79: The Emperor's New Game

The crowd, like a black tsunami, instantly swallowed up Pier Seven.

The angry roars converged into a funeral dirge dedicated to the devil.

"Raven" stood by the ship's rail, looking at the faces contorted by hatred and listening to the curses demanding he be torn limb from limb.

The composure and cruelty he had displayed earlier were gone from his face.

Only endless... fear remained.

He had been abandoned.

He had been treated by the monarch he most admired as a disposable toy, used to quell "public resentment" and simultaneously test his opponent.

Zhao Dahai led the riot police, struggling to carve a path through the dense crowd.

They dragged the completely broken man off the ship.

Cold handcuffs locked his wrists.

They also locked away his self-proclaimed, elegant art of crime.

Inside the Command Center.

Everyone slumped in their chairs, looking as if their strength had been completely drained.

On the screen, the storm that had swept across the entire city was slowly subsiding.

The app called the [Human Court], having completed its mission, silently self-destructed and vanished without a trace from everyone's mobile phones.

It was as if everything had been nothing more than an absurd nightmare.

Fang Zheng looked at the young man lying on the hospital bed, pale-faced, breathing steadily, as if he were merely asleep.

For the first time, his face, which was always etched with rules and discipline, showed an expression called "confusion."

Had he won?

Yes, he had.

He had resolved a crisis capable of overthrowing the entire city in an unbelievable manner.

He had even managed to capture a major figure from the "Emperor" organization.

But had he truly won?

He had used one lie to cover another lie.

He had used a grander trial to end another trial.

He had personally directed the public's anger toward a "devil" he had designated.

What difference was there between him and the "Emperor" sitting on the throne?

"Old Zhao."

Bureau Chief Zhou patted Zhao Dahai's shoulder, his voice hoarse.

"I'm leaving this to you."

After saying that, he turned and walked toward the door of the ward.

He knew that this war was far from over.

Nightingale also stepped out from the shadows.

She took a deep look at Chen Mo on the hospital bed, a complex light flashing in her cold eyes.

She did not speak, merely nodding toward Bureau Chief Zhou.

Then, like a true phantom, she vanished at the end of the corridor... Three days later.

Jiang City First People's Hospital, VIP ward.

The sun was shining brightly.

Chen Mo slowly opened his eyes.

This time, he felt no pain, nor did he feel any fatigue.

His body was like a precision instrument that had been completely reassembled, filled with unprecedented power.

[Ding!]

The cold system prompt sounded in his mind.

[Congratulations to the host for completing the phased achievement "In the Name of the Devil."]

[Sin Value Reward: 2 million points!]

[System functions have been fully upgraded!]

[Sin Skynet (Provincial Level): Perception range covers the entire province, capable of initially filtering "Sin Heartbeats" with intense malice!]

[Causality Tracing (Intermediate Level): Can consume Sin Value to trace the "Causal Chain" of a single target's death, revealing the series of key people and events that led to their demise!]

[Eye of Judgment (Intermediate Level): With just a glance, one can roughly determine the strength of the "Aura of Sin" surrounding the target and make a preliminary judgment on whether they bear heavy guilt!]

Chen Mo slowly sat up.

He could feel that the entire world, within his perception, had become clearer, more... transparent.

"You're awake?"

Su Qingxue's voice sounded beside his ear.

She walked over, carrying a bowl of steaming chicken soup.

Her complexion had returned to its usual rosy state.

The eyes that were usually cold as frost now held a hint of tenderness that even she had not noticed.

"'Raven' confessed."

She placed the bowl on the bedside table and said softly.

"His psychological defenses completely collapsed the moment you threw him into the crowd."

"He revealed all the 'Emperor' organization's strongholds in the Asia region, as well as a list of some peripheral members."

"Nightingale and her team have already started the roundup."

Chen Mo nodded, showing no surprise whatsoever.

"Then... what about 'Emperor'?"

Su Qingxue's eyes dimmed slightly.

"He vanished."

"The island was razed to the ground. But we didn't find any bodies, nor did we find any... trace that could prove his existence."

"He just evaporated from this world, like a true phantom."

Chen Mo smiled.

"He won't disappear."

"He is just waiting for the curtain to rise on the next game."

Just then.

The door to the ward was gently pushed open.

Bureau Chief Zhou walked in.

His face carried an unprecedented gravity.

He placed a document sealed in a brown paper bag, stamped with the words "Top Secret," in front of Chen Mo.

"This is the latest intelligence passed down from the higher-ups concerning the 'doomsday clock' plan..."

Chen Mo's gaze fell upon the file bag.

He did not open it.

He just looked at it quietly.

"'doomsday clock' is not a person."

Bureau Chief Zhou's voice was hoarse, as if rubbed with sandpaper.

"It is a... codename."

"A codename for twelve 'seeds' selected globally by 'Emperor'."

"Each 'seed' has been implanted with that biological crystal chip."

"They are scattered all over the world and could be anyone: an office worker, a university professor, or even... the cleaner currently tidying your room."

"And 'Emperor' can activate them at any time, in any location."

"To trigger a disaster... that we cannot predict or stop."

The ward fell into a deathly silence.

Su Qingxue's face instantly turned pale.

Twelve... mobile time bombs.

This was the "Emperor's" true killing move!

"We just received an urgent notification from Interpol."

Bureau Chief Zhou's voice was filled with helplessness.

"In Tokyo, in London, in Paris..."

"The financial systems of three cities have already suffered attacks identical to the one in Jiang City."

"'Emperor' is declaring war on the entire world."

Chen Mo did not speak.

He merely opened the brown paper bag slowly.

There were no documents inside, no reports.

Only a photograph.

A black and white photograph.

In the photo were twelve children.

They were wearing matching patient gowns, standing on the lawn of what looked like an orphanage.

They were smiling at the camera.

Their smiles were innocent and carefree.

Chen Mo's gaze swept across those young faces.

Then, his pupils suddenly contracted!

Among the twelve children, he saw a familiar face.

A boy from fifteen years ago, with short hair and a hint of stubbornness in his eyes.

Gao Fan.

"This is..."

"This is a group photo from that orphanage, taken before the 'Severed Finger Nursery Rhyme' case."

Bureau Chief Zhou's voice was filled with exhaustion.

"Those twelve 'doomsday clocks' were all chosen by 'Emperor' from that orphanage."

"They... are all survivors... of that tragedy."

Chen Mo's heart sank abruptly!

He understood!

He understood everything!

"Emperor" wasn't selecting "seeds."

He was... taking revenge!

He was enacting a revenge, fifteen years late, for the "sacrifices" who should have died fifteen years ago but did not!

"Chen Mo."

Bureau Chief Zhou's gaze fixed on him.

His eyes held an unprecedented, almost entrustment-like solemnity.

"Now, the whole world needs you."

"It needs your 'eyes' and your 'ears'."

"Go find the remaining eleven 'doomsday clocks' for me, pull them out from the sea of humanity."

Chen Mo did not reply.

He just looked at the photograph, looking at the twelve innocently smiling children.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

His consciousness once again sank into the invisible web composed of billions of heartbeats.

In that noisy ocean.

He had to find eleven devilish heartbeats... that were counting down.

A global war.

It was only just beginning now.