Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

She met Lu Changsheng's shocked gaze and walked back step by step, her steps firm, crushing the wild grass under the moonlight.

"The chip is in my heart and can't be removed. If I leave, it's like a time bomb, and I don't know when it will explode or be used by Chen Jingming again."

Zhang Ping spoke with an eerily steady pace, as if she were recounting someone else's story: "But if I go back, back into his control, at least part of the fuse of this bomb will be in my own hands."

She stopped in front of Lu Changsheng, tilted her head slightly, and looked directly at him with eyes burning with a resolute flame:

"He needs my qualities to balance things out, right? He wants to use me as a docile 'catalyst.' But what if I, this 'catalyst,' fail at the last minute?"

Lu Changsheng's heart clenched violently! He instantly understood Zhang Ping's lingering madness!

"So, I beg you... Dr. Lu, the moment you notice something's wrong with me—"

Every word she spoke was crystal clear:

"Kill me."

Lu Changsheng's pupils shrank sharply, and his heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand!

"Then," Zhang Ping said, as if she had used all her strength, "she took out the chip from my heart and destroyed it."

After she finished speaking, she seemed to collapse from exhaustion, her body swaying slightly, but she still stood firmly, staring intently at Lu Changsheng with her eyes, which were filled with tears yet burning with a death wish, waiting for his answer.

But Lu Changsheng remained silent.

Zhang Ping smiled wryly, but the next second, her emotions surged, and her chest heaved violently with excitement:

"Dr. Lu, you told me my 'sensitivity' isn't an illness, but the ability to see the truth! Now I see the biggest truth! I have a crucial link in Chen Jingming's plan within me! If I clearly have the opportunity to use this link to stop him, but I run away because I'm afraid of dying, then what am I?!"

"What's the fundamental difference between me and those who live in lies?!"

Her question was like a heavy hammer, striking Lu Changsheng's heart and the hearts of everyone watching the live broadcast.

The comments section paused briefly, then erupted in an even more frenzied manner:

I don't know what to say, Zhang Ping—she really…

This isn't courage; it's despair at the very end...

But she's right. She's gone, but the chip remains, Chen Jingming is still here, and the city is still hell.

But Brother Lu's mission is to help her... If Zhang Ping sacrifices herself, won't the mission be considered a failure?

"Have you thought it through?"

Lu Changsheng heard his own voice, which was extremely dry.

"I've made up my mind."

Zhang Ping did not hesitate.

"No regrets?"

"I will never regret it."

Silence spread between the two, with only the howling of the wind.

After a long while, Lu Changsheng slowly exhaled, and his breath condensed into white mist in the cold air.

His eyes changed.

The bloodshot veins in the depths of his eyes, caused by exhaustion, anger, and the corrosive influence of "it," slowly faded, replaced by an extremely deep darkness that seemed to absorb all light.

Zhang Ping was the one who directly faced Lu Changsheng, and she was the one who most clearly and directly felt the changes in Lu Changsheng.

It's as if some underlying shackle on Lu Changsheng has been broken.

The chat in the live stream also noticed something was wrong:

[What's wrong with Lu Shen? Something feels... off?]

[His eyes are terrifying... He looks like a completely different person?]

[So handsome! Lu Shen is usually so unassuming, but he looks so cool when he goes crazy!]

[Why do I feel like... God Lu is smiling? That smile is terrifying... Such is the power of metaphysics!]

"Ms. Zhang," Lu Changsheng's voice rang out, still steady, but with a strange quality, "I have received your determination. I respect your choice."

He paused, his deep eyes fixed on Zhang Ping:

"But who says that the nail driven into Chen Jingming's dream has to be you?"

Zhang Ping was stunned, completely bewildered.

Lu Changsheng's voice rang out softly in the night wind of the wilderness, unhurried and unhurried.

The voice no longer carried the previous anxiety or heaviness, but instead revealed an almost indifferent calmness and an indescribable desolation.

"Ms. Zhang," he began, his tone calm yet each word like gold and jade falling to the ground, "do you know that our Chinese Xuanmen (mystical arts) has a glorious five-thousand-year-old heritage, profound and all-encompassing. It can glimpse the secrets of heaven, subdue the netherworld, regulate yin and yang, and manipulate creation."

"In metaphysics, there are techniques to seize the creation of heaven and earth, as well as methods to steal the sky and change the sun. The thread of fate is not entirely untouchable."

"Your fate is powerfully linked to Chen Jingming's plan," Lu Changsheng explained. "He wanted to use you; that's the 'cause.' You chose to resist the 'effect.' The cause and effect are now complete—"

The crazed glint in his eyes intensified: "Why don't I take your place and 'graft' this cause and effect for you?"

"Grafting...cause and effect?"

Zhang Ping murmured repeatedly, completely unable to understand.

"In short," Lu Changsheng's strange smile deepened, "I can use forbidden techniques to temporarily 'take' your fate and become the source of that 'trait' in Chen Jingming's eyes. And this 'it' within me..."

He lightly tapped the glowing "hole" on his chest, his tone carrying an almost playful coldness:

"That's much more interesting. Chen Jingming wants a balancing agent? Very well. Let him try, let him use his most violent and chaotic emotions to 'harmonize' an equally powerful and clear consciousness—what will happen?!"

Zhang Ping gasped! She finally understood what Lu Changsheng was planning!

He wanted to take her place and become that "nail"! To become a "bomb" carrying even more terrifying energy!

"No! No way!"

Zhang Ping cried out, "Dr. Lu, this is too dangerous! The 'it' inside you is already unstable. If you actively stimulate it, you'll completely lose control! Besides, this forbidden technique sounds like it comes at a huge price!"

"Danger? Cost?"

Lu Changsheng chuckled lightly, a laugh devoid of any warmth. "Compared to your resolute willingness to risk your life, what am I?"

He looked at Zhang Ping, his eyes strangely mingling with a deep-seated compassion:

"You said you wanted to be the nail. I admire your courage. But a nail doesn't necessarily have to be driven in by yourself. Sometimes, using the enemy's strength against them, using their own blade to break through their shield, might be more efficient."

He no longer gave Zhang Ping a chance to object.

Since that old guy Chen Jingming dared to let them leave, it shouldn't be too long; he should be preparing to merge with them now.

He simply reached out and flicked his chest.

"Hey, haven't you been itching to get started for a while now?"

"Now I'm giving you a chance to resist. Now that she's not by my side, you can safely 'devour' me..."

The "thing" on his chest seemed to understand Lu Changsheng's words and suddenly rammed into Lu Changsheng's chest.