As long as you have the courage, fierce ghosts go on maternity leave.

The primary responsibility of the Cangshan City Police Department was to manage and maintain the city’s order.

Unlike the hell warriors, their jurisdiction was broader. Endowed with rights and responsibilities by the enigmatic "mist system," they were akin to the chef role played by Alexander.

Many of these officials were locals who had redeemed themselves and broken free from the loops, tasked with keeping the city’s cycles and the overall machinery of Cangshan City running smoothly. Generally, their days passed in relative tranquility; such incidents were rare, occurring perhaps once in a century.

But today, chaos reigned in Cangshan City.

Countless locals were frenziedly dashing about, snatching corpses left and right. Nearly all of the city’s cycles were affected.

Not all cycles, like the one with Bus 38 and the old lady, had the decency to conclude when someone died. Some were thrown into disarray because their dead had been stolen, thus halting the unfolding drama and transforming the cycle into an anarchic state.

For instance, on Bus 45, a young girl was horrified to discover that the corpses involved in the endlessly recurring bus accident had been taken by some mysterious intruders.

She deduced that the ceaseless accidents were connected to these enigmatic individuals. Intrigued, she followed them, soon finding herself "awakened" and becoming one of Alexander’s corpse carriers.

Over at Mingzhu Apartments, the vanishing corpses had caused a layer of dark fog to engulf the entire complex. Through the murky haze, one could faintly hear the wails of women.

On a certain street, within the courtyard of House 81, six skeletons that had been hidden in a dry well were excavated and taken away. A mother and her child were left staring at each other, torn between relief and trepidation.

...

With such events occurring more frequently, the police department, responsible for maintaining order, couldn’t simply sit idly by. A team was quickly dispatched to Alexander’s location.

"What are you people up to? Participants too? The chef from Dining Hall 9? All of you are—" The team leader from the police department was irate upon finding the culprits gathered together.

Especially when he saw that there were also two participants, he concluded that this must be the root of the chaos and advanced aggressively.

However, before he could utter another word, Owen grasped his hand firmly.

"How dare you interfere with official business!" the police officer bellowed, his eyes widening with rage. "What are you doing? Do you know the enormity of the chaos you’ve caused citywide—"

Before he could finish the word, he froze. He looked at his wrist to find that his ghost energy reserve was skyrocketing.

In the blink of an eye, his reserve, initially just over ten billion, soared to hundreds of billions and ultimately settled at over three hundred billion.

"Officer, consider these ghost energy points as our boss’s contribution to public safety. You people work so hard to maintain order in the city!" Owen said, beaming from ear to ear.

"Ahem, ahem..." The police officer cleared his throat.

"Well, you have already caused a mess, and this cannot be ignored! You’re collecting corpses, right? I’ll give you a list of locations to avoid; please stay away from places that can potentially cause chaos."

The officer’s tone changed remarkably swiftly, given the colossal amount of ghost energy points Alexander had gifted him. With these points, he could even leave the fog instance and regain his freedom!

Seeing the officer’s courteous demeanor, Alexander didn’t want to seem petty, either. After all, his current persona was that of a super-rich mogul.

With a slight tug at his collar, Alexander said nonchalantly, "Owen, transfer another 500 billion over. Consider it a tip for the officer and his team."

The initial 300 billion was for all the police in Cangshan city, which comprises over a thousand officers. But this subsequent 500 billion was solely for the six members of this particular squad.

Instantaneously, the officer’s attitude became electrified. Thumping his chest, he proclaimed, "Minor stuff, all minor stuff! We’ve got plenty of idle time. I’ll get my team to help Boss out!"

Not only could money influence ghosts to help snatch corpses, it even bought off the very law enforcement of Cangshan city! Alexander’s team was growing by leaps and bounds.

The amount of Ghost Food Alexander possessed was multiplying at an astonishing rate. He had over three million at the soldier-level, 150,000 at the general-level, 5,000 at the Imperial-level, 800 at the King-level, 72 Imperial-levels, and 16 at the Emperor-level.

The scarcity of Imperial and Emperor-level Ghost Food was largely because their respective cycles often took a long time to complete.

In some cases, like the 35th bus line or Mingzhu Apartments, the corpses were crucial components; their absence would disrupt the cycle. Despite this, the bounty Alexander reaped was nothing short of miraculous.

Firstly, Alexander would never run out of Ghost Food—from general to Emperor-level, he could consume them to increase his physical prowess without any worry of exhausting his supply.

Secondly, and most crucially, with three million soldier-level Ghost Food, Alexander could cultivate an army of millions at the soldier-level and at least 300,000 at the general-level before Louis’ succession ceremony.

Given more time, tens of thousands at the Prince-level, 800 at the King-level, 72 at the Imperial-level, and 16 at the Emperor-level—this was a force capable of sweeping an entire ghost realm!

What’s more, he could revisit Cangshan City as often as he liked, even coming back in just a few days.

Victory in the Ghost City struggle was assured this time. He might not even need Louis; with the Fierce Ghost Association alone, he could storm and capture not just the ghost city but perhaps the entire ghost realm.

After converting the last ghost corpse into Ghost Food, Alexander finally had a moment to himself.

However, Alexander was in no rush. He had already dispatched all the native hires, spending close to two hundred trillion to employ over a hundred thousand of them across various levels to serve him. He was confident that the next batch of corpses would arrive before long.

Just as Alexander was settling into a moment of anticipation, a maniacal laughter suddenly shattered the calm.

"Kassadin Imperial, ha-ha, so you are here! Let’s see how arrogant you can be now!"

Alexander and his companions simultaneously turned their gaze toward the source of the voice—a figure shrouded in ghostly aura was rapidly closing in.

"Desert! You’ve actually advanced to the Emperor-level!" Kassadin exclaimed in disbelief.

The newcomer was none other than Desert from the Endless Abyss, who had astonishingly reached the ghost Emperor-level.

To move from Imperial to Emperor-level seemed a mere step, but without Emperor-level ghost crystals, the ascent was nearly impossible. And yet, Desert had managed to break through to Emperor-level even before Kassadin.

However, a glance at Alexander, who stood behind him, restored Kassadin Imperial’s composure.

What did breaking through matter? Even attaining the ghost Emperor-level, what of it? Alexander still held over three hundred trillion in hand.

If Alexander decided to spend a hundred billion to buy an organ from Desert, all the natives of Cangshan city would likely swarm and tear Desert apart.

"Ha-ha, Kassadin, you never saw this coming, did you? You were so insolent back then. Do you think you can mess with the might of the Endless Abyss? Today, I’d like to see just how arrogant you can be!" Desert roared with laughter, his ghostly aura swirling ominously.

"Has this man always been this audacious?" Desert was interrupted by a new voice. Alexander stepped out from behind Kassadin.

"A chef! You’re the dining hall chef? No...you must be the chosen one from the Dark Hell. You’ve surely used some sort of artifact," Desert recognized almost instantly.

He and Kassadin Imperial were old foes; Kassadin had almost cracked an incredibly complicated cycle once, only to fail due to Desert’s meddling.

Moreover, the Endless Abyss and the Dark Hell were inherently antagonistic entities, and Kassadin Imperial was known to be an ally of the Empress of the Dark Hell.

All of these factors made the relationship between Kassadin and Desert particularly fraught—each party looking to eliminate the other.

Desert had come to Cangshan City with a plan. He had set his sights on cracking an Emperor-level cycle and was confident of breaking through.

That’s why, while on the ship, he took precautions by placing a tracking artifact on Kassadin, intending to seek revenge once he had advanced to the ghost Emperor-level.

Everything went smoothly for Desert. Upon entering the Cangshan City instance, he immediately entered the cycle he had eyed and began his attempts to decode it. Not long ago, he successfully cracked the cycle, absorbed the necessary ghost crystals, and advanced to the ghost Emperor-level.

Knowing that his time in the instance was running out, he used the previously placed tracking artifact to find Kassadin, who was also just one step away from reaching Emperor-level.

Desert was clear: if he couldn’t eliminate Kassadin now, he would not stand a chance should Kassadin break through to the ghost Emperor-level.

However, because he went straight to decoding the Emperor-level cycle upon entering the instance, Desert was unaware of the developments in Cangshan City.

Although he guessed that Alexander was disguised as a native using some artifact, his scrutiny failed to find any flaws, which gave him pause.

His hesitancy wasn’t due to self-doubt. Edward’s presence next to Alexander virtually confirmed Alexander’s identity.

What made Desert uneasy was the unknown nature of the artifact Alexander was using. The Perfect Identity Card was a powerful item that could bestow upon its user the abilities of the person they impersonated, suggesting Alexander might wield forbidden powers.

"What’s the matter? Lost your nerve? And here I thought you were an Emperor. Seems you’re all talk," Kassadin Imperial sneered, noticing Desert’s hesitation.

"You forced my hand! You think disguising yourself as a native makes you invincible? Do you really think I have no cards left to play?" Desert retorted.

Kassadin Imperial’s audacious demeanor sealed Desert’s resolve. He saw in Kassadin’s eyes an unspoken promise: If Kassadin ever broke through to the ghost Emperor level, he wouldn’t spare Desert.

Fortunately, Desert had just cracked an Emperor-level cycle, and that too at the Imperial level, which meant the rewards were substantial. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Besides the ghost crystals of Emperor level, he had received a formidable artifact—the Cloud Piercing Arrow.

Cloud Piercing Arrow

Description: A mist instance artifact.

Attributes: Upon activation, expends 100 billion ghost energies to randomly hire ten local natives as temporary minions.

The description was succinct but the implication was enormous. To Desert, this artifact was monumentally powerful. Even with the worst luck, if he recruited the ten weakest native soldiers, the sheer force of forbidden power he possessed would be more than enough to take down a ghost Emperor.

"What a shame you’ve encountered me," Desert murmured to himself. Without any further hesitation, he activated his treasured artifact.

The trio before him was indeed formidable. One of them was a chosen one who had managed to enter the fog instance at just the soldier level and had evidently done well for himself. Moreover, he had slain a ghost king, a feat that hinted at incredible future potential.

Kassadin was a veteran Imperial with considerable repute in the mist instance. Though cautious by nature, his potential leap in combat effectiveness after achieving ghost Emperor level would certainly surpass Desert’s.

As for Edward, though his capabilities were unknown, the fact that he was in the company of the other two suggested he was no slouch.

Their relationships were antagonistic, their statuses exceptional, and above all, they held astonishing potential. Such adversaries could not be allowed to live, regardless of the cost.

The Cloud Piercing Arrow was a near-exploitative artifact in the fog instance, capable of recruiting natives imbued with forbidden power. Desert didn’t hesitate; he activated the artifact in his possession.

A beam of light shot skyward, exploding in a kaleidoscopic shower high above. Desert’s reserve of ghost energies plummeted, dwindling to a mere single digit in the blink of an eye.

The prospect of a ghost Emperor with such a low energy reserve was unimaginable. It was fortunate that today was the last day of the instance; otherwise, the dignified ghost Emperor would face the embarrassment of not being able to afford a meal.

Boom!

As the last remnants of ghost energy drained from Desert’s arm, fireworks exploded in the sky. An arrow-shaped firework flashed briefly before dissipating. Then, the sound of footsteps—closer, louder—filled the air.

"Haha, my reinforcements have arrived!"

Laughing exuberantly, Desert also let out a sigh of relief.

After all, given that Alexander was now in native form, any sudden, combined attack with Kassadin Imperial would leave Desert no option but to flee.

However, his laughter quickly faded, replaced by a furrowed brow. The sound of footsteps seemed excessive, not like ten people, but rather like tens of thousands rushing toward him.

Even the air nearby was filled with swirling dust. What was happening? Had the artifact malfunctioned?

Confused, Desert watched as from the ends of roads and alleyways, countless figures rushed forth at breakneck speed. So many people?

Desert was dumbfounded, especially since each of these people was carrying a corpse. Was this some avant-garde performance art exclusive to the mist instance?

Luckily, among the throng, ten figures bore a hovering arrow-shaped illusion above their heads, marking them as his hired minions. And their power levels were impressive—four were of ghost Emperor caliber, while the remaining six were all Imperials.

The Cloud Piercing Arrow worked at random, recruiting natives based on pure luck and the quality and quantity of the locals. Could it be that he had unwittingly struck gold, summoning not just ten powerful locals, but their equally formidable entourages?

His luck was inconceivably good! As relief washed over him, Desert could barely contain his astonishment and glee.

Just then, the ten arrow-marked natives who had been summoned paused and cast puzzled glances at Alexander and Desert.

Mirroring their hesitation, the tens of thousands of natives behind them also stopped, appearing to acknowledge the ten as their leaders.

"As I suspected! This is truly my moment of glory! Once I return to the Endless Abyss, this will be a tale worth boasting about!" Desert thought, elated.

Gathering his intense emotion into a calm façade, Desert curled his lips into a smug, 45-degree upward-angled smile. Extending his arm, he pointed at Alexander and Kassadin Imperial and declared in a chilling voice,

"It is I who have summoned you for one purpose alone! I am Desert, the Ghost Emperor of the Endless Abyss! Those who offend me will die! Understand?"

Preening in his own grandeur, Desert was already planning to pen down this legendary episode once he returned to the Endless Abyss. The whole realm would surely envy him. He even thought of a title for his book—’The Invincible and Brave Emperor Desert.’

The ten figures, with their arrow-shaped illusions floating above them, finally seemed to grasp the situation.

Understanding that Desert and Alexander were enemies, they promptly stepped forward. The one leading them, a Ghost Emperor, wasted no time in delivering a resounding slap across Desert’s smug face.

"What do you think you are, putting on airs and graces here?" He snarled.