Chapter 554: Infinite Refresh

No one laughed.

No one dared to laugh.

At the center of the screen, the image uploaded from Dark Sentry Twenty‑Seven was enlarged.

Zhou Ning's ward.

By the sickbed.

The man wearing the gray stone mask pressed one hand on Zhou Ning's throat and leaned on the eyeball staff with the other, his pose so relaxed it made people want to flip the screen.

Zhou Ping stood beside him.

The seven‑eyed crown hovered above his head, dark‑red rules filling the whole ward, yet he did not take a step forward.

The duty commander's Adam's apple moved.

"Verify identity."

The technician's fingers flew over the keyboard, and dozens of match results popped up on the screen.

"The mask contours match."

"The staff's living eyeball matches."

"The gray rule residue matches."

"Target code name: Sai Men."

"Note: killed in action."

Those four words hung on the screen, stinging everyone into silence.

Killed in action.

But the thing on the screen was playing a game, choking the hostage.

The duty commander set his coffee cup on the table, the base making a soft click.

"Connect to headquarters' top level."

"Already connected." the technician replied.

"Give me the highest authorization."

The screen switched.

Federation headquarters war room.

Wei Gong had just finished the nightly summary of the Purge Abyss operation, and an unbound dossier still lay on the table.

Jiang Yuan stood by the conference table, his combat coat still not taken off, rain and dust on his shoulders.

Qin Zhixia sat on the other side, her newly fitted heavy mechanical prosthesis placed on the table's edge, its shell not yet fully tuned.

Su Ming leaned against the wall, head down, looking at the terminal.

Liang Wen set the black flame knife on his leg, unusually refraining from calling himself the Dark‑Blooded King.

The big screen lit up.

The ward's image entered everyone's field of view.

Jiang Yuan's hand stopped.

The hand holding the dark playing cards halted mid‑air.

The card's edge sliced his palm, yet he did not lower his head.

On the screen, Sai Men turned his head toward the monitor, as if greeting them through the lens.

Jiang Yuan's throat went dry.

Lin Fan's blue netherflame had burned Sai Men.

Jiang Yuan had seen it with his own eyes.

It turned to ash, scattered, the rule residue vanished, and the battlefield sampling report passed three rounds of review.

That was not a misjudgment.

But now, Sai Men has returned.

Not a remnant soul.

Not the lingering ember of a clone.

It is the complete Sai Men.

Jiang Yuan's mind flashed to the words Lu Yu had spoken in the ultra‑secret zone.

Gods cannot be defeated.

That sentence sounded like madness back then.

Now it looks like the madness lies with this bunch who just celebrated victory.

Su Ming lifted his head, his pupils constricted a fraction, then quickly relaxed.

His first reaction was not fear.

But calculation.

Sai Men can appear even after death, showing that the hidden figure possesses a refresh mechanism.

Kill him once, and you can't delete the source code.

Humanity's hard‑won victory is likely just a segment the opponent allowed them to win.

This is disgusting.

More disgusting than rule contamination.

Liang Wen lowered his gaze to his blade, and after two seconds muttered a line.

"I, the king, request to withdraw that earlier victory remark."

No one picked up the joke.

Liang Wen also didn't say anything more.

Qin Zhixia's mechanical prosthetic fingertips tightened, the metal joints emitting a brief friction sound.

She looked at Zhou Ning on the screen, and at the crown on Zhou Ping's head.

Zhou Ping is not a good person.

But Zhou Ning is not expendable cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Sai Men used a girl in a hospital bed as a bargaining chip; this act had no tactical elegance, only disgust.

Lord Wei did not rush to speak.

The old man's hand pressed on the tabletop, leaving a crease in the paper.

The on-duty analyst quickly reported.

"The Magic Capital branch has locked onto the hospital."

"Communications within three kilometers are being interfered with by the gray rules."

"Outpost twenty-seven remains online, with significant vital sign fluctuations."

"Zhou Ping has not gone berserk."

"The crown's energy level is stable, but internal conflicts are rising."

Another expert pulled up Zhou Ping's recent activity data.

"Zhou Ping accepted the overseas list given by Lord Wei, and did not follow the gods' preset route or launch a full-scale war with the Investigation Bureau."

"From the behavioral model, he retains a strong binding affection for his sister Zhou Ning."

"The purpose of Sai Men's appearance is likely not to kill Zhou Ning."

"It is to force Zhou Ping to detach from the crown."

The war room fell silent for a half beat.

The expert continued speaking, his speech speed increasing.

"The Seven-Eyed Crown counters the Deceiver system."

"If Sai Men obtains the crown, it would be as if the gods gained a unified suppression hub over our main forces."

"Jiang Yuan's Shadow, Qin Team's Unmarked Prosthetic, Liang Team's Black Flame Knife, and Su Team's Time Marrow Worm will all be included in the suppression range."

"In other words."

The expert did not finish his words.

Lord Wei finished speaking for him.

"The human defense line will collapse tonight."

As these words fell, many people around the conference table straightened their backs.

Jiang Yuan lifted his eyes.

"Chief, I'll go."

"I'll go too." Qin Zhixia reattached her mechanical prosthetic to the shoulder interface, sweat beading on her forehead from the pain, but she ignored it.

Liang Wen stood up and slung the knife onto his shoulder.

"Add me one."

Su Ming put away the terminal.

"I suggest we split into three routes."

Lord Wei raised his hand, quelling all contention.

"Follow orders."

All communication stations in the hall simultaneously switched to the combat channel.

Lord Wei stood up.

The old man's spine was ramrod straight, his gray-white hair appearing even whiter under the light.

"Magic Capital branch, blockade the hospital's outer perimeter, evacuate civilians, do not forcibly assault the wards."

"Air service team, complete takeoff within two minutes."

"Technology Department, keep watch on Outpost Twenty-Seven, retaining every frame she sends."

"Medical Team, get ready."

"Jiang Yuan, Qin Zhixia, Liang Wen, Su Ming, form the first echelon."

"Target."

Lord Wei paused for half a second.

"Prevent Sai Men from obtaining the crown."

Zhou Ping is a threat.

Also a variable that the gods do not want humanity to grasp.

But if tonight we let Sai Men win, there will be no need to talk about order, law, or the bigger picture afterward.

The red combat lights on the table all lit up.

Lord Wei picked up the communicator.

"All units, advance."

"Intercept him."

Three minutes later.

Headquarters underground hangar.

Black armed helicopters started up one after another.

The wind pressure in the hangar was great; ground crew bent low and ran, their hand signals a blur.

Jiang Yuan walks at the front, the card bag fastened at his waist.

He lowers his head to tidy the poker cards, shuffling them one by one.

The blood on his fingertip is smeared on the card edge, quickly swallowed by shadow.

Jiang Yuan dislikes this feeling.

The enemy dies and reappears.

The comrades' sacrifice, Lin Fan's blade, the victory won by so many on the front line—all are lightly turned over by that hand behind the scenes.

Not liking it is useless.

The battlefield doesn't care about emotions.

Either fight.

Or wait to be written into the casualty list.

Qin Zhixia follows beside, the heavy mechanical prosthesis already locked.

The prosthesis is thicker than the model she originally used, with an external energy compartment added at the shoulder-back position, producing fine mechanical friction when walking.

Medical staff catch up.

"Qin Team, your vital signs are unqualified; at least take a painkiller."

Qin Zhixia glances at him.

"Will Sai Men wait for me to finish the injection?"

Medical staff falls silent, slipping the painkiller patch into her hand.

"Apply it on the way."

Qin Zhixia takes it.

"Thanks."

Liang Wen, before boarding, looks back at the headquarters passage.

Usually at this time, he would strike a pose and say something that makes people's toes curl.

Not today.

He lays the Black Flame Knife across his knees, lowering his head to check the scabbard's fastening clasp.

Su Ming sits in the innermost seat, the terminal connected to the structural diagram of Magic City Hospital.

"The ward is located on the east side of the seventeenth floor of the Inpatient Department."

"Ordinary stairs and elevators have been contaminated by gray mist."

"Suggest breaking in through the outer wall."

Liang Wen lifts his head.

"Climb through the window?"

Su Ming looks at him.

"You can also go through the main entrance and register in the lobby by the way."

Liang Wen nods.

"Great, Su Team's deadpan humor is back, showing the situation hasn't gone completely to hell."

Jiang Yuan presses the last card into his palm.

"Don't underestimate the enemy."

"No one underestimates the enemy." Su Ming throws the fragmented hospital surveillance footage into the cabin's center, "Sai Men can reappear, showing he is not life in the conventional sense."

Qin Zhixia responds: "Then we interrupt his objective."

"Right." Su Ming stares at the screen: "Tonight is not a kill match, but a protection mission."

Liang Wen moves his shoulder a bit.

"Protect Zhou Ning, stabilize Zhou Ping, and mess up the situation before Sai Men takes the crown."

After speaking, he pauses.

"This mission sounds fitting for writing a last will."

Jiang Yuan doesn't look at him.

"Come back alive and then write a review."

Liang Wen finally smiles a little.

"Jiang Team, your consoling skills suggest you shouldn't switch to psychological counseling."

The cabin air pressure is very low.

That cheesy line actually loosens the shoulders of several people by half an inch.

The helicopter rises.

The rain batters the cabin door, the night sliced into patches by warning lights.

Dozens of black armed helicopters take off from the headquarters direction, formation pressing toward Magic City Hospital.

In the aircraft communications, all are reports from various branches.

"Outer blockade completed."

"Forty percent of low-floor hospital personnel have been evacuated."

"Gray mist concentration on the seventeenth floor is rising."

"Outpost twenty-seven lost signal for fifteen seconds, reacquired, still alive."

Jiang Yuan lifts his head.

"Patch her channel to me."

After the static, Feng Xiaoya's suppressed breathing comes through.

"Here, dark sentry number twenty-seven."

Jiang Yuan said: "I am Jiang Yuan. Your position?"

"Behind the fire cabinet on the west side of the seventeenth floor."

Feng Xiaoya spoke very quickly.

"Sai Men is still in the ward, Zhou Ping is preparing to remove the crown, I'm not sure how long I can hold out."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Have you been exposed?"

There was a half-second pause there.

"Look at Sai Men's despicable look; he should have seen me by now."

The communication fell silent for a moment.

Jiang Yuan looked out the window.

The hospital building came into view.

On the east side of the seventeenth floor, a ward was lit with a glaring light.

Other areas of the building were evacuating and losing power; only that ward was blazingly bright.

Like a dance floor light deliberately left by Sai Men.

Jiang Yuan withdrew his gaze.

The driver turned back and shouted: "We've reached the outer target, twenty-second countdown."

Inside the cabin, everyone stood up.

Qin Zhixia pressed the pain-relief patch to the junction of her shoulder and neck, and the energy compartments of her mechanical prosthetic lit up one by one.

Liang Wen raised his knife, left hand pressing the hilt.

Su Ming stowed the terminal into his chest tactical pouch, the darkness in his eyes deepening.

Jiang Yuan stepped to the cabin door.

The fierce wind and rain poured into the cabin, the combat uniform flapping loudly.

He lowered his head and glanced at the card in his palm.

That card was the King of Spades.

Shadows crept along the edge of the card face.

Jiang Yuan didn't wonder why Sai Men could return.

Jiang Yuan now only does one thing.

Bring the person out.

Leave the crown in human hands.

Drive Sai Men out of that ward.

As the helicopter hovered outside the hospital building.

The cabin door opened fully.

Jiang Yuan did not wait for the rope.

He leapt down.

Shadows spread beneath his feet, a black tide surged wildly up the exterior wall to the seventeenth floor.