Chapter 869: Exposed

The man appeared to be a slightly chubby middle-aged figure with fair skin and a kindly smile, the very image of a harmless, friendly uncle from next door. But Yue Zhuoran had seen him once before. And he knew exactly who the man really was.

This was the number two figure of Eden in the Xiao Kuang Star Region, codenamed Eternal Night. He was a man who, despite his warm and gentle appearance, was a ruthless butcher.

Yue Zhuoran knew only his codename and nothing more. He had no idea what the man's real name was, nor what identity he used in the outside world. The fear Yue Zhuoran felt toward Eternal Night had been planted in him not long after joining Eden. It was drilled into him by countless seniors and only deepened as he came to understand the terrifying deeds this man had committed.

Yue Zhuoran did not consider himself a soft-hearted man. On the contrary, his own methods were brutal and cold-blooded. But when compared to Eternal Night, his cruelty felt more like the benevolence of a charity worker. Many within Eden feared not their number one leader, Zero, but Eternal Night.

Why is he here?

Yue Zhuoran’s heartbeat quickened as his mind started to race,

And he isn’t even wearing a disguise. He’s shown up in full view, showing his real face. Could it be... that the association’s offices are actually one of the organization’s properties too?

As a recently promoted high-level member of the organization, Yue Zhuoran had gained access to more confidential information. Yet to his knowledge, the Forging Association was not affiliated with Eden, at least not officially.

Suppressing his unease, he pretended not to recognize Eternal Night, and quietly returned to his work.

Moments later, Eternal Night appeared right beside him. He gently patted Yue Zhuoran on the shoulder and said with a smile, “What a coincidence, running into you here.”

A jolt of alarm surged through Yue Zhuoran’s heart, but he maintained a calm facade and replied evenly, “Yes... quite unexpected.”

This exchange caused a slight ripple of surprise among the Forging Association president and the other senior officials present.

Nie Yucheng of the Nie Family actually knows Yue Zhuoran?

Nie Yucheng was one of the Forging Association’s top financial backers at Stargate Base. He was also the client behind this urgent armor-forging project. No one had expected that he and Yue Zhuoran would be so familiar with each other.

“So President Nie knows Young Master Yue,” said President Nong Xin with a cordial smile.

But Nie Yucheng didn’t acknowledge him at all. He simply continued to smile at Yue Zhuoran and said softly, “You’ve already realized it, haven’t you?”

Yue Zhuoran replied cautiously, “Realized what?”

Nie Yucheng’s smile deepened and said, “The people being detained here.”

Yue Zhuoran’s pupils contracted sharply as his heart nearly stopped.

What’s going on? He’s not even trying to hide it? He’s just saying these things out in the open, in front of outsiders?

He glanced toward Nong Xin and the others, and a chilling question crept into his mind,

Could they... also be members of the organization?

But just then, he saw a flicker of confusion flash across Nong Xin’s face. The man seemed to notice something strange in his own eyes as moisture welled up uncontrollably.

Why am I crying at a time like this?

he wondered.

Startled, Nong Xin instinctively reached up to wipe his eyes. But he found his fingertips smeared with thick, crimson blood. Shocked, he opened his mouth to speak. But then, a grotesque and terrifying scene unfolded.

Nong Xin watched in horror as the colleagues beside him, friends and companions he had worked with for centuries, began to rot away, their smiles frozen on their faces as they stood motionless. He saw their hair fall away in clumps, pulling their scalps with it. Eyeballs plopped from their sockets, and large patches of bone began to show beneath melting skin as pus streamed down their cheeks.

His once-familiar companions dissolved like candles under a searing flame, liquefying into grotesque, oozing ruin.

Then, the world within Nong Xin’s eyes began to spin. An overwhelming terror surged through him as he realized that he was about to die. Just a few meters away, Yue Zhuoran’s mouth hung open in silent shock. He felt as though the air had been ripped from his lungs.

Dead. Everyone who had followed Eternal Night into the room, whether they were senior members of the Forging Association, his own attendants, or even the ordinary blacksmiths who had been working there. All of them had perished.

In the span of just a few seconds, every single one of them had died in the most grotesque fashion, their bodies reduced to reeking puddles of foul-smelling muck. Everyone except him.

Yue Zhuoran knew Eternal Night had killed them. So when he had casually greeted him earlier, smiling and speaking as if nothing had happened, he had already condemned every other person in the room to death.

Has he gone mad? To go on a killing spree like this inside Stargate Base... isn’t he afraid of exposing his identity?

“You saw them, didn’t you?” Nie Yucheng asked again, still wearing that amiable smile.

Yue Zhuoran snapped back to his senses and quickly nodded. “Yes... I was wondering why there were so many unfamiliar people detained here in the association’s facility.”

“Unfamiliar?” Nie Yucheng’s grin widened and said, “Isn’t there someone among them that you do recognize?”

Yue Zhuoran’s heart skipped a beat. A terrible feeling suddenly bloomed in his chest. Nie Yucheng continued, still smiling as he said, “And the message. It’s already been sent, right?”

“W-What message?” Yue Zhuoran stammered, his face pale with panic, desperately trying to feign ignorance.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“The one about Sikong Xue,” Nie Yucheng said plainly, laying everything bare. “Didn’t you inform Li Xiaofei, telling him to come rescue her?”

“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir...” Yue Zhuoran replied, eyes wide in fear.

But he didn’t finish the sentence. In an instant, six afterimages of him split from his body, each darting in a different direction. He fled with all the strength he could muster, abandoning any semblance of pride or resistance.

The plan had fallen apart. Yue Zhuoran had no idea where the leak had occurred. He also knew he had no chance of defeating Eternal Night. He had not even a sliver of hope. He didn’t even have the courage to raise a hand against him. All he could do was run. But he would not escape.

The six afterimages shattered instantly. Yue Zhuoran, who had activated a cloaking technique to hide his true body, was forcibly dragged back into visibility.

"This child," Eternal Night said with a gentle smile, patting the dust from his sleeve, "really doesn't know how to take a joke."

That same kindly expression remained on his face, but in Yue Zhuoran’s eyes, it had transformed into the twisted sneer of a demon. It was akin to the most merciless devil grinning down at him with cold delight.

“When?” Yue Zhuoran couldn't stop himself from asking. “When did you start suspecting me?”

Eternal Night chuckled softly, his tone laced with open contempt. He said, “Someone who mysteriously survives a suspiciously orchestrated disaster; do you think the organization wouldn’t suspect you? Even the Blazing Flame Grand Venerable died. Why didn’t you?”

His tone sharpened with biting clarity as he said, “Your survival was the only anomaly.”

A chill pierced straight into Yue Zhuoran’s bones. He knew that no matter what arguments or explanations he came up with now, they were meaningless. His survival of the incident on Chu Planet alone had marked him as a liability.

With a figure like Eternal Night, once suspicion had taken root, no amount of justification would ever be enough to erase it.

Never in his life had Yue Zhuoran wanted to see Li Xiaofei more than now. Perhaps, just perhaps, if Li Xiaofei appeared, he might have a sliver of hope left. To his faint relief, Eternal Night didn’t seem intent on killing him, at least not yet.

Eternal Night merely immobilized him and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. Roughly three minutes later, a lone figure stepped through the door. It was Li Xiaofei.

Yue Zhuoran’s heart soared with joy, but he didn’t dare make a sound. Li Xiaofei frowned slightly as he looked over the scene. He took in the thick, reeking pools of blood on the floor, and Yue Zhuoran’s stiff, bound form. Then he turned his gaze to the man beside him.

“So,” he said coldly, “looks like you've been exposed. Who’s this bastard beside you? Is he the one who killed everyone here?”