Borrowing a Dream to Break the Calamity and Judgment in the Dark Night

The lights were on in the Xiang family study. Xiang Haishan stared at the computer screen, where every figure in the reports was bleeding red, yet his heart felt as though a boulder weighed upon it. The mess in Afghanistan tangled around him like a spiderweb, while the deathly pale face Xiang Yi had worn when he smashed a cup a few days ago kept flashing before his eyes. The international situation, his son's strange behavior, and that inexplicable sense of impending danger churned inside him, leaving him unable to sit still. Even several cups of strong tea could not suppress his agitation.

"Dad..." A hoarse, tear-choked call came from the doorway, trembling beyond recognition.

Xiang Haishan abruptly looked up! Xiang Yi stood there barefoot in his pajamas, his little face as white as paper and his lips utterly bloodless. Cold sweat densely covered his forehead and ran down his temples. His tiny body shook like a sieve, and all ten toes curled tightly against the freezing floor in terror. Those black eyes, usually far too calm, were now filled with a child's most instinctive fear. Tears swirled in them, ready to fall at any moment.

"Xiao Yi?!" Xiang Haishan felt as though someone had fiercely clenched his heart. He sprang up, rushed over in several strides, and crouched before him, covering his son's icy forehead with one large hand. "What happened? Did you have a nightmare? Don't be afraid, Dad's here!" He pulled his son tightly into his arms. That little body was taut as a bowstring and trembling violently. This genuine terror completely washed away his last trace of doubt.

"Fire... Such a huge fire..." Xiang Yi buried his face tightly against his father's smoke-scented shoulder. His muffled voice was thick with sobs, each word seeming to squeeze out of his throat. "I dreamed... dreamed that the factory... caught fire... It burned so big, so big..."

Xiang Haishan's stroking hand suddenly froze! The factory?!

"There was smoke everywhere... I was choking... couldn't breathe... And... and there was the smell of gasoline..." Xiang Yi spoke in broken fragments, like someone delirious from a nightmare. "I saw... saw several figures... all dark... pouring something... near the warehouse... One... one of them had... had an ugly, ugly black snake... wrapped around... around a bottle..."

Xiang Haishan's hand stiffened instantly! A chill surged from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp! A snake tattoo?! Zhang Hao's thug of a son had a lackey with exactly that distinguishing feature! This was definitely no coincidence! The soothing motion of his hand did not stop, but his gaze turned as cold as a blade. The factory was his lifeblood! The smell of gasoline, the warehouse, a snake tattoo—how could an ordinary nightmare invent something like that?!

"And then... then the fire started... It was so hot... It burned Dad's office... burned... burned the backpack Mom just bought me..." Xiang Yi's voice held even deeper fear, along with grievance. At last, tears rolled down and soaked Xiang Haishan's shirt. That cold wetness struck his heart like a hammer!

"Don't be afraid! Dreams are the opposite! The opposite!" Xiang Haishan held his son tighter, his voice firm and decisive. He was comforting his son, but also suppressing the turmoil in his own heart. "As soon as it gets light tomorrow, Dad will go to the factory! We'll turn the whole place upside down, inside and out! I'd like to see which bastard has the guts to set his sights on Xiang Haishan's family and livelihood!" A ruthless glint, tempered through battles in the business world, flashed in his eyes.

"R-Really?" Xiang Yi lifted his head, his eyes brimming with tears and filled with a child's complete dependence on and hope in his father.

"Really! When has Dad ever lied to you?" Xiang Haishan wiped the tears from his son's face in one motion, his tone beyond dispute. He scooped Xiang Yi up in his arms and walked steadily toward the bedroom, his broad silhouette casting an indomitable shadow beneath the light.

Curled up in his father's arms, Xiang Yi listened to that steady heartbeat. The fear and tears faded from his eyes, leaving only frost-like calm and a trace of deeply buried guilt. Exploiting his father's trust was a shackle, but protecting this family was a responsibility engraved in the deepest part of his soul.

The next day, before dawn had fully broken, Xiang Haishan's car sped toward Xiang Precision Parts Factory on the outskirts with several trusted old associates.

The factory gates were open, and the morning-shift workers were filing inside. The moment security captain Old Li saw his boss's ashen face, his heart skipped a beat. "President Xiang? What's this about...?"

"Get your men and come with me!" Xiang Haishan's voice was cold as ice chips. "Send out the notice. The morning shift is suspended for an hour. Everyone goes to the break area, and they still get paid! Especially the raw materials warehouse and Zone Three of the finished goods warehouse—clear them out immediately!"

Without another word, Old Li grabbed his walkie-talkie and barked, "Attention, everyone! Level-one alert! Seal off the warehouse area! All nonessential personnel, evacuate to the break area immediately! I repeat, immediately!" At the same time, he pulled out a high-powered flashlight and baton, then summoned his trusted men to follow.

The group headed straight for the raw materials warehouse. In the morning chill, Xiang Haishan's heart sank like lead. Following his son's vague description, he carefully searched the base of the warehouse's outer wall, the vents, and the piles of discarded packaging.

"President Xiang! Over here!" One of the old associates crouched beside a pile of discarded wooden pallets at the western wall, pointing beneath the pallets and at the damp crack in the wall. "Look at these fresh scrape marks beside the bricks... and this smell!" A pungent odor of volatile petroleum mixed with the factory's machine oil, standing out sharply.

Everyone gathered around. Xiang Haishan crouched down for a look, and his face darkened further! He brushed aside the loose soil and reached his fingers into the gap. The touch was cold and greasy! When he pulled them out, his fingertips were stained with pale yellow liquid that had not fully evaporated!

Gasoline!

"Crowbar!" Xiang Haishan's voice was freezing.

The crowbar went into the brick gap and pried hard! Several loose bricks were levered away, exposing a larger hole. Inside was a long object wrapped in oily black plastic sheeting!

Wearing gloves, Xiang Haishan held his breath and pulled it out. He unwrapped the plastic—three 1.5-liter water bottles bound together! Murky gasoline sloshed inside them! Their mouths were stuffed with strips of cotton cloth soaked in gasoline, just waiting for a spark...

"Hiss..." Old Li and the others sucked in sharp breaths, their faces turning pale! They could practically see flames licking up the outer wall, igniting mountains of plastic raw materials, triggering a chain of explosions... The thought alone drenched their backs in cold sweat!

"Call the police! Now! Protect the scene!" Xiang Haishan sprang to his feet, his eyes seeming ready to spit fire, though his voice reined in his fury. "Old Zhang, take some men and search every inch! Inside and outside the wall, don't miss a single corner! Check the surveillance footage from last night through this morning! Don't overlook anyone suspicious!" He pulled out his phone and dialed, his fingers trembling faintly with rage. His gaze swept over the gasoline bottles as lingering fear and towering fury surged within him. Zhang Zhenhua! Good! Damn good! He actually dared to resort to arson and murder?

On the outskirts, at the Zhang family villa, late at night.

Only a dim desk lamp was lit in the study. Zhang Zhenhua slumped in a leather chair, his expression so gloomy it seemed capable of dripping water. The ashtray was piled with cigarette butts, and the air was foul. The news that the Xiang family's factory had called the police that afternoon, and that his trusted subordinate had been taken away by the police, struck him like a slap across the face! The whole damn plan had been exposed! Xiang Haishan must have guessed it was him! Worse still, that subordinate knew far too much dirty business...

"Trash! They're all fucking trash!" he snarled, veins bulging at his temples as the cigar in his hand was crushed out of shape.

Click!

A faint sound came from outside the window, like a dead branch falling to the ground.

Zhang Zhenhua froze in the middle of raising his drink! His heart felt clutched by icy claws! Paranoia overtaking him, he looked up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the heavy curtains. Beyond them, the backyard held only bleak moonlight and swaying shadows of trees.

"Who's there?!" His voice cracked as his hand reached for the gun in the drawer.

Dead silence. There was only his own harsh breathing and his pounding heartbeat.

A hallucination? His taut nerves loosened slightly, and he cursed himself for scaring himself. Just as his fingers touched the cold grip of the gun—

Whoosh—!

An icy wind, heavy with the stench of blood and sulfur, suddenly poured into the study! The desk lamp's flame flickered wildly, nearly going out! Even the picture frames on the wall creaked!

Every bit of fat on Zhang Zhenhua's body seemed to stand on end! Utter terror seized him in an instant! Warm, foul-smelling liquid surged uncontrollably from his crotch, soaking through his expensive suit pants in moments! He frantically tried to pull open the drawer and grab the gun!

A shadow darker than the night itself, like a demon crawling out of hell, appeared behind him without warning! A hand clad in a black metal bracer, cold as an iron vise, clamped around the wrist reaching for the gun like lightning!

"Aaargh—!" Zhang Zhenhua let out a shrill scream, feeling as if the bones in his wrist were about to shatter! In absolute horror, he twisted his head around—

And met a pair of eyes! Those were not human eyes at all! Within their pupils swirled the void from before the birth of the universe. One more half-second of looking, and his mind would freeze, be crushed, and be dragged into eternal darkness! Zhang Zhenhua's mind buzzed. All his schemes and malice evaporated like thin ice beneath the scorching sun under the gaze of those Eyes of the Abyss! All that remained was the trembling of a beast at death's door!

"Spare... spare me..." A wheeze like a broken bellows escaped his throat. Snot and tears covered his face as he shook like a leaf in a gale.

The Eyes of the Abyss did not ripple in the slightest, regarding him as though he were a lump of mud. The icy hand released his wrist, then struck the back of his neck like lightning!

Zhang Zhenhua's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed like a heap of mud, completely unconscious. The stench of urine and feces spread through the room.

The shadow—Lanling King—lifted that fat body in one hand as easily as a feather. He went to the window, silently opened it, and, like a great bat melting into the night, vanished into the darkness of the villa's backyard with the unconscious Zhang Zhenhua.

Midnight, outside the city-center police station.

Two police officers returning from patrol yawned as they headed toward the main entrance.

"Hey? What the hell is that up there?" One officer rubbed his eyes and pointed at the tall flagpole where promotional banners were hung.

Under the pallid moonlight, a huge, fat human-shaped object was suspended upside down from the very top of the flagpole by thick hemp rope, bound in the extremely humiliating hogtie position, with his hands and feet tied together backward! He looked like a fat pig trussed up for slaughter! His large belly, compressed by the inverted position, piled onto his chest, while his swollen purple pig-like face swayed in the night wind. The rope scraped against the metal pole with a faint creak.

"Holy shit!" The other officer's drowsiness vanished instantly. His scalp tingled as he drew his gun. "Alert!"

A piercing police siren abruptly tore through the night! A large number of officers rushed out, their high-powered flashlights converging on the top of the flagpole!

Under the bright beams, the suspended man's face was unmistakable—it was Zhang Zhenhua, unconscious, his crotch soaked and reeking!

Even more eye-catching was a strangely shaped foreign ninja dart, radiating an ominous chill—the symbol of The Hand—driven viciously into the center of his thick, protruding belly. Beneath the dart, a black USB drive had been firmly pinned in place! Written on the drive's casing in blood-red marker was a taunting English word—"Evidence"!

"Quick! Get him down! Watch out for traps!" The police chief's face was livid, his temples throbbing. This was not only the ultimate humiliation for Zhang Zhenhua, but also a blatant slap in the police station's face! That ninja dart was like a nail hammered into the face of the station!

The police carefully lowered Zhang Zhenhua and removed the ninja dart and USB drive. The technical department's lights remained on all night. When the drive was inserted into an air-gapped computer and the only video file on it was opened, every officer present fell silent.

The footage was clear. Under dim lighting, Zhang Zhenhua's fat face was twisted with viciousness as he snarled into the phone:

"...Do it tonight!... At the base of the raw materials warehouse's western wall... stuff gasoline bottles into the hole... make the fuse longer... once the fire starts... I want that old bastard Xiang Haishan... crawling on his knees to beg me!..."

The video ended. The evidence was ironclad!

"Apply for an arrest warrant immediately! Arrest Zhang Zhenhua! Freeze all his assets! Dig deep into his connections!" The police chief slammed a fist onto the table! An attempted arson case involving the Xiang family had uncovered such a venomous snake! What frightened him even more was the mysterious "executor" and the unknown force behind that ninja dart...

The night grew deeper. At Xiang Family Villa, Xiang Yi sat quietly on the bay window, looking toward the police station. The crisis warning for [Family Fire Calamity] had vanished from the virtual panel.

[Energy Points: 0 → 50 (Crisis resolved reward)]

His parents' subdued conversation drifted up from downstairs, their relief at surviving the disaster mixed with rage toward Zhang Zhenhua.

Xiang Yi withdrew his gaze, his fingertips brushing the cold glass. His father had been saved, and the factory had been preserved. Yet the coldness at his fingertips and Ming Shiyin's exhausted, near-death appearance were branded into his heart. A hidden dragon lies in the abyss; do not act weighed as heavily as a thousand tons. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s shadow hung like a sword above his head, the Ten Rings Syndicate's Poison Fang glinted in the darkness, and The Hand's retaliation might already be on its way... This brief respite was meant for deeper concealment.

He looked toward the warehouse base, his gaze tranquil. The shell of the Universal Fund was already prepared. Across the ocean, the panic caused by Tony Stark's disappearance was driving Stark Industries' stock price... down toward rock bottom. It was time for the hunter to enter the field.