Jing Pei ran quickly down the quiet street, ducking into a pitch-black alley. She heard her bones creaking and popping as her body contracted, squeezing inward. Soon, the fabric across her chest loosened up.
She was back to being seventeen-year-old Long Jin.
Having successfully crossed tonight’s hurdle without even needing her secret weapon, and with her retainers safe and sound—not to mention having thoroughly teased the big cat—Jing Pei smiled, ready to head home and sleep.
But suddenly, she felt an intense, overwhelming gaze. Her scalp tingled, and the hairs on her neck stood on end. Someone was there, and they were watching her!
She paused, snapping her head up toward the source of the gaze.
Atop the towering iron structure nearby, a glowing six-winged angel crouched at the very peak. The vast night sky and the bright crescent moon served as his backdrop. A pair of pristine white, sacred wings partially wrapped around his body, and his silver eyes stared down at her from afar.
Lou Ting!
Jing Pei froze, a cold sweat breaking out. But she calmed down a second later. It was fine. Lou Ting had no idea she had just transformed into the information broker. And Qiu Fa certainly wouldn’t tell anyone about his encounter with the broker, let alone hiring her for a job; otherwise, back at Bubble 109, he wouldn’t have rushed to carry her away before the others arrived.
Lou Ting wasn’t the type to gossip either.
If anything, there was a much bigger problem right now—this guy had escaped his celestial cage again and was standing in such a conspicuous, high place. It looked stunning and dramatic, but if anyone spotted him, it would be a disaster.
So she quickly waved at him, mouthing the words: What are you doing? Go back right now!
But Lou Ting seemed to misunderstand. His silver eyes lit up instantly, and his cold, majestic, god-like face melted into a warm smile.
Before Jing Pei could react, he vanished from the tower.
A sudden rustle of feathers brushed her ears, and a warm body pressed against her back. A hand wrapped tightly around her waist from behind, and those snowy wings nearly enclosed her completely. Her nose was filled with his crisp, icy scent.
Cool, silver hair slid over her neck like fine silk. Jing Pei’s eyes widened slightly.
“Are you playing hide-and-seek with me?” Lou Ting’s celestial voice murmured near her ear, filled with pure delight.
Huh?
“I finally understand the mystery about you. Why your soul and your body smell so different. I see now. You used this shell to descend to my side.”
Jing Pei: “…”
She had been so focused on her information broker identity that she forgot she held an entirely different, extraordinary status in Lou Ting’s eyes. He didn’t care about the broker or the Long family heir.
Lou Ting’s heart hammered so loudly it almost burst his eardrums. His blood was boiling, and all his doubts had vanished. Why he couldn’t judge her, why her scent captivated him so much…
Because she was his creator, his supreme lord, the being who loved him most in the entire universe.
The one he loved most.
With that thought, he pulled her even closer, like a puppy clinging to its owner after a long absence.
“Alright, you’re going to suffocate me,” Jing Pei said. Seeing the wings closing in to trap her, she quickly pushed them aside like heavy curtains, pried his hand off, and stepped back to breathe the fresh air.
But Lou Ting immediately stepped closer.
“How did you sneak out again?” Jing Pei asked, completely helpless. His feathers stored heat, making him very warm despite his icy scent.
“I felt your presence and wanted to see you.”
It seemed she would eventually fully revert to her past-life self. Her soul was gradually aligning with her physical form.
“Well, now you’ve seen me. Go back. If anyone catches you running around, it’s going to be a mess.”
He had been lucky last time, but she couldn’t count on that luck holding out. The thought of the fallout if he was caught made her head throb.
Lou Ting frowned, clearly displeased. “Let them find me. It’s not me who should be afraid. You gave me the power to judge this world. One day, they will all face my judgment.” He then brightened, eager to try. “Perhaps I should start now?”
“Behave yourself,” Jing Pei sighed. “I have other important matters to handle right now, and I don’t have time to clean up your messes.”
“What matters?”
“You don’t need to know for now.”
“That bug knows, though.”
“You’re different.”
“How am I different?” he pressed, his beautiful face full of childish stubbornness, dependence, and trust.
Jing Pei could only coax him: “You are my trump card. A trump card doesn’t charge onto the front lines, right? It only appears when everyone else is in despair, turning the tide when all hope is lost. Right?”
Lou Ting smiled, completely satisfied. His silver eyes sparkled. “Right!”
“Good. Now go back.”
“I don’t want to go back.”
“Go back first. I’ll visit you another day.”
“Then you have to stay the night.”
“…We’ll see. Either way, no more sneaking out. It’s dangerous, okay?”
After plenty of coaxing, pleading, and a promised hug, she finally managed to send Lou Ting back.
He was very clingy.
But puppies were always clingy, warm, and passionate. That was exactly what made them so lovable.
Jing Pei let out a sigh of relief. A moment later, she let out a massive yawn. She needed to get home and sleep. Tomorrow’s 8.20 Conference had some major events waiting for her.
Back at the Long estate, Chu Xusheng was already waiting by the door. The moment he saw her return, he quickly walked up to greet her.
But aside from Jing Pei, everyone who knew about the near-catastrophe was destined for a sleepless night.
Jiang Qing stayed in his bedroom, nervously waiting for a call from that stranger. But it never came, leaving him feeling uneasy, like he was waiting for something bad to happen.
Who on earth was it? The person who was with Qiu Fa in Bubble 109—could it be someone from the Tribunal Division? Impossible. If they were, they would have known his identity and arrested him already.
Would she tell Qiu Fa? Would Wu Ying find out?
As he waited in tense anxiety, the head of the Wu family and Wu Ying finally returned. They parted in the hallway, and Wu Ying went straight to her bedroom.
He was safe for now.
He unclenched his fists, his palms slick with sweat.
But how long would this safety last?
While some lay awake in dread, others spent the night sleepless with joy.
In the sanatorium, the moment Qiao Ming died, the sleeping woman opened her eyes. A miracle happened—her broken mind and lost memories came back completely.
Receiving the news, her daughter rushed over from her dorm. She desperately wanted her mother’s embrace, but her heroic mother had lost her hands and could no longer hold her.
“Mom,” she whispered, wrapping her arms tightly around her. It was fine. She could be the one to hold her mother.
“I felt it… that monster is dead,” her mother told her. “He is finally dead.”
“That’s wonderful!” The daughter wept in her mother’s arms. The devil who had brought ruin to their family was finally gone, never to haunt their nightmares again.
Revenge was served. For many, this was a night of fortune, a night of judgment.
For the vast majority of people who knew nothing of these secrets and had never faced such tragedies, the hurricane wall in the suburbs yesterday was just another routine anomaly. In an era where bizarre Atavists emerged constantly, it didn’t warrant much attention, especially since nothing came of it.
They were far more excited about the outcome of today’s conference.
The thousand-year-old privileges of the Atavists were about to change after today’s meeting. It was a big day for Hualan, one that future students would definitely learn about. It might even affect other countries.
Early in the morning, the streets around the Great Hall were closed to traffic. Patrol troops marched back and forth, and only the vehicles of attendees arrived one after another. Media outlets gathered at the permitted entrance, and reporters stood with microphones, their expressions serious and excited.
Over a hundred million people had already joined the live broadcast. Although they couldn’t see the actual meeting, they could watch the attendees arrive, mostly tuning in to see the members of the Atavist families.
[Is our young heir coming? Is she?!!!]
[Will our young heir bring her adorable insect retainer?!!!]
[Definitely. She’s the only Atavist in the Long family. How could she not come?]
[Will Sister Mei show up?]
[Mei Yanlan is an officer of the Tribunal Division. She wouldn’t participate in this conference, right?]
[Haha, Officer Mei is already there, working as security!]
[What about Lou Ting!!]
[Are you kidding? If Lou Ting showed up, it would be a major disaster!]
In a hotel, Mo Weiwei lay on the bed, the sounds of the live broadcast playing from his phone.
Soon, the door opened, and Tao Ze returned with breakfast. Hearing the sound, Mo Weiwei sat up and turned around. Thanks to Tao Ze’s care, he was looking healthy and clean. Despite his young age, he was already showing the features of a handsome young man.
But his eyes were completely empty and hollow, making a creepy sight. If anyone except Tao Ze had walked in, they probably would have fainted right away.
“Be careful, sit here,” Tao Ze said, guiding him to the table. Seeing him almost shove food into his nose, Tao Ze took the chopsticks and fed him.
“This Long family heir is dangerous. Our boss is really dancing on a knife’s edge collaborating with her,” Mo Weiwei suddenly said between bites.
“What did you see?” Tao Ze asked, frowning with worry. If she was indeed that dangerous, they needed to warn their boss.
“It’s because I couldn’t see anything that she’s dangerous. It’s my first time meeting someone whose body holds absolutely zero information. She must be a rational and genius madman. She was guarded against me from the start.” Mo Weiwei shook his head with an air of maturity beyond his years. “Tsk tsk, the superficial friendship of adults.”
Tao Ze tapped his head. “Long Jin and our boss are just business partners, not best friends. It’s only normal to guard against each other.”
They had arrived in Yunjin Prefecture yesterday morning on their boss’s orders, staying in this hotel on standby.
“I want Mo Weiwei to collect information at the 8.20 Conference,” their boss had said. “This is a golden opportunity. All the heads of the Atavist families and the most powerful, elite figures will gather there. We can’t let this chance slip away.”
Tao Ze understood his boss’s reasoning, but the 8.20 Conference was a very high-security event. How could someone as unknown as Mo Weiwei get in? Use an Atavist ability to sneak in? That was impossible. The security checkpoints would use the highest-grade scanners to detect Atavist energy waves. Any use of Atavist power would be immediately flagged. No Atavist could sneak through.
“Don’t worry. I will send someone at seven in the morning on the 20th,” their boss had assured them.
And today, at exactly seven in the morning, their door was knocked. The visitor was a young, lean man they had never seen before, wearing a gold earring in his left ear.
“I’m here on the boss’s orders to take something,” the young man said.
Tao Ze looked at Mo Weiwei. Mo Weiwei had already gathered enough information from his body to confirm that this man was indeed sent by their boss—one of her subordinates. He was an Atavist, though not built for combat; he possessed a specialized, non-combat ability.
Perhaps because they had earned their boss’s trust, they had recently started having brief contacts with her other subordinates. No one spoke much, focusing entirely on completing the tasks their boss assigned. But Mo Weiwei had long noticed that whether they were Atavists or ordinary humans, everyone shared an almost religious loyalty to their boss, just like Tao Ze.
Hmph, he had never seen anyone so good at winning people over. Unfortunately, he was one of those won over as well.
Tao Ze let him in.
“What do you need to take?” Tao Ze asked.
The man looked at Mo Weiwei. “A pair of eyes.”
And so, Mo Weiwei’s eyes were taken. Tao Ze guessed that their boss intended to attach Mo Weiwei’s eyes to something that could be brought inside the Great Hall.
Shortly after the high-ranking officials’ cars arrived, vehicles bearing various Atavist family crests pulled up. The Long family car, carrying the dragon emblem, arrived at the entrance of the Great Hall under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
The clicking of cameras grew rapid and intense.
The driver got down and opened the door. Long Yiming and Chu Xusheng stepped out first, followed by Jing Pei. But then, she turned back and pulled on a leash. A small, local dog wearing a pink bow tie jumped out from the car.
The little mutt shook its fur, its round, black, beady eyes scanning the surroundings, taking in all information.
