Inside the dressing room.
Su Nian put on her new performance outfit, struggling to steady her breath as she tried to conceal the turmoil inside.
Silver threads outlined her graceful figure, and on her stunning face lingered a faint blush, like a ripe peach, radiant and dripping with vitality.
That blush in the mirror seemed to mock her, a reminder of everything that had happened in the dressing room—proof of her helplessness.
“Horned Demon Bastard!”
Su Nian gritted her teeth, each word squeezed out through clenched jaws, laden with endless humiliation and unwillingness.
She wished she could tear the man before her into pieces, but reason told her this was not yet the time.
Chu Tian watched Su Nian’s frustrated expression, a devilish smile growing on his lips.
Gaining Annoyance Value while satisfying his own desires, and at the same time provoking the girl before him—this was the thrill.
He enjoyed seeing Su Nian struggle—the resentment, anger, and humiliation flickering across her face.
Especially when the young woman looked at him with disdain, yet still allowed him to control her.
Su Nian tidied her disheveled clothes and carefully rechecked her makeup.
Only after confirming there was no flaw or imperfection did she slowly open the dressing room door.
Outside, Amy waited anxiously.
Seeing Su Nian emerge, she hurried forward.
“Miss Su Nian, are you alright? The rehearsal is about to start.”
Amy’s voice carried concern, her eyes tinged with worry.
That worried gaze only made Su Nian feel more ashamed, as if she had done something disgraceful.
“I’m fine, I just accidentally damaged my outfit, so I changed.”
Su Nian forced a smile, bitter and weary, trying to mask her inner embarrassment.
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Amy breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn’t notice Su Nian’s unusual demeanor and only urged her to hurry to rehearsal.
Su Nian nodded and followed Amy toward the stage.
During rehearsal, Su Nian still moved like a goddess in flight; wherever she stood, she instantly became the absolute center.
Yet, her mind was still trapped by what had happened in the dressing room.
So infuriating!!
So humiliating!
It was all that Horned Demon Bastard’s fault—one day she would stomp him into eighteen pieces.
She would become stronger, strong enough to protect herself, strong enough to take revenge on that Horned Demon Bastard!
“Oh, the Humiliation Value…”
Suddenly, Su Nian recalled something and quickly whispered to the system in her mind.
‘System, check my current Humiliation Value and remaining Contract Beast time.’
“Ding dong, Host’s current Humiliation Value: 223,531.”
“Contract Beast #1 remaining time: 6 days 11 hours…”
The system’s cold voice echoed in Su Nian’s mind.
“Over two hundred twenty-three thousand.”
Su Nian stared at the number, a swirl of emotions flooding her heart.
This number was both a medal of her humiliation and the capital for her revenge.
Each point of Humiliation Value was paid for with her dignity and body, filled with blood, tears, and bitterness.
But at the same time, these Humiliation Values were also her hope for revenge—the only way to change her fate.
How to use these Humiliation Values was clearly the key to her turnaround.
According to the system’s introduction:
To accelerate the Void Beast’s arrival, each day of acceleration required 100,000 Humiliation Value.
That was way too much.
To speed up the full seven days would cost 700,000 Humiliation Value.
An astronomical sum, far beyond what she could bear.
With an extra 300,000 Humiliation Value, she could even buy a second SS Level Ability.
After much hesitation, Su Nian decided to keep the Humiliation Value for now.
Even if she accelerated now, it wouldn’t be enough to summon the beast.
She’d save up enough to accelerate all at once when she had a good chance to defeat that Horned Demon Bastard.
Then, she would hasten the incubation and summon her first Contract Beast.
***
Night fell, and Shadowmoon Manor was enveloped in a tranquil silence.
In the study.
On the heavy redwood desk, a sheepskin-bound ancient tome lay open, yellowed pages densely covered with archaic text and symbols.
Chu Tian sat upright behind the desk, fingertips lightly tracing the pages, brow furrowed, deep in thought.
His dark eyes glimmered with contemplation.
Suddenly, a soft knock shattered the silence like a pebble dropping on a calm lake, sending ripples across the stillness.
“Come in.”
Chu Tian said without looking up, his voice low and magnetic, echoing through the empty study.
The door gently opened, and a black figure slipped in silently, like a ghost.
Clad in a black cloak that concealed the entire body except for a pair of sharp, piercing eyes.
This was Hong Ying, Chu Tian’s most trusted subordinate—a shadow-like assassin responsible for gathering intelligence and carrying out secret missions.
The task to investigate Su Nian’s parents had been handled by him.
“Master, there’s a new discovery.”
Hong Ying said respectfully, his voice hoarse and low as if squeezed from deep in his throat, carrying a mysterious aura.
He pulled out a photo from his chest and handed it to Chu Tian with both hands.
“This was taken near Bai Shui Town, close to Mossenburg,” Hong Ying’s voice remained low but carried gravity.
The latest and most powerful Magic Phone naturally was given to his subordinates.
Hence the photo.
Chu Tian set the ancient book aside, looked up, and took the photo, his gaze fixing on it.
Under dim yellow light, the image gradually sharpened.
It showed a desolate land, barren without a single blade of grass, the ground bare with scattered dry branches and stones.
The soil appeared disturbed, with holes of varying sizes—like the traces of a medium-sized creature burrowing out from underground.
“Is this… some kind of burrowing demon beast?” Chu Tian muttered, a hint of puzzlement in his voice.
He carefully examined every detail in the photo, trying to find clues.
“No, wait!”
Suddenly, Chu Tian’s pupils contracted sharply, as if he had discovered something terrifying.
He saw many similar marks densely scattered all around, almost covering the entire frame.
Moreover… what made his spine chill was that from the surrounding ruined buildings and scattered tombstones, this place…
This should be the Public Cemetery of some town!
In an instant, a dreadful possibility flashed through Chu Tian’s mind.
Could it be, those legendary—
Squinting his eyes, a cold gleam like a sharp sword flashed in Chu Tian’s gaze.
Based on the photo, it appeared that, ruling out the absurd idea of grave robbers stealing bodies, only two plausible explanations remained.
Either the Demon Race was scavenging corpses, though this seemed improbable since the size and shape of the tracks didn’t quite align with any known Demon Race creature.
The other possibility was…