Opportunity

On the hotel's top floor, Wang Zhenguo had already given up.

He slumped onto the carpet, staring blankly at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.

The blood-red oath paper lay spread out before him, its patterns faintly shifting in the dim light, as if mocking his naivety.

"Useless..."

He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse.

Half an hour had passed since he posted that last thread on the forum.

Aside from a few scammers, his private messages were dead silent.

Wang Zhenguo twitched the corner of his mouth into a smile uglier than a cry.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

The oath was tempting—a Transcendent item that could forcibly bind a master-servant contract. Normally, it would've drawn a crowd fighting over it.

But you'd have to live to claim it.

The street in that photo was packed with monsters, dense enough to scare off ninety-nine percent of people.

The remaining one percent brave enough to come would probably need to be a fully armed special forces squad, or...

Wang Zhenguo shook his head, tossing that unrealistic thought out of his mind.

Transcendents?

People on the forum did say some had gained supernatural powers—fists like dragons, sword energy sweeping across.

But those were the rarest of the rare.

Even if they existed, why would they risk their lives to save a complete stranger?

For a contract whose authenticity was still in question?

"Heh..."

Wang Zhenguo closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

Outside the hallway, the pounding grew louder and more frequent.

The wardrobe blocking the door had already shifted, and the cracks in the doorframe were spreading at a visible rate.

At most, ten more minutes.

No, maybe five.

"That's it, then..."

He whispered to himself, no longer struggling, letting exhaustion and despair wash over him.

His mind began replaying the highlights of his life uncontrollably.

The young version of himself sweating while hauling bricks at a construction site, the nervousness when he signed his first contract, the ecstasy on the day his company went public, the glory of his wedding...

He'd finally made it.

"BANG!!!"

A deafening crash came from outside the door, sending wood chips flying.

Wang Zhenguo's whole body jolted, but he didn't open his eyes.

It's over.

Fine.

But just as he prepared to face death calmly...

BOOM!!!

A massive explosion erupted from the street below!

Then a second, a third.

The sound wasn't like monsters crashing or buildings collapsing—it was more like... something heavy slamming into the ground over and over at incredible speed.

Wang Zhenguo's eyes snapped open.

He scrambled to the window, gripping the sill with both hands, and peered down with wide eyes.

Then, he saw a sight he'd never forget.

On the street, a figure was slowly approaching from the distance.

No, not walking.

Pushing through.

The person was wrapped in a thick, viscous blood-red wolf smoke, churning and billowing, trailing a crimson wake several meters behind them.

Wherever they passed, monsters on both sides of the street exploded one by one.

Heads, torsos—under the fists of that blood-red figure, everything turned into clouds of blood mist and fragments.

A monster lunged from the side, its claws aimed straight for the figure's back.

The blood-colored figure didn't even look back. The wolf smoke around him merely rippled faintly.

Clang—

A metallic clash exploded.

Sparks flew, but they couldn't even pierce the layer of blood-colored wolf smoke.

More bone spikes shot from all directions, dense as rain.

The impacts rang out in a continuous stream, each spike deflected the moment it touched the wolf smoke.

And the blood-colored figure's steps never paused, not even for an instant.

He advanced step by step, pushing straight through from the end of the street.

Wherever he passed, blood mist filled the air, and severed limbs littered the ground.

No monster could survive a single punch.

No attack could break through that layer of blood-colored wolf smoke.

"T-this... is this still a man?"

Wang Zhenguo lay by the window, his mouth hanging open unconsciously.

He'd seen boxers, seen fighting champions, even watched special forces soldiers hailed as kings of soldiers in real life.

But compared to what was happening before his eyes...

Those were all just child's play.

That wasn't a fight at all.

It was a crushing, a slaughter.

Just as Wang Zhenguo lost himself in shock, the blood-colored figure had already crossed the entire street and arrived at the hotel entrance.

He walked straight into the lobby.

"He... he's here to..."

Wang Zhenguo shuddered, a thought he barely dared to imagine surging wildly from the depths of his heart.

The will to survive ignited once more.

He scrambled to the door, pressing his full weight against the already warped panel.

"Hold... hold... gotta hold!"

He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

The despair that had just moments ago prepared him to face death calmly had vanished without a trace.

He wanted to live!

The crashing sounds from the hallway suddenly stopped.

Then—

"Boom!!!"

A dull thud came from the other end of the corridor.

Like something being smashed into a wall.

The sound was advancing at terrifying speed, heading straight toward his room!

Wang Zhenguo's heart pounded wildly as he stared through the crack in the door.

Here it comes!

"I'm in here!"

He roared with all his might, his voice cracking from excitement.

The moment the words left his mouth—

"Crash!!!"

The banging outside the door ceased completely.

A few seconds later.

"Click."

The lock turned.

The wardrobe blocking the door was pushed aside by an irresistible force, sliding slowly open.

Wang Zhenguo stumbled back, eyes wide, staring at the doorway.

The blood-colored wolf smoke had mostly receded, but faint crimson energy still coiled around the man.

He wore a black hoodie, the hood pulled low, a mask covering his face, revealing only a pair of eyes—calm to the point of indifference.

And those eyes were now fixed on Wang Zhenguo.

"Contract."

The man in black extended his hand, his voice calm.

Wang Zhenguo froze for a second, then snapped to his senses. Flustered, he fumbled the blood-red oath paper from his pocket and offered it with both hands.

The man in black took it, glancing at it by the moonlight filtering through the window.

He nodded and tucked the contract away.

Then, he turned his head to look down the hallway.

"Turn around," the man in black said softly. "Don't look back."

Though confused, Wang Zhenguo obeyed immediately, squeezing his eyes shut.

About ten seconds later.

"You can stop now."

Wang Zhenguo opened his eyes and turned around.

The man in black was already standing by the door, gesturing sideways for him to follow.

Wang Zhenguo hurried over in a jog. As he passed the hallway, he couldn't help but glance.

On the corridor, the walls and ceiling were splattered with dark green bloodstains and bits of flesh.

But there wasn't a single intact corpse.

Not even large chunks of limbs.

Just blood and meat scraps.

Wang Zhenguo swallowed hard, dared not ask, and kept his head down as he quickened his pace behind the man in black.

They descended the stairs together.

The lobby was equally bloody, equally devoid of bodies.

Wang Zhenguo followed, barely daring to breathe.

Until they stepped out of the hotel and onto the empty street.

"Close your eyes."

The man in black suddenly spoke.

Wang Zhenguo immediately shut his eyes tight.

The next second.

He felt his collar grabbed from behind.

Then, the wind roared in his ears.

Wang Zhenguo's heart nearly stopped from fright, but he clenched his jaw, not daring to open his eyes or make a sound.

He could feel himself moving.

At an inconceivably fast speed.

This state lasted for an unknown duration.

Maybe just a few minutes, maybe over ten.

Finally...

The wind subsided.

His feet touched solid ground again.

"Open your eyes."

Wang Zhenguo slowly opened his eyes and found himself standing on a strange street.

The buildings on both sides were intact—no bloodstains, no monsters.

"A few hundred meters ahead is the Safe Zone."

The man in black pointed forward.

"Walk there yourself."

With that, he turned and headed back the way he came.

Without even a second glance.

As if that rescue had been nothing more than a trivial errand.

Wang Zhenguo stood there, staring at the man in black's receding figure, completely stunned.

We haven't even signed the contract yet?

He's just letting me go like this?

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

Until the man in black's silhouette was about to vanish around the corner...

"Wait... wait!!"

Wang Zhenguo suddenly shouted, his voice trembling with agitation.

The black-clad figure paused mid-step, tilting his head slightly.

"You... you're not going to sign a contract with me?"

As Wang Zhenguo asked this, a surge of extremely complex emotions welled up inside him.

He had already steeled himself.

Trading the freedom of the rest of his life for a chance to survive.

He'd even thought it through—how to negotiate, how to bargain if the other party's terms were harsh.

But now...

The other party hadn't even brought it up.

That Blood Oath—he'd taken it.

And then, he'd just left.

As if Wang Zhenguo himself didn't matter at all.

The black-clad figure turned back, his exposed eyes staring at him oddly.

"Isn't not signing a good thing for you?" he asked softly, his tone light.

Wang Zhenguo froze.

Right.

Without signing the contract, he was still free.

This was clearly a good thing.

So why did his heart feel so hollow?

The black-clad figure seemed to read his confusion. After a two-second silence, he added another line:

"It's not that I look down on you as a person. I'm just not interested in signing contracts."

With that, he turned again and strode away.

This time, his steps didn't pause.

Wang Zhenguo watched that retreating figure, his mind a tangled mess.

Not looking down on me?

Just not interested in signing contracts?

Then why risk coming to save me? Just for that piece of paper?

But even if that paper was valuable, was it really worth such a big risk?

Or... to someone at this level, was that risk simply insignificant?

Countless thoughts clashed wildly in his head.

And the black-clad figure's back was already nearly gone, fading at the end of the street.

"Wait!!!"

Wang Zhenguo suddenly sprinted after him.

He ran fast, almost giving it his all, and just before the black-clad figure turned a corner, he blocked his path.

"Pant... pant..."

Wang Zhenguo gasped for breath, hands on his knees, looking up at the black-clad figure.

Those calm eyes were watching him, brows slightly furrowed.

Clearly, the other party was already getting impatient.

Wang Zhenguo took a deep breath, straightened up, and his face showed unprecedented seriousness.

"Sign me."

He said it word by word.

The black-clad figure raised an eyebrow.

"I can do a lot for you."

Wang Zhenguo continued, speaking quickly: "You're the type who likes to work alone, right? And you don't want to expose your real-world identity, am I right?"

"But at this point in time, you know better than I do—everyone's scrambling for resources."

"Those backed by the Federation, by big powers—they have organizations and logistics. Their progress will only get faster."

"And you, alone, no matter how strong you are, handling resources, gathering intel, exchanging supplies... all those trivial tasks will drain your time and energy."

He locked eyes with the black-clad figure.

"But I can help you."

"I can be your spokesperson within the Federation, handle all your trivial matters, exchange resources for you, gather intelligence—anything you're not convenient to do yourself, I can take care of."

"Signing me costs you nothing."

"And I can make you... move faster."

The street fell silent.

Jiang Ran quietly watched Wang Zhenguo.

For the first time, a hint of contemplation surfaced in his calm eyes.

A few seconds passed.

He slowly raised his hand and pulled the blood-red oath paper from his chest.

"Thought it through?"

Wang Zhenguo nodded firmly.

He felt his mind had never been clearer than at this moment.

In all his years of doing business, he had seized several once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and built his success from scratch.

But...

He sensed that this, right now, was the greatest turning point of his life.