Chen Guan had figured it out—compared to him, these people were all more concerned about his leopard.
The short-haired woman just said "Oh," didn't ask any more, and went back to drinking her water, head down.
The bald man hadn't said a word the whole time. After wiping his knife, he tucked it under his pillow, lay down, and turned to face the wall.
The tall, thin man hadn't even opened his eyes.
Chen Guan leaned against the wall, fingers resting on his knees, staring blankly at a crack on the opposite wall.
The blank stare was fake.
He was counting the details in this room.
One door, no windows. Ventilation came through the gaps between the iron sheets on the roof. The airflow moved from the doorway inward, meaning the passage outside was the main source of ventilation.
Six cots, but only three people were staying here. With him, that made four. One cot was still empty—either someone else was coming, or it was reserved for shift changes.
Chen Guan made a rough assessment of his three temporary roommates.
Three people, three types. All of them looked like characters who'd scraped by on the fringes of society.
The odd jobs hired by the New Circus troupe really weren't decent types. No wonder White Tiger had sent him here instead of Yin Chen or Hong Yuan—two people he vaguely considered his subordinates.
One of them couldn't hide her pride. The other was too innocent and naive.
The leopard yawned at his feet, revealing a row of sharp teeth, then rested its head on its front paws and closed its eyes.
Chen Guan patted its head as a comfort.
Since his leopard had evolved, it had been getting lazier and lazier, losing that energetic look it used to have. He wasn't sure if it was related to the upgrade.
On top of that, the leopard was a bit dumb—couldn't transform, couldn't talk. It really made a parent worry.
Time passed slowly. The light coming through the iron roof shifted from bright to dim as the sky outside gradually darkened. Sea breeze poured in through the gaps in the roof, carrying a salty, damp smell.
No one spoke.
This silence wasn't awkward—it was a kind of understanding. In a place like this, silence was the safest way to socialize.
After about two hours, the iron door was pushed open from outside.
The person who walked in wasn't the hoodie guy. It was someone Chen Guan had never seen before.
He wasn't tall, and he wore a dusty old jacket.
After stepping inside, he stood at the doorway, let his gaze sweep across the room, and finally stopped when it landed on Chen Guan, lingering for a moment.
The reason was simple—wearing a mask was a bit eye-catching. But the guy didn't seem to mind much. People having quirks was normal.
"Everyone here?" he asked in a voice that wasn't loud but was clear enough for everyone in the room to hear.
The bald man sat up on his cot.
The tall, thin man opened his eyes.
The short-haired woman put down her enamel cup.
"There's a job tonight," the man said. "Pier 3 at the dock. Eleven o'clock. A shipment needs to be unloaded. You're on perimeter security. You don't need to touch the cargo—just make sure no unauthorized people get close during the unloading."
He pulled a few pieces of paper from his pocket and handed one to each person in turn.
Chen Guan took his and glanced at it. It was a rough map of the area, with their designated positions marked.
His spot was at the northeast corner of Pier 3, near a row of abandoned shipping containers.
"Any questions?"
No one said anything.
"Then assemble at the gate at ten-thirty."
...
Ten-thirty.
The iron door swung open, and the group filed out.
Chen Guan and his leopard brought up the rear.
No one spoke.
After walking for about seven or eight minutes, the hoodie guy appeared ahead, leaning against the side of a container with an unlit cigarette in his hand.
"Everyone here?"
"Here," the bald man answered for all of them.
The hoodie guy tucked the cigarette behind his ear, pulled out a walkie-talkie the size of his palm, adjusted the frequency, and let it crackle with static for a couple of seconds before it settled.
"Take your positions. Report in on your walkie-talkies once you're there. Channel three."
He took four identical walkie-talkies out of an iron box nearby and handed one to each person.
Chen Guan took his, weighed it in his hand. It was an old model—signal range was probably only a few hundred meters, but it was enough in an area full of warehouses.
Rustport really was a run-down place, even its communication equipment looked dated.
Knowing his task, Chen Guan headed off alone toward the northeast corner.
The docks at night were quieter than during the day. In that silence, he found his position.
A row of abandoned shipping containers lined up against the dock fence. Their surfaces were covered in rust, and a few doors hung half-open, revealing pitch-black insides.
Chen Guan crouched down with his back against the side of a container. The leopard lay quietly by his feet, its purple pupils barely glowing in the dark—well restrained.
He pressed the talk button on his walkie-talkie.
"Northeast corner, in position."
Voices came through one after another.
"Northwest corner, in position." That was the bald man.
"South side passage, in position." The short-haired woman.
"Southeast corner, in position." The tall, thin man's voice sounded younger than expected.
The hoodie guy said finally, "Copy. Hold your positions. Report any situation immediately."
Then the channel went quiet.
Chen Guan clipped the walkie-talkie onto his belt and adjusted the volume to where he could just hear it clearly.
Peering through the gap between containers, he looked out toward Pier 3. A few lights were on—not many, just enough to illuminate the pier itself and a small area around it. The rest remained lost in darkness.
A speedboat pulled up to the dock.
Then a second one.
People jumped off the boats, moving swiftly, landing almost soundlessly.
The unloading began.
From Chen Guan's angle, he could only see rough shapes. Several figures moved around the pier, carrying something from the boats to the shore.
The boxes weren't big—a person could carry one—but those carrying them moved carefully, as if the contents were fragile.
Chen Guan didn't believe for a second it was anything ordinary, but he wasn't curious either. It had nothing to do with him.
A short crackle came through the walkie-talkie, followed by the hoodie guy's voice. "All positions, report."
"Northeast corner, all clear," Chen Guan said, pressing the talk button.
"Northwest corner, all clear."
"South side passage, all clear."
"Southeast corner..." The tall, thin man's voice paused. "There's movement."
The channel went silent for two seconds.
"What kind of movement?" The hoodie guy's tone didn't change, but he asked quickly.
"Someone. One person. Coming from the southeast. Moving silently."
The tall, thin man's voice dropped very low, as if there was a hint of fear in it.
"Did you get a good look? How many."
"One."
"Sure?"
"Sure. A woman. Short hair. No—long hair. Silver."
The tall, thin man hesitated noticeably while describing it, as if what he'd seen didn't match what he'd expected.
Chen Guan's finger stopped over the walkie-talkie without pressing down.
Silver long hair.
That wasn't a common hair color.
The hoodie guy's command came through the walkie-talkie. "Stop her. Ask for identification. Don't engage—just confirm first."
"Copy."
The tall, thin man's voice cut off.
The channel went silent again.
Chen Guan looked through the container gap toward Pier 3. The unloading crew was still moving things, their pace unchanged, their rhythm unbroken.
It shows that they either haven't received the news over there yet, or they have but don't plan to stop.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
