Chapter Two: Yin and Yang Collide, Crimson Threads Unleashed!

The International Jewelry Conference was being held with great pomp in the central tower of H City. Dressed in a black suit, Wang Luo presented an invitation and entered without incident.

Inside the building, all manner of jewels radiated an enchanting brilliance, catching the eyes of everyone present. Wang Luo admired the dazzling array, all the while contemplating: should he help himself to a few pieces while he was here?

Of course, it was only a fleeting thought. His true target was the Yin Fish Head. He couldn’t afford to lose sight of the greater prize for a moment’s gain. He would secure the Taiji Yin Fish Head first. As for whether he would actually deliver it to his employer, he’d decide that later. If the small-time thief business didn’t work out, he could always fall back on being an assassin—that was his real line of work, after all!

Once inside, Wang Luo slipped through an inconspicuous door and followed the stairwell down to the third basement level. After shedding his suit, he revealed a tight-fitting black bodysuit and advanced deeper into the sublevels.

As if guided by unseen foresight, Wang Luo deftly avoided the traps and guards one after another. At last, after dispatching the final two sentinels, he stood before a glass door.

A flurry of taps on a small keypad beside the door, and the glass slid open automatically. Wang Luo slipped inside, repeated the process on another door, and soon found himself in a small chamber.

Seven crystal display pedestals stood within. Six around the edges each cradled a treasure of immense value. At the center, the seventh pedestal displayed something far more bizarre: his target, the Taiji Yin Fish Head.

Wang Luo donned a pair of oversized goggles resembling a diver’s mask, took a deep breath, and cautiously approached the pedestal, moving in a most peculiar fashion.

In the short distance of a dozen meters, he advanced and retreated, zigzagged left and right, sometimes crawling, sometimes leaping, taking nearly a full minute to reach the pedestal.

He removed his goggles, exhaled slowly, and tapped at the keypad on the pedestal. A compartment opened, and the Taiji Yin Fish Head—its surface covered with sinister red and black patterns—rose slowly into view.

Relief flickered across Wang Luo’s face as he watched. The defenses were formidable! Without a detailed map, he would have been caught the moment he entered. Whoever could provide such a map must hold a significant position at the conference. No matter; first, secure the Yin Fish Head.

Pushing aside all stray thoughts, Wang Luo gazed at the Taiji Yin Fish Head, now fully exposed atop the pedestal, its surface alive with twisting red and black lines. He suppressed his excitement and reached for the keypad again—when, without warning, the artifact began to float, hovering silently before him.

A shrill alarm erupted the instant the Yin Fish Head left its perch. Wang Luo snapped out of his shock and reached to seize the artifact, ready to flee. But to his horror, he found himself paralyzed, able only to move his eyes.

More unsettling still, the Yin Fish Head began to emit a faint red and black glow.

Suddenly, the sachet Wang Luo wore on his chest flew from his body, disintegrating into dust in midair, revealing within it the Taiji Yang Fish Head, marked by red and white lines.

The Yang Fish Head released a soft red and white light, meeting the red and black glow of the Yin Fish Head as they hovered, as if silently confirming each other’s identity. The recognition complete, they intertwined in a tight embrace.

Wang Luo stared in shock and curiosity at the bizarre Taiji diagram now forming before him, but anxiety soon overwhelmed all other emotions. Though only seconds had passed, it felt like hours. If he remained in that room any longer, he knew he would not survive.

The strange Taiji diagram in the air, oblivious to Wang Luo’s growing desperation, glimmered with red, white, and black light. Wang Luo struggled desperately to move, his efforts futile, but he refused to give up.

He noticed the red light within the Taiji diagram clashing against the black and white, one against two, neither side yielding.

Suddenly, a strand of red shot out, and, to Wang Luo’s growing dread, pierced his left chest—straight to his heart.

He could not guess the purpose of this crimson thread, but instinct told him it could not bode well. He wanted to resist, but he was utterly powerless, forced to watch as the thread entered his body.

At once, he felt his blood drain away, weakness flooding his nerves in waves. Anxiety, terror, and unease flashed incessantly in his eyes.

He had no idea how much time passed—it could have been seconds or centuries. His body felt like a withering flower, drained of all moisture. Dizziness assaulted his senses without mercy.

At some point, he seemed to hear the footsteps of death—soft, yet unmistakably real.

Death approached in time with his heartbeat, slow but inexorable. The fear and unrest clouding Wang Luo’s eyes gradually faded, replaced by a sense of relief.

“Perhaps, dying like this isn’t so bad. No more worries about failing the mission. No more doubts about ever gaining freedom... Only, I won’t see him again. I hope he finds his freedom one day, though it seems he rather enjoys his life now...”

With Wang Luo’s blood as fuel, the red light in the Taiji diagram suddenly overwhelmed the black and white, its power surging as it devoured the other colors. Soon, only the black and white fish eyes remained untouched, everything else submerged in a crimson haze.

Wang Luo cast a final, powerless glance at the blood-red Taiji, his eyes growing dim as he slowly closed them.

The red glow converged on the two fish eyes, preparing for a final assault. As the light surged, the Taiji shrank, condensing into a ball of thick blood light. Within it, the black and white fish eyes resisted, their faint glow striving to hold back the crimson tide.

Unable to penetrate the fish eyes, the blood light hesitated—then, like a furious wolf, lunged at them with renewed ferocity.

The glow of the fish eyes was instantly suppressed, the two dim orbs tossed about like small boats on a stormy sea, threatened with annihilation.

At last, the fish eyes faltered, a crack appearing. The blood light seized the opening and invaded.

But in that instant, the two eyes burst forth with blinding black and white radiance, filling the entire room with their light.

The next moment, all brilliance vanished. The room stood empty, save for a scattering of fine white dust.

Alternate Realm Azure Dragon 2, Chapter Two: Yin and Yang Meet, Blood Thread Rampant! End of update.