Chapter 556: Now it's time to settle the accounts

Dark Red Chains stick to the ground and rush forward.

The hospital bed's metal frame was scraped, the railing bent instantly.

Jiang Yuan did not retreat.

Shadow climbed up from his boots, the soldier tried to stand but the Seven-Eyed Crown pressed down making his knees tremble.

Zhou Ping's rules are too effective against deceivers.

This is not a difference in strength.

This is systemic suppression.

Liang Wen gritted his teeth, the Black Flame Knife was pressed close to the ground.

"Speaking reasonably, is this broken crown running an anti-deceiver cheat?"

Nobody paid him any mind.

Qin Zhixia had already lunged half a step forward.

The mechanical prosthesis's internal alarms connected into a red line.

By the hospital bed, Sai Men's cane pressed against Zhou Ning's forehead.

The tip of the Gray Mist clung to her eyelid.

Another half inch down and this girl's right eye would be lost.

Sai Men tilted his head, a light laugh came from beneath his mask.

"Haha, don't rush, don't rush."

"In family ethics dramas, the biggest taboo is pacing too fast."

"You need to give the audience some psychological preparation."

Zhou Ping didn't look at him.

Zhou Ping looked at Jiang Yuan.

The chains surged toward Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan pressed the Ace of Spades lower.

He was betting on one thing.

Zhou Ping wasn't completely crazy yet.

Someone who truly wanted to kill them wouldn't let the chains first skim the ground.

Skimming the ground is for show.

It's for Jiang Yuan to see.

The problem is, Sai Men is also watching.

So Jiang Yuan cannot act prematurely.

He must wait until the last thread.

A little later, death.

A little earlier, exposure.

Breaking this situation is truly inhuman.

Outside the window.

Su Ming pressed his whole body against the edge of the outer wall's shadow, left hand hooked into a crack, right hand pressed against his chest.

The Time Marrow Worm writhed inside him.

That backlash isn't over with a single pang of pain.

It pulls every segment of his time out from his bones.

He gazed at the tip of the Gray Mist in the ward.

He watched Zhou Ping's descending hand.

He watched Jiang Yuan not retreat.

Blood seeped from the gaps in Su Ming's teeth.

Lei Yu once said, teammates entrust their backs to you not because you're strong,

but because they have no choice.

Su Ming used to hate that saying.

Too stupid.

Too much of a loss.

Too disadvantageous.

But now, he pressed his fingers into the wall and forced the rampaging Time Marrow Worm inside him back.

"Jiang Yuan."

In the comms, his breath was ragged.

"I'll give you 0.7 seconds."

Jiang Yuan didn't reply.

He couldn't reply.

Zhou Ping's chains arrived.

Su Ming's pupils contracted to the extreme.

"Stop."

As the word left his mouth, black blood surged up his throat.

Inside the ward, all motion froze.

Not completely still.

But was forcibly slowed to the point of making one's teeth ache.

The tip of the gray mist hovered above Zhou Ning's eyelid.

Sai Men's hand gripping Zhou Ning's throat stopped.

The dark red chains halted less than half a foot in front of Jiang Yuan's face.

Jiang Yuan's hair ends were lifted backward by the rules.

0.7 seconds.

Not even a bit more.

Jiang Yuan moved.

The Ace of Spades slipped from his hand.

The card face scraped the dark red chains as it flew, heading straight for the junction of the gray mist and Sai Men's staff.

At the same instant, Zhou Ping's wrist turned over.

The dark red chain that should have fallen toward Jiang Yuan was forcibly bent at an angle in its high speed.

The wall coating was scraped off by the rules.

The chain skimmed past Jiang Yuan's cheek, straight toward Sai Men's wrist gripping the staff.

Jiang Yuan did not dodge.

He didn't even blink.

At that moment, the two didn't utter a single word of nonsense.

Zhou Ping entrusted his sister's life to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan entrusted his own life to Zhou Ping.

The smile beneath Sai Men's mask paused for half a beat.

"Eh?"

The Ace of Spades arrived first.

The card's blade sliced through the gray mist's node.

No flashy movement.

That segment of gray mist broke cleanly.

The binding around Zhou Ning's throat loosened, and his whole body collapsed onto the bed.

Zhou Ping's chains followed close, the dark red rules wound around Sai Men's wrist, forcibly pulling that eyeball staff outward.

The eyeball spun wildly, gray patterns squeezing out of its pupil.

Sai Men's fingers clenched the staff.

"Switching sides on the spot?"

"Mr. Zhou, your character setting collapsed too fast, huh?"

Zhou Ping's teeth clenched, making a sound.

"I never said I wanted to kill them."

Sai Men laughed.

"But your move just now was genuine."

"Just putting on a show for you."

Zhou Ping pressed down his arm, the chains tightened.

"You don't like watching drama, do you?"

"Had enough of the show?"

Liang Wen beside them almost couldn't hold back.

Qin Zhixia seized the opening.

She smashed the floor tiles beside the bed with her left foot, her mechanical prosthetic releasing its third limiter.

Azure energy jetted from the gaps in her arm armor.

System warnings flooded the field of view.

Joint overload.

Neural connection overheating.

Ignorance synchronization rate imbalance.

She glanced at it and directly manually crossed it out.

Annoying.

What time is it now, and still pop-ups?

Qin Zhixia cut in close to the bed's edge.

Liang Wen also moved.

The Black Flame Knife swept outward, its blade pressing against the path of the gray mist's reflux.

His hand was trembling.

Not from fear.

It was that the blade was being suppressed by the crown, backlash crawling up his arm.

Liang Wen gritted his teeth, still managing to squeeze out a sentence.

"Hurry up, my barbarian king ultimate move experience card is about to expire!"

Qin Zhixia didn't look back.

She grabbed the bed rail with her right hand; the mechanical arm extended, fingers spread.

Zhou Ning opened her eyes, her whole body went limp.

She could no longer tell who was the enemy and who was saving her.

She only saw a one-armed woman rush over.

That metal arm was cold.

But when it grabbed her shoulder, the force was steady.

Qin Zhixia pulled her up from the bed and, in the same motion, drew her into her arms.

They rolled.

They retreated.

The gray mist at the bedside recoiled; Liang Wen cursed under his breath and thrust his Black Flame Knife forward.

The blade struck the gray mist, and gray lines crawled up the back of the blade toward his glove.

Liang Wen's face turned ashen.

"Not, Sai Men, you can play all you want, but don't cause after‑sale pollution!"

Sai Men's wrist was dragged by Zhou Ping's chains; his other hand reached to grab Zhou Ning.

Jiang Yuan's second card had already arrived.

King of Hearts.

Shadow spread beneath the card, forming a low wall that pinned Sai Men's hand.

Now is not the time to trade pawns.

It's about seizing a person.

As long as Zhou Ning gets free of Sai Men's grasp, we win the first step.

Outside the window, Su Ming coughed up another mouthful of black blood.

Time was dragged to its limit.

The Time Marrow Worm gnawed inside him, creating a sense of disorder.

The chaotic images of his past life crowded into his mind.

The neighbor's hand.

The smashed door.

Lei Yu's back, blocking in front of him.

Su Ming bit the tip of his tongue, forcibly pulling his consciousness back to the ward.

Qin Zhixia held Zhou Ning and rolled three meters away.

She used her body to shield Zhou Ning, the mechanical arm bracing backward against the ground, carving a long groove before stopping.

Zhou Ning couldn't catch her breath, clutching Qin Zhixia's combat uniform collar, tears streaming down.

Qin Zhixia lowered her head and glanced at her.

"Don't be afraid."

Two words, very firm.

Also very steady.

Zhou Ning heard it.

She didn't dare nod, only gripping the collar tighter.

Su Ming's interference with time ended.

Time inside the ward returned to its normal speed.

The tip of the gray mist slammed through the pillow.

White cotton fluff flew up.

The bedside equipment was contaminated; the screen jumped erratically, emitting a piercing alert.

Sai Men's hand was free.

He lowered his head to look at his palm.

Then he looked toward Zhou Ning three meters away.

Zhou Ning was shielded behind Qin Zhixia.

Liang Wen stood in front, his Black Flame Knife held sideways, his left hand still trembling.

Jiang Yuan stood in place; the side of his face was grazed by the dark red chains, drawing a line of blood.

He did not retreat.

Zhou Ping didn't look at him either.

The Seven‑Eyed Crown atop Zhou Ping's head flared to a dark red glow.

Those chains, one after another, hung from his back, smashing through the floor tiles, sealing the windows, wall holes, ward door, and ceiling vents.

All escape routes were blocked.

Sai Men was surrounded beside the bed.

He looked at the circle of people; a short laugh came from beneath his mask.

"Oh dear."

"We've been tricked."

"Your human little trust game is occasionally still quite fun."

Zhou Ping raised his hand; the dark red chains tightened around Sai Men's wrist.

The Eyeball Staff was forcibly dragged away from Zhou Ning's sickbed area.

The eyeball at the tip of the staff stared fixedly at Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping stared back.

His breathing was rough.

His face still bore the traces of that edge-of-loss-of-control state from just now.

But his hand was steady.

He really did want to kill just now.

Only a little bit away.

But...

Qin Zhixia dared to swap herself.

Liang Wen had a foul mouth but didn't move his blade.

Su Ming was betting his life to buy time outside.

All these things were laid out before him.

Zhou Ping didn't trust the Federation.

But he could trust this moment.

Trusting just this moment was enough.

Jiang Yuan raised his hand and wiped the blood from his cheek.

"You just scared me."

Zhou Ping didn't turn around.

"You scared me too."

Jiang Yuan asked: "How so?"

"I thought you would dodge."

Jiang Yuan tightened the card bag.

"I also thought you would really fight."

Liang Wen couldn't help but interject.

"So you two didn't even coordinate beforehand?"

Qin Zhixia shielded Zhou Ning as she rose, white smoke rising from her mechanical arm's casing.

"Cut the nonsense."

Liang Wen immediately shut up, then half a second later added another sentence.

"Received, Valkyrie."

Qin Zhixia glanced at him.

Liang Wen raised his blade.

"I was wrong."

Zhou Ning grabbed Qin Zhixia's clothing and softly shouted: "Brother......"

Zhou Ping's shoulders tensed for a moment.

He didn't turn around.

It wasn't that he didn't want to.

It was that he didn't dare.

Sai Men was still there.

As long as he turned his head, even if he was distracted for just half a beat, Sai Men could mess up the situation again.

He could only say: "Don't be afraid."

Zhou Ning cried even harder.

Zhou Ping's Adam's apple moved, and the dark red chains tightened further.

Sai Men was forced to loosen his grip on the staff by half an inch.

But he still didn't panic.

He moved his bound wrist slightly, his tone tinged with regret.

"I really don't understand."

"Mr. Zhou, your sister is in my hands, yet you dare to bet that Jiang Yuan will cooperate with you."

"Mr. Jiang, you've been restrained by the Crown like this, yet you dare to bet that Zhou Ping won't kill you."

"Mr. Liang, never mind you—you've always been outrageous."

Liang Wen lifted his chin.

"Thanks for the praise; I've always stuck to the unconventional path."

Zhou Ping's fingers clenched.

The chains sank into Sai Men's wrist, gray mist leaking from the gaps.

Jiang Yuan didn't give him a chance to continue performing.

"Su Ming, status."

A muffled reply came from outside the window.

"Not dead."

"How many more times can you hold it?"

"Don't ask such a despicable question."

Jiang Yuan understood.

Once.

At most once.

It also depends on whether Su Ming is willing to stake half his life.

Qin Zhixia handed Zhou Ning over to the shadow soldier behind her.

But as soon as that soldier approached, the crown pressed him down to his knees.

Zhou Ping glanced, then withdrew part of the suppression.

The soldier barely managed to stand, shielding Zhou Ning as he retreated to the corner.

This small movement was subtle.

Jiang Yuan saw it.

That's enough.

Outside the ward, the helicopter rotor noise was muffled by the rain curtain.

More Investigation Bureau personnel were sealing off the hospital downstairs.

But they couldn't get in.

The crown and Sai Men's rules divided the seventeenth-floor ward into an independent battlefield.

Only these few people can act here.

Over on Chu Che's side.

In the Qiu Ce Yuan's school medical office, the tea had cooled a bit.

The image on the light curtain froze on the frame where Zhou Ning broke free of control.

Chu Che did not lose his temper.

He merely lifted his hand and pushed his gold-thread glasses.

The lenses reflected dark red data.

Failure?

No.

This is what I wanted to see.

If humanity shatters on the first question, then this exam is far too cheap.

Chu Che lifted the red tea and took a sip.

Continue.

He looked at Sai Men, surrounded on the light curtain, his tone gentle to the point of courtesy.

Don't let me down.

Inside the ward.

Sai Men's mask cracked a fine line.

Zhou Ping's crown suppression was intensifying.

Although Jiang Yuan's shadow was restricted, it still sealed off the ground beneath Sai Men.

After Qin Zhixia shielded Zhou Ning and retreated to the safety line, she raised her mechanical prosthesis again.

Liang Wen's Black Flame Knife lay across his chest, the corner of his eye twitching.

Is this the group brawl segment?

Jiang Yuan stared at Sai Men.

It's the settlement segment after rescuing someone.

Zhou Ping finally turned his head.

He glanced at Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning sat in the corner, his eye sockets red, yet he was still alive.

Alive.

These two words caused Zhou Ping's killing intent to completely release.

He raised his hand to press his neck, twisting left and right.

His joints emitted a series of cracking sounds.

Dark red chains rose from behind him, sealing off all exits of the ward.

The crown's seven eyes opened fully.

Sai Men stood in place, the red pupils behind his mask lighting up.

Zhou Ping stared at him, speaking word by word.

Now.

It's time to settle the score.