Chapter Seventeen: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

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The next day, a steady drizzle fell from the sky. Throughout the entire day, Yin Nian couldn't focus on her work. Though she was physically present at the company, her mind had long drifted elsewhere, endlessly consumed by restless, anxious thoughts. She felt an uneasy agitation within her heart.

Today, Yan Ming did not call her, nor did Yuan Yin. She spent the day in a state of waiting and anticipation, accomplishing nothing, yet she was left utterly exhausted. She disliked this feeling. She preferred to take action, to soothe her restless mind through the act of doing, but now the case had reached a stalemate. There was very little she could do, and she could find no clear path for investigation.

As the workday neared its end, Yin Nian dialed Yan Ming's number to ask about any progress. Yan Ming seemed—

After returning to the young man's side, Li Song spoke up at once, stating that he would intervene in the matter, prompting the young man to thank him loudly.

On one side of Aunt Wu sat Wu Bailu, and on the other side of Lady Mo sat Cheng Yu. Mo Anlin was seated beside Cheng Yu, while Gu Xinling was next to Wu Bailu.

To put it bluntly, he loved power, but he cherished his life even more. If he were to die, then truly, all would be lost. To Gong Zekun, the imperial consort was Mo Ran's savior; he owed her a great debt.

Xu Lang's brow furrowed—he hadn't expected this girl to actually be Xu Jin's classmate's younger sister. Had he been overthinking things?

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Cen'er had also been locked up, but Gong Zekun was not entirely ruthless—her rations remained the same as before, with nothing skimped or cut.

With Wang Feng's unfathomable strength, if he could do it once and twice, surely he could do it a third time. If they kept fighting, wouldn't she just end up caught by him again?

And after absorbing a vast quantity of primordial energy from the Boundary Sea, it gradually transformed into an immense, unfathomably dark sphere of void.

Mei Liangyu saw the look of utter resolve in Si Qingge's eyes and reached out to cover Mo Ran's eyes.

While the scar-faced young man was letting his imagination run wild, there was a sudden bang as someone kicked the door open.

At thirty-one, the Colombian man was, to these younger teammates, increasingly like a true veteran.

Wanyan Zongwang and the others had long since lost their former elegance and vigor. Their faces were haggard, and in their eyes as they looked at Liu Xie, one could glimpse, in addition to barely concealed hatred, a genuine, deep-seated fear.

Judging from the small glimpse he'd already shown, someone of that level could kill him in a single breath.

"Evil? What is evil? Do you really think you can sense evil in me?" Li Fan sneered. Though his face bore no expression, it was easy to imagine his thoughts.

Li Fan was entirely unaware of what was happening outside the door. He only knew he had to succeed this time; his time was running out. If he failed here, he would have to wait years before he could attempt to form the core again—something he could not accept.

Jiang Wei's gaze sharpened as he looked at the doors. His fingers curled into a fist crackling with lightning and he struck out hard once more.

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Li Tiezhu offered a slight smile to Li Fan, saying that it seemed Li Fan had always thought himself an ordinary child, but that was a mistake.

As for Zhang Dongyang, he looked at the bag of sunflower seeds in his hand, leaned back against the car, and began cracking them open.

Anyone with sense could see the current situation clearly; not to mention researching how to defeat the virus, it was difficult enough just to find a safe place to rest.

Human masters in the mortal world were rare. Over the years, he would occasionally come to the world of the living for amusement, but had never met a worthy Daoist, let alone a true master.

However, the rest of the family also showed blatant favoritism toward Bai Niannian, which was something Yu Rongrong found hard to accept.

Now, Meng Ningxian was preparing to restart the business. She had also considered how to avoid conflict with the Meng family, and would try not to source goods from the same suppliers as Hu Guizhi to spare herself much trouble.

He watched Wu Lue, Yu Qing, and Pei Lan with their awkward postures and shook his head in secret. Those three needed a lot more practice. Only Zhang Ya was passable; she handled her trekking pole with skill and showed no hesitation in dispatching zombies.

Most of those who had witnessed it all those years ago had already graduated, and only a few higher-ups retained any real memory of it.