Chapter 225: Chapter 224: My Fear Isn’t That You Won’t Show Up, But That You’ll Keep Hiding in the Dark

"Alright, to be honest, I made all that up to paint Huang Haibo as a completely inhuman monster.

I did it not only to provoke the true mastermind behind the Paperman incident into acting fast,

but also to goad Huang Haibo into revealing his hand.

Time was so tight that I had to rack my brain and come up with some pretty extreme, sensational lies."

Qi Chaoyu laid out his reasoning honestly.

"I have to admit, you have a point," Chu He said, nodding in agreement.

Yumizakura didn’t say a word, but she gave him a thumbs-up.

Qi Chaoyu’s face grew even redder. Although he didn’t know Yumizakura’s true identity, she was as beautiful as a goddess. Her nation-toppling beauty held a captivating charm that ordinary women lacked.

Even though he knew a woman like her was completely out of his league,

Qi Chaoyu didn’t want to appear too boorish in her presence.

He just hadn’t expected that inside the villa, Huang Haibo, Zhang Jiancheng, and their family of four would actually read his fabricated lies aloud during their conversation.

"A presence is approaching rapidly. Could the mastermind be showing themselves?"

Yumizakura blinked her bright eyes and glanced west, toward the villa complex.

"That’s right. They’re trying their best to conceal it, but I can still sense their presence. They’re radiating intense killing intent, and it’s aimed at Zhang Jiancheng’s family of four."

Chu He also gazed in that direction.

Qi Chaoyu was completely baffled. He followed Chu He and Yumizakura’s gaze, widening his eyes to see what they saw. But the area was completely empty; shrouded by the night, not a single soul was visible.

However, he knew in his heart that Chu He and Yumizakura wouldn’t say such things without reason. Something was definitely approaching.

The eerie situation sent a shiver down Qi Chaoyu’s spine. He deliberately edged closer to where Chu He and Yumizakura stood and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Chu, should we make a move now?"

"No need."

Chu He shook his head. "I’d rather see what sort of scheme Zhang Jiancheng’s family is plotting.

They’re surrounded by this bizarre situation, their lives in constant danger, yet even so, the family is full of confidence and hasn’t asked anyone for help.

Clearly, they have an ace up their sleeve, something that makes them believe they can handle this whole affair quietly.

Then they can pin the blame for all of their own wicked deeds

on the true mastermind of the Paperman incident.

As for that mastermind, to dare come here all alone,

they must have their own trump card to be so brazen.

Let’s let the two sides fight it out. We’ll see what they’re both really made of."

In truth, there was something Chu He left unsaid. Compared to Zhang Jiancheng and his family,

he was far more interested in the mastermind behind the Paperman incident.

He had originally thought he understood this world well enough.

But ever since his trip to the Great Xia Empire’s Demon Cave a few days ago, 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

where he had witnessed the so-called Ancient Martial Inheritance behind Xia Chengli and encountered Xu Ping’an, who had refined himself into a zombie,

Chu He was beginning to realize that this world was far less simple than he had imagined.

There was much more to it than he thought he knew.

The befuddled Qi Chaoyu

soon realized what Chu He and Yumizakura had meant by "they’re here."

The lights in the villa ahead began to flicker erratically.

A continuous CRACKLE of electricity filled the air,

growing more piercing, sharp, and urgent.

Zhang Jiancheng, Huang Qiucheng, and the middle-aged woman, all sitting on the sofa, also sensed the change,

their faces showing varying degrees of nervousness and apprehension.

Only Huang Haibo, seated in the very center of the sofa, merely arched an eyebrow.

A cold smile spread across his lips, a smile tinged with genuine killing intent.

"I wasn’t afraid you wouldn’t show up, just that you’d keep hiding in the dark."

Huang Haibo muttered to himself in a low voice.

「Inside the villa.」

The quiet air was suddenly torn apart by an inexplicable tension.

The dim, yellow light flickered from the ceiling, casting mottled, shifting shadows

and adding a sense of gloom and unease to the strange phenomenon.

Suddenly, as if stirred by an unseen hand,

sheets of yellowed paper began to converge silently from all directions.

They spun and fluttered lightly,

like an early winter snowfall, yet they carried a bone-chilling cold that did not belong to the season.

These sheets of Yellow Paper, their edges slightly tattered and their script blurry and illegible,

wove themselves into an intricate web in the air before slowly drifting to the ground.

The sheer quantity was staggering.

As the Yellow Paper continued to pile up, it formed small mounds on the floor.

Its dim yellow sheen flickered in the faint light, like heaps of withered leaves paving a road to an unknown world.

Zhang Jiancheng’s face was pale. His eyes were fixed on the scene as he unconsciously shrank back, clenching his fists as if trying to draw some small comfort from the gesture amidst his sudden fear.

Huang Qiucheng pressed herself against the wall, her gaze filled with astonishment and confusion. She gently covered her mouth, afraid that any sound she made might shatter the eerie silence.

As for the middle-aged woman, her face was ashen with terror. She crossed her arms over her chest and prayed continuously in a low voice, trying to dispel the ominous sign through devout faith.

Only Huang Haibo remained, standing calmly in the center of the rain of Yellow Paper.

The touch of the Yellow Paper was bone-chillingly cold as it brushed against the tips of his hair and his shoulders before sliding down to his trouser legs.

Huang Haibo neither dodged nor showed the slightest discomfort.

As the Yellow Paper continued to fall, the light in the villa seemed to grow even dimmer, and an indescribable sense of oppression filled the air.

"If scattering this Yellow Paper is the extent of your abilities, then this is where it ends.

I’ve been waiting for you. I hope you won’t disappoint me."

Huang Haibo didn’t bother searching for the mastermind’s whereabouts, speaking as if he were muttering to the empty air.

Yet he knew perfectly well that his opponent was already inside the villa.

They had simply used some unknown method

to completely conceal their presence and trail, making them impossible to spot with the naked eye.

"AHHHH—"

A throat-tearing scream suddenly erupted inside the villa.

The scream came from Zhang Jiancheng. He stood half-bent, twitching uncontrollably as he clutched his face with both hands.

The gazes of Huang Haibo, Huang Qiucheng, and the middle-aged woman were instantly drawn to him.

"H-Honey, what’s wrong with you?"

Huang Qiucheng started toward him, but Huang Haibo grabbed her by the arm.