Out of nowhere, why did the Black Death Emperor's tomb crack open at that exact moment? Why would tourists stumble upon such a remote spot? And why was the Black Death Emperor sent to Shanghai, coincidentally arriving at the very place where the Fated One was about to awaken?
If you look at the Shanghai incident from start to finish, you'll notice: if the Black Death Emperor hadn't been in Shanghai, if Professor Yang hadn't been contaminated by the miasma, Maggie Monroe's Destiny Awakening would have gone a lot smoother and easier. But as soon as the Black Death Emperor showed up, not only did the difficulty spike, but there was real danger to life. The Fated One could've died right then and there. With things like this, how could Jasper Xiao not overthink it?
He went to Beijing to "make peace," partly hoping to use their resources to dig into this whole mess. After a thorough investigation, that tourist who found the Black Death Emperor's tomb turned out clean. Even when he used Chosen One superpowers for a mind read, there was no sign anyone had put him up to it.
But that didn’t put him at ease. He couldn’t tell if he was just being paranoid, but his gut feeling was strong—there’s gotta be something deeper behind all this. If he’s right, then chasing down the truth here might be even riskier than dealing with the miasma. So Jasper Xiao decided to keep it to himself and make sure his goddess stayed out of it.
In the void of fate, sometimes just "knowing" is a risk in itself.
Jasper Xiao looked up at the deep night sky, his gaze growing heavier: "No idea what's up with the Black Death Emperor. He sits still and locks down the whole world, but how long can he stay unmoved? No clue what’s happening with Maggie Monroe, our Fated One. Fated One, Fated One—does fate really exist?"
In the night sky, it looked like a meteor streaked by...
Let’s take our eyes off Middle-earth for a moment and put them back on Earth.
Because time flows differently in each world, and the timelines of the multiverse never quite line up, while Jasper Xiao and Jill Young are deep in conversation in Middle-earth, it’s just early morning in Sichuan, China, on Earth. Jill is leading her Chosen One squad out from atop the Leshan Buddha, and only a few minutes have passed.
Earth spins on, west to east, unstoppable. So sunrise always comes earlier in the east than in the west. East of the Leshan Buddha, after crossing mountains, rivers, and oceans, in a whole other time zone, it’s already midday and the sun is blazing.
Anti-terror? Yep, that's right—anti-terror! The Shanghai Cataclysm, what a massive terror attack! Biggest in history, hands down! And this so-called Black Death Emperor, whether he's the culprit or just a major player, he's definitely a terrorist, right? Showing up under the banner of 'anti-terror' to grab a piece of the action—perfectly legit, totally reasonable, what a great excuse~~
Don't believe it? Go ask those first four countries that showed up—they're all waving the 'anti-terror' flag too. Otherwise, with nobody firing or backing down, and no one wanting to escalate tensions, what other excuse do they have to explain things to the world?
So, more than twenty countries started circling this remote Pacific island for their 'anti-terror military exercise.' And boy, they've been 'exercising' for a long, long time.
There's no such thing as a wall that completely blocks the wind, but after the wind passes through, it's never quite the same.
Here's what world leaders know about the Black Death Emperor:
1. This guy is directly linked to the Shanghai Cataclysm. If I don't figure out how he pulled it off, I won't sleep easy.
2. This guy's lived for 1,800 years—immortality, just like that! Isn't this the ultimate blessing from above? Maybe I could squeeze out another five hundred years myself.
Chapter not finished yet ^.^—click next page to keep reading!
3. This guy's got insane military value. Forget that so-called 'jade' shell—that's just regular weapons with a fancy upgrade, nothing special. What I really want is the extinction-level mystery weapon he used for the Shanghai Cataclysm!
Just look at what happened in Shanghai—a weapon that wiped out millions in hours, but here's the real kicker: that mysterious fog ring, a perfect circle marked on every country's strategic map. Outside the ring, nothing happened. Inside? No escape, no hiding. That kind of surgical precision is straight-up military art.
And after thorough post-disaster checks, they found that Shanghai wasn’t just free of radiation or viruses—the air quality actually improved! The skyscrapers and all the infrastructure? Good as new!
So after all that, this extinction-level weapon turns out to be an 'environmentally friendly' eco-warrior? You’ve got to be kidding me—this is lunar-explosion-level news!
One big reason the world signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty is that nukes are a nightmare. Just look at Chernobyl—still uninhabitable. Or Khrushchev’s wild kid setting off the Tsar Bomba and shaking the whole continental shelf! Nukes aren’t exactly user-friendly.
Same deal with the global ban on biochemical weapons—mess up and the virus comes back to bite you. You can’t teach a virus to tell friend from foe, and you can’t draw a line for it to stay put. Zombie movies have hammered this point home enough times.
But now, we’ve got a dream weapon: terrifyingly precise, insanely powerful, eco-friendly, no side effects, and doesn’t even scratch the furniture!
If we could just figure out how that mysterious weapon works, how to make and use it—every reactionary would turn into a paper tiger.
And for those countries itching for the world’s top spot, plus all the shady terror groups, it’s a sky full of wild dreams: just hit New York, Washington—heck, throw in Las Vegas—and America drops from the throne in a heartbeat!
Of course, flip it around—if the Americans get their hands on this tech, then it’s our turn to get wiped off the map…
So, research on White Night and the Fated Ones can wait. The top priority is making sure the Black Death Emperor doesn’t escape—and definitely doesn’t get snatched by anyone else! Such a treasure must be in our hands. If our navy screws this up, they’ll be answering to me!
So, for now, all these countries are stuck here. Some play hardball, some crack jokes, some fish in troubled waters, some form alliances—every trick in the book’s on display. Around this tiny Pacific island, all those cannons may be pointed at the Black Death Emperor, but honestly, most of that murderous energy is aimed at each other.
And as for the Black Death Emperor himself? Nobody’s even considered how hard he is to catch. Maybe he’s got some magical tricks—like those so-called Fated Ones who never make the front page. But really, living a long time, walking on water, skipping meals—so what? Forget the big guns, just shoot him in the knee and problem solved!
So, while every country’s drawn up capture plans, even China’s most cautious strategy treats the Black Death Emperor like a prehistoric dinosaur. The operation commander thinks it’s already over-the-top and foolproof—but honestly, they’re nowhere close to the truth…
This stalemate can’t drag on forever—the longer it goes, the messier it gets. Every day brings another test run at a capture, probing the Black Death Emperor and each other’s reactions.
None of these teams ever make it to the Black Death Emperor—something always stops them halfway. Even the US, with three carrier strike groups parked nearby, can’t change that. So after all this time, not a single country really understands what the Black Death Emperor is.
All they can do is send observers to watch from afar, and those observers? Completely blown away by his looks. In the end, they had to pull out all the straight women and gay men—just to keep morale up.
Today, another test-capture kicks off. The team’s a mixed bag: mostly US Navy SEALs, with agents from the NSA, CIA, FBI—you name it. Just looking at the lineup, you can tell every bigwig in America wants a piece of the Black Death Emperor action, all jostling for the spotlight.
All that infighting shows one thing: none of those big shots think catching the Black Death Emperor is hard at all.
The moment the team steps onto the island—first grain of sand under their boots—bam, a blizzard of protest, threats, and warnings floods in. Some messages skip the networks and go straight to their comms, just to show off another country’s tech muscle.
But the team’s cool as cucumbers—they’ve been through this a hundred times. They know exactly how far they’ll get before turning tail, just like every other time.
This landing? Just another political stunt. No one’s expecting any surprises.
But in the very next moment, something unexpected happens.
Suddenly, the comms crackle with the observer’s panicked scream: “Look! The target—he’s standing up!”
Blue sky, white clouds, seabirds crying. The small island is covered in fine white sand, tall palm trees swaying in the sea breeze. The waves roll in and out, seagulls circle and dance above the sandbar—a perfect subtropical paradise.
At the very center of the sandbar, the Black Death Emperor sits calmly, clad in his black robes.
His black hair cascades like a waterfall, fluttering in the wind. His imperial robe is simple—beads and jade trimmings are understated and ancient—but his nobility radiates from deep within his bones and soul. He’s breathtakingly handsome; any other guy would feel utterly inferior. No fake arrogance, no forced coldness—he just exists, plain and simple. But his very presence is like a sacred mountain, timeless and awe-inspiring.
His eyes open naturally, staring straight at the horizon. Those eyes are like black gemstones, holding centuries of mystery and splendor.
He is the Black Death Emperor, and he’s been sitting here, motionless, for a long, long time.
Seagulls fly past him, some boldly pecking at the ground nearby, totally unfazed—like they’re not afraid of the sky or the sea. Then the seagulls flap away, startled by a group of heavily armed soldiers in futuristic combat gear, American flags on their shoulders.
Zoom out a bit and you’ll see the sea around the island is packed with warships, cannons all aimed this way. If those guns fired, this little island would vanish from the map in seconds. The warships bob on the waves, but their deadly intent is locked right here.
Of course, they’re also aiming at each other.
These cutting-edge warships come from over twenty countries. After the Shanghai Cataclysm, China, the US, Japan, and Russia sent fleets right away—close neighbors, quick to respond. But with all the balancing and counterbalancing, nothing happened at first. So the second wave of countries rushed in to grab their chance.
Even the likes of South Asian countries, the far-off EU, and the 'soy sauce' nations all issued statements in record time: 'We fully support this—uh—multinational anti-terror naval exercise!'