Yu Xian sat in the computer chair, staring at the screen as a possibility dawned on him.
Perhaps Siberian Rat truly was innocent, but the source of the power inside him was problematic.
This was probably like those cheat-system web novels where the system originated from high-tier cosmic anglers whose goal was to fatten the host before slaughtering them for meat.
As for why Siberian Rat was chosen?
Perhaps precisely because Siberian Rat was a transmigrator, and transmigrators always carried something special.
Perhaps, had he never crossed paths with Zhang Shou, he would at most have been subtly influenced by that power over time, becoming someone who simply enjoyed watching Little Nora's livestreams.
Yet the moment Zhang Shou appeared, the rat's tragedy was sealed.
The source of that power would not let such an opportunity slip; they wanted to get close to Little Nora.
Although the purpose behind getting close to Little Nora remained unclear, it was at least certain that she possessed something the other party coveted.
"Old Zhang, let's head back to the Aska!"
Yu Xian pondered for nearly ten minutes before turning to Zhang Shou.
A thief could plot forever, but one could not stay on guard forever.
Yu Xian would never allow a sneaky schemer lurking in the shadows, constantly coveting Little Nora with greedy eyes. Now that they had uncovered this, the bastard had to be eliminated.
Aboard the Aska.
Yu Xian and Zhang Shou returned at the same time.
The two headed straight for the sunroom and sat down on either side of Little Nora. Both glanced at the livestream chat, then exchanged a knowing look.
They were one hundred percent certain that the mastermind had an informant planted in the chat.
"Big Brother, Zhang Shou, you're back!" Little Nora chirped happily.
Yu Xian picked up a tomahawk lamb chop, took a bite, and chuckled. "We're back. Old Zhang was browsing sketchy websites and almost ended up done for."
"You're the one browsing sketchy websites," Zhang Shou retorted.
Yu Xian pointed at him with the tomahawk chop and grinned. "Then how do you explain triggering the antivirus alarm?"
"Don't get me started, I'm fuming! Viewers, there's a traitor among our ranks! Does everyone remember Siberian Rat?" Zhang Shou gulped down a glass of juice and began pouring his heart out.
While Zhang Shou aired his grievances, Yu Xian activated the power of Chaos and Myriad Phenomena, running an information-gap screening!
When the audience present learned the details Zhang Shou provided, the vast majority only knew what he had shared. But Zhang Shou's information was actually incomplete. Thus, if someone already knew more, a noticeable information gap would appear between them and everyone else.
So... who would that person be?
Yu Xian smiled at the screen, leisurely chewing on the lamb chop as he listened to Zhang Shou's rant. Little Nora, meanwhile, gradually showed a shocked expression. She never expected Siberian Rat was actually a big baddie—and that Zhang Shou had nearly been harmed just because she turned Siberian Rat down.
She had very few friends, but she cherished every single one. Knowing Zhang Shou had nearly lost his life because of her left an increasingly bitter taste in her mouth; even the food in her hands suddenly tasted bland.
Before Yu Xian could isolate the target, Little Nora's body abruptly burst with golden light, shifting straight from rubber duck form to her Source Form.
"Big baddie who's targeting me—I want to know their identity! Please, Big Sister, pretty please?" Little Nora immediately shouted toward the sky.
In the next instant, every viewer watching the livestream, along with Yu Xian, Zhang Shou, and Little Nora, received the target's identity at the exact same moment:
[Demonic Master Quan Juehua]
[Level: Mighty One]
[Combat Power: 53782408888832544554354543450105007863717178050220406570402040706337678670020343004201]
[Master of Luomo, Sect Master of the Myriad Demons Sect. Extremely adept at concealment; has escaped death countless times via fake deaths. His appearance shifts in myriad ways, and he possesses numerous defensive treasures. Incredibly powerful; certain death awaits anyone below the Mighty One realm who crosses him.]
Holy shit.
Is this something I'm even allowed to know?!
The viewers in the livestream felt their hearts drop into their stomachs at this moment. Having learned something they shouldn't have, would Quan Juehua come knocking on their doors next?
"So it's you!"
Having identified her target, Little Nora immediately activated her ability.
Gold coins materialized one after another, only to vanish just as swiftly.
Beside her, Yu Xian was also unleashing his abilities. Now that he knew who the target was, he naturally wouldn't let him off.
Zhang Shou, too, gripped the hilt of his saber, sinking into total focus. The moment Quan Juehua was locked down through Little Nora and Yu Xian's movements, he would deliver his most powerful slash to date from across the void, showing the bastard what pure lethality looked like.
Deep within a branch of the Tree Universe, on a shattered planet in a shattered world, a man in a gray Daoist robe with shoulder-length hair abruptly snapped his eyes open. His expression shifted slightly, and he instantly transformed into a black beam of light, attempting to flee this space.
Yet in the next instant, a coin materialized out of nowhere and slammed directly into the beam.
The gold coin itself was no divine weapon, but wrapped in golden radiance, its power was terrifying. The black beam held out for barely ten seconds before being battered back into human form, his body plummeting toward the shattered planet.
In an instant, the shattered planet dispersed like smoke, and the man continued falling downward.
If he understood internet memes, he would have burst into laughter right about now and claimed that this was his escape route all along. But he didn't know the meme, and before he had even fallen a single light-year, another gold coin appeared and slammed viciously into his waist.
"You really think this old man is a pushover?!"
Quan Juehua coughed up a mouthful of blood and immediately dissolved into billowing black smoke, abandoning his physical form entirely.
"Demonic Thought Nine Kills!"
Densely packed skull-shaped plumes of black smoke coalesced into a gigantic nine-fingered hand, sweeping forward in a violent swat.
Just as he swept out, even more gold coins appeared, but all were brushed aside by his strike. At the same time, this sweeping blow completely shattered the ruined world. Countless star systems tumbled straight into the Tree Universe, dropping from their self-revolving states into dead stillness.
With the battlefield shifting from a shattered universe into the Tree Universe, Quan Juehua grew even more aggressive. Accurately predicting Little Nora's attacks every time, he batted countless gold coins away, wreaking immense devastation across countless world fragments along the way.
"Three little brats! If you think you can kill me, you've got another thing coming!"
Quan Juehua let out a cold sneer, billowing demonic energy churning violently before a saber was drawn straight out from within his body.
"Watch closely, brat! This is what a saber is!"
"Fierce Saber, Severing Strike!"
Quan Juehua slashed forward. Black energy spread out in an instant, and the Tree Universe cracked!
The branch he was on was cleanly severed by his single strike, detaching entirely from the Tree Universe. In that moment, Yu Xian, Little Nora, and Zhang Shou all lost their perception of him.
Shock washed over the faces of all three, and in the next heartbeat, they vanished from the Aska.
When they materialized at the site of the Tree Universe's cut, all that lay before them was a sea of mist. The mist resembled the sap naturally secreted by a wounded tree, working to repair the damaged area.
As for the branch severed by Quan Juehua, its whereabouts were completely unknown.
Chapter 627