Chapter 354: The White Emperor
Just then, a thick fog suddenly rose over the manor, once so clear in view—so dense that one couldn't even see their own hand before their face.
Zhou Ning lifted a hand to steady his hat brim and stepped out from the swirling mist. Behind him floated a white-and-gold evil spirit, shadowing his every move.
Unlike in previous possessions, after the system's latest update, Zhou Ning could now distinctly feel that his emotions were in control—though inevitably, he'd absorbed traces of the possessed card's combat instincts, habits, and speech patterns.
Leandro's eyes widened slightly. This was the third time—his third time feeling a predator's deadly presence from Zhou Ning, a danger so instinctive it made his heart race as if he might die at any moment.
Tap, tap, tap! With a slight bend of the knees, Zhou Ning suddenly leapt forward, crossing a large distance in an instant. Without a sound, he appeared right before Chris Fisher, fist raised high. The Platinum Star mirrored his motion, raising its gleaming white-gold fist as well.
To his credit, the man was fearless. Instead of retreating, he twisted his body to face Zhou Ning head-on. At the same time, his frame swelled, bones jutting from the sides of his skull as he transformed into a massive demon wreathed in green flames. He opened his mouth and spat out a foul incantation in the demonic tongue:
"Hellfire!"
He thrust out his right hand, sending a flurry of pitch-black fireballs surging toward Zhou Ning.
Seizing the moment, Bislok hurled an alchemy vial in Zhou Ning's direction. Amid the spreading smoke, a squat, bloated earth elemental quickly took shape. Meanwhile, he lifted a strange artifact—[Self-Slaying Crossbow of Boudica, the Divine Archer]—and a beam of light began to coalesce.
It was a clay elemental golem crafted by a master-level alchemist—single-use, but capable of greatly slowing its target upon impact. A troublesome foe indeed.
But Sherlock and Leandro joined the battle right on cue. Sherlock threw two packets of mixed powder, and the sky instantly dimmed. Thunderclouds gathered overhead—then, with a crack, lightning struck down at Professor Bislok. Leandro's blazing greatsword followed suit, cleaving downward in a fiery arc. The protagonists' strength was now on full display.
Meanwhile, the fog grew even thicker. Zhou Ning's silhouette flickered in and out of sight, his eyes gleaming with cold contempt for everything before him.
As the torrent of fireballs came rushing in, the Platinum Star merely opened its hand and crushed them. To onlookers, it looked as if Zhou Ning simply reached out into the air and, defying all natural law, snuffed out the fireballs mid-flight. A heartbeat later, Chris Fisher staggered backward.
"Damn it! I can't see what's happening at all!"
Leandro turned his head just in time to catch the scene. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he must've missed something.
He hadn't seen what happened in between—it was as if he'd blinked, and suddenly Zhou Ning was frozen mid-punch, his loose white sleeves fluttering in the air. The massive flaming demon behind Fisher had already taken countless blows, its head lolling as it began to collapse.
But it didn't fall. Zhou Ning ignored the stream of damage numbers flashing across his system panel—"-734," "-549," line after line—and, expressionless, grabbed the demon's host by the collar, dragging him straight into the crowd.
Just then, the stone golem Bislok had summoned swung its fist toward Zhou Ning—but Fisher's body collided into it, sending the golem flying apart in an explosion of dirt and rubble. Fisher's body, lifted by the impact, happened to block the Self-Slaying Crossbow's shot meant for Zhou Ning. As he charged forward, Zhou Ning dipped low, his white coat flaring behind him.
Moments earlier, Zhou Ning had used Time Stop. Truth be told, Chris Fisher had been formidable—he'd even managed to briefly break free of the frozen time effect with some unknown artifact. But under the Platinum Star's relentless barrage, he was crushed before he could unleash most of his powers. His body, along with the shattered golem, was hurled through the air and slammed heavily into the ground.
The Platinum Star hovered silently above, opening its palm toward Zhou Ning. Resting there was a small pendant—an unknown artifact taken from Chris Fisher's body.
In the distance, Lirad's pupils constricted. He instinctively took a step back, shock breaking through his usually stiff expression. He hastily chanted a complex elven incantation, summoning a bolt of violent lightning that cracked through the air toward Zhou Ning.
As a high-level archmage nearly at demigod rank, Lirad's spell carried faint divinity and a "sure hit" property.
Unfortunately, Zhou Ning had already seen the attack coming with his Observation Haki. He raised an eyebrow in mild surprise as white mist surged to meet the lightning, swallowing it whole. It was one of the awakened Mist-Mist Fruit's most reliable defensive techniques.
Then, in Lirad's view, the world suddenly went dark. A fist grew larger and larger before his eyes—and before it even touched him, pain exploded through his body. He was hurled backward, gouging a deep trench in the ground before slamming into a wall.
–4422!
A massive red number flashed above Lirad's head. Desperate, he pressed his right hand into his chest and drew out a talisman, throwing it forward.
"Prohibition: Attack!"
Zhou Ning froze briefly, confused, his assault pausing for an instant. Lirad was just about to blink away when his instincts screamed—an even greater danger was descending. His hair bristled with static, silver-white lightning rising across it as he layered twin ice shields around his body.
But at that very moment, the Platinum Star swung its fist.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
In an instant, both shields shattered. The Platinum Star's fists blurred—strike after strike, punch after punch. The air rang with sharp pah-pah-pah sounds as countless blows rained down on Lirad like a storm.
The damage numbers flooded the combat log in a relentless stream. After two full minutes of pummeling, Lirad's health finally hit zero. A gaping hole now marred his chest, revealing a tangle of delicate circuits and gears beneath.
[You have slain Damian Lirad (Puppet) Lv.67. You have gained 120,000 EXP.]
Clearly, this Lirad wasn't the real one. The guy was as sly as they came. Zhou Ning shook his head slightly. His Time Stop cooldown had just finished refreshing—he activated it again, stepped forward, grabbed the still-resisting Professor Bislok, and drove a brutal headbutt straight into his skull. Bislok staggered back and collapsed to the ground.
The system prompt flashed again:
[You have completed A-Rank Mission: Slay the Alchemy Giant (1/1). Based on bonus objectives and contribution ratio, your completion grade is A+. You have earned 1,520,000 EXP, +6,000 reputation with the Sunwatchers, and 1 Random Reward. Claim now? Yes/No.]
All of Zhou Ning's hidden missions were now marked in green—complete.
It seemed everything was finally over. Zhou Ning exhaled, relieved. This quest had taken him months to finish—an impossible feat for ordinary players. The rewards were bound to be generous. As for claiming them… he decided to wait until tonight.
When Sherlock and Leandro emerged from the Time Stop's end, they saw Zhou Ning standing calmly, wiping his forehead without expression. Bislok lay unconscious at his feet. The entire enemy force had been wiped out in the blink of an eye, save for one trembling middle-aged nobleman in a crimson coat, who stammered:
"D-Don't come any closer! I'm Bobby Sawyer, adviser to His Majesty the King!"
Even Sherlock looked baffled by how fast the battle had ended. Shaking his head, he stepped forward, handcuffing the nobleman. "My apologies, Count Sawyer, but you'll have to come with us to the Sunwatchers' headquarters."
Leandro took charge of escorting Sawyer into the carriage. Sherlock lingered behind to speak with Zhou Ning. "Wayne, since this case touches on… sensitive matters—especially involving His Majesty—I'll need you to keep this confidential. Of course, we'll share the investigation results with you afterward."
Zhou Ning had already anticipated this. He nodded readily and added, "As far as I know, similar rituals are likely taking place in other poorhouses. You'd better find a way to destroy or seal those places off before anything worse happens."
"I'll do what I can," Sherlock said after a long pause, nodding gravely.
At that moment, the possession card's duration ended. Zhou Ning could feel the immense strength draining from his body, leaving a hollow sense of loss. The power of the Platinum Star had been intoxicating—stronger even than the Lord of the Seven Seas or the Vampire. It was a shame he hadn't drawn it for himself.
By now, other Sunwatcher squads had arrived to secure the battlefield and cordon off the area. Zhou Ning returned with Sherlock and the others to the West Lin General Store, where Sawyer was taken through the underground passage—most likely bound for Saint Raymond Cathedral. Zhou Ning, meanwhile, traded with Quartermaster Cherry for a batch of firearms he planned to sell to players later.
Yet as he left the store and headed toward the alchemy shop, he couldn't shake a nagging feeling. The whole affair had gone far too smoothly—almost suspiciously so.
From his plan to visit the school with John, to John suddenly canceling at the last moment—it was odd. John might be reckless, but keeping his word was the one thing he was known for. Then, when Zhou Ning left the school, he'd been delayed by Harkins's stray mana sphere for exactly two minutes—just enough for him to run into Morlick's carriage from the poorhouse.
And coincidentally, Sherlock had happened to be investigating there and was trailing Morlick's carriage at that very moment.
All these little coincidences pieced together like parts of a larger pattern.
Was he just overthinking it…?