Chapter 81: Publicity and Chen Ling’s Unconventional Maneuvers

I hadn’t yet found the courage to confess everything to my friends. Because of Lu Jingzhong’s sensitive identity, I simply couldn’t find the words to say it. I wanted to apologize sincerely, but no suitable phrase would come to mind. Guo Xi felt overwhelmed with guilt as she met Yang Qing’s gaze.

The hallway was shrouded in darkness, despite it being noon. Only faint slivers of natural light slipped through cracks in the skylight above. After the meeting ended, many people came forward to congratulate Walker, eager to befriend him.

But I couldn’t afford to care about any of that! As long as Gao Xianzhi was eliminated, no price would be too high! Tara Lidan’s once-hesitant, sinister eyes grew resolute again, as unyielding as the newly fortified walls of Dalros rising behind him.

Every joint of the puppet had been rigged with sturdy wires, allowing its movements to appear agile and lifelike. Yet now, every string that gave it life had been severed.

Although the surgery was now considered very safe, it was still an operation, and danger lingered. Especially after Father had given those experts such strict orders. At last, I was pushed into the operating room beneath countless anxious, caring gazes.

Yun Zi watched the elderly lady depart and shook her head gently. She simply couldn’t feel close to her grandmother, no matter her demeanor now.

An Wen approached, sat down, and began to prepare tea with her own hands. Her movements were slow and methodical—undeniably the gestures of someone versed in the art of tea.

The appearance of the man with the thick beard here confirmed our earlier suspicions. An entire shipful of people had been dragged beneath the water by something unknown. We hadn’t even determined whether it was some kind of monster before the deaths began.

But this time was different. Yin Jin knew he was dreaming, so his courage swelled.

The bear warriors were undoubtedly Qianshuiqing’s greatest source of power—normally kept in reserve, rarely used since his arrival at Zhishui, serving more as a deterrent than open force.

The “pseudo-ice crystal” produced by Tatobon’s biosynthetic technology was unlike any other on the market.

Another explosive crash echoed—this time, the arrow itself burst apart, sending shards of iron everywhere. At such close range, its force rivaled that of a machine-gun round.

The ancient Fire Lizard rolled its eyes at the Roc, exuding an air of amused indifference.

As Elder Kaba entered, he was immediately greeted by shifting waves of colored light.

Shi Hua moved closer, her hand sliding down from his shoulder to his waist, embracing his strong body from behind.

Tian Maoping nodded. Their relationship was a peculiar one—part mentor, part friend, each silently caring for the other.

On the battlefield, as the cavalry met, savage flesh-beasts clashed with armored robots, and the weakness of the light cavalry became glaringly obvious.

At that moment, Liu Ye faced a dilemma. Even though the ritual’s energy had lessened with the loss of the simulation crystal, the power he absorbed still far exceeded his body’s limit.

These people had all known hardship for too long. Every household item was an heirloom, passed down through generations, too precious to abandon. They would rather endure suffering than part with them.

Zuo Zhongyu dared not ask further and left immediately. Against such overwhelming force, he knew better than to act rashly.

The furious Chi Ren leapt up, cheeks marked—one side with a vivid red handprint, the other with a red footprint. His glare brimmed with venomous resentment, but the blow and the kick had utterly shattered his bravado. Who had ever seen someone slap a face with a foot?

The simulated autumn arrived. The wind was bleak, the grass turning gold. The sense of comfort was gone, replaced by desolation.

At the command, the old navy’s ships without steel-armed crossbows retreated at once, continuing to fire upon the enemy fleet as they withdrew.

After getting out of the car, Lin Fan looked up. This was a villa district—housing only the wealthy of Linsi.

He knew Wan Mengying was testing his psychological limits, but Xin Wuchen was always thick-skinned. This little test was nothing.

A Li sent Mrs. Yang off with the child to a neighbor’s house. Then she wrapped the boy’s clothes around a pillow, covered it with a quilt, and finally turned off the light.

The system immediately followed Xia Xuan’s instructions and extracted the power from the dragon’s horn left behind by the True Dragon.

She slowly, slowly untangled the cord, slipping it around her neck… In her daze, she seemed to see her long-dead husband returning, smiling at her with infectious delight.

Ren Yaohua joked, “I almost feel sorry for Fifth Aunt… She’s always being used as someone else’s pawn.”

With that, Su Qing really did turn her back on Mo Yanye. If this went on, she’d be unable to keep from cursing. That damn Mo Yanye—he always knew how to push her buttons.

Suddenly, the piercing beep of an alarm interrupted him. His laughter stopped abruptly, as if a duck’s throat had been squeezed mid-quack.

Ye Xinghun and Qin Yurou’s rehearsal spot was none other than Qin Yurou’s presidential suite.

“But why does he keep touching my legs…” Fu Hanyan looked at the man before her with complicated feelings. Her legs might be numb, but that didn’t mean she could tolerate a man handling them so brazenly.

After months of cultivating the Ice and Fire Divine Technique, Haoran could sense his innate fire gradually strengthening with each session.

“Auntie, the weather’s turning cold. I wanted to invite the young mistress inside, but she refused and pushed me to the ground,” Lan Qin sobbed, tears streaking down her face in a pitiable display.

“Tiger Roar, we’ve been friends for thousands of years. How could you treat me like this?” Lion Gang shouted.

Yu Bai silently shuddered, taking away the ring with its sharp, bloodstained inner edge to destroy the evidence.

In that instant, Yue Qiubai shook his body, transforming into a stream of data that slipped away silently into the night.

Xia Hou grinned as he spoke, but before Xia Xun could unleash her fury, Bai Xiu—sitting on the rock beside Xia Hou—kicked him hard. The blow sent Xia Hou stumbling, nearly rolling down the mountain path.

Yet around the place where Lu Qinhou had fallen, there was no sign of fire damage. Where had the renowned power of the “Hundredfold Fiendflame” gone?