The atavist supremacists never saw this coming. Watching their own children grit their teeth, eyes burning bright as they drew weapons to block their path, the elders felt the foundation of their world tremble, shake, and finally crumble.
They had felt a tremor like this once before, right after the vote at the 8.20 Conference. But they had managed to steady themselves back then, brushing off that vote as a fluke—just a handful of foolish kids reacting to the shock of the illegal serum incident. Feng Yichu to Feng Yilian, Wen Yuxian to Tang Qiaoqiao, Zhou Qian to Chen Mo.
Fifty-seven votes. Fifty-seven people. Spread across all the old families in Hualan, that number was almost insignificant.
This time was different.
The sheer headcount and gravity of the situation shattered their reality beyond repair, forcing them to see that their old era was dead.
The light faded from the elders’ eyes, leaving behind nothing but confusion, blankness, and terror.
Jiang Qing hadn’t expected this either. He too had dismissed the 8.20 Conference vote as an anomaly. To him, the atavist families were cold-blooded beasts devoid of conscience—aside from Wu Ying and Family Head Wu, they were all birds of a feather. That was why they had walked so easily into the organization’s trap to target Liu Yin.
Yet the situation had taken an unthinkable turn.
He stood on the balcony of a three-story pavilion in the Long estate. Family Head Wu had brought him up here earlier to keep him out of harm’s way. Few structures in the estate exceeded three stories, giving him an excellent vantage point. Walking along the pavilion corridor offered a sweeping view of the entire grounds.
His hands gripped the railing tight as he took in the scene below.
On the outer edge, the reinforcement units from the major clans were quickly taken out. In the center, Liu Yin and the main fighters from the families were still battling. But Liu Yin’s pure atavist bloodline and centuries of fighting experience were far beyond what these peaceful atavists could handle. Though he was injured, he still held the advantage.
Morale was everything in group combat. Shaken by Feng Yilian’s speech and the open rebellion of their own kin, the attackers lost both precision and resolve. Their momentum sputtered out like a flickering candle in the wind.
Nearby, Wu Ying kept a firm hold on Tao Ying to keep her from jumping into the fray.
The outcome of tonight’s battle was already clear.
Any sharp mind could see it coming.
Gasping for breath, Family Head Feng pulled back from the combat zone and turned to Family Head Wu, who had been standing on the sidelines with his hands tucked into his sleeves. “Old Wu, help us out here.”
Family Head Wu scratched his ear, his rugged face and casual posture radiating pure indifference. “Who are you calling?”
When you don’t need me, I’m Family Head Wu; when trouble hits, I’m Old Wu. You people are something else.
Family Head Feng glanced toward his son, who was busy driving the clan elders to spit blood, then toward Liu Yin, whom nobody could beat. A desperate look crossed his bruised, exhausted face. “If this keeps up, the atavist clans are finished. Can’t you call a stop? Act as a mediator so we can sit down and talk this out. Liu Yin is one of Hualan’s founding generals. Nobody wants peace and prosperity for this country more than he does.”
“He’s right!” Several other family heads hurried over to join the plea. “If the government gets wind of what we did tonight, you know how they’ll react. Is that good for anyone? Hualan needs the atavist clans. We can’t destroy each other and make ourselves a laughingstock to outsiders!”
“Old Wu, speak up! If someone stepped in to mediate, we could pretend tonight never happened!”
Since Family Head Wu hadn’t taken part in the ambush, he was the ideal mediator.
In their hearts, they knew that anyone else who survived an ambush like this would wipe out the clans down to the last root. But this was Liu Yin—a hero who knew the horrors of war and valued peace above all. He would swallow his grievance to keep Hualan stable.
“My, my. I’ve seen shameless people before, but this really takes the cake. You pull a stunt like this, mess up badly, and expect everyone to just act like it never happened? Does the world really work that way?”
A clear, lazy female voice drifted over like a soft sigh. Jing Pei stood on the opposite side with her hands tucked into her sleeves.
Her sudden appearance startled everyone. No one had noticed when she arrived.
Jiang Qing startled as well. Then his brow furrowed in thought. Wait… where was Long Jin earlier? Had she been gone for a while?
Hearing her words, one of the family heads snapped, “Long Jin, what are you driving at? Don’t forget, the atavist clans stand and fall together. Or are you planning to betray your own circle?”
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m not leaving the atavist clan circle,” Jing Pei said with a light chuckle. Her silky black hair brushed against her shoulders, and her cat-like eyes glinted with a dark, dangerous magnetism. “Though who says the circle you elders represent is the only legitimate one? I, for one, look forward to seeing a new generation of atavist clans rise—young, vibrant, and full of endless possibility.”
The shameless faces froze instantly, their lips quivering.
A single high-purity atavist could anchor an entire clan. Take Feng Yilian, for instance. No one in the Feng family possessed a higher bloodline purity than his, and the odds of another such talent emerging in the future were slim to none.
If he declared the establishment of his own family branch, he would draw countless followers. Even among the Feng family retainers, many young talents would follow him. And doing so wouldn’t violate their oaths, since their allegiance bound them to the Phoenix bloodline of the Feng family—not to any specific individual elder. And Feng Yilian carried that bloodline.
Feng Yilian already held immense sway among the younger generation. If Long Jin—another influential leader—backed him, his pull would prove irresistible.
When all the young, strong, promising sprouts departed, leaving behind only decayed, brittle trunks whose days were numbered, what future awaited these elders?
Once the youth—who had been held back by strict family rules and duty—were removed from the picture, the elders finally faced the truth: they were weak, powerless, and couldn’t keep the clan’s future alive on their own. It was clear they needed the young ones more than the other way around.
“Long Jin, we can sit down and talk first,” Family Head Feng urged. “We will compensate Liu Yin.”
“That’s not my call,” Jing Pei replied, waving a hand toward Tao Ying, whom Wu Ying was still holding back. “Xiao Tao, what do you say? Should we sit down and talk with them?”
Tao Ying raised her head and shouted at the top of her lungs, “No way! They don’t deserve to sit! Even if their legs snap right now, they’re not allowed to sit!”
“Tsk, tsk,” Jing Pei chided gently. “That’s far too crude. We’re peaceful people—we don’t do violence here. How about this? Since they aren’t fit to sit at the table, let them step down and replace themselves with family heads who are.”
Tao Ying blinked, slightly bewildered, but her trust in Jing Pei ran deep. She nodded briskly. “Fine! We’ll do that.”
If anyone knows how to twist the knife, it’s Ah Jin, Wu Ying thought to herself. She glanced down at Tao Ying. “Calmed down yet?”
Sprawled on the ground, Tao Ying mumbled with cute grievance, “I am… Sister Ying, your tortoise shell was pressing down so hard it hurt.”
Wu Ying hurriedly retracted her shell and helped the girl to her feet.
The family heads looked like they had swallowed poison. “Long Jin, are you trying to interfere in our succession? Does our next family head need your approval now? Don’t cross the line!”
“Oh, feel free to keep fighting then,” Jing Pei shrugged.
“Old Wu?”
Family Head Wu kept his hands tucked away. “Didn’t you guys force me onto Family Head Long’s side right from the start?”
His double meaning hit home, piercing their hearts like a needle.
No matter how bitter the pill, it was the only option left. Fighting on meant absolute defeat—losing not just their talented youth, but their lives as well. Agreeing to Jing Pei’s demand and stepping down immediately in favor of younger successors meant they could preserve both their bloodlines and their necks.
What additional price they would have to pay down the line remained to be seen.
Defeated, the elders conceded. Faces that had been radiant with arrogance moments ago suddenly aged ten years.
“Stop… cease fighting,” the family heads called out to their remaining retainers.
Out on the perimeter, the leaders of the reinforcement units—some locked in battle, others in tense standoffs—saw green flares burst across the night sky. The signal to abort the operation.
“Holy crap!”
Aboard the unfinished high-rise, members of Black Iron’s squad scrambled to their feet, staring at the green flares illuminating the sky.
Those atavist clans failed! What a bunch of useless trash!
Now what? They aborted the mission—do we still go in? Wouldn’t that be suicide?
No way in hell we’re going in to die. You want to end up like Shi Gang and his crew? Pass! Whoever wants to die can go ahead!
Honestly though, turning their blades on their own kin just to protect Liu Yin… that’s practically sacrificing family for justice. I’m almost moved. Guess Liu Yin feels those thousand years were worth it now.
The moment that thought surfaced in their mental communication network, Black Iron whipped his gaze toward the speaker. His eyes glinted cold as iron, as if ready to crush the teammate’s skull on the spot. The entire squad shut up instantly.
Black Iron clenched his fists, teeth grinding tight. He hadn’t anticipated the shift within the atavist clans. If he had known, they should have moved when the red signal flare went up—disguising themselves as reinforcement troops. The fighters inside wouldn’t have suspected a thing, and they could have finished off Liu Yin together.
Now it was too late. Charging in now would stick out like a sore thumb and draw immediate suspicion.
Damn it! Is that miserable traitor really that lucky?
Suddenly, Black Iron snapped his head toward another direction.
The rest of the team turned, on high alert.
On the roof of the adjacent building stood a figure dressed entirely in black, wearing a black hat and mask.
“You’re all useless. Follow me,” the man said flatly before jumping off the roof. His legs acted like springs, bouncing the moment his feet hit the ground as he sped toward the Long estate at a terrifying pace.
The squad relaxed their aggressive stances, startled.
Turns out it’s help sent by the organization.
Hmph, cocky guy. Which unit is he from? Let’s see what he can possibly pull off now.
Black Iron stared at the mysterious figure’s retreating back. He was a cyborg too, with a gold earring dangling from his left ear. Never seen him before. Who was he?
Puzzled, Black Iron didn’t doubt whether the stranger belonged to the organization. His voice echoed in his teammates’ minds: “Keep up.”
Under the cover of night, Black Iron’s squad trailed behind the mysterious cyborg.
Elsewhere, the leadership of the organization received word from their spies within the clans that the plan had failed. They were completely oblivious to the black-clad man’s rogue move.
The host slammed his bird-head cane onto the table twice before managing to calm himself.
“Handing clan authority over to the new generation? Pretending nothing happened tonight while breathing fresh life into those rotting families? As if things could ever be that simple!”
“There’s no turning back once an arrow is shot! What’s done is done. Trying to cover up an event this massive is a pipe dream!”
“Begin the operation immediately! Notify our shareholders—release all the press drafts and social media blasts! Ignite the rage of this nation!”
They called in several top shareholders from the organization—powerful people holding important roles in government ministries. One of them was in charge of cyber security, leading the division that acted as the nation’s eyes and ears to catch dangerous or inflammatory speech.
Once this shareholder quietly greenlit the release, press drafts prepared well in advance by organization journalists would flood the internet, hitting the public eye instantly.
Meanwhile, other shareholders would notify senior government officials. Many of these officials possessed fiery tempers, revered founding heroes like Liu Yin, and held zero tolerance for corruption. Once word got out, even the President wouldn’t be able to quell their fury.
Soon enough, the embedded shareholders made their moves.
One shareholder picked up his phone, dialed a number, and quickly briefed the official on the other end.
The official’s breathing turned heavy, barely restraining his outrage. “Understood. I’m heading to see the President immediately!”
Hanging up, the shareholder smirked, leaning back comfortably in his chair to await the chaos.
BOOM!
A sudden crash startled him. He whipped around in horror to see his office door kicked off its hinges as armed tactical units swarmed in, slamming him face-first to the floor.
“It’s live!” a journalist shouted, frantically refreshing his browser with manic excitement, waiting for the internet to explode.
Then he saw the error page: 404 Not Found.
“What?” The journalist blinked, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
BOOM!
His front door was kicked wide open.
The journalist was tackled to the floor in a split second.
Inside the presidential office, Madam President hung up the phone. Having confirmed that every last rat hidden within the government had exposed itself and been apprehended, ensuring tomorrow morning would dawn as peaceful as any other day, she stood up from her chair and rubbed her back.
“Ah, getting old… time to head home.”
