Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

At ten o'clock, Zhou Zheng led Ping An into the building.

Ping An was yawning from exhaustion. He patted Ping An's hair, and the two went upstairs.

Footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell, and motion-activated lights turned on one by one.

The lamp at the corner on the third floor is still broken.

The two walked to their doorstep in the dark, and could vaguely hear voices coming from inside the house, but they couldn't hear clearly through the door.

He took out his key and opened the door.

The voice stopped abruptly.

Zhou Zheng walked into the house, and Wang Lili was still curled up on the sofa, holding her phone.

Her expression stiffened slightly, but quickly returned to normal the moment she saw Zhou Zheng.

"You're back?" she said, her tone as usual.

"Hmm." Zhou Zheng glanced at her. "Who were you talking to on the phone?"

  

"A friend," she replied expressionlessly, turning her gaze back to her phone.

Zhou Zheng didn't ask any further questions. He took off Ping An's coat, hung it on the hook by the door, changed into slippers, and led Ping An into the bathroom to wash up.

A dozen minutes later, he led the clean-up Ping An into the small room.

Ping An was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open. As soon as she lay down on the bed, she drifted off to sleep.

Zhou Zheng stood by the bed for a while, and the light from the living room shone directly on Ping An's shoulder.

One day left, only one day.

He can leave this city and this country in peace, receive the best treatment, and live a happy and fulfilling life.

It was all worth it.

He placed the orange duck and the colorful lollipop on the bedside table, covered Ping An with the blanket, and left the room.

Wang Lili had already entered the bedroom, where the sound of a short video could be heard. He then went into the bathroom.

I washed up, tidied up, and then went to bed and turned off the lights.

Everything is the same as usual.

But after lying down, Zhou Zheng tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

His mind raced through images one after another—from Ping An to Wang Lili, from Wang Lili to his long-deceased wife, from his wife to his years at customs, finally stopping at the day he could no longer turn back.

At that time, he was still working at customs, and his relationship with Wang Lili was on the verge of breaking down.

Ping An grew up day by day, and the money from selling the house was gradually running out.

Rehabilitation treatment and daily expenses are beyond what his salary can cover.

He also considered giving up, after all, he had spent so much money but the effect was minimal, so he might as well just give up.

But then he thought, what if he were gone one day? What would happen to Ping An? He couldn't rest easy leaving her with Wang Lili, but he had no other relatives.

Sending him to a sanatorium might cause him distress, and besides, he couldn't afford it.

Until six months ago, foreign forces found him.

They promised to provide Ping An with the best medical resources and to give him money in a "reasonable" way, in exchange for him turning a blind eye to work inspections and approvals.

He knew perfectly well that smuggling on this scale could not possibly involve ordinary goods, but he still agreed. From the moment he first released that shipment, there was no turning back.

Since then, foreign forces have disguised various high-end medical drugs as ordinary medicines, and he only needs to go to designated pharmacies regularly to buy them at the price of ordinary medicines.

Every now and then, there are also free physical examinations and rehabilitation experiences at private hospitals.

This went on for about half a year.

Later, when spiritual energy revived and the Extraordinary Management Bureau was established, he was transferred there.

Foreign forces contacted him again and offered new conditions—if he could bring out the first-level cultivation method, they would immediately fulfill their previous cash promise, help them move abroad, and provide Ping An with the best rehabilitation environment and medical team for life.

He said "I'll give it a try" at the time, but in fact he had already obtained the cultivation method and had been holding onto it for more than half a month.

He kept hesitating, feeling that it wasn't time yet, until Zhao Desheng was arrested, and fate took a step for him.

He can't be arrested, and Ping An can't be left unattended.

Zhou Zheng lay in bed, lost in thought, unable to fall asleep.

I don't know how much time had passed, but I heard a faint sound.

Wang Lili got up and left the bed, walking very quietly out of the bedroom, followed by the sound of the bathroom door closing.

Zhou Zheng thought he was getting up in the middle of the night and didn't pay attention, so he turned over.

Then I heard faint voices.

Although there were two doors between them and their voices were kept very low, his hearing was much more acute than that of ordinary people after he started cultivating.

Although the sounds coming from the bathroom were muffled, it was clear that Wang Lili was speaking—speaking slowly, as if she were on the phone with someone.

His heart suddenly tightened.

When he got home tonight, Wang Lili was talking to someone, but as soon as he entered the door, she immediately hung up.

At this moment, the already sensitive nerves in my mind were instantly taut like a string.

He slowly sat up, his bare feet touching the floor, and silently made his way to the bathroom door.

Wang Lili's voice could be heard coming from inside.

"...I usually leave home around 8:30 in the morning... um...and come back around 6:00 in the evening..."

Then a man's voice, clearly coming from the phone, rang out: "He won't find out, will he?"

"They won't find out," Wang Lili replied.

Zhou Zheng's eyelids twitched, and he pushed the door open.

Wang Lili was sitting on the toilet with her phone to her ear when Zhou Zheng suddenly barged in, which startled her.

She put the phone down from her ear, quickly tapped the screen with her thumb, and then turned it off.

"What are you doing—" Her expression was flustered, her tone sharp, as if she had been caught doing something wrong, "What are you doing in the bathroom?"

Zhou Zheng stared intently at her, his voice low and demanding, "Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"Nobody."

"I'm asking you who you're talking to on the phone," Zhou Zheng's voice suddenly rose.

"It's just a casual chat with friends from my hometown," Wang Lili said, clutching her phone tightly behind her back with a hint of guilt.

Give me your phone.

"Why should I—"

"Give me!"

Zhou Zheng took a step forward and reached out to grab it.

Wang Lili tried to dodge, but how could she possibly be faster than Zhou Zheng?

Zhou Zheng gripped Wang Lili's wrist and reached for the phone in her palm with his other hand.

"Let go!" Wang Lili began to struggle, her fingernails scratching Zhou Zheng's hand, leaving a white mark that quickly turned red.

"Let go! You're hurting me!"

Zhou Zheng not only didn't let go, but he also used even more force, prying the phone out from between Wang Lili's fingers.

He pressed a side button, and the lock screen popped up—requiring facial recognition or a password.

He looked up at Wang Lili, his fingers gripping her chin, and brought her face towards the screen. Wang Lili struggled to turn her head, but she couldn't overcome Zhou Zheng's strength.

The lock screen unlocked with a "click".