Wu Zhangkong's pupils contracted sharply.
"This isn't an ordinary state of alert."
"It's activated the True God Domain directly, scanning around the clock."
"The entire communications network of Eastsea City, Soul Power fluctuations, spatial teleportation nodes—everything is under its surveillance."
As Long Hengxu spoke, even he felt a chill run down his back.
"Do you know what that means?"
"Anyone who harbors genuine malice toward Lin An will be pulled into the True God Domain in an instant."
"Once inside, they won't be protected by Federation law."
"Because if you offend a True God and die, your death won't matter."
The wind suddenly stopped.
The shadows of the trees stood still.
Even the air seemed to have been drained away.
Wu Zhangkong stood motionless, feeling a chill shoot up his spine.
A True God-Grade Mecha.
There were no more than five publicly known across the entire Federation.
They were ultimate weapons, powerful enough to suppress an entire era.
Every deployment required joint approval from the Federation Council and the military.
A single full-power output from one of those things—
If it went out of control, the result would be the destruction of a city or even a small country.
And now, a True God-Grade Mecha hovered above Eastsea City twenty-four hours a day.
Not to wage war.
Not to stand guard.
Just to protect one person.
"Has the Federation gone mad?"
Wu Zhangkong's voice sounded so dry it hardly seemed his own.
"To deploy this level of force for one spoiled rich kid?"
"It wasn't sent by the Federation."
Long Hengxu shook his head, his expression complicated.
"It's Universal Heavy Industry's own mecha."
"Code name: Rainbow Light Verdict."
"I heard it's powered by their newly launched nuclear battery and equipped with the most advanced Soul Spirit Intelligence Core."
"No one dares to verify whether it's truly reached god level."
"But no one dares to gamble on it, either."
He paused, his voice dropping even lower.
"Keeping the True God Domain active around the clock takes an astronomical amount of energy every day."
"They leave it running twenty-four hours a day like it's just a streetlamp."
"Do you think a power like that is someone you and I can afford to offend?"
Wu Zhangkong fell silent.
He remembered his mentor's phone call.
"Don't provoke him."
At the time, he'd thought it was a compromise following some shady deal.
He'd thought his mentor was once again cleaning up after those powerful people.
He'd even sneered inwardly.
I don't care what kind of background you have. If you come to me through the back door, don't expect me to treat you with kid gloves.
So that was what "Don't provoke him" meant.
It wasn't advice.
It was a warning.
A mecha capable of bringing down divine punishment at any moment hovered above everyone's heads.
And Lin An didn't bring bodyguards not because he had none.
It was because no one in all of Eastsea City could do a better job than this True God-Grade Mecha.
Wu Zhangkong's Adam's apple bobbed.
But he didn't back down.
"So what?"
His voice returned to its usual icy hardness.
"He skipped class. That's a fact."
"If I didn't approve his leave, then he skipped class."
He walked past Long Hengxu and headed straight for the dormitory building.
Long Hengxu stood there, his mouth opening and closing, then opening and closing again.
"You—"
"I've explained it this clearly, and you're still going to be stubborn?!"
Wu Zhangkong didn't look back.
"I don't harbor any malice toward him."
He stopped at the entrance to the dormitory building.
"I just can't accept it."
Why?
Why was it that some people were born with everything, while others fought with all their might and still struggled just to survive?
Why was someone guarded around the clock by a True God-Grade Mecha, while he hadn't even been able to protect the people closest to him?
He didn't voice any of those questions.
He simply went to Lin An's dorm room, leaned against the corridor wall, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.
"I'll wait here."
"Until he wakes up."
Long Hengxu hurried to the corridor entrance. He looked at Wu Zhangkong, as unmovable as a rock, and opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.
Forget it.
At least he hadn't kicked the door in.
Long Hengxu sighed, picked up his goji berry tea, long since gone cold, and turned to leave.
He'd taken two steps when he looked back once more.
Only after confirming that Wu Zhangkong was simply leaning against the wall with his eyes closed did he shake his head and disappear at the end of the corridor.
The corridor fell silent again.
Wu Zhangkong stood by the door, dressed in white as pure as snow, his face cold as ice.
Inside the dormitory, Lin An knew nothing about it.
He wasn't sleeping peacefully.
Deep in his consciousness, a dream that didn't belong to him was slowly unfolding.
Lin An opened his eyes.
Beneath his feet stretched a field of charred ruins.
The sky was a scorched, dark red, like blood-soaked cloth hanging heavily overhead.
The earth was cracked.
Thick red liquid trickled through the fissures, giving off a sweet, rotten stench.
Corpses lay scattered everywhere, their limbs twisted, their faces indistinct.
Lin An lowered his head and saw someone in his arms.
Long silver-white hair, stained with blood but still soft.
Gu Yue.
A black bone spike had pierced through her body, entering through her back and emerging from her chest.
Blood poured endlessly from the wound, soaking through her tattered clothes and staining Lin An's hands red.
But she was smiling.
Her exquisite face was pale as paper. Her lips trembled as she uttered a few broken words.
"Wife... I think I'm going to die..."
"It hurts... I'm so cold..."
"Could you hug me?"
Her voice was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.
Lin An looked at her in silence.
His reason told him this was a dream.
But the bloody, ragged hole in Gu Yue's chest was so real that he could feel the warmth draining from her blood, little by little.
He sighed.
Then he tightened his arms and gently drew the girl against him.
Even if it was only a dream, he couldn't bear to see her like this.
Gu Yue's body trembled slightly in his arms, then went still.
She buried her face against his chest and clutched the edge of his clothes with her bloodstained fingers, gripping it tightly.
Then a voice rang out from every direction at once.
"Do you see it?"
Lin An raised his head.
Above the ruins, a figure slowly took shape.
Wrapped in a black robe, its face hidden beneath a hood, its form blurred like a spreading blot of ink beneath the dark red sky.
The figure raised a hand and pointed at the apocalyptic scene around them.
"This is the future."
Its voice was low and mournful.
"When the apocalypse arrives, no one will be spared."
"Everything you cherish, everything you protect, will turn to ashes."
It slowly turned toward Lin An. Beneath its hood, two cold, eerie gazes glimmered faintly.
"Despair."
"Feel pain."
"Experience your helplessness in this moment. Feel how small and fragile you are."
Lin An watched it expressionlessly.
Then he lowered his head and looked at the "dying" Gu Yue in his arms.
Lin An felt nothing at all. He almost wanted to laugh.
If he hadn't known this silly dragon's true identity, he might actually have believed it.
The Co-Lord of Soul Beasts, the Silver Dragon King herself.
Forget one bone spike—even if the entire Abyss Plane came crashing down on her, it still might not be enough to kill her.
Still—
He reached out and gently stroked the top of Gu Yue's head.
His touch was light and tender, like he was soothing an injured little beast.
Gu Yue's body stiffened for a moment. Then she buried her face even deeper against his chest.
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