Xati tilted his head, pondering the question.
"Humans are weak. If you're talking about their vessels, then they wouldn't survive an explosion intact. There probably wouldn't even be enough left to recover."
Yeri "..."
"I can take a look if they returned to the Demon Realm," Xati suddenly said, sounding excited.
"You can?"
Xati nodded. "I have the dimensional key with me. It's easy to come here and go back."
Yeri's expression suddenly fell.
A sharp, dull ache pierced through her heart.
Shin Keir was the Demon Emperor. Of course he wouldn't simply die.
But what about his identity as the human Shin Keir? Would that version of him ever return?
"Xati..." Yeri's voice softened. "Can you find a way to save him?"
Xati blinked, confused.
The mad emperor was practically omnipotent. That was what his Empress Mother had always told him.
He had never seen her this anxious, nor had he ever seen her look so frightened.
"Empress Mother, you said before that it doesn't matter whether the Mad Emperor is around or not. The both of us will be happy together without him," Xati said.
Yeri "..."
That had been before, when she had been devoid of emotions.
Now, she had him in her heart.
"Is there no other way?" she asked.
Xati pursed his lips, pondering. Then his eyes suddenly lit up. "I could ask those ugly creatures from the Light Realm!"
"Alright. Find a way to connect with them, okay?" Yeri smiled.
She didn't forget to praise him either, making Xati puff up proudly.
-
Only a day had passed, yet the entire nation was already in chaos, as though Shin and Tristan's accident had somehow affected everyone's lives.
In fact, the news had spread far beyond their country. It had already become an international headline.
Not long after, authorities revealed that the plane crash had been the result of a hijacking. Dead bodies had been discovered at the neighboring airport, confirming that Bryce Gate was behind the incident. Yet Bryce himself was nowhere to be found.
At a secured sanatorium facility under the authorities' supervision, Calin sat staring blankly at the wall, rocking her chair back and forth.
The television continued broadcasting the latest news.
"...the search for KGG CEO Shin Keir and VP Tristan Felan continues. Authorities have yet to confirm their whereabouts..."
Calin suddenly stopped rocking, her head slowly turned toward the television.
In a daze, she simply stared.
Then, a moment of clarity returned as she burst into hysterical laughter.
"Karma! Karma! Karma!"
She thought of Yeri's arrogant, condescending face and wondered how she was doing now.
Yeri had been so close to marrying Shin Keir, only for everything to come crashing down. She must be devastated, right?
"Her backup guy, Tristan Felan, is gone too. Who's going to fulfill her dream of entering the Keir family now?"
Calin's laughter echoed through the room.
"Hahaha! Yeri Zhi, how does it feel to become the laughingstock of the entire nation now?! It's karma! It's really karma! I wished for both of you to live miserable lives, even worse than mine, and God actually heard me! Hahaha! Everyone is gone! Everyone who wronged me!"
The news continued playing in the background, and Calin's laughter gradually stopped, her brows slowly furrowed.
Something about the image on the screen seemed to confuse her.
Her hand reached out instinctively, her fingers brushing against the television as she stared at the close-up image of Shin Keir.
A nurse approached her. "You. Do not touch the television."
Calin ignored her as she continued staring at Shin's face.
Then she suddenly took several steps backward, her head shook violently in disbelief.
"No..." Her voice trembled. "It can't be...Impossible!"
Before the nurse could react, Calin suddenly screamed, clutching her head.
"This can't be happening!" She began thrashing desperately. "You need to find him! Find my fiancé! He can't be dead! Impossible! I won't allow it! This isn't true! My Shin Keir couldn't possibly be dead!"
"Calin Ricci is having another episode! We need assistance here!" the nurse shouted.
"I can't stay here! I have to look for him!" Calin struggled against the staff approaching her. "You've got the wrong person! I'm Yeri Zhi! You're all blind! Blind!"
Several staff members rushed in and restrained her before administering a sedative. Even as she struggled, she continued insisting that she was Yeri Zhi.
-
Meanwhile, KGG had descended into complete pandemonium.
Employees were uneasy, whispers traveled through the corridors, and every department was flooded with speculation.
The public relations department was overwhelmed by nonstop calls and messages from clients, investors, business partners, and even random individuals demanding information.
The corporate division had also convened an immediate board meeting.
In a company as massive as KGG, it was only natural for cliques and factions to form.
The difference was that, while Shin had been at the helm, no one had possessed the courage to openly challenge his authority.
Now, however, it was as though someone had finally handed them permission to race onto the track and everyone was accelerating.
Ellis, of course, had his own faction.
He sat among the board members, barely able to hide the anticipation in his eyes.
"Is there no insider information about whether Shin Keir and Tristan Felan are alive?" one board member asked.
"Forget that for now," another replied. "What's important is quelling everyone's uneasiness and uncertainty. We also need to make sure our competitors and enemies don't catch us off guard."
"We can't wait indefinitely. We need someone to take over as temporary CEO and preside over the company."
Several people nodded.
"Agreed."
"The company needs a leader."
"We cannot allow KGG's operations to be paralyzed."
One proposal quickly became another, then came the arguments.
Some demanded an interim CEO with seniority. Others argued that the position should go to someone with enough authority to control the company's subsidiaries and affiliated organizations.
Hours passed.
The meeting became increasingly heated as alliances shifted and hidden agendas surfaced.
At last, after endless debate, a vote was called.
The board members began casting their votes.
At this point, Ellis was already preparing to stand and give his speech.
However, in the very next second, the majority vote went in favor of Allister Keir, who had been sitting quietly throughout the entire meeting.
Ellis froze. For a moment, he genuinely thought he had heard it wrong.
It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over his head.
"Bullshit!"
He finally erupted, slamming his hand against the table as he angrily pointed at Allister. "Have you all gone senile?! He went off and became a recluse, doing nothing but painting and calligraphy after he passed his position to Shin! What does he even know about the current KGG?!"
"Allister was the former CEO before the position was passed to his son. We believe he's the most suitable person at the moment."
Another board member nodded. "We need to maintain trust and unity within the company. Allister was a capable leader during his time as CEO."
Ellis was practically hyperventilating, the veins on his forehead bulged as he gritted his teeth.
"So what?! This isn't some charity or a mere foundation where trust alone is enough! I've been working my entire life, dedicating everything I have to this company! I know KGG inside and out!" He pointed toward himself. "I'm more than capable of becoming CEO. Besides, I'm also a Keir!"
Soon, arguments erupted throughout the boardroom.
Ellis's faction immediately protested the decision, challenging the legitimacy of the vote and arguing that Allister's return was nothing more than a convenient choice made out of nostalgia.
Perhaps Ellis had spent too many years feeling like the underdog.
He had spent his life being suppressed, overshadowed, and compared to his brother. Years of resentment had accumulated beneath the surface, and now that Shin was gone, Ellis no longer bothered hiding it.
For the first time, he openly revealed just how much he wanted the position.
Even the matter of replacing Tristan was brought up.
With Tristan Felan's whereabouts unknown, Hiro Keir was proposed as one of the most suitable candidates to temporarily take over his responsibilities.
The Keir family's internal power structure was shifting rapidly and everyone wanted a piece of it.
--
Amid the chaos spreading throughout the business world, however, there was one thing that occupied the minds of most netizens.
[The wedding of the century.]
What had happened to Yeri Zhi? Where was she now?
"I don't even know what to feel. I've been mortified and too afraid to think about Shin Keir actually being gone. Please, someone comfort me with a lie!"
"I refuse to believe my male god exploded into smithereens. It's too cruel! I never wanted him to marry that schemer, Yeri Zhi, and I prayed someone would knock some sense into him, but not like this! 😭 Damn it, is Yeri Zhi a jinx? Shin Keir has so many enemies, but this time he had no way out!"
The moment someone mentioned the word jinx, it was as if a tsunami had swept through the internet.
Soon, countless people began calling Yeri a jinx, with many sharing stories that were either completely fabricated or heavily exaggerated.
"Cancel Yeri Zhi! She never should have gotten close to Shin Keir!"
"If anything, she should be investigated! How could something happen to Shin Keir right after he signed that contract transferring all his assets to her? Isn't that suspicious?!"
"When Cinderella failed to marry her prince. LOL. Yeri must be crying a river now. Who else could she marry in the Keir family besides Shin?"
Someone replied to the comment above: "Why are you comparing her to Cinderella? She also came from a wealthy family. I bet she's never even cooked once in her life. I'd say this is fate interfering!"
Of course, Yeri's haters couldn't possibly remain silent.
Even some people who had once remained neutral, and even those who had previously blessed her relationship with Shin Keir, now found her to be an easy target for all their frustration and resentment.
Tristan's more unreasonable fans joined in as well, blaming, insulting, and cursing her.
The internet quickly became a storm of accusations.
Yet not long after, the lies, insults, and vicious propaganda started disappearing. Every time someone posted a particularly hateful comment about Yeri, it vanished.
SJ Entertainment, as Yeri's agency, naturally wasn't going to sit back and let malicious comments spread unchecked.
Saeki himself eventually stepped forward.
He posted on his own social media account, publicly condemning those who were deliberately muddying the waters and warning that legal action would be taken against anyone causing trouble.