Facing Luo Tianhe's threat, Lin Qianqian could only nod, feigning composure. Ding Zhenzong, her partner, was dead, and they hadn't anticipated the situation would devolve into this.

Furthermore, there was something Lin Qianqian couldn't understand. Logically, arrangements for such an important matter shouldn't have gone wrong; there must be a trump card left. But this trump card wasn't her, nor was it Ding Zhenzong.

Could it be… him?

Lin Qianqian's mind conjured an image of an old face and a girl with her left eye covered.

Was it possible that, besides them, the higher-ups had arranged another team to carry out the mission—Yuan Shanyuan and Bai Yu?

Based on Lin Qianqian's understanding of the Night Watch's higher echelons over the years, she believed it was highly probable.

Thinking this, Lin Qianqian's tense mood gradually eased. She and Ding Zhenzong might just be the obvious play in the mission, while Yuan Shanyuan and Bai Yu were the hidden ace in the hole.

If that were the case, then if she encountered danger, Yuan Shanyuan and Bai Yu would definitely not stand idly by. After all, she, Lin Qianqian, had considerable connections within the Night Watch's upper ranks. If something happened to her, Yuan Shanyuan and Bai Yu wouldn't have an easy time explaining it.

Seeing that the purpose of his warning had been achieved, Luo Tianhe didn't want to push too hard. His tone even revealed a rare hint of gentleness. "Miss Lin, please rest assured. Now that you and I have reached an agreement, I will never let Jiang Cheng and Wang Fugui off. They will die here without anyone knowing."

"You know, this isn't the first time I've done something like this," Luo Tianhe said with a smile. "Of course, it won't be the last either."

"Thank you, Mr. Luo," Lin Qianqian said immediately.

The importance of this mission was self-evident. If she could successfully kill Jiang Cheng and Wang Fugui under her leadership, her position in the Night Watch would naturally rise.

Luo Tianhe got off the bed, opened a gray cloth bag, and took out a candle he had prepared long ago. He looked at Lin Qianqian with a solemn expression. "Miss Lin, please don't disturb me for the next little while. I need to light a life-extending lamp for both of us."

...

In another room, Yuan Shanyuan and Bai Yu sat together, but in a surprisingly intimate posture. Yuan Shanyuan sat squarely in a chair, while the slender Bai Yu sat sideways on his lap.

It wasn't like a grandfather and granddaughter; the intimacy felt more like a couple.

Two straight legs, white and luminous, gave an indescribable sense of strangeness after a long look, as if all the blood had been drawn out and they had been frozen in a cold storage for an unknown amount of time.

"This skin suits you well. I can tell you like it."

Yuan Shanyuan gently held Bai Yu with one arm, staring at her profile. There was a very faint scar there, barely noticeable unless you looked closely. It was left by the excessive struggles of the last prey, a college student named Song Yuting.

She was a very perceptive girl who, to escape the pursuit, actually ran alone into the forest park. Thinking of this, Yuan Shanyuan smiled. What a pitiful fellow, little knowing that once Bai Yu had her eye on someone, there was no escaping.

Bai Yu would mark a favored prey with a brand. After leaving the mission, she would follow the scent of the brand to find the person, then kill her, completely peel off her skin, and wear it to assume a new identity.

He couldn't remember how many times he had done this, but each time there was a thrilling sense of novelty. He lowered his head, resting it on Bai Yu's shoulder. At this moment, Bai Yu was silent, sitting in Yuan Shanyuan's arms like a delicate porcelain doll, head lowered, long eyelashes, her profile as beautiful as an angel fallen to earth.

But only Yuan Shanyuan knew that Bai Yu was far from an angel. She was a ghost, no, an anomaly, an anomaly that had walked out from behind the door he had accidentally obtained!

And an anomaly with extremely terrifying abilities!

His rough cheek gently caressed Bai Yu's profile, and a morbid infatuation appeared in Yuan Shanyuan's eyes. The most bizarre thing was… he had actually fallen in love with this terrifying anomaly.

Yuan Shanyuan himself couldn't explain it. Perhaps it was related to his childhood experiences. The first time he came to the morgue and saw those corpses that felt cold yet delicate to the touch, he fell in love with that feeling.

It was a disease, which he only learned after consulting materials. But after the initial fear came another indescribable thrill, as if he had committed an unforgivable taboo, but no one knew.

"There's something you need to explain to me." Yuan Shanyuan breathed in Bai Yu's ear. "Your original target this time was Li Bai, but why did you also show interest in that Jiang Cheng and Wang Fugui?"

"You've never shown interest in any man's skin before. You just liked to torment them, letting them die in extreme pain. But this time, I know your heart has changed. You've become interested in these two."

"Tell me, why?"

"Is it because there's something special about them?"

Yuan Shanyuan's tone was neither fast nor slow. The terrifying thing was his expression. Jiang Cheng and the others would never have imagined that such a dignified and kind old man would have such a terrifying side.

That old, kind face became ferocious, muscles twisting together. If others were present, they would immediately determine that this was also a disciple on the verge of collapse.

What he couldn't accept was that Bai Yu had also planted a brand on Jiang Cheng and Wang Fugui, an eye invisible to the naked eye.

At least that was Yuan Shanyuan's understanding, because everyone who had been branded would fall into inexplicable fear, always feeling like someone was around, a pair of eyes watching him silently.

Bai Yu still lowered her head, silent. Yuan Shanyuan, who was about to fall into madness, suddenly returned to his previous kindness. The broken expression also returned to normal. He was used to Bai Yu's silence, because Bai Yu simply didn't speak.

Or perhaps she could, but didn't want to, or didn't like to. In any case, it didn't matter, as long as Bai Yu could understand what he was thinking.

The communication between them was completely beyond the understanding of mortals.

Bai Yu would sometimes show him equal infatuation, and sometimes she would distance herself. These emotions were completely inscrutable, just like her abilities, bizarre, strange, and strangely fascinating.

She wasn't just simply changing her skin, but could completely change her identity. To be specific, she could deceive the mission's perception, treating her as a complete "person," rather than something else, thereby putting her and himself into the Nightmare Assault world together.

Bringing an anomaly into the nightmare world was Yuan Shanyuan's greatest reliance.