“Sure. There is a VIP seat for you.”Sophia smiled, completely misunderstanding his question. She thought he was hesitant about sitting in the front row with the dignitaries.She didn’t know he was asking whether she was sure about walking into the jaws of death by accepting this position.Before Elijah could correct her, she grabbed him by the wrist. “Come on, we’re late!” she urged, pulling him toward the main venue.The sight of the new police chief dragging a man in simple clothes by the hand stunned the onlookers. From the security guards to the Commissioner, everyone watched with different expressions.But the ones with the craziest expressions were the two women from the DiLaurentis family.Margaret’s face twisted beyond recognition, resembling a crumpled sheet of paper. “How shameless!” she hissed through gritted teeth, boiling with rage.Rosalie huffed, standing akimbo with her nose in the air. “Mom, are you sur

Only when Grace Ainsworth’s expensive silk dress touched the cushion of her chair did the rest of the room dare to move.Like puppets cut from the same string, the VIP members, the police officers, and the guests in the regular seating area all sat down in unison.Tiffany’s expression turned stern the moment she hit her seat. She gritted her teeth, leaning over to Sophia and pointing an accusatory finger toward the VIP area.There, Grace Ainsworth was seated right next to Elijah Langston.“Sophia, can you see the guy you gave a VIP opportunity to?” Tiffany demanded, her voice aggrieved. “He has no respect at all! This is what happens when you give a street hooligan a chance to sit with kings and queens.”How could an ordinary person dare to remain seated when everyone else stood to pay respect to a mountain like Grace Ainsworth?Sophia just sighed lightly, looking at her hands. Truly, she was surprised.Grace Ainsworth was a titan. She funded police equipment, training programs, commu

What no one knew was that, inside Elijah Langston’s mind, everything happening around him had been drowned in absolute silence. It was as though his ears were equipped with a natural noise-cancellation mechanism.Even the whispers of the VIPs beside him didn’t register. Right now, Elijah was floating in a dark, empty void.Spiritual energy rushed violently through the meridians connecting his ears to his brain, amplifying his senses to a terrifying degree.His hearing was now spiritually enhanced. The sounds close by didn’t matter a bit to him. Only noise from afar reached him.Chirp...! Chirp...! He heard the fluttering wings of pigeons roosting on a telephone wire three blocks away.Clack! Clack! Clack! He heard the rhythmic grinding of the West District Express train arriving at a station two miles out.Whirrr...! He heard the hydraulic whine of cranes still working late at the massive construction site near the bay.Honk!He heard the impatient blare of a taxi driver stuck in t

Everyone was so busy scampering to safety. Screaming and diving under chairs in the chaotic environment, that no one noticed the subtle movement in the front row.Elijah Langston’s right hand moved.It wasn’t a normal movement. It was a blur.Swoosh!There was a streak of brilliant golden light as a golden Heaven-Piercing Needle fired out of his sleeve. His eyes remained locked completely forward, not even blinking.It happened too fast. What occurred wasn’t even visible to the ordinary eye or perceived by anyone present on the ground at that moment.The Heaven-Piercing needle traveled straight, at an unusual, supersonic speed. It crossed the path of the incoming 50-caliber Tungsten-Carbide Incendiary round fired by the Shadow of Death.The accuracy required for such a feat was something no human was meant to achieve. The odds of success should have been statistically impossible.But terrifyingly… it happened.Ping! The golden needle struck the back end of the heavy-caliber bullet mi