, have you ever thought about why your shadow is turning its back to you?"

Su Wantang froze. The light was clearly in front of her, but the shadow on the ground seemed to be looking back at the darkness behind her, as if there was something unseen standing there.

In the nearby woods, a thin figure "squeezed" out of the air. He looked exhausted, as if he had lived for too long...