A cold night rain fell in a steady drizzle, creating a gloomy, rhythmic clatter against the rotting tin roofs of the Lantern Sector. Deep inside the dead Meridian Clan’s subterranean hideout, built hastily from the ruins of a logistics warehouse, the air was suffocating. It hung heavy with the pungent stench of herbal medicine and the metallic tang of drying blood.Wu Chen lay motionless on a rickety wooden bed cushioned only by coarse straw. His breathing was shallow and uneven. Bandages wrapped nearly every inch of his thin frame, covering his torn left shoulder, the gaping hole in his chest left by a shattered sword, and his fractured ribs.Yet, physical agony was not his greatest torment. The damn System was collecting its debt.The backlash from prematurely deactivating Stage Two had devastated his motor nerves, leaving him completely paralyzed from the waist down. Every time he tried to force even a single toe to move, a sensation like a thousand rusted needles pierced the base

Mass panic erupted inside the underground headquarters of the Dead Meridian Clan like hell itself had broken loose. The air, already stifling, had transformed into a massive furnace. Flames raged through the wooden support pillars, spreading wildly across the ceiling connected to the refugee camp above them. The thunderous roar of collapsing structures mixed with the hysterical screams of the dying, creating a deafening cacophony."Prince! Hold on tight! I'll carry you!" Paman Chen roared through the thick clouds of black smoke.The old general immediately scooped Wu Chen's paralyzed body off the wooden bed and hoisted him onto his broad back in one swift motion."Ugh! My ribs... damn it!" Wu Chen groaned, suppressing the unbearable pain as his freshly stitched chest pressed against Paman Chen's back. "Paman! Keep moving! Don't worry about the fire behind us!""Big Brother! Xiao Yu is scared!" the little girl screamed, coughing violently as she clung tightly to the edge of Paman Chen'

BANG!Uncle Chen and Wu Chen slammed into the muddy ground, which was already blackened by pools of blood and ash. The violent impact dislodged Wu Chen from the old general’s back, throwing him six feet through the air before he tumbled into the ruins of a collapsed stone wall."Ughh!" Wu Chen spat up a mouthful of blood, his ears ringing violently as his vision spun.The warm blood that had sprayed from Uncle Chen was still wet on his face, seeping into the corners of his lips and leaving a sickening metallic taste. He forced his head up with the last remaining strength in his trembling arms.All around them, the Blood Cleansing Squad immediately tightened their formation. Their steel boots stomped into the mud in unison, creating a ring of death around Wu Chen, Uncle Chen, Doctor Liu, and Xiao Yu in the heart of the raging inferno.The towering commander in dark silver armor stepped casually into the center of the circle. His double-headed battleaxe still crackled with blue lightnin

Drip... drip... drip...The sound of dirty water dripping from the stone ceiling was the only thing breaking the absolute silence inside the underground water prison. The damp room felt utterly dead. There was no light except for the faint glow of a small phosphorus stick that Doctor Liu had managed to ignite from the remnants of his medical supplies.Several hours had crawled by since they had locked the steel door. Outside, the night in Lantern Sector might have been left covered in the ashes of a massacre, but inside this underground chamber, time seemed to have stopped moving.Xiao Yu had fallen asleep from sheer physical and mental exhaustion. The girl's small body was curled up against Doctor Liu's thigh. The physician carefully and patiently applied the last of the herbal ointment to the scratches on Xiao Yu's arm and cheek. Doctor Liu's own face was a complete mess, covered in black soot and dried blood.In the darkest, coldest corner of the room, Wu Chen sat helplessly.His p

The shrill scream that tore from Gou's throat eventually faded into a wet, gurgling sound before falling completely silent.The traitor died with his eyes bulging in terror, his tongue bitten clean through by his own jaws because he could no longer endure the absolute agony transmitted through the tip of Wu Chen's dagger. Blood and filth pooled beneath his corpse, filling the cramped water prison with the thick, rancid stench of death.Wu Chen slowly pulled his dagger free from Gou's meridian nerve point. He stared at the blood-soaked steel with a face as expressionless as marble, then wiped the blood off on the remains of the traitor's robe.Around him, the dozen or so surviving members of the Dead Meridian Clan stood frozen. Not one of them dared make a sound. They could only swallow hard, their skin crawling with fear.They had just realized something truly terrifying.The crippled young man sitting against the stone wall was no longer merely a clever boss skilled at devising tacti