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In order to deal with dangerous antisocial and inhumane demonic terrorists, the Tianhuan Federal Government passed a special law 80 years ago authorizing front-line counter-terrorism forces members to be equipped with immortal armor.

This bill not only significantly improved the battlefield survival rate of frontline members and the efficiency of eliminating demonic cultivators, but also accelerated the technological research and development and iteration of immortal armor and related fields, promoting leapfrog progress in the entire federal military-industrial system.

This move has played a crucial role in enabling the Tianhuan Federation to maintain its position as a world superpower.

And now.

Five crimson immortal battle armors descended from the sky like meteors, trailing blazing tails, heading straight for the Pearl Hotel, which was covered by a sealing barrier.

Five scorching trails were left in the night sky, as if the sky had been torn open with five wounds.

The boundary protocol detected the friendly beacon emitted by the battle suit and automatically created an opening for the five battle suits to pass through.

After rushing into the barrier, the Wutai Immortal Armor decelerated and turned almost instantly, rushing into the 18th floor of the hotel through the hole in the wall that Wei Si had previously blasted.

Immediately afterwards, a deafening roar, as if the earth were shaking, echoed through the hotel.

And a few seconds later, outside the barrier of the forbidden zone agreement.

whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The fierce winds stirred up by the immortal battle armor then pressed down from the sky, causing the trees on the ground to sway violently, their branches and leaves flying everywhere, and dust filling the air.

Everyone present was utterly shocked, and each person could feel the overwhelming pressure emanating from the Immortal Armor.

It was a clear, undeniable force.

Amidst the shock, everyone felt a deep sense of security.

With the arrival of the counter-terrorism department's suppression forces, the group of demonic cultivators could no longer cause any trouble. No matter how many traps they set up, they were no match for the five fully armed immortal battle armors.

That was indeed the case; the fight inside the hotel ended in just over three minutes, not even five minutes had passed.

However, this has nothing to do with Zhou Ran and the others. Because they have been severely corrupted by the strange power, they need to be transferred to the response team for further observation.

As for the specific details that the people at the firm want to know, let Li Feng, the person who experienced it firsthand, tell the story himself.

……

Qinghe City, Emergency Response Bureau, Isolation Room.

The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

Medical staff in white coats stand beside the bed, in front of which is a floating medical imaging screen showing a beating heart.

However, a tiny hole appeared in this heart.

This is completely illogical. If there is a hole in the heart, an ordinary person would die long ago, and a cultivator would be crippled. Only a powerful being of a high level could rely on their cultivation to survive.

But the boy in front of her was only in the process of awakening, and he felt nothing about it, not even pain.

The strange power is truly... unbelievable.

The medical staff were astonished, then said to Zhou Ran, "I don't know whether to say you're lucky or unlucky. Everyone else has external deformities; they just have extra fingers or eyes that can be removed. Only you have an internal deformity..."

"To tell you the truth, your heart has undergone some kind of mutation under a strange influence. We don't know if this mutation is good or bad, but since it's related to strange forces, let's think about the worst-case scenario."

He paused, then solemnly said to Zhou Ran, "You may very well die suddenly from a heart attack one day."

"..."

Zhou Ran stared silently at the image of his heart on the screen, recalling the introduction to the Exquisite Heart.

—The Exquisite Heart, a rare treasure born of nature, is often found in places where spiritual energy gathers. Its shape resembles a heart, and its entire body is as clear as jade. Holes can be seen on its surface. The more holes there are, the higher the quality and the more transparent the texture.

Now, there is an opening in my heart. Could it be that my heart has been transformed into a delicate, exquisite heart under the catalysis of some strange force?

Zhou Ran thought about it carefully and felt that it probably wasn't there yet.

If one truly possesses a discerning mind, even a single insight can attract strange and covetous eyes.

If his heart had already mutated into a unique and exquisite heart, then Red Shoes should have continued to chase after him back at the Pearl Hotel.

Moreover, he had seen pictures of the actual Linglong Heart, and the orifice was connected from front to back. The hole in his heart, as seen in the images, was just a depression that formed a hollow, and it was not open from front to back.

So it's just a prototype.

But this is already fatal; as long as the [Exquisite Heart] is used, the mutation could be completely completed at any time.

You must be even more careful when using this term from now on.

Zhou Ran pondered for a moment, then asked, "Is a heart transplant possible?"

"That's the problem."

The medical staff said, "If it were a regular heart transplant, it would only cost a few hundred thousand to find a suitable donor. But since you are a cultivator and want to ascend the path to immortality, it's best to maintain your plasticity. Use your original organs whenever possible. A perfectly replicated cloned heart costs three million."

"You're just a student, you definitely couldn't have gotten that much money, otherwise you wouldn't have come here to be cannon fodder."

Three million… Zhou Ran sighed helplessly, “Alright, let’s leave it at that for now. What about the others?”

"Surgery is underway to remove excess organs."

……

Two hours later, Fang Beichen and the other two were released after completing their surgeries and giving statements.

The deformed limbs and organs on their bodies have all been removed, and their physical condition has been restored to normal.

The three of them were somewhat surprised to see Zhou Ran waiting in the hall.

"You didn't leave?" Cui Jin remembered that Zhou Ran was released half an hour earlier than them.

"We've been through thick and thin together, we should at least say goodbye, right?" Zhou Ran smiled.

His gaze swept over Fang Beichen discreetly, a slight surprise in his heart. Had he not detected any traces of demonic cultivation?

Those black blades and black flames can absorb life force, so they're not considered demonic techniques?

"Alright, so what are you planning to do next?" Cui Jin asked the group.

"Go do what you're supposed to do." Fang Beichen resumed his calm, deadpan expression. He actually had the ability to repay the more than ten million yuan loan, but there was no need for it, so he came here to wipe away the debt and see the strange things. He just didn't expect it to escalate to such a big extent and almost cost him his life.

Now that things are over, he can naturally go about his business as usual; he still has an unfinished blood oath to fulfill.

"I...I'm planning to go back to my hometown and open a flower shop."

Su Meilin originally intended to settle down, find an honest man to marry, and live a simple, ordinary life.

But he changed his mind before he could say it.

Because she remembered that Cui Jin seemed to be the kind of honest person who could be easily deceived, she decided not to provoke him.

Finally, the three of them turned their attention to Zhou Ran.

"Me?" Zhou Ran's face fell, her tone full of despair. "Heh, I have to go to school tomorrow."

High school students have a limited number of days off each month, and he had used up all the available leave slips recently, so he has to go to school tomorrow.

He was certain that many people would never experience what happened that night, but when he came to his senses, he realized that he had to go to school the next day, which was truly speechless.

The three of them were taken aback when they heard this, and then they remembered that Zhou Ran was still a high school student.

Zhou Ran's abilities at the Pearl Hotel were in no way inferior to any adult, and he was even more composed than most people they had ever met, which led the three of them to subconsciously regard him as a reliable teammate rather than a high school student.

All I can say is that this child has a bright future.

"Alright, that's enough for now. My taxi's here. Goodbye... forever."

When Zhou Ran saw the driver calling, he waved his hand and left first.

He didn't want to have any further dealings with these three people, especially Fang Beichen, a member of the demonic path; it would be troublesome if he were implicated.

Su Meilin then left as well, while Cui Jin left with Fang Beichen, because Fang Beichen had promised to help him take revenge on the adulterous couple.

……

Back home, Zhou Ran took a hot shower to relax and then ordered takeout to replenish her energy.

It was past three in the morning. The night outside the window was deep and dark. The hustle and bustle of the city had long since subsided, with only the occasional sound of a car engine coming from afar.

Zhou Ran lay in bed, feeling that everything was somewhat unreal.

It's hard to imagine that such a wealth of experiences, so many life-or-death moments, were all compressed into just a few hours.

It's truly astonishing.

"Speaking of which, how did those demonic cultivators find and capture the Stopper, and even give it a medal?"

Zhou Ran thought of this problem, but had no clue how to solve it, so he could only put it aside for the time being, wondering if he could get an answer from Wei Si later.

Oh, and the red dancing shoes, I wonder if they've been contained.

Zhou Ran let his thoughts wander for a while, then closed his eyes and opened the Book of Fate in the depths of his spiritual world.

It's time for the lucky draw.

Activate the Book of Fate!

With a flash of light, three new terms were created.

[Reverse Scale: Enters a berserk state, greatly increasing all attributes, but with each use, the body will gradually transform into a dragon.]

[Painful Bliss: All the pain you endure is transformed into an equal intensity of extreme pleasure, but the pleasure threshold will continue to rise, driving you to instinctively crave more frenzied and deadly ecstasy and pain.]

[Six Desire Demon Arms: Six demonic arms sprout from your back, each with a different personality tendency. You must subdue them all before you can use this ability; otherwise, you will be attacked by the six giant arms.]

"Hmm... these skills..."

Zhou Ran smoothed his hair. The [Reverse Scale] and [Six Desires Demon Arm] looked pretty good.

As for this "ecstasy and agony"...

It's somewhat like the fanatical cultivation methods of the ascetic sect.

The Asceticism sect is a sect in a remote country that advocates enjoying suffering and experiencing supreme bliss through it, ultimately reaching the other side of the sea of ​​suffering.

Every inner member of this sect is a crazy masochist, using all sorts of extreme methods on themselves, such as piercing, branding, and skinning. They are all more ruthless than the last.

But it would be a mistake to think they are easy targets. The fact that they dare to play with their own bodies like that and still survive shows that their physical strength is extremely high, even ranking among the top in major body cultivation sects.

What's even more troublesome is that because these people believe in pain, the more they are beaten, the more they enjoy it, and the more they enjoy it, the faster their cultivation increases. They often start leveling up on the spot while fighting, to the point that the entire cultivation world avoids them like the plague, and no one wants to provoke these monsters who get more and more excited the more they fight.

The problem is that while ascetic cultivators can improve their cultivation by doing this, the [Extreme Bliss and Pain] technique doesn't mention improving cultivation at all; it's simply a... pain converter.

For someone who doesn't have that kind of fetish, it's hard to imagine what scenario would make it useful.

After pondering for a while, Zhou Ran put aside the term "extreme bliss and agony" and began analyzing the other two terms.

[Reverse Scale] is a burst-type skill. After use, the user's strength will be greatly enhanced for a short period of time. As for the side effect of dragon transformation...

It's definitely not as big as the "Exquisite Heart".

The great catastrophe six hundred years ago almost sank the cultivation world. Both the human and demon races suffered heavy blows. Later, the immortal path declined, and the demon race was practically extinct until the immortal path rose again and reappeared.

At that time, the demon race was far less powerful than before. In order to survive, they had to integrate into the human race, through bloodline integration, cultural integration, and even value integration.

In this fast-paced era brought about by technology, humanity has completed the peaceful evolution of the demon race in just two hundred years. Today, the demon race has been completely integrated into humanity, and there are almost no pure-blooded demons in the world now; they are all mixed-bloods.

Therefore, it is actually quite normal for someone to have demonic characteristics—of course, this applies to people whose parents or ancestors were demons.

Zhou Ran's ancestors were all pure-blooded humans, so the sudden appearance of demonic characteristics on his body was a very eye-catching thing.

But it's not a big problem.

The bloodline of the demon race is, in essence, a niche attribute, and the world is never short of people who pursue niche interests.

Not to mention some Fu Rui fans who just like the half-human, half-beast thing. In this day and age of extremely advanced medical technology, adding some demon blood and characteristics to themselves is really not a strange thing.

Therefore, the side effects of dragonification can be used as an excuse to get by.

The real concern regarding side effects is the [Six Desires Demon Arm].

This attribute effect is also top-tier, granting six extra arms, providing a huge advantage in both spellcasting and combat, and even allowing one to do the work of several people on an assembly line.

The problem is that these arms all have their own tempers and can only be used after they have all been subdued, otherwise they will backfire.

This is a bit troublesome.

"Next, I'll find some time to test the quality of the Six Desires Demon Arm. Hopefully, I can subdue it successfully."

As Zhou Ran thought about it, drowsiness overcame her. She yawned, stopped thinking about these random things, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

……

During the day, at school.

Song Ci looked at Zhou Ran, who looked exhausted, and hesitated to speak.

In the end, I couldn't resist and took a break between classes to strike up a conversation.

"Zhou Ran, you last night..."

Song Ci glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then lowered her voice and tentatively asked, "Did you go to sell yourself?"

"what?"

Zhou Ran's pupils dilated in shock; he was so stunned by Song Ci's explosive statement that he couldn't recover for a long time.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry, it seems I misunderstood."

Song Ci apologized immediately, "You looked so exhausted, I thought you'd been forced into prostitution."

"Are you really apologizing? I demand you say it again!"