High in the sky, the black-clad man's heart sank.

A strong sense of crisis, like a cold tide, instantly engulfed him.

The deathly silence in the communicator already declared the only answer.

The two elite teams ambushed in the dense forest were completely wiped out in less than a minute.

The mission had utterly failed.

He no longer hesitated, suddenly turned around, his Devilish Qi surging wildly, transforming into a pair of burning Flame Wings, and was about to flee rapidly into the depths of the night sky.

However, just as he turned around.

A shadow, deeper than the night, had silently enveloped his head at some unknown point.

"Want to leave?"

A cold, mocking voice seemed to echo directly in his Soul.

The black-clad man looked up in horror.

He saw the tall figure emerging from the shadow, looking down at him from above, a playful cat-and-mouse smile on his pale face.

It was Moria, controlled by Zhou Huai.

"Bastard!"

The black-clad man roared, his survival instinct overriding his fear.

He flapped his wings violently, his body transforming into a fiery meteor, not retreating but advancing, charging straight towards Moria.

He knew very well that facing such an elusive assassin, constant fleeing would only lead to death.

Only by fighting with all his might might there be a glimmer of hope.

"【Blazing Fire Serpent】!"

He pushed his hands forward violently.

Surging flame Devilish Qi gushed out, condensing in the air into several gigantic Fire Serpents, opening their ferocious mouths, roaring, and biting at Moria from all directions.

Each Fire Serpent contained terrifying high temperatures, and wherever it passed, the air twisted.

Facing an attack powerful enough to instantly melt steel, Moria's smile remained unchanged.

His figure, the moment the Fire Serpents approached, suddenly transformed into a wisp of smoke, merging into the shadow behind him.

Several Fire Serpents missed, exploding in the air and turning into a sky full of fiery rain.

The black-clad man's heart tightened, not daring to stay for a moment, and flapped his Flame Wings to continue fleeing.

But he had barely flown a hundred meters.

In the space not far ahead, the shadow rippled.

Moria's figure reappeared, leisurely blocking his path.

"Your speed is too slow."

"Damn it!"

The black-clad man's face turned ashen; he had already realized that in the night environment, he could not possibly shake off this ghostly enemy.

He gritted his teeth, clasped his hands together fiercely, and the Devilish Qi within him erupted without reservation.

"【Blazing Hell Cage】!"

Boom!

Centered on him, thick pillars of flame shot up into the sky, instantly intertwining to form a massive spherical flame cage, enveloping both him and Moria.

Inside the flame cage, the temperature soared, and violent fire elements raged, forming a Domain of death.

This was his ultimate control skill; once trapped, even a strong person of the same Rank would be burned alive to ashes.

"Let's see how you hide this time!" the black-clad man said with a ferocious expression.

Moria looked around at the fiercely burning flame barrier, and a hint of approval finally appeared on his face.

"A bit interesting."

He said softly.

The next second, he raised his hand and lightly snapped his fingers at the black-clad man in front of him.

Dozens of pitch-black Devilish Qi, like venomous snakes, erupted, instantly coiling around the man's limbs and body.

"What?!"

The black-clad man was greatly alarmed; he struggled desperately, urging flames to try and burn through these tentacles.

But these shadows, composed of pure Devilish Qi, were incredibly tough and completely unafraid of the flames' scorching.

He was like a moth caught in a spiderweb, unable to move.

Moria's figure, as if taking a leisurely stroll, passed through the raging flames and slowly walked in front of him.

"Now, it's my turn."

He raised his hand, his five fingers together.

Shadow Demon Claw!

"No—!"

The black-clad man let out a desperate roar.

"Pfft!"

The Shadow Demon Claw cleanly pierced his chest.

Violent Devilish Qi exploded within him.

His Flame Wings and Blazing Hell Cage, like light bulbs that had lost power, suddenly extinguished.

His entire body fell helplessly from the high altitude.

"Boom!"

The man's body crashed heavily onto the ground, creating a deep, human-shaped crater.

He lay at the bottom of the pit, dying, blood mixed with fragments of internal organs constantly gushing from his mouth.

His life force was down to its last thread.

A figure silently appeared at the edge of the crater.

It was Moria.

Zhou Huai controlled Moria to slowly walk down into the pit and approach the man.

He looked down at the other party from above, his voice cold, without a trace of emotion.

"Who sent you?"

"If you confess honestly, I might consider giving you a quick death."

The man struggled to lift his head, looking at the pale, handsome face before him, and let out a cackling laugh, blood constantly overflowing from his mouth.

"Cough cough... I didn't expect... that Zhou Huai's side... actually... actually has a strong person of your Rank..."

"It seems... we still... underestimated him too much..."

Zhou Huai's brows furrowed.

He took a step forward and stomped on the opponent's already twisted and deformed hand.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of bones breaking was particularly harsh in the silent night.

"Ah—!"

The man let out a painful groan, and beads of cold sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.

Zhou Huai's foot continued to slowly press down.

His voice was even colder than his actions.

"Wrong answer."

"That's not the answer I want to hear."

"I'll ask again, who exactly sent you?"

"Is it the Zhou Family? Or... the Liu Family?"

Facing this inhuman torture, the man no longer made any sound.

He just lay on the ground, staring fixedly at Zhou Huai with eyes mixed with pain and malevolence.

Suddenly, he gave a tragic smile.

In his dimming pupils, a desperate madness shone through.

He opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth.

An alarm bell rang in Zhou Huai's heart.

Not good!

The next second, the man's body, like a balloon blown to its limit, suddenly swelled up.

Blinding flashes of fire shot out from the cracks in his body.

A destructive, violent energy was wildly brewing within him.

Self-detonation!

This guy was actually a suicide operative!

Zhou Huai did not hesitate for a moment.

The second before the opponent's body exploded, he immediately controlled Moria, and his figure instantly merged into the shadows on the ground.

Boom—!!!

A deafening roar suddenly erupted!

A huge, mushroom-cloud-like fireball shot up into the sky, illuminating the area within a hundred meters as bright as day.

Terrifying shockwaves, mixed with scorching Qi waves, swept wildly in all directions.

The ground trembled violently, countless trees were uprooted and turned into charcoal.

In its place, only a terrifying giant crater, more than twenty meters in diameter, remained, the soil at the bottom of the pit burned into a glassy state, still emitting thick smoke.

After a long while, the aftermath of the explosion gradually subsided.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadow of a large tree in the distance.

Zhou Huai looked at the messy scene before him, then at the burning corpse fragments scattered on the ground, and couldn't help but inwardly complain.

Dying so decisively, do you think you're Yasuo?

Then his consciousness quickly withdrew from Moria's body and returned to his main body.

...

On a secluded road.

Xiang Yu was carrying Zhou Huai on his back, moving at an extremely fast pace.

He traveled through the forest, rushing towards the suburban villa.

Zhou Huai lay on Xiang Yu's broad and sturdy back, his face a little pale.

This was the first time his main body had encountered such a deadly crisis since his Transmigration.

If not for Xiang Yu's oath of protection taking all the damage for him, he would probably be a charred corpse by now.

Soon, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the villa was in sight.

After confirming that Butler Fu was safe and sound, Zhou Huai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He sat in his new wheelchair, recalling the thrilling scene from earlier, his brain began to work rapidly.

These assassins were well-trained, cooperated seamlessly, and even had suicide operatives willing to self-detonate.

It didn't seem like the kind of force Zhou Feng could mobilize.

Therefore, the answer was self-evident.

It was the Liu Family.

It was the Liu Family, far away in the Imperial Capital, yet with eyes and ears everywhere.

Could it be that his actions at Ye Xi's birthday banquet had completely enraged the high and mighty Liu Yuru?

She couldn't wait to completely eliminate him, this thorn in her side?

It seemed that some of the Liu Family's forces had already secretly infiltrated Donghai City.

Zhou Huai's knuckles unconsciously tapped on the armrest of the wheelchair.

Now someone had targeted him.

This villa was no longer safe.

He needed to find a safer place.

...

In a blink of an eye, it was the next day.

A piece of news instantly shook all the Families in Donghai City.

Zhou Huai, who had just attended Miss Ye's birthday banquet yesterday.

Was attacked by unknown individuals on his way back to the villa.

Only the wreckage of a car, blasted into scrap metal, was left at the scene.

Zhou Huai himself was nowhere to be found.