Just as Henry Xi''anmen had completed the aftermath work and was about to leave with a candle in hand, the rhythmic footsteps suddenly halted.

    The candlelight cast a reflection on the glass window before him, revealing a blurred scene behind him. A sinister and elegant black shadow sat cross-legged on his chair, holding a book binder, flipping through his written manuscript.

    Woosh~

    In the dead of night at the newspaper office, one could hear a pin drop. The faint sound of pages turning seemed like a death-knell in Henry Xi''anmen''s ears, causing goosebumps to rise all over his body.

    A few seconds ago, there had been no one there...

    Gulp~

    Uncontrollably swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Henry Xi''anmen froze in place, silently praying, and murmuring holy names.

    It took him a full ten seconds of mental preparation to stiffly and slowly turn his head, hoping that the reflection in the window was just a hallucination from his exhaustion.

    However, the God he worshipped seemed not to answer his prayers. Under the dim candlelight, the bizarre shadow gradually came into view not far away.

    Upon observing the shadow, even though he was in a closed office, Henry Xi''anmen''s candle swayed as if buffeted by a strong wind. The flickering candlelight projected eerie, twisted shadows around, resembling numerous predatory monsters ready to pounce!

    But the most frightening was the humanoid silhouette hidden in the shadow. No matter how the candlelight swayed, the dim light seemed unable to illuminate the dense darkness surrounding him, only revealing his relaxed and graceful flipping of the book pages.

    Woosh~

    Woosh~

    The originally subtle sound of page-turning now seemed like a death sentence. With every turn of a page, Henry Xi''anmen felt a jolt of fear, sensing impending doom!

    Opening his mouth to speak, Henry Xi''anmen found his body rigid, with his throat seemingly blocked by something, causing him to break out in cold sweat.

    "You... You... Who are you?"

    After suppressing the fear stemming from his soul, Henry Xi''anmen asked in a dry and hoarse voice, instinctively shuffling his trembling feet backward.

    The instinct for survival told him to get away from this terrifying monster wrapped in a human skin!

    It was an eerie, incomprehensible evil!

    However, the shadow didn''t respond to his question but continued flipping through the manuscripts, gently closing the book binder.

    Snap~

    The pleasing sound of the pages colliding was like the falling of a gavel of judgment, causing Henry Xi''anmen to sweat profusely and involuntarily fall to his knees, trembling in despair and pain.

    His mouth gaping, throat convulsing, yet not a word of pleading could escape, as he watched the shadow slowly rise from the chair and walk toward him with calm and graceful strides.

    Henry Xi''anmen instinctively lowered his head, not daring to look directly, only feeling like a massive mountain pressed on his back, bending his spine further, and in the end, forced him to prostrate at the shadow''s feet.

    Looking down at the convulsing, trembling middle-aged white man at his feet, Zhu Haomiao''s eyes gleamed with a terrible and awe-inspiring Purple Gold Divine Light. An invisible, extraordinary aura crushed down on him, grinding his Spirit Shell to bits.

    "Weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival, but Pride is..."

    "And you, my friend."

    "You are weak, ignorant, and [Proud]."

    The evil, low whispers echoed from the depths of Henry Xi''anmen''s soul, as if hearing divine judgment, enveloping his spirit in endless despair and pain.

    Immediately, the human figure above stepped forward, tread on his head, crossed over his body, and calmly departed.

    The next moment, ethereal Divinity invaded reality, altering the fundamental Laws of the material world to impose the creator''s will upon the sinner. Sёarch* The novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Grr... Grr..."

    The suffocating feeling enveloped his nose and mouth, with violent, convulsive breathing bursting from deep within Henry Xi''anmen''s chest.

    His mouth wide open, yet unable to draw in a breath, he could only watch helplessly as he defied gravity and levitated, gradually turning his form upside down, like a pig hung by its feet awaiting slaughter.

    His eyes started to protrude from their sockets, with pitch-black blood seeping slowly from his seven orifices, resembling countless tiny serpents slithering and converging, spreading toward his limbs.

    Involuntarily spreading his arms and crossing his legs, the viscous black blood like crude oil flowed to his palms and ankles, solidifying into pitch-black spikes that instantly penetrated his muscles and bones, nailing him upside down to the wall.

    "Mmm... Mmm..."

    In the restrained, painful whimpers, more black blood gushed from his seven orifices, flowing down the wall and meandering to form an evil, eerie, brutal, yet dignified and solemn contradicting image with the inverted, nailed [Human-shaped Inverted Cross] on the wall.

    Without admiring the horrific scene behind him, Zhu Haomiao stepped past Henry Xi''anmen, opened the office door without looking back, and quietly left like an ordinary visitor.

    [Pride] +100

    [Pride]: LV.4→LV.5 (50/1000)

    [God] +3

    [Qi] +3

    [Dexterity] +2

    The changes in the [Book of Black] reflected on his heart, causing the youth to unconsciously curl his lips as he walked downstairs.

    "My lord."

    In a luxurious tailcoat and white gloves, Wilson stood by a retro and elegant black car, waiting for a long time. He respectfully opened the car''s rear door for the youth.

    Zhu Haomiao smiled and nodded, sitting in the back seat as Wilson calmly closed the door for him, then proceeded to the driver''s seat, personally starting the car.

    As the engine roared to life, the car glided smoothly onto the road, leaving the building far behind in no time.

    Sitting in the car''s back seat, Zhu Haomiao took out a delicate black notebook, gently crossed out the first name.

    Henry Xi''anmen...

    "Wilson."

    "Here."

    "How far to the next ''meal''?"

    "About 20 minutes'' drive."

    "I''m ''hungry'', drive faster."

    "Yes, sir!"

    ..........................

    The morning sun broke the sky, spreading gentle dawn light like a veil of golden silk over the city.

    But on this beautiful morning, in a building within the Public Leased Territory, everyone was overshadowed by boundless fear.

    "Oh God..."

    "What a blasphemy this is!"

    "Devil! It must be the Devil!"

    "Lord! Protect me..."

    In the chaotic newspaper office, a group of employees mumbled incoherently, some even clutching crosses, kneeling and tearfully praying to God.

    Surveying the group of frightened employees, Sherlock Worth sighed helplessly.

    It seems... there''s no hope of getting any useful information from them...

    Carrying a faint sense of weariness, Sherlock Worth stepped back into the ''crime scene'' office, slightly raising his eyes to gaze at the [Human-shaped Inverted Cross] nailed upside down on the wall!