22: The Stage of Death

Inside the office.

The harmonious atmosphere that had just begun to rise was instantly frozen by that black card.

The air felt as if it had been sucked dry.

Everyone's eyes were fixed intently on that card, specifically on the eerie emblem composed of an Ouroboros and a broken crown.

The smiles on Li Hu and Li Ke's faces stiffened.

They didn't understand what it was, but they instinctively sensed a dangerous aura emanating from the abyss.

Old Liu's hand, holding a teacup, stopped mid-air. In his cloudy old eyes, that bit of leisure was instantly replaced by an unprecedented gravity.

"That bastard!"

Zhao Dahai snatched the card away. After seeing the handwriting on it clearly, the veins on his temples bulged Li Ke earthworms.

The card in his hand felt Li Ke a red-hot iron, making his whole body tremble.

"This is a declaration of war... against our entire Jiang City police force!"

His roar, Li Ke that of a provoked lion, made the window glass vibrate.

"Captain Zhao, this is a trap." Su Qingxue's voice was as cold as ice as she pulled out her sidearm and checked the magazine.

"A trap? Even if it's a dragon's pool or a tiger's den today, I'm going to level it!"

Zhao Dahai turned abruptly and grabbed the walkie-talkie on the desk.

"All units attention! All units attention! Level one combat readiness! Target: Jiang City Art Museum! Surround it so tightly that not even a drop of water can get through!"

"I'll make him understand that Jiang City is not a place where he can run wild!"

Just as the office was filled with a murderous atmosphere and a great battle was about to break out.

"I'll go."

A calm voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone was stunned and turned around abruptly.

Chen Mo stood before the desk, looking calmly at the black card as if it weren't an invitation from the Reaper, but a common dinner invitation.

"What did you say?" Zhao Dahai's eyes instantly turned red. "No! I absolutely won't allow it!"

He rushed to Chen Mo in a single stride, his tall frame Li Ke a wall, firmly blocking him.

"Who do you think you are? Going there alone to die?!"

"Team Leader Chen!" Li Hu was also anxious, thumping his chest. "If anyone's going, it should be me! I'm thick-skinned and tough; I can even be a target for him!"

"Team Leader Chen, I... I can provide technical support..." Li Ke pushed up his glasses, his voice trembling slightly, but his eyes were firm.

Chen Mo ignored them.

He just looked up at the man before him who was furious and worried for his sake.

"Captain Zhao."

His voice wasn't loud, but it possessed a power that could soothe people's hearts.

"He isn't inviting me; he's testing me."

Zhao Dahai was stunned.

"A person Li Ke 'Emperor' is conceited to the extreme. In his eyes, the police are nothing but simple-minded boors, not worthy of being his opponents at all."

"He sent this invitation not because he wants to kill me, but because he wants to see if the person who made him lose a pawn is actually qualified... to keep playing with him."

Chen Mo's gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, seeing that nemesis from his past life sitting on a throne.

"If I don't go, he'll think I'm afraid. The game will escalate immediately, and the next to die won't be a dance student; it could be dozens or hundreds of innocent people in the art museum."

The office became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was chilled to the bone by the image Chen Mo painted of that madman who viewed human life as mere grass.

"We must go."

Su Qingxue spoke up, walking to Chen Mo's side and standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"But he won't be going alone."

Zhao Dahai's chest heaved violently as he looked into Chen Mo's eyes, which were as calm as a placid lake.

After a long while, he slammed his fist into the wall.

"Dammit!"

He turned around and grabbed the walkie-talkie, his voice raspy but filled with unquestionable resolve.

"All units, cancel the assault plan!"

"SWAT Sniper Team, immediately seize all high points around the art museum!"

"Bomb Squad, on standby!"

"Intelligence Team, Li Ke!"

"Here!" Li Ke snapped to attention.

"I'm giving you maximum authorization. Hack into the art museum's security system immediately! I want to see every circuit diagram and every ventilation duct there within ten minutes!"

"Yes, sir!"

Li Ke's eyes instantly lit up, and he rushed to his workstation Li Ke a gust of wind, his fingers clicking rapidly on the keyboard.

Zhao Dahai looked back at Li Hu.

"You and Su Qingxue are responsible for Chen Mo's personal security!"

"Yes, sir!" Li Hu's response was powerful and resonant.

Finally, Zhao Dahai looked at Chen Mo, his gaze extremely complex.

"Kid, remember, your life doesn't just belong to you anymore."

"If you dare to die in there, even if I have to go to hell, I'll drag you out and shoot you a hundred more times!"

...

The night deepened.

The Jiang City Art Museum, a white classical building, looked Li Ke a massive, silent tomb under the moonlight.

The surrounding streets had already been sealed off by invisible cordons.

In the darkness, there was no telling how many black muzzles were aimed dead at every window of the building from various angles.

A black, inconspicuous command van quietly pulled up at the street corner opposite the art museum.

Inside the vehicle, the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt as if it were solidifying.

"Reporting to Team Leader Chen, the art museum closed normally at 7:00 PM tonight. No abnormalities."

"However..."

Li Ke's voice came through the earpiece, tinged with gravity.

"After closing, their security system was physically taken over from the outside. All the surveillance footage we're seeing now is a looped recording from half an hour ago."

"The entire art museum is now a black box to us."

"Understood."

Chen Mo gave a brief response and pushed open the car door.

"Chen Mo!" Su Qingxue grabbed his arm.

"Li Hu and I will go in with you."

"No need."

Chen Mo shook his head, looking calmly at the art museum that lay dormant in the darkness Li Ke a giant beast.

"He invited me alone."

"An extra person would only be an unnecessary sacrifice."

His voice was soft, yet it carried a resolve that brooked no argument.

"Don't worry."

He looked back at the worried faces of everyone in the car, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"If he wants to play, I'll play with him."

"However, the rules of the game will be set by me."

He took off the headset and handed it to Su Qing...

He took off the headset and handed it to Su Qingxue, leaving only an invisible communicator smaller than a button inserted into his ear canal.

"Li Ke, help me switch the communication channel to the public address system."

"What?" Li Ke was stunned.

"I want my voice to resound in every corner of the art museum."

Having said that, he ignored everyone's shock.

Alone, dressed in ordinary casual clothes, he looked Li Ke a passerby taking a late-night stroll.

Step by step, he walked toward that art museum filled with unknown dangers.

Every step he took seemed to tread on everyone's heartstrings.

Zhao Dahai stared fixedly at the lonely silhouette on the screen, the walkie-talkie in his hand nearly crushed by his grip.

Su Qingxue's fingernails dug deep into her palm.

Chen Mo reached the two massive bronze doors of the art museum, which were carved with angel reliefs.

The chime of midnight seemed to drift over from some corner of the city.

The heavy bronze doors seemed to sense something.

Accompanied by a tooth-aching "creak," they actually opened inward on their own, slowly revealing a crack.

Inside the crack was bottomless, pure darkness.

Li Ke the mouth of a giant beast waiting for its prey to walk into the trap.

Chen Mo did not hesitate in the slightest; he turned sideways and walked in.

The bronze doors shut heavily behind him.

"Clang—!"

That sound seemed to isolate two different worlds.

Inside the command van, everyone's hearts were in their throats.

"Chen Mo? Chen Mo! Can you hear me?!" Zhao Dahai growled into the walkie-talkie.

Dead silence.

Just as Zhao Dahai was about to lose control and prepare to order an assault.

"Sizzle..."

All the communication equipment in the command van, including the public address system around the art museum, suddenly rang out with a burst of piercing static.

Immediately following that.

A voice processed through a voice changer, carrying a morbid smile, rang out.

"Welcome to... my gallery."

"My distinguished guest, you have more courage than I imagined."

Inside the command van, Li Ke's face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Not good! The other side has reverse-hacked our communication channel!"

Zhao Dahai's face was grim.

All their deployments and movements were now under the opponent's surveillance!

They had become deaf and blind!

And Chen Mo had become an isolated island!

Inside the art museum.

It was pitch black, so dark one couldn't see their own hand.

The air was thick with the smell of formalin mixed with oil paint.

"Snap."

A soft click.

A pale spotlight suddenly beamed down from the ceiling.

It illuminated the very center of the hall.

There stood an easel.

On the easel was a massive oil painting, covered with a layer of black velvet.

"As a meeting gift."

That eerie voice echoed in the empty hall, carrying an appreciative tone.

"I have prepared a brand-new work of art for you."

"Please, enjoy."

No sooner had the words been spoken.

The black cloth covering the oil painting was slowly pulled away by an invisible hand.

When Chen Mo saw the contents of the painting clearly.

Even though he had lived two lives and was accustomed to the deepest evils.

His pupils suddenly constricted to the size of pinpricks!

Reminder: The website will be updated soon, which may cause loss of reading progress. Please save to your [Bookshelf] and [Reading History] (screenshotting is recommended) in a timely manner. We apologize for any inconvenience!