The moment silver light appeared, Guan Tong had already seen through the Black Widow's item ability with his Eye of True Sight title ability.
[Heavenly Calamity Needles]: Flying needles attached with switchable toxic damage including paralysis, corrosion, and excruciating pain, with quantity determined by the amount of Mind Power. The tails of the needles carry invisible threads that can be manipulated by the wielder.
The flying needles were blocked by a vertically raised shadow wall, but soon a "sizzling" sound rang out, and dozens of corroded, eaten-through holes appeared on the sturdy shadow wall.
Guan Tong thought to himself that the Heavenly Calamity Needles' corrosive toxicity was quite strong, actually capable of destroying the structure of Shadow.
When the Black Widow saw this, her expression turned excited. The reason she had accepted this mission had nothing to do with Andrew at all—it was for "Shadow."
As a professional killer, she had used poison needles to kill countless Ascendants since entering the era of the Doomsday Rules, including many strong individuals whose Mind Power exceeded her own.
And every successful hunt of a strong target brought her incomparable exhilaration.
Anyone else, knowing they might have to face "Shadow" in combat, would likely refuse the mission out of self-preservation. But not her.
When she learned that this mission might bring her into contact with "Shadow," she accepted without any hesitation.
If she could kill "Shadow," she would undoubtedly become the most legendary assassin in history.
The Black Widow licked her lips, manipulating the dozens of Heavenly Calamity Needles through the invisible threads, circling around the shadow wall to attack Guan Tong from different directions.
She had confidence that if even one needle could pierce through the shadow armor and hit his true body, the complex poison on the needles would be enough to kill "Shadow."
But those dozens of Heavenly Calamity Needles couldn't advance any further.
When the shadow wall fell and the Black Widow looked up, the shadows on Guan Tong's face dissipated slightly, revealing a pair of black pupils that in the next second turned crimson red.
The Black Widow only glanced at them, and instantly felt her mind violently pulled, as if ripped away from reality.
When she came to her senses, she was already in a red space.
"This place is... no!"
When she found herself in a terrifying scene, she finally realized she had entered the space mentioned in the [Scarlet Fear] rule.
Ding ding ding...
Guan Tong activated his title ability, pulling the Black Widow's consciousness, who had locked eyes with him, into the Scarlet Furnace. The dozens of Heavenly Calamity Needles, now without manipulation, fell to the ground around him.
The Black Widow stood frozen in place, her expression locked in terror, but she didn't die immediately—just as Guan Tong had expected.
Back when the [Scarlet Fear] rule existed, even Ascendants with higher resistance would not immediately collapse, go mad, or die upon falling into fear; they could hold on for a while.
This Black Widow was undoubtedly stronger than ordinary Ascendants, so she could last even longer in the Scarlet Furnace.
And that was precisely Guan Tong's purpose for using the title ability. He didn't intend to kill the Black Widow outright—he wanted to squeeze every bit of intelligence value out of her.
However...
Guan Tong looked at Andrew lying on the ground nearby. The guy had been hit by one of the Black Widow's Heavenly Calamity Needles but still wasn't dead, apparently using some healing item to hold on.
But seeing him frothing at the mouth, his face purple and blue, he clearly couldn't hold on much longer.
Guan Tong walked over, took a recovery item from his Storage Box, and used it on Joiessen. While it couldn't save his life, it could briefly force a dying gasp to let him speak a few words without issue.
After the item was used, Andrew recovered somewhat.
Looking at Guan Tong shrouded in shadow, he fearfully scrambled backward: "Sh-Shadow God... I didn't mean to harm you. I was just following orders to use the item. I had no idea that coordinate location would be you!"
"But afterward, you found out, and you didn't come forward to clarify, did you?" Guan Tong said.
"This... I... I was forced. If I didn't do it, I would have been killed..."
"Andrew, you've been hit by this woman's poison needle. You don't have much time left," Guan Tong said. "The fact that Suroma planned to silence you shows you aren't important to the Higher-ups. If you want revenge on those people, tell me the important information you know."
A glimmer of resentment flashed across Andrew's face.
He did hate Joiessen. He hated the Senate. He hated Bruce. These people had collectively led him to this outcome... but he also had to admit, they had given him a brief, carefree life.
And through their machinations, they had let him enjoy being hailed as a hero by the people.
Under normal circumstances, he felt that an Ascendant like him, with low Mind Power, wasn't much better off than ordinary people.
He could only drag out a miserable existence until he died quietly under some rule. He never had the chance to become famous like now, seen as a hero by the entire nation and many around the world.
So even though those people had arranged for the Black Widow to stay by his side, ready to silence him at any moment, and had lied to him under the guise of protection, he still didn't harbor only hatred for them.
Guan Tong looked at Andrew's conflicted expression and could vaguely guess what he was thinking.
Time was tight; he couldn't take the man away for a slow interrogation. He could only try his best to persuade Andrew with words.
"Even if you don't want revenge yourself, what about the thousands of innocent Ascendants who died? What about your friend's death?"
Andrew's heart trembled at these words. The nightmare he didn't want to remember surfaced again.
Those thousands of Ascendants who died in the array were indeed innocent.
But...
He lifted his head and asked somewhat blankly, "Friend... who do you mean?"
"I mean Gill. What, isn't he your friend?"
Guan Tong took out a tablet from his Storage Ring and showed Andrew the private message Gill had sent.
When Andrew saw the line "He's not like Joiessen, who has completely lost his conscience," his inner defenses collapsed entirely.
"Gill... he is my friend!" Andrew covered his face in pain. "That day at the memorial, he suggested we leave Suroma together. I refused... I failed his trust! Can you still contact him? I want to tell him I regret it, if only—"
"He was probably secretly killed by the Suroma Higher-ups," Guan Tong interrupted. "This private message was sent a long time ago. His account hasn't been logged into since then."
Andrew was silent for a moment before speaking: "It was Joiessen. He told me it was His Majesty Bruce's order to fire the high-energy laser at that coordinate. Later, he told me to stop asking questions, to cooperate obediently, and not to worry about 'Shadow's'... your revenge.
He said the New Covenant had something specifically for dealing with Ascendants, so he wasn't afraid of you coming. I don't know what that thing is, but I could tell that Joiessen was also afraid you'd seek revenge on him. He wasn't nearly as confident as he let on."
Andrew's speech grew faster and faster. He felt the pain in his heart intensifying, knowing time was running out, and wanted to tell everything he knew and thought was important and useful to "Shadow."
"And recently, I heard other council members in the Senate say that the Senate is making full preparations for memory digitization. To that end, they need to ensure absolute safety in the city's core area.
Oh, right, my computer... There are some recordings on the computer under the kitchen sink. Those people have deceived me so many times, I couldn't help but be a little wary of them. After you take it, you can make it public, let the whole world see their true faces..."
Andrew's breathing became labored. He couldn't continue.
Finally, he said to Guan Tong, "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have lied at the press conference... to make you suffer so much misunderstanding... Can you... forgive me..."
"I can't forgive you," Guan Tong said. "But you've paid the price for what you did, so you don't need my forgiveness."
Andrew's lips moved, but he couldn't say anything more. His heart stopped beating entirely.
Guan Tong turned to look at the Black Widow. Her expression was frozen, still trapped in fear, unable to free herself.
Seeing that the time was about right, he stopped the ability.
The Black Widow's eyes rolled back, and she immediately fell unconscious.
Guan Tong raised his hand, and a shadow hand came to him from outside, holding a recording device.
He took it and checked, confirming that everything that had happened was recorded.
Then he went to the kitchen, found the computer Andrew had mentioned in a hidden little cabinet under the sink, and placed it in his Storage Ring.
Finally, he used Shadow to bind the unconscious Black Widow and also put Andrew's corpse into the ring.
When the surrounding Shadow Domain dissipated, the villa was completely empty. Only the shattered glass by the floor-to-ceiling window bore witness to what had happened here.
Just a few minutes later, several special agents from the Security Bureau arrived at the villa. After a thorough search, they found nothing.
The team leader, his face grave, made a phone call to report. Soon, several more cars pulled up, and Joiessen stepped out of one.
He quickly walked up to the agents and demanded, "Andrew and the Black Widow are both gone?!"
"Yes."
"What happened? Weren't your Security Bureau's undercover agents watching this place the whole time? Why didn't you come to check immediately when something went wrong!"
The agent looked aggrieved: "We arrived within minutes of the incident. Isn't that fast enough?"
"If it were fast enough, we wouldn't have found nothing!"
"Joi, calm down." At that moment, an aged voice rang out. Joiessen turned to see a white-haired old man walking over, surrounded by several subordinates.
Seeing this man, Joiessen immediately suppressed his anger and bowed his head respectfully: "Mr. Dodge, you've come in person."
This white-haired old man was none other than the Chief Senator of the Senate, Dodge.
"Heh, the Black Widow was someone I arranged for you. Of course, I had to come check when something happened to her."
"...She's missing."
"Mm, I already know that."
Dodge glanced around the villa and asked the agents on-site, "Did the surveillance cameras catch anything?"
The agent was a bit nervous facing the Chief Senator: "Reporting, sir. The surrounding surveillance seemed to be jammed. Only a distant camera captured the entire villa suddenly turning pitch black for a short period."
"Pitch black, huh." Dodge nodded. "That's indeed 'Shadow's' handiwork."
Joiessen was startled: "Mr. Dodge, are you saying that 'Shadow' used a domain ability?"
"Mm. And he also has ways to interfere with electronic devices. That has already been recorded in the intelligence database."
After Dodge finished speaking, seeing Joiessen's pale face, he asked, "Joi, what's wrong? Are you scared?"
"No... I just didn't expect 'Shadow' to actually dare come to the New Covenant, to the capital of Suroma."
"Heh heh, from this person's consistent style, what wouldn't he dare to do?"
"Mr. Dodge, how can you still laugh? Now Andrew and the Black Widow you sent are both missing. This is very disadvantageous for us, isn't it!"
Dodge said slowly, "Young man, don't be impatient. The Black Widow will keep Andrew's mouth shut. As for her, you needn't worry even more."
"You mean... she is absolutely loyal and trustworthy?"
"No." Dodge shook his head. "Whether she's loyal or not doesn't matter. Because she doesn't know anything. Even if she wanted to sell information, she'd have nothing to sell."
Hearing this, Joiessen couldn't help but feel a new level of reverence for Dodge. This Chief Senator seemed to have foreseen this all along. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent the Black Widow to watch Andrew in advance.
But now that Andrew had been found, the next target...
Joiessen's voice trembled slightly: "Mr. Dodge, 'Shadow's' next target will surely be me. Please, you must help me find a way."
Dodge chuckled: "Of course, Joi. Of course, I'll help you find a way."
"Then thank you—"
THUMP!
Before Joiessen could finish, one of Dodge's guards suddenly struck, a heavy punch landing.
Joiessen was completely off guard, and the punch came so fast he couldn't even see it. Everything went black, and in the next instant, he lost consciousness, falling to the ground with a thud.
Dodge looked down at the unconscious Joiessen, still wearing a smile: "Joi, Suroma's national image cannot be damaged. I can only ask you to bear this hardship."