Chen Ran's hand rested on the table, his fingertips gently tapping, making a soft, "dudu" sound. "Let's hope so, General Chen," Chen Ran said, turning his face, his tone playful.

General Chen, however, seemed oblivious to the oddness in Chen Ran's tone, his eyes remaining sincere and firm.

...

A series of heavy footsteps echoed from outside the corridor. Although muffled, they were rapid, a jarring combination that instilled a sense of unease.

"Bang!"

The wooden door was thrust open, and a figure cloaked in a gray robe burst into the room. "I can understand you wanting to cleanse the Execution Department, but why destroy the Xi family!" the Torchbearer demanded furiously.

The man, pinned by the Torchbearer's glare, sat behind a large desk. The room was dark, revealing only a vague silhouette, creating an unreal impression.

"The Xi family was secretly colluding with that old fellow from Luoyun Mountain, planning to act as military informants within our ranks. My eliminating them was a necessary measure," the man said, looking up. Contrary to expectations, his voice was young.

"The Xi family is one of the Thirteen Families! Attacking them breaks the rules and will bring disaster!" the Torchbearer clenched his fists. Had it been anyone else, he would have attacked directly.

But not this man, given his identity...

"Hee hee hee..." An ear-splitting giggle cut through the tension.

The Torchbearer spun around abruptly, shouting, "Who's there?!"

An old-fashioned desk lamp flickered to life, revealing several figures on a sofa. A beautiful woman covered her mouth, giggling. "Hee hee hee, this must be the Torchbearer. Greetings from this humble one."

Staring at the woman for a moment, the Torchbearer asked tentatively, "Are you the Dancer?"

"It's an honor that such a prominent figure remembers me," the Dancer said, lightly patting her chest, feigning fear. "The way you burst in just now frightened me so."

Recognizing the Dancer, the Torchbearer's gaze swept over the faces on the sofa. Soon, judging by his expression, he understood who they all were.

The Dancer, the Puppeteer, the Magician... and closest to the edge, a burly, dark-faced man with a ghost-head broadsword resting on the table, grinning coldly at him. He knew him too – the Blade Demon.

A group of infamous figures from many years ago, but who had vanished long ago.

However, what drew his attention more than them was the silver pistol tucked into the Blade Demon's waist.

"Did you do this?!" The Torchbearer's eyes widened.

"What, you want to thank us?" The Blade Demon roared with unrestrained laughter, his fingers caressing the silver pistol's grip. "That damn Execution Department was nothing before me!"

"Although I helped you out, it wasn't for free. Torchbearer, you're famous, so you must have some good stuff. Cough it up, to pay respects to your Blade Lord."

The Torchbearer held a revered position within the Night Watch, and had never been spoken to like this. Enraged, he waved his sleeve, and a candelabra instantly appeared in his hand, a white candle burning with a ghastly green flame.

"You're courting death!"

With the candelabra as the center, darkness instantly enveloped an area of about five meters, twisting the space. The darkness surged towards the Blade Demon's position on the sofa.

"Does the Torchbearer want to test our strength as well?" The Magician's eyes glowed with fanatical light, turning blood red. Having received the promised benefits, his strength had grown even further than before.

Several playing cards shot towards the Torchbearer like arrows, moving so fast they whistled through the air.

But a strange thing happened. The cards disappeared without a sound upon touching the darkness.

The encroaching darkness seemed to possess a bizarre viscosity. Even more frightening, eerie roars emanated from within, as if it concealed the savage beasts of another world.

Just as the Torchbearer was about to teach these fools a lesson, he froze. Countless pale hands erupted from the floor, seizing his legs, while the Dancer watched him with a knowing smile, purple light swirling in her eyes.

His arms were also restrained by a strange force – countless invisible threads. Some had even wrapped around his neck, as if they could sever his head with a single pull.

"Torchbearer, you dare speak to us like that. This is the price!" The Puppeteer, with only one left arm, was now scarlet-eyed, seemingly in a state of extreme excitement. Even stranger, bone spurs had grown from his severed limb, covered in twisted, grotesque buds of flesh, as if his arm would soon regenerate.

"I slaughtered the Execution Department Head yesterday. Today, you die too!" The Blade Demon's laughter echoed like roaring waves as he raised his ghost-head broadsword and slashed at the Torchbearer.

The blade left a phantom image in the air as it shot towards the Torchbearer. Even the viscous darkness around the Torchbearer was cleaved in two by the blade. At this critical moment, the man who had been sitting finally acted.

A gentle force deflected the fierce blade, and the invisible threads and arms binding the Torchbearer dissipated. A man who looked to be around 30 appeared behind the Torchbearer.

The man extended two fingers, catching the Magician's blade, which had appeared behind the Torchbearer at some point, aiming for the back of his head. "Enough." The man did nothing obvious, and his tone wasn't particularly scolding, but the Magician's face instantly changed, and he stumbled back several steps to regain his balance.

His heart pounded violently, as if trying to leap from his chest, hammering against his rib cage, causing him to twitch in pain.

Having done all this, the man turned to the Torchbearer, who was still breathing heavily, and said coldly, "You can leave now. This is none of your concern."

After the Torchbearer stumbled out, the Dancer was about to say something when she met the man's eyes. Instantly, a chill pierced her body. She had never seen eyes like these.

His pupils were silver, a very pale color, and were the rare double pupils.

Just staring into his eyes gave the feeling of being swallowed.

Was this the power of the Night Watch Chairman?

The Dancer suddenly felt a sense of fear, and the arrogance she had felt after absorbing the Chairman's reward faded considerably.

"Everyone has worked hard. I'll still need to trouble you all with what comes next," the man said with a sudden smile, and the oppressive aura that had enveloped everyone vanished.

The Puppeteer tugged at his collar somewhat unnaturally. "Chairman, please rest assured. Since we've taken your reward, we'll naturally complete the task you've assigned."

The man tilted his head and smiled. "You're too kind. We're just cooperating, there's no talk of assigning tasks. But if you're willing to lend a hand, our chances will be greater. We can share the new world of the future."

Thinking of the plan the man had told them about not long ago, the breathing of those present became rapid. A world completely dominated by the Disciples, where the Gates were no longer a curse that restricted them, but a miracle!

Ordinary people would only be qualified to be driven by them. They... would be the gods of the new world!

"What a desirable new world!" the Blade Demon said with a chuckle.

His rough laughter seemed to ignite these people's excitement, and more and more people joined in, their laughter overlapping. There were far more than just the Blade Demon, the Magician, and the Dancer. Behind them, there were others.

Some leaned against the wall, some sat cross-legged on the ground, and some were twisted, hanging upside down from the ceiling, pairs of blood-red eyes shining in the darkness, like a pack of beasts that had lost their minds.

"Kill! Kill all those blind bastards!"

"We've been cooped up for so long, it's finally time to stretch our muscles..."

"The taste of blood is so nostalgic."

"Those ordinary people who reject us are just afraid of our power! They fear us! Heh heh, they need to learn respect. We are the gods of this world!"

"Kill! Kill them all!"

"Hee hee hee..."

"Hahaha!!"

The laughter grew louder and more distorted. The man looked at the unbridled figures before him, revealing an enraptured smile. He raised a glass of wine, toasting with a smile, "I wish you all martial success, to... the new world."

"The new world!"

"The new world!!"

...

As night fell, the man stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the city below.

He still held a glass of wine in his hand.

At this moment, right beneath him, about a few dozen meters away in an open plaza, a group of once-famous Disciples were being disguised with various identities, ready to head to their respective target cities.

The capital, Longhai – the most prosperous and important cities in the country.

"We've been dormant for too long. It's time to teach those big shots a lesson, or they'll think we're afraid," a deep, hoarse voice said from behind the man.

The man's face remained unchanged as he continued to look down at everything beneath him. "Uncle Gui, I'm truly sorry to have made you act out such a good show with me."

Hearing the words "Uncle Gui," the Torchbearer's expression suddenly became somewhat fearful. "Never call me that again. You're the Chairman of the Night Watch now, your status..."

"Uncle Gui, you weren't hurt anywhere, were you?" the man said, turning his head, his eyes showing concern.

Seeing this, a rare warmth appeared on the Torchbearer's withered, deathly face. He extended his arm, covered with bloodstains left by the Puppeteer's threads, and the blue-black handprints of a woman.

As the Torchbearer slowly clenched his fist, a bizarre scene unfolded. The bloodstains and handprints seemed to be expelled, slowly peeling off his skin and merging into the surrounding darkness, disappearing.

"Those arrogant bastards, do they really think they've reached S-rank?" The Torchbearer retracted his arm, looked out the floor-to-ceiling window, and shook his head in disdain. "Five people went to kill an S-rank, the strongest one was killed, and another one was seriously injured. And they have the nerve to come back with that kind of record."

The man smiled faintly upon hearing this. "A group of dying men, Uncle Gui, don't bother arguing with them."

"A bunch of idiots, still dreaming of sharing the new world with us. Do they even deserve it?!" The Torchbearer seemed to think of something, and a trace of unwillingness appeared on his face. "It's a pity that the foundation we've built up over the years will have to be taken away by them."

"It can't be helped. If we don't give those contracts to them, they won't be able to improve their strength in a short period," the man said. "It's a pity they were blinded by the joy of gaining power, focusing only on improving their strength, thinking they've touched the threshold of S-rank, but they're actually just at the edge of being completely eroded. Their Gates are squeezing out their last bit of life."

"Even if no one does anything to them, they won't live much longer."

The Torchbearer sneered, "So they're ticking time bombs right now. Whether they succeed or not, they'll explode. We just have to wait for the sound of the explosion."

"Simultaneously detonating high-level spiritual events in every major city... just thinking about it is intoxicating." The Torchbearer took a deep breath, his expression twisted. "What a thrillingly beautiful scene."

The man stood by the window, gently taking a sip of the wine in his glass. The bright red liquid clung to the glass, with the texture of blood. "Luoyun Mountain's shadow army is not worth worrying about, and the Crimson Society has been driven ragged by us. Now..." the man paused, his eyes suddenly becoming sharp, "all that's left is for the military's trump card to appear. We have to fish out their trump card."

"Those old foxes are always thinking of reaping the benefits. This time, I want to see if they'll protect the lives of tens of millions of people in the capital, or continue to hide their strength and watch them die!"

Looking down at the dozens of cars ready to go in the plaza below, the man tapped the floor-to-ceiling window lightly with his wine glass. "Everyone, I'm counting on you to do the fishing." He then raised his head and drained the wine in his glass.

...

A white SUV traveled through the night, the country roads bumpy and uneven, causing the vehicle to shake constantly. This may have been related to the driver's state of mind. The man in sportswear was trembling all over, and the car was filled with the smell of blood.

Through the rearview mirror, two corpses could be seen lying in the back row. Both corpses had been killed with a single stab to the throat, leaving no chance at all. Their empty eyes were wide open, and blood flowed from the seats onto the floor.

The person who killed them was sitting in the passenger seat, a strange man dressed as a magician.

As if sensing the man's gaze, the Magician, taking off his black top hat, chuckled, "Just drive me to the place I tell you to go. Once we get there, I'll naturally let you go."

The driver dared not object. He was a member of the Night Watch, and his superiors had sent the three of them to escort this strange man to the capital. All the travel documents were prepared.

But not long after leaving headquarters, the strange man in the car had suddenly attacked, cutting the throats of the other two. Then, he threatened him to cut off communications with headquarters, and then gave him a set of coordinates, telling him to drive there immediately.

The coordinates were very remote. He had searched for a long time before finally arriving at a place that resembled a farm.

But after driving the car through the gate, he was surprised to discover that there were actually three other cars parked in the farm's dilapidated stables, and these three cars were the ones that had departed with them not long ago!