Chapter 555: An Unsolvable Question

The outer wall of the sickroom first bulged.

In the next second, shadow seeped out from the wall cracks; black soldiers formed two ranks and, with shoulder guards and long blades, forced the wall open.

Concrete fragments flew into the room.

Rainwater poured in after it.

The lights in the sickroom flashed three times.

Jiang Yuan landed on the shadow, his combat boots grinding over broken glass, his right hand gripping an Ace of Spades between two fingers.

The card faced the shadow, its edge thin and gleaming.

Qin Zhixia entered from his left, raising her mechanical prosthetic; its palm glowed with blue energy aimed at the bedside.

Liang Wen landed last, Black Flame Knife held before him, his cuffs soaked and hair messy.

This time he didn't strike a pose.

The sickroom was too narrow.

So narrow that even joking felt like it wasted space.

Zhou Ning's face was covered in sweat, his throat constricted by gray mist, too afraid to cry out forcefully.

Zhou Ping stood at the foot of the bed.

The Seven-Eyed Crown hovered above his head, dark red chains coiled around his arms, and the floor and walls were cracked where the rules had pressed.

Sai Men sat in the chair beside the sickbed.

A gray stone mask covered his face, an eyeball staff leaned against his knee, and his other hand gripped Zhou Ning's throat.

He did not dodge.

Nor was he startled.

"Sai Men......"

Two words were forced from between Jiang Yuan's teeth.

Jiang Yuan did not let his emotions flare.

The target was not to kill Sai Men.

At least not for now.

The target was Zhou Ning, the crown, and keeping Zhou Ping from losing control.

Three things—miss one, and someone dies.

And the death toll won't be small.

Sai Men raised his staff, turned his wrist, tipped an imaginary hat, and bowed to the crowd.

"Welcome, all you overtime workers."

"A stormy night, a hospital, a hostage situation, heroes dropping in."

"Composition fine, pacing fine—just could you have knocked when you came? Who's paying for the wall repairs?"

Liang Wen stared at him.

"You aren't already burned to nothing, are you?"

Sai Men tilted his head.

"Oh, the Dark-Blooded King still remembers me—what an honor."

Qin Zhixia did not respond.

She looked at Zhou Ning's throat wrapped in gray mist, at Zhou Ping's trembling shoulders.

Zhou Ping was enduring.

His endurance was hard to watch.

That endurance isn't calm; it's cramming all killing intent back into the bones, and if it won't fit, gritting the teeth to hold it down.

Qin Zhixia has seen too many like them.

Once they break, there will be no winners in the room.

"Zhou Ping."

Qin Zhixia spoke.

"Look at me. Don't be led around."

Zhou Ping did not turn around.

"You really came fast."

Hoarse and dry.

Not gratitude.

Nor hostility.

It's the exhaustion of being driven into a corner while still having to judge whether the newcomer will stab.

Jiang Yuan stepped forward half a step.

Sai Men curled his fingers.

A broken gasp came from Zhou Ning's throat, his body tensed, tears sliding from the corners of his eyes.

Jiang Yuan stopped.

The Ace of Spades did not fall.

"Don't move her," he said.

Sai Men patted the eyeball atop his staff.

That eyeball turned toward Jiang Yuan, its pupil shrinking to a red dot.

"Mr. Jiang Yuan, that line of yours lacks originality."

The villain held hostages, and the hero said, "Don't move her."

The audience could recite the lines.

Su Ming's communication came through Jiang Yuan's ear.

"I'm on the west side of the outer wall. Gray Mist has sealed the corridor, the fire escape is contaminated. The ward space has been folded; forcing entry would hit Zhou Ning."

Jiang Yuan replied softly, "Can you buy time?"

"Sai Men's gray rules are incomplete, but they're sufficiently filthy. I can stall for 0.7 seconds, though the cost is high."

0.7 seconds.

Qin Zhixia's mechanical arm's energy port moved toward the Gray Mist node.

She was calculating the angle.

As long as we break through that stretch of Gray Mist, Zhou Ning can break free for half a second.

But Sai Men is not an ordinary Weird.

Half a second might be a door.

Or it might be a pit.

Zhou Ping finally turned his head and looked toward Jiang Yuan.

"Do you want to save her?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "Yes."

"Or do you want to save the crown?"

Jiang Yuan did not pause.

"Save them both."

Zhou Ping chuckled, scraping out a harsh sound from his throat.

"Truly greedy."

Jiang Yuan said, "Tonight we can only be greedy."

Zhou Ping stared at him, the dark red patterns in his seven-layered pupils jumping wildly.

He does not trust the Federation.

But Jiang Yuan dares to come alone to the shipyard, dares to lay the list before him, and dares to admit it's a borrowed knife.

Such people are not clean, but they are not hypocritical.

Zhou Ping needs this judgment.

Because his sister is still on the bed.

Sai Men suddenly clapped.

The applause was slow, drawn out.

"Very moving."

"The underworld's revenge king, the government's top worker, the one-armed valkyrie, and the chuunibyou guy."

"You're standing in a room, yet you haven't even started fighting each other."

"That's unreasonable."

Gray Mist crawled up from the bottom of the cane, extending along the hospital bed's railing.

Zhou Ning's eyelids trembled badly.

That mass of Gray Mist halted above her right eye, turning into several thin, sharp tips that touched her pupil, just an inch away from falling.

Zhou Ning had held it in for a long time, and finally broke down.

"Brother......"

That sentence tore open all of Zhou Ping's disguises.

Dark Red Chains swept across the ward, the ceiling light tubes shattered, and Shadow Soldiers were pressed down to half-kneeling.

Jiang Yuan's shoulder sank, and the Ace of Spades almost slipped from his hand.

Qin Zhixia's mechanical arm emitted an overload alarm.

Liang Wen's Black Flame Knife was pressed down half an inch, and he gritted his teeth and cursed.

"Holy shit, this crown is too unfriendly to those who deal with the Weird—bad review, must give a bad review."

Zhou Ping ignored him.

"Sai Men."

He spoke each word very slowly.

"If you dare touch her, I'll leave you not even ashes."

Sai Men spread his hands.

"I've experienced it once; the experience was just ordinary."

He rose from the chair, tapping his cane on the floor.

The ward door closed on its own.

Rainwater outside the wall crack was blocked by Gray Mist, and the shadow Jiang Yuan had spread on the outer wall was cut off halfway.

The space narrowed.

All the lights went out.

Only the crown's dark red and Qin Zhixia's mechanical arm's faint blue remained lit.

Sai Men turned toward Zhou Ping.

"Seven-Eyed King, I've changed my mind."

"Ending it like this directly is too lacking in aesthetic."

You love your sister so much, let's play something more engaging.

Zhou Ping's gaze fixed on Zhou Ning, the chains on his arm tighten.

Sai Men pressed the eyeball at the tip of his staff against Zhou Ning's forehead.

As long as you can kill all these official hounds in this small room, I won't harm your sister.

He paused, his tone light.

Otherwise, she won't get away without losing her hands and feet.

No one spoke in the ward.

Jiang Yuan's breathing dropped low.

The situation changed.

Originally it was to blackmail Zhou Ping into suicide and hand over the crown.

Now it's become using Zhou Ping's hands to kill them.

What's worse is, Zhou Ping has this ability.

The Seven-Eyed Crown counters the Guile Controllers.

At this distance, Jiang Yuan's Shadow Soldiers already show a tendency to kneel.

Qin Zhixia's Unlit Prosthetic began to malfunction.

Liang Wen's Black Flame Knife's flame patterns flickered.

Sai Men wasn't trying to win a fight.

He wanted to rip apart the trust the human faction had just regained.

If Zhou Ping makes a move, the Federation will put him on a wanted list.

If Jiang Yuan acts, there will be no room for reconciliation between the sides.

Both sides have no way out.

Jiang Yuan looked at Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping, your sister wouldn't want you to do this.

Zhou Ping turned his head.

His face was covered in water, unclear whether it was rain or sweat.

Don't use her to educate me.

Jiang Yuan did not retreat.

I'm not educating you. I'm reminding you, what Sai Men wants is for you to kill us.

I certainly understand.

Zhou Ping raised his hand.

The Dark Red Chains crawled along the ground toward Jiang Yuan's feet.

But I only have one sister.

That sentence was light.

And hard to respond to.

Qin Zhixia suddenly spoke.

Then let me take her place.

Jiang Yuan turned his head.

Team Leader Qin...

Qin Zhixia stepped forward half a step, her mechanical prosthetic releasing its energy port, palm facing outward.

Sai Men wants the official hounds dead. Fine. I'll go first.

Liang Wen glared over.

Hey, don't just add drama.

Qin Zhixia didn't look at him.

Zhou Ping, if you want to buy time for your sister, start with me.

Zhou Ping's hand halted in midair.

He hadn't expected Qin Zhixia to say that.

A low laugh came from beneath Sai Men's mask.

Beautiful, a sacrifice play.

Too bad, I don't accept hostage swaps.

The tip of the Gray Mist pressed down half an inch.

Zhou Ning's scream caught in her throat, her body jerking.

Zhou Ping growled low, the chains surged.

Jiang Yuan's Ace of Spades flipped, shadow spreading from beneath the card to block a segment of the uncontrolled, bursting chains.

Two rules collided, no sparks, only pressure.

The Shadow Soldiers lowered their heads and knelt, their armor cracking.

Jiang Yuan's veins bulged on the back of his hand, the card face bent under pressure.

The crown counters him too strongly.

But he cannot retreat.

If he retreats half a step, Zhou Ping will take it as a sign of an impending attack.

Su Ming's communication cut in.

Jiang Yuan, that's the 0.7 seconds I can stall right now.

Jiang Yuan spoke in a low tone.

Wait for my signal.

What is your signal?

Jiang Yuan stared at Sai Men's fingers.

The air in the ward was pressed tight by the dark red rule.

Zhou Ping's raised arm began to fall forward.

Jiang Yuan's hand holding the Ace of Spades also pressed down.

Qin Zhixia's mechanical arm emitted a series of warnings.

The black flame on Liang Wen's blade edge retracted, but he still held it down firmly.

Everyone was waiting for the worst point.

Zhou Ning cried until she had no strength left.

She looked at Zhou Ping, her lips trembling.

Brother, don't......

Those two words almost made Zhou Ping's arm stop.

Sai Men, however, let out a light sigh.

Family ties are really annoying.

The tip of the gray mist pressed against Zhou Ning's eyelids.

All seven layers of dark red in Zhou Ping's pupils lit up.

Don't touch her!

The chains shot out.

The target wasn't Sai Men.

It was Jiang Yuan.

At the same time.

Qiu Ce Yuan.

School Medical Office.

Raindrops tapped on the window, the indoor light gentle.

Chu Che sat behind the desk, a cup of red tea at hand.

Tea mist rose.

The editor's light curtain in the air was playing the footage of the seventeenth-floor ward.

Jiang Yuan's card, Qin Zhixia's prosthetic limb, Liang Wen's sword, Zhou Ping's crown, Zhou Ning's fear, Sai Men's cane.

Each node was marked with a tiny value.

Chu Che raised his hand and pushed up his gold-thread glasses.

Behind the lenses, his eyes showed no ripple.

The one who values family most will, for his sister, temporarily set aside his judgment principle.

He lifted the red tea, the temperature just right.

Not bad.

In the light curtain, Zhou Ping's chains were already closing in on Jiang Yuan.

Chu Che watched this scene, his tone light.

Go solve this unsolvable problem...... humanity.

Let me see if you can still hold onto the so-called bottom line until the next second.

Inside the ward.

Dark red chains pressed in front of Jiang Yuan.

The Ace of Spades flipped open.

The card face was no longer an ordinary suit.

But a black throne.

Jiang Yuan raised his hand, shadow rising from behind him.

Zhou Ping's arm fell completely.

Qin Zhixia rushed out.

Liang Wen drew his sword.