The sound of keyboard tapping echoed steadily. Suddenly, Erion snapped his fingers:

  – “Found them. D?ng’s family is at a restaurant in District 3. What do you plan to do next?”

  Trang winked mischievously:

  – “I just need to fall into a dangerous situation, and the Black Spirit Lynx will reveal itself.”

  Nh? Phu hurriedly objected, worried:

  – “I’m afraid the Princess’s identity might be exposed. Humans could discover it.”

  Trang smiled calmly:

  – “I’ll seal off the space and freeze time within that area. D?ng’s family won’t notice anything at all.”

  Din nodded approvingly:

  – “That’s right. The Princess and the Grand General both share abilities over space and time.”

  Trúc Di?n urged anxiously:

  – “Then we should move immediately.”

  Yin was deep in thought:

  – “We have to separate that individual from D?ng’s group… but that won’t be easy.”

  Erion considered further:

  – “If anyone does it, let me handle it. Your abilities aren’t stable yet — you need more time to train.”

  ***

  At that moment, the two little imps returned. One of them rushed in, holding a ziplock bag containing the keychain.

  – “Here you go, Grand General. Anh Tú said this looks very familiar, but he wasn’t sure, so he wanted us to analyze it.”

  L?p Thành immediately took the ziplock bag. He opened it and held the keychain up to examine it closely. The gray-silver crystal grains inside the wish-bottle charm made his expression change. As a professional investigator of the Serpent Clan, he recognized it at once:

  – “This is arsenic! Why would something like this be in D?ng’s house?”

  The entire group turned solemn. Trúc Di?n clenched his fist, his gaze turning sharp:

  – “Arsenic is a cumulative poison, usually used for long-term poisoning… So who is he planning to target?”

  Arian sprang to his feet:

  – “If we want answers, we’ll have to find the Black Spirit Lynx and ask directly.”

  In the kitchen of D?ng’s house, Anh Tú was arranging food into the refrigerator when he noticed a small scale-like fragment on the floor, resembling shed skin. He picked it up and examined it carefully:

  – “Could this belong to Trúc Di?n or the others? They’re from the Serpent Clan — shedding scales is normal…”

  But when he brought it closer to his nose to sense it, Anh Tú’s eyes suddenly widened’

  – “This isn’t the smell of a snake… Snake scales are smooth, layered clearly like roof tiles. This one is granular, rough… It’s not a snake. What is this?”

  At the Serpent Clan headquarters, the group was preparing to move to District 3 when Trúc Di?n’s phone rang. Anh Tú was calling to report that he had found reptilian skin cells — but not from a snake.

  Trúc Di?n spoke urgently:

  – “Can you send me a photo? It’s been a long time since I went to D?ng’s house — why would reptile scales appear there?”

  After hanging up, Din turned to H?u K?’s group:

  – “Members of the Serpent Clan were there this morning.”

  Trúc Di?n shook his head:

  – “From Anh Tú’s description, it’s not snake scales… but it’s definitely from a reptile.”

  Erion frowned:

  – “First cat fur, now reptile scales. Has D?ng’s house turned into a zoo or something?”

  Yin said coldly:

  – “Wait until Anh Tú sends the photo. We’ll know what species it is once we see it.”

  Inside the VIP room, everyone was still eating and chatting happily when Charles’s phone rang with a new message notification. He immediately opened it. The words on the screen made his eyes darken:

  – “Greetings, Professor. This weekend is the wedding of D?ng’s daughter. You and your associates have done very well. Come to the boarding-house area shortly—I have something to discuss. Do not let anyone accompany you.”

  Charles murmured softly:

  – “It’s Mr. Nhan…”

  C?u D?ng glanced over at him, his voice filled with curiosity:

  – “What’s going on, Professor?”

  Charles smiled briefly and replied:

  – “A message from some students. They’re asking when I’ll return to the university.”

  Deep shrugged:

  – “That makes sense. You came to Vietnam — who’s going to teach them?”

  Charles chuckled lightly:

  – “That’s why today I asked Join and Mary to help prepare online lesson plans. I can’t let the students miss their classes.”

  ***

  At the main hall of the Bình Chánh headquarters, Demon King Satan was preparing to leave for the boarding-house area. The Elder Grand Matron stepped forward and bowed as she asked:

  – “My Lord is going out at this hour? Is there something urgent?”

  Satan smiled, but his eyes were veiled with ancient memories:

  – “I wish to meet Professor Charles again — while also checking on my special agent.”

  She paused slightly:

  – “He is there? This servant thought he would be with D?ng’s family.”

  Satan replied with only one sentence, his voice deep as an abyss:

  – “Every move I make… must be planned far ahead.”

  ***

  At the Serpent Clan headquarters, a message from Anh Tú had just arrived — a photo of the reptilian scale sample. Everyone immediately crowded around to look.

  Arian frowned:

  – “Could it be a monitor lizard scale?”

  The little imps chimed in as well:

  – “It looks like a gecko scale!”

  Erion frowned upon hearing that:

  – “Every house has geckos. It has to be something more special.”

  He fixed his gaze on the screen, examining it closely, his voice sinking:

  – “The scale structure is rough, granular, with tiny spines… it seems to be… a chameleon.”

  Trang leaned down to look more closely, her eyes lighting up:

  – “That’s right. Its physical structure is granular for protection and acts like a transparent prism, working together with pigment cells and underlying nanocrystals to change color — allowing perfect camouflage within its surroundings.”

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  Din frowned in confusion:

  – “Then what do Black Spirit Lynx fur and chameleon scales have to do with each other?”

  Yin added:

  – “And they both appeared inside D?ng’s house.”

  Erion exhaled sharply and stood up at once:

  – “We’re going to District 3. Use a spatial gate — it’ll be faster. Everything is starting to feel… far too tangled.”

  Charles glanced at his watch, then stood up with a polite excuse:

  – “It’s almost time for my online class, so I should head back now. Please excuse me.”

  Mr. Tài reminded him warmly:

  – “My wife cooked beef stew and left it in the fridge at home. If you feel like eating, just reheat it.”

  Charles bowed slightly, his eyes filled with gratitude:

  – “You’ve already let me stay, and you’re still taking such good care of me.”

  Mrs. Nga smiled gently:

  – “Well, you’re making it up by tutoring Hi?u with extra knowledge.”

  Ti?n nodded in agreement:

  – “These days, having an international professor tutor you is the best. Even pedagogy teachers alone already charge millions.”

  Charles straightened up, adjusted his collar, and prepared to leave:

  – “I’ll head off now. See you all later. Join and Mary — please have Mr. Deep take you home afterward.”

  Deep replied immediately, as if it were an everyday matter:

  – “They’re like my own kids. You should go quickly — don’t be late. The students over there are waiting.”

  Charles quickly exited the restaurant and headed straight to the parking area. The Camry rolled forward, blending into the busy nighttime traffic, heading toward the boarding-house district.

  ***

  At the same time, Erion’s group appeared

  Just as Charles left, Erion’s group’s vehicle slid to a stop in front of the restaurant. One by one, they opened the doors and stepped out.

  Din tilted his chin up, lips curling into a half-smile:

  – “The other day, a Black Diamond agent at the café sent us footage of D?ng’s group — along with two others — trying to breach the military firewall of Satan’s Royal House and the Serpent Clan.”

  Erion crossed his arms, his gaze icy:

  – “Let them try. My father-in-law designed that firewall specifically to challenge hackers. If they run into us… they’ll be crying in Sanskrit.”

  Nh? Phu tilted his head and asked quietly:

  – “So how do we lure that Black Lynx out now?”

  Chen ruffled his hair in frustration, complaining:

  – “I can’t think of anything. If we walk in now, D?ng’s family will call us out immediately.”

  Erion let out a soft sigh and made the final decision:

  – “Then we’ll have to take the risk. We’ll freeze time in this entire area and go in.”

  The whole group nodded in unison, preparing themselves. The power is activated

  Erion stepped back a few paces. Beneath his feet, a magic circle shimmered into existence, glowing with black-violet light. Layered spacetime sigils rotated and overlapped, as if awakening to life.

  The space surrounding the restaurant was instantly marked.

  He raised both hands. Black-violet mana spread outward, spiraling like an inverted galaxy — coiling inward, then bursting outward in a flash.

  – “Let’s begin.”

  The moment Erion activated the spell, a deep, muffled boom echoed — like air being violently compressed, then dragged backward. The entire area tilted slightly, like water rippled by a passing breeze — then froze instantly.

  Space cracked into flowing streaks of black-violet light, radiating thin shockwaves like sound ripples. Everything touched by those waves halted at once.

  People froze mid-step—their facial muscles, eyelids, even individual strands of hair locked in place. The clink of a glass touching a table turned into a silver ring of sound, suspended in midair like music abruptly strangled.

  Droplets splashing from a glass became clear crystal beads, reflecting the black-violet glow of the spell. A falling leaf… was pinned in place, its edge trembling faintly, as if trapped in an invisible pull.

  The air grew heavy, as though the entire world were being crushed within Erion’s palm. The restaurant lights shattered into stationary rays, frozen like delicate strands of glass.

  A thin veil of black-violet haze covered the area, occasionally emitting faint cracking sounds — the noise of time being forcibly stopped.

  Trúc Di?n stepped forward first, his gaze sharp as a thin blade:

  – “Let’s go. Don’t let him escape.”

  The group stepped into the frozen space. The air felt compressed, as if reality itself were bending inward. Sound vanished completely, as though the entire world had been submerged into a bottomless abyss. Every footstep felt like walking through water—slow, heavy, and strangely delayed.

  Outside the VIP room

  When they reached the dining room door, Chen shoved it hard. His entire body was immediately “pushed back” by an invisible force — as if he were opening a door at the bottom of the ocean.

  – “It feels like the air pressure here is the same as the deep sea…” — Chen frowned.

  H?u K? looked inside:

  – “D?ng’s family… and the others. There are also three apprentice witches.”

  Everyone stepped fully into the VIP room.

  All the people inside were frozen mid-meal, their faces locked in the same smiles.

  Trúc Di?n scanned each person as if taking roll call:

  – “Only Anh Tú and the professor are missing… but they’re not our targets.”

  Trang narrowed her eyes:

  – “He’s not here.”

  ??i Ng?c replied:

  – “Maybe he went to the restroom.”

  L?p Thành moved closer, examining each face carefully:

  – “No disguise layer. These are real people.”

  A strange sound outside the frozen zone

  Suddenly, beyond the boundary of frozen time, a harsh, grating sound rang out.

  Not engines.

  Not footsteps.

  Scratching.

  Sharp.

  Fast.

  Continuous.

  Like claws tearing at the wall of reality itself.

  Erion’s ears transformed instantly — black flames flared up, engulfing them before they stretched and sharpened into pointed dragon ears, twitching as they tracked the sound waves.

  – “Claws… scraping against the wall.”

  At the same time, white, iridescent snake scales spread along Trúc Di?n’s jaw. His forked tongue flicked through the air as he sampled the scent particles.

  – “Correct. A reptile… moving along the wall.”

  Trang reacted fastest, spinning toward the exit:

  – “We have to chase it — now!”

  The entire group rushed outside.

  ***

  Bình Th?nh boarding-house district — where Charles has just arrived

  The working-class neighborhood glowed under old yellow streetlights. Boarding houses with peeling walls and rusted tin roofs lined the street. Adults sat in front of their homes, sipping iced tea and chatting after a long day. Children kicked a soccer ball beneath flickering lamps. The smell of oil and broth rose thickly from food carts selling h? ti?u, bánh mì, chicken ph?… filling both sides of the road. The clatter of stir-frying pans mixed with the sound of TV dramas.

  Everything was simple — poor, perhaps… yet warm and honest.

  From the distance, a gaunt figure approached, wearing a conical hat with a torn brim, trudging forward quietly. Charles recognized him at once:

  – “Mr. Nhan, right? You called me here… what is it?”

  Streetlight spilled across Mr. Nhan’s weathered face. His voice rang out, yet its tone carried something… not quite human:

  – “Greetings, Professor. You arrived right on time.”

  Charles smiled:

  – “I’ve been calling you nonstop these past days but couldn’t reach you. I thought you’d gone back to the countryside.”

  Mr. Nhan shook his head slowly:

  – “I’m still here… waiting to meet you. My best friend.”

  Charles froze. The clues he had gathered all this time snapped together into a single truth.

  His eyes reddened.

  – “It’s… Satan. Isn’t it? Is that really you?”

  Mr. Nhan looked up. The gentle expression vanished:

  – “It’s me, Angel Charles. We… haven’t seen each other for several hundred years.”

  Charles’s voice trembled:

  – “I guessed it right… You— it really is you. But why come to Earth? I thought you were supposed to be on the Dark Planet…”

  Mr. Nhan smiled—no longer the smile of a ragged old recycler:

  – “I still have much to do here. Most importantly… to protect my daughter, Trang. And to find my childhood friend again — you.”

  As his words ended, a column of black smoke, sparkling like stardust, coiled up from beneath his feet. The smoke enveloped Mr. Nhan’s body, erasing the frail, aged shell.

  When the smoke dispersed — standing before Charles was a powerful Demon King, possessing the refined aura of a gentleman, with deep amber-gold eyes.

  Charles stepped forward, tears welling in his eyes:

  – “It really is you… my friend from childhood. I thought… I’d never get to see you again.”

  Behind Charles, a surge of white-gold smoke erupted. Light spread outward like rays of the sun.

  A pair of white angel wings unfurled from his back.

  Beautiful.

  Magnificent.

  And filled with emotion.

  Satan silently studied his old friend for a long moment, his gaze deep like an ancient lake.

  – “Several hundred years ago, I once wanted you to come to the Dark Planet with me. But you were determined to stay on Earth… that was your choice. I always hoped you would succeed and truly find happiness.”

  Charles nodded softly, his eyes moist beneath the streetlight.

  – “I became a professor. Besides teaching, I established a charity fund to help underprivileged students. I’m happy with my work. And you… did you ever return to visit home?”

  Satan shook his head, a faint smile tinged with bitterness.

  – “They once tried to force me to live according to their will. To become an evil demon spreading misery and suffering. I refused… because I chose to become a dark god who represents karmic law, punishing forces that mortal law dares not touch. And because of that, my family disowned me, my relatives turned away.”

  His voice sank, as if dragging centuries behind it:

  – “After that, I wandered through the universe… and eventually stopped at a planet in the Andromeda galaxy. I chose it to build my own empire. Now… that place has become a civilization.”

  Satan’s amber-gold eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing through hundreds of years of memories.

  – “You are like me. But you chose forgiveness. As for me… I did not.”

  Charles closed his eyes, his voice quiet as the wind:

  – “The higher powers in the Heavenly Realm once wanted me to work for them. At first, I thought they were good. But the more I interacted with them, the more I realized… they were just hypocrites wearing masks of righteousness, exploiting kindness for their own gain.”

  His hand clenched tightly.

  – “So I chose to withdraw. I refused to serve such false beings. As a result, they fabricated a crime, pinned it on me, and used it as an excuse to expel me from Heaven forever. I chose Earth because there are still so many people here who need help… especially in knowledge. Intelligent people without the means to study… that is a tragic waste of talent.”

  Satan nodded, smiling with deep understanding.

  – “The case you described… I’ve encountered it too. A gifted child born at the bottom of society, with no support, no one to lift him up. I met that boy… and now he is a member of the Royal House of Satan.”

  Charles tilted his head slightly:

  – “Who is that boy? Where is he now?”

  Satan looked up at the star-filled night sky.

  – “Perhaps… my children have already caught up.”

  ***

  OUTSIDE THE TIME BARRIER – THE CHASE

  Outside Erion’s time barrier, a female silhouette sprinted at incredible speed. But that speed was still no match for the Serpent Clan.

  L?p Thành surged ahead, leapt into the air, spun once, then landed directly in front of the fleeing figure, blocking her path.

  A moment later, Trúc Di?n arrived as well, his emerald eyes widening, snake pupils dilating:

  – “Mrs. T?. You’re fast… but not faster than us.”

  The fleeing figure stopped.

  It was Mrs. T? — the sixty-year-old housekeeper who had served the D?ng family for twenty years.

  But her face was continuously warping: colors flowed and blended like a shifting rainbow, patterns rippled as if alive, and her eyes moved independently left and right… all merging into a visage no longer belonging to any human species.

  She spoke. But it was not a woman’s voice.

  It was a deep male voice, echoing faintly like a distant reverberation:

  – “So I’ve been discovered… My disguise technique has always lived up to its reputation, yet this time I slipped.”

  The group immediately understood who stood before them.

  A spirit beast — THE CHAMELEON.

  Trang stepped forward, her voice trembling, frozen in shock:

  – “Mrs. T?… you’ve been by my side protecting me for twenty years? I… I never imagined you were…”

  Erion instantly moved in front of Trang, his ruby-red eyes blazing, sharp as the reaper’s scythe.

  – “So the Chameleon is you. Then what about the Black Spirit Lynx’s fur? Speak clearly… or I’ll freeze you in time immediately.”