The next day.
In the courtyard.
Gu Yan didn’t go anywhere, staying obediently within the Leng Family estate.
The black cat, Yeye, lazily sprawled across Gu Yan’s lap, eyes closed as it basked in his sweet scent.
Meanwhile, Gu Yan stroked Yeye’s fur while watching an online meeting on his laptop.
"Since everyone’s here, let’s begin the meeting."
Bai Jun, true to his reputation as a grandmaster, had regained much of his vitality after a day of rest.
The headquarters had reached out to him.
So, Bai Jun hastily convened this meeting to brief everyone once they had recovered.
Gu Yan glanced at the dozen or so faces on the screen.
Huh, all familiar.
Murong Ci, Shangguan Miaoyin, Bai Lian, Mei Xue, You Xingxue...
The members of the Night Organization had recovered well—or rather, they hadn’t suffered much damage in the forbidden zone to begin with.
Ning Qian, however, wore a sullen expression, her face twisted with frustration.
It seemed the expedition to the forbidden zone had dealt her another blow.
The rest were survivors of the operation.
The only thing that puzzled Gu Yan was...
Hmm?
Where was that trash-tier martial artist Li Chuan, the one who had mocked him in the car?
As if hearing his thoughts, Bai Jun’s grave voice rang out:
"Everyone, I deeply apologize. This operation ended in failure due to my misjudgment."
"All sect martial artists perished."
"Only the dozen or so department martial warriors present here remain."
"This is my failure, and I will take full responsibility for it."
At these words, Gu Yan understood—so they all died.
But... wasn’t Li Chuan part of the logistics team?
And wasn’t Lin Yinyin also in the car? How did Li Chuan end up dead?
Just then, a bandaged man spoke up grimly:
"Enough, Bai Jun. The dead cannot return. Assigning blame is meaningless now. All I want to know is..."
He clenched his fists, teeth gritted.
"What the hell were those Nether Clan creatures in the forbidden zone?!"
Indeed, the Nether Clan was the real mystery.
Though the loss of comrades was tragic, they were heroes—fallen in the pursuit of forbidden zone exploration.
Their sacrifice held value, for the Nether Clan was the intelligence they had bought with their lives!
Bai Jun closed his eyes, steadying himself before responding solemnly:
"After returning from the forbidden zone, I consulted the headquarters’ archives regarding the Nether Clan."
"And... we reached a startling conclusion."
"The Nether Clan... may very well be the precursors to Demon Creatures!"
"In other words, the Nether Clan we encountered in Forbidden Zone No. 5 might be ancient Demon Creatures!"
!!
Silence fell.
Ancient Demon Creatures? The Nether Clan?
Shangguan Miaoyin’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Oh? Interesting.
If the Nether Clan were ancient Demon Creatures...
Didn’t that mean their souls would be exceptionally delicious?
Ancient delicacies—her master would surely be thrilled.
Hehe~ If she reported this first, she’d earn lavish praise.
Bai Lian harbored similar thoughts.
She glanced at Shangguan Miaoyin on the screen, sensing—perhaps imagining—the other woman’s gaze meeting hers through the pixels.
Qin Rong rubbed her temples, disbelief coloring her voice:
"Ancient Demon Creatures? Those humanoid things count as Demon Creatures?"
This defied common knowledge. Demon Creatures were unmistakable—anyone could identify them at a glance.
But the ones in Forbidden Zone No. 5 were different. Two had human forms.
They could blend into crowds unnoticed.
If they infiltrated human society... how dangerous would the world become?
The implications dawned on everyone, their expressions darkening.
Gu Yan spoke up:
"Have similar entities appeared in previous forbidden zones?"
Bai Jun shook his head. "No. Compared to Forbidden Zone No. 5, the others barely qualify as forbidden zones."
"Is there any technology to detect these humanoid Demon Creatures?"
"For martial artists, the difference in aura between Demon Creatures and humans is obvious."
At this, realization struck.
One man’s eyes widened as he hesitated before asking:
"Wait, Bai Jun... are you suggesting what I think you are?"
"You’re not about to propose a full-scale martial artist liberalization policy, are you?"
"Because if so, I’ve got things to say."
The man belonged to the radical faction, long advocating for global martial arts academies—training everyone as martial artists to combat Demon Creatures.
A worldwide search might uncover countless prodigies.
The others turned to Bai Jun, their gazes heavy with unspoken questions.
If the radicals’ proposal went through...
Universal martial arts training would indeed help counter the ancient Demon Creature threat.
But the downsides were undeniable.
What of criminals who gained martial prowess?
Crime rates would skyrocket. Ordinary people, lacking talent, would become society’s most vulnerable.
Bai Jun sighed, knowing how hard this was to accept.
"This is the higher-ups’ conclusion."
"Rather than wait for ancient Demon Creatures to infiltrate humanity..."
"We take the initiative—arming everyone with the means to detect and defend against them."
"Though... this is just the current proposal. Implementation remains undecided."
Gu Yan inwardly cackled.
Perfect. Though this deviated from the original plot (where martial arts never went public), it wasn’t entirely bad.
At the very least, he could plant his people among the ranks, ensuring they dominated the department’s elite.
Eventually... the department = his faction?
Before anyone could digest this, Bai Jun dropped another bombshell.
"Additionally... the pacifist faction’s Minister Lin, Lin Yinyin, has been removed from her position."
"I’ve also been demoted."
He met their eyes earnestly.
"I must report to headquarters for investigation. Minister Lin will remain at Jianghai Branch..."
Lowering his head, he added quietly:
"You’re all my friends, so I’ll speak frankly."
"Please... look after Lin Yinyin in my absence."
"Her emotional maturity is lacking. Most importantly... don’t let her lose control."
A beat of silence followed.
Qin Rong studied Bai Jun, her expression conflicted.
Bai Jun was taking the fall—accepting full blame so Lin Yinyin wouldn’t face headquarters’ scrutiny.
Whether he’d return was anyone’s guess.
The next moment—
"This isn't fun, Bai Jun."
Gu Yan raised his voice, and Bai Jun looked up at the screen upon hearing him.
Gu Yan smiled slightly. "Talking like this is way too distant."
"At the very least, I can promise you this—as long as I'm here, Lin Yinyin won’t face any harm in the department."
Bai Jun’s eyes shimmered with emotion, but before he could respond, a muffled sob came from the side.
"Sniff... Little Gu, you’re making me so emotional..."
"Director?! When did you get in here??"
"Wahhhhhhh—!!"
Click.
The meeting abruptly ended.
As the screen turned pitch black, an unreadable glint flickered in Gu Yan’s eyes.
He closed his laptop.
The immense Qi energy within Lin Yinyin’s body originated entirely from a single [Silver Core] implanted inside her.
She was the perfect modified human—her entire body embedded with tens of thousands of Qi circuits by the department to control the Silver Core.
If...
He could absorb the core’s power completely...
Then... His fingers unconsciously brushed against the claw-shaped ring on his hand.
Hiss—
The claws slowly emerged from the ring, three slender tendrils coiling gently around Gu Yan’s fingers.
A faint smirk curled at the corner of his lips.
Then... would the claws evolve once more?
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
