Chapter 1045: The Silver King’s Layout

“He wants to kill Heart? Isn’t that just perfect?!”

Jian Changsheng clapped his hands, looking like they were in total agreement. “Heart wants to die himself, so it saves us the trouble of doing it…”

"It's different. If we kill him once, the Red Heart can recover... but that Thief Saint abducted the Red Heart, and he might not just kill him once. Plus, if he uses some kind of memory-swapping method, things will get troublesome again." Sun Bumian let out a long sigh.

Jian Changsheng’s brows furrowed tightly. After giving it some thought, he realized the gravity of the situation.

They had paid such a heavy price to snatch Chen Ling away from the Silver King. Now that they were on the verge of leaving the Wuji Domain, how could they let all their efforts go to waste?

"Damn it, where on earth did that Thief Saint hide the Red Heart!"

"We're too far from the city center. It would take quite a while to go back and ask for reinforcements from the Twilight Society seniors..." Sun Bumian couldn't help but look at Jian Changsheng. "Can't you really make use of your [Military Dog] ability?"

"I'm a human! Not a dog! I really don't have that sensitive of a nose!"

Jian Changsheng’s anxiety was laced with a hint of annoyance, as if he truly regretted not having a dog's nose to sniff out Chen Ling’s scent.

"How about we split up to look for him?" Jiang Xiaohua scratched his head.

"It's useless. [Hide-and-Seek] isn't just a game of hide-and-seek; it's an ability based on spatial concealment... It’s similar to how Lord Red Dust hides the Red Dust Domain inside a flower. We won't be able to find them with our naked eyes no matter how hard we look."

"So, according to you, the Red Heart is doomed? And we don't need to do anything at all??"

Just as Sun Bumian was about to say something more, a voice suddenly rang out from behind them...

"I can find him."

The three of them were stunned and turned around simultaneously, only to see a girl in a black dress carrying a massive coffin on her back, having appeared behind them at some point.

Seeing that slightly familiar face, Jian Changsheng struggled to recall, then exclaimed in surprise:

"It's you!! [GPS] Path!!"

……

The space felt like the shell of a bubble, silently radiating colorful light. Chen Ling only felt himself completely detached from everything around him, his entire body in a constant state of falling.

"What... is this ability?"

The coffin fell above him, rotating slowly. A lifelike female corpse was almost pressed against his face, her hollow eyes emitting an eerie, dark yellow glow.

Chen Ling looked down; below him was not the ground, but a substance similar to the bubble's shell. No scenery could be seen in the surroundings; everything seemed to be isolated by blurred glass, trapped within an independent space.

At the same time, a voice sounded from behind the coffin:

"Connecting with Bai Ye, subduing Mo Lian, and killing Chi Tong... I never thought you would end up in my hands after all."

Huang He casually took off his straw hat and brushed his sparse hair back with his hand. He looked at Chen Ling with a half-smile, revealing two rows of dark, yellowed teeth... He looked like a grave robber who had spent years wandering between loess and desolate tombs.

Even though he had been captured, Chen Ling seemed accustomed to it. He stared calmly at Huang He, his eyes devoid of any panic, and instead asked:

"Mo Lian and Chi Tong couldn't kill me. What makes you think you can?"

"Still bluffing at a time like this?" Huang He grinned. "I've been in the Wuji Domain for so long; I've already figured out your tricks... Let me tell you, I don't care how much influence you have outside, or that you can get the entire Twilight Society to mobilize to save you. This space is independent; they won't be able to find their way here in time...

Here, you are isolated and helpless."

Chen Ling looked at him coldly without speaking, merely glancing at the void beside him.

[Audience Expectation +3]

[Current Expectation: 80%]

"If you just wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have needed to go through the trouble of taking me away..." Chen Ling looked around, as if realizing something.

"Where is this bubble taking me?"

"Heh, killing you is a must, but there are some essential steps in between." Huang He squinted at him. "After all, this is the first time humanity is executing a 'World-Ending' level calamity. Since we've already announced it to the whole world, we naturally have to put on a show..."

As Huang He snapped his fingers, the space bubble finally seemed to reach its destination and slowly stopped falling.

The blurred bubble shell around them began to fade and disappear rapidly. Chen Ling looked around, and upon seeing the scene before him, his brows furrowed even tighter.

At some point, he had been placed in the center of a building resembling a courtroom. Rows of seats extended outward from him, and dozens of figures dressed like reporters were already seated, cameras in hand, as if they had been waiting for a long time.

Click—click—!

Seeing Chen Ling appear, they all stood up. The pale beams of camera flashes flickered on and off over Chen Ling; he had become the target of every reporter present.

Chen Ling was stunned.

As if recalling something, he sneered:

"So this is the 'Justice Judgment Court'? An organization you set up five days ago just to execute me?"

Among the many reporters, Huang He walked slowly along the aisle and finally stood still in front of him.

A look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"You actually knew?"

Chen Ling had heard this term from his Fourth Senior Brother. According to him, when the Silver Government announced the execution of Chen Ling, they specifically emphasized the name "Justice Judgment Court" and listed a multitude of his crimes, hoping to stand on the moral high ground of human interests and maximize the impact of this execution...

But in reality, this organization never existed in the Wuji Domain; it was a makeshift stage set up by the Silver King specifically for Chen Ling.

"Using me to whitewash the Wuji Domain—the Silver King really has a clever plan." Chen Ling had figured everything out, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

"Using the media to build momentum, executing me in public, and then having the 'Mockery Calamity' go 'out of control'... I guess the next step is for the Silver King to find a way to lure the rampaging 'Mockery Calamity' to attack other domains. While using me to tear open the domain defenses, he will then dispatch a group of righteous 'Fire Tamers' and 'Judgment Proxies' under the banner of hunting me down, to completely take control of the attacked domains...

First, it clears his image in the eyes of the public; second, it uses me to break through the combat power of other domains; and most importantly, you can logically take over the attacked domains while always standing on the moral high ground, since you are the ones who 'stepped in to help for the sake of humanity'..."

If Chen Ling hadn't understood before why the Silver King insisted on announcing his execution on such a large scale at this time, everything became reasonable when he saw the "Justice Judgment Court" already prepared before him...

……

……

There are too many characters involved in this volume finale, so Sanjiu is going to sort out the follow-up outline today. Only one chapter today~ (=´ω｀=)…… Also, Merry Christmas, everyone~