The press conference instantly erupted in chaos, with reporters like a pack of hungry wolves fed giant bait, completely out of control.
"My God! Her belly is so big!"
"DNA report! How could this be fake, with everything in black and white?"
"The Song family must be green with envy now!"
Exclamations, whispers, and the clicking of camera shutters filled the air. The landlady, a portly woman, was surrounded by reporters. Tears streamed down her face, and her hoarse voice held a desperate intensity: "It was him! He forced himself on me... Afterwards, he tried to pay me off, but I refused. So he sent people to kill me, wanting to kill me and my unborn child! If I hadn't run fast, I wouldn't be seeing you all today!"
As she sobbed, she pulled several more photos from her bulging old bag and threw them on the ground. The photos were somewhat blurry, but the scene of several menacing-looking men threatening her was still clearly visible.
"This is all evidence! Even if I die here today, I will show everyone the true face of this beast!"
Song Tianxiong's face had turned from ashen to purplish-red, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word. Just moments before, he had confidently vouched for Ye Chen, but in the blink of an eye, those words had become resounding slaps, making him see stars. He wanted to step forward and pull the woman away, or at least control the situation, but the surging reporters and angry crowd held him firmly in place, rendering him immobile.
Standing on the stage, Ye Chen felt his hands and feet were ice-cold, as if his blood had frozen.
It's over, everything is over.
His carefully rehearsed expressions and prepared remarks proved as fragile as a thin sheet of paper in the face of the woman's desperate accusations and that damned DNA report.
"No...it wasn't me! You...you framed me! It's a conspiracy! It was Qin Xiao...yes! It must be that bastard Qin Xiao behind all this!" Ye Chen roared incoherently, his voice sharp and shrill from extreme fear and anger, losing its usual composure.
He wanted to rush down, tear the woman's mouth apart, and rip up the report, but the reporters and onlookers below the stage, like an angry tide, trapped him on the small podium.
"Security! Security! Throw this crazy woman out! Get all these reporters out!" Ye Chen screamed hysterically, veins bulging on his forehead.
Several loyal bodyguards finally reacted and rushed onto the stage, forcibly protecting Ye Chen. They roughly pushed aside the reporters blocking their way and squeezed a path through the chaotic crowd, escorting him as he fled in a sorry state towards the backstage exit.
"Ye Chen! Don't run! You coward!"
"You think you can just get someone pregnant and run away?!"
"He's trying to kill me to cover his tracks! Everyone, stop him!"
Behind him came a chorus of angry curses and the crackling sound of camera flashes. Ye Chen felt as if every step he took was on a red-hot iron, and every shutter click was like nailing him to a pillar of shame.
Inside a secluded underground safe house.
Ye Chen ripped off his deformed tie and slammed it to the ground, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. The room was a mess; everything he could smash was now completely destroyed.
He had just ended a call with the Dragon King's Palace Elders. On the other end of the line, first came his father's thunderous roar, followed by several elders' cold, emotionless questioning.
"You unfilial son! You have utterly disgraced the Dragon King's Palace!"
"You have brought shame upon our family's century-old reputation!"
"Effective immediately, all your authority and resource allocation as young master are suspended. You are to reflect on your actions behind closed doors and await further decisions from the family!"
Ye Chen slumped onto the cold metal sofa, his face ashen. He knew he was truly finished this time. Not only was his reputation ruined, but his position within the Dragon King's Palace was also in grave danger.
All of this is because of Qin Xiao!
A thick, inky hatred surged from the deepest part of his heart, instantly devouring the last shred of his remaining sanity.
"Qin Xiao... Qin Xiao! I want you dead! I want you to die without a burial place!" Ye Chen's eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was ferocious and twisted, like a demon crawling out of hell.
With trembling hands, he retrieved a specially made black satellite phone from a hidden compartment in the wall, took a deep breath, and dialed a long-forgotten number.
After the call connected, a hoarse, cold, and emotionless voice came from the other end: "Young Master? You actually activated this secret line."
"Long Yi." Ye Chen's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a strong metallic taste of blood. "I order you to immediately activate all the 'Shadow' assassination squads lurking in the Dragon King's Palace. Kill Qin Xiao at all costs! And that damned woman, that bastard in her belly, get rid of them all! I want them to wish they were dead!"
Long Yi was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone, but his voice remained calm: "Young Master, the Elders' Council has given the order..."
"I don't care about the Elders' Council!" Ye Chen roared, his voice so sharp it seemed to tear the air apart. "This is the last order I give as the young master of the Dragon King Palace! If you fail to complete it, your 'Shadow' faction will cease to exist!"
"...Yes, young master." Long Yi's voice was completely calm, as if killing was as simple as breathing for him.
Hanging up the phone, Ye Chen revealed a morbid and crazed smile. "Qin Xiao, you think you can completely defeat me like this? How naive! I'll let you experience firsthand what the true terror of the Dragon King's Palace is really like!"
Inside Qin Xiao's luxury apartment.
Shu Rou was holding a uniquely shaped tablet computer, her small nose almost touching the screen. The screen clearly showed the images and sounds of Ye Chen hysterically roaring in the safe house, and even the loud noises of him smashing things could be heard in sync.
"Brother Qin Xiao, Ye Chen's angry and exasperated look is so funny!" Shu Rou pouted, but her big eyes sparkled with excitement, as if she didn't want the drama to get out of control.
Just then, Yun Yi, who had been quietly staying in the system space, suddenly emitted a sharp alarm sound, the sound even cracking slightly.
"Host! Host! Something terrible has happened!" Yun Yiyi's voice was filled with unprecedented anxiety and panic. "Ye Chen's luck value... after it plummeted to almost zero just now, it suddenly... suddenly started to rise strangely! Although the rise is very small, this is definitely not normal! It's extremely abnormal!"
Qin Xiao's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and his hand holding the wine glass paused in mid-air for a moment: "Your luck value has increased?"
"Yes! Yes! And... and the system has just detected a super signal source of unknown origin, marked as 'extremely dangerous,' which is rapidly approaching your location at an unbelievable speed!" Yun Yiyi's voice was already trembling with tears. "What should we do, host! This signal source... even 'Yun Rou' can't analyze its origin or details at all! It... it feels so terrifying to me!"
The relaxed atmosphere in the living room instantly froze, and an invisible pressure spread out.
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