Chapter 93: Taming

Chapter 93: Taming

"Tower 1, please report today's internal status."

In Tower 5's department, specifically tasked with communication and supervision across all towers.

A woman in a form-fitting short skirt uniform was confirming the situation with each sub-tower at the prescribed time every day.

Soon, a reply came from the other side.

"All is normal in Tower 1; the safety system data has been synchronized and uploaded."

The Tower of Evil spans a vast area.

The five towers are spread far apart, and except for the transfer of military personnel, there is rarely direct contact and interaction between the staff of the towers.

Most of the time, they rely on official communication within the tower for exchanges.

The outermost Tower 5 has a department specifically monitoring the external safety of each tower.

It mainly targets building damage, enemy or alien invasion alarms. This is also the biggest problem that the Tower of Evil, as an independent place, will face. Apart from this, all defense mechanisms have a stable history of hundreds of years. They are confident in the stationed staff and the safety system, and in most cases, they will not deliberately confirm back and forth every day.

Especially in the Tower of Evil, apart from official staff, there are only E-types.

If a deranged E-type were to escape from the torture chamber and start rampaging, he couldn't harm people as quickly as the tower staff could, and it would always be possible to send the message to other towers in time.

Thus, when all personnel entering Tower 1's vicinity fail to return and cannot relay their experiences to other towers, everyone will not realize the abnormality in the tower at first.

This led to Mu Ziyue entering Tower 1 and staying for several days without anyone noticing.

—After all, he leads research there and has people he wants to execute. It is not uncommon for him to stay inside for a long time.

Her tone was gentle yet brisk: "Okay."

She glanced at Tower 1's quiet exterior and asked a question that had been on her mind for a while: "By the way, the supervisor happened to see the surveillance around Tower 1 yesterday and wanted me to ask you why there has been no army patrol arranged outside Tower 1 these days?"

Even if there were, it would only be a handful.

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then a deeper, more mature male voice chuckled and said: "This is the Grand Prince's order; we dare not question it further."

The woman recognized the voice and chuckled softly: "If the Tower Master says so, I understand."

Mu Ziyue—it's typical for him to issue unusual orders.

As she pulled up the sensing data from Tower 1, her gaze shifted to several computers on the left, each displaying multiple small screens.

Noticing two individuals from the Golden Wing and Silver Dragon brawling in a corridor on one of the surveillance screens, she confirmed the number and contacted Tower 3: "45th floor, F section corridor, two of your staff members are engaged in a physical altercation. It's advised to investigate the situation promptly."

Under normal circumstances, part of the internal situation of Towers 5-2 is also monitored in real time.

Only the special nature of Tower 1 means the monitoring is handled solely by internal personnel and is not allowed to be transmitted externally. They can only confirm with Tower 1 through communication each day whether there is a problem or whether support is needed.

After logging the incident and before ending the call, the woman kindly reminded: "By the way, according to the weather forecast, there may be thunderstorms during this period. If necessary, please activate the storm protection system to avoid affecting the circuit system in the tower and causing accidents."

The Tower Master's tone remained friendly: "Tower 1 has received it, thank you for your concern."

The daily routine communication ends here.

Xu Qingran operated the console to close the communication, as smoothly as if he'd been working here for years.

The portly Tower Master stood beside him, his hands shackled with the same restraints they had once used on countless criminals.

He chuckled softly, amused by the irony.

It was rare for him to experience the feeling of being a prisoner himself.

Xu Qingran set the console to standby, ready to receive notifications, then turned to the Tower Master and said, "Thanks for cooperating. Let's go."

Only authorized personnel with registered IDs could operate Tower 1's communication console.

So, no one suspected anything was off with the Tower 1 personnel handling communications.

Who could’ve guessed Xu Qingran had a lightning-based power to fry Tower 1’s systems and take control in no time? He’d even strong-armed the Tower Master into helping, so the other towers wouldn’t suspect a thing.

A handful of innocent staff were still inside the tower.

They hadn’t been involved in any killings, so he let them live—for now. Besides, he needed them to occasionally step out and cover for him, buying time to torment Mu Ziyu.

Some staff had loose ties to Mu Ziyu.

They were close to the Tower Master too, and under Xu’s control, they obeyed out of gratitude for his mercy.

The elevator crept down to the third basement level.

Only Xu Qingran and the Tower Master were inside.

The Tower Master broke the silence, "Honestly, I always pegged you and Shen Tingyu as the same kind of person."

"Turns out, I was wrong."

Xu Qingran glanced at him, silent.

He stayed quiet.

The Tower Master chuckled lightly, his tone casual, "You’re like a beast that doesn’t bark."

"You look clean, obedient, calm—rational even."

"But when you bite, you’re crazier and deadlier than any E-type, never letting go till it’s over."

The Tower Master wasn’t criticizing him, just reflecting. "I misjudged you back then."

Xu Qingran gave him another look, then turned away without a word.

The Tower Master went on, "I’ve only misjudged someone twice."

"First Shen Tingyu, then you."

Ever since Shen Tingyu left the Tower of Evil, the Tower Master had always been wary whenever they crossed paths.

He worried about Shen’s hypocrisy, his hidden schemes, and the fear that he’d rise to power and bring hell back to destroy the empire.

But things turned out better than he’d feared.

Rather, after years of not being in close contact, Shen Tingyu's mindset had changed.

When Xu Qingran was first sent to the Tower of Evil, Shen Tingyu had called his office.

Before Shen Tingyu sent his subordinates to fetch Xu Qingran, he had a brief conversation with him. Seldom invoking his status as a general of the Golden Wing Battalion, he subtly exerted pressure, commanding him to ensure Xu Qingran's safety before Mu Ziyue arrived.

From the conversation, Shen Tingyu also learned that Xu Qingran was about to embark on an important mission that had been widely discussed in the outside world recently.

Although his tone remained as casual as ever, the Tower Master sensed an unexpected determination—contrary to what he had anticipated. It seemed something had effectively restrained him, altering the trajectory of his life plans.

As for Xu Qingran.

When he first entered the Tower of Evil and endured the arena battles, he truly made an extraordinary impression.

Despite his ruthless demeanor, the Tower Master never thought Xu Qingran would commit any heinous acts after leaving the Tower of Evil.

Especially when he learned that Xu Qingran's soul and spirit had crystallized into that of a dominator, he wasn't even surprised. Because when Xu Qingran was first sent to the Tower of Evil, he sensed a certain 'divine' aura in this child.

But he never expected to be wrong.

What Xu Qingran possessed was not the great benevolence and love of a deity.

But a ruthless judgment of his goals. There was even something that acted as his moral boundary, and once triggered, it would make his judgment unrestrained.

The Tower Master suspected Mu Ziyue had crossed that line.

In the silence, Xu Qingran suddenly let out a somewhat pleased chuckle.

He remarked out of the blue, "That’s quite fitting."

In the past few days, Xu Qingran’s primary task in Tower 1 was to subject Mu Ziyue to various torture devices in the tower.

On the first day, he was immediately subjected to the most intense level of pain on the electric chair.

The empire’s dignified crown prince, who prized decorum and cleanliness above all else, was stimulated to the point of foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling back, and even losing control of his bowels. He could only hurl the most venomous curses at Xu Qingran when conscious, his words exceptionally violent and foul.

At such times, Xu Qingran stayed silent and calmly restarted the device.

—In his past life, and even in this life, when Shen Tingyu was imprisoned in the Tower of Evil, Mu Ziyue had relished using this obedience-training method to torment him.

But Mu Ziyue wasn't as enduring as Shen Tingyu.

After a few rounds, he wisely decided to stay silent.

In addition, there were whippings, needle pricks, fire burns, charcoal scorching… he made Mu Ziyue experience every available method firsthand.

One particularly cruel method involved coating a person’s body with honey and then releasing a certain type of insect with sharp teeth from this world. These insects, drawn to the honey, would bite off pieces of flesh as they fed.

They weren't large.

Just slightly bigger than ants, and the amount of flesh they bit off wasn't much. It wasn't fatal, and for high-level spiritualists, such wounds would heal quickly. But the sensation of being gnawed on was excruciating, so these insects were also used as tools of torture.

Xu Qingran was quite straightforward.

He stripped Mu Ziyue bare, leaving him without even underwear. He drenched him in honey, threw him into a large vat filled with those insects, and stood outside watching him suffer, his eyes curved in a smile.

To be precise, whenever he saw Mu Ziyue being tortured, he would grin like a madman.

The system was utterly terrified.

Every day, it felt like it and its colleagues weren't working on the same mission script.

And those drugs that Mu Ziyue had people research.

Xu Qingran also used them on Mu Ziyue.

For each type of drug, whatever the maximum amount Mu Ziyue had used on Shen Tingyu at once, Xu Qingran doubled that number.

He didn’t care if Mu Ziyue would die, nor how much he screamed in pain, or how grotesque his body became. His cold, indifferent expression made him seem more demonic than even Mu Ziyue in Shen Tingyu’s memories.

No one could blame Xu Qingran.

After all, Mu Ziyue had also commissioned the invention of a special drug designed to keep someone barely alive.

Every time Mu Ziyue seemed about to die from the drug’s torment, Xu Qingran would inject him with this special drug.

It always yanked him back from death’s door, only to plunge him into fresh agony.

Mu Ziyue felt an unprecedented humiliation at Xu Qingran’s hands.

Xu Qingran even shackled a metal collar with a chain around Mu Ziyue’s neck every day, forcing him to crawl on all fours like a humiliated animal.

At first, Mu Ziyue had tried to fight back.

After all, he was a 3S-level psychic, with a robust physique, well-defined muscles, and even perfect pectorals and abs. Since childhood, Mu Ziyue had trained rigorously in self-defense and combat.

Whenever Xu Qingran disciplined him, it was Mu Ziyue’s only chance to fight back.

But he couldn’t understand why, despite being superior to Xu Qingran in every way, he couldn’t gain even the slightest advantage. Even their psychic levels, which should have favored him, were evenly matched.

Most importantly, Xu Qingran’s psychic energy contained an eerie, almost electric power.

A force akin to electric shock... or even stronger, like lightning. When it struck a psychic, already vulnerable to electric currents, the effect was doubly devastating.

No matter how hard Mu Ziyue tried, he just couldn’t defeat Xu Qingran.

Especially since Xu Qingran’s methods were even more ruthless than Mu Ziyue’s own. Xu Qingran didn’t care about Mu Ziyue’s status as the Crown Prince. If Mu Ziyue resisted, Xu Qingran would whip him, crushing his dignity into the dirt.

"Mu Ziyue, didn’t you enjoy training people like dogs?" Xu Qingran held the chain connected to the metal collar around Mu Ziyue’s neck, walking him like a dog.

His eyes glinted with a cold smile: "Now I’m giving you the chance to experience firsthand how it feels to be treated like a dog."

Be grateful. He hadn’t been this harsh even with White Dog.

Xu Qingran remembered the dream he’d had that night at Bishui Villa.

He walked up to Mu Ziyue, stepped on his head, and leaned down with a smirk, commanding, "Mu Ziyue, bark for me."

This scum had humiliated Shen Tingyu in his past life, hadn’t he?

·

Xu Qingran unearthed a batch of the purple hallucinogens Ming Hai had used on Shen Tingyu in West City.

He vaguely remembered that Shen Tingyu had once endured ten times the normal dose.

The batch Xu Qingran found was substantial.

There were about twenty or so vials—he didn’t count them carefully—and he poured all of them into the liquid mist converter.

Today, Mu Ziyue was once again bound to the adjustable medical recliner.

Xu Qingran pushed a device from the room to his side, smiling faintly as he looked down at him.

The skin on Mu Ziyue's body was now ugly and disfigured.

Only his remaining left eye, which was still intact, remained. Aside from the wounds from insect bites that hadn't healed, there were also numerous scars of varying depths on his body, caused by fists or tools used to lash him.

Including his mouth.

From the moment Xu Qingran ripped it apart, it had never been whole again.

After days of physical and mental torment, Mu Ziyue's mental state was far from its former state.

Day after day, different drugs were administered, sometimes burning hot, sometimes piercingly cold, and at other times causing mental confusion and nightmares. In his daze, he seemed to be gradually losing his clarity of mind, his thoughts becoming sluggish, unable to recognize his current surroundings.

He only remembered the beautiful man who tortured him in different ways every day.

Those almond-shaped eyes, always filled with a merciless smile, no matter how cruel and cold the expression within, were still so captivating that one could never forget them at first glance. Every time he saw him, his chest was filled with a mix of emotions, the most intense of which was anger.

Yet, his gaze upon the other couldn't help but carry a strange longing and a morbid fascination.

As the crown prince of the Kayan Empire, being beaten in such a manner was indeed humiliating for Mu Ziyue.

But even more humiliating was that, amidst Xu Qingran's whipping, he gradually felt a strange pleasure, complexly intertwined with his rational mind. Though his mind was filled with disgust, his body couldn't help but respond.

Just as it had been many years ago.

When he was avenged by Shen Tingyu, and was set up to be exploited. That was a dark past he was unwilling to mention, the E-type who did it to him, compared to Xu Qingran's venting of hatred, truly treated such acts as a perverse pleasure, using them for play and torment.

And he, at that time, felt a strange pleasure from such pain.

Afterwards, he couldn't bring himself to face the truth.

He had the person executed and deeply buried this unspeakable preference. For so many years, he thought he had long since escaped from that state, never expecting to be dragged back into it by Xu Qingran—

Amidst the chaotic tangle of thoughts, Xu Qingran took an oxygen mask from the device and fastened it to Mu Ziyue's face.

Mu Ziyue's eyes gradually became unfocused again, staring blankly at the figure by the chair.

—Who wouldn't want to experience some excitement with someone so good-looking and with such a unique aura?

"I can't believe it, I never thought Mu Ziyue would be such a maso..."

The system couldn't help but comment, professionally refraining from completing a certain forbidden word.

Xu Qingran smirked.

Mu Ziyue's nature, he had pretty much figured it out during this period.

But he had no interest in playing any alphabet games with him, nor did he want to satisfy his special fetishes.

He just wanted him to live a life worse than death.

Once the mask was securely in place, Xu Qingran didn't hesitate to start the machine, converting the drugs into a mist for Mu Ziyue to inhale.

In fact, he hadn't even inhaled a tenth of the amount before he began to suffer.

This was different from the pink drug that Xu Qingan had nearly injected into Xu Qingran at the bar before.

It does not force one to satisfy physiological needs, but it causes extreme discomfort and induces a hallucinatory state. If not addressed in time, one must endure the maddening pain until the drug's effects subside.

As for how long the drug lasts?

The more one ingests, the longer it persists.

Shen Tingyu once endured ten doses and nearly lost his sanity, forcing him to shoot himself.

It's easy to imagine that the torment Mu Ziyue is facing now is twice what Shen Tingyu endured.

The man on the chair is flushed red, his veins bulging as if ready to burst.

No matter how he struggles or begs for mercy, discarding his dignity, Xu Qingran remains unmoved. He leans against the wall by the door the entire time, watching the scene from a short distance.

After a long pause, he finally lowers his head, covering his face with his hand.

Then, he smirks and bursts into laughter: "Hahaha."

You bastard.

From now on, no one will torment you anymore.

In the room, the tortured man's agonized, hysterical screams echo.

In a place where such sounds are commonplace, it feels almost routine.

"Colonel Xu Qingran."

Tower 1 has a canteen where staff can eat.

Xu Qingran kept the chef, ensuring they have meals every day.

One day, Xu Qingran runs into the Tower Master again in the canteen.

He sits alone in a corner, eating, while the other staff keep their distance.

Only the Tower Master, acting as if nothing is amiss, carries a tray and approaches him.

He takes a seat across from Xu Qingran.

The Tower Master maintains his smile. "How is the Crown Prince doing?"

Everyone in Tower 1 knows Xu Qingran has been tormenting Mu Ziyue.

But they don’t dare say or ask a word.

Xu Qingran replies coolly, "He won’t die."

Letting him die would be letting him off too easy.

The Tower Master nods.

Then, in a tone that almost sounds concerned, he adds, "When the Crown Prince came to Tower 1, he only brought himself and his close bodyguards, so you could still suppress them."

"But Colonel Xu, if it were the entire Celestial System, or even the armies of the Golden Wings and the Silver Dragon Battalion, would you still be confident in dealing with all of them?"

Mu Ziyue is a son that Queen Suya is determined to support, firmly resolved to put him on the throne.

If she finds out that her eldest son, whom she has been grooming, has been crippled by Xu Qingran, she will definitely not let him go. Now that the old king is critically ill, the empire's power is in her hands. With just one order, the Golden Wings and Silver Dragon Battalions, which belong to the empire, must obey her command to capture Xu Qingran.

Given how much Suya cares about Mu Ziyue, it won’t be long before she catches on that something’s off.

Once she gets to the bottom of it, there’s no way she’ll let Xu Qingran slide.

The Tower Master and others haven’t seen Xu Qingran really use his lightning powers, nor have they witnessed him wiping out nearly a hundred of Mu Ziyue’s guards in one fell swoop. So they believe that with his limited personal strength, he’d be toast if he got surrounded.

Of course, Mu Ziyue’s guards are a drop in the bucket compared to the imperial army.

If Xu Qingran tapped into his past life’s full power, he could probably wipe out a thousand soldiers in one go, no joke. But that’d still be a drop in the bucket against the whole army.

"Pfft."

The system sneered.

"The problem’s obviously massive."

"If you actually go that far, you’ll be toast too after taking out a thousand people, trust me."

Xu Qingran didn’t respond to the system, only saying to the Tower Master, "Thanks for looking out, Tower Master."

"I believe there’s always a way out, no matter how tough things get."

It’s just about finding it.

And grabbing hold of it.

Seeing how determined he was, the Tower Master figured he was past the point of no return and gave up trying to talk him out of it.

Three days later.

Xu Qingran got a call from Tower 5 at an odd hour.

He headed to the comms to pick it up, hearing a lady from Tower 5 say, "Tower 1, we’ve got a call from the Silver Dragon Battalion’s commander. He wants to talk to Mr. Xu Qingran, who’s being held in your tower."

Mu Ziyu?

Xu Qingran was silent for a moment, then replied, "Got it, patch him through to Tower 1."

"Okay."

About half a minute later.

Mu Ziyu’s familiar voice came through, dripping with the arrogance of a prince: "I want to speak with Xu Qingran."

Xu Qingran chuckled silently, leisurely saying, "What do you want?"

Mu Ziyu: "...?"

That fast? He figured Tower 1 would take their sweet time dragging up Xu Qingran, who should’ve been half-dead from torture by now.

And why does Xu Qingran still sound so chill?

Didn’t they say his big bro went to Tower 1 to mess with him over a week ago? Is his big bro really that pathetic now? He’s way worse than when he was giving Shen Tingyu hell—what a waste of worry!

"Xu Qingran, my father just regained consciousness for a short while," Mu Ziyu didn’t beat around the bush, getting straight to the point. "I heard the news, rushed to the palace, got the paperwork from him, and can bust you out ASAP!"

It was nighttime.

A torrential downpour was drenching the area around the Tower of Evil. From the window of the communication station, one could occasionally see powerful lightning bolts streaking down like dragons from the clouds.

The air was thick with tension.

After hearing Mu Ziyu's report, Xu Qingran paused briefly before replying, "Alright, thanks."

His tone was eerily calm, showing no relief at his impending release.

Mu Ziyu: "...Seriously? That's all you have to say?"

Xu Qingran: "Do you want me to send you some cash?"

"Are you really that broke? Will ten grand cover it?"

Mu Ziyu: "..."

Is that really what he thought I meant?! He was trying to say, how could someone remain so composed upon hearing they were about to be released from the Tower of Evil? Anyone listening would think he'd been on a casual visit to Tower 1!

Mu Ziyu snapped, "Don't get too cocky either."

"I didn't bust you out for no reason. The demon hordes have been on the move, inching closer to the Kayan Empire's borders. The demons in the disaster zones have caught wind of this and are attacking harder than ever. The frontlines are barely holding."

"Once you're out, you'll have to lead the troops and command the defense against those creatures in the disaster zones!"

Xu Qingran shrugged it off: "No sweat."

"It's a freaking disaster!" Mu Ziyu's tone was anxious. "You don't get it—the Empire sent a huge force to a station 60 light-years southwest, and they haven't come back."

"We got updates, and everything looked fine after landing. Then, out of nowhere, they went dark. We can't get through to them, and there's no trace of them coming back. Now we're scrambling to send a rescue team to see what's going on."

Mu Ziyu groaned: "That's a top-tier force with elites from two battalions! I just hope they're not in deep trouble."

"Oh, and by the way, your soon-to-be brother-in-law, Shen Tingyu, is among the missing."

"With a powerhouse like the Golden Wing Battalion in charge, they should be okay, right?"

After asking, Mu Ziyu heard no response from the other end of the communication.

He thought the signal might be bad and was about to check when Xu Qingran asked, "What did you say?"

His tone was unsettlingly calm.

Mu Ziyu, being blunt, missed the undercurrent in Xu Qingran's tone. He dutifully filled Xu Qingran in on what had happened while he was stuck in Tower 1, including the plan to repair the critical power station 60 light-years away.

"Apparently, General Shen took the initiative to propose leading the mission as the main commander."

"With his confidence, there shouldn't be any problems, right?" Mu Ziyu asked uneasily.

Xu Qingran stayed silent on the other end.

He sat alone at the communication station, holding an old-fashioned wired communicator, his eyelids slightly lowered, his lips pressed into a thin line.

His grip on the communicator tightened until his knuckles turned white.

It had already been so many days.

That jerk Shen Tingyu went on a mission without saying a word, without telling him a thing.

Xu Qingran was still thinking clearly.

When Mu Ziyu, growing impatient, started checking if he was still online, Xu Qingran asked, "When is the support team supposed to leave for the station?"

"Their resources and battleships are almost ready, probably leaving at dawn tomorrow?" Mu Ziyu replied.

The support mission involved two battalions, so they were assembling at the military base on Queen's Star.

It just so happened to be only about a two-hour flight from the Tower of Evil.

Xu Qingran said, "You don’t need to send anyone to get me."

"I want to join this support mission."

Mu Ziyu: "…?"

He hesitated: "But… the situation in the empire is pretty dire, and we need capable people like you to lead and ease the pressure in the disaster zones."

Xu Qingran asked him, "What about Lu Cheng, though?"

"Isn’t he a decent commander too?"

Mu Ziyu had a headache: "He’s also part of the support team this time."

Xu Qingran said matter-of-factly, "Then let him stay and handle the disaster zones, and give me his spot. Simple, right?"

Mu Ziyu: "…"

"But I’d prefer you stay…"

After a pause, he explained in a somewhat awkward tone: "Xu Qingran, I'll be honest with you, the mission to Station 60 is way riskier."

"One wrong move, and you could die out there."

"Staying in the empire, even if we can't withstand the invasion of the devil hordes, the supplies on the ground are more plentiful and reliable, and your chances of survival are way better than on external missions!"

After Mu Ziyu finished, the call went silent again.

After a long while, Xu Qingran asked coolly, "Mu Ziyu, do I look like someone who’s scared of dying to you?"

Even slow-on-the-uptake Mu Ziyu could hear the annoyance in his voice.

He nervously said, "I didn’t mean it like that…"

Xu Qingran abruptly cut him off: "Mu Ziyu, let me put it this way."

"If Shen Tingyu doesn't come back, I’ll blow the empire to bits before the devil hordes even get here."

Mu Ziyu: "…"

Having a top-notch colonel who’s tight with an enemy general is such a pain!

Xu Qingran had made his point so clearly that Mu Ziyu naturally couldn't stop him anymore.

He believed that Xu Qingran was truly capable of such a heinous act, as he seemed like someone who didn't care about the lives of others, driven by a ruthless madness.

Before ending the call, Mu Ziyu realized something was off.

Mu Ziyu questioned Xu Qingran, "Wait, you're still detained at Tower 1. If I don’t send someone to get you, how are you planning to escape?"

But getting from here to the Tower of Evil, he might miss the support team’s departure.

Just as Mu Ziyu finished this thought, he heard Xu Qingran say, "Don’t sweat it."

"I’ve got my own way out."

Mu Ziyu: "??"

That’s the notoriously secure Tower 1—not some place you can just punch your way out of in a fit of rage!

He was about to argue, but when he listened again, the line had already gone dead.

Mu Ziyu: "..."

Alright, he’ll stay out of it. If Xu Qingran can’t escape, that’s on him! If he can't make it, it's just as he wishes!

Right then, it was exactly 9 PM.

This place shares the same hemisphere as the military base, so the time difference is minimal. He still has plenty of time.

Xu Qingran hung up and immediately left the communication station, heading downstairs.

When he reached basement level 3, where everyone in Tower 1 except him was gathered, they were just idly chatting.

When Xu Qingran suddenly appeared by the window, they all froze, and the room went dead silent.

Then, they watched as he slowly walked to the control panel outside the room and started pressing buttons.

The next moment, the ceiling slowly opened, and several gun-like barrels descended.

Everyone stood up in shock.

These weren’t barrels for psychic attacks, but they would release mist. The mist’s effect depends on what the person outside selects.

The system settings include options to weaken strength, induce dizziness and vomiting, knock people out for a day, or even release lethal poison.

The mists were colorless and odorless, so they couldn’t tell which type it was, only huddling together in fear, begging Xu Qingran to spare them.

—Given Xu Qingran’s recent cruelty, they assumed he’d pick the deadly poison.

Only the Tower Master stayed calm in the room.

He seemed like a man who’d weathered countless storms and could face anything with calm.

No matter how they begged, Xu Qingran outside didn’t respond.

After making his selection, he walked away without a backward glance.

When the mist started pouring out, everyone in the room despaired.

Until they grew dizzy, unbearably sleepy, and collapsed one by one.

Xu Qingran walked down the corridor in silence.

For a moment, he considered releasing the poison—it would’ve been the easiest solution.

But before acting, he recalled that Shen Tingyu and the Tower Master were on good terms.

Shen Tingyu is not the type to blindly befriend others. Those who can get along with him are mostly those who have not harmed him or have offered him help in the past. He isn’t sure about the Tower Master, so he decides to spare his life for now.

—Xu Qingran, though ruthless in killing, knows how to repay kindness and settle scores.

After knocking out the group, Xu Qingran did not immediately leave the Tower of Evil. Instead, he took the elevator all the way down to the most secretive level, B5.

This is where all secret experiments and research are conducted.

The research institute is practically empty.

He made his way to the innermost computer room.

There are many mainframes here, and it is the only place in the Tower of Evil that is connected to the internet. These computer systems are filled with experimental records, including videos of their E-Type experiments.

He even found videos of Shen Tingyu from many years ago.

A small portion of these inadvertently captured Mu Ziyue. These hidden files were originally accessible only to Mu Ziyue, who currently wields the highest authority over the Tower of Evil.

But now, the system of the Tower of Evil, with the cooperation of Xu Qingran's abilities and his own system, has handed over all control to him.

He can easily open them, and in the first few days after discovering them, he would sit here every day, repeatedly playing Shen Tingyu's videos, as if to etch into memory all the pain he had endured.

Today, Xu Qingran returned to this control room again.

He logged into the Tower of Evil’s official social media accounts and ordered 'Anna,' the main system of Tower 1, to upload all the secret files and videos.