Ten hours earlier.

The black-haired youth, "Since your spiritual power hasn't detected any trace of him for such a long time, it's clear that his ability isn't spiritual. This means that when he pulled me into the special world, he could only recognize me by my appearance."

Huo Li, "Xiao Yi, are you suggesting we swap appearances?"

"Exactly!" the youth replied. "I already used my 'Heavenly Flying Pigs' move last time. If I pull that stunt again, it'll raise suspicions instantly. Even an idiot would figure out that something is wrong if tens of thousands of pigs—or cows and goats—suddenly show up in our hospital.

That guy won't stop targeting me. The next time he drags 'me' into the special world, you'll change back and test if he will spare you. He must be there too when he pulls you into his world—likely just beyond the fragmented mirror. The size of the special world isn't more than ten kilometers, so you can use your spiritual power to locate him. I can't use my ability to protect myself, but your mental power is a powerful counter against him."

Huo Li couldn't help but feel smug at his 'little boyfriend's' praise. Through his spiritual link, he replied confidently, "My spiritual power can penetrate even with a domain barrier in place, though it takes time. It'll be too dangerous if you're dragged into that special world again. We should keep our appearance swapped until we figure him out."

"Great!" the black-haired teenager said happily. "Let's do this. On the count of three, we'll use the teleportation talisman to trade places and transform into each other's appearance at the same time. There's not much we need to adjust anyway. The body I made for you retains my black thread's abilities!"

He began the countdown. "Three... two... one... change!"

In an instant, Huo Li remained seated on the chair, but the figure on the bed—Xiao Yi—briefly flickered, his features blurring before stabilizing.

'Xiao Yi' said sheepishly, "Sorry, Xiao Yi. I'm not that skilled at manipulating the black thread…"

.

Present time.

In the special world, the distortion in space momentarily faltered when Huo Li reverted to his original appearance. It seemed that the mastermind behind the scenes was startled after realizing he caught the wrong person. Huo Li immediately manipulated his body, using its black thread abilities to heal his wounds. However, the space twisted again before he could make any meaningful progress!

Huo Li, chest still oozing blood, was instantly transported to the hospital's front street, his body materializing just ten centimeters in front of a speeding car. He was flung into the air like a kite with its string snapped when the vehicle struck him like a lightning bolt, causing him to crash heavily onto the asphalt.

Thankfully, the body Xiao Yi had specially designed for him was highly strengthened. Otherwise, an ordinary person would have been killed instantly or succumbed to their injuries within 5 minutes. Yet even with this reinforcement, Huo Li wasn't in good shape. He felt the searing pain of at least five broken bones and multiple internal injuries. Worse still, his body landed in the innermost lane of the road, and another large truck was heading towards him.

Gritting his teeth against the agony, Huo Li rolled to one side just in time to avoid the incoming truck. He barely managed to collapse on the yellow dividing line, but his right arm wasn't as fortunate—it was driven over by the truck's wheel and broke into two sections.

To get back to the sidewalk, he had to cross at least three lanes of fast-moving traffic. Although his body could transform into black thread, Huo Li wasn't adept at using this ability. Fully transforming would take too much time, and there was no guarantee he could revert back unscathed.

Like Xiao Yi had done before, partial alienation of wings seemed like an option. However, without an external source of black thread, Huo Li would have to use his own body mass to generate the wings, which he found deeply unsettling. Weighed down by these grim options, he remained still in the middle of the road. Ignoring the vehicles speeding by on both sides, he focused all his energy on spreading his spiritual power.

In just a few seconds, his mental energy had covered the entire special world. This 'world' consisted of the whole hospital and a small stretch of the street outside. Strangely, it was devoid of people or life. The mastermind wasn't here.

Realizing this, Huo Li redirected his mental power, attempting to pierce through the nearest shattered mirror spanning the horizon. If he could break through this barrier, he could uncover the mastermind's identity.

After all, the flow of time in the real world was currently halted, and it was impossible for anyone to actively manipulate events during this stagnant period!

However, the mastermind seemed to sense Huo Li's intentions. The environment shifted once more, interrupting his spiritual assault as it neared completion. Suddenly, Huo Li found himself in one of the hospital's treatment rooms.

He turned his head and saw a large cylindrical medical instrument—a whirring MRI machine—looming ominously behind him. This isn't good, he thought. But before he could react, the air around him twisted violently, and a massive metal table crashed down, pinning his body against the MRI machine.

The sheer force crushed his chest, and he could hear the sickening crack of his ribs and the squelch of his internal organs being compressed. Unable to escape through brute strength, Huo Li pretended to scream in agony while channeling all his focus into breaking through the shattered mirror.

His ribcage and thigh bones snapped completely as the weight pressed down harder. Blood vessels ruptured, cutting off oxygen to his brain and weakening his spiritual power. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Huo Li's mental energy surged forward, finally breaking through the fragmented mirror!

Huo Li's divine consciousness surged outward like half of a vast ocean, spreading across the fractured boundary. When his spiritual force pierced through the shattered mirror, the mastermind seemed to sense the breach. The mastermind instantly collapsed the entire special world in a frantic attempt to dodge Huo Li's probing.

The intense pressure on Huo Li's body vanished, and he crumpled to the ground, limp and lifeless like a discarded doll.

.

Real World.

Aliena and Da Li enthusiastically explained the diagnostic rooms to their boss and sister-in-law. Suddenly, Xiao Yi, who had been standing upright moments ago, crumpled to the ground. The sound of his fall echoed in the silent hospital corridor, and bright red blood quickly pooled around his body.

"Xiao Yi!" Aliena and Da Li cried in alarm as they rushed to his side.

To their utter shock, Huo Li—who was standing nearby—called out, "Huo Li!"

Startled, Aliena and Da Li turned their attention to the figure on the ground. It was not Xiao Yi, as they had initially thought, but their boss! Their eyes darted back to the 'Huo Li' still standing beside them, and they froze in confusion. As they stared, his figure flickered momentarily as he transformed back into a black-haired youth.

The black-haired boy crouched beside the injured Huo Li and spoke softly, "Your body's injuries are beyond repair. Let's switch. Ready? Three, two, one!"

The scene blurred for a moment. Aliena and Da Li watched in disbelief as the critically injured Huo Li was replaced by a perfectly healthy one. The blood remained, but his wounds had vanished entirely. Huo Li stood, his movements steady, as though nothing had happened. He was about to speak, but the black-haired boy cut him off with a rueful smile.

The youth patted Huo Li on the shoulder. "Sorry, Huo Li. I wronged you. After seeing all this, there's no way the person targeting you could be someone close to you. This isn't the work of a 'friend or family.'"

Huo Li turned to his subordinates and calmly explained, "Since the night before yesterday, Xiao Yi and I have swapped our appearance to confuse the mastermind. Everything's fine now, so continue your explanation."

Aliena and Da Li, still shaken by the sight of their boss's previous injuries, exchanged uncertain glances. However, they followed Huo Li's instructions and resumed their tour. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi and Huo Li listened silently, their thoughts clearly elsewhere.

"How did it come to this?" Xiao Yi's voice echoed in Huo Li's mind through their spiritual link. "Even if he wanted to kill me, he wouldn't have gone this far. I just got hit by a car and burned a little. This is... excessive."

Huo Li, "Laser cuts, car crashes, being crushed by an MRI machine, and slammed under a metal table."

Xiao Yi's mental tone rose in disbelief. "What about your spiritual power? You didn't fight back?"

Expressionless, Huo Li admitted, "My spiritual power wasn't as effective as those ten thousand pigs."

Xiao Yi fell silent, sensing Huo Li's frustration. After a pause, he shifted the topic. "Did you find anything useful in the special world?"

Huo Li's expression improved slightly. "When my spiritual energy broke through the shattered mirror, the mastermind began disintegrating the world and escaped before I could pinpoint their location. However, I managed to brush against the mental construct of the system they confined."

Xiao Yi's voice shot up. "What?!"

Huo Li, "He's definitely a savior from the Salvation Alliance. The system was in a frozen state, its data chaotic and fragmented, but I extracted a fragment from its periphery: one half of an S and another half of an S. That confirms he's at least an SS-class savior. Beyond that, I couldn't gather more."

Black-haired youth, "Honestly, that's not surprising. Ninety-nine percent of ability users have been absorbed into the Salvation Alliance. Someone this powerful wouldn't remain below SS class for long, right?"

Seeing Huo Li's pride falter slightly, Xiao Yi quickly added, "It's still useful information! We've narrowed the range of suspects significantly. By the way, how many SS-class saviors are in the Salvation League?"

Huo Li, "2,443."

Xiao Yi blinked in surprise. "Uh...... How can there be so many?"

Using his spiritual energy to explain, Huo Li elaborated, "The Salvation Alliance has around 730,000 saviors in total, of which 650,000 are S-class or below. While the numbers might seem manageable, ascending to S-class is extremely difficult. Most lower-ranked saviors die during missions or from natural causes, keeping their population steady. Once someone reaches S-class, their survival rate improves significantly. Even those nearing the end of their natural lifespan can purchase anti-aging elixirs from the system's marketplace. Additionally, ability users with stronger abilities naturally live longer."

Xiao Yi digested the information. "So these tens of thousands of S-class or higher saviors resulted from millennia of accumulation?"

"Exactly," Huo Li replied. "The score requirement for SS-class is a hundred times higher than for S-class. That's why there are only about 2,400 SS-class saviors, even after thousands of years."

With nothing more to discuss, the two lapsed into silence, listening idly to the rest of Aliena's report.

.

In the evening, Xiao Yi returned to his room and meticulously reported all the information they had gathered to the main system through 2d14. He left no detail omitted. Feeling a rare sense of relief, he settled into bed, convinced that the mastermind wouldn't dare act tonight. (How could he know whether it's me or Huo Li lying here?) Xiao Yi mused with a hint of satisfaction.

Indeed, the night passed without incident. The youth slept soundly and woke early the next morning, refreshed and energized. Today marked the highly anticipated live broadcast of Philip Hospital's groundbreaking scientific achievement: the Nano Therapy Instrument, a device resembling nothing more than a plastic box filled with black silk.

Thanks to Aliena's fame as the 'beauty hit by a pig,' the event was overwhelmed by all the major media that got the news roundaboutly. By 7 a.m.—two hours before the official start—the hospital lobby was already packed. Reporters and medical experts jostled for space, eager to witness this revolutionary breakthrough.

Behind the scenes, the two Philip young masters were at ease. Confident in the Nano Therapy Instrument's capabilities, they took their time preparing backstage, ensuring they looked the part of two refined young nobles. Meanwhile, the hired 'medical personnel' managed the chaos outside, keeping the audience engaged and entertained.

Just as everything seemed to proceed smoothly, a distinct chime echoed in Xiao Yi's mind.

"Ding! The main system has issued an emergency order to zz2d14: Emergency mission! All SS and SSS-ranked saviors of the Salvation Alliance must immediately cease their current tasks. Establish a transmission array to the third planet of the solar system within five minutes to prevent an impending apocalypse! Failure to comply will result in forced transmission by the system. The apocalypse is predicted to occur on this planet in seventeen hours."

System 2d14 added, "Uhm, Host, the main system has a separate message: Huo Li must also participate, but he must maintain his disguise."

The black-haired youth immediately relayed it to Huo Li. His lips curled into a wry smile as he commented, "This has to be the most blatant trap I've ever seen. Is the main system seriously asking the entire Salvation Alliance to abandon countless other worlds just to save one planet?"

However, Huo Li remained calm, "No, this excuse is very reasonable! Even without any ulterior motives, the main system would prioritize saving this planet above all others. After all, the world about to face destruction is the birthplace of humanity—Earth."