He was dead.

    Yu Haoming had vanished without a trace, not even ash remaining—completely erased from this world.

    “Oh!” Bai Lian suddenly slapped his forehead, clicking his tongue in annoyance. “Damn it, had I known it’d end like this, I wouldn’t have used Annihilation. Should’ve just punched him to death.”

    “Do you always play with your enemies like this?” Jian Ran raised an eyebrow, her tone laced with disbelief.

    Bai Lian shook his head. “Not ‘like this.’ I just wanted to scatter his ashes. Annihilation leaves nothing behind—what a waste!”

    Jian Ran fell silent.

    She raised a thumb, staring at Bai Lian with newfound respect.

    Not only had he killed a man, but he’d also wanted to desecrate the remains. Even Satan would envy such ruthlessness.

    Meanwhile...

    The three surviving board members were paralyzed with terror.

    Yu Haoming’s death meant they were next in line.

    Especially the man whose legs Yu Haoming had severed. He suddenly realized the pain in his stumps had dulled.

    Trembling, they crawled toward Bai Lian on their knees.

    “Spare us, sir! We were forced into this!”

    “Y-yes! That bastard Yu Haoming planned everything! We’re innocent!”

    “Let us live, and we’ll serve you faithfully!”

    The three anomalies groveled without dignity.

    To them...

    Dignity? What was that?

    Survival mattered far more.

    Watching this spectacle, Bai Lian scoffed. “If I’d known it’d come to this, I wouldn’t have bothered. We’re all just earning a few hundred bucks—why gamble your lives over a corporate coup?”

    “Do you even know who you are?”

    Jian Ran glanced at him, sensing deeper meaning in his words.

    Internally, the board members screamed: We didn’t know we’d meet a monster like you!

    “Mistakes in this life don’t matter. Just correct them in the next.”

    Bai Lian had no interest in prolonging their farce.

    This artifact had emboldened it to retrieve the evidence despite Bai Lian’s display of power.

    “Leaving so soon?” Bai Lian raised a finger, slicing the air.

    A violet line split reality like torn film, expanding into a purple-hued dimension that engulfed the archive!

    The shadow activated its cube—too late!

    When teleportation failed, panic set in.

    “Why?!”

    “What is this? Why can’t I escape?!”

    Frantically reactivating the cube proved futile. The artifact was powerless here!

    “It’s over...”

    The shadow abandoned attempts, dread rising.

    Was this its end?

    “Try again. Or don’t.” Bai Lian taunted.

    The shadow glared at his smug expression. “Don’t celebrate yet! Killing me won’t be easy!”

    It theorized this purple realm drained massive energy—Bai Lian couldn’t sustain it long.

    Survive the onslaught, outlast his stamina, then escape!

    Suddenly—

    Bai Lian’s Dead Eye fired an Annihilation beam!

    The shadow dodged sideways. The beam grazed its arm, vaporizing part of the wall!

    Slow enough to evade!

    Relief turned to sneers. “Two of those might’ve killed me. But now—”

    “Two?”

    Bai Lian frowned thoughtfully.

    The shadow opened its mouth to mock—and choked.

    Behind Bai Lian stood his perfect duplicate. Both versions’ Dead Eyes glowed menacingly.

    The shadow’s eyes bulged. “WHAT?!!”