As they gazed at the explosion ruins,
Another steam car, billowing black smoke and having lost power, slowly came to a stop in front of Luo Wei.
Police Chief Raymond emerged, looking disheveled.
"Luo Wei... thanks... thanks for your warning..."
He was breathing heavily, his tense nerves only now beginning to calm down.
"Otherwise... I would have been blown to pieces in there..."
Luo Wei looked at him - apart from some minor scrapes, he was intact from head to toe, still as vigorous as before.
As expected of him.
The fastest police officer in all of Saint Callen.
The two bedraggled men exchanged glances, both letting out bitter smiles as they sat on the ground.
Looking at the ruined building in the distance, Police Chief Raymond furrowed his brow, "This is no longer just a simple case of disappearance and theft..."
Hearing those screams, his tone grew increasingly indignant.
"What could be their purpose... targeting so many defenseless civilians, it's too much! It's absolutely insane!"
"A bloody ritual by the Truth Cult? An enemy nation's declaration of war? Or perhaps..."
As he pondered more seriously, the possibilities had already far exceeded his jurisdiction as the East District Police Chief.
While Raymond was lost in thought, many of his colleagues arrived from all directions in vehicles with blaring sirens, heading toward the ruins.
After all, the people gathered in this area were either wealthy or noble - if anything happened to them, the entire Saint Callen Police Department would be held accountable.
Luo Wei slightly frowned as various pieces of evidence flashed through his mind.
An upscale venue for the wealthy and noble, a hijacked airship, a student who could pilot airships, the Truth Cult, the misleading method of operation...
And a balloon.
That afternoon, colorful flags had lined the streets as the Emperor reduced taxes for merchants.
It was to welcome someone.
Luo Wei looked at Raymond with a dark expression.
"Where was the Fifth Princess attending the banquet?"
These words immediately shocked Raymond to his core. Even with his slow reactions, he realized what this meant.
His expression became even darker than Luo Wei's.
With trembling fingers, he pointed toward the ruins ahead.
"The Imperial Hotel..."
It's over.
This was Raymond's first thought.
Though people said this Fifth Princess wasn't favored by His Majesty, she was still a member of the royal family, His Majesty's youngest child, a figure far too important for him to even contemplate...
And looking at today's festive street scenes, where was the supposed disfavor toward the Fifth Princess? His Majesty clearly adored her...
But regardless, the Fifth Princess had died in the safest and most prosperous East District, died in his jurisdiction...
It was truly over...
Raymond's face turned ashen as he muttered under his breath.
"Assassination..."
"It was an assassination..."
And Luo Wei, upon hearing that Ophelia had just been in that area and might have died in the explosion...
Felt waves of shock surge through his heart.
Impossible... how could this be...
Ophelia dead? Dead right under his nose?
Could death come so easily?
As he was still in shock and questioning reality...
His palm was suddenly gripped tightly by Helena.
Following Helena's vigilant gaze, Luo Wei looked straight ahead.
A large black carriage drawn by four horses was rapidly approaching their direction.
The carriage moved extremely fast and emitted a faint mysterious glow.
Luo Wei narrowed his eyes for a closer look - the black carriage bore a complex coat of arms combining a black dragon, sword and shield, and thorny flowers.
It was a royal carriage.
Raymond's whole body trembled at the sight of the carriage, feeling a surge of excitement and elation.
Not because he wanted to shout "Long live His Majesty!" or anything like that... but because the carriage had come from the direction of the ruins, and could very likely be the Princess's transport!
"Luo Wei! Luo Wei, look!"
"I won't lose my job! The Princess is still alive!!"
"Eh? Luo Wei, what's wrong?"
Luo Wei's expression was completely opposite to Raymond's. When he clearly saw the royal coat of arms, his expression immediately turned sour.
Then, as if struck by stomach pain, he crouched down and pulled Helena down with him.
"Don't look back..."
Don't see me, don't see me...
The royal carriage sped past where the three of them were crouching, heading toward a more distant location.
Dust filled the air, leaving the three covered in dirt and grime.
Helena waved away the dust, her brows unconsciously furrowing.
Her eyes glanced at the recklessly charging carriage, her gaze deepening.
Was it her carriage?
Helena looked at her brother again, wanting to see his expression.
Luo Wei crouched on the ground, heavy with worry, still not daring to look at the now-distant carriage.
Thank goodness... she didn't see me...
Although he knew they would meet someday, he really didn't want to see her at this time.
Helena watched her brother's nervous demeanor and tilted her head slightly.
"Brother?"
...
Inside the speeding carriage, a woman with silver-white hair gently lifted the curtain.
Everything behind the carriage was rapidly receding - the ruins, thick smoke, police, panicked pedestrians.
As her gaze passed by casually, Ophelia looked at the civilians crouching on the ground in the distance, her delicate brows slightly furrowing.
There was an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
But the carriage was too fast, and in the next second, those small figures had disappeared from view.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?"
The lady-in-waiting asked softly.
"Nothing."
The cold voice responded quietly.
Perhaps it was just an illusion born from her thoughts.
"Your Highness," an attendant carefully asked:
"His Majesty wants you to return to the palace immediately, and with such dangerous events occurring outside, do you still want to go to that place?"
In the bumpy and dark carriage, the attendant couldn't see the Princess's expression.
But this wordless silence made the attendant even more nervous.
Their Princess was a woman of few words with a cold personality.
More importantly, the Princess was ruthless in her methods, making it impossible for anyone to guess her thoughts, which made every attendant extremely cautious when communicating with her.
The atmosphere remained deathly silent as beads of sweat formed on the attendant's forehead.
As the Princess continued to withhold her response and the attendant grew increasingly nervous...
"Go see Father."
The cold voice spoke again.
The attendant immediately felt relieved.
But not daring to show it on his face, he simply responded repeatedly.
"Yes!"
The royal carriage slowed down, gradually turning at the intersection ahead.
Ophelia glanced at the increasingly familiar Saint Callen Street, a hint of nostalgia appearing in her eyes.
She wasn't nostalgic for this city - she didn't like this city.
Rather...
In the darkness, Ophelia's lips curved slightly upward.
I'm back.
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Here's four chapters! Written in the deep mountains and forests! Please urge for updates, leave comments, and send small gifts~
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
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.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
