While Li Tianming and the others were inspecting the venue, Zhao Longju's phone suddenly rang.
"Hello, second brother, what is it?"
"I'm with Professor Li and the others. We just got our passes and are at the paper hearing venue."
"Qin Siyang? He and Professor Lu stayed back at the clubhouse to handle their own matters."
Hearing that the caller was Zhao Longfei, Li Tianming and the others all stopped what they were doing and looked at Zhao Longju.
"What? You're saying the area around the clubhouse has been blocked off? I'll head back immediately to check."
Zhao Longju put down his phone and said, "My second brother told me the clubhouse seems to have been isolated using God-Hunting tools, and the situation inside can't be detected. Student Little Qin and Professor Lu might be in danger."
Li Tianming hurriedly said, "Then don't wait, hurry back! Old Lu, your capsule pod… forget it, Old Lu isn't here either! We can only take the special car back!"
Hao Liang glanced at the time, "It'll take at least ten minutes to get back. Feels like it's too late!"
Li Tianming clenched his fists, "Even if it's too late, we still have to rush back! Let's go!"
———
The Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce clubhouse in District 134 stood beside a quiet street.
The building remained solemn, just as it always had been.
But if one looked closely up near, they would notice a layer of fine, sand-like particles clinging to the outer walls of the clubhouse, trembling slightly in a steady rhythm.
On the third floor of the clubhouse, Qin Siyang and Lu Daoxing's guest rooms were not adjacent.
Lu Daoxing was sleeping soundly, his snores like thunder.
Having worked desperately researching God-Hunting tools to pay off his debts, he had finally found a chance to sleep peacefully without distractions.
Bang!
With a soft sound, Lu Daoxing suddenly opened his eyes.
At the same time, armor instantly covered his body, and with a roll he got out of bed.
His gaze landed on a crack that had suddenly appeared in the wall.
He frowned, "Using something I researched… to kill me?"
Buzz! Buzz!
The finger guards on all ten of Lu Daoxing's fingers lit up with a cyan glow, like curved blades, slashing fiercely toward the surrounding walls.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
More and more cracks appeared on the walls, and the surrounding scene gradually distorted, changing from his bedroom into a battered, metallic-colored room.
The walls of this room flickered with arcs of electricity, as if they were leaking power.
Lu Daoxing's expression darkened as he spoke to the empty walls, "Jiao Zhijie, Hong Liang, is this how you pay a visit?"
"Old Lu, long time no see."
A voice echoed in the room, but no figure could be seen.
"Jiao Zhijie, what are you trying to do?"
"Old Lu, sorry."
"Where's Hong Liang? Busy killing Qin Siyang?"
"It's just me. I'll leave after I kill Qin Siyang. Old Lu, don't make this hard for me."
Lu Daoxing let out a cold snort, "You two worked with me for years. You think I don't know you? Without Hong Liang egging you on, would you have the guts to pull something like this?"
"..."
"You definitely don't dare let the Zhao family know about this. So the plan is for Hong Liang to take down Qin Siyang first, then join you to kill me?"
"Old Lu, I have no intention of harming you. Don't make this difficult. As long as you stay here obediently, I guarantee I'll leave once it's done."
"You take me, Lu Daoxing, for a three-year-old?"
"I'm telling the truth. Old Lu, this [Stripping Room] has already been upgraded to the fourth tier. You can't break it, so don't waste your time."
Lu Daoxing didn't bother with more words. He directly took out a handheld cannon from his storage box.
The pitch-black barrel pointed at the scarred wall, and he bared his teeth in a grin.
"Still thinking you can rule the world with a fourth-tier God-Hunting tool? Jiao Zhijie, the times have long since changed."
———
Qin Siyang sat at the desk, flipping through the information on the members of the paper review committee.
The room didn't have that glaring crystal chandelier, but the desk lamp added a sense of quiet, making it easier for him to focus on reading.
His gaze settled on Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang.
Both had once been researchers in Li Tianming's project group at Zhongrong, specializing in God-Hunting tools, and had been Lu Daoxing's collaborators at the time.
After Li Tianming was demoted due to his crime, the two went together to teach at North Pillar University, and with their own research capabilities, were quickly promoted to professors.
As for their expertise in God-Hunting tools, Zhao Longfei had not provided detailed information, only that they specialized in the [Spatial Domain], but that "it is currently recognized that their research in the spatial domain is somewhat inferior to Professor Lu Daoxing."
"Spatial domain research? Sounds pretty impressive. If Professor Lu weren't asleep right now, I'd definitely go ask him what it's about."
At that moment, his gaze suddenly caught a slight movement, and he stared intently at the corner of the wall.
When he saw clearly, he let out a breath.
"I thought it was something else. Turns out it's just an ant. Gave me a scare."
But then his expression sharpened, "An ant? Ever since the apocalypse, it seems like I've never seen ants?"
His instinct, honed from countless brushes with death, made Qin Siyang immediately take out a piece of candy and put it into his mouth.
Boom!
Just then, a loud explosion like cannon fire suddenly sounded from a room on the floor.
'Someone is fighting?'
'Is Lu Daoxing fighting?'
'Shit!'
Qin Siyang immediately swallowed the divine remnant and activated [Origin Banquet Domain].
His teleportation range had already increased to one hundred meters, allowing him to move freely within the clubhouse.
His first instinct wasn't to fight, but to run.
Because this was the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce clubhouse, the Zhao family's home ground.
Any anomaly in the Zhao family clubhouse would definitely have been detected by Zhao Longfei, who would already be arranging reinforcements.
So Qin Siyang didn't need to fight the enemy to the death. As long as he could hold out until reinforcements arrived, that would be enough.
And the enhanced [Origin Banquet Domain] after activating the Origin Sequence allowed him to play hide-and-seek with the enemy freely inside the clubhouse.
At the same time, Qin Siyang felt his room rapidly distorting, with that ant as the center point, as if everything was being sucked into its abdomen.
Qin Siyang raised his brow slightly, "A meaningless fight has no meaning to be fought."
[Origin Banquet Domain]
With a thought, Qin Siyang tried to blink directly to the clubhouse lobby.
To avoid bumping into obstacles like tables and chairs that might cause Origin Banquet Domain to fail, he specifically chose to teleport to what should be midair in the lobby.
Details determine success or failure.
However, before the smile at the corner of Qin Siyang's mouth could form, his heart suddenly skipped.
[Origin Banquet Domain] failed to activate.
As the surrounding space twisted rapidly, Qin Siyang felt himself being pulled away by that inconspicuous ant.
A powerful, irresistible force made it impossible for him to escape, even with [Origin Violence] activated.
Qin Siyang was utterly shocked, 'How can this be?'
'Could it be that they know the weakness of [Origin Banquet Domain] and filled the entire lobby with obstacles?'
After activating the Origin Sequence, Qin Siyang believed all five of his senses had significantly improved, yet he hadn't detected any movement from the enemy at all. Could the enemy move without leaving any trace?
The Zhao family servants hadn't given any signal either, 'Are all Zhao family servants dead?'
At this moment, the panicking Qin Siyang suddenly thought of something.
'Those obstacles… might not have been set up by the enemy.'
Right before being sucked into the ant's abdomen, Qin Siyang suddenly cursed, "Damn that crystal chandelier!"
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