The Zhou family head’s face looked awful, as if he had suffered a crushing blow. Zhou Qian watched from the side, calm to his own surprise. Perhaps, long ago, he had already known this day would come.

The Zhou family head closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he turned to his subordinates. “We’re leaving immediately! There’s no place for us here anymore!”

The Zhou family had a secret passage known only to the family head, prepared for a moment like this. He knew he was finished, so he chose to flee with his son and the strongest retainers. Zhou Qian’s name was on the list.

He also knew that many others not on the list would soon be taken away by the Tribunal Division. If they really pursued the matter to the end, anyone who had known the truth and stayed silent would be considered an accomplice under the law. Some would face execution, others prison sentences.

The Zhou family was finished.

So they had to run. As long as their strongest members survived, the Zhou family would not truly fall.

“Dad, where can we even go?” Zhou Qian asked, dragged along the way.

“Hualan has no place for us, but somewhere else will. I’ve already contacted Eagle Country. They’ll send their navy to wait in international waters, and their agents will have a ship ready at the port. Once we leave Hualan’s territory, we’ll be safe.” The Zhou family head spoke with both venom and resentment.

To any nation, Atavists were like nuclear weapons. The more powerful Atavists a country had, the less others dared provoke it. So every country quietly tried to poach talent from others, offering generous terms to entice them to emigrate. The Zhou family had been approached before, but back then they had no reason to leave their homeland.

Now it was different. The government had treated them like this—how could they not hate it? In the future, they would help Eagle Country oppose Hualan. Only that would ease the fury in his chest.

Zhou Qian stared at his father in disbelief. “Dad… are you saying you’re going to betray the country?”

“They forced us into this! If they act without mercy, don’t blame us for being ruthless. One day they’ll realize how foolish it was to target our family for the sake of those worthless ordinary people!”

Dragged forward, Zhou Qian kept looking back. Countless memories surfaced—moments when he had been weak, when he had stood by helplessly and let things happen.

He had given up on too many people. Even when regret and pain haunted him in the dead of night, he could never abandon his family. He could not bring himself to destroy his own kin for the greater good. All he could do was hope that some form of justice would descend from above to stop the Zhou family and end their crimes.

But now, to escape punishment, his father was about to betray the very land that had raised them.

As they neared the hidden passage, Zhou Qian suddenly wrenched his hand free and retreated, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t accept this.”

He turned and ran. They couldn’t stop him in time. A retainer held back the Zhou family head. “There’s no time, Family Head. The young master’s charges aren’t severe—at worst he’ll serve a few years. We need to leave now!”

The Zhou family head was furious at his son’s weakness, but he listened. The group rushed into the secret passage and fled.

At the end of the passage stood a villa with several cars ready for their escape.

Meanwhile, Eagle Country—having received their offer—immediately dispatched its navy to international waters outside Hualan, waiting to receive their new assets.

…

The various Atavist families waited anxiously for news from the Zhou family, pacing back and forth.

“Did the Tribunal Division catch them or not? Why is there still no movement?”

“Do you want them caught or not?” a junior asked.

“…Of course not being caught is best,” the elders muttered, still feeling discontent.

The Zhou family might have been tainted, but Atavist families contributed far more value than ordinary people. The very founding of this nation owed much to Atavist families—especially ancient ones like theirs. It could be said they had played a key role in the country’s founding.

How could the government treat the Zhou family like this for the sake of ordinary people?

“Forget it. We’ve already shown submission. That should satisfy them, right?”

…

“Have we been courteous enough? It’s been ten minutes.” The assistant glanced at his watch. “Don’t tell me they’re trying to run. The mountain is already surrounded by the military, all armed with Atavist weapons. If they try to escape, things will turn very ugly.”

Qiu Fa frowned, suddenly recalling something his father had mentioned long ago—that their family had a secret passage for emergencies. If the Qiu family had one, could the Zhou family also have one?

“Go in immediately!” Qiu Fa ordered.

The Tribunal Division stormed into the Zhou residence, only to find that everyone on the list—including the family head—had vanished.

“Damn it! Find the passage!” the assistant shouted. Modern people had long forgotten such things, but families like the Zhou clan had stood for thousands of years. It would be strange if they didn’t have hidden tunnels.

Given the vast scale of the estate, by the time they found the passage, the Zhou family might be long gone.

At that moment, they saw Zhou Qian.

He approached them like a lost soul, like a walking corpse, and pointed in a direction. “Over there. They’re planning to flee to Eagle Country. Their people will meet them at the port.”

With that, he closed his eyes in exhaustion. At the final moment, he chose to follow his heart for the first time. They had already wronged too many people—if they also betrayed their homeland, they would become eternal sinners, their ancestors’ glory reduced to ruin. He could not accept that.

And so, just as the Zhou family head and his accomplices thought they were about to escape, the smiles on their faces froze before they could even form.

At the port, Tribunal Division officers were already waiting. The foreign agents sent to receive them had been arrested.

“The breeze feels great today, doesn’t it?” Mei Yanlan said with a smile as she stood behind Qiu Fa.

The Zhou family head’s cheek twitched. “Stop them!”

He ordered his retainers and turned to run. He had barely taken a few steps when a terrifying pressure surged from behind. His hair stood on end. Turning back, he saw Qiu Fa right in front of him. The black enforcement baton came down hard across his face, sending him flying sideways.

He staggered upright, barely keeping his footing. His mouth filled with blood. When he spat, three teeth clattered to the ground.

Never in his life had he suffered such humiliation.

Enraged, the Zhou family head’s body became covered in brown snake scales. Two venomous fangs emerged where his canine teeth had been. “Qiu Fa, you damned bastard! And you think you’re any better? You slaughtered your own family—you deserve to die even more than I do!”

Those words would have cut deeply in the past. But now Qiu Fa knew the truth—he had never done such a thing.

His answer was another strike.

The clash between snake and tiger was brief. One tooth after another was knocked loose—fangs included. Qiu Fa seized his throat and brought the baton down again. The venomous fangs meant for biting dropped to the ground.

Bruised, battered, and barely able to fight back, the Zhou family head looked broken and beaten. Yet Qiu Fa maintained a stern expression, tossing him around and beating him as though he were still resisting.

The other Tribunal Division members had already finished their arrests and stood nearby, watching their director beat the Zhou family head.

“He’s doing that on purpose, right?” someone whispered.

“Nonsense! The director would never do such a thing!” another spoke up, full of conviction—then clasped their hands, staring at him with admiration.

Only after every tooth in the Zhou family head’s mouth had been knocked out did Qiu Fa stop. Dragging him back, he said, “We don’t have enough vehicles. Call for more from the Division.”

In truth, even with the captured spies, there were more than enough vehicles—but whatever the director said went.

By then, a large crowd had gathered, every face filled with anger and disgust as they stared at the Zhou family.

While the Tribunal Division held them in place waiting for the vehicles, people began picking up stones—some even took off their shoes and threw them.

“Go to hell!”

“You black-hearted scum!”

“You don’t deserve to be human!”

“You should be torn to pieces!”

“They should pay with their lives!”

More and more people arrived, even bringing rotten eggs to hurl at them. Never in his life had the Zhou family head endured such disgrace. He opened his mouth to shout, but a lump of dog feces struck him right in the mouth. Tears streamed down his face from the shock and revulsion.

The wait for the Tribunal Division vehicles stretched on. The crowd grew, along with the curses. The officers made a token effort to stop them, but the public’s rage was overwhelming. They could only put on helpless expressions while pretending to urge the transport vehicles to hurry.

Faced with so many hateful stares and venomous voices, the Zhou family head’s pride began to crumble. How had things come to this? If he hadn’t indulged Zhou Yongzi so much… if they had shown restraint like other families… would this have happened?

Thinking back, none of those evils had been necessary. Doing nothing would not have changed anything.

For the first time in his life, he understood regret.

Footage of the Zhou family’s disgrace spread online. Those who hadn’t made it to the scene cheered at the sight. Only the other Atavist families fell silent.

Jing Pei, however, laughed out loud as she watched. Long Yiming, standing beside her, wore a complicated expression.

The Zhou family’s end… had she already predicted it? Or worse—had she orchestrated it?

“This big cat is so wicked. Doing bad things with such a serious face… how adorable,” Jing Pei said with a smile.