<h4>Chapter 582: The Depths of Evil</h4>


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    In rage, themittee member tried to punch Amurong''s face, only to be kicked aside by Amurong''s foot. He curled up in a corner of Amurong''s office like a shrimp.


    Amurong sipped at his wine. "I quite like these so-called rock demons. They''re considered one of the bottom rungs of society, despised by most of the races in the Milky Way. However, I have to admit that they''re truly quite... virile.How would you feel about me having them take your daughter''s virginity?"


    On the screen, the girl began to shriek in panic. "Save me, save me!"


    Amurong took another sip of wine as he admired the screen. "No ordinary person would be able to survive such assault, I think. Even if they live on, their mental health will be irreparably damaged, and they''ll be shells of their former selves. They won''t be able to interact with the outside world, and their lives will turn into a series of nightmares."


    Themittee member had, by now, prostrated himself on the floor of Amurong''s office. He reached out and tugged at the hem of his pants, begging with a face filled with snot and tears, "Please, I beg of you, let them go! My wife and daughter are innocent. Take whatever you want from me, make me do whatever you want—I''ll do anything!"


    "Ah, it looks like my shoes are dirty."


    The man immediately stuck out his tongue and made to clean Amurong''s shoe, but just as he did so, an explosion rang out on-screen. The door to the bedroom was sted open as a number of figures rushed inside and defeated the assants within.


    Hong Tianqi appeared in the screen. "Long time no see, Amurong. How have you been?"


    Amurong froze. The next moment, the winess in his hand shattered.


    "Ah, you can''t respond to me? How boring." Hong Tianqi snapped his fingers as the girl was brought to the screen. "Amurong, I have to say, I knew you were an immoral man, but I hadn''t expected you would stoop this low. You were once the presiding authority of the world federation—don''t you remember that? Is this the type of scum you always were?"


    Now that Amurong had ceded his authority as the presiding member of the world federation, he no longer had to maintain a good name and reputation.


    Just then, his secretary rushed into his office. "Sir, something''s wrong! I''ve just received a call from your estate—your son was seized while returning from school, and his whereabouts are unknown. We''ve already dispatched a staff to look for him."


    Amurong shook his head. "No, there''s no need."


    "Sir?"


    Amurong pointed at the screen. "Look, there he is."


    Hong Tianqi was holding on to a child as though he were a chick. "To be honest, I''m not used to such methods either, but I don''t mind wallowing in the mud with you. You won''t regret this, will you?"


    Amurong''s son cried out, "Father, save me! Father!"


    Hong Tianqi smiled. "Send everyone you''ve kidnapped safe and sound to their residences. If any of them are hurt in any way, I''ll do the same to your son. If any of the women have been harmed, I''ll castrate your entire family. Don''t doubt my words—you know I have the ability to aplish this."


    Hong Tianqi''s words didn''t perturb Amurong; Amurong seemed to behave like a statue of evesting ice. He dragged the man on the floor up, carefully brushed off his clothes, then said politely, "Everything''s fine. Hong Tianqi did very well, so please tell him that I won''t touch any of his men again."


    The man stared at Amurong in bewilderment. Moments ago, his family had been in the likes of hell; the next moment, Hong Tianqi had turned the tidespletely. He was unbelievably and immediately relieved that he had chosen to side with Hong Tianqi. If he had sided with Amurong instead, Amurong would surely have discarded him like a pawn in times of peril.


    He spat a glob of saliva at Amurong''s face. Amurong didn''t dodge. Instead, with a p of his hands, he signaled two muscr bodyguards to enter and escort the man out.


    The moment the man left Amurong''s office, he began to cry. Shivering and quaking, he called Hong Tianqi. "I''m sorry, I—"


    Hong Tianqi met him with a sunny smile. "Don''t you worry. I''m sorry I couldn''t have gotten to the ce sooner, but I''m d nothing worse happened. I pride myself on helping out my allies in times of need."


    "I really don''t know how to thank you, Hong Tianqi. Without you, I simply can''t imagine what would happen to my family. I swear, I''m willing to do anything for you, absolutely anything!"


    Compared to the man''s emotional outburst, Hong Tianqi was a bastion of calm. "Alright. Wipe away your tears, and go make sure your family is safe and sound. They had quite a bit of a scare, so anyfort you can provide them would be good."


    "Thank you, thank you!"


    Inside his office, Amurong wiped away the saliva on his face. "Has my son been released?"


    His secretary replied, "Don''t worry, sir, he''s safe and sound. At the very least, Hong Tianqi is honorable and trustworthy."


    Amurong''s expression was cold. "A son means little to me. Even if he dies, even if more were to die, I can always breed more."


    What Amurong was afraid of wasn''t his son being injured, but Hong Tianqi bing mad. If Hong Tianqi were to start kidnapping those around him, then his associates would be in danger.


    Amurong was shrouded in darkness, and he feared nothing except the darkness turning on him. If Hong Tianqi were to do something like that, his faction would splinter and break apart. He was only holding his faction together because they were bound bymon profit; if something were to threaten that profit, then Amurong would have no leverage.


    More importantly, he had always believed that Hong Tianqi was an honorable man, unwilling to sumb to the level of evilness and cruelty that his methods led to.


    However, it seemed as though that weren''t the case—Hong Tianqi simply didn''t deign to use such underhanded approaches.


    But if Amurong were to go to even greater extremes, then Hong Tianqi might well follow suit. At that point, he would be even harder to handle.


    Amurong''s secretary couldn''t help but shiver. He asked, "Sir, in that case, what should we do next?"


    "We can''t touch Hong Tianqi and his allies. In that case, let''s try to bring the moderates to our side."


    Quite a few of the authorities had chosen to watch matters unfold without dering for one side or another. Amurong felt that it was time to force their hand.


    The secretary retrieved a list that he had prepared beforehand.


    Amurong tapped on one particr person and instructed, "Ah, I remember this man—he''s a lolicon, with a particr preference for young girls aged ten and under. Find some incriminating evidence and send it over."


    "Next..."


    "I''ve seen his information too. He''s afraid of his wife, so seduce him with a mistress and threaten him that way."


    "The subsequent person, sir, is a youngmander in the military who was orphaned at a young age."


    "The hot-bloodedness of youth, hmm? He''s single, so arrange him a girlfriend and have her kidnapped."


    Of course, this kidnapping would be faked. This ''girlfriend'' would be one of Amurong''s direct subordinates tethered to his control.


    "Any person has something they value above all, and that induces weaknesses that we can control. And if they don''t already value something, we''ll make them value it."


    The secretary couldn''t help but sigh internally at the darkness in Amurong''s heart.


    Amurong continued, "Make sure the kidnappers look like Hong Tianqi''s men."


    "I understand, sir!"


    Once he had everything nned out, Amurong poured himself a ss of wine.


    "I read a book in the past about a billionaire who bought an entire. After doing so, he denied the lifeforms within free ess to resources like air, sunlight, and so on."


    The secretary blinked speechlessly. If that were to happen in real life, such poor governance would immediately be reported to the world federation, and the idiotic billionaire would immediately be made an example of.


    "I admire that billionaire, but I also find him spectacrly stupid."


    "Indeed, sir."


    "That said, I still admire him. In my childhood, my dreams were to be just like that man, with the status and authority he possessed. Subsequently, I found that such acts were against thews set out by the world federation. Undeterred, my next dream was to change thosews."


    Amurong turned toward his secretary. "If you were that billionaire in control of an entire, what would you do?"


    The secretary joked, "Well, perhaps I''d force them to watch a minute of advertisements of mymercial holdings each day to gain ess to fresh air..."


    Amurong smiled. "Is that it?"


    "I''m sorry, sir?"


    "Force everyone on that to purchase yourpanies'' goods to gain ess to fresh air and sunlight—and even then, force them to watch advertisements beforehand."


    The secretary lowered his head. "Indeed, sir, your suggestion overwhelms mine."


    Amurongughed loudly. "You still have much to learn, I see!"


    He turned and looked out the window, stretching out a hand that seemed to grasp at a in the dark void of space.


    "When I be rich, as rich as that billionaire—no, even richer than that, I want the entire poption of the Milky Way to bow to my whims. I want them to seek my approval before breathing, before having ess to sunlight, before drinking a sip of water!"


    This was the puerile and frightening dream of a puerile and frightening man.


    This was why Amurong had been so perturbed when Amurong saw Zhang Lie control the entire gxy with his limit-breaking potions. That was exactly the strength of his dreams, and how he had garnered the support of so many conglomerates in the first ce—the promise of immense profit through the process of Amurong realizing his dreams.