After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The things Qin San found in the old archives from the 1970s.

Unidentified skeletons, seven dead and three insane, cries echoing in the dead of night.

The entire city was gripped by fear and unease due to the bizarre events.

The land chosen by the Sheng Hui Consortium.

It was right above these accidents.

Zhou Ran leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

He fed the celestial corpses fear.

Then I'll direct all the fear in Jiangcheng at him.

News travels faster than bullets.

Chen Ya spent twelve hours.

The complete file of the construction accident at the Dongcheng Cultural Center thirty years ago was anonymously sent to three local newspapers in Jiangcheng, two self-media accounts with one million followers, and a public WeChat account called "Jiangcheng Safety Broadcast" which was active in parent groups throughout the city.

The details accompanying the photocopies of the documents are quite explosive.

"Unidentified skeletons were found 12 meters underground, but the testing agency refused to issue a report after the samples were sent for examination."

"The twelve members of the construction team experienced hallucinations during their night shift. Seven of them died, and three suffered permanent mental disorders."

"On the third day after the accident, what sounded like human breathing could be heard coming from the deep pit at the construction site, at a frequency of twelve times per minute."

The last one was altered.

Someone covered up the original text with correction fluid, but the contrast of the photocopy was adjusted by Chen Ya's technical team.

The words under the correction fluid were clearly visible:

"The bone is suspected to be non-human tissue."

At 9:38 a.m., the first self-media article was launched.

Title: "Shenghui Group's 500 Billion Yuan Project Site Exposed: 7 People Died Mysteriously Thirty Years Ago, Construction Report Was Altered."

At 10:04, the article's readership exceeded 100,000.

At 10:31, the comment section exploded.

Citizens of Jiangcheng spontaneously took turns listing bizarre events they had personally experienced or heard about recently.

Buses mysteriously float to the surface, a community fountain turns blood red, and cries echo through the old city late at night.

Each one points in the same direction.

The news spread quickly and had a huge impact.

The people of Jiangcheng were already on edge.

After seeing these news reports, I became even more frightened.

They suspected that the construction plan of the Sheng Hui Consortium had offended something it shouldn't have.

Some extreme residents even spontaneously formed a human wall, standing outside the cultural center to prevent the construction team from entering.

This tactic was very effective.

In less than three days, the Jiangcheng Housing and Construction Bureau issued an emergency notice: the construction permit for the Dongcheng Cultural Center project was suspended.

This trick didn't cost a penny.

Presidential Suite at the InterContinental Hotel.

Three shards of wine glasses lay on the carpet in front of Marcus Weber.

The housekeeper tried to come in and clean, but was deterred by a single look from him.

His phone rang 73 times in the past two hours.

The European headquarters wanted an explanation, the Asia-Pacific partner wanted an answer, and the contact person at the Jiangcheng Housing and Construction Bureau simply turned off their phone.

He reluctantly dialed a number.

After hanging up, Marcus stood up and kicked the broken glass under the sofa.

That afternoon, the Sheng Hui Consortium launched two counterattacks simultaneously.

The first route is the exposed route.

The Sheng Hui Group exerted pressure on higher authorities through its political connections at its European headquarters and diplomatic channels.

"Local enterprises in Xia State are maliciously shorting foreign investment and damaging the international business environment."

This move was worded very strongly and was of a very high level.

Xiao Hongli received three "concerned" phone calls from different departments.

The subtext of each call was the same: That's enough.

She hung up the phone without reporting it to Zhou Ran.

She directly instructed the legal department to send a second copy of the evidence chain of money laundering by the Sheng Hui Group to the Discipline Inspection Commission's liaison group stationed in the financial system via encrypted email.

Xiao Rou knew about the second hidden storyline earlier than Zhou Ran.

into the night.

Xiao Rou pushed open the door and walked into the conference room, carrying a plate of cut fruit.

"Master, there is a warehouse in the industrial zone in the south of the city."

She put the plate down very quietly.

"My Gu worms laid a net 500 meters outside the warehouse for a month."

Starting yesterday, all insects that passed through that area died.

She pulled a photograph from under the plate.

Close-up of the dead insect.

Flies, mosquitoes, and moths—all gray in color, with stiff wings and shriveled abdomens.

It's exactly the same color as the Heavenly Corpse Silk Thread.

Zhou Ran took the photo and stared at it for three seconds.

He stood up.

"Fatty Wang".

Qin San.

Come with me.

At 1 a.m., the group arrived at the Chengnan Industrial Zone.

There are four sentry posts around the warehouse, each manned by a Class B ability user.

Zhou Ran made no attempt to conceal his presence.

He strode over, unleashing the oppressive aura of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

All four men's knees hit the ground simultaneously.

The leg bone could not withstand the pressure and bent physically.

Qin San rushed into the warehouse to control the technical personnel.

Fatty Wang disassembles the equipment casing.

In the center of the warehouse stands a two-meter-tall metal sphere.

A thumb-sized gray crystal was embedded in the center of the sphere.

Zhou Ran reached out and touched it.

The perception of the idealistic laws instantly seeped into the crystal.

Densely packed fragments of the laws of the illusory realm.

It wasn't carved on by hand; it's a product that naturally shed from the body of the Heavenly Corpse.

This crystal is a transfer device.

It receives the fluctuations of the Heavenly Corpse and transforms them into energy that can be directly used by the Western supernatural power system.

Zhou Ran clenched the crystal in his palm, his knuckles tightening.

A faint gray light leaked through his fingers, resonating momentarily with the cracks in his dantian.

He tucked the crystal into his pocket.

Then he only said two words.

"It exploded."

Qin San pressed the remote control, and everyone retreated 300 meters away.

A muffled thud came from behind the warehouse, and the firelight shone for two seconds in the night before going out.

The next day.

The share price of Sheng Hui Group in the Asia-Pacific region fell another 17%.

The cumulative decline is 40%.

Marcus sat in his hotel suite for the entire day.

Then he did something Zhou Ran hadn't expected.

At 6 PM, the Shenghui Consortium issued a public statement to the Jiangcheng Municipal Government through official channels:

"Given the current uncertainties in the business environment, the Shenghui Consortium has decided to donate all of its assets to the Jiangcheng Municipal Government free of charge for urban infrastructure construction."

We hope this expresses our respect for the Xia Kingdom market and look forward to future cooperation opportunities.

The statement was mildly worded and humble in tone.

After reading the statement, Chen Ya looked up at Zhou Ran, seemingly asking about the next steps.

"If we continue to suppress it, public opinion will turn around."

Local capital is oppressing foreign charitable investors.

Marcus will be coming to see you in person this afternoon.

Marcus arrived at the estate with a smile on his face.

That kind of composed smile, honed through countless business negotiations.

His gaze swept across the living room.

Chen Ya was sitting on the sofa, Fatty Wang was standing by the window, and Qin San was squatting in the corner peeling an orange.

Zhou Ran sat in the main seat.

"Mr. Zhou."

Marcus speaks fluent Chinese.

"My statement is sincere."

"sit."

Marcus sat down and crossed his legs.

"A 50 billion yuan project, 30 billion yuan in pharmaceutical assets, and 40 billion yuan in working capital."

He spread his hands.

"It's all yours."

"I only want that piece of land."

Zhou Ran stared at him for five seconds before speaking.

"You're missing something in your donation statement."

Marcus's smile froze for a second.

"What raw materials did you use to build that machine in the City of the Unjustly Dead?"

The living room fell silent.

Marcus's smile remained, but the curve of his lips no longer changed.

"Mr. Zhou, I don't quite understand—"

"There's another one in the south of the city."

Zhou Ran took the thumb-sized gray crystal out of his pocket and placed it on the coffee table.

"It was demolished last night."

The crystals fell onto the glass coffee table with a soft thud.

Marcus's gaze fell on the crystals.

Zhou Ran activated his Purple-Gold Demon Eyes.

Deep within Marcus's eyeball, at the very bottom of the iris, lies a very faint gray membrane.

The flashing frequency of that light membrane was exactly the same as the heartbeat of the Heavenly Corpse.

Zhou Ran's left index finger touched his middle finger.

"Mr. Marcus."

His voice was very soft.

When was the last time you looked in the mirror?