The armored woman was incredibly domineering. Although she had come to someone else’s territory, she carried herself with the air of a host.
After entering, she leaned against the counter and casually lit a cigarette.
Once she had asked, “Chen Miemie lives here, right?” she fell silent and waited for A-Lin’s reply. A-Lin watched her warily and did not answer for quite some time. The woman then blew a smoke ring toward him from across the counter.
The seemingly provocative gesture made A-Lin’s expression change.
He abruptly leaped to the side, dodging the smoke ring.
Just half a second before he moved, the smoke ring had changed from intangible to solid, tightening like a coil snapping shut. After failing to bind its target, it turned intangible again and dispersed into wisps of smoke.
A-Lin’s gaze grew even colder. “The Seahorse Knights intend to make a move against the [Blacktide Merchant Association] at a time like this?”
The woman smiled faintly and blew out another smoke ring.
“Kid, if you’re going to invoke someone else’s authority, at least take a look at who you’re standing in front of.
“Your father was once a member of the [Blacktide Merchant Association], that much is true. But you aren’t, and neither is this inn. When they invited you before, you turned them down without hesitation. So how come you’re shamelessly borrowing their name now that you’re in trouble?
“Enough teasing. I have an appointment with Chen Miemie. He gave me the address himself.”
A-Lin suspected a trap and replied coldly, “If you made an appointment, contact him yourself.”
Before long, Chen Miemie came downstairs.
He stopped in front of the fully armored woman, his face filled with disbelief. “You’re [Seahorse]?”
The woman had just finished her cigarette. She stepped forward and completely opened her visor, revealing her face.
She spun her right hand in a full circle, planted the tip of her right foot on the ground, leaned forward, and gave a slight bow—the formal greeting of a knight.
Without her helmet, [Seahorse] revealed striking, well-defined features, a straight nose, and a resolute gaze. Her golden hair was tied into a bun, with long side locks falling to her shoulders on either side of her face. They had been trimmed with meticulous precision. She looked valiant and sunny, radiating such righteousness that she seemed to glow.
Seeing the woman’s true appearance, A-Lin was stunned. “You... you’re [Seahorse]!”
Chen Miemie was equally shocked. “You really are [Seahorse]?”
“It’s me.” [Seahorse] nodded, then glanced at A-Lin.
Chen Miemie understood. “Let’s go upstairs and talk. I live on the fourth floor.”
A-Lin watched the two of them head upstairs. Since [Seahorse] really had arranged to meet Chen Miemie, then even if he did not want anything to do with the [Seahorse Knights], he could not stop a guest from receiving a visitor.
Fourth floor.
As soon as they entered, Chen Miemie immediately voiced his confusion.
“[Seahorse], you’re the person in charge of the human witches in [Surgefoam Harbor], right?”
The golden-haired knight nodded. “Yes.”
“Aren’t witches supposed to hide inside loose robes, shut away in dark little rooms while brewing potions? How come you’re completely different?”
[Seahorse] looked slightly displeased. “Third Seat Descendant, that’s a prejudice. Don’t let the public’s preconceptions mislead you. Everyone has different aspirations. If some people like refining medicines, then naturally others will like charging into battle. We should respect the diversity of our kind.”
“What about the witches in the [Seahorse Knights]? Are they all like you?”
[Seahorse] had been struck right where it hurt.
How could they possibly all be the same? When she had first taken over as guildmaster, everyone had unanimously opposed both renaming the organization and having custom knight uniforms made.
“Don’t get hung up on the details.” She skipped over the subject entirely.
Chen Miemie thought for a moment and decided not to press her about the guild’s name. “Actually, nothing much is going on with me. I just came here and thought I should greet you, the local host.”
[Seahorse], however, took the matter very seriously. She spoke with a solemn expression. “Lord Third Seat instructed me personally. Rest assured, in [Surgefoam Harbor], we will do everything in our power to ensure your safety, even if war breaks out.”
Chen Miemie shook his head.
“There’s no need for you to worry about my safety. If you don’t have the ability to handle yourself, going out will only cause trouble for others. I wouldn’t have come to [Surgefoam Harbor] at a time like this otherwise.
“On the other hand, have you run into any problems you can’t solve?”
[Seahorse] was a straightforward person who disliked beating around the bush. So when Chen Miemie asked, she actually told him.
“Yes. Our position in the city is rather awkward right now.”
“Oh? Go on.” Chen Miemie looked as if he had spotted an exclamation mark floating above [Seahorse]’s head, tempting him to accept a quest.
“Everyone knows now that war is about to begin.”
“Wait.” Chen Miemie immediately interrupted her. “I just arrived. What exactly is this war about?”
[Seahorse] paused.
“All right. I’ll start from the beginning.
“Humanity’s [Surgefoam Harbor] and the underwater demonfolk’s [Mussel Ruins] are two cities separated by a very short straight-line distance. The only difference is that we live on land by the sea, while they live beneath the ocean.
“The sea is a shared source of resources for both of us. Whether it’s seafood, minerals, strange materials, or the ruins of ancient medicines, everything comes from the ocean.
“We and the underwater demonfolk make our living from the same source. Fortunately, the ocean’s resources are abundant enough to satisfy the needs of both cities. There have always been minor clashes between individuals, but overall, we managed to coexist peacefully.
“The change came two hundred years ago.
“On the verge of death, a human Great Sage performed a divination at tremendous cost.
“The scene revealed by the divination was this—
‘[Surgefoam Harbor] will be completely swallowed by a colossal wave and sink beneath the sea. Not a single human will remain in the entire city, and every part of it will be occupied by the underwater demonfolk.’”
Chen Miemie got a headache the moment he heard the word “divination.”
On an emotional level, he did not believe in divination at all. It always struck him as nothing more than fortune-tellers deceiving people. But rationally speaking, this was a mysterious world, and divination was a legitimate branch of mystical power. It could not simply be ignored.
“So the people of [Surgefoam Harbor] believed the prophecy and assumed that the [Mussel Ruins] intended to attack?”
[Seahorse] shook her head, then nodded.
“That Great Sage’s divination only revealed the result; it did not say when it would happen. Two hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, and many people had even forgotten about it. With so much time gone by and more than a dozen generations having come and gone, people nowadays originally didn’t believe it.
“But not long ago, an underwater expedition team was swept into the deep sea by an unpredictable current and accidentally reached the deepest part of the interior of the Sea Ridge.
“There, at the bottom of the Sea Ridge, they discovered a massive fissure!
“You may not know much about geology, Chen Miemie, so let me put it simply.
“If that section of the Sea Ridge collapses, seawater will surge toward the region where [Surgefoam Harbor] is located, and this entire place will be submerged.”
Chen Miemie pondered this. “That lines up with the contents of the divination.”
“Exactly. The worst part is that the underwater expedition team had been hastily assembled, and there were demonfolk among its members. Naturally, the demonfolk learned about it too.
“Humans want to preserve the Sea Ridge, but the demonfolk feel differently. If the flood submerges [Surgefoam Harbor], humans won’t be able to survive in an underwater city. In other words, the city would effectively fall without a fight, handing itself over to them.”
Chen Miemie reacted quickly. “They want the Sea Ridge to collapse?”
“Of course. They haven’t made a move yet, but it’s like a blade hanging over [Foamwave Harbor’s] head. They’ve already deployed a large force to remain stationed there long-term.”
“Can the sea ridge be repaired?”
“That was created by the awesome power of nature. It can’t be repaired.”
Chen Miemie furrowed her brows. “Leaving people stationed in the deep sea all year round isn’t practical. And even if the demon race didn’t cause trouble, the sea ridge would eventually collapse anyway, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Then why does the demon race still want to attack? Are they really in such a hurry?”
“Chen Miemie, that’s the seafloor, deep beneath the ocean. No matter how skilled a human is in the water, once they go down there, their strength will be reduced by half—and they still won’t be able to stay for long.
“Even if we use the [Call to Arms], if the sea-dwelling demons launch a serious sneak attack, then over the years, we’re bound to lose the war of attrition. We won’t be able to hold the line.
“[Foamwave Harbor] needs time to come up with a solution. The sea ridge cannot collapse right now, so…”
Chen Miemie finally understood. “So they’re using offense as a means of defense, keeping the demons too occupied to worry about anything else. Humanity was the one that started this war.”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
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.
