Chapter 7: The Heart of the Ocean
"Everyone."
Amiya's crisp voice rang out from the stage, instantly silencing the room.
"Thank you all for coming. This exhibition, hosted by our country, is primarily to celebrate the centennial anniversary of our nation's founding. On behalf of the royal family of Lorqing Country, I assure you that all proceeds from this event will be donated to global charitable causes. Additionally, I’d like to express my gratitude for your contributions to philanthropy worldwide."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The entire venue erupted in applause.
Amiya bowed slightly in acknowledgment, said a few more words, and then stepped down from the stage.
The crowd of attendees immediately surged forward, only to be held back by a ring of bodyguards standing two meters away.
"Your Highness, may I have your autograph?"
"Amiya! Can I take a photo with you?"
"Princess..."
As one of the top ten most outstanding unmarried women of 2050, Amiya was clearly accustomed to the fervent attention of fans from all over.
She responded to their enthusiasm with a warm smile.
While she didn’t refuse autograph requests, she politely declined photo opportunities.
No one seemed offended, however. After all, tolerance for exceptional individuals was always high—especially when that individual was a beautiful woman.
At that moment, a young man in a checkered shirt stepped forward, handing her a piece of paper and a pen.
"Miss Amiya, if you wouldn’t mind."
Amiya accepted the pen graciously and swiftly signed her name.
But as she handed the autograph back, the young man didn’t immediately withdraw his hand.
Just as Amiya wondered what he intended to do, he snapped his fingers—middle finger and thumb pressed together—and a blue rose miraculously appeared in his palm.
"For you, the beautiful Miss Amiya."
Amiya blinked in surprise, then smiled and accepted the rose with a soft "Thank you."
The onlookers watched with envy.
Unnoticed by anyone, the moment Amiya took the flower, something tiny and exquisitely crafted slipped from the young man’s hand and landed precisely in her pocket.
Seeing his objective accomplished, Chen Feng turned and walked away without another word.
Just then, a Lorqing Country bodyguard approached with a group of about ten people.
"Your Highness, these are members of the Chinese police force. They’re here to assist with the matter of the heist notice."
"Oh?" Amiya turned curiously.
Li Qingyan stepped forward. "Miss Amiya, I’m Li Qingyan, leader of Team 1 from the Chinese Division 3 pursuit unit of the Thief Game program."
"Pleasure to meet you, Captain Li."
Amiya extended her hand for a brief shake.
As a princess of Lorqing Country, she was well aware of the internationally collaborative Thief Game—after all, her own nation had contributed twenty participants.
What puzzled her was why they had come to her. Unless… the person who issued the heist notice was a contestant from Chinese Division 3?
Her suspicion was soon confirmed.
Li Qingyan explained, "The individual who sent the notice is one of our contestants from Chinese Division 3—Chen Feng. We’re here to offer our assistance in handling this situation."
Amiya nodded. "Thank you, Captain Li. Let’s discuss this upstairs, please."
With that, she left the exhibition hall, escorted by her bodyguards, and led Li Qingyan’s team to an upper floor.
No one knew exactly what they discussed.
But after their meeting, the Lorqing Country exhibition organizers publicly decoded the true meaning of the heist notice:
The "dome" referred to the church spire north of the exhibition hall. "Northern starlight" pointed to the North Star, while "the convergence of starlight and moonlight" described the alignment where the moon, visible from the south, would cast its light through the church’s spire, intersecting with the North Star in a direct north-south line—around 10 p.m.
The third line, "Pandora’s box opens," was simpler to interpret. The second day of the exhibition—tomorrow—coincided with the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, known as the Ghost Festival in Chinese tradition.
Legend held that on this day, the gates of the underworld would open, releasing countless spirits—a perfect parallel to Pandora’s box unleashing its demons.
In short, the notice conveyed one clear message: At 10 p.m. on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Heart of the Ocean will be stolen.
This revelation sent the internet into another frenzy.
"I thought Feng Shen was already bold by announcing his heist in advance, but I underestimated him—he even gave the exact time!"
"I’ll admit, the magic tricks during the rooftop bar livestream were stunning—no one’s figured them out yet. But magic and theft are two different things. Isn’t this pushing it?"
"Agreed. Overconfidence leads to embarrassment."
"Remember when you all swore Chen would get caught on the rooftop? And then what? He not only escaped but even shook off the surveillance system!"
"I’m with the second comment. Magic and theft don’t mix. Waiting for the humbling."
...
While the online debate raged, Chen Feng had already showered and was lounging leisurely on his hotel bed, scrolling through his laptop.
Naturally, the ID and money he used were "borrowed" from the pursuit team during the rooftop bar incident.
What could be more fitting than thieves stealing from those meant to catch them?
He’d even left them handwritten notes suggesting they file for reimbursement from the show. Whether they padded their claims was none of his concern.
Putting on headphones, Chen Feng focused on the screen.
Meanwhile, in Amiya’s penthouse suite atop the exhibition hall…
A tiny object emerged from Amiya’s pocket, slid down a coat hanger to the floor, and stealthily made its way into the living room where she sat.
Amiya was speaking with her assistant, Mill, in Lorqingese—but for Chen Feng, equipped with intermediate linguistic mastery, it posed no challenge.
"Did you bring it?"
Amiya crossed her toned legs, eyeing Mill, who stood nearby clutching an ornate little box, her expression uneasy.
"Y-Your Highness… is this really appropriate? If the royal elders find out, it won’t end well..."
Amiya smiled faintly, unbothered. "Mill, we’ll only know if it’s appropriate after we try. Now, hand it over."
With trembling hands, Mill passed her the box.
Amiya reached out and took the box, holding it in her hands as she slowly opened it.
Inside lay an exquisite necklace—a silver chain adorned with dozens of dazzling gemstones that shimmered under the light. But the most radiant of them all was the blue gem set upon a heart-shaped gilded base.
The deep blue hue glowed with an otherworldly beauty under the light, profound and magnificent, as if it held the entire ocean within its depths. This was none other than the legendary "Heart of the Ocean," renowned as the world’s largest blue sapphire!
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
