125: Thunderous wrath, destruction overnight

At the Long Family Headquarters, in the council hall located deep within the Forbidden Ground, symbolizing the highest authority.

The atmosphere was as cold as iron.

Long Zhanye quietly watched the “evidence” transmitted by Lin Tian on the light screen—a segment imprinted with a Soul mark, impossible to alter by any technology.

In the footage, Third Prince Qin Wushuang of the Qin Family’s face, contorted by jealousy, was so clear. His malicious command, “Not only kill him, but also make the woman by his side perish with him,” echoed slowly like the most grating noise in the dead silent council hall.

When the image finally froze on the emblem of the infamous killer group, “Crimson Crown,” to which those S-rank Peak assassins belonged, Long Zhanye’s eyes, usually as still as an ancient well, for the first time, ignited with a towering rage capable of incinerating an entire star to ashes.

“Good… What a Qin Family!”

“What a… ‘Crimson Crown’!”

He slowly stood up, and the terrifying aura of an S-Class Expert was no longer restrained in the slightest, like an awakened primordial divine mountain, causing the entire council hall’s space to emit a mournful groan under the immense pressure.

“To touch the Long Family’s bottom line, and even… to set sights on the Long Family’s ‘Alpha’…”

He walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the vast enterprise below, like a steel forest. His voice was cold, devoid of any emotion, as if pronouncing a predetermined outcome.

Without any hesitation, he directly used his highest authority to issue the highest-level clean-up directive to “Candle Dragon,” the Long Family’s super-intelligent brain that controlled countless secret forces, since the “Rift War.”

“Class A Cleanup Protocol, initiated.”

“Target: ‘Crimson Crown’.”

“Directive: Erase all traces of its existence on Earth.”

...[Montage]

The moment the order was given, the Long Family’s colossal and intricate war machine, dormant beneath the facade of world peace, began to operate silently, like an awakened abyssal beast.

[Europe, Geneva, a private bank’s underground vault]

The “Crimson Crown” CFO, who was chatting and laughing with a certain country’s dignitary in a cigar bar, suddenly heard a piercing alarm from the terminal on his wrist, which represented the highest authority. His face changed, and he immediately rushed into the vault, only to discover in horror that the group’s secret accounts, split into countless portions across hundreds of banks worldwide, were simultaneously subjected to a tsunami-like, incomprehensible financial assault! Trillions of vast funds were strangled, devoured, zeroed out, and evaporated within a mere three minutes by an even larger, more unreasonable torrent of capital!

[South America, Amazon Rainforest, secret training base]

Hundreds of “Crimson Crown” trainee assassins, undergoing brutal training, hadn’t even reacted to what was happening before they saw the space above the base crack open like a shattered mirror. Dozens of Long Family special forces members, clad in night-dark “Shadow” combat suits and wearing ferocious Dragon-patterned masks, descended like phantoms. There were no warnings, no idle words, only cold, efficient slaughter, as if cleaning up garbage.

[Japan, Tokyo, a top-tier club]

The “Crimson Crown” Asia-Pacific head, a powerful swordsman who had reached S-rank, was enjoying top-tier service. Suddenly, a violent warning blared in his heart, and a fatal sense of crisis enveloped him! Without thinking, he drew his sword, and his S-rank protective sword Qi erupted! However, a shadow, faster, colder, and more lethal than his sword, had already appeared behind him. In the shadow’s hand, a short blade made of dark matter, seemingly capable of absorbing all light, silently sliced across his throat… From the financial peaks of Wall Street to the diamond mines of Africa; from ancient castles in Europe to underground networks in Asia… A global, silent, yet utterly bloody “cleanup” operation unfolded simultaneously in the dark of night, unknown to everyone.

The Long Family’s “Shadow Unit” reaped every name on the list with precision, like reapers walking among mortals.

The Long Family’s “Financial Empire,” like the most greedy beast, mercilessly devoured every ill-gotten gain associated with “Crimson Crown.”

This was an all-encompassing strike… from the physical level to the economic level, and then to the existential level.

This was a… war of extermination… Overnight, the world order was in turmoil.

When the first rays of morning sunlight illuminated the planet the next day, a terrifying piece of news, enough to make all underground forces worldwide tremble and fall silent, spread like a plague.

The top assassin group, “Crimson Crown,” which had been passed down for centuries, had hands stained with the blood of countless dignitaries, magnates, and even S-Class Experts, was hailed as the “uncrowned king of the underworld,” and made countless heads of state shudder and feign compliance… was gone.

Its hundreds of secret strongholds worldwide were uprooted overnight, leaving rivers of blood.

All its registered and unregistered members, from the high-ranking S-rank leaders to the outermost cleaners, totaling over thirty-seven thousand people, perished without exception, all beheaded.

Its vast assets, accumulated over centuries and rivaling a nation’s wealth, were zeroed out and evaporated overnight, as if they had never existed.

It was thoroughly and cleanly erased from this Earth.

Everyone knew who did it.

And only “he” had the strength, the confidence, and the… unreasonable dominance to do such a thing.

The Long Family!

That night, the Long Family issued no statements, admitted nothing. But this silence was more intimidating than any frantic declaration.

With a bloody and ruthless “extermination tragedy,” it sent the clearest and coldest signal to all hidden enemies around the world—

The Long Family’s reverse scale must not be touched.

And Lin Tian was that core, untouchable reverse scale… touch it and die!

...Inside Lin Tian’s villa, it was calm and peaceful, with quiet years.

The morning sun, streaming through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, spilled onto the floor, warm and pleasant. The rich aroma of top-grade coffee beans, brewed by Qin Yubing herself, permeated the air.

Lin Tian sat leisurely on the sofa, listening to Long Ling'er’s report, which was devoid of any emotional fluctuations, like reading a weather forecast.

“…Report complete. Last night, the Family’s ‘Shadow Unit’ completed the Class A cleanup mission against ‘Crimson Crown.’ The target has been confirmed to be completely eradicated, and all associated assets have been received. Master, do you need to view the detailed action report?”

Lin Tian picked up his coffee, took a small sip, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.

He merely nodded calmly, as if he had just heard something trivial like “the weather is nice today.”

Then, he put down his coffee cup and asked, his tone suggesting that the global storm of blood and gore that had just passed was less important than his next question.

“Oh, right.”

“That Ye Fan, recently… what has he been up to?”