Chapter 1781: The King, and the Honor

"I'm so envious of you, your son is so promising... Sigh, with my kid's grades, I doubt they'll even get into college."

"Didn't your kid go off to participate in a summer camp too? Where was it again..."

"Over in Xuanyu, but that's a sports summer camp. They'll probably only be able to get into a sports academy later."

"Oh, just be content with that. As long as the kids are healthy and happy... Hey, since our kids aren't home, want to find some time to play mahjong together?"

"Sure, but I have to be late today. I still have to go to a lecture to get some free eggs!"

“……”

"Oh, Boss Li, long time no see. How’s business lately?"

"Don't even ask, I've been worried sick. The import and export department over at Ruoshui has been acting like they've lost their minds..."

"What do you mean?"

"Both imports and exports are stuck for me... They insist there are no freight train slots allocated. My goods have been piling up in the warehouse for almost a week, and I haven't been able to ship a single thing!"

"No freight slots? That's impossible... Surely they wouldn't hold back that many realm trains?"

"Who knows..."

"Did you... not grease the wheels properly?"

"I did! They always took it before, but now I don't know what's wrong. They've all turned their backs on me, saying they can't help no matter how much I offer... Damn it, if this keeps up, I'm going to go bankrupt!"

“……”

“……”

The night grew darker.

Li Shangfeng, who had been dozing off, slammed his head against the corner of the table with a dull thud... actually leaving a dent in the marble corner.

He had listened to so many conversations back and forth all day that his eardrums felt calloused. He felt like his brain was a pile of mush; he’d listened all day, but it felt like nothing had sunk in.

Lin Xi saw the cracked table corner, his mouth twitched, and he opened his mouth but said nothing.

There were fewer and fewer guests in the cafe, and the waiter began cleaning up to get off work. Lin Xi saw that the time was about right and was just about to wake Li Shangfeng up...

But just as his hand reached halfway, Li Shangfeng suddenly lifted his head!

"...Something's wrong."

Li Shangfeng’s nose twitched slightly, his expression extremely serious.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xi froze in place.

Before he could say anything more, an earth-shattering roar erupted from the square not far away!

BOOM—!!!

The earth trembled, causing the coffee cups on the table to shift slightly. Lin Xi’s pupils constricted as he stared fiercely in that direction...

A gray-white sky had replaced the night at some point, a world that seemed to have lost its color merging with the streets of Ruoshui Prison, and vaguely, monster-like figures were darting through it at high speed!

"Calamity?!" Li Shangfeng exclaimed in shock.

How could a Calamity appear inside Ruoshui Prison?

"Not good, is it a Gray Realm intersection?" Lin Xi’s brain raced. "But logically, human prisons have domain support; the Gray Realm shouldn't be able to infiltrate so easily... With the frequent local Gray Realm intersections in Ruoshui Prison lately, could it be that something is wrong with the Lord of Ruoshui?"

"Watch out!!"

Li Shangfeng grabbed Lin Xi by the collar, and in the next second, blinding flames erupted from his legs, propelling him forward like a rocket...

The moment they rushed out of the cafe, a skeletal rhinoceros, three stories tall, crushed the cafe into fragments like an unstoppable mountain.

The waiters who hadn't managed to get off work yet were instantly turned into puddles of blood and mud, without even a chance to scream.

Li Shangfeng, the rocket-man, landed slowly in an open space nearby with Lin Xi. They both turned to look back at the cafe, seeing the wreckage and gruesome blood-mud, their expressions looking terrible...

At the same time, the skeletal rhinoceros that had crushed the cafe shook its head and stood up from the ruins again, scanning its surroundings as if looking for its next target.

"This Calamity has at least Tier 6 strength!" Lin Xi said in a low voice.

"How did a Calamity just break out like that?" Li Shangfeng still couldn't understand. "How did the Gray Realm appear inside the realm?"

"Regardless, let's get out of here first... With a Calamity invasion, the people from the Chengtian Prefecture should arrive soon. The most important thing for us now is to stay hidden and not meddle in other people's business." Lin Xi calmly analyzed the situation.

Li Shangfeng nodded slightly, just about to say something, when a piercing scream reached their ears.

The two turned their heads simultaneously to see a brightly lit school entrance, where many students who had just finished evening self-study were staring in terror at the massive skeletal rhinoceros, their faces deathly pale.

These students looked about the same age as Lin Xi, and at this moment, they were all terrified out of their wits by the Tier 6 Calamity. Most stood frozen like statues, unable to move, while a few who could overcome their fear turned and sprinted toward the school behind them...

Perhaps attracted by the screams, the skeletal rhinoceros slowly turned its head and locked onto the school.

Its massive body arched slightly, and after a brief charge, it rushed toward the school like a stampeding mountain. Along the way, countless residential buildings shattered and collapsed like paper, billowing dust filling the sky.

Compared to its speed, the students' escape was as slow as ants. The seemingly safe school was as fragile as building blocks. Gusts of wind swept across the land, and the students' terrified screams echoed to the heavens.

Li Shangfeng and Lin Xi’s hearts sank.

For them, pretending not to see and hiding to save their own skins was undoubtedly the most correct decision... But the two, who had just reached an agreement on that, simultaneously rushed toward the school without regard for anything else!

Li Shangfeng saw the shadow of his sister in them; Lin Xi saw the shadows of his former companions. How could they sit by and watch such a tragedy unfold?

Missiles flew from between Li Shangfeng’s ribs, whistling toward the skeletal rhinoceros; Lin Xi raised his hand and drew, countless chains appearing as if to forcibly bind the rhinoceros in place...

But the two were currently lacking in strength. The exploding missiles didn't cause fatal damage to the rhinoceros, and the chains only held for an instant before shattering with a bang.

Amidst the billowing smoke, the rhinoceros charged out, whipping up a hurricane. It was getting closer and closer to the school, and Li Shangfeng and Lin Xi’s hearts sank to the bottom!

"Damn it!!" Li Shangfeng roared.

Just as they watched the rhinoceros about to trample the school, the rhinoceros's front left leg suddenly vanished, as if wiped away by something...

Losing the support of its front left leg, the skeletal rhinoceros immediately lost its balance. In the next second, its front right leg also disappeared... then the back left leg, and the back right leg!

The Law of Theft flashed repeatedly. The skeletal rhinoceros, which had been unstoppable just a moment ago, suddenly rolled on the ground like a heavy stone, its speed visibly slowing down...

"What a pain... Why do we have to follow along when the Twilight Society goes on a mission?" A figure wearing a bright red baseball cap adjusted the brim at the top of the school. "I was already annoyed about the business trip, and now I have to save these noisy students."

Beside him, a woman wearing a blue beret said calmly:

"Watch your language, Chitong... It is our honor to serve the King."