Soft sobs echoed all around, filling the 107th Division with a heavy atmosphere of grief. Today, a total of 1,003 people died—among them, 347 were from Crimson Night, and over 600 were innocent victims.
Julian Zhu sat on the steps above, hands clasped in prayer, quietly watching—as if he had long grown used to scenes like this.
Divisions 101 through 106 all took part in today's operation, suffering heavy losses.
“I never expected the Five Divine Generals to be this powerful. But you—you’re even stronger.”
I said nothing, just watched Julian Zhu. He seemed deeply shaken inside.
“The previous Eastern Divine General probably wasn’t even a match for a single finger of Rachel Lan. We managed to launch several successful assassination attempts. The closest one left the last Eastern Divine General severely wounded—he couldn’t get out of bed for three months, all under strict guard.”
Julian Zhu’s lips were pale, his hands kept rubbing together, his whole body trembling slightly.
“In the past two years, we tried 103 assassinations. Not one survived. None of the assassins ever came back alive. Now I finally understand—the power that defies the world’s logic. We were doomed to fail. Everyone was so confident this time, but we couldn’t even touch Rachel Lan.”
I didn’t refute Julian Zhu. Rachel Lan now was terrifyingly strong. That golden flame belonged to the Vermilion Bird’s highest power. According to Zhu Tang, that kind of golden flame had only appeared once in the world of the living.
The purple pendant on my chest was growing warm. I’d felt it ever since I first saw Rachel Lan.
I placed a hand on Julian Zhu’s shoulder, gave him a gentle pat, then walked down the stairs toward the independent office on the left. The nine guys behind me followed in.
Now, I could feel the pendant on my chest growing hotter and even starting to move on its own.
“What are my chances of beating Rachel Lan? Ten percent? Or less?”
My eyes stayed fixed on Isabelle Frost’s hand—the right hand she used to block the Phoenix Blade for me, now charred black.
No one wanted to answer. I gave a bitter smile and sat down.
“Go ahead. My heart isn’t made of glass.”
“That little girl carries power this world has never seen—the Vermilion Bird’s Power. But she herself is a Yin body, which is extremely rare. The Vermilion Bird’s Power is sacred, and for ghosts, it’s their greatest enemy.”
With a whoosh, a burst of black flame erupted from my chest. The head of a Vermilion Bird appeared faintly, and then Zhu Tang stood in front of me, sitting down by my side.
“Looks like this Holy Spirit has more say than I do. But he’s a former Holy Spirit—now he’s turned black.”
The Ghost Painting Book Immortal spoke, and Zhu Tang shot him a glare.
I nodded, looking at Zhang Jizheng.
"I basically understand the situation now. That little girl is just a small part, a very tiny part. The rest seems pieced together from other fragments."
I let out a surprised sound, and a pair of eyes turned toward me.
"Earlier, through my instincts, I sensed that Rachel Lan was indeed the one I knew, the one I was familiar with—yet only a part of her. The rest seemed to be missing, as if it didn’t exist."
With a creak, the door to the room opened. Julian Zhu, panting heavily, walked in.
"Sorry to interrupt your meeting, but we need to relocate immediately. This base has been exposed."
A group of us followed Julian Zhu to the top. The flag had already been raised, and behind it was another passageway. Members of Division 107 had begun to evacuate, and we entered one of the tunnels as well.
At the entrance to the tunnel, I saw explosives strapped in place. After confirming no one was left behind, Julian Zhu led us a safe distance before pressing the detonator in his hand.
With a thunderous boom, the entrance to the tunnel instantly collapsed, blocked by massive stones.
We walked for what felt like ages until we reached another hall, identical in size. There were quite a few people here. Julian Zhu explained that there were many backup bases like this. That’s why Crimson Night can never be easily caught—the excavators keep building these underground spaces beneath Endless City. Even the Emperor God’s forces, no matter how powerful, would struggle to map out all these tunnels.
There’s another thing we felt firsthand: Ghostnet can’t pierce anything solid down here, and even the people here can’t do it. If we can’t sense what’s happening above ground, then those on the surface probably have no way to know what’s going on down here either.
After settling in, we found ourselves in a spacious room on the upper floor by the rock wall, stacked with crates of weapons. The place felt like a weapons factory, with parts constantly brought in from the surface and people busy assembling and polishing them.
Zhu Tang appeared again. After seeing everything here, he couldn’t help but sigh.
"No matter what kind of world it is, there are always places like this."
"You must have some way to counter it, Zhu Tang. That little girl's flames are far from ordinary."
Zhang Jizheng asked, and Zhu Tang shook his head.
"It’s basically impossible. If one strike already has that kind of power, you’d need someone at Isabelle Frost’s level to counter it. But let me ask—just now, how many of you could withstand that flame?"
Zhu Tang asked, then confirmed: aside from Isabelle Frost, Ghost Painting Book Immortal, Deathcurse, Black Moon, and Lin Rui could all withstand it. But then Zhang Jizheng pointed at Huang.
"Don’t overlook this one—such a high-density conglomerate of Yin energy. To you, that flame is probably no different from ordinary fire."
Black Moon burst out laughing.
"Not bad, old Taoist. If your spirit recovers, you’ll be formidable indeed."
"Hmph, you’re from the Nether Syndicate, aren’t you? I’ve always despised people from the Nether Syndicate."
Black Moon stepped up to Zhang Jizheng, staring into his eyes.
"Looks like you’ve got deep ties to the Nether Syndicate, old Taoist. The spell you used to see through Huang’s body is Nether Syndicate magic, right? Heaven’s Eye, Earth’s Sight—it’s not easy to master. Where did you learn it? You can see the density of ghost energy in Huang’s body, something even the Green Ghosts can’t do."
"Let me ask you—do you know Chou Hengwu of the Nether Syndicate?"
I looked at Zhang Jizheng, puzzled. Chou Hengwu—what a strange name, but it seemed to belong to someone.
"Of course I do," he said with a chuckle.
"Where is he?"
"Ah, old Taoist, when this world is over, I’ll share a little intel with you."
Zhang Jizheng let go of Black Moon’s hand. Their eyes met, and the entanglement between them—perhaps only they understood. For the first time, I saw worry on Zhang Jizheng’s face.
"Alright, Ethan Zhang, what’s your plan?"
Isabelle Frost asked.
"For now, let’s team up with Crimson Night. We need information."