Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

These days, Li Rui has not stopped paying attention to him.

But Zhang Zhaoqing was too cautious.

Since Zhang Ziqian went missing, he has almost never left his home, his schedule is unpredictable, and he is under tight security.

He has at least six bodyguards on duty around his residence, and he is always accompanied by at least two vehicles when he goes out.

If he tries to force his way in now, even with his karmic fire, he might be driven to despair by excessive energy before he even sees Zhang Zhaoqing.

Revenge is not a suicidal charge, but a hunt.

What he wanted was to personally set Zhang Zhaoqing ablaze, to watch the person who had sheltered the demon turn to ashes in his own karmic fire.

This will take time, require more precise control, and blur the vision of both the police and Zhang Zhaoqing.

Therefore, he needs more dispersed targets and more diverse methods so that those missing persons cases will always remain isolated "ordinary missing persons" in the police files and will never be investigated together.

Several images flashed through Li Rui's mind.

Those are memories accumulated over the years on the front lines of criminal investigation—the evil recorded in those case files, the crimes that escaped legal punishment for various reasons.

Two years ago, the son of a wealthy businessman was drunk driving when he hit and killed a mother and daughter. He escaped criminal responsibility by taking the blame and paying compensation.

Three days after the incident, the husband and father of the mother and daughter knelt outside the courthouse for an entire afternoon, but no one paid him any attention.

Later, that man went insane. I heard he's still in a sanatorium in the suburbs, calling out his wife and daughter's names to the wall every day.

There was a board member of a private school who appeared respectable on the surface, but secretly bullied students for a long time.

Seven students testified, providing a complete chain of evidence. However, the opposing legal team was strong enough, and the "settlement fee" was generous enough. In the end, the case was dropped due to "insufficient evidence."

Of the seven students' parents, four were forced to sign confidentiality agreements, take the money, and move out of the city.

The other three are still petitioning.

There's another one...

Too much.

There were so many that Li Rui could easily list a long string of names.

Crimes happen every day in this city, and every day there are villains who escape punishment.

Hiding under the protection of money, power, and connections, they continue to breathe the air under the sun and enjoy the stable life they have stolen.

The law is powerless to address this.

Or rather, at times, they treat the law as their best shield.

Previously, he was constrained by his identity as a police officer and his belief in the law, so even when he was angry, he could only suppress his resentment.

But now, that shackle has been burned away along with Xiaoxiao.

Two dark red dots flickered slightly in Li Rui's eyes.

It is time for him to burn away the evil.

As for Zhang Zhaoqing—

No rush, Xiaoxiao.

Let him live a few more days; every second of fear he incurs is interest paid on his lowly soul.

------

Two o'clock in the morning.

A luxury apartment building in Dawn City.

Song Bo lay on the soft velvet bed, the effects of alcohol and drugs plunging him into a deep, restless sleep.

Without warning, a cluster of dark red karmic flames condensed in the air of the bedroom.

It hovered beside the bed, pulsating coldly, like an eye opening from nothingness.

From Ye Huo's perspective, Li Rui "saw"—

Two twisted, vengeful ghosts were wrapped around Song Bo; they were the mother and daughter he had killed two years ago.

The black flames of sin were so intense they almost seeped through their skin. Reflected in their lingering thoughts, their faces, swollen from excessive indulgence, appeared even more repulsive.

Two years ago, the name Song Bo was a thorn in the side of the Chenxi Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The son of a real estate tycoon, drunk driving a supercar in a downtown area, killed both mother and daughter.

The results of it?

A distant relative took the blame, and a hefty compensation was offered to keep him quiet; he never even spent a day in jail.

The police were helpless.

When Li Rui heard about it, he was filled with righteous indignation, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

But now—

The cluster of karmic fire slowly descended, seeping into Song Bo's brow as if melting away.

The moment the karmic fire touched Song Bo's soul, it did not spread outward, but collapsed inward—like an extremely small, dense, and heavy singularity, falling directly into the deepest part of his sins.

Song Bo suddenly opened his eyes in his sleep.

His pupils dilated suddenly, and what they reflected was not the bedroom ceiling, but—

Speeding vehicles.

He stood on the street in the bustling downtown area.

The blinding headlights shone directly at me, followed by a muffled "bang".

At the moment of impact, excruciating pain exploded from every nerve in the body—the pain of shattered bones, the pain of crushed internal organs, the pain of a broken spine.

But at the same time, another, more intense pain welled up from the depths of his soul—

The flames of karma are burning.

It licked outwards from the core of his soul, each flame scorching his memories, his perceptions, his very existence.

He was thrown into the air, his body twisting at an unbelievable angle as flames burned through his consciousness.

He was dragged under the car, his small body crushed under the wheels—the flames of karma were peeling away his sins layer by layer, each layer accompanied by excruciating pain like being torn apart by a thousand knives.

He spat out blood.

Lots of blood.

But that blood is also fire.

Each cycle of reincarnation is a double purgatory—

The excruciating pain of the car accident allowed him to experience the fear of his mother and daughter in the moments before they died;

The burning of karmic fire made him pay the price for his sins with his very soul.

He wanted to pass out, but the karmic fire wouldn't allow it—it precisely maintained his absolute consciousness.

He wanted to scream, but his throat was sealed shut—all the pain was locked deep within his soul, not allowing even the slightest trace to leak out to the outside world.

Then--

He returned to that busy downtown street.

The headlights blared blindingly, followed by a muffled thud.

one more time.

one more time.

one more time.

There is no end.

In each reincarnation, he fully experienced every second of fear, every inch of pain, and every silent cry for help from the mother and daughter before their deaths.

And the cruelest thing is—

His body remained in bed the entire time.

His lips moved silently, his eyes darted wildly beneath his eyelids, and his fingers twitched unconsciously, digging into the sheets.

But he couldn't make a sound.

Because the karmic fire sealed all suffering deep within his soul, not allowing even the slightest trace to leak out to the outside world.

This is Li Rui's new technique—

An eternally burning purgatory.

Let sin itself become fuel, let the soul endlessly cycle in its own sins, and let the flames burn every second.

until--

Burned to ashes.

In the cycle of reincarnation and purgatory, no one knew how much time had passed.

Perhaps it will be ten thousand years.

Song Bo's sins have finally been burned away.

The two illusory ghosts that clung to him slowly dissipated in the karmic fire.

At the same instant, Song Bo's soul also vanished completely.

His body was also simultaneously erased from the physical realm.

There was no body, no empty clothes, no trace.

It has completely disappeared.

------

Two hours later.

On the highway leading to a private school in Chenxi City.

A black Mercedes-Benz sedan was moving slowly forward.

School board member Zhao Dexing gripped the steering wheel, a barely suppressed smile playing on his lips.

He had just sent a message to the student who was always the first to arrive at school.

The reason is quite good—helping her prepare for the competition materials in advance, taking advantage of the quiet morning, makes it more efficient.

The other end replied cautiously, saying it was already on its way.

Zhao Dexing put his phone away, feeling increasingly relieved.

He is the mastermind behind this prestigious university, and also the devil who has lurked in the ivory tower for many years.