40 days later.
11 PM.
A private jet bound for Twilight City took off from Tiger Soul Research Institute.
At this hour, Feng Qi was still awake.
This was because the Mist Lord had officially begun the first step of his plan to crush the Crimson Research Institute.
Sitting on the couch in his room, Feng Qi pulled out his phone and dialed the Crimson Research Institute.
After a long wait, the call finally connected.
A familiar voice came from the other end.
"Do you not sleep at night? Don't you know that staying up late makes you go bald?"
"Old Mi just left. I have some new intel for you."
"Hold on, let me grab something to record this."
On the other end, he could hear the sound of someone putting on clothes, followed by hurried footsteps.
About five minutes later, Wei Wei's voice came back through the receiver.
"Alright, go ahead."
Without hesitation, Feng Qi began explaining.
"Here's the situation. Remember the intel I gave you earlier about Twilight City being targeted by the Institute of Technological Research? Well, the real mastermind behind it is actually the Mist Lord. Here's how it's going down…"
For the next half hour, he laid out the entire plan in detail.
He wasn't doing this to come up with a counter-strategy against the Mist Lord.
In this timeline, since he had chosen to stand by the Mist Lord's side, he wouldn't consider any plans to oppose him.
The main reason he was sharing this intel was to warn the Crimson Research Institute in advance.
That way, when they inevitably faced suppression from the Institute of Technological Research, they could be better prepared and minimize losses.
Especially when it came to potential casualties in Twilight City.
When he finished, Wei Wei's tone turned serious.
"I didn't expect the Mist Lord to be the real mastermind behind all of this. I'll call for an emergency meeting right away to discuss how we should handle this. But don't worry, our defensive strategies won't interfere with you. The main goal is to reduce casualties—you're the priority."
"Alright, Wei-jie, don't stay up too late."
"You too, little brother."
After hanging up, Feng Qi leaned back into the couch, deep in thought.
The Mist Lord had already set out for Twilight City, and the first step of his plan to crush the Crimson Research Institute was officially underway.
Over the past few days, this plan had been refined to near perfection.
His goal was to use the slaughter of the Devouring Wolf Squad's high-ranking members to alert the shadowy force behind the Institute of Technological Research.
In addition, he would fabricate misleading intelligence from the squad's leadership and send it directly to the shadowy force.
If the plan succeeded, the Crimson Research Institute would inevitably become the primary target of the Institute of Technological Research's hidden power.
This was also the likely reason why, in multiple timelines, the Crimson Research Institute's Twilight City branch was attacked.
If events followed the normal historical trajectory—
The Crimson Research Institute would not be destroyed by the forces behind the Institute of Technological Research.
But the Mist Lord's plan was, in fact, highly effective.
His primary goal in dismantling the Crimson Research Institute was to seize the vast reserves of spiritual energy resources originally allocated to them.
Though the Crimson Research Institute would survive, the immense pressure from the Institute of Technological Research would eventually force them into hiding, retreating into underground secret bases and cutting off most contact with the outside world.
Once that happened, the spiritual energy resources originally assigned to them would be redistributed throughout Star City.
And the biggest beneficiary of this redistribution?
Without a doubt—Tiger Soul Research Institute.
From a historical standpoint, the Mist Lord's plan had been a resounding success.
At first, Feng Qi had been deeply concerned.
He thought his presence in this timeline had disrupted the course of history, inadvertently inspiring the Mist Lord to target the Crimson Research Institute.
But now, it was clear that this event was meant to happen all along.
It was simply a piece of history he hadn't uncovered before.
Comparing the Mist Lord's explanation with the established timeline, he realized his worries had been unnecessary.
As long as the Crimson Research Institute was not utterly destroyed, this timeline wouldn't be considered a failure.
And in a way, their early retreat into an underground base was a good thing.
Although their research projects would suffer due to limited resources, at least their safety would be guaranteed.
Feng Qi saw no reason to stop the Mist Lord from carrying out his plan against the Crimson Research Institute.
Leaning into the couch, he shifted his focus to the press conference scheduled for the next day.
Recently, the Mist Lord had been using public opinion to build up Feng Qi's reputation.
Now, the media was flooded with reports about him and the widespread anticipation for Flesh Sacrifice.
Tomorrow would mark the official release of the Flesh Sacrifice testing results.
At that time, he would have to face a press corps sent by various major cities.
This would be a crucial moment in helping the Mist Lord push the Flesh Sacrifice technique into widespread circulation.
As he pondered, he suddenly sensed an imminent threat.
His modified Demon Dragon Crisis Perception ability made his hair stand on end.
Instinctively, he turned to his right.
A bizarrely shaped scythe materialized out of thin air, slashing straight at his head.
At the same time, a familiar blue-skinned figure emerged from the shadows.
Another blue-skinned assassin.
Realizing the danger, Feng Qi reacted instantly, twisting his body to evade the strike.
Boom!
A streak of black light flashed past, and the couch Feng Qi had been leaning on was cleaved cleanly in half. The scythe continued forward, leaving deep gashes on the reinforced walls.
Staring at the blue-skinned assassin, about 1.5 meters tall and wielding an oversized scythe, Feng Qi cursed inwardly.
Recently, the frequency of these blue-skinned assassins attacking him had been increasing.
But fortunately, the Mist Lord had been by his side.
Whenever these assassins appeared, the Mist Lord would effortlessly eliminate them.
Now that the Mist Lord was away, this assassin was a problem he had to deal with himself.
Realizing this, Feng Qi clenched his fists.
The Demon Dragon Rune Crystal in his body activated instantly, flooding him with surging power.
A black energy layer, drawn from the rune crystal, enveloped his fists.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and threw a powerful punch toward the assassin's head.
The blue-skinned assassin reacted swiftly, retreating just as the scythe came down at Feng Qi's skull.
Facing an opponent who was faster than him, Feng Qi had no choice but to pull back his attack and block.
The moment the scythe clashed against his fist, sparks flew.
Feng Qi was sent flying, slamming hard against the wall.
However, the impact caused no real harm. Thanks to the Demon Dragon's resilient physique, his internal injuries healed almost instantly.
Springing back to his feet, he dodged another incoming strike just in time.
As the assassin slowly turned to face him again, Feng Qi couldn't help but feel frustrated.
If he had access to his main timeline abilities, this assassin wouldn't even be worth mentioning. He could have easily pinned it down and crushed it into submission.
Especially in Blood Source Form, he could have let the assassin strike him a hundred times without caring.
But right now, he lacked that overwhelming power.
As the assassin charged at him once more, Feng Qi's face twisted in determination. He let out a feral roar and lunged forward with a punch.
Seeing this, the assassin immediately slowed down and became cautious.
Taking advantage of the pause, Feng Qi suddenly pivoted and sprinted toward the door.
Using all his strength, he smashed through the reinforced metal door and bolted toward the Core Research Area.
"Help! Someone help me!"
The room was heavily soundproofed, so the fighting inside hadn't been heard from the outside.
Now, as Feng Qi rushed out shouting for help, several core researchers in the area instantly realized something was wrong.
Without hesitation, one of them slammed the emergency alert button.
The security team stationed outside the Core Research Area received the alert immediately. They activated the emergency lockdown, opened the reinforced security gates, and rushed inside.
The moment they stepped in, they saw the blue-skinned assassin chasing after Feng Qi.
Without any hesitation, the security team launched an attack.
Surrounded by security personnel, the assassin suddenly found itself in a dire situation.
Feng Qi, now calm, watched as the assassin was encircled.
These security officers, along with many of the researchers, had already been brainwashed by the Night Shadow Clan, which was under the Mist Lord's control.
So there was no reason for him to worry.
Even if they hadn't been under control, it wouldn't have been a problem. Seeing a blue-skinned assassin attack the chief researcher was enough to justify an all-out defense.
But just as he was about to take action, something completely unexpected happened.
The blue-skinned assassin's figure suddenly began to blur, and the surrounding space distorted.
Then, right before their eyes, the assassin vanished into thin air.
Feng Qi's eyes widened in shock.
This was the first time he had ever encountered a blue-skinned assassin capable of spatial teleportation.
Realizing this, he immediately rushed to the central control console of the Core Research Area.
"Pull up the surveillance feed!" he ordered sternly.
The technician operating the console didn't hesitate, swiftly accessing the latest security footage.
Just as Feng Qi expected—
The blue-skinned assassin didn't appear on any of the recordings.
A deep frown appeared on his face as he processed this new information.
Despite his repeated encounters with them, he still hadn't managed to uncover any solid intel on the blue-skinned assassins.
Even after the Mist Lord took control of Tiger Soul Research Institute and conducted extensive investigations, they only managed to collect fragmented records of past assassin sightings.
But the true origins of these assassins remained a mystery.
Through multiple timelines, Feng Qi had managed to summarize some basic rules about them:
1. Blue-skinned assassins are not elemental beings. They have flesh and blood, but no internal organs. Upon death, they dissolve into energy and fade away.
2. They seem to be receiving signals from an external source. This suggests they might be controlled entities rather than independent beings.
3. They are not robots. They exhibit emotions, they can feel pain, and they can express surprise—but they do not fear death.
4. Their appearances vary across different timelines. The exact time they show up is inconsistent.
5. Their numbers are unpredictable. However, their strength increases steadily over time.
Based on these factors,
The blue-skinned assassins resemble the kind of monsters found in video games—where their strength scales up along with the protagonist's power level and progress.
However, the true nature of these beings remains a complete mystery.
The only known fact is that this group of blue-skinned creatures is actively collecting Miracle Artifacts worldwide.
Currently, the Miracle Bloodstone under the Mist Lord's control was originally seized from an injured blue-skinned assassin by a battle regiment in the Old Day Eastern Supply Zone.
This gave Feng Qi reason to believe that whoever controls these assassins—or their entire race—has already acquired multiple Miracle Artifacts.
This meant that their true potential was beyond terrifying.
They were an unknown enemy force—one that Feng Qi had yet to fully uncover but was certain would be a major roadblock for humanity's growth.
Thinking of this, his brows furrowed.
As a Sacrificial Timeline, his most critical mission was to gather intelligence for the Main Timeline.
At the very least, he had to identify exactly who the enemy was.
He decided to wait until the Mist Lord returned and then discuss a plan for investigating the blue-skinned creatures.
3:00 AM
A Tiger Soul Research Institute private jet hovered over a mountain range 15 kilometers from Twilight City.
As the cabin door opened, the Mist Lord, wearing black sunglasses, stepped out and leapt into the night sky.
The jet immediately turned and began its return flight.
As he descended, thick gray mist emerged beneath his feet, gently slowing his fall.
He turned to gaze toward Twilight City in the distance.
For this mission, the most critical factor was ensuring absolute secrecy.
That's why he did not land at Twilight City's airport.
Everything that followed would be executed alone.
His body dissolved into gray mist, then rapidly shot toward Twilight City.
Before long, the city surrounded by mountains came into view.
As a satellite city of Old Day City, Twilight City was located west of Old Day City, nestled within a mountain range.
Unlike the Five Major Cities, which had long and complex histories, Twilight City was relatively new—only about 200 years old.
This land was once a vast and dense forest, settled by wandering scavengers and a small number of migrants who eventually formed a tribe and cleared the land to establish a small city.
The city was divided into four districts—East, South, West, and North, with a total land area of 816 square kilometers.
Compared to other cities, Twilight City had a significant disadvantage as a satellite settlement.
The geographic terrain was highly complex, leaving very little habitable land.
Coupled with a lack of resources, the population had remained at a constant 6 million, unable to grow further.
Most of the materials consumed by Twilight City's residents were supplied by the Five Major Cities.
When Twilight City was first established, the Five Major Cities provided significant support.
To ensure its stability, various research institutes also built branch facilities there.
However, due to geographical limitations, the city's development had stagnated, preventing any breakthroughs.
It could only exist as a subordinate settlement to Old Day City.
As the sky remained dark, the Mist Lord arrived over Twilight City.
From his aerial vantage point, he observed the entire urban layout.
Perhaps due to the inherent survival instincts of scavengers,
Twilight City was heavily fortified, featuring numerous combat fortresses and underground shelters.
It was obvious that these structures were built specifically to counter unexpected Domain Field invasions.
Additionally, the city was equipped with advanced weaponry, with defenses just as strong internally as externally.
This place was practically designed for war.
This was one advantage of small cities.
If a massive metropolis like Star City wanted to transform itself into a fortress like Twilight City,
The resource expenditure would be beyond imagination.
After soaring over the tall city walls, the Mist Lord descended.
Scanning the streets below, he chose a dark, unlit alleyway as his landing spot.
What he didn't realize was—
Inside the Twilight City Military Headquarters,
His presence had already been detected by anti-air defense systems.
Most cities had anti-air security measures specifically to prevent invasions from Domain-Transcendent Beings.
As soon as the Mist Lord entered Twilight City,
The military command center immediately mobilized several army units stationed nearby.
Their mission: investigate the unknown energy signature and determine whether it was related to a Domain-Transcendent Entity.
Meanwhile, the Mist Lord had already landed in a shadowed alleyway.
Shifting back into human form, he casually stepped out of the alley.
At that moment—
He noticed a large number of uniformed military personnel rapidly assembling nearby.
Sensing danger, he instantly retreated, merging back into the darkness.
A curse escaped his lips:
"Shit."