Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 104: Deathbed

There was only fog outside the train window.

Zhong Chengshuo was sitting upright in the middle of the carriage’s seat. The old man-like evil creature was half sitting, half leaning less than an arm’s length away from him. The window behind the two seemed to be a gray reflector.

Around the “reflector”, sheets of yellow talisman fluttered without wind. To the side of the talismans was covered in paper, making the carriage wall a little less creepy due to the pure, bright yellow.

Zhong Chengshuo twitched his nose as he used his feet to push away an obstructive steel pipe. After staying in the carriage for so long, the stench wasn’t as pungent as when he first smelled it.

He simply bandaged his wound, took out his glasses from his pocket, and carefully put them on.

“Higher… Higher…” The evil thing kept murmuring. It was tearing up and its cloudy eyes were looking at a point in the void.

Zhong Chengshuo took out a fountain pen from the sampling bag and spun the end of the pen. A tip poked out from the opening, revealing a hidden syringe. Hearing a soft grunt, the tranquilizer was injected into the neck of the evil thing.

Since it was considered a “Living Evil”, it would have a biological nature.

Sure enough, the old man shook in place for a moment. A few seconds later, he wrapped the blanket tightly around himself, and another confused look appeared on his face.

“Ah… I… Why…”

He curled his body. His eyes wandered from the ground full of townspeople and zombies, and finally stopped on his own deformed body. The old man opened his mouth and vigorously vomited on the ground.

However, all he vomited was transparent mucus.

“You… Who are you…?”

Retching for a few minutes, the old man asked in a daze.

“Official staff.” Zhong Chengshuo lightly flashed his blood-stained ID cards. “I’m here to deal with you.”

The old man’s face was full of wrinkles and tears. The astonishment quickly turned into deep sorrow. A few seconds passed, and his expression became dazed again.

“Tell me everything.” Zhong Chengshuo took out a small hard-cover notebook for recording and scratched the blade of the Evil Fruit with his thumb.

The old man panted for a while, and when he spoke again, his tone had a strange sense, as if he were tearing up and was speaking in a dream.

“Twenty-eight years ago, I was damned… When the mine collapsed, I was on the mountain.”

“Blood-red sky, a black vortex. Something hit me…”

Zhong Chengshuo opened his notebook and carefully recorded and analyzed it.

The Evil Fruit was placed on the page of the book as he flipped the gel pen between his fingers. His beautiful handwriting flowed onto the paper, succinctly recording the events described by the old man.

Divine Descent came into the world and disordered the evil spirits.

A strong and Evil Force fell from the sky, like invisible hail, stimulating the remaining evil things in the Ant Nest, causing the mine to collapse.

That was the beginning of their nightmares.

Back then, Mr. Evil, the old mayor, happened to be on the mountain. Rolling rocks caused by the quake almost crushed him in two. When he was on the verge of death, something extremely cold smashed into his internal organs, and the cold spread rapidly causing him to instantly pass out.

When the old mayor woke up, his injuries, which should have been fatal, were perhaps lighter.

But as a price, he began to experience severe pain, as if his body were being ground up into mincemeat. The pain felt like countless red-hot needles poking into his bones day and night.

The old mayor only regarded it as a sequela of his serious injuries. He kept prescribing analgesics to himself and continued to work conscientiously.

But there were many changes in him.

For example, he only needed to consume very little food. For example, he didn’t need to normally sleep. Despite that, there was an inexplicable hunger in his heart. Hunger and severe pain tormented him so frantically that reality took a sharp turn for the worse.

“That’s a good point, but the other party says they won’t sign the contract. Didn’t they say they could still work together for a few more years?”

“My family has taken out loans. Haven’t you read the news? Those people up there definitely value you. You have to find a way!”

“If the mine suddenly doesn’t produce anything, what are we going to do?”

……

“This isn’t the end of Gensheng Town, right?”

“How can it end so easily! Right, Mayor?”

At the beginning, everyone was optimistic.

The mine had enriched the people of the town, and every household had a surplus of food. The townspeople firmly believed that when the disaster passed and the sadness faded, the mines would continue to develop, and the former prosperity would surely return.

However, as time passed, panic gradually spread.

They were unable to find new mineral deposits, and investors were beginning to pull out. Companies withdrew, factories shut down, and shops fell to pieces. The townspeople could only pick up manual labor to make ends meet or sit and eat mountain air. The prosperity and happiness in those reports were like soap bubbles that popped the second before.

The circular loop repeated itself day in and day out, just like in the past. Its rumbling sound carried countless prides, but now there was only boundless sadness.

But the people couldn’t leave.

Their ancestors were born here and grew up here for generations. They were different from those “outsiders”, who simply came and went. Besides here, they had no other “home” to go back to.

The people once again turned their eyes to the old man; the man who once brought the mountain town to its peak.

“Think of a way…”

“It can’t go on like this…”

“Mr. Mayor, can you change this place back?”

The townspeople came to his door day and night, praying in vain.

No one wanted to point out the truth. Everyone knew the town was reaching its end—just like a terminally ill patient looking forward to a miracle while knowing such a miracle wouldn’t happen.

The mountains were too ugly due to the mining to become a natural landscape. The destroyed arable land couldn’t grow crops, much less raise specialty products. The built real estate couldn’t be rented out, and it would cost too much to demolish them.

And even if they were removed, there was nothing to fill the space.

The paint flaked off and the metal corroded. The supply of electricity and water became increasingly scarce, and the barren city slowly decayed in silence.

They couldn’t go back.

At the end of the year, Gengsheng Town finally welcomed new visitors—after measuring the situation in Gengsheng Town, the relevant project personnel brought a compensation agreement.

They asked the townspeople to leave and relocate en masse to a large town down the mountain. For the mess in the mine, the public government would be responsible for ecological restoration and reclamation.

But this process would take a very long time—long enough for a generation of old people to die in a foreign place.

In the midst of heavy snow, the other boot finally fell*.

*Metaphor that comes from the saying “waiting for the other shoe to drop”. It’s referring to deferring action or a decision until another matter is finished or resolved/awaiting a seemingly inevitable event, especially one that is not desirable. (In this case, it means the latter).

The compensation wasn’t much, nor was it too little. If they were in the pre-development era of Gengsheng Town, most likely the villagers would’ve accepted it with enthusiasm. But the villagers of the current Gengsheng Town only showed confusion and despair.

Is it over just like this?

It was unknown who was the first to take up arms, but the project staff was eventually driven out—there was a mixture of desperation and hope on the faces of the townspeople, as if the town could be saved by driving away this person.

The mayor hurriedly came out to dissuade them but was surrounded by the out-of-control townspeople.

“Mayor, think of a way.”

“Do something…”

Countless eyes looked at him.

“This is our home.”

“I can’t live without my home!”

Countless hands stretched out to him.

“You’re so powerful. Look at the great city we have built.”

“If we all work together, there are no obstacles that we can’t overcome, don’t you think?”

Countless mouths were speaking to him.

Chaos and sorrow were like echoes, lingering in the crowd endlessly. The faces of the townspeople had stiff and uneasy smiles, but their eyes, which were no longer young, showed a little sadness.

…Familiar people, familiar scenes, but not familiar emotions.

Surrounded by the group of townspeople, the mayor vaguely saw the day when the first mine was successfully mined.

Every family set off firecrackers. Men, women, and children walked out of their low adobe houses, and laughter filled the town. They said that their future would definitely get better.

Perhaps it was because he didn’t take painkillers tonight that the pain inside him was burning like a prairie fire, heating him so hot that it made his brain boil.

“This is all temporary, right? Mayor… Mayor?”

Accompanied by huge sadness, countless fragments of information flooded the mayor’s mind. Something seemed to have broken in his body, and cold mucus flowed freely from his chest and abdomen. His internal organs seemed to be frozen and twisted into a ball.

The world was spinning, and everything in front of him melted like cream.

Countless thoughts converged into a torrent, whispering frantically in his head. They formed a cold and heavy stone mill, and the mayor could feel that his sanity was slowly being crushed by it.

I want to go back to the past. Such a good life has just begun… Slightly younger voices were buzzing.

Our ancestors were born here and died here for generations. Our roots have been entrenched here for hundreds of years… The thoughts of the old people were sticky and churning in his mind endlessly.

Yes… They watched their adobe houses turn into brick houses, and the brick houses turned into high-rise buildings that were only prevalent in the cities. The railway was opened, and the circular line was built. Gengsheng Town was like a teenager who was changing every year.

Everything was clear… It shouldn’t be like this…

Why?

Helplessness, confusion, pain, bewilderment, and despair all rolled into a chaotic mess, eventually culminating in great sadness.

[I don’t want to disappear.]

They eventually merged into one voice. The voice was tormented and lost, sounding like his own, yet completely out of his control.

[I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear.]

The mayor who fell to the ground was supported by the townspeople. His eyes were extremely dull and the depths of his pupils were dimly red. He just looked at the land under his feet steadily, then suddenly vomited dirty blood from his internal organs.

The “Living Evil” was born.

For some reason, the mayor sensed something. There was something underground. Something rare and powerful, but extremely ominous.

It didn’t matter. As long as he could use those powers… As long as this place didn’t disappear…

The mayor closed his eyes. His hands became cold and were no longer human-like.

“We can go back in time.”

His thinking almost stagnated and his vocal cords vibrated of their own accord. His consciousness seemed to be divided into thousands of pieces and scattered among the villagers.

“As long as everyone… work together.” He heard himself say this.

In the hazy consciousness, the conversation continued out of his control. “I’ll let everyone live like they used to.”

Countless consciousnesses were entangled, and the expressions of the townspeople gradually became blank. Emotions of sadness and paranoia surged from all sides, blending with his own emotions.

It was like some of their emotions had been opened up and continued to circulate in this land, and he had become the heart of this huge cycle.

He could direct the flow of emotions and the strength and weakness of those emotions, slowly integrating the newly joined people—as long as they believed in him, respected him, and agreed with him.

A strange sense of peace of mind swept over the mayor.

Just like a drop of water that merged into the sea, relying on this common grief, they condensed into a huge, sturdy, and uncontradictory group.

No one could tear it apart.

This was a miracle, he thought in a daze. “Gengsheng Town” would definitely continue to exist.

……

“I see.”

The pen Zhong Chengshuo was holding didn’t stagnate, and he didn’t raise his head.

“Divine Descent happened, and the former mayor was severely corrupted by its Evil Force, turning into a half-evil thing. On the basis of being ‘widely known’, the people have placed a unified emotion… The birth method is somewhat similar to that of a ghost.”

“You in turn use this emotion to influence the evil things around and achieve the result of ‘driving them’.”

“But at that time, you didn’t look like this, did you? Did Sunken Society come into contact with you?” Zhong Chengshuo paused.

“They’ve been… observing me. Those painkillers I’m taking… What’s in them…” The old man said with difficulty.

“When I went underground to look for Yellow Millet, Sunken Society approached me… They told me a lot of knowledge… In exchange, I must continue to take medicine… and don’t interfere with… their actions…”

Zhong Chengshuo remained silent and wrote in his notebook: [Under the condition of Divine Descent, long-term use of Evil Force from a corruption source.]

The situation was clear.

Most of what the mayor found underground at the beginning were “dangerous evil things” that would be left behind by Sunken Society. As long as Yellow Millet used a little cognitive interference, naturally, the townspeople would see the “prosperity of the past” and continue to live in their fantasy.

As for the silent and sluggish evil things above ground, they were just by products of high concentrations of evil qi, which could then be used to raise the underground “army of evil beings”.

The underground was a research institute while the above ground was a breeding farm. The people in the meantime were probably the most insignificant part of this experiment.

“I just remember… this…”

Tears gushed out of the old man’s eyes again. The tone of his words was chaotic, as if he had suddenly forgotten how to express them.

“Hometown… My… hometown… My… I don’t want to disappear…”

Zhong Chengshuo closed his hardcover notebook. “26 minutes and 37 seconds.”

“Are you going to… kill me…”

The old man wrapped himself tightly in a blanket, but he couldn’t cover his rotting, weird limbs. They were scattered all over the ground, oozing sticky pus.

“But I still… don’t want to die… Everything just started… just… started…”

He didn’t know if this was the collective will or the mayor himself who was talking.

Those aging eyes flickered with a dim, hopeful brilliance. Through the decaying shadow in the mist, those eyes seemed to be staring at the past, revealing a trace of innocence belonging to the young.

Zhong Chengshuo remained silent.

He knew he should kill this thing.

When facing some evil things, he occasionally had a… strong intuition. It wasn’t derived from a biological instinct to seek profit and avoid harm, but more like some kind of subtle impulse.

Zhong Chengshuo put the notebook back in his backpack and replaced the Evil Fruit with an ordinary blade. Using the blade, he took part of the tissue from a relatively fresh strange limb. The evil thing sat stunned, without resisting.

When he finished all this, Zhong Chengshuo clenched the Evil Fruit tightly, but in the end, he let go.

Behind the lens, Zhong Chengshuo lowered his eyes and stretched out an empty hand.

The weak monster turned its head and looked at him in bewilderment.

“You used too much power that your cognition is unstable.” Zhong Chengshuo stared at an upside-down yellow talisman. “As a human, you’re too old. As a monster, you’re too young and unrestrained… You know your ending.”

For twenty-eight years, it lived here, slowly losing its human form. It lived clumsily, maintaining a deceptive illusion for its “believers”.

It was strong, but broken. It was collapsing silently, just like “sorrow” itself.

“Even if I don’t kill you, you’ll die soon.” Zhong Chengshuo calmly said his conclusion.

“…” The evil thing didn’t answer.

Its fighting spirit had long since disappeared, leaving only a tired gasp, like a weak little animal.

“If you’re really uncomfortable, you can hold my hand.” Zhong Chengshuo opened his hand and showed his palms. “…You used to be human, so it should have some effect on you.”

“I don’t want to disappear…”

“I understand.”

“I don’t want to disappear…”

“You will not disappear.”

“The people who live here will die and be forgotten, but you will always be here, and I will always remember you. Perhaps in the near future, countless people will know you, and you’ll be turned into data forever.”

“Maybe one day, someone will see your case and remember, ‘My ancestors lived here’.”

Zhong Chengshuo rubbed hard on the leather book with one hand as he explained solemnly.

“I don’t want to… disappear…”

In a weak gasp, a trembling strangle limb climbed into Zhong Chengshuo’s palm. It was dry and wrinkled, and it still had a trace of human temperature.

“Eventually, one day, this planet will be destroyed. All things are classified as nothingness and become other things again. You, and me too—we’ll all be scattered everywhere, existing in everything.”

In the rumbling sound of the rain, Zhong Chengshuo closed his hand.

“Your traces will always exist. You will not disappear.”

“No… I want to… Ah…”

The evil thing swallowed with difficulty for two breaths. The power of its body suddenly ignited like a flash, but it didn’t take this opportunity to attack.

It just turned its head with all its strength, and on its thin body, the oversized head turned to Zhong Chengshuo.

“…You…”

For so long, it made the first action that was close to “human”.

It smiled with difficulty.

“Ah… You… You are…”

The next moment, its sound dissipated in the air.

Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes widened suddenly.

He didn’t know when, but at some point a round hole appeared in the carriage window behind them. Before the evil thing could finish speaking, it was suddenly sucked away by the mouth of the hole, leaving only flesh and blood behind around the hole.

The turbid droplets slowly slid down the window glass, and the talismans in the carriage burned at the same time, turning into fine paper ash.

The two zombies standing quietly lost control and let out a hoarse roar. The brilliance of the Evil Fruit flashed. Zhong Chengshuo kicked the edge of the round hole, causing the window glass to shatter in response.

At the same time.

Yin Ren on Yellow Millet suddenly got up, and Fu Xingchuan in the ruins opened his eyes.

The mist gradually thinned, but the evening sky darkened. A huge black vortex gradually formed.

“…A sense of peeping.” Under the red cloth, Yin Ren bit his thumb nail.

“Tsk.”

Fu Xingchuan half sat on the ground, glanced around at “his companions” and took a deep breath.

“Why are there two missing?”

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 103: The Old Man

On the circular line, the train shuttled through the fog. Its style was close to an old-fashioned subway, but it wasn’t as fast.

Zhong Chengshuo’s metal hook instantly hooked the joint between the carriages. He seized the right moment to jump and stick himself to the outside of the car. The Evil Fruit pierced deeply into the hard compartment wall. Zhong Chengshuo quickly bowed and smashed the corner of the glass window.

The tempered laminated glass was covered with cracks in an instant, then kicked in by King Yama.

If he was a metaphysician, then he would fall at this moment. The evil things inside the carriage were as dense as packed sardines in a can. As soon as Zhong Chengshuo kicked the car window in, a soft limb of some unknown person was exposed in the window by his forefoot.

However, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t notice it.

He neatly passed through the soft limbs and jumped into the carriage. The soft limbs that he passed through shivered and curled back up.

In Zhong Chengshuo’s dark eyes, the carriage in front of him was empty. The plastic seats on both sides were covered with unknown stains, and the pull ring holding the billboard swayed side to side following the vehicle’s movements.

The situation was almost the same as his speculation.

Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian weren’t opponents who could be easily dealt with. As long as their enemies still had brains, they would send physical evil beings there—most of the physical evil things weren’t weak. For example, Snake Swallowing or Yellow Millet.

Shian wouldn’t take the risks when the situation was unknown, let alone counterattack when the situation became unfavorable.

Taking a step back, the position of the science post personnel was more inclined toward “defense”, and there wouldn’t be much physical combat power left around the “evil thing behind the scenes”.

Zhong Chengshuo leisurely threw down Shian’s headset and crushed it with his feet. With the sound of a click, Shian’s last means of contacting him was also cut off.

The smashed headset was retrieved by Zhong Chengshuo, who stuffed it in his pocket, and he even zipped up the pocket to prevent the broken pieces from falling out.

Now, he wouldn’t be bothered by anyone—

Even if there was no physical evil thing, the residents of this town were insane, making it difficult to predict what method they would employ.

Blood red and milky white were intertwined as the fog somehow infiltrated the carriage. There was no barrier between each carriage, but the scene ten steps away was already submerged by thick fog.

There was now fog outside and inside the window, thinning out all colors like a bad dream.

There were old-fashioned LED scrolling screens installed between the carriages. The red light on the black background penetrated the fog as characters composed of red dots kept scrolling. Its content should have been daily notices and arrival reminders, but all it had was the same words that kept repeating themselves.

[I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear…]

The dial Zhong Chengshuo was wearing had turned blood red, but it didn’t vibrate again—rather, it kept making a piercing sound.

The carriage he was in was at the rear of the train. King Yama was playing with the Evil Fruit as he kept moving forward step by step in the thick fog.

There was no air conditioning in the carriage, which made the strange smell even stronger in the humid atmosphere.

Strictly speaking, in the years of being in the Nightwalkers, Zhong Chengshuo had smelled everything he should and shouldn’t have. This smell wasn’t the thickest and most uncomfortable scent he had ever encountered, but it had a hint of Yin Ren in it, which made him particularly unaccustomed to it.

Zhong Chengshuo accelerated his steps.

In the world he couldn’t see, it was a completely different scene.

The carriage was like a subway during rush hour, with all kinds of evil things standing side by side.

The old people sat neatly on the plastic seats with pale, expressionless faces. The ancient shrouds they were wearing gleamed like silk.

They hugged tablets tightly in their arms and their backs were covered with white paper elegiac couplets. Those white papers were sitting under their butts, making light clicking noises from time to time.

The rest of the men and women had their necks stuck in suspension rings. They wore thick cloth gowns that were common in the countryside, and their heads were swollen and bruised. As the vehicle moved forward, the corpses flickered, and all their cloudy and protruding eyeballs stared at Zhong Chengshuo.

The floor was full of fragrant ash, soil, and paper money.

More inhuman evil creatures occupied the remaining spaces. Their appearances were similar; most of them were weird hairless animals or withered vines with strange fruits.

Rows of ghostly bodies passed through Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulders, which then spat out vicious curses. The rotten blood stuck to the ceiling dripped and strange eyes in the shadows would open from time to time. Zhong Chengshuo kept moving forward on his own, quite content with “passing through a myriad of evils, none of which could touch him*”.

*(万邪丛中过，片煞不沾身) This is a line from a poem often used to describe someone who is pure and untainted even in the midst of corruption and evil.

At the connection between carriages, there were two oblong monsters guarding it.

They were similar in structure, dressed in expensive materials that were popular a hundred years ago, and had jade-studded melon skin hats on their heads.

The bodies of those two evil monsters were flat, as if they were forcibly pressed

 into the door panel of a mansion—if one ignored the truly deformed brows, the neck that was folded to their chest, and the light green mucus flowing on their skin, they looked quite harmless.

When Zhong Chengshuo approached, the two monsters formed a fleshy door, which tightly blocked the junction between the carriages.

They opened their large mouths and let out a threatening roar. The light green mucus flowed faster and accumulated into a pool on the metal plates at the junction, and there was a tendency to expand even further.

Tap, tap, tap.

A pair of sneakers stepped into the mucus without hesitation. Zhong Chengshuo walked fast and steady into the unknown fog.

Tap, tap, tap.

He easily passed through the two abnormal looking “evil gates” with their unusual appearances and continued to move towards the front of the train.

The next carriage was long and empty.

The smell of that evil thing became stronger.

Zhong Chengshuo wrinkled his nose subconsciously and sneezed.

Every living thing had its own scent, which could be strong or light. In any case, the smell of a living person couldn’t be stronger than that of a corpse. The lingering scent at the tip of his nose reminded Zhong Chengshuo of smelling a “corpse”.

The evil thing hiding behind the scenes—a poor imitation of Yin Ren, the failure of Sunken Society that couldn’t be controlled… Its condition may not be good.

Zhong Chengshuo walked into the second “empty’ carriage. Countless evil things instantly turned their faces and looked at the intruder.

The evil things in this carriage were slightly different from the ones in the first section.

Although their outfits were old-fashioned, they were much more modern than the previous carriage. They sat neatly, with smiles on their faces, and there was even a little hint of hope in their dead eyes.

A miner’s lips were purple. His face was covered with dust, and he held an envelope full of banknotes tightly in his hand. A bride’s twisted braids were coiled behind her head. Something had crushed half of her body, and a delicate rose was pinned to her chest. A rich businessman had gold chains hanging around his neck. His face was swollen, like he had drowned, and muddy water dripped from his mouth and nose.

Black smoke and dust rose from the bottom of the seats, mixing in with the red paper of firecrackers. Flower baskets celebrating a grand opening fell all over the floor.

The windows of the carriage were plastered with headlines about “Gengsheng Town”. The huge black letters were particularly eye-catching. The walls of the carriages were covered with cinnabar red letters, all of which were auspicious words such as “Wishing Prosperity” and “Great Luck and Fortune”.

The non-human evil species were richer than before. Some had characteristics unique to exotic monsters.

The evil things huddled together in a cramped manner. Their joints collided with the metal, and their soft flesh blended with rotten wood. The smell of sulfur and water were indistinguishable from each other, and there was a bit of excitement in the cold atmosphere.

There was dazzling dark red everywhere.

Compared to the surroundings, Zhong Chengshuo was plainly colored; even the color of his lips were somewhat light. Among the heavily colored evil things, he looked like a person walking out of a faded old photo.

The blade of the Evil Fruit was clasped in the palm of his hand as Zhong Chengshuo passed through the evil things, like he was passing through ancient times.

…As if he were a phantom.

At the end of the second carriage, there was a huge calendar of the God of Wealth.

On the paper painting, the Gold of Wealth had a round face with big earlobes and a beaming smile. However, his eyeballs had been gouged out and painted over with a red pen.

The days on the wall calendar were crossed out one by one in red ink, stopping on a certain day twenty-eight years ago.

Above the wall calendar, the red light from the LED screen condensed into a line, passing through the thick fog and reflecting on Zhong Chengshuo’s glasses.

[I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear…]

Blood-red spots of light circulated in the fog.

Zhong Chengshuo cast a quick glance at the electronic screen but did not linger for more than a half-second. He put on a loose sweater and passed through the weird wall calendar as if it wasn’t even there.

As soon as he entered the third carriage, a few arrows shot out from the fog. Zhong Chengshuo had been prepared. His attack flashed like light wind as he twirled his feet.

The dial on Zhong Chengshuo’s wrist emitted a long and uninterrupted shrill noise. The metal shell behind the dial was as hot as soldering iron. During the long-term strange noise, a wisp of green smoke appeared from the electronic watch, then the red dial went out and turned into a deep black.

He finally arrived.

Zhong Chengshuo removed his glasses and placed them in a strong pocket bag. His too-long bangs were disturbed by the frame as it glided across the ends of his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, he tore off the button of his cuff and threw it into the depths of the thick fog.

Three seconds after the little thing stopped, there was a muffled “puff” sound, followed by a violent shake in the air. The fog in the carriage was twisted into pieces, sucked into the button, and disappeared with a quick spin.

When the fog disappeared, the Yin Ren-like smell became extremely thick, almost condensing into a strong stench. It was several grades more irritating than the smell of corpses. Zhong Chengshuo almost burst into tears when he sniffed it.

…The “thing behind the scenes” was nearby.

At this moment, Zhong Chengshuo could see clearly.

The interior of the carriage was covered with dense yellow symbols. They were organized in an orderly manner, one by one, and the edges were arranged neatly, leaving only the windows. Zhong Chengshuo glanced at the lines of the symbols—the lines had obvious characteristics, and most of these charms were used to “diffuse” corruption.

There were between thirty to forty people sitting in the carriage.

Most of them were middle-aged men and women, mixed with a few sturdy old people, but there were no young faces.

The fog had dissipated, revealing their hateful eyes on their almost dull, pale faces. Their bodies trembled lightly, and there were water vapors floating around their mouths and noses, as if they were sitting in a cold environment.

Kitchen knives, shovels, wrenches… All kinds of weapons were scattered on the floor. At this moment, everyone was holding a homemade crossbow in their hands. The tips of the arrow loaded in the crossbow emitted a faint sweet smell, which was probably a homemade poison.

Finding that Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t shot down, they turned their heads sideways at the same time and stared straight at the uninvited guest.

In addition to this group of “innocent people”, there were four mummified corpses standing in the carriage.

They blocked the long aisle—two in front and two behind. Their faces were submerged by layers of yellow talismans. The skinny skeleton barely propped up the large cloth gown, which was stained with a dark yellow liquid of unknown origin. Whether it was the body shape or the claws with sharp nails, these zombies were exactly the same as Lao Jiang from the ghost market pawnshop.

The zombies curled up, making hoarse noises in their throats.

The mental outlook of these enemies was far from that of Lao Jiang, Zhong Chengshuo thought regretfully.

He stepped on the “weapon carpet” with one foot.

The entire carriage seemed to be activated at this moment. Everyone in the carriage suddenly got up. There were dozens of crossbows firing arrows at him this time. Zhong Chengshuo leaned down on one side, bit the Evil Fruit, raised two rectangular kitchen knives with his toe, and held them with both hands.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

The majority of the poisonous arrows missed, and the rest were all blocked by the kitchen knives. Not a single scratch was made on this person’s oily skin. In the next instant, two kitchen knives were thrown out in a spinning motion, passing by a living person and hitting right between the eyes of the two zombies.

Two knives were embedded horizontally into the zombie’s head, cutting nearly half a head deep.

The corners of Zhong Chengshuo’s lips curled.

Countless incorporeal evil things gathered around him long ago. Numerous severed hands tried to grab Zhong Chengshuo’s feet as a giant bloody mouth descended from above, attempting to bite off his head. Wet and slimy tentacles emerged from the ground, overwhelmingly covering Zhong Chengshuo.

The severe hands caught nothing. the mouth above bit into air, and the tentacles almost got tangled in each other.

The strongest one just managed to corrode Zhong Chengshuo’s clothes, exposing half of his shoulders and arms, revealing the unscathed skin underneath.

Curses, collisions, and corruption were all invalid attacks. The position of evil things in relation to mortals appeared to be completely reversed.

All but for a few seconds.

Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, the living people switched out their crossbows. They replaced them with the “short-ranged weapons” on the ground and swarmed up.

They acted disorderly, trying to suppress Zhong Chengshuo with their own bodies. However, since their target threw the kitchen knives, his movements hadn’t stopped at all.

Zhong Chengshuo stepped on one end of a rake, lowered his body, and cocked the rod directly into the person behind him, knocking them out. He crouched down and performed a roundhouse kick, knocking over two people in front of him. Zhong Chengshuo then grabbed their heads and slammed them together, causing their eyes to roll back.

As soon as his body fell, there were three fewer enemies.

When he stood up, Zhong Chengshuo bit the Evil Fruit and grabbed a nearby steel pipe. He used it to block an old man who was attacking him from behind with a meat cleaver. Zhong Chengshuo hooked his arm around the old man’s shoulder, and then used the momentum to jump up and kick a man and woman who were trying to hit him with shovels, sending them flying away.

Before the old man could react, the steel pipe hit his chin, causing him to fall back and hit his head on a seat, rendering him unconscious.

People continued to pour in.

Their goal was like a high-precision instrument, and their movements were as smooth as if they were filming. Although the space was narrow, the people used the most difficult encirclement method. However, that person was like a breeze and was impossible to catch.

Zhong Chengshuo advanced firmly in the front line as murder weapons danced around the carriage full of astral winds that caused the yellow talismans to flutter.

From a third person’s perspective, he advanced at a much slower pace than the first two carriages but still maintained a terrifyingly uniform speed.

One step, then another, then another.

With a roar, the two zombies with kitchen knives embedded in them crossed the unconscious townspeople and rushed towards Zhong Chengshuo. The sounds of chains rattling lightly sounded as the Evil Fruit flew out in a red arc along the chain—

Cling, cling. Two solitary kitchen knives fell to the ground.

The next moment, a pair of sneakers stepped on them.

…Finally, with a slashing motion, the last townsperson fell.

Zhong Chengshuo stopped beside a pole-shaped handrail. His expression became more vigilant.

Sure enough, the spirit weapon hidden in the corner was activated at the same time. Countless metal wires soaked in lethal poison twisted around the unconscious bodies as they approached Zhong Chengshuo. At the same time, a concealed machine gun on the top of the carriage was activated and fired at Zhong Chengshuo’s head.

King Yama swung the Evil Fruit attached to a chain and countless metal wires broke in response. It seemed he had eyes on the back of his head. With a neat twist, Zhong Chengshuo circled the thick metal pole in the middle of the carriage. All the bullets fired by the machine gun hit the metal pole.

He didn’t give them more time as he threw out the Evil Fruit quickly, destroying the organs of the spirit weapon—after learning about the arrangement of the spirit weapons here, even those that had not had time to activate were calculated by him.

Time and again, a bright red brilliance cut through the space.

The Evil Fruit returned to Zhong Chengshuo’s hands, leaving behind only four “people” who were still awake in the entire carriage.

Except for Zhong Chengshuo, two zombies were still standing quietly in the back row, as if they were background decorations for the carriage. At the back of the carriage was a thin figure wrapped in a blanket who appeared to be an elderly man.

The old man sat among all kinds of weapons. Compared with those sturdy townspeople, he looked extremely weak, and the space around him seemed wider.

The LED screen above his head was still scrolling red letters.

[I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to disappear…]

Under the old man’s dirty red blanket, something gray and visceral leaked out. It shivered, then retracted, and a foul stench emanated from the blanket.

Yin Ren’s translucent wings were soft and beautiful, with the smell that Zhong Chengshuo liked. Under the old man’s blanket, the abnormal limb appeared to be stillborn, decomposing, and necrotic.

Zhong Chengshuo’s hands once again only held the Evil Fruit.

He stopped a few steps away from the old man and lowered his gaze.

…He speculated that this was a replica of Yin Ren, or rather, an imitation of the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi. Since the “evil thing behind the scenes” was based on a living human, it probably had a physical form.

But he never thought that the “evil thing behind the scenes” was still alive.

The old man-like thing was breathing. He could even hear its rapid, human-like heartbeat. Unlike the weird madness that Zhong Chengshuo imagined, that thing looked old, thin, and confused.

The townspeople scattered in all directions, and all that remained was silence, save for the rumbling sound of the circular train moving forward.

“Look up,” Zhong Chengshuo said softly.

The evil thing understood human language and subconsciously raised its head, revealing a human face.

Zhong Chengshuo was slightly startled.

“You guys… go back…”

The face was filled with sticky, muddy tears.

“Must… all go back… I don’t welcome you… Ahhhhhh…”

Its face twitched with an expression of pain, and its mouth couldn’t stop raving.

“Go back. Go back… die… die… let me… stay quiet…”

Zhong Chengshuo silently stood in the ruins of the murder weapon.

He had been in control of the battle initiative all along, but he couldn’t claim to have emerged unscathed—his clothes were mostly corroded and were full of holes and tattered edges. Purple and blue bruises were visible through the tears, and blood was oozing from his wounds, mixing with the dirt on his skin.

Fresh soil was smeared on the shovels beside him, and the cleavers had obvious scratch marks on them. They trembled and stirred in the pile of lethal weapons, as if eager to be used again.

Even if the Evil Fruit had cut through most of the space, Zhong Chengshuo could guess that there were still powerful intangible evil things left. They still hadn’t given up and were trying their best to attack.

The night was long and fraught with dreams. He knew what he should do.

The body of the “evil thing behind the scenes” wasn’t strong. Its sense of oppression was far inferior to Yin Ren’s. He could quickly take samples, and then destroy all the evil things here. Then came the investigation and analysis, which was what he did best.

Shian had withdrawn in time. Even if he didn’t deal with this evil thing, Sunken Society would transfer it away afterwards and even destroy the corpse.

This was his only chance to get in touch with the “imitation”, and there was no problem with his plan.

Zhong Chengshuo cracked his knuckles and moved the Evil Fruit to his left hand. He made an improvised knife from the surroundings and pasted several talismans on it, creating a crackling sound.

However, the sharp knife hung in the air for a long time, but it didn’t fall.

The thing that looked like an old man stared at Zhong Chengshuo. Perhaps it was because they were too far away, but the thing didn’t recall Yellow Millet or Snake Swallowing, nor did it beg for mercy. It just watched Zhong Chengshuo sadly.

…The same kind as Yin Ren.

“King Yama”, who had always been resolute, was a little disturbed.

Perhaps it was the smell that reminded him of Yin Ren that numbed him.

Perhaps it was because the other party’s breathing and heartbeat were too close to a living person.

In the carriage that was wrapped with yellow talismans, Zhong Chengshuo was expressionless as his makeshift knife dangled frozen in the air.

The evil thing raised its wrinkled face, a little more puzzled in despair.

“Order Snake Swallowing and Yellow Millet to keep everyone alive, but don’t let them go for now.” Zhong Chengshuo stared at those human eyes, trying to suppress the strange emotions in his heart.

“What do you want to… do…”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered the makeshift knife, tilted his head, and thought for a while. “Let you live for about half an hour longer?”

The evil thing made a series of rapid breathing sounds; he didn’t know whether he was crying or laughing.

“Slowly studying is fine, but I’m very curious this time.” Zhong Chengshuo played with the Evil Fruit as he spoke. “I know you… How did you become like this? What is your current condition? You…”

Zhong Chengshuo paused as he digested his question for a while.

“Are you in pain?”

With his back to the unconscious people on the floor and small wounds all over his body, Zhong Chengshuo asked this question solemnly.

“……”

The living, evil thing didn’t answer immediately.

It took a short breath and slowly exhaled. The expression on the old man’s face was frozen, as if trying to understand his words.

“I… don’t know… for hundreds of years… I have been… here…” Its eyes were dilated, and muddy tears continued to flow. “I just… don’t want… to disappear…”

Zhong Chengshuo looked down at the “person” in front of him in amazement.

He thought for a few seconds, then slowly squatted down in front of the evil thing, looking directly into its eyes.

“You…”

Zhong Chengshuo frowned slightly.

“Do you remember your name?”

“I’m more… No… I don’t remember… too much… No, no, I’m human…. My name is…”

The evil thing coughed painfully, exposing some necrotic intestine-like limbs under the dirty red blanket that was covered with dust.

This time, Zhong Chengshuo was silent for a while.

“So that’s it. I understand,” he said softly. “No wonder they chose you… It’s a pity that you and him are still different.”

“I’ll give you half an hour.”

Zhong Chengshuo picked up the skinny old man with one hand and put him on a plastic seat. He ignored the two zombies who were still standing in the corner and sat beside the old man.

“Let’s talk about ‘the will of Gengsheng Town’.”

……

Time reversed ten minutes ago.

Fu Xingchuan was shot by a poisonous arrow, and his defenses fell. Yellow Millet and Snake Swallowing were coming from above and below, intending to collide with the eight people that were floating in the air.

Yin Ren’s eyes shone with a faint red light, and everything around him seemed to move in slow motion.

Xiang Hai’s hemp-rope net came over. Li Nian immediately threw the green willow whip, tied himself, Ren Jiying, and Qi Xin together, and locked the handle of the whip onto Xiang Jiang. Several science posts were bound by the wicker, and they didn’t slip through the hemp rope net.

Ge Tingting subconsciously stretched out her hand, wanting to summon bones to serve as a shield. Huang Jin hugged his spirit weapon bag tightly as he cowered his head and closed his eyes. Fu Xingchuan was struggling to cast a spell. Yin Ren could recognize that it was a strong protective spell.

The huge eyeball and the hideous snake mouth were getting closer.

If this was just a protective technique, the battle would only continue to prolong.

Yin Ren closed his eyes.

He put his hand behind his back to cast a different spell at an inhuman speed.

At the same moment that Fu Xingchuan’s protection spell was activated, Yin Ren’s left hand also completed a spell. The air suddenly shook, and in less than a heartbeat, the violent impact stunned seven people physically.

Immediately, his right hand followed.

Yin Ren straightened his right arm and rushed straight at Yellow Millet’s huge pupil that was close at hand.

“Idiot, after being controlled by someone for a few days, you don’t even recognize your old master?”

In the dense fog, a red light appeared.

“…You still have my spirit contract on you,” Yin Ren added with a smile.

A huge circular formation appeared out of thin air. The circular array was like a dumpling wrapper. It bent from the center and wrapped the huge Yellow Millet into a stuffing.

In an instant, Yellow Millet’s cognitive confusion was completely broken.

Immediately afterwards, those scarlet runes merged into the body of the giant eye. Yellow Millet shivered, and there was a strange sound in the air like a tendon being torn. Yin Ren’s spirit contract was significantly higher than that of the manipulator, and the effectiveness of the latter was instantly suppressed.

At the moment of recovery, the huge eyeball shrank back 800 meters. The entire evil thing concave backward, turning its perfectly round sphere into a bowl-shaped depression.

“Yo, now you know how to be scared?”

Lord Ghost King bared his teeth at his royal sofa cushion.

He didn’t even look at it and threw a series of spells at his feet. The dark spells fell murderously, causing Snake Swallowing to close its mouth in terror. It retreated into a hole in the ground, vigorously pulling its head back.

Yin Ren narrowed his eyes—according to Shian’s conclusion, the evil thing behind the scenes used the emotion of “sorrow” to control people and the evil beings here. It seemed that the control ability of that evil thing wasn’t very strong, as the survival instinct of evil beings superseded its control.

Finding that its old master was lost in thought, Yellow Millet tried to take advantage of the situation to slip away, but before it jumped a few hundred meters, it was pulled back by the spirit contract. When it saw the smiling Yin Ren in front of it, it shrank quickly, down to the size of a grape, and continued to shrink.

“It’s useless to shrink. Change back.”

Yin Ren flicked this noble Class A-level evil spirit with his fingertips.

“I still have to find someone—what kind of evil thing was it that controlled you before?”

When Zhong Chengshuo left the team, Yin Ren could guess with the tips of his wings.

Yellow Millet hurriedly “puffed” a few times. It was aggrieved and turned into a soft ball with a diameter of two meters. Yin Ren sat down onto his old cushion and supported everyone with a levitation technique, slowly sending them to the ground and arranging their appearance of “falling after the defense spell was activated”.

Yellow Millet, who exuded a monstrous sense of oppression in the Ant Nest, was now an honest glutinous rice dumpling at this moment.

Snake Swallowing peered around, revealing the tip of its mouth from the ground. Yin Ren almost teleported to its side, pressing a hand against the cold and slippery rock.

“It’s been a long time since I did this,” he muttered with emotion.

After the Archive incident, his strength had recovered quite a bit. However, since he came to this world, he never tried to use “old methods” to control evil things, and he didn’t know if the effect would be as good as it was thousands of years ago.

In less than half a second, the entire body of Snake Swallowing trembled. It bowed its head in an instant and obediently sent the tip of its mouth over.

“Protect these people. Remember, don’t let them see that you are protecting them. If you do well, I’ll help heal your wounds later.”

Snake Swallowing seemed to have won its gold medal of avoiding death and snuck back into the earth. The ground shook violently, and a bulge surrounded the seven unconscious people on the ground.

Yin Ren nodded.

“Yes, let’s go meet my ‘imitation’ first.”

Before his voice fell, something drilled out of his hair, intertwined, and turned into pieces of red cloth. The red cloth continued to grow, and various seal patterns appeared on it.

Flesh, blood, and bones stimulated the sense of dead matter intertwined into various “spirit weapons”. All kinds of spirit weapons clanged and collided, and the power of the seal became stronger.

Under the heavy seal, Yin Ren’s aura gradually weakened. Not to mention the aura of an evil qi, it finally became not even as strong as a living person.

The appearance of Yin Ren at this moment was still slightly different from the “Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi” of thousands of years ago.

The red cloths weren’t wrapped into thick and clumsy cocoons. The lower ends of those red clothes were loose, revealing a little bit of translucent black wing clusters. Looking at it as a whole, it looked more like a drooping flower bud that was about to bloom.

A strand of black hair wrapped around Yin Ren’s ankle and turned into a circle of dark yellow bone bells. The bells were no longer crisp, and there was a chill in the sound of its ring.

Now, apart from not having hundreds of arms, Yin Ren was closer to the “Evil Spirit” form in the Archive.

Yin Ren floated on Yellow Millet who had consciously changed itself to a black color that wasn’t easily exposed. The red cloth slid down the pitch-black eyeball, and the edges of the soft wings swayed in the wind.

“Go find that evil thing that controlled you.”

“Puff, puff, puff!”

“You only know its general location? …Fine, just tell me on the way. What exactly happened to you?”

Yin Ren didn’t know that a few seconds after he flew into the air, among the ruins, a certain powerful individual struggled to open their eyes—

Yin Ren’s burst of qi was so powerful that a heavier hit would cause problems. Unfortunately, one of the seven people had endured too many beatings and had developed a sad resistance.

In Fu Xingchuan’s blurred vision, a scarlet humanoid stepped onto Yellow Millet and rode away in the wind. The surrounding evil things scattered, and a small number of them followed far behind, forming a procession in the mist.

It was like the ancient murals in the Ant Nest had come true.

Fu Xingchuan dug into his wound fiercely with trembling hands, holding on to watch the figure of the man disappear into the fog. It was a long time before he succumbed to the toxin attack and lost consciousness again.

Yin Ren was preoccupied with lying on top of Yellow Millet.

Yellow Millet flew around, puffing sharply and trying to tell its sad story.

More than a thousand years ago, the Great Celestial Master died.

Yellow Millet, who had lost its master, was miserable. In the past, with Yin Ren around, everyone was used to the heavenly days of having food served to them. They even got the chance to savor delicious evil spirits.

Now that there was no commander, the IQ of the evil things simply couldn’t support the activity of “hunting large evil beings”. They couldn’t even catch fierce ghosts that were slightly clever.

It wasn’t good to feel hungry, but the taste of ordinary evil things was dry and bland, so Yellow Millet simply dug a hole in the mountains and prepared to fall into a deep sleep, escaping hundreds of years of an evil life.

As a result, the poor thing was apprehended by Sunken Society.

As he had speculated, Sunken Society created an Ant Nest near Gengsheng Town just to study the terrifying power of the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi and tried to figure out how to obtain such power.

As Yellow Millet was one of Zhong Yi’s closest evils, it and a group of evil beings were locked here for observation by Sunken Society.

Prison food wasn’t delicious, but the advantage was that it didn’t have to hunt for itself. Anyway, it had nowhere to go, so Yellow Millet and the other evil creatures didn’t struggle and just laid low and lived a life of eating and sleeping.

Until twenty-eight years ago.

“For thousands of years, Sunken Society has been corrupting the people and land here with all kinds of Evil Forces. It wasn’t until the ‘Divine Descent’ that a group of extremely corrupted and relatively stable corrupted people appeared here.”

Yin Ren tried his best to sort out Yellow Millet’s upside-down “puffs”.

“Puff, puff, puff… puff, puff, puff!”

“You have always been very lazy, but they thought you were out of your mind, so they talked about things in front of you?”

“Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff—” Yellow Millet accelerated its speech and narrated quickly.

“They recorded the changes in the power of those people and found those similar to my situation—artificially aggravating the corruption… Similar situation? Are you saying, something widely known and revered by the people can cause serious corruption and give birth to a ‘living evil’?”

If he thought about it carefully, “widely known” and “tragic death” were conditions for the birth of ghosts.

The “serious corruption” would cause the living to lose the characteristics of normal creatures and become more like evil things, and they would be more easily affected by metaphysical-related things.

But it was just “like”, not “is”.

In other words, he and the imitation were born as “specific evils”, essentially derived from “being widely known” and “being revered”…

If “tragic death” created resentful ghosts, then what did “being revered” create?

When Yin Ren was still alive, he was always isolated from human society. Except for the great pain of being corrupted, he wasn’t affected by anything else. Yin Ren was unaware of the world’s awe, expectations, and sustenance for him, and he was uninterested in it.

He just liked to be lively and didn’t have much sense of responsibility in the world.

But the person who lived here… What would happen if the person who carried the sustenance of thousands of people and was also born as a “living evil”?

Countless thoughts and questions raced through his mind. In a trance, the former Great Celestial Master realized something.

“Now things have become interesting.” Yin Ren petted Yellow Millet under his ass. “Hurry up and be careful not to stir someone’s hornet’s nest.”

“Puff?”

“Zhong Chengshuo,” under the red cloth, Yin Ren murmured. “If you find that guy, don’t irritate him…”

“Things like us—if we lose control, we may become an ‘Evil Spirit’.”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Yellow Millet reminds me of π…

Yin Ren is what Oliver strives to be… collecting all these evil spirits (demons) as his pets.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 102: Imitation

Without catching the expected body heat, Yin Ren’s heart felt empty.

Zhong Chengshuo had just broken free from his embrace. Yin Ren thought that due to the falling objects, Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t used to being restricted in his movements. Who would have thought that after a few seconds passed, he had just turned his attention away for an instant, and Zhong Chengshuo had evaporated in place.

Fu Xingchuan’s levitating spell was extremely fast. It felt like everyone was riding on a high-speed subway. As soon as they passed an unfinished building complex, Zhong Chengshuo was like a raindrop outside a window. In an instant, he was flung away to an unknown location.

In consternation, Yin Ren almost stopped in place. Luckily, his subconscious was screaming frantically, telling him that Fu Xingchuan wasn’t weak enough to be “embarrassed” in the literal sense. The usual magic spells couldn’t help Zhong Chengshuo, who had left the team completely on his own initiative.

The mountain town shook, the ground rumbled, and the tumbling mist turned turbid, all of which appeared to be warning signs of impending disaster. Coupled with those murderous townspeople, the above ground would only be more dangerous.

What was Zhong Chengshuo thinking?

This was probably the most pressing question Yin Ren had since meeting him.

The moment Zhong Chengshuo left the team, Fu Xingchuan, as the spell master, noticed a stagnation and was also aware of it.

As Yin Ren expected, Minister Fu didn’t stop for “one person”.

With Zhong Chengshuo’s character, he wouldn’t do such a stupid thing as jump frantically on the verge of death. His lover had to be very sure, so he didn’t need to worry too much…

Yet he was still worried.

After more than a thousand years of unencumbered days, Lord Ghost King, who had just tasted fetters for the first time, was irritable and restless, as if his entire body was crawling with ants. The taste was worse than he had ever imagined.

The ground was misty, and the underground was buzzing with a sound that was approaching from afar. Fu Xingchuan quickly rushed to the location of Xiang Jiang’s group. The levitation spell swept up the four of them like waves, leaving Zhong Chengshuo behind. Now, an eight-person team was floating in the sky.

“I’ll send you to Linzhen first.” In the howling wind, Fu Xingchuan raised his voice.

Li Nian was a top science post, while Qi Xin and Ren Jiying could also be considered good-quality “science post” personnel. As long as Professor Li was leading, it wouldn’t be too difficult to break through the mist.

While the dream was beautiful, the slap of reality gave everyone in Shian a few buckets of ice water.

Yellow Millet made an ear-piercing “leaky sound”, and its body shook rapidly. Countless invisible blades slashed through space, cutting everyone’s vision into neat cubes. The world in front of them was broken and rearranged like a jigsaw puzzle, as if the entire world had become a Rubik’s cube.

Their bodies were cut into thousands of pieces, spinning and tearing apart; they resembled a scrambled mess with skin, muscles, and organs randomly twisted. They couldn’t even move smoothly, let alone fight.

It was a typical cognitive confusion, which was a cognitive attack that Yellow Millet was best at.

In the gradually thick fog, the visibility was only a hundred meters, making it impossible to tell their direction.

The group of evil things was spinning frantically around the eight people as they desperately crowded towards their sides. In the fog, countless huge black shadows came forward. Xiang Jiang was already in a trance, and at this moment, he was completely stunned by the cognitive confusion, unable to move.

Xiang Hai discovered his brother’s crisis. He shook the wings of human faces, causing them to let out a mournful howl.

The surrounding evil beings stopped for an instant.

Fu Xingchuan seized this opportunity. He closed his eyes and relied on muscle memory to move. All the fire dragons that had just rescued the townspeople returned to their positions, biting their heads and tails around them to form a protective circle. The red circle formed a wall of fire, isolating them from Yellow Millet once more.

With cognitive confusion, the energy consumption of this task more than doubled. Fu Xingchuan panted desperately and fell downwards with gravity, attempting to put some distance from Yellow Millet…

A rumbling sound on the ground approached steeply, and a large stream of evil qi erupted from it.

Snake Swallowing.

Yin Ren had long been accustomed to the methods of his own sofa cushion. At this moment, his vision was clear.

The snake’s head, which was bigger than Yellow Millet, arched through the surrounding ruins and opened its mouth wide towards the group of eight.

It was unclear what Snake Swallowing did before it was submerged. Its aura was completely suppressed, and its body merged with the rocks. The scales, which were once shiny and prominent, turned into stones, and the delicate flesh beneath them turned into mud. Snake Swallowing’s eyes were reduced to two black holes, and its large mouth was filled with water-covered sharp stalactites.

Fu Xingchuan’s fire dragons wrapped around its exposed body—the firelight reflected showed it was covered with hundreds of caves and stone gates, which seemed as if it was done purposefully.

The huge and ominous beast was transformed into a living “tunnel elevator”. No wonder when they entered the “cave”, the traps and organs weren’t obvious—their enemies only needed to give instructions and the Snake Swallowing would act on its own and swallow them into the designated place.

Yin Ren couldn’t help but exhale. As expected of a town that had been infiltrated by Sunken Society for a long time. The combination of “research site” and “big trap” was just waiting for Shian to deliver themselves to their front door.

Now, there was Snake Swallowing at the bottom and Yellow Millet at the top. Their surroundings were crowded with evil beings and the townspeople had gathered nearby. Murderous auras and hostility came from all directions, mixing with the thick fog.

The eight people froze in mid-air, gathered together by Fu Xingchuan’s levitation spell. Fire dragons were constantly swimming around them.

The energy consumption was too much, and Fu Xingchuan couldn’t bear it any longer. His breathing was short and erratic, and the red tunic he was wearing was soaked and wrinkled with sweat, turning it a more wretched red. Yin Ren could perceive that the levitation spell was becoming less stable.

In order to ensure everyone’s safety, Fu Xingchuan flew closer to them; the distance was about less than an arm’s length away.

Yin Ren gritted his teeth.

If he tried to find Zhong Chengshuo, he wouldn’t escape Fu Xingchuan’s eyes, but if he didn’t…

He couldn’t do it.

The dilemma had to be resolved as soon as possible.

The evil qi around them was getting stronger. When Yellow Millet saw that their group was surrounded, it was finally willing to put in a little more effort. Yin Ren was very familiar with this attack method—

It constantly disturbed the five senses until the human brain froze due to being unable to process. At that time, the target would be like a deer in the headlights, making it easy to catch.

Even against masters, this trick could dull people’s thinking. The more dangerous the surroundings, the easier it was to use.

This was a move that he personally taught it.

It was better to wait to act decisively against his sofa cushion. Fu Xingchuan and the others were already overwhelmed, and they would…

“Help!” In the tumbling fog, suddenly a hoarse wailing of an old man sounded, followed by the strong scent of warm blood. “Don’t step on me. What’s going on? What’s wrong with you guys? …Don’t step on me. Help! Huizhen, Qiangzi! You guys, wake up—”

“Ack, ah…” The voice was full of pain.

Fu Xingchuan sighed from between his teeth. His brows were pouring sweat as he threw out a fire dragon.

The fire dragon dispelled the turbid fog and flew to the side of the caller. The white fog lifted, revealing an elderly man on the ground with blood on his face. A stout man was stepping on him, with a strong visible malice on his face.

Something brushed past the fire dragon—

There was no trace of evil qi on it, and the brilliance of the flames flashed across it.

An arrow from a short crossbow.

Fu Xingchuan realized something was wrong and shook his body slightly. However, with Yellow Millet interfering and him having to guard his companions, his movements were still a half beat slower.

The arrow from the crossbow shot firmly into his shoulder.

At the same moment, Yin Ren smelled a sweet, pungent scent.

The arrow was coated with poison.

The fire dragons that were blocking Yellow Millet and Snake Swallowing began to disperse, and the strength of the levitation spell plummeted. Fu Xingchuan swayed, and the eight of them fell towards Snake Swallowing’s mouth.

Li Nian didn’t panic. Against the influence of perception, he quickly took out something from his pocket and plunged it into Fu Xingchuan’s chest. “Xiang Jiang!”

Xiang Hai’s hemp rope knotted into a net that could hold several people.

Without the fire dragons blocking it, at the next moment, Snake Swallowing jumped up while Yellow Millet dove down.

Eight small figures disappeared in the collision of the two giants.

……

Not so long ago, in the center of the town, in an unfinished building.

Zhong Chengshuo retracted a metal hook from his sleeve and stopped perfectly on the edge of a tall building. The half-built reinforced concrete was still exposed. In just half a step, Zhong Chengshuo would plummet from a height of seven stories.

But there was only concentration and seriousness on his face.

The metal hook hooked down like a living thing, hitting every solid gap steadily. Zhong Chengshuo slid down the rope quickly and, in less than ten seconds, landed on the ground.

Zhong Chengshuo flicked his wrist. The metal hook in his hand turned into a curse like magic, transforming into the Evil Fruit. In the murky fog, the evil redness of the Evil Fruit also dimmed a bit.

He also put on a large-dial electronic watch on his other wrist. On the dial, there were dense red dots. Next to the red dots, there were also parameters, such as distance and evil qi index. The coverage area wasn’t large, but it was enough.

Zhong Chengshuo swept his gaze against the dial and then ran towards the “big red dot” closest to him.

The townspeople in the fog spotted the uninvited guest and let out indistinct growls as they lunged at him with their weapons. Unfortunately, their target was faster—he slipped into the complicated terrain like a fish in water and quickly climbed over the ruins and low walls, running quickly against the walls that were as thin as the soles on his shoes.

The townspeople only had time to realize that this person was unfamiliar, and just as they turned to attack, the target had melted into the depths of the fog.

“It can affect a large range of townspeople, but it can’t let them break through their own ability limitations.”

Overall, the townspeople still acted of their own will. From this alone, it was impossible to estimate the location.

Zhong Chengshuo neatly propped his hands on the wall, stepped on the shoulders of a sturdy townsman, and jumped briskly to a roof not far away.

His goal was close at hand. He couldn’t see it, but he could see two very conspicuous open spaces among the townspeople.

Almost at the same time, the dial trembled violently and made a buzzing alarm sound. Zhong Chengshuo hooked the corners of his mouth. The thin chain on the Evil Fruit slid out silently. He exerted force with his hand, and the cursed short knife shot out like a sharp arrow…

The blade of the knife passed through the air, and the vibration on the dial stopped. The rapidly flashing red dots disappeared, and there was a moment of dead silence in the air.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at the dial. Sure enough, when the “general” disappeared, the surrounding red dots reacted to varying degrees. Some just froze, while some moved directly towards it, as if to fill the gap left by the great evil thing.

Zhong Chengshuo smiled. He used the same technique again and rushed towards the other great evil thing.

The disappearance of the great evil thing by his hands would attract attention from the “evil being behind the scenes”, and such reaction speed wouldn’t be faked. As long as the data was sufficient, he could calculate its position.

No matter what it was.

This thick fog helped him—everyone in Shian was surrounded by evil spirits, and they had no time to mind other things, which was convenient for “King Yama” to move freely.

One, two, three…

After killing a fifth powerful evil thing, Zhong Chengshuo stopped. He lightly climbed onto a broken traffic light and hid himself at the intersection of the light poles to avoid the townspeople wandering in the fog.

The Evil Fruit was dragged by the thin chain and obediently returned to Zhong Chengshuo’s hand. He fiddled with it, causing the red blade to slide lightly between his fingers.

The location where the big red dot disappeared, the intensity difference, the reaction time difference, and the time between interval actions of the dots… Comprehensive calculations could determine the approximate location of the commander.

One computational model after another appeared in his mind.

His goal wasn’t far away.

His goal was in motion.

His goal…

Zhong Chengshuo stopped playing with the knife and looked into the depths of the fog.

……

In less than five minutes, accompanied by the long sound of brakes, Zhong Chengshuo jumped off the “temporarily recruited” motorcycle. He raised his head and looked at the huge monster in the fog.

“No wonder why I always felt that something was off.”

Zhong Chengshuo clenched the Evil Fruit as he muttered.

Since entering Gengsheng Town, it was difficult for him not to pay attention to the circular line that the townspeople respect. The train continued galloping, stopping, and circling the town on the tracks.

But since they broke through from underground, the sound of the loop line was extremely regular. In other words, it was simply too regular.

The train never seemed to stop again.

The metal hook flew out. Zhong Chengshuo climbed onto the railway track like a spider and then stood on the side. The mountain town wasn’t big, and the loop line wasn’t long. Within a few minutes, two beams of light broke through the thick fog and swept towards Zhong Chengshuo.

There was a faint smell in the air.

The smell was a little similar to Yin Ren’s, but it felt different—if Yin Ren’s smell was high-quality fragrant wood, then the smell near the train was more like a pungent inferior perfume that contained a rancid scent.

“An imitation of Yin Ren.”

Zhong Chengshuo pressed the sampling package with one hand.

“…I have to deal with it properly.”

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