Gu Yue: Wife, it hurts so much, I'm so cold, hug me. Lin An: Keep acting.

Wu Zhangkong's pupils contracted sharply.

"This isn't a standard alert status."

"It has directly activated a True God Domain, scanning around the clock."

"The entire communication network, soul power fluctuations, and spatial teleportation nodes of East Sea City—everything is under its surveillance."

As Long Hengxu spoke, he felt a chill run down his own spine.

"Do you know what this means?"

"Anyone who harbors genuine malice toward Lin An will be instantly pulled into the True God Domain."

"Once inside, they are no longer protected by Federation law."

"Because if you offend a True God, dying is a waste."

The wind suddenly stopped.

The shadows of the trees went still.

Even the air seemed to have been partially drained away.

Wu Zhangkong stood where he was, feeling a shiver crawl up his spine.

A True God-level mecha.

There were fewer than five of them in the entire Federation, at least on the surface.

That was an ultimate force capable of suppressing an entire era.

The deployment of every single one required joint approval from the Federation Council and the military.

A single full-power output from that thing—

The consequences of losing control would be the annihilation of a city or even a small nation.

And now, a True God-level mecha was hovering over East Sea City twenty-four hours a day.

Not for war.

Not for alert.

Simply to protect one person.

"Has the Federation gone mad?"

Wu Zhangkong's voice sounded so dry it didn't even sound like his own.

"Deploying this level of force for a second-generation heir?"

"It wasn't sent by the Federation."

Long Hengxu shook his head, his eyes complex.

"It is Universal Heavy Industry's own mecha."

"Codename: 'Rainbow Light Verdict'."

"It is said to be powered by their newly launched nuclear batteries and equipped with the most advanced Soul Spirit Intelligence Core."

"No one dares to verify if it has truly reached the God-level standard."

"But no one dares to gamble, either."

He paused, his voice dropping even lower.

"Full-coverage, all-weather True God Domain; the energy consumed every single day is an astronomical figure."

"They keep it running twenty-four hours a day, just like leaving a streetlamp on."

"Do you think this kind of power is something you or I can afford to offend?"

Wu Zhangkong fell silent.

He remembered that phone call from his mentor.

"Do not provoke him."

At the time, he had assumed it was a compromise following some sordid deal.

He had thought his mentor was once again cleaning up after those in power.

He had even sneered in his heart.

Regardless of your background, if you try to pull strings in front of me, Wu Zhangkong, don't expect a friendly face.

So that was what "do not provoke" meant.

It wasn't advice.

It was a warning.

A mecha capable of raining down divine punishment at any moment was hanging over everyone's heads.

And the reason Lin An didn't bring bodyguards wasn't because he didn't have any.

It was because, in the entire East Sea City, no one could possibly be more competent than this True God-level mecha.

Wu Zhangkong's Adam's apple bobbed.

But he did not retreat.

"So what?"

His voice returned to its customary cold rigidity.

"It is a fact that he skipped class."

"If I haven't approved the leave, it is truancy."

He stepped past Long Hengxu and walked straight toward the dormitory building.

Long Hengxu stood frozen in place, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

"You—"

"I've already laid it out this clearly, and you're still being stubborn?!"

Wu Zhangkong did not look back.

"I have no malice toward him."

He reached the entrance of the dormitory building and paused.

"I am simply unconvinced."

Why.

Why is it that some are born with everything, while others struggle just to survive despite giving their all?

Why is it that some are guarded twenty-four hours a day by a true god-tier mecha, while he couldn't even protect his own kin back then?

He did not voice these questions.

He simply walked to the door of Lin An's room, leaned against the corridor wall, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

"I will wait here."

"I will wait for him to wake up."

Long Hengxu chased him to the hallway entrance, looked at Wu Zhangkong's immovable figure, opened his mouth, and ultimately said nothing.

Forget it.

At least he didn't kick the door down.

Long Hengxu sighed, carried his cup of long-since cold goji berry tea, and turned to leave.

He took two steps, then looked back once more.

Confirming that Wu Zhangkong was merely leaning against the wall with his eyes closed to rest, he shook his head and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The hallway returned to silence.

Wu Zhangkong stood there by the door, his white clothes like snow, his face like frost.

Inside the dormitory, Lin An was oblivious to all of this.

His sleep was not peaceful.

Deep within his consciousness, a dream that did not belong to him was slowly unfolding.

Lin An opened his eyes.

Beneath his feet lay a charred ruin.

The sky was a scorched, dark red, pressing down heavily like fabric soaked in blood.

The earth was cracked.

Viscous red liquid flowed through the fissures, emitting a scent of decaying sweetness and iron.

Corpses lay scattered everywhere, their postures twisted, their faces blurred.

Lin An looked down and saw that he was holding someone in his arms.

Silver-white hair, stained with blood yet still soft.

Gu Yue.

Her body was pierced by a black bone spike, entering from her back and protruding through her chest.

Blood gushed continuously from the wound, soaking her tattered clothes and staining Lin An's hands red.

But she was smiling.

Her delicate face was as pale as paper, her lips trembling as she spat out intermittent words.

"Hubby... I think I'm going to die..."

"It hurts... it's so cold..."

"Can you hold me?"

The voice was as faint as a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.

Lin An watched her in silence.

Reason told him this was a dream.

But the bloody, mangled hole in Gu Yue's chest was too real—so real that he could feel the warmth of her blood slipping away bit by bit.

He sighed.

Then, he tightened his arms, gently pulling the young girl into his embrace.

Even if it were a dream, he could not bear to see her in such a state.

Gu Yue's body trembled slightly in his arms before settling into stillness.

She buried her face against his chest, her blood-stained fingers clutching the edge of his lapel with a death grip.

Then, a voice rang out from all directions at once.

"Do you see it?"

Lin An raised his head.

Above the ruins, a figure slowly coalesced.

Wrapped in black robes with a hood obscuring their face, the figure was as blurred as a smudge of ink bleeding into the dark red sky.

The person raised a hand, gesturing toward the apocalyptic scene surrounding them.

"This is the future."

The voice was low and filled with pity.

"When the apocalypse descends, no one shall be spared."

"Everything you cherish, everything you protect, will turn to ash."

The figure turned slowly toward Lin An, two cold, ghostly gazes faintly visible beneath the hood.

"Despair."

"Suffer."

"Experience this powerlessness, and feel your own insignificance and fragility."

Lin An looked at him with an expressionless face.

Then, he lowered his head to look at the "dying" Gu Yue in his arms.

There was no ripple in Lin An's heart; he even felt like laughing.

If he didn't know this silly dragon's true identity, he might have actually believed it.

The Co-Lord of Soul Beasts, the Silver Dragon King herself.

Never mind a single bone spike; even if the entire Abyss Plane came crashing down, she wouldn't necessarily be dead.

However—

He still reached out and gently stroked the top of Gu Yue's head.

The movement was light and tender, as if he were soothing a wounded little beast.

Gu Yue's body stiffened noticeably for a moment, then she buried her face even deeper into his chest.