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Inside the penthouse office of the Dark Hand headquarters, the air was thick with the scent of cigars and old money.
Vic lounged lazily in the center of a wide sofa that could easily seat three. His black shirt collar was unbuttoned casually, and his crossed legs bobbed rhythmically.
His left arm was wrapped around Wednesday's slender waist. Her pale face was expressionless, her eyes lowered as if indifferent to everything, though the slight lean of her body toward Vic betrayed a hint of intimacy.
His right arm was hugged tightly by Enid. Her blue eyes were curved into crescents of joy, and she occasionally leaned in to whisper something in Vic's ear, making the corners of his mouth twitch upward.
At a glance, he looked exactly like a hedonistic playboy drowning in pleasure.
"My friend..."
A raspy voice, seemingly echoing from an ancient abyss, abruptly broke the languid atmosphere of the room.
"I sense a familiar power within you... Indeed, partnering with you was the correct choice."
The voice came from a coiled dragon stone sculpture embedded in the inner wall of the office.
At this moment, the dragon head's eyes were flashing with an ominous red glow. It was the ancient demon sealed within—Shendu.
Hearing this, the cynical smile on Vic's face deepened.
He didn't get up. He simply stopped shaking his leg and grinned, pulling several talismans shimmering with faint, strange light from his pocket—
Rat, Rabbit, Dragon, Sheep, Monkey.
He began tossing them casually, the five talismans tracing dazzling arcs in the air.
Shendu's gaze was glued to the flying stone octagons. The red glow in the dragon's eyes flickered with the rise and fall of the talismans.
That focused, almost craving look resembled a pet waiting to be fed.
"Five!"
Shendu's voice trembled with excitement.
"A thousand years... I have never felt freedom so close! Well done! Find the remaining seven talismans. When I regain my freedom, my treasury will be yours to choose from, and my authority will be shared with you!"
Vic let out an unhidden scoff.
"Shendu, I'm very happy you're so generous. But..."
His tone shifted, his gaze sharpening.
"I'm very unhappy with you painting pictures of empty promises. I'm not an idiot like Valmont who will follow a phantom carrot for a lifetime. Give me something tangible, old man."
The office fell into dead silence, save for the faint sound of Enid's slightly nervous breathing.
The red light on Shendu's dragon head flashed violently. Clearly, he was enraged by Vic's blunt provocation.
After a moment of stalemate, Shendu seemed to weigh the pros and cons. Suppressing his rage, he growled, "It is known that I, Shendu, always keep my promises."
From the shadows, a Shadow Khan ninja with glowing red eyes emerged silently, handing a scroll radiating a faint golden sheen to Vic.
"You may choose three items from this list of treasures first."
Shendu's voice was tempting.
"When I regain my freedom, everything on the list will be yours!"
Vic took the scroll without even looking at it and placed it in front of Wednesday and Enid.
"Darlings, see if there's anything you like."
His attitude was as casual as letting his dates pick jewelry from a shop window.
Enid leaned in curiously, her eyes scanning the bizarre item names and images on the list. Finally, she pointed to a spectral blue potion radiating the aura of eternal life.
"I want this! The Potion of Eternal Youth!"
Her face was glowing with the yearning for everlasting youth.
Wednesday was much calmer. Her slender finger glided steadily down the list. Her dark eyes quickly scanned treasures that would drive the outside world mad—including tomes recording powerful dark magic.
However, her fingertip finally stopped on a piece of jewelry with effects similar to Enid's choice but with an extremely ancient and elegant design.
"This."
Her voice was cool, devoid of emotion.
Vic raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile curling his lips.
Sure enough, no matter the type of woman, the pursuit of "eternity" held a certain obsession.
But he didn't ask further. He just grinned, turned to Shendu, and waved the list like waste paper.
"See, my girls have chosen. As for me..."
He dragged out his tone, his face showing a mix of greed and mockery.
"What I want isn't on your list."
"What do you desire?"
Shendu's voice carried a trace of wariness.
Vic leaned forward, staring straight into Shendu's scarlet eyes, speaking word by word:
"Your Shadow Khan. I want absolute control over them."
"Impossible!"
Shendu's voice suddenly spiked, filled with shock and fury. The stone sculpture seemed to vibrate.
"You are robbing me!"
Vic laughed loudly, leaning back into the sofa, arms spread across the backrest in a posture of utmost arrogance.
"Shendu!"
Vic's tone held a condescending laziness, as if stating the most obvious fact.
"Get the situation straight. You are begging me for help, not the other way around. With such a lack of sincerity..."
He deliberately dragged out the end of his sentence. His fingers snapped shut, catching the five talismans securely in his palm.
"I am very worried about the gold content of your promises."
The air seemed to freeze. The red light on Shendu's head flickered violently, revealing the monstrous rage and struggle within.
To be coerced like this by a human he viewed as an ant was the ultimate humiliation!
But... freedom. A thousand years of imprisonment. The craving to see the sun again gnawed at his soul like venomous insects.
The silence lasted for a full minute. The office was quiet except for Enid's slightly nervous breathing.
Wednesday remained expressionless, but her fingers resting on Vic's arm tightened almost imperceptibly.
Finally, as if using every ounce of his strength, Shendu squeezed out a humiliating compromise through his teeth.
"Fine! It is yours!"
Take it! Take it all! The stronger you get, the harder the 'Light Chi' will target you! When that time comes... I will take it back with interest!
Shendu roared madly in his mind, pinning his hopes on the laws of balance, fantasizing about the pleasure of future revenge.
However, Shendu could never have anticipated—
In an unknown location, a precious sword hanging on an ancient stone wall began to move without wind, emitting clear, resonant hums and vibrating slightly!
In the void, a clear, young voice filled with righteous energy seemed to echo leisurely:
"Demon Chi is restless. Hmph, acting up again. Just wait until my sword slays the demon dragon in due time."
Though soft, the voice contained supreme authority—pure Yang energy capable of cleansing all evil.