After Xingchen and Yinyue escaped from the Eternal Night Hotel, the water-type ability user who had stayed behind to cover their retreat was already exhausted and collapsed in the corner of the sixth-floor corridor.

Without hesitation, Huaifeng stepped forward toward the fallen water-type user.

A withered branch as thick as an arm extended out, approaching the water-type user. In his disbelieving gaze, his skull was completely pierced through, and his mutated core was extracted from his brain.

Watching Huaifeng’s natural and straightforward actions, Liu Mei felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

Why was the treant before her still the same as ever, yet somehow different?

After fully absorbing the green mutated core, Huaifeng felt the surge of power in his body and turned to look at Nan Muran, who was standing nearby with a smiling face. “Did you really think that just by embedding a willow branch inside my body, you could completely control me?”

Then Huaifeng began to gather power, searching within himself for foreign matter.

Nan Muran understood what he intended but made no move to stop him.

The others behind her were ready to act, but seeing that Nan Muran remained still, they also held back.

Moments later, a faint green glow suddenly emerged from Huaifeng’s mouth and then disappeared into the air.

Huaifeng looked at Nan Muran, his expression proud and arrogant. “I detest being controlled more than anything.”

Nan Muran calmly watched Huaifeng’s every move, as if observing a clown performing tricks. Her originally peaceful aura began to grow cold and stern.

Beside her, Liu Mei, sensing the tension between the two, stepped forward to shield Nan Muran. “Huaifeng, have you gone mad? She just helped you.”

At her words, Huaifeng gave Liu Mei a mocking look. “She wasn’t helping me — it was just a transaction.”

“And so what? You’re going back on your word? You want to kill her now?” Liu Mei couldn’t reconcile this Huaifeng with the refined, trustworthy man she remembered.

Even if he had been forced to agree under duress, he shouldn’t be so shameless as to turn on them and try to kill now. This version of Huaifeng was a stranger to her.

“Just a matter of strength,” Huaifeng said, unwilling to argue further.

Before Liu Mei could say anything else, the little willow in Nan Muran’s hand suddenly shot out, wrapping around Liu Mei and lifting her into the air. Its sharp tip pressed against the artery in her neck.

Liu Mei struggled to land but quickly realized she couldn’t move at all — not even speak.

“What about now?” Nan Muran’s voice was icy as she addressed Huaifeng.

Huaifeng looked at Liu Mei, who was trapped and struggling painfully, on the verge of death, but showed no hint of compromise. “She can’t threaten me.”

“So what then? You’ll just watch her die?” Nan Muran asked calmly.

“A whore who has slept with thousands of men — you think she’s good enough to threaten me?” Huaifeng suddenly said coldly, staring at Nan Muran.

Not only did Nan Muran’s group — Si Ye, Han Yingtian, and the others — freeze in shock, even Liu Mei herself, still suspended in the air, was stunned.

“You don’t love her?” Nan Muran was not surprised by Huaifeng’s words and continued questioning.

“Love her?” Huaifeng laughed like he had heard a hilarious joke. “I was a top student at a prestigious university, always standing under the sun. How could I fall for a cheap woman who threw herself at me?

What a massive joke.”

“What did you say?” Liu Mei felt like she had fallen into an icy abyss.

She couldn’t help but think of everything over the past five years: Huaifeng’s relentless pursuit of her, their eventual relationship, and then after the apocalypse, how he had abused her physically and mentally, almost tearing her apart.

Huaifeng spat at Liu Mei with disgust, his expression crazed. “You thought it was me every time you got abused here? You’re wrong. It was that fruit tree doing it.

Though, come to think of it, even though you resisted at first, didn’t you end up enjoying it too? You moaned so seductively!

Oh, and it wasn’t just the fruit tree — what about all those men coming in and out of your hotel room? Which one didn’t you serve wholeheartedly?

Liu Mei, you’re filthy beyond saving.”

Seeing Liu Mei on the verge of breakdown, Nan Muran withdrew the little willow, releasing her.

As soon as Liu Mei felt her body free again, she rushed forward and slapped Huaifeng hard across the face. “When you used my money before the apocalypse, why didn’t you call me filthy?

When you lived off me for food, water, and shelter after the apocalypse, why didn’t you call me filthy? Now you dare say this to me?!”

The stinging slap sent Huaifeng into a frenzy. His withered hand shot out and clamped around Liu Mei’s neck. “You’re asking for death.”

Liu Mei felt her breathing tighten, her face turning red from the lack of oxygen. She could clearly sense that Huaifeng genuinely wanted to kill her. What a joke.

The man she had protected and sacrificed everything for was now trying to kill her.

“Eternal Night… save me…” As she was nearly suffocating, Liu Mei desperately called for help from Eternal Night.

She regretted not letting Eternal Night cover the sixth floor earlier. Now she was going to die.

Almost instantly, a network of crimson threads, like capillaries, shot into the room at a terrifying speed. When it touched the puddles of water on the floor, it turned into pools of blood, then reformed and crept up Huaifeng’s body.

“What the hell’s going on now?” Eagle, standing with Si Ye and the others behind Nan Muran, asked in disbelief.

Nan Muran cast a casual glance at the scene where Eternal Night and Huaifeng had already engaged. “Isn’t it perfect? Everyone who needed to show themselves has come out.”

Earlier, sensing Huaifeng’s intentions almost immediately, Nan Muran had quickly formulated a plan in her mind. Carefully pushing events forward, she was very satisfied with the current situation.

“Perfect, sure, but what if Huaifeng gets killed by Eternal Night? What about the fruit?” Eagle couldn’t help muttering.

Hearing this, Si Ye chuckled. “Who says the fruit tree inside the treant’s body is still there?”

Startled, Eagle, Jiawu, and Han Yingtian all turned to Nan Muran, their eyes full of questioning.

Nan Muran casually took out a snack from her backpack and began eating. “Mm. The little willow merely sealed the power of the fruit tree in the back of the treant’s body.

Huaifeng thinking he had full control was just his own illusion.”

From the beginning, when Xingchen and the others suddenly attacked the treant, Nan Muran had already set her plan in motion.

She had used Huaifeng’s greed to control the treant to deal with Xingchen’s group — after all, a peak-level fifth-rank Xingchen plus an early-stage fifth-rank ability user would have been quite troublesome to handle directly.

Then she leveraged the grudge between Liu Mei and Huaifeng, prompting Eternal Night to deal with Huaifeng, and finally, she would retrieve the fruit tree herself.

This way, her group could sit back and enjoy the show, stepping in only when needed, and ultimately secure the green mutated fruit from the forest behind the hotel.

Moreover, this maneuver forced all the hidden powerful forces within the hotel into the open, saving them from troublesome future confrontations.

Each step interconnected — intelligence, judgment, and meticulous planning were all indispensable.