The convoy moved.
Marseille lights passed outside.
Shen Tian sat in the center vehicle.
Of course...
The seating problem returned.
Chi Lingxi on his right.
Rose on his left.
Ling Shuangxue across from him.
Qin Ruobing beside her.
Bai Xue near the door.
Gu Qingya beside Tang Meilin.
Lin Yue reviewing medical equipment.
Chu Zijin wearing a black cap and mask.
Li Lian and Ruan Yizhen in the following vehicle with Shen Yan.
Shen Tian looked around.
Then...
At Rose.
"This is not tactical."
Rose raised an eyebrow.
"What isn’t?"
"This."
"What?"
He gestured.
"All of you."
Chi Lingxi leaned against his shoulder.
"Looks tactical to me."
Shen Tian stared.
Bai Xue smiled.
"Morale formation."
Gu Qingya sighed.
Tang Meilin laughed.
Ling Shuangxue looked out the window.
But...
Her lips twitched.
Qin Ruobing noticed.
Then...
Her foot lightly touched Shen Tian’s.
He looked toward her.
She calmly looked out the opposite window.
Shen Tian stared.
Then...
Her foot remained.
He smiled.
Ling Shuangxue noticed.
Her eyes narrowed.
Then...
She looked at her mother.
Qin Ruobing remained perfectly composed.
Too composed.
Ling Shuangxue slowly looked toward Shen Tian.
He smiled.
Her cheeks warmed.
She looked away.
Bai Xue watched the entire thing.
Then...
Whispered...
"Interesting."
Qin Ruobing finally looked toward her.
Bai Xue smiled innocently.
. . .
Rose’s tablet beeped.
Everyone became serious.
"Three minutes."
Shen Tian looked toward the screen.
Facility ahead.
Crowned Serpent territory.
The convoy separated.
Shen International teams moved toward outer positions.
No frontal assault.
No dramatic entrance.
Not yet.
Bai Xue’s contacts had provided maintenance access codes.
Gu Qingya’s team had identified the electrical subcontractor.
Ling Shuangxue found the biomedical refrigeration company.
Tang Meilin found the insurance carrier.
Qin Ruobing found the law firm controlling the property trust.
Together...
They had reconstructed the building better than the people inside probably realized.
Rose pointed.
"Administration block."
"Laboratory."
"Underground levels."
"Chen Lihua is likely below the laboratory."
Lin Yue nodded.
"Medical infrastructure?"
"Sublevel two."
Shen Tian looked toward Chi Lingxi.
"Stay near me."
She smiled.
"Always."
Rose looked toward him.
He looked back.
"You too."
She paused.
Then...
Her cheeks warmed slightly.
"Obviously."
Ling Shuangxue stared.
Shen Tian noticed.
"You too."
She froze.
Then...
"Don’t say it because I looked."
"Why?"
"It ruins it."
Shen Tian smiled.
"Fine."
He looked toward everyone.
"All of you stay near me."
Silence.
Ling Shuangxue nodded.
"Better."
Qin Ruobing laughed.
. . .
They entered through the drainage tunnel.
Rose first.
Shen Tian behind her.
Then...
Chi Lingxi.
Bai Xue.
Shen Yan.
The others.
The tunnel was narrow.
Dark.
Wet.
Chu Zijin stared at the water around her boots.
Then...
Quietly...
"This is less glamorous than I expected."
Bai Xue looked back.
"What did you expect?"
"I don’t know."
"Lasers."
Rose whispered...
"Please don’t ask for lasers."
Chu Zijin became quiet.
Shen Tian smiled.
Then...
His eyes sharpened.
He stopped.
Rose stopped immediately.
Everyone behind them froze.
"What?"
Shen Tian looked forward.
Nothing visible.
But...
His Dragon senses detected movement.
"Three."
Rose raised her weapon.
"Where?"
"Behind the wall."
Her eyes narrowed.
Hidden room.
Shen Tian pointed.
Rose moved.
Found the seam.
Bai Xue smiled.
"Secret door."
Shen Tian raised his hand.
Rose grabbed his wrist.
"No."
He looked toward her.
"We’re trying to be quiet."
"I was going to open it."
"You were going to punch it."
Silence.
Shen Tian stared.
Rose stared back.
Then...
He lowered his hand.
"Fine."
Rose smiled.
"Growth."
He narrowed his eyes.
She turned before he could respond.
. . .
The hidden door opened silently.
Three guards inside.
They barely turned.
Rose moved.
First guard unconscious.
Shen Yan struck the second.
Bai Xue caught the third.
Three bodies lowered quietly.
No gunshots.
No alarms.
Shen Tian stared.
Then...
"Efficient."
Rose smiled.
"See?"
He looked toward the wall.
"I could have punched it."
Rose sighed.
. . .
They reached the first underground corridor.
Then...
Xu Ning’s expression changed.
[Host.]
"What?"
[Something is suppressing Fate perception.]
Shen Tian stopped.
"Strong?"
[Increasing.]
He looked toward the women.
The Sovereign’s Court threads glowed.
Court Resonance activated.
A faint golden warmth spread.
Rose looked around.
"Did you do that?"
Shen Tian paused.
"Sort of."
Ling Shuangxue looked at her hands.
"What is this?"
"Protection."
"From?"
"Something annoying."
Gu Qingya stared.
"Very informative."
"Thank you."
She sighed.
Then...
The lights turned red.
Alarm.
Rose’s expression changed.
"Compromised."
A voice filled the corridor.
"Welcome..."
Everyone stopped.
Male.
Older.
Calm.
"...Shen Tian."
His green eyes narrowed.
The voice continued.
"We wondered how many you would bring."
Shen Tian looked around.
Cameras.
Hidden speakers.
Then...
The voice laughed.
"Fourteen."
Silence.
The women looked at each other.
Xu Ning’s expression changed.
[They can see the Fate connections.]
Shen Tian became serious.
The voice continued.
"Remarkable."
"So many heroine class Fate signatures..."
"...gathered around one anomaly."
Rose’s face became cold.
Ling Shuangxue frowned.
Bai Xue stared toward the camera.
The voice continued.
"You’ve created something we believed impossible."
"One central male Fate entity..."
"Multiple willing heroine bonds..."
"Without forced narrative correction."
Shen Tian’s eyes became colder.
The Crowned Serpent knew.
Not everything.
But enough.
Then...
The voice said something that made the entire corridor silent.
"We call it..."
"...a Sovereign Court."
Xu Ning froze.
Shen Tian’s expression changed.
They knew the name.
The exact classification.
The voice laughed softly.
"You thought your system discovered it?"
Xu Ning’s eyes widened.
Shen Tian became completely still.
The women couldn’t hear Xu Ning.
But they saw Shen Tian’s expression.
Chi Lingxi grabbed his hand.
"What?"
Shen Tian stared at the camera.
Then...
The voice continued.
"We’ve seen one before."
Silence.
Xu Ning whispered...
[Impossible.]
Shen Tian’s eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
The speaker became quiet.
Then...
"Seventy six years ago."
Bai Xue froze.
The exact age of Crowned Serpent.
The voice continued.
"Our founder met a man like you."
"A man surrounded by women whose destinies bent willingly toward his."
"A man who consumed protagonists."
"A man who called himself..."
Static crackled.
Then...
"...the First Villain."
Silence.
Xu Ning’s system exploded.
UNKNOWN HISTORICAL ENTITY DETECTED
Destiny Archetype data unavailable
System records incomplete
WARNING
Possible predecessor entity identified
Shen Tian stared.
For the first time in a long time...
He didn’t smile.
(Author’s Note: IMPORTANT!)
SEND POWESTONES!!!
ALL SUPER GIFTS (Magic Castle, Space Ship, Golden Gachapon) = MORE ChapterS!

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