Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 230: Prelude to Chaos

“In the past few days, the sewer system has been explored by a C-level special investigation team. Starting from today, the B-level special investigation team will join the sewer system exploration operation, while the A-level special investigation team will be responsible for securing factory premises, government offices, and other important locations within the city. I will lead the Emergency Management Department for mobile support.”

“As for hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and other special facilities, they will be specially protected by the two leaders stationed in Yandu and Linnan.”

Fu Xingchuan stood in the Shian operations meeting room and spoke with a booming voice.

Underneath the stage, members of the Emergency Management Department and all the core members of the special investigation teams stood crowded together.

On the screen, the complete information of the corpse centipede was playing, along with the approximate model simulated by the Identification Department. The hideous model was slowly rotating in the middle of the screen while its estimated ability values flickered beside it.

Fu Xingchuan: “The corpse centipede has lost its intimidation effect. In order to reduce the burden, Xiang Jiang will definitely deal with it as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing the familiar name, there was a commotion among the people below the stage.

Fu Xingchuan: “I am familiar with his spellcasting style. Considering that Xiang Jiang has already sided with the Other Side but is still active in this world, we have reasonable suspicion that he is highly likely cooperating with the scum from Sunken Society.”

At this point, he paused meaningfully.

As for the unfortunate handling of those cursed arms, Fu Xingchuan still had no clue. He knew well that Love’s intention was to fully invade the human world, but he couldn’t reveal it at this moment—only questions without solutions would cause panic.

As a vulnerable human, all he could do was try his best to set up the layout in advance and give Sunken Society another big blow.

“Everyone is well aware of Xiang Jiang’s abilities. Currently, his level will only be stronger, not weaker. We must not take it lightly.” Fu Xingchuan’s tone was so serious that it was frightening. “The situation across the country isn’t optimistic, and once Xiang Jiang takes action, Sunken Society will not let go of this opportunity to stir up trouble. What follows is likely to be a tough battle…”

“Those people from Yandu and Linnan are still here. It’s been months already that even eighteen legs could be healed.” Wang Zhou, the science post of Special Investigation Team Unit 7, muttered quietly below the stage.

Since the incident in Shian’s competition and the uncontrollable situation in the abandoned building of the hospital, Special Investigation Team Unit 7 had been stationed at the Municipal Hospital in Haigu, responsible for patrols and guard duty.

Special Investigation Team Unit 7 spent their days eating hospital meals, staying in the special ward of Shian, receiving regular salaries, and living a boring and monotonous life. As time went on, Wang Zhou had the illusion that all members of Unit 7 were seriously ill and nearing retirement.

Li Xiaozhen and Li Xiaoli from Unit 6, who were severely injured, had been discharged from the hospital, while Unit 7 was still stuck there. The rookies from Unit 9 were promoted to a B-level investigation team, but Unit 7 was still lingering in the hospital. If it weren’t for the recall for the meeting, Wang Zhou suspected they would have stayed in the hospital indefinitely.

But now things were different. The hospital was under the responsibility of the ministers from the Shian branch, and they could finally get rid of the smell of disinfectant.

Even if their next destination was the sewer, it was still better!

Wang Zhou rolled his eyes. Sure enough, his partner, Bao Linlin, was also eager, her eyes shining. “We will definitely be the first ones to find that unlucky centipede.”

“Yeah,” Xiao Zhao, the rear commander, agreed softly. “I have confidence in both of you.”

“I heard that the previous <Approaching Science> plan was proposed by Unit 9. Speaking of which, it seems that Unit 9 isn’t involved in the investigation this time?” Bao Linlin scrolled through the list on her tablet. “The core partners, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, are on a long-term business trip out of town. They only have two metaphysical posts left, plus a rear command.”

“They’ll probably be temporarily assigned to another team.” Wang Zhou also leaned out to take a look. “Without a science post, they definitely can’t go on missions independently.”

Half an hour later…

“Without a science post, we can’t go on missions independently.” Huang Jin put on a polite fake smile and reached out his hand to Wang Zhou. “According to the arrangement, me and Ge Tingting will temporarily be attached to Unit 7. Pardon our intrusion.”

Wang Zhou: “…”

Wang Zhou wiped the sweat from his forehead. “In terms of power distribution, it’s not ideal for B-level officers to be attached to B-level teams…”

“This was specially arranged by Fu Xingchuan.” Huang Jin’s forced smile twitched a bit. “He said he had a hunch that our two teams were destined to be together and that we would definitely be the first ones to find the corpse centipede.”

Unit 7: “…”

They couldn’t tell whether they were being praised or insulted.

After the meeting ended in the early morning, before the sun had risen, the members of the B-level investigation team packed their belongings and headed to their respective assigned locations.

Xiao Zhao brought his equipment to Unit 9’s office and sat next to Lu Xiaohe. Ge Tingting, Huang Jin, Wang Zhou, and Bao Linlin formed a small team and headed straight to the old city district.

“I heard that your whole team went on a business trip, and you two came back early.” On the way, Wang Zhou tried to find a topic. “It’s quite rare in this situation. I hope you both are fine.”

Principally, members of the special investigation team had to act together. Wang Zhou could only think of unexpected injuries that required some members to return early.

“Nothing serious,” Ge Tingting replied fluently with the help of the AI. “Our mission is technically complete. Zhong Ge and Yin Ge still need to stay behind for some investigation work.”

For example, investigating the huge white web structure on the Other Side, or investigating their own biological species. They had heard about phenomena A-A0 “God”, which Huang Jin and Ge Tingting naturally had some knowledge of. Considering that Dr. Cat also belonged to this category, Ge Tingting remained calm.

Even if a Primordial Elemental fell from the sky and triggered a Divine Descent, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

“True, Xiao Zhong should also publish a paper.” The science post, Mr. Wang, who understood their focus, shifted to other matters.

Beside Ge Tingting, Bao Linlin happily chimed in, “I have a feeling that our mission this time will be very smooth.”

“Science post.” She pointed at Wang Zhou.

“Corpse servant, spirit smith, ghost master.” She pointed at Ge Tingting, Huang Jin, and herself, respectively. “Our team has the most diverse personnel, and we have two rear commanders!”

Huang Jin forced a smile in response.

At this point, there was nothing that could give him confidence in the mortal world. Poor Unit 7 still had no idea what was hidden behind Xiang Jiang and Sunken Society.

The car quickly arrived at their destination—Kaining Road in the Donghe District.

The faint morning light illuminated the area as the four of them carried their exploration equipment and disembarked one by one.

This used to be the office area of the old city district. Now, the aging buildings had relocated their businesses, and the remaining structures had either been converted into cheap apartments or left abandoned.

The sunlight was fragmented by the rows of buildings, casting beams of light onto the ground. Breakfast stalls were just starting to set up, and steam rose from the side of old, run-down shops.

Ge Tingting glanced around and bought a bunch of hot steamed dumplings. She divided them into bags for everyone, even giving one to the driver.

“I don’t know how long we’ll be down there. The sewer has a strong smell, so it’s better to eat more in advance.” She made a sincere suggestion.

No one objected, and Wang Zhou went to buy a bag of tea eggs and fried dough sticks. The four of them found a spot near the apartment complex’s grand entrance, which had a beautiful front garden.

Ge Tingting took a bite of the steamed dumpling, releasing a puff of steam. She looked up and caught a glint in her eyes.

The apartment building displayed the gilded characters: “Fanghua Apartments”. The gold coating seemed to have been recently restored—its shiny color contrasting with the nearby old residential buildings.

It seemed familiar, like she had seen it in the files. Ge Tingting swallowed the dumpling but couldn’t remember.

The temperature was low, so the breakfast got cold quickly. The group finished their meal with haste and arrived at the entrance to the sewer behind the building.

“Fortunately, it’s winter. If it were summer during heavy rain, who knows what it would be like.” Wang Zhou put on his mining headlamp, double-checked his gas mask and oxygen generator.

On the other side, Bao Linlin proficiently burned four talismans, sending her fierce ghosts ahead.

Ge Tingting was empty-handed—what the sewer lacked the least was the remains of small animals. However, just in case, she summoned a few dead stray cats and dogs to wait quietly by her feet.

Huang Jin expressionlessly slung his backpack over his chest, filled with tranquility talismans and explosive talismans. What Unit 7 didn’t know was that in a small pocket of his backpack, there was a small round ball.

“Puff…” The ball murmured melancholically.

“You can go down now,” Lu Xiaohe said. “The water level nearby is fine, and no toxic gases have been detected.”

“Roger.”

The four of them cautiously climbed down the ladder, gradually leaving the morning light behind as they descended into the depths of darkness.

Approximately three kilometers underground from this location.

The corpse centipede scurried through the pipes, and Xiang Jiang sat steadily in the gaps between several bodies, with Xiang Hai holding his neck from behind, muttering like a maniac.

Xiang Jiang didn’t wear any equipment; he just sat quietly, listening attentively, resembling a corpse among the bodies.

A faint smile graced his face.

……

Although Qi Xin agreed to cooperate, Meng Huai still refused to let Ms. Qi Xin enter the human stronghold. Yin Ren expressed understanding. For the sake of secrecy, he specifically imagined his favorite hot pot restaurant.

Thus, Qi Xin, holding a Lonely, sat in the empty lobby of the hot pot restaurant. The decoration here was all in vibrant red, which complemented the red hues at the corners of her eyes.

“A sneak attack on Love?” Qi Xin played with the limbs of the Lonely with her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“This is about smothering danger in its cradle,” Yin Ren, sitting across from her, said. “Physically speaking.”

Beside Yin Ren, Zhong Chengshuo pushed his glasses up. “Qi Xin, I agree with your speculation. The body created by Love won’t be weak, and coupled with Yin Ren’s recent maturity, the gap in their abilities is still unknown. Currently, its body hasn’t fully developed, which is our best opportunity.”

His hands crossed on the table, attempting to create a serious atmosphere, but it was weakened by the festive music playing in the hot pot restaurant.

Zhong Chengshuo continued helplessly, “Yin Ren and I have verified that the central hemisphere of the white web absorbs the power of ‘Satisfaction’. That is Love’s ‘cradle’. If my speculation is correct, the other hemisphere should be in an interstitial space, near Love’s true body.”

Love was most likely in the interstitial space, most likely personally guarding its yet-to-be-developed body, awaiting the moment of becoming a “God”.

“I see.”

Qi Xin rubbed her chin.

“You, me, and Yin Ren—the three of us will deal with Love and her ‘cradle’. That would indeed give us the greatest chance of success.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Yes, the three members of Shian will be rescuing the missing people from the outside. At that time, we can lend a hand and cut off Love’s emergency supplies directly.”

Qi Xin snorted, almost writing “I don’t care” on her face.

“We need to hurry.” Yin Ren ignored Qi Xin’s disdain and changed the topic. “Qi Xin, Love won’t trust you. Once she senses any sign of you betraying her, she will expedite the birth of her body.”

“You don’t have to tell me.” Qi Xin placed the small Lonely on the ground. “Then what are you waiting for? Go greet those humans quickly. Let’s go as soon as possible.”

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo exchanged glances.

Yin Ren wiped the smile off his face. “Ms. Qi, the situation is urgent. Chengshuo and I don’t have time to slowly explore our own abilities. However, there is one ability that we must learn first, no matter what.”

Qi Xin raised an eyebrow.

“We need to learn how to travel between the human world and the Other Side,” Yin Ren said. “Better safe than sorry.”

As an “elite miner”, Love had been wreaking havoc for so many years; its understanding of space was incomparable. When Love finally descended, it would seal off all gaps, trapping them on the Other Side.

“Do I look like Charon to you? I can only travel if there are gaps or passages,” Qi Xin sneered.

“Teach us that, and we’ll figure out the rest ourselves,” Yin Ren lowered his head. “We’re counting on you.”

“Fine.”

Qi Xin sighed.

“First, you need to find a naturally weak spot in space…”

……

As far as Yin Ren knew, there were four weak points in space in Haigu.

First, the passage to the Other Side in Shian was absolutely not viable. That was their escape route and couldn’t be messed up.

There used to be a gap in the back mountain of Haigu Secondary School, created jointly by Mr. Le and Love. It was considered enemy territory. There was also a gap in the abandoned building of the Municipal Hospital, but it had leaked too much Evil Force and had long been sealed off by Shian.

The only remaining location for a gap was near Fanghua Apartments—where Gao Mengyu’s cat had unfortunately stepped into a pitfall. It was completely natural and hadn’t undergone intense processing.

There was no better practice ground than that.

Half a day later, the three “gods”, Yin Ren, Zhong Chengshuo, and Meiqiu, stood in a row in a corner of the Other Side.

Meiqiu: “Why am I here too?”

“The nature of our bodies and abilities is quite different between us,” Zhong Chengshuo earnestly explained. “In theory, we all possess the potential of a Charon. But who will realize it first is still unknown.”

Meiqiu blinked its fourteen eyes and didn’t curse or grumble again. Converted into a new species with an extremely long lifespan, its recent mood was very good.

“Surely, I’ll succeed first.” Its tail stood straighter than ever.

In front of the three “gods” stood Qi Xin and Gao Mengyu’s cat.

Qiqi waved its fleshy limbs, swiftly gesturing around its body.

[I got stuck nearby.]

It shuddered, still feeling frightened, and pointed to a specific area.

[At that time, I was chasing after an “Annoyance” and suddenly bumped into an unfamiliar place. I struggled and squeezed through any openings I could find and ended up in the human world.]

[When my whole body entered the human world, I felt extremely uncomfortable. After Gao Mengyu moved me back, I found a gap in her living room and settled in there to recover… That place was indeed “soft”, so I could destroy it easily.]

Gao Mengyu’s cat explained with great effort.

[Good luck, everyone.]

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The author has something to say:

Returning to Fanghua Apartments (×

Poor kitty, stepping into thin air.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 229: Mature Body

After reporting their speculation to Shian, Zhong Chengshuo slept deeply.

He lay in a corner of the Other Side base with his head resting on Yin Ren’s leg and his ten fingers tangled in Yin Ren’s long hair. Yin Ren’s wounds had roughly healed, and he had temporarily stopped trading with the Lonelies, just staring out the window in a daze.

Outside the base window, snowflakes were falling, creating a flurry of snow. The distant scenery was blurred, with only the occasional snowflake hitting the window. The screens inside the base played scenes of winter in the human world, with a young Li Nian wearing a scarf appearing from time to time.

Most likely, it was Meng Huai’s memories, Yin Ren thought.

The temperature in the room had dropped, but it wasn’t as vivid as the real world.

Zhong Chengshuo’s breathing, on the other hand, was very distinct. He took off his glasses, his body rising and falling slightly, and his body temperature blended with Yin Ren’s. This person was sleeping so soundly that Fu Tianyi didn’t even dare to make too much movement while chopping up Elemental flesh.

As for the intimate behavior between the two, Zhong Chengfeng wasn’t surprised—she had determined that Yin Ren was “not human”, so Yin Ren’s gender seemed irrelevant. Moreover, this person’s face was truly captivating and very much in line with human aesthetics.

Considering that Zhong Chengfeng was his nominal older sister, Zhong Chengshuo had once wanted to explain seriously about their relationship, but this policewoman just waved her hand.

“What era is it? As long as you didn’t fall for Gao Mengyu’s cat, that’s enough,” Zhong Chengfeng said cheerfully.

Zhong Chengshuo: “…”

He silently returned to Yin Ren’s side, gently kissed his forehead, and then entered a day-long sleep.

……

Finally, his mind eased, and Zhong Chengshuo opened his eyes.

Yin Ren was still sitting in the same spot. However, he had imagined a pillow and blanket, and the two of them were snuggled together under the warm covers, giving off a slight indoor camping vibe.

Yin Ren was still looking out the window, where everything was covered in a hazy white snow. Those white hues imprinted on Yin Ren’s red eyes, transforming into reflections with window grids.

“What are you thinking?”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t immediately get up.

Yin Ren withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes. A faint smile appeared on his face. “I’m thinking, why did you insist on becoming a ‘god’ like Love… What did you discover in it?”

“Its arm feels very similar to your arm,” Zhong Chengshuo replied frankly. “Do you remember what happened in the Archive?”

Yin Ren made a sound of agreement, his gaze softening.

“Lately, it’s been calm on the outside so there are more Lonelies that dare to go out.” Yin Ren continued, “But ‘Satisfaction’ was injured, and it’s still active as usual, just recovering very slowly.”

Zhong Chengshuo blinked. “Satisfaction? Are you saying…”

“A while ago, we were only focused on saving Meiqiu. Do you remember the reaction of ‘Satisfaction’ when it passed through the White Net? It seemed to be in pain.”

Yin Ren played with Zhong Chengshuo’s earlobe, pinching and rubbing the soft flesh.

“Now that Love is attempting to transform into an A-A0 ‘God’, it, like me, needs energy. Currently, there is no entity on the Other Side with a higher nutritional value than Satisfaction.”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t say anything, his brows gradually furrowing.

“It’s really strange,” Yin Ren continued absentmindedly. “Satisfaction is clearly injured. Why hasn’t Qi Xin, that Other Side environmentalist, come forward to confront me? I thought she would quickly come to warn me—after all, the ‘Lonelies’ are crawling all over the place, and they can deliver messages.”

Zhong Chengshuo instantly realized. “She knows who did it… ‘Love’ has communicated with her.”

Saying that, Zhong Chengshuo casually pinched the tip of Yin Ren’s hair, quickly calculating in his mind. Yin Ren was currently the strongest “God” in terms of combat power, but this species had no precedent, and he might not be fully matured yet, so he wouldn’t act recklessly. “Love” was slightly behind, still in the process of transformation.

Now, Qi Xin was one of the only four remaining emotions. “Zhong Chengshuo is the smoke bomb, while Yin Ren is the cub.” She was well aware of this fact. Currently, Qi Xin was the biggest variable in this conflict.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at Yin Ren again, but at this moment, Yin Ren leaned down and covered Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes with his palm.

“We must deal with Qi Xin first,” Yin Ren said.

“I agree.” Zhong Chengshuo held the back of Yin Ren’s neck, adjusting their position slightly and moving Yin Ren’s hand back to his ear.

……

Qi Xin tightly shrunk her original form, wishing she could bury hundreds of layers of data within herself.

She didn’t immediately give an answer to Love, but even if she were to join forces with that smiling fox, Love might not believe her.

But Qi Xin knew in her heart that Love wasn’t lying.

The aura emanating from Love was very similar to when Yin Ren broke through the white net. Love probably realized something was wrong at that time… They were the same kind of thing, which meant Yin Ren might also prey on “Satisfaction”.

Neither Yin Ren nor Love were normal Primordial Elementals. Even if Yin Ren lost to Love, she wouldn’t necessarily be able to take control of Yin Ren’s power. And relying on Yin Ren’s victory, as Love said, that guy was born in the human world… Could he be trusted?

Qi Xin had thought that she could switch tracks, allowing fate’s train to crush Love with Yin Ren or even with herself. But now the situation was completely out of her control, and Qi Xin sadly realized that she had become a passerby like the butt of all human jokes.

She couldn’t arrange anything, and now it seemed that Love would be the one arranging her. That conversation that day was akin to a veiled warning.

But was it really good to let Love have complete control over the Other Side?

That guy probably wouldn’t kill Satisfaction but instead weaken it and artificially control its “birth rate”. Then, she would drive humans mad and make up for the parts suffering from famine. As for the human world, that was a separate matter, but for the Other Side, was this really a happy solution?

In the end, “Love” would replace “Fear” and “Satisfaction” and become the true God of the Other Side. It would carry a strong sense of love similar to that of humans and take over the next era of the Other Side.

Qi Xin always felt that something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Well, there was no need to rush this matter. It could be pondered later.

Still, it was safe at home. Qi Xin sighed as she looked around her surroundings. This was her last stronghold, and only “Satisfaction” could find her. As long as she protected her core and severed connections in time, no matter how many times her avatars were destroyed, she would still survive.

As long as the green hills were preserved, there would be no shortage of firewood. Love and Yin Ren wouldn’t stop fighting just because they couldn’t find her. The more she thought about it, the more negative she became, and the core of Lady Sorrow was almost shrinking into a skeletal ball.

Maybe she should just hide until the end—

Old Fear, Zhong Chengshuo, was immortal, focusing all his abilities on defense. Yin Ren grew in the darkness, and Love was still hatching itself. Both sides were evenly matched.

Maybe she should opt for nonviolent non-cooperation. It would be best if Love and Yin Ren annihilated each other, and then she could come out to clean up the mess.

Qi Xin decided to start praying from now on.

However, deep within the depths of “historical consciousness”, peace seemed elusive.

Qi Xin squirmed in place, suddenly feeling something poking her. It felt like being gently scratched by a cat’s claw, with such a light force that it could be easily ignored.

It must be an illusion.

Qi Xin continued to huddle in the most remote corner of the Other Side, curling up tightly.

That poking sensation appeared again. Qi Xin became increasingly annoyed. She split off an avatar and patrolled around her main body. Not long after, she discovered the culprit—

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo stood hand in hand beside her core, looking like a pair of harbingers of death.

How can this be?! That was her second reaction.

Immediately, the idea of “main body exposure” hit her like a bucket of cold water, drenching her from head to toe. No, she couldn’t die. She couldn’t accept any mishaps.

Yin Ren was the monster she had personally brought to the Other Side, and Love was something she couldn’t comprehend. Her will to survive wasn’t that strong, but as the last Ancient Primordial Elemental, if she was eliminated, the Other Side would become a battlefield for the two monsters.

Since she couldn’t determine whom to bet her chips on, whoever posed a threat to her would be the enemy.

Qi Xin didn’t waste any words. The tightly curled skeletal ball instantly opened up, returning to its original form—

Countless dead bones intertwined with each other, forming a massive rib cage. It crawled on the ground like a mutated snake’s skeleton. Black and gray mist billowed around it, instantly shrouding the colorful Other Side in chaos.

In stark contrast to the white space of Love and Mr. Le, Qi Xin’s space was dim and gray.

Everything turned into a dark cave, and within the black mist, skeletal remains were revealed, petrified into cave walls. Things similar to stalactites supported the surroundings. When Yin Ren looked closely, he realized that they weren’t stalactites, but a tower formed by countless biological eyeballs.

Tears continuously fell from the tips, and from the depths of the cave, faint cries and sobbing could be heard.

The space of “Sorrow”.

Qi Xin’s avatar jumped up and stood at the top of the rib cage. In this eerie cave, the long snake-like skeletal cage slid silently, wriggling through different caves as if walking on level ground.

Yin Ren: “……”

He gently released Zhong Chengshuo’s hand, and the latter nodded at him.

In the next moment, the pitch-black wing clusters instantly unfolded. On the surface of the wing clusters, the red veil fluttered gracefully without any wind. Zhong Chengshuo tightly embraced the largest wing cluster under the red veil and carefully secured himself.

Qi Xin didn’t wait for Zhong Chengshuo to fasten his seatbelt. She dashed straight towards Yin Ren, with a resolute and sinister determination exposed from her old home.

This time, she didn’t hold back and used lethal moves.

Tears dripped from the stalactite-like eyeballs, and those tears were like poison. When Yin Ren came into contact with them, they instantly drained his strength. The giant rib cage formed by solidified bones grew from the cave wall and pierced Yin Ren’s body like a specimen, injecting a massive amount of sorrow.

Yin Ren awkwardly accepted the emotions.

The flames of Yin Village’s destruction, the desolation of old acquaintances buried by time, the ghost girl floating in the living room watching dramas, the intimate lover whose chest had burst.

The wing clusters were like sponges soaked with water, shedding many tears with each movement.

But Yin Ren’s actions didn’t slow down in the slightest. He quickly broke and fixed his own ribs, swallowing the broken pieces directly into his abdomen. The wing clusters on his hands quickly regenerated, with a bone-like luster on the surface.

Qi Xin nervously observed her opponent.

After recovering, the sea of wing clusters seemed to be pondering a difficult problem, continuously gathering and dispersing on its own. They were busy crawling, raising and lowering the red veil, as if trying to construct something. The most terrifying part was that the aura of that pile of wings was always well suppressed, clearly showing that there was still more power left.

Qi Xin felt a chill in her heart.

As expected, Yin Ren was still growing. For some unknown reason, he was toying with her like a cat playing with a mouse—up until now, Yin Ren hadn’t launched an attack on his own initiative.

If he truly was the cub of “Fear”, she would at least know his limits. Now facing this monster-like entity draped in a red veil, Qi Xin could only feel a deep, genuine fear.

Regardless of why the other party hadn’t made a move, she couldn’t let go of this opportunity.

Qi Xin focused her energy, causing the entire cave to writhe. The stalactite-like eyes became jagged fangs, instantly biting the black mass into several large chunks. The wing clusters trembled in pain, but they didn’t give up their efforts to crawl and stack, persistently converging in one direction.

She couldn’t let them come together!

Qi Xin clenched her teeth tightly, and then the rib cage fence repeatedly crossed the scattered wing clusters. Qi Xin attempted to consume a part of Yin Ren, but this substance was different from the flesh manipulated by Old Fear. They were too lively, and their intense energy almost burned through her body.

Even so, Qi Xin endured the pain and tore and bit, trying to separate the wing clusters further and further.

However, those wing clusters remained interconnected. They pulled strands of viscous threads, flowing like oil down the skeletal rock walls, relentlessly gathering together. The more they gathered, the larger they became, with a beautiful red veil spreading on the surface.

That red color emitted a faint glow, piercing the dim environment.

As the wing clusters gathered, the speed of the rib cage’s movement became faster and faster. Fragmentation, contamination, impact on consciousness—Qi Xin brought out all her special abilities, just to make that hint of red disappear from her territory.

But it was born again and again in the darkness, like an extinguishable ember.

[So that’s how it is.]

While Qi Xin quickly pondered her strategy, a vague consciousness intruded into her mind.

[Thank you, I’ve come to understand something again.]

Qi Xin: “…?”

Before she could react, countless wing clusters seemed to be injected with vitality, rapidly converging at an unprecedented speed. They gathered together, and the surface of the clusters fluttered with the red veil, giving them a somewhat tomb-like appearance.

Then, the shape of the tomb changed.

A blurry silhouette emerged from under the red veil, resembling a human skeleton. The red veil fluttered, and the skeletal figure knelt within the wing clusters.

Qi Xin wanted to rush over, but she was overwhelmed by the imposing presence that felt tangible, unable to approach.

Something emerged from under the red veil.

First, hands covered in black and gray scars and black fingernails. Then, four fair and beautiful arms followed. They extended from under the red veil, leading to the abyss of darkness hidden beneath it.

Under the red veil, the soft wing clusters stuck to each other were revealed. They fluttered and flapped energetically.

Zhong Chengshuo clung tightly to one of the wing clusters, silently observing everything.

‘It really resembles it,’ he thought.

Back in the Archive, Yin Ren nearly lost control and turned into a monstrous being. The current monster still retained its beauty, but there was an additional sense of strange order in its form. Only four of the previously chaotic arms remained, gracefully crossed in front of its body. The wing clusters were pitch black and lacked any luster, much larger than their translucent counterparts.

The red veil still covered the upper body of the human-like figure, concealing Yin Ren’s face.

The transformation was still ongoing.

The red veil gently undulated, forming milky-white bubbles with a faint golden hue on the surface. They were about the size of a fist, exuding a graceful translucent texture. These bubbles pierced patterns on the surface of the red veil, like pearls adorning it.

A crimson glow emanated from the darkness, and at the edge of the red veil, fourteen points of light appeared.

With the emergence of the light, various incomprehensible decorations appeared on the red veil. Some resembled spider legs or xanthium, while others looked like jellyfish adorned with insect limbs… They were small in size, entangled with each other, transforming into exquisite decorations on the red veil.

Swish, swish…

…Jingle.

Finally, what appeared on the red veil was a white substance with patterns resembling brain matter. They gathered at the “top” of the red veil, forming a huge bell with a silver luster, hanging above the humanoid figure’s chest.

Jingle, jingle.

With the movement of the humanoid figure, it emitted a wonderfully beautiful sound.

‘…That’s a truly beautiful monster,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought. It was even more beautiful than when he last saw it.

A monster that belonged to him.

“What the hell is this?!” Qi Xin kept trying to get closer, but the ongoing transformation made her feel uneasy.

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at her and couldn’t help but curl his lips.

He knew the answer.

And she would know it too.

Finally, just before Qi Xin could turn herself into Love #2, the transformation was complete.

A giant humanoid figure knelt silently before her. It was adorned with intricately decorated and mysterious red veils, with its four arms crossed, and below the waist, it transformed into scattered yet orderly clusters of pitch-black wings. It had a human-like shape, but whenever the red veil fluttered, only darkness was revealed beneath.

The imposing presence emanating from this entity was something Qi Xin had never experienced before.

She had encountered “Fear” in the past, but “Fear” never instilled such a strong sense of danger in her. Facing this entity, her perception was akin to a mouse encountering a cat; it was like humans encountering aliens.

Terrifying, dangerous, and incomprehensible.

…There was no other choice. She must escape.

Qi Xin quickly gathered herself. She had to lure this entity over to Love’s white web. Yes, that’s what she would do.

She stared intently at the quiet monster as the illusions around the cave quickly dissipated. However, just as she was about to make her move to flee, the monster slowly extended its hand—

Its two arms formed a gesture of “stop,” while the other two formed a heart shape.

Qi Xin: “…”

Did it mean to make her heart stop? But she didn’t actually have a heart.

Seeing the illusions becoming more chaotic and confused, the monster immediately adjusted its actions, changing the gesture from a heart shape to an “OK” sign.

[Wait, I have something to say!] A stronger mental message came from Yin Ren’s side, momentarily stunning Qi Xin.

She calmly assessed the situation. She wouldn’t fall for such a trick. The space in front of her twisted frantically, on the verge of turning into a vortex—

“Zhong Ge, don’t just stand there! She’s getting away—”

A human voice came from under the red veil, and Yin Ren freed one of his hands, patting the ground in urgency.

Zhong Chengshuo calmly took out the Karma Lantern.

He glanced at the wick, and in an instant, it ignited. The gentle crimson light exploded, casting a red glow on Zhong Chengshuo’s white sweater, adding a touch of warmth to his skin, flickering on his eyelashes.

Only those pitch-black eyes remained the same, as black as void. However, at this moment, those eyes were looking at Yin Ren, exuding a lively and vibrant smile.

The radiant glow, like an evening sunset, scattered all around, instantly engulfing the surrounding black and gray mist. The once colorful Other Side turned into a fervent shade of red in an instant.

Qi Xin was naturally enveloped in this overwhelming red light.

She hadn’t experienced this feeling in many years.

Every time the daylight belonging to “Satisfaction” ended, the black night of “Fear” would engulf everything. If “Satisfaction” was like a gentle warm breeze brushing against her body, the approaching “Fear” felt more like ice, freezing everything in their tracks.

That was the exclusive power of “Fear”, the most primal and dominant.

Compared to the feeling in her memories, the power Zhong Chengshuo now possessed hadn’t weakened but rather strengthened.

Indeed, Yin Ren was a bona fide monster, and “Fear” had never stepped down from its position; it had only been driven to the mortal realm…

Qi Xin felt disheartened.

Zhong Chengshuo clearly focused all his abilities on defense, yet somehow he regained this deadly power. It didn’t matter if he lacked offensive capabilities; with Yin Ren standing beside him, these two beasts could unleash havoc on the Other Side at any time.

Knowing these secrets, her chances of survival were slim.

Perhaps the annihilation of the Other Side was inevitable. Qi Xin sat despondently on top of her true self, quietly waiting for the end to come.

But right before her eyes, Yin Ren rapidly shrunk and transformed back into his human form. He looked quite exhausted and collapsed onto Zhong Chengshuo, who held him securely, with the lantern in his other hand.

“Sure enough, I guessed right.” Yin Ren had a happy expression.

“Yeah, you were amazing,” Zhong Chengshuo seemed like he wanted to applaud, but his hands were occupied. He could only lean his head sideways and rub against Yin Ren as a way of caressing him.

“Unfortunately, we were a little short.” Yin Ren’s face drooped. “This could be considered successful growth, possessing power but lacking skill… Later, I’ll go near the white web to explore. Let’s formulate a battle plan.”

Qi Xin: “…” You want to hang out before killing me?

“Don’t be too hasty. That attack just now must have depleted you,” Zhong Chengshuo whispered.

He wanted to feed on her to replenish himself, right? Qi Xin sighed inwardly.

“Oh, I’ll go hunting and exchange food with the Lonelies.” Yin Ren waved his hand. “They like hoarding food, so they’ll accept whatever is given.”

Qi Xin: “?” These two still didn’t possess a murderous aura. Amidst her desolation, a faint trace of anger emerged.

They whispered to each other for a while, and Yin Ren regained some strength. He left Zhong Chengshuo’s embrace and staggered towards Qi Xin.

“I’m sorry.” He lowered his head. “I didn’t mean to scare you—if I didn’t do that, you wouldn’t have put forth your full strength to deal with me.”

Ms. Qi, who always left herself ten thousand ways out: “…”

What kind of act is he going to put on now?

“‘Love’ has approached you, and we are aware of it. If I’m not mistaken, you’re probably still undecided, waiting for us to fight until we both suffer. Unfortunately, I don’t want to take such a risk.”

Yin Ren smiled faintly.

“Now, you should know whose side to lean towards.”

Could she still survive this?

Qi Xin forced herself to continue thinking. “Given the current situation, I’ll be direct. ‘Love’ may not necessarily be weaker than you.”

“You belong to the same category, and it happens to be in its prime in the mortal realm. The Great Celestial Master needs the cooperation of countless ghosts to seal the Evil Spirits. The body she created will surely not be inferior to an Evil Spirit… You only have the advantage of being ‘born’ earlier.”

Yin Ren remained silent.

“I’m not insinuating that your camp ‘can’t do without me’. I’m speaking the truth, and you should know,” Qi Xin added as coldly as possible.

“Do you know why we were able to find you so quickly?”

Amidst the fiery red light, Yin Ren looked up at Qi Xin on the pile of bones. He maintained his smile and evaded the question.

Qi Xin choked for a moment; she was also incredibly curious. She had finally found this secluded place after hiding for thousands of years, but she was suddenly discovered.

“It’s because I understand humans,” Yin Ren said. “Among a thousand thoughts, everyone has some impression, but they will always discard them and remember only certain things.”

For example, memories filled with pain, mundane moments, forgotten knowledge… or the history of humanity.

But the former was too fragmented and scattered to accommodate Qi Xin, the great Buddha. As for the latter, after numerous embellishments, it existed ambiguously in everyone’s mind.

That might be the most rugged and secretive part of all the “data” created by humans.

“But this place is very large.” Qi Xin pursed her lips, finding it hard to accept this explanation.

Yin Ren silently took out his phone, and as soon as it saw Qi Xin, the battery, which was originally full, quickly drained, and the phone automatically shut down.

“As long as you find the right place and detect the ‘unease’ on the scale of major Elementals, it’s not that difficult.”

Qi Xin: “…”

If only she had eaten this Dog Thing back in Gengsheng Town.

…But she had indeed been seen through by this person. All in all, she couldn’t argue that she hadn’t lost.

Qi Xin: “Stop beating around the bush and speak directly. What do you really want to express?”

Yin Ren focused his attention, and the red veil danced as the monstrous creature reappeared from within the red light. The creature extended a hand and gently took the lantern from Zhong Chengshuo, who was holding it. Then, its head turned towards Qi Xin. Although covered by the red veil, Qi Xin could still feel its intense gaze.

“I understand humans,” Yin Ren said softly.

During the incident in the Archive, in his dying moments, his body only displayed three distinct emotional states.

“Fear” was the basis of his power, “Disgust” was stirred by the illusion of Yin Village, and “Love” was for Zhong Chengshuo. In the eve of his bodily collapse, they blended with the impression of the Great Celestial Master himself, accumulating in a chaotic tumor-like mass.

So, what would happen if he consciously understood and controlled these emotions? But mere imagination wasn’t enough; the force was still too weak. He needed stronger stimulation, a more dangerous situation, to force his instincts to emerge.

Qi Xin was the most suitable choice.

Yin Ren had an intuitive confidence in the existence of this ability. Unlike the Elementals that lived off emotions, lacking understanding of the why, he had a deeper understanding of “emotions”.

After all, he was fundamentally human.

“I understand love, hate, joy, and sorrow. Satisfaction, fear, passion, sadness… even loneliness and unease, I have experienced them all, and I know what they feel like.”

“But you all are just… you.”

Qi Xin had nothing to say.

She naturally understood. The understanding of Elementals towards humans was mostly limited to the type of emotion they had experienced themselves. As for other emotions, they had simply thrown them to the Other Side to other Elementals.

But those were not human emotions. Even Zhong Chengshuo, who was the apex of the Elementals, appeared confused and clumsy in the face of human emotions.

“‘Love’ can’t become like me. But I have personally experienced what happens if ‘Love’ loses control.”

Seeing that Qi Xin remained silent, the monster beneath the red veil spoke again, with a hint of laughter in its tone.

“Miss Qi Xin… no, Sorrow, among the four major Primordial Elementals, you are the one who understands the decline of the current situation the most. You should also know that the Other Side of today can never return to the way it was before. Whether ‘Love’ is sincere or fake, the phantom she chases is destined to be unattainable.”

The colossal monster extended a hand.

“And pursuing a past that no longer exists will only lead to madness. Well, at least for humans.”

“While that may be true, you don’t care about the Other Side.” Qi Xin’s brows furrowed, a hint of hesitation in her expression, “If—”

“Yes, yes, yes, I don’t care. But finally, we’ve reached this point.”

Yin Ren tinkered with the bell hanging on his chest, and with a jingling sound, ripples spread through the red light.

“Before, you supplied goods for Sunken Society’s research, and now you can supply goods for Shian. The path is already paved.”

Qi Xin frowned. “Why do we have to—”

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly choked and looked at Yin Ren in shock.

“I have zero interest in your Other Side, but I want to live in the human world. To live well, I need money,” Yin Ren expressed sincerely. “Shian will provide you with funding and rewards. You can hire the two of us to work on the Other Side.”

Qi Xin: “…………”

She understood that only interests were eternal, but she never expected that Yin Ren’s “interest” would be so literal and devoid of any dilution.

Qi Xin felt a headache coming on. “Is that it?”

Yin Ren’s voice became even more sincere. “Yes, that’s it.”

Qi Xin: “I’ll think about it.”

“No, I want an answer now.”

“…I’ll side with you.” Qi Xin squeezed out her response through clenched teeth.

Well, the plan hadn’t changed after all. She thought numbly.

Let’s see how far things would develop.

……

“In recent days, workers discovered a potent hallucinogenic mold in the sewers of Haigu…”

“The ‘corpse centipede’ monster witnessed by hundreds of people doesn’t actually exist. The sewers in the old city district appear to have a malfunction, with garbage entangled in clusters…”

“Our city will conduct a comprehensive inspection and maintenance of the sewer system in the near future. We ask for everyone’s cooperation…”

The voice of the host continuously drilled into his mind. Xiang Jiang raised his hand and turned off the TV directly.

Indeed, Shian had counterattacked, and in such a clumsy way. Xiang Jiang didn’t have any thoughts about it. He knew that this day would come sooner or later—Fu Xingchuan wouldn’t just sit and wait for death. No matter how ugly the tactics were, that man would shamelessly employ them.

Now, the mountain village that had ruined their family’s life had already received punishment.

But the person who caused his brother’s unjust death and transformed into a vengeful ghost was still living peacefully in the city.

That wouldn’t do.

“Hey, it’s me… Yeah, I know. I saw the news just now.”

Xiang Jiang dialed Shen Mo’s phone.

“Since the centipede is no longer useful, I’ll take care of it properly.” He lifted his clouded eyes and looked at the turned-off TV. “Don’t worry, I won’t let it rest in peace.”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 228: Foolish Plan

In the depths of the myriad of information on the Other Side, in the dim history rarely touched by anyone, “Sorrow” quietly lurked.

Its form was like gray-black remnants of creatures, sticking together and slowly flowing within the crevices of old memories. Qi Xin liked it here; it had always been a safe place for countless years.

Ever since she knew Yin Ren was injured, Qi Xin had hidden herself entirely in this place.

She originally thought she could hide here until Yin Ren and Love settled their battle, and then she could act accordingly or make up for it. But not long after, she couldn’t sit still—

“Satisfaction” was injured.

Large sections of its pristine surface were missing, revealing colorful dream bubbles underneath. Its movement slowed slightly, and there were fewer newly formed Primordial Elementals than before.

Could it be Yin Ren’s doing?

Qi Xin summoned a humanoid projection and decided to give Yin Ren a serious warning. “Satisfaction” must not be compromised.

She couldn’t find Yin Ren, but she could capture the sneaky “Lonelies”. Just as Ms. Qi Xin was chasing cats all over the place, a white figure appeared behind her.

“Sorrow.” The figure wearing a hood called out.

Qi Xin didn’t even turn her head. “It’s you again.”

Love was dressed in a white cloak, standing amidst the strange and colorful Other Side. She was two steps away from Qi Xin, who was wearing a dark-colored suit, creating a stark contrast.

Upon hearing Qi Xin’s impolite greeting, Love smiled slightly. She let the large white cloak slide down, revealing a face that belonged to a human.

Graceful and delicate features, long hair falling below the collarbone, slightly curled. This face couldn’t be called breathtakingly beautiful, but it exuded a gentle temperament that made people want to get closer from the bottom of their hearts.

Qi Xin recognized this face.

Sun Qi’an, a doctor who used to be quite close to Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo.

The former Love struggled to survive within the gaps, only able to briefly manipulate humans. It couldn’t even make puppets like Disgust and Joy.

Lacking physical strength, she compensated with hardware. She had been quite interested in the research of Gengsheng Town, probably hoping to have a puppet with strong abilities but weak self-awareness. Qi Xin had happily caused trouble for Love and directly consumed the “research results” of Gengsheng Town—the old mayor.

Now, Love kept appearing in front of her, making it hard to say whether it was intentional or not.

“What are you thinking?” Qi Xin casually took two steps back. “This projection… Why did you choose a human?”

“As you know, this is just a projection. Like you, my true self is not here.”

Love put on the cloak and hood again.

“But unlike you, I won’t hide in the shadows. Soon, I will be able to go out into the world personally…”

Her voice was soft and gentle, pleasant to listen to, but in Qi Xin’s ears, it was like a thunderbolt. The Ancient Primordial Elementals could only send projections, and apart from Old Fear almost losing its life, no one had heard of a true body entering the world.

Moreover, now that she had a projection, Love could do whatever she wanted. Why did she need to bring her true self?

As if seeing through Qi Xin’s thoughts, Love took a step forward and revealed a beautiful smile.

“Thanks to you, I no longer have companions who can walk in the world.” She said, “Relying only on myself, it will be a slow process to master the human world. The nights are long and filled with dreams… Absolute power is still the most effective, don’t you think?”

Qi Xin sneered. “Absolute power? Have you seen that cub? To exert power, reverting to your true form is the most basic requirement. With your current appearance, humans won’t buy it.”

In an instant, a series of disaster movies flashed through Qi Xin’s mind. If Love suddenly descended into the human world, it might end up as a full-course nuclear meal. As for whether human weapons could completely eliminate the “data organism” like the Elementals, she didn’t know.

Love didn’t answer immediately; she just smiled quietly.

Qi Xin pursed her lips and gradually realized something. “You went through the trouble of creating a projection, could it be…”

Love’s smile became even brighter.

“This woman, isn’t she perfect? A top-tier university’s outstanding student, beautiful appearance, and the right age. Her family background isn’t too good or too bad; her parents both work in law enforcement, and she is an excellent doctor. Regardless of cultural background, human society has always favored such people.”

Love tidied Sun Qi’an’s slightly curled hair.

“In human culture, ‘gods’ always send ‘representative figures’ who can communicate. This way, humans won’t resist me too much, don’t you think?”

So that’s how it is. While the true body descended, exerting military pressure, the projection would take on a gentle guise in human form, leading them. Quite a variety of methods.

Qi Xin remained expressionless; she didn’t care about what would happen in the human world.

Qi Xin: “You came here just to explain your plan? If you have nothing better to do, you can go and preach to humans. Goodbye.”

She turned her body, about to leave.

“I know you don’t care about humans,” Love said. “I just wanted to tell you that I really only want to save the Other Side. Gaining power from the human side is meaningless to you and me. You understand that.”

Qi Xin stopped but still didn’t turn around.

“I also know why you appeared again,” Love said gently. “’Satisfaction’ wasn’t hurt by ‘Fear’. I did it.”

“Are you insane?!” Qi Xin suddenly turned around; her face drastically changed.

In Qi Xin’s vigilant gaze, Love slowly extended her hands. A glob of mercurial flesh rolled back and forth in her palms. Judging by its size, it definitely wasn’t something that naturally fell off.

Then, she tilted her head back and slowly drank the pale and beautiful flesh. The liquid, like brain marrow, slid through her fingers, leaving fine strands like honey, completely disappearing into her throat.

They rapidly transformed into pure power and flowed back to her true body through the projection.

“You…” Qi Xin was speechless and dumbfounded.

When Zhong Chengshuo was still “Fear”, he never touched “Satisfaction”. As the devourer of all Primordial Elementals, “Satisfaction” was an exception. They didn’t interfere with each other, maintaining the operation of the Other Side day and night.

Even “Fear” was like that, let alone other Elementals. As the apex predator in the food chain, its flesh contained extremely powerful energy that not everyone could easily digest. When “Fear” perished, its flesh broke down into a secondary force called “Evil Force”, and only then did the Elementals dare to consume it without worries.

But now, Love, in front of her, devoured the living flesh of “Satisfaction”.

“I told you, I found a more perfect method.”

Love licked off the last bit of flesh.

“Thanks to the blessing of ‘Satisfaction’, my losses have been completely restored over these years. Now I can contend with ‘Satisfaction’. You know what that means… Sorrow, come back to me.”

She opened her hands.

“Monster…” Qi Xin clenched her teeth. As an Ancient Primordial Elemental, she never thought that one day she would utter such a sentiment.

“Yes, I’ve become a monster. I will take everyone back to that golden era.”

Love’s tone was quite sincere. Her voice remained gentle, yet it sent shivers down one’s spine.

“By the way, the cub you favored is also such a monster… You’ve been with him all this time, haven’t you noticed? I know your difficulties and your calculations.”

“But this is a battle you can’t interfere in, Sorrow. You must make a choice.”

“Is it me, who deeply loves the Other Side, or that cub born in the human world?”

……

Ge Tingting sat on the sofa at Lao Bin’s home, carefully sipping bottled green tea. Huang Jin tightly gripped his drink bottle, his eyes fixedly staring in place.

The house was new and tastefully decorated, clearly expensive. However, the beautiful marble table was filled with instant noodle cups, leaning against empty beer bottles, emitting a long-unattended sour odor. Fruit peels, plastic bags, and takeout boxes were scattered on the floor, ready to be stepped on if one wasn’t careful.

Lao Bin slouched on the other end of the sofa, looking much thinner than before. The bearded doctor had scruffy facial hair, and his hair was thinning on top. Ge Tingting observed him for a while, suspecting that his hair was migrating from his scalp to his chin.

Qin Lele couldn’t stand the messy living room and was busy packing up the garbage in bags, frowning as he headed out.

“Enough,” Lao Bin said. “It’s been over a week. Why haven’t you given up?”

“I wonder too,” Huang Jin agreed.

“After persisting for over a week, you let us in. It proves that this approach is correct,” Ge Tingting said.

Lao Bin sighed heavily. “Fine, I didn’t want to put it in such harsh terms. You can see the current situation. That corpse centipede is ridiculously strong and refuses to engage in direct combat. Sunken Society brought about massive corruption, and there are constant minor contaminations. The nonsensical rumors are increasing.”

“The police and Shian can’t handle it. Societal chaos is just a matter of time,” he said in anguish. “Xiao Ge, you’re still young and can’t see things too far. There are some things we mortals are powerless against.”

Huang Jin nodded frantically. “Right, right.”

Ge Tingting glared at Huang Jin, then turned to Lao Bin. “But…”

She had intended to say something reasonable, like how even a small change is still a change, or about protection and righteousness. However, it was clear that Lao Bin belonged to the same category as Huang Jin, and his age and intelligence were there. If she said such things, this guy would only find it naive and laughable.

What would Yin Ren do if he were here?

Ge Tingting’s eyes darted around, and she quickly deleted the words on her phone, coming up with a different approach.

“But you need money,” she said.

“This house is expensive, and the renovations must have cost a lot of effort. It’s understandable that you feel upset when you can’t live a good life, right?”

Ge Tingting forced a smooth smile.

“Lao Bin Ge, you’ve just published a paper. You’re a talented individual with a bright future. You say society is going to descend into chaos, but it hasn’t happened yet, and Shian is still functioning normally. Take this opportunity to earn some extra bonuses—it will provide more opportunities for your future.”

Lao Bin rolled his bloodshot eyes. “Hmm…?”

“And in my idea, you don’t need to personally rush to the frontlines, and it can even increase your visibility. Would you like to hear it?”

Ge Tingting blinked frantically.

“Fine, since you’re all here, go ahead and tell me.” After hesitating for a moment, Lao Bin slightly relaxed.

“It’s like this…” Ge Tingting leaned closer and solemnly explained the plan.

Ten minutes later.

“That’s it?!” Lao Bin stood up. “No, this is simply absurd. You—”

He paused midway, suddenly at a loss for words.

The centipede hadn’t harmed anyone yet, just like the corruption spread by Sunken Society. It tried to minimize its impact, subtly creating panic. If it really caused casualties, the public would certainly resist with all their might. But operating quietly like this was the most mentally exhausting.

Just like a spider that appeared and disappeared in a room.

Ge Tingting’s method was old-fashioned, but it might be effective.

“Lao Bin Ge, you’re right. I’m still young and can’t see far into the future,” Ge Tingting said sincerely. “That’s why I thought, if Sunken Society wants a certain effect, we should do the opposite.”

“I’ll think about it.” Lao Bin rubbed his temples. “I’ll give you an answer today. I’m sorry, but with the state of the house right now, it’s not suitable for me to invite you for a meal…”

“No problem, you’re too kind.”

Qin Lele insisted on staying behind to clean, so only Ge Tingting and Huang Jin went downstairs.

“That guy will agree,” Huang Jin said, looking at the advertisement screen in the elevator. “Lao Bin didn’t immediately agree because he wants to save face since you’re younger.”

“I know.”

“You’re really something. You’re quite good at not learning the good stuff.” Huang Jin glanced at Ge Tingting. “You didn’t learn the hard skills of the Great Celestial Master, but you’ve picked up all his annoying habits. It’s impressive that you came up with such a cunning idea.”

Ge Tingting didn’t respond immediately.

Ding. The elevator arrived on the first floor. The metal doors slowly opened, and the cold air of early winter rushed in. Outside the corridor, the blue sky was clear, and the sunlight was just right.

“I know everyone is strong, and currently, I can only come up with ideas like this,” Ge Tingting said. “But I can’t just dismiss this idea as conventional and not try it. It’s not enough to just think about becoming stronger in my mind; practice is better.”

“And you, criticizing my plan as not good here and there, yet here you are with me.”

Huang Jin: “……”

Huang Jin: “…You’re a young girl. I can’t just let you wander around on your own.”

Ge Tingting clicked her tongue. “Stop pretending. You agree with Lao Bin in words, but you didn’t quit your job, and you haven’t taken long-term leave like him. Admit it, you have some courage, and it’s not shameful.”

Huang Jin sneered. “Do you think I really care about this damn society? I don’t—”

“Don’t?”

“…I don’t care about this damn society.” Huang Jin swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

That was close. He almost blurted out what he truly felt.

After exploring the Other Side, Shian did restore his identity and gave him a substantial amount of money. Even if he and Ding Lizi didn’t work, as long as they controlled their expenses, they could live off the interest for the rest of their lives.

This was the perfect time for him to submit his resignation. As soon as he returned to his room, Huang Jin immediately changed his transfer request to a resignation letter.

Finally, he would be liberated from this godforsaken place, and a life of freedom beckoned to him.

Huang Jin carefully sealed the resignation letter and set a timed email. With everything prepared, he entered Ding Lizi’s hospital room.

Ding Lizi’s eyes had been healed by Yin Ren, and her vision was gradually recovering. Huang Jin had seen her in photos; her pupils were incredibly clear, with a warm brown color that had been bathed in sunlight.

“It’s you.” Seeing Huang Jin enter, Ding Lizi put down her guitar and revealed a sweet smile.

Huang Jin sat down by the bed, his heart almost bursting out of his ribcage. After calming his emotions for a few minutes, his face turned red, and he cautiously spoke, “Lizi, there’s something I need to explain to you. Next, I’m planning to…”

Planning to resign and take you away from here to a safe place.

“Plan to go on a business trip, right?” Ding Lizi pursed her lips, showing an expression of “I understand”. “You don’t have to hide it from me; I already know.”

Huang Jin: “Huh?”

“Having gone through that kind of thing, I would be foolish not to notice.” She shook her head mysteriously and lowered her voice. “My medical condition has improved to an excessive extent. Even my eyes, which couldn’t be treated, have gotten better. Are you working in that, um, official supernatural agency?”

“Um…” Huang Jin instantly froze.

Ding Lizi: “I know you need to keep secrets. I just wanted to say that when you leave, you don’t need to make excuses to me.”

She casually plucked the guitar strings, pure joy drifting through her swirling thoughts.

‘So amazing. He’s doing the work of saving people.’ ‘He’s such a good person.’ ‘Once I’m completely better, I’ll definitely repay the medical expenses.’ ‘He’s really kind.’

Huang Jin covered his eyes with a slap.

“Okay,” he said bitterly, “No need for excuses. I’ll be busy starting tomorrow.”

‘Maybe I can delay submitting the resignation letter a bit longer,’ Huang Jin thought. A little more delay shouldn’t matter.

……

Then he joined Ge Tingting’s foolish plan. How could he say such a thing?

Huang Jin finished reminiscing, and they had already arrived at Ping’an Manor—the villa belonging to the drug lord Master Liu, which had been sealed by Shian since the Feng Qi case and remained vacant. As an employee of Shian, Ge Tingting had applied for permission to use it.

“Ah,” Huang Jin sighed heavily.

With heavy steps, he entered the mansion’s hall.

There, a massive… pile of trash was displayed.

Ge Tingting had collected animal bones from various restaurants and garbage dumps, arranging them into the shape of a dragon. She had also decorated it with numerous beverage bottles, plastic bags, and takeout boxes, making it the epitome of modern garbage art. The bones were wrapped in plastic bags, and their joints barely moved, wriggling like frozen mudskippers.

A lot of expired frozen meat was piled up in another sealed room, slowly decomposing in low temperature. When they were hung on the skeleton, the final product would be even more disgusting.

Ge Tingting was using her corpse servant ability to adjust the bones, making the monstrosity move more naturally. The skilled spirit smith Huang Jin stood to the side, holding his nose, giving structural advice in agony.

He must have gone insane to get involved with this garbage.

“When the news of Lao Bin Ge’s ‘Haigu Sewers Infected with Hallucinogenic Fungus’ is released, we’ll let it make more appearances.”

Ge Tingting happily examined the pile of trash.

“There are no monsters; just a bunch of garbage and hallucinations caused by fungus. This kind of <Approaching Science> plot will be easily accepted by everyone.”

She even directed her phone to play a popular song, tapping her foot to the beat.

Huang Jin’s gaze was dead the entire time.

She didn’t think too much about it, but he could guess what would come next.

The value of the corpse centipede creating panic would disappear, and Sunken Society would treat it as an overt weapon. Ge Tingting’s actions, carried out with such enthusiasm, must have been tacitly approved by the higher-ups at Shian. They were also waiting for the appearance of the corpse centipede.

Next, a storm was likely to arrive.

At that time, Huang Jin didn’t realize that this pile of garbage in front of him had ignited the first shot of the “War Between Gods”.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 227: Phenomena A-A0

It took a full seven days for Meiqiu to regain consciousness from its fainting spells, and even after waking up, its condition remained unstable.

The Lonely flesh acted like a pathogen, continuously infecting Meiqiu’s body, although its destructive power wasn’t as strong as the flesh from Fear. Fortunately, Yin Ren had ample experience suppressing such power. He stood by the table like a statue, carefully suppressing those forces for Meiqiu.

Meiqiu’s physical condition gradually improved, and Zhong Chengshuo approached as well. He stood beside Yin Ren, providing support for the weary man.

At the same time, his hand always covered Meiqiu’s front paw.

The Lonely ability leaned towards the cognitive aspect, so Gao Mengyu’s cat could serve as a partial surgical recorder. Zhong Chengshuo, however, still wasn’t completely at ease. He kept alternating his gaze between Meiqiu and Yin Ren, constantly sensing Meiqiu’s aura with his hands.

Over these days, Yin Ren’s expression hardly changed. He was focused on treating Meiqiu without even blinking.

‘Yes, he’s human,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought.

Yin Ren’s actions were nothing like those of an evil creature; he valued human life, but only to the extent that an ordinary person would. If someone close to him was in danger, he would do everything in his power to help. The difference was that his “power” was much stronger than that of an ordinary person, which made it seem extraordinary and astonishing.

He loved food and protected his shortcomings; he had no ambitions and was lazy at all the jobs he disliked. Skilled in worldly affairs yet easily influenced by various emotions.

Looking back now, ever since they met, Yin Ren had simply been living as an ordinary person, giving his all.

It was the same a thousand years ago, and it was the same now.

Zhong Chengshuo’s head drooped. A subtle sense of loss washed over him. In this moment, he realized that when he had previously sensed that Yin Ren might be the cub of “Fear”, he had also felt a sense of joy deep inside.

On that day a thousand years ago, Yin Ren had shared half an apple with him and led him out of the eternal chaos.

He thought he had given Yin Ren a new life in return.

However, the half of power he had returned almost caused Yin Ren’s demise—if it weren’t for Yin Ren enduring the corruption, he might have transformed into a fearsome creature.

“Zhong Chengshuo, no matter how others classify me, I am just me. Compared to dying back then, of course, I prefer being alive.”

Yin Ren placed both hands on Meiqiu’s abdomen, his gaze unwavering. He seemed to sense Zhong Chengshuo’s melancholy, and his voice carried a hint of laughter.

“And I survived, so that I could meet you.”

Zhong Chengshuo turned his face to the side, silently gazing at Yin Ren. Yin Ren’s expression was calm, and a small bundle of wings crawled up Zhong Chengshuo’s nape and ruffled his head.

“You indeed fell flat on your face and triggered the Gong Dynasty that was plagued by ancient evils. But to me, you’re just a poor sap who got hit with misfortune, albeit a grand one.”

There was laughter in Yin Ren’s voice.

“I don’t care what others think, but if you bring it up again, I’ll make you treat me to a 50-year barbecue buffet.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “How did you know what I was thinking? Is that also one of your abilities?”

Yin Ren coughed twice. “Dog Thing trembled in my pocket, thinking it had gone mad from your uneasiness.”

Zhong Chengshuo remained silent.

Yin Ren’s smile grew wider. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you so uneasy. Is it because of the two of us?”

“Yes,” Zhong Chengshuo honestly admitted.

“Well, it’s alright. I still like you.”

Several steps away, Fu Tianyi rolled his eyes in exasperation, trying to focus his attention on Meiqiu.

On the table, Meiqiu’s aura slowly changed. The twelve new eyes initially darted around uncontrollably, but eventually, they started emitting a faint light. They resembled strange gems scattered on its black fur, beautiful yet eerie.

“How is Meiqiu doing?” Fu Tianyi made an effort to dispel the ambiguous atmosphere around them.

“Meiqiu’s condition is different from mine. Keep a close eye on it.” Yin Ren’s tone suddenly turned authoritative. “I had been corrupted by Evil Force for hundreds of years before, so my adaptability to the integration of the flesh and blood of the Elementals is much better than its. Meiqiu is taking big steps, and even with me suppressing it, its body still bears a heavy burden.”

Fu Tianyi’s expression turned serious. “Understood!”

Zhong Chengshuo frowned beside them.

He suddenly released his grip on Meiqiu’s paw and pulled up a chair beside the table. In an instant, a pile of paper and pens materialized in front of him as he began calculating, printing out sheets of paper like a printer.

Yin Ren asked in confusion, “Zhong Ge?”

“There’s quite a bit of information, and I need to calculate. You guys focus on your tasks,” Zhong Chengshuo said, lightly biting his knuckles, while more and more data flowed from his pen.

Yin Ren, perplexed, lifted Meiqiu in his arms. “Don’t you need my help?”

“The hints you’ve given are enough.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze was fixed on the papers.

“Now it’s my turn to work.”

……

“So, he’s been staying in his own little room all this time?” Zhong Chengfeng seemed on the verge of having a heart attack. “It’s been several days!”

Yin Ren sighed. “I understand.”

The Lonelies had a new task. They would venture out a little when Satisfaction struck, bringing back some scraps of Satisfaction’s flesh. Out of caution, Yin Ren no longer gnawed on Love’s elbow. Instead, he hunted small Elementals and exchanged them with the Lonelies.

With the power of Satisfaction’s flesh, his wounds healed quickly.

But while Meiqiu went from standing to walking, from walking to running, and even learned to go out with Yin Ren to hunt small Elementals, Zhong Chengshuo still hadn’t emerged from his base.

Sometimes, Gao Mengyu’s cat would be caught to replay the “Meiqiu’s healing process”. Apart from that, there was no further communication.

Yin Ren had made a special visit once—this time it was Zhong Chengshuo who leaned against him while taking a nap, and when he woke up, he immediately did calculations with the paper in his arms. Yin Ren felt dizzy looking at those strange symbols, but Dr. Meiqiu was busy adapting to its new body and couldn’t help.

He didn’t know when these days would pass. Yin Ren chugged a bottle of “Satisfaction” like drinking beer, but even the originally delicious taste had become dull.

Who would have thought that just as his wounds were almost healed, Zhong Chengshuo would emerge from seclusion?

Yin Ren followed his usual routine and entered Zhong Chengshuo’s base, but he almost didn’t recognize it. Every corner was neatly piled with calculation papers, forming upright pillars that had a particularly calming and ascetic effect.

Zhong Chengshuo carried a shoulder bag and held a few sheets of calculation paper like treasures.

“Today, you’ll accompany me into a dream,” Zhong Chengshuo said, seeming to have forgotten how to speak, searching for his words.

Seeing Yin Ren’s subtly startled expression of “Who are you?”, Zhong Chengshuo clumsily added, “Into Gao Mengyu’s dream, with Meiqiu too.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“My job, properly.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s voice was as serious as ever.

He looked at Yin Ren’s face, stretched out his hand, and gently traced his eyebrows and eyes with his fingertips, then slid them along the corners of Yin Ren’s eyes to his cheeks. Zhong Chengshuo’s movements were gentle and satisfied, as if he had accomplished some great mission.

“No matter how others classify us, you are still you… and I am still me. This is ‘my’ way of doing things.”

It had been nearly half a month without any news from the other side, and Fu Xingchuan was on the verge of giving up.

Recently, he would spend some time in Gao Mengyu’s dreams every night. Gao Mengyu didn’t mind; she would cuddle her cat and read a book. However, Fu Xingchuan felt it was inappropriate to keep entering the dreams of a young woman every day.

He had intended to call Ge Tingting to take over, but lately, Ge Tingting always applied to go out and seemed to have vanished into thin air. Fu Xingchuan vowed that if he couldn’t wait for the person from the Other Side today, he… he would have to continue waiting.

After all, he couldn’t always trouble Gao Mengyu, disturbing her sleep.

Today, Fu Xingchuan went to patrol Gao Mengyu’s dream as usual. However, as soon as he entered, he saw something that clearly shouldn’t be there—

A fourteen-eyed black cat was perched on Gao Mengyu’s knee. Gao Mengyu leaned against the Lonely cat, and there was a monster lying on her lap. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

The girl had earplugs in her ears. Fu Xingchuan shifted his gaze and, as expected, saw Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren sitting on the sofa.

However, the atmosphere between the two was a bit strange.

Yin Ren’s face showed faint confusion and anticipation, while Zhong Chengshuo’s expression was solemn, as if about to make some important announcement.

Fu Xingchuan took a colorful cushion and sat on the ground. “What’s going on? …That cat-like thing is Meiqiu?”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t directly answer his question.

“Meiqiu and I have made a new discovery that needs to be announced,” Zhong Chengshuo said, sitting upright. “I have preliminarily confirmed my conclusions, and all the relevant people are here.”

Fu Xingchuan: “…” Zhong Chengshuo’s demeanor made it seem like he was reporting on his work. The fact that this person was a genuine ancient Primordial Elemental gave Fu Xingchuan a strange sense of unreality.

Fu Xingchuan: “…Go on.”

“Phenomenon A-A3, Evil Spirit; Phenomenon A-A2, Divine Descent; Phenomenon A-A1, the Other Side… The phenomenon I’m reporting surpasses the three, so the numbering should be sufficient.”

Meiqiu emitted a purring sound on Gao Mengyu’s lap, and Fu Xingchuan’s playful expression disappeared from his face.

“Minister Fu, have you ever considered a corruption stronger than ‘Evil Force’? One that is a thousand times stronger.”

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at Yin Ren, who still seemed puzzled. His tone was calm and clear. “Elementals can only exist on the Other Side. If they were to directly descend into the human world, their flesh and blood would crumble, corrupting into Evil Force. Evil Force is also unstable and rapidly decomposes into evil qi.”

“All of this is known, and I have taught you,” Fu Xingchuan said solemnly.

“Evil Force needs to stably exist in the human world by attaching itself to a body—whether it be a living creature’s body or an evil being’s body. Through fusion, new ‘phenomena’ will be born, such as individuals with special abilities or evil spirits.”

“Elemental flesh and blood also need a body for stable existence.”

Zhong Chengshuo tightened his grip on his hands.

“Individuals like Mr. Qiu can only exert their power in the interstitial space, similar to that of a puppeteer. What I want to talk about is a deeper fusion… like Meiqiu, like me, and like Yin Ren.”

Fu Xingchuan fell into silence.

“This phenomenon is extremely rare. If it weren’t for the Divine Descent from a thousand years ago, the human world wouldn’t have encountered such fresh Elemental flesh and blood. This kind of phenomenon shouldn’t exist.”

“The conditions for this phenomenon are also extremely demanding. During fusion, it requires a balance between the power of the Primordial Elemental flesh and the power of the body. If the balance is disrupted…”

Zhong Chengshuo placed his hand on the back of Yin Ren’s hand, applying slight pressure with his five fingers.

“When Elemental flesh and blood lose control, the fused body will collapse. Subsequently, the Elemental flesh and blood will also corrupt into Evil Force, giving rise to powerful evil beings.”

A situation like this almost occurred in the Archive.

It wasn’t the birth of an Evil Spirit but rather Yin Ren, as a special phenomenon in the process of fusion, gradually “dying”.

Fu Xingchuan rubbed his chin with a blank expression. “Continue.”

“Suppose the fusion is successful. The abilities of this ‘special phenomenon’ wouldn’t be limited by the rules of the Other Side or the human world. In theory, with systematic training, they would be able to freely traverse both realms, with individual abilities starting at least on par with an Evil Spirit.”

“The Evil Spirit power version has become the Elemental flesh and blood version…” Fu Xingchuan tugged at his hair in frustration.

Inherent in the power of the Charons, with the starting point of Evil Force and an unknown upper limit, coupled with their intellect. It sounded like his most chaotic nightmare, and he believed that those on the Other Side wouldn’t like it either.

Due to the existence of the gaps, Evil Force and corruption by Evil Force still fall within the realm of nature. However, the concept proposed by Zhong Chengshuo could be considered a hybrid of both realms, a terrifying “phenomenon” that went against the laws.

“Oh fuck, wait a minute, are you now mentioning that ‘angel’s arms’ thing—?!” Fu Xingchuan suddenly looked up.

If it was just the discovery of a new species, Zhong Chengshuo could have reported it afterwards. There was no need to urgently inform Shian.

“Minister Fu, a sufficient corrupted environment and widespread awareness are essential factors for the birth of evil beings.”

Zhong Chengshuo curled the corners of his mouth.

“Love knows of my existence. Clearly, it is not satisfied with fusing with ordinary humans like me… What it wants is a more formidable body. Whether that body is an evil being or a living creature, I don’t think it cares.”

Fu Xingchuan chuckled bitterly. “Going for a custom-made option?”

Spreading corruption throughout the human world, solidifying its presence in everyone’s minds—this is to create a powerful evil. It’s better to say it’s forging a divine body for itself. But when it came to “creation”, the process was almost like…

The expression on Minister Fu’s face suddenly turned unpleasant.

Yin Ren clearly also thought of the same thing. He looked slowly at Zhong Chengshuo, and a chill ran down his spine.

“The Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi, the strongest individual ever to exist in the metaphysical world. The recent ‘Great Celestial Master Replica’ case in Gengsheng Town is highly likely to have been influenced by Love. Its initial goal may have been to create a powerful avatar for itself. Upon discovering my successful case, it may have been inspired… This is my personal speculation.”

Zhong Chengshuo quietly stated.

“That concludes my research report.”

Fu Xingchuan was speechless.

What would happen if Love succeeded?

Human power was limited to controlling Evil Force. Mr. Qiu and Mr. Le relied solely on imperfectly fused puppets to fight, and that already left Shian powerless to fight back. Now that the concept of the angel’s arms was everywhere, if Love were to obtain a strong enough body…

Whether in the human world or the Other Side, even “Satisfaction” that still existed on the Other Side would be firmly held in its grasp. The birth of Elementals would be controlled and manipulated by it. On the other hand, it would become an absolute power in the human world, capable of plunging the world into endless madness with its abilities.

Fu Xingchuan was reluctant to think further.

“Well, that’s the current situation.”

The cat with fourteen eyes jumped down to the ground, walked up to Fu Xingchuan with its tail upright, and all fourteen of its eyes blinked simultaneously.

Meiqiu made a cheerful sound, completely unconcerned about the fate of the human world.

“Because the plan was determined based on me, Zhong Chengshuo said he would leave the naming of such phenomena to me. I’ve also come up with a name, listen—”

It raised its head, and all fourteen eyes looked at Fu Xingchuan at the same time.

“Phenomenon A-A0, God.”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Well, shit…

Well, lots of concepts to break down for those who are confused.

First, how did they rescue Meiqiu? Using the Elemental flesh from the Lonely cat, Yin Ren was able to heal Meiqiu by transforming its body physically. This is similar to how Zhong Chengshuo was able to restore his own headless body (despite being a science post) and how Yin Ren was able to survive after being on the brink of dying while being attacked by the Gouluo army.

The Other Side is not bound by the cognition of the human world. Generally, metaphysicians can be healed through spells and magic, while science posts will need real life scientific medical treatment. The Other Side breaks this cognition and actually influences the human side in some way through Evil Force (Elemental flesh).

However, Elemental flesh is extremely powerful, and no human could survive such a powerful force… Except Yin Ren. During the Divine Descent of 1,000+ years ago (where Zhong Chengshuo first fell), Yin Ren’s mother was affected by the Evil Force from the Divine Descent, giving birth to a baby that is half corrupted by Evil Force. The logic also applies on the human side. Because Evil Force is so powerful, it’s unstable on the human side, so when an Elemental flesh enters the human realm, it starts breaking down, eventually becoming evil qi.

Not only that, Yin Ren was talented and a highly skilled cultivator specializing in sealing magic. The Evil Force prolonged his life (but also gave him infinite pain and suffering because humans aren’t meant to have such powers), but his sealing magic allows him to not be overwhelmed by the Evil Force, which if he were a normal human would have collapsed his body.

This was basically a vaccine given to Yin Ren early on. On the day that Yin Ren “died” in the Valley of Remains, rabbit Zhong Chengshuo gave him half of his power as the original “Fear”… which would have surely killed Yin Ren, let alone revived him. However, because he was plagued with Evil Force all his life and kept sealing it, he was able to maintain that balance between the power of Evil Force and his own body, thus allowing him to control half the power Zhong Chengshuo gave him.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t give Meiqiu his own flesh because it’s too powerful, so he used the Lonely cat flesh instead (less powerful) and combined with his ability to seal and control the flesh’s Evil Force, Meiqiu was saved.

Yin Ren is basically a hybrid of the Other Side and the human world, with the flesh from “Fear”, one of the most powerful Primordial Elementals of the Other Side.

Now, what Love is doing is influencing the human world with her angel’s arm and corrupting it with Evil Force. When more Evil Force are present, it gives rise to more evil beings and humans with Elemental powers (like the Charon, Resonance, and Infinite users). Love is trying to secure a body that is truly divine. She doesn’t want a makeshift body that acts more like a puppet like what Mr. Qiu or Mr. Le use (as they cannot handle her true body).

The experiment Sunken Society did in Gengsheng Town, where the mayor was becoming an Evil spirit, was under Love’s guidance, trying to forge a godly body for her. Basically… she’s trying to become God, controlling both the Other Side and the human world. With ultimate control of the human world, she can plunge it into madness, allowing stronger emotions, which means more food for the Elementals on the Other Side. At the same time, she could also control Satisfaction and stop it from endlessly giving birth to new Elementals, so food scarcity wouldn’t be a problem.

Hope that explains things.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 226: Nameless

“We came to investigate nearby.”

Zhong Chengshuo hugged the red-eyed black cat in his arms. Meiqiu was clawing and dancing at his feet. “Turn back! You look too strange!”

“No, I have to conceal my identity.”

Right now, Love believed that the cub was Zhong Chengshuo, which was the most convenient state. Yin Ren retracted his claws and blissfully squinted his eyes. Zhong Chengshuo held him tightly in his arms, and he felt a bit drowsy.

“I’ll go get something to eat… After you guys are done, I’ll make my move,” Yin Ren said.

Meiqiu needed the protection of the tranquility charms on Zhong Chengshuo’s body. It looked at Yin Ren with some trepidation, muttering curses as it continued to observe—

The group emitted no aura, and there was no movement on the surface of the giant hemisphere. Countless arms drooped softly on the surface, and only the deep inside of the sphere emitted a slow and heavy sound.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Meiqiu carefully pried open the arms with its paw and pressed its forehead against the surface of the hemisphere, investigating something unknown.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Zhong Chengshuo tightly embraced Yin Ren, focusing his attention on the arms themselves. He would gently push aside his mask, lean closer, and sniff those dead-like arms. After sniffing, Zhong Chengshuo would bury his nose in Yin Ren’s fur and take a couple of sniffs.

He would occasionally furrow his brows, squeeze the dead flesh of the arms, and pinch the tip of Yin Ren’s tail, making a serious comparison.

Thud. Thud, Thud.

Yin Ren was sprayed with Zhong Chengshuo’s warm breath while his gaze attentively scanned the surroundings. He decided to pick out the fattest arm. When Meiqiu and Zhong Chengshuo reached the safe zone, he would snatch that section of the arm and run.

“I can also get you a sample.” Yin Ren yawned. “You two hurry up. I’m hungry.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “’Satisfaction’ will come later, and we’ll leave when it does.”

After speaking, Zhong Chengshuo hesitated for a moment and added, “Why don’t you eat ‘Satisfaction’?”

“I considered it. But it’s walking around fine, and it would be impolite for me to just go and cut a piece off,” Yin Ren said. “It never did anything to offend me, so I’ll pass.”

Zhong Chengshuo stopped in his tracks. “You’ve considered it.”

“Yes, why not?” Yin Ren flicked his tail. “After all, it’s so big and looks quite delicious.”

Zhong Chengshuo pursed his lips. He took out a small bottle from his backpack. Inside the bottle was a viscous liquid, resembling melted brain matter. The liquid swirled faintly like honey in a glass bottle, emitting a subtle silver glow.

The flesh of “Satisfaction”.

Yin Ren wasn’t surprised. This small bottle, compared to the body of “Satisfaction”, was no more than dandruff to humans.

“This is the flesh that naturally sheds from it.” Zhong Chengshuo removed the stopper and gently placed it near the black cat’s nose. “Are you sure you can eat it?”

Zhong Chengshuo’s tone was a bit strange.

Yin Ren twitched his nose. The brain-like substance in the bottle emitted a faintly fishy smell that smelled like pheasant meat soaked in spring water, with a much stronger flavor than the bland and tasteless small Elementals. It would be even tastier if it were grilled with garlic on tin foil, but unfortunately, they didn’t have the means.

Yin Ren: “Hmm, it smells edible.”

Zhong Chengshuo pursed his lips. He opened the bottle and carefully dipped his finger into it, offering a small amount to Yin Ren. Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo with a puzzled expression, and his tail stopped swaying.

“Give it a taste,” Zhong Chengshuo said softly. “In theory, it’s safe, but if it doesn’t taste good, remember to spit it out.”

Yin Ren looked at the fingertip presented before him. The brain-like gelatinous substance didn’t spread like water. It shrank like mercury and trembled on Zhong Chengshuo’s fingertip.

It would be a waste to refuse food that was served right to him.

Yin Ren curled his tongue, and the bit of flesh instantly disappeared from Zhong Chengshuo’s fingertip. The delectable and oily texture burst on Yin Ren’s taste buds, akin to the finest foie gras paired with caviar, perfectly balanced in taste.

After eating Elemental salad for so long, tears almost welled up in Yin Ren’s eyes. The lower-level Elementals tasted like bland jelly or salad, and the flavors of Joy and Disgust were just average, similar to biting into a bland pancake. Yin Ren had no particular impression of them.

Fear… The taste of Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren had no desire to savor it. He had only gulped it down without a second thought before. If it weren’t for the need to heal, Yin Ren would have no appetite for Elementals.

“Satisfaction” was unexpectedly delicious. It truly brought a satisfying taste.

After just a few bites, his wound was a little warm and recovered a thin layer.

Zhong Chengshuo looked intently at Yin Ren, and even his breathing stopped. “How is it?”

“Can I have some more? It’s delicious. My injuries are healing quickly.” Yin Ren’s eyes were moist, and he sighed. “If we abandon morality, I would indulge myself on Satisfaction. Why do humans need morality?”

In the round eyes of the cat, Zhong Chengshuo’s gradually solemn expression was reflected.

He poured the remaining flesh into his palm. “Go ahead, eat.”

“What about the samples?”

“…Eat.” Zhong Chengshuo brought his hand closer.

With its spiky tongue, it swiftly licked Zhong Chengshuo’s palm, cleaning up every bit of residue. Yin Ren licked his lips and looked eagerly at the surrounding arms.

“I will call upon the Lonelies to collect more together.” Zhong Chengshuo petted his furry lover; his palm was slightly sweaty and strange. “But remember, never attack ‘Satisfaction’.”

“Why?”

“Because ‘Fear’ doesn’t consume ‘Satisfaction’. Isn’t that obvious?”

Dr. Cat looked at the two with a displeased expression in its cat eyes.

“Back then, ‘Fear’ and ‘Satisfaction’ didn’t have sentiency. Devouring is the instinct of ‘Fear’. If Satisfaction is so delicious, Zhong Chengshuo would fight with it every day.”

“Previously, Zhong Chengshuo also tried it. Satisfaction was beyond his diet and couldn’t even help him heal his wounds. The Other Side maintains ecological stability not through a sense of morality.”

Yin Ren: “…”

Yin Ren had long known that he wasn’t a normal “Fear”. However, with only Zhong Chengshuo as a reference in the world, he was unsure how abnormal he truly was.

“I understand. If I attack Satisfaction, it will only make Love more vigilant.” Yin Ren sighed. “Don’t worry, I never planned to make a big fuss about it. But for you two—instead of my own matters, it’s better to first investigate ‘Love’ thoroughly.”

“Mm.”

The arms of “Love”, the arms of Yin Ren’s “Evil Spirit” form, waved again in front of Zhong Chengshuo.

Until they obtained definite results, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t want to make irresponsible guesses. He touched Yin Ren’s ears and remained silent.

Even when transformed into a cat, Yin Ren’s ears still bore small, delicate wounds. Zhong Chengshuo lowered his head and gently bit one of the black cat’s ear tips.

Yin Ren: “?”

“It’s nothing,” Zhong Chengshuo mumbled, throwing the empty bottle that Yin Ren had finished into his bag.

“I remember the values roughly. Let’s go,” Dr. Cat said.

According to the agreement, today was the day Zhong Chengshuo helped collect data on “Love” for him. Next, it would assist Zhong Chengshuo in analyzing Yin Ren’s data. Meiqiu licked its paw and quickly arranged the plans in its mind.

They timed it perfectly. The moment Dr. Cat finished washing its face in place, Satisfaction approached from a distance. It remained beautiful, as magnificent as the boundary between day and night, gently washing over everything on the Other Side.

It quickly reached the edge of the white network.

Dr. Cat raised its tail high, preparing to enter Satisfaction as usual and hitch a ride to leave. Zhong Chengshuo released Yin Ren and casually stroked the warm back of the cat.

Just as Yin Ren was about to rub against his lover for warmth, he suddenly felt that something was wrong—

Thump, thump, thump.

The vibrations within the hemisphere under its paws suddenly increased several times.

Thump, thump, thump.

Without Zhong Chengshuo’s protection, countless arms around Meiqiu suddenly awakened. They shot towards the cat like bullets, and one arm exerted great force, instantly piercing through Meiqiu’s abdomen.

Everything happened in an instant.

Just as the small body of the cat was about to be crushed, Yin Ren swiftly rushed forward and bit the back of Meiqiu’s neck. Ignoring the hunting arms, he headed straight towards Zhong Chengshuo.

Zhong Chengshuo quickly snapped back to reality, struggling to stabilize his body. It was as if they were in a malfunctioning washing machine inside Satisfaction; everything was spinning madly. Zhong Chengshuo held onto both cats, crouching in the depths of the unfathomable Satisfaction. Meanwhile, Yin Ren formed a layer of red veil around him, acting as a buffer against the other Elementals within Satisfaction. They collided and bumped alongside the other Elementals, providing some cushioning effect.

The abnormality within Satisfaction finally subsided after a full two minutes. By now, it had taken everyone far away from the white network. Yin Ren didn’t even bother to look at the surroundings. Just as he regained his balance, he used a flesh and blood spell to return to their base.

“Hey, why so early today?”

Fu Tianyi curiously raised his head, but his smile instantly vanished when he saw Meiqiu in Yin Ren’s arms.

“Qiu—?!”

Dr. Cat lay in Yin Ren’s arms, barely alive. Most of its soft abdomen was missing, leaving only a black-red cross-section and scattered organs. In the outside world, it would have surely perished long ago. But on the Other Side, it walked towards death at a slower pace.

Yin Ren didn’t have time to pay attention to Fu Tianyi. He gently placed Meiqiu on the ground. “Meng Huai!”

“The situation isn’t ideal.” Meng Huai’s expression shifted slightly. “The injuries and lesions aren’t severe. Its internal organs are completely missing, which is a fatal wound. Delaying treatment will only make it suffer, especially considering it’s a science post…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but the underlying message was clear to everyone.

Fu Tianyi didn’t care about the minced meat on his hands. He stumbled and rushed to Meiqiu’s side. Just a few months ago, he lost his partner, and now, he was about to lose his rear command.

“What happened?” Fu Tianyi’s eyes reddened as he looked up and stared at Yin Ren in a daze. “Didn’t it team up with Zhong Chengshuo for the mission? Didn’t it come back with you? Both of you were there; you were both there…”

Yin Ren squatted beside the black cat, expressionless. The Lonely cats crowded closer but dared not get too close, trembling as they watched.

The black cat lay limply on the ground, twitching its tail and limbs. Its bloodied wound beneath it grew larger.

Ignoring the others, Yin Ren spoke suddenly.

“Meng Huai, make some room. I’m going to treat it.”

Meng Huai remained silent, sighing and stepping back a bit to cooperate. Zhong Chengshuo, on the other hand, stood still. He alternated between looking at Yin Ren and Meiqiu lying on the ground and furrowing his eyebrows tightly.

In his judgment, Meiqiu couldn’t be saved.

But in his judgment, Yin Ren would never give up.

Sure enough, Yin Ren, regardless of exposing his identity, let his crimson robe flutter and immediately began casting a flesh and blood spell for self-healing—

The version of Elemental healing magic was ineffective.

The black cat struggled to breathe. Its tail and limbs were twitching uncontrollably, and the pool of blood beneath it grew larger.

Yin Ren still refused to give up. He began reciting various healing techniques accumulated over thousands of years. His hands were stained with blood and flesh as he quickly adjusted and formed intricate hand seals. Gentle waves of energy, like drizzling rain, created continuous ripples in the room.

The young offspring of the Lonely cats used their soft paws to play with those ripples, only to be pressed down by the older Lonelies.

Meng Huai’s gaze gradually shifted towards Yin Ren. Her admiration turned into surprise, which then transformed into astonishment. She had only known that Yin Ren had an inexplicable connection with the Elementals, but after he saved everyone’s lives, Meng Huai decided to turn a blind eye to it.

What kind of situation was this?

It was definitely not the level of evil creatures or Primordial Elementals. If the target of his treatment were a cultivator, these spells would be enough to revive the dead and return flesh and bones. Many of them were difficult and ancient, and Meng Huai found it challenging to even identify them.

Unfortunately, his patient was a cat who had no regard for humans or the divine.

…So it was still futile.

Hope in Fu Tianyi’s eyes was completely extinguished. He leaned against the wall, clenching his fists tighter and tighter.

Yin Ren pursed his lips and paused for a moment. “Zhong Chengshuo.”

“I’m here.”

“Take us to your imaginary base. Bring Fu Tianyi, Meng Huai, and Gao Mengyu’s cat as well.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s eyebrows twitched, and he glanced at Fu Tianyi without saying a word. He took off his glasses, closed his eyes, and before everyone could react, five “people” suddenly disappeared from the room.

When Meiqiu was placed on the table in the basement, it was already on the verge of death.

The pain in its abdomen was too intense. Over the course of this long time, the intense pain had turned into a cold numbness.

Dr. Cat lay on the cold tabletop and couldn’t help but recall the past. If it hadn’t accidentally come into contact with a source of corruption several years ago, it might be wandering on some road right now. It had also witnessed stray cats being run over on the street before.

That appearance probably wasn’t much different from its current state.

Dying all alone, being observed by outsiders.

Death on the Other Side was truly prolonged, akin to the human execution method of Lingchi. If it weren’t for constantly thinking about its data, Meiqiu would have wanted to take a bite at Yin Ren, asking him to put an end to its suffering.

Even the treatment location had to be specially changed. What was the point?

“Qiqi, remember the scenes before you. I’ll need complete focus for what comes next.” It heard Yin Ren’s voice.

“Meow.” Gao Mengyu’s cat quickly responded.

“There’s one method we haven’t tried! Zhong Chengshuo, you’ve used that method before—you once infused power into my body and into your own flesh. This kind of physical transformation isn’t bound by cognition. Teach me.”

Ridiculous! Meiqiu’s mind suddenly generated several small papers filled with ideas.

Fresh Elemental flesh was far more powerful than that of evil spirits. This undoubtedly meant death for the cat.

“You’d better try a little first,” Zhong Chengshuo said without refuting. “Its body is too weak, and this aspect of research is still blank. Come, touch its wound first…”

The next moment, a surge of power flowed into Meiqiu’s body.

Pain!

The blood in its veins felt like it had been replaced with strong acid. Not to mention fusion, Meiqiu’s agony instantly multiplied by a thousandfold. It screamed and writhed on the tabletop, retching uncontrollably and convulsing as if it had just been electrocuted. In the midst of the violent thrashing, its abdominal wound split even wider, and fragments of its internal organs scattered all over the table.

“…Stop tormenting it!” Fu Tianyi’s muffled and indistinct voice drilled into its ears. “I know you mean well, but Meiqiu—”

“Meiqiu, I know you can still hear me.” Yin Ren quickly retracted the Evil Force. His voice came extremely close. “If you don’t want to give up, meow once. If you want to give up, meow twice.”

‘It’s so painful,’ Meiqiu thought.

But it was already halfway through its research project…

“Meow.” It let out a soft whimper.

“Magic techniques are completely ineffective. We can only resort to physical transformation,” Yin Ren murmured seriously. “Back then, I survived, and Zhong Chengshuo’s body survived. There must be…”

“Power difference,” Zhong Chengshuo suddenly interjected.

“What?”

“When I merged with the baby, I consciously suppressed my power, so the physical body didn’t collapse.” Zhong Chengshuo’s voice carried his usual calmness. “But I couldn’t control the power I gave you back then. How did you deal with it?”

Then, Zhong Chengshuo added in a low voice, “I didn’t mean to harm you back then.”

Yin Ren: “When was that… Hmm, I used my own power to suppress it with all my might.”

At the end of his sentence, Yin Ren’s voice abruptly stopped, as if he realized something.

Meiqiu’s ears suddenly perked up.

It remembered Zhong Chengshuo had split his power as the old Fear, which happened to be half of its own… It seemed that half of that power was suppressed by Yin Ren’s own power, which prevented it from killing Yin Ren on the spot.

It’s over. It didn’t have the same power as the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi back then.

“Power difference. Yes, power difference.” Yin Ren’s tone, however, became joyous. He covered Meiqiu’s wound with his hand. “Meiqiu’s body is weak, and the power of Fear’s flesh is too strong for it… Qiqi, come here.”

“You give me a piece of flesh, and I’ll treat you. I’ll also give you ten times the food.”

“Meow!” Gao Mengyu’s cat was ecstatic.

Something else flowed into Meiqiu’s body.

It still hurt, but this time the pain seemed bearable. Under Yin Ren’s control, it became gentle and docile, slowly merging into its body in a submissive manner. Whether it was intentional on Yin Ren’s part or not, the whole process was excruciatingly slow.

After the pain subsided, a strange and lingering soreness followed.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Meiqiu suddenly felt dizzy, and its body felt incredibly strange. The numb-like, intense pain disappeared, replaced by a strange sense of discord.

It finally lost consciousness.

……

“…Meiqiu, Meiqiu.”

Yin Ren’s voice sounded exhausted.

“Dr. Meiqiu, can you hear me?”

“Meow…” Meiqiu managed to squeeze out a cracked sound.

It extended a paw in a certain direction, catching a scent that was indescribable. There was food there, and it was thirsty and hungry, feeling dizzy.

Something was brought to its mouth, and Meiqiu hastily swallowed it.

Soft, slightly cold, and extremely delicious. It felt like drinking a large bowl of warm sheep’s milk; even the tip of its tail felt warm. Meiqiu regained strength, struggling to climb up from the table and barely seeing what was in front of it.

A small piece of flesh limb, with the owner of the limb standing not far away; its fourteen eyes looking over curiously.

“Meow!” Gao Mengyu’s cat friendly greeted.

Meiqiu shook its head. Since regaining consciousness, its vision was very distorted—like at this moment, when it didn’t tilt its head, it saw Fu Tianyi, Yin Ren, and Zhong Chengshuo. The first two had expressions of joy and subtlety, while the last one seemed contemplative.

It struggled to control its vision and saw its own reflection on the table.

In the blurry reflection, there was a black cat with fourteen eyes.

Meiqiu: “…”

It survived, but it was no longer a cat in the conventional sense. Its Infinite abilities were still present and even stronger, but the increase was limited.

Ignoring Fu Tianyi, who was weeping as he hugged it, Meiqiu analyzed the situation with all its strength—

Living creatures in the human world, having merged with the fresh flesh of Elementals, possessed Elemental characteristics but were not entirely Elementals. In a sense, this could be seen as an upgraded version of “corruption from Evil Force”.

This time, it was lucky. If Yin Ren hadn’t been there to help suppress it, it might not have been able to bear the corruption of the Lonely flesh. Regardless, from the perspective of the outcome, Yin Ren’s attempt was very successful.

Back then, if Yin Ren had also survived like this…

Meiqiu struggled to turn towards Zhong Chengshuo, who sensed its multiple gazes and nodded slowly.

Not long ago, it had just sorted and categorized Yin Ren’s racial doubts with Zhong Chengshuo.

Why didn’t Yin Ren undergo the birth through Satisfaction? His form, abilities, and habits differed greatly from “Fear”.

Why could Yin Ren walk in the human world without merging with any body?

…The Fear cub, a special individual. Perhaps their line of thinking was wrong from the beginning.

The Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi had been corrupted by Evil Force even in the womb, making him a walking living evil. Thousands of years ago, he had only relied on his own strength to withstand the more terrifying and powerful corruption of the Elemental flesh.

He had always been a human “severely corrupted by the Other Side”.

But just an individual.

If a mortal was heavily corrupted by an Evil Force, if they didn’t die, they might become “Charons”, “Resonators”, “Inifiniters”… If an evil being was corrupted by the power of an Evil Force, if they didn’t die, they might become an “Evil Spirit”.

So, what if a human—a living human—for some unknown reason, survived the corruption of the Evil Force, and then survived even more pure and powerful corruption from a Primordial Elemental flesh?

That person was forced to tame that power, make it their own, and continue to grow…

Such a special phenomenon, as of yet, had gone unnoticed by anyone, and therefore it didn’t have a name.

…It seemed that this time, they would be able to bring out a significant discovery.

Meiqiu slowly curled up on the table, wearily closing its eyes.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

End of the arc. Summary below. There’s just one more arc left.

With Joy taken care of, Yin Ren had proven himself to Qi Xin. Qi Xin decided to help Yin Ren and, working together with Shian, open up a passage to the Other Side so they could rescue the missing people.

However, the premise was that Yin Ren would become the new Fear and restore order back to the Other Side, which now no longer has a life or death cycle.

With a passage secured, Unit 9, along with Meiqiu and Fu Tianyi, transverse to the Other Side. While Yin Ren trained and adapted to the Other Side, not wanting to be left behind and be protected, Zhong Chengshuo developed his own methods.

Since he was the original Fear, using his bones and essence, he created a Karma Lantern that imbued the power of the old Fear. Meanwhile, while training to adapt and become the new Fear, Yin Ren stumbled upon Gao Mengyu’s cat that had returned home. It belonged to the species of “Lonely” cats, and it led them to their base.

Apparently, the Elementals are waging war against the humans on the Other Side. It is then revealed that Meng Huai and Zhong Chengfeng, who disappeared 28 years ago, along with a Shian employee who disappeared two years ago through a gap, were able to survive on the Other Side with sentience. They attack Elementals in order to obtain their flesh and blood, as magic and weapons don’t work unless they are conjured up through one’s own mental abilities.

Having reunited with the missing people from 28 years ago, they developed a plan to rescue Li Xiaohe’s mother and the other people who had disappeared due to Sunken Society’s plans.

Meanwhile, on the human side, Xiang Jiang summoned a corpse centipede to terrorize Haigu in order to instill fear and superstition in the populace. This gives rise to Love’s “angel’s arm”, giving it influence over the population of Haigu.

Those people were being held captive in a base made by Love, surrounded by a cocoon. They are stored there in order to feed the Other Side while in a semi-comatose state, similar to what Bai Yongji did by merging humans and furniture together.

The rescue mission almost went perfectly until Hu Tao arrived. Under Love’s influence, Hu Tao believes her serial murderer husband is hiding on the Other Side and demands that Unit 9 find him. Ultimately, Yin Ren was able to convince her to let go, and, no longer having an obsession, Hu Tao dissipated, finally peacefully at rest.

As they escaped, Yin Ren was seriously injured, almost falling into Love’s trap. The missing people were rescued and transported out from the Other Side. With that, Yin Ren (to recover after being seriously wounded during the escape), Zhong Chengshuo (to study more about the Other Side), Meng Huai, Zhong Chengfeng, Fu Tianyi (not by choice), and Meiqiu remained on the Other Side in order to deal with Love.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 225: Bad Idea

“Do you feel happy now that you know I’m still alive?” a female voice said cheerfully.

Li Nian opened his bloodshot eyes wide and looked up at the ceiling. He had fallen asleep on his office chair without realizing it. Upon waking up, his neck hurt as if it had been broken.

Li Nian reached out to support himself on the edge of the desk, but his stiff arm disobeyed him and accidentally knocked over a tall stack of files.

There was a clatter of chaos.

Fu Xingchuan tumbled off the sofa with a thud; there was still a trace of saliva at the corner of his mouth. The talisman in his hand was almost crushed. “Who is it?!”

“You always claim to dislike noisy people, but Xiao Fu is even more lively than me.” An arm wrapped around Li Nian’s shoulder, and “Meng Huai” chuckled.

The warmth felt so real.

Noticing Li Nian’s tense body, Fu Xingchuan quickly understood the reason. “Lao Li, you…”

“I’m fine,” Li Nian said stiffly, pouring himself a cup of strong tea.

The angel’s arm was considered a “good thing” for most dependents. Deceased loved ones, absent lovers, unattainable objects of obsession… It would take on their appearance and accompany them in the most genuine way.

From the current perspective, it didn’t do anything harmful to humanity. In many reports, it even helped many people who were in a slump by comforting them through their loved ones.

Under normal circumstances, this kind of news might not have much influence. But with the recent frequent anomalies, everyone was living in fear and unease. Under the vigorous promotion by the Coral Reef Company, this phenomenon had almost become the mascot of Haigu.

Thinking about this, Li Nian’s headache worsened.

“Are you angry?” “Meng Huai” leaned in carelessly. “You wanted to wake up at this time. I just helped you wake up earlier. Your phone has been vibrating for a while.”

Li Nian ignored the person behind him and organized the documents on the desk. The sky outside the window was faintly bright, with stars sparsely embedded in the clouds. The streets in the early morning were particularly quiet, and the lights in Haigu were sparse.

“You can continue sleeping; I’ll sort out the documents.” Li Nian adjusted the desk lamp a bit brighter.

Fu Xingchuan plopped back onto the sofa and sighed. “Be careful that we don’t suddenly both die here.”

“Meiqiu provided the latest investigation data about the angel’s arm. I have to categorize and distribute it to various laboratories for analysis as soon as possible.” Li Nian’s expression was no different from a dead person’s. “Every minute counts.”

Fu Xingchuan looked at Li Nian worriedly for a while, then scratched his head irritably after a long silence. “Forget it. I’ll go out and buy some breakfast. You can come downstairs later to eat.”

“It’s not yet bright outside, and there are no breakfast stalls at the entrance,” Li Nian said flatly.

“Who said there isn’t…” Fu Xingchuan stopped halfway, pressed his temples, and gave a bitter smile.

“Yeah, I forgot,” he murmured, “It’s gone. Recently gone.”

“Like I said, every minute counts.” Li Nian spread a document in front of him and began typing on the keyboard.

On his shoulders, those hands were always supporting him.

Detestable yet endearing.

He hated this damn illusion and despised himself for being unable to resist it. No matter how he repeated in his mind how sinister and malicious this thing was, at his most exhausted and dazed moments, the familiar warmth and weight on his shoulders would always bring him peace of mind.

And at that time, Li Nian would always involuntarily have this thought—

It gave him a sense of liberation.

A person could deceive others, but it was difficult to deceive their own brain.

Fortunately, this thing hadn’t invaded deeply. It could only generate consciousness disturbances in the brain, but it couldn’t leak information. Li Nian took a few more sips of tea and opened the window, attempting to let the cold wind wake him up.

The Shian Tower was extremely tall, and the air was crisp and fresh. Li Nian took a deep breath, and white vapor emerged near his mouth and nose.

“Winter has arrived.” “Meng Huai” stood by his side as if she had never left. “Haven’t you noticed?”

Downstairs in the tower.

Ge Tingting stood frozen in place. The low temperature made her nose turn red.

After returning to Shian, she quickly resumed her daily routine of waking up early to study. Previously, she liked to buy a warm roujiamo to start her day. There was always an old man pushing a cart selling roujiamo near Shian, and they tasted great.

The warm white sesame bun was crispy on the outside, filled with perfectly seasoned fatty and lean meat and finely chopped marinated eggs, and finally drenched in meat sauce. One bite, and the delicious meat and egg mixed with the tender meat patty, which was slightly scalding. In autumn and winter, paired with a cup of hot soy milk, it kept her energized until noon.

But today, the old man selling roujiamo never showed up. There were only a few ruffians belching and casting malicious glances in her direction.

Ge Tingting’s expression remained unchanged, but she had already formed a hand seal.

Just as the leading man was about to approach, a rough voice suddenly sounded behind Ge Tingting.

“Little miss, the grandpa who sells roujiamo isn’t here.” Qin Lele was wearing running clothes and stopped beside Ge Tingting. “How about eating jianbing? There’s a jianbing shop at the intersection.”

“Qin Ge,” Ge Tingting smiled.

Qin Lele had a crew cut and a solid, muscular body. The ruffians only glanced at him before they left, cursing.

“Little miss, you were too strong just now. You might get punished.” Qin Lele let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat off his neck. He was sweating profusely, as if he had just been pulled out of hot water. “My master said I should become stronger and not abandon my martial arts training. Now I think that having a sharp mind might be important… I still have a long way to go.”

Ge Tingting replied seriously, “No, I still have a long way to go compared to everyone else.”

“Really? Unit 9 is so amazing.”

“Yes.” Ge Tingting nodded earnestly.

“In that case, I’ll have to urge Bin Ge. He’s been taking days off lately,” Qin Lele drooped his brows, “Even if I can’t become too powerful, our Unit 8 shouldn’t be too weak… Xiao Ge, your brain is sharper than mine. Can you teach me how to persuade him?”

Ge Tingting recalled for a moment. Lao Bin from Unit 8, Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from N University, had a higher degree than Zhong Chengshuo.

For someone like her, who barely completed compulsory education, that field was considered divine. But before Ge Tingting could refuse, Qin Lele started talking like pouring beans.

“Bin Ge hasn’t been in a good state recently. I’ve seen him lose several kilograms. He can’t even finish his meals in the cafeteria and has been drinking. I don’t think he’s been injured… Last time, we saw a monster together! But in the subsequent checks at Shian, they couldn’t find anything. I can’t figure it out.”

Qin Lele scratched his head vigorously.

“His brain is better than mine. It shouldn’t be like this.”

Ge Tingting: “He might have been scared and is in a particularly bad mood. Did he have something he liked before? You can mention it to him more.”

She tried her best. The sixteen- or seventeen-year-old Ge Tingting felt her forehead sweating.

Qin Lele looked as if he had found a treasure. “Oh, Bin Ge loved studying mold in the sewer the most! He even said he would publish it in some international journal. It’s very impressive. Yes, I’ll get him more mold…”

Ge Tingting: “…”

It sounded very impressive, but she didn’t understand any of it.

But was it really okay to give him mold? Ge Tingting had just decided to dissuade him, but Qin Lele had already run off.

Mold in the sewer…

Ge Tingting held onto the jianbing and instinctively looked towards the sewer.

In the gaps between the cement bricks, it was pitch black, occasionally brushed by withered leaves. Ge Tingting took a bite of the jianbing, walked along the sewer, and stepped on the crackling dried leaves.

One gap, two gaps, three gaps… Finger-thick gaps disappeared one by one behind her.

Until one of them turned white.

Ge Tingting instantly froze—beyond that gap, a pair of human eyes appeared, along with the murky gaze only seen in corpses.

In that moment of eye contact, those eyes curved, as if laughing.

At the same time, there was a chilling rustling sound from the sewer, accompanied by the squishy sound of flesh being squeezed. The sewer cover moved slightly, making continuous knocking sounds. The aura of an evil creature surged like a sudden downpour, chilling Ge Tingting to the core.

The corpse centipede.

It had come out again to shake people’s hearts, and this time it was particularly close to Shian. This thing seemed to see Ge Tingting as an ordinary girl. Its bloodshot eye was rolling around in the gap of the sewer, emitting a chilling aura that made one’s whole body shudder.

Ge Tingting stopped chewing and was expressionless.

Yin Ren’s aura was much stronger than this thing. She didn’t know how many Primordial Elementals she had chopped up. Her heart was calm, like still water.

Judging from the difference in power, she couldn’t defeat it. Moreover, this thing only frightened people and didn’t attack. It would run away when it sensed danger, and there wouldn’t be enough time to find someone to capture it. But to let it go like this…

Ge Tingting looked left and right, picked up a disposable chopstick from the roadside, and fiercely stabbed it into an eye.

In an instant, the sewer cover stopped moving, and that eye quickly disappeared into the darkness. Ge Tingting threw away the chopsticks with an expressionless face and took another bite of her jianbing—within that short moment, her jianbing had become slightly cold.

This thing may be strong, but it only wanted to cause chaos, and its behavior was nothing more than that.

Unfortunately, the city sewer was like a maze, making it hard to catch… The sewer…

Ge Tingting bit into the jianbing, and her eyes suddenly lit up. She turned her head and dashed in the direction where Qin Lele had disappeared.

“Qin Ge, wait!” She turned the AI to maximum volume. “I also want to see Bin Ge—wait for me—”

She suddenly had a straightforward idea of luring the snake out of its hole.

“To deal with that monster—only your Unit 8 can do it—”

……

The Other Side.

Ever since Fu Tianyi, this unlucky guy, was left behind, he had turned into a sponge of knowledge, being twisted and turned by Meng Huai every day, striving to improve more of his techniques on the Other Side.

Sometimes, Fu Tianyi would steal glances at the other two big shots from the corner of his eye.

Yin Ren seemed more like a giant loner taken in by Meng Huai—going out every day to hunt, returning with a string of leftover small Elementals, regardless of wind or rain. He didn’t confide in Meng Huai, and she didn’t ask much either.

Zhong Chengshuo, on the other hand, had become elusive. Sometimes he would lock himself in a small room, and occasionally he would go out, but nobody knew where he went. Zhong Chengfeng had asked a few times, and the answer was always “researching cases”. Since he occasionally took Meiqiu with him when going out, everyone could barely feel at ease.

However, when Zhong Chengshuo was around, there would always be two figures, one white and one red, cuddling in a corner.

Like indicator lights, sometimes both the red and white were present, sometimes only the red, and sometimes there was nothing at all—

When he was full from eating outside, the red-robed Great Celestial Master would find a corner to rest his eyes. If Zhong Chengshuo was there, he would rest his head on his lover’s thigh and curl up. If Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t there, Yin Ren wouldn’t specially lean against anything and would simply rest in the corner.

Regardless of whether the other three people were talking loudly or softly, no matter how they chattered and communicated, the loner would sleep soundly.

Perhaps a thousand years ago, the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi lived like this. Resting among the noisy and chaotic abnormalities, waking up to continue hunting, living like a wild beast.

But Yin Ren’s wounds healed very slowly.

Over these days, his body, which was originally one-third damaged, had become one-quarter. Many wounds were still oozing blood, making it unbearable to look closely.

Perhaps Zhong Chengshuo was still looking for a suitable treatment method, Fu Tianyi thought as he made meat paste. Perhaps there were some special cyber herbs on the Other Side that needed the ancient Fear to explore.

Unfortunately, before he could imagine for a few minutes, he was hit on the head—his Elemental meat paste exploded into a mess in his hands.

“I’m sorry!” Fu Tianyi covered his head, tears welling up in his eyes.

He instinctively looked towards the corner—right now, it was empty.

……

Yin Ren also left the stronghold on time today.

He had already grown accustomed to flying on the other side, feeling a strange sense of exhilaration. If it weren’t for the pain in his wounds all over his body, he could have felt even more at ease.

Not knowing if she was afraid of being eaten herself, Qi Xin threw him a remark of “Let’s meet after you recover” and disappeared without a trace. Yin Ren had been out catching small Elementals to eat these past few days, but no matter how much he ate, something just didn’t feel right.

It was like a person who hadn’t eaten for three days and three nights frantically eating a low-fat salad, as if they were eating a lot, yet it felt as if they hadn’t eaten anything at all.

The powerful Primordial Elementals weren’t easy to mess with, so he needed to be more cunning—under the organization of Love, they patrolled around the white network, making a small move that affected the whole. Before regaining his strength, Yin Ren didn’t want them to sense his movements.

But when it came to finding food, Yin Ren was no worse than any other existing creature.

Today, he quietly approached the vicinity of the white network. Compared to when they were rescuing people, there were more Elementals near the white network now. Yin Ren held his breath and carefully maneuvered around those Elementals.

He had only one target, and that was the enormous hemisphere at the center of the white network.

If he was going to eat, he would eat the best. The most dangerous place was also the most reasonable cafeteria.

With the experience from last time, Yin Ren was able to hide more smoothly this time. He used the shadows of one cocoon after another to carefully maneuver around the white silk threads and crawled towards the central giant hemisphere. The surface of the hemisphere still had a large number of white arms remaining. From this angle, it looked somewhat like hand-pulled noodles.

This thing contained the power of Love, so the nutrients were definitely not lacking.

He still needed to conceal his identity. Yin Ren transformed himself into the appearance of a black cat that wouldn’t attract attention. He hooked his claws onto the nearest web, and the tip of his tail transformed into winged sickles as he swiftly flew towards the thickest arm.

“Meow meow!!!” Before the blade reached, there was a sharp meow from within the cluster of arms.

Yin Ren was startled, causing his claws to nearly miss the pivot point. He curled up his body and nervously looked toward that white area.

Meiqiu was standing right below the arm from earlier with its fur standing on end and its round eyes filled with fear.

An illusion?

Meiqiu was so close that there was no way he wouldn’t sense its presence! Just as Yin Ren was about to slip away, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck—

The one who made the move was a young man dressed in red with a wooden mask on his face. He was covered in purification charms and had a familiar satchel by his side. This person had extremely fast hand movements, grabbing hold of Yin Ren with one hand and holding a notebook and pen with the other.

Although he was dressed like Fu Tianyi, Yin Ren recognized this person’s characteristic movements, even if he turned to ashes.

“Zhong Chengshuo, let go!”

Yin Ren awkwardly clung to the white network.

“What are you guys doing here?!”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 224: Arms

Upon returning to the human world, the individuals were immediately covered with blankets by the staff of Shian. Without the enhancements from the Other Side, everyone who returned was naked.

Once separated from the environment of the Other Side, their bodies suddenly felt heavy. It was as if waking up from a drunken stupor, surrounded by a subtle dullness and a sense of unreality. Lu Xiaohe almost fell to the ground, but she managed to support her mother and stand firmly on her feet.

The next step was a continuous process from the hospital to the conference room. Lu Xiaohe sadly realized that she had become very accustomed to this route.

The surviving missing people, the survivors from the Other Side, and many more awaiting rescue were all repeatedly questioned. After leaving the Other Side, Lu Xiaohe spent almost three days in the conference room.

However, this time, she was no longer as anxious and restless as before.

Her mother lay peacefully in the hospital, with all her vital signs improving. Lu Xiaohe had never felt so relaxed; even if the world was crumbling before her, it couldn’t destroy her good mood.

……

That being said, the world wasn’t much different from destruction.

“The mild sources of corruption from Sunken Society have rapidly spread to other cities, and a monster with the ‘Resonance’ abilities has appeared in Haigu. The monster, suspected to be guided by Xiang Jiang, is active through the underground system and has yet to be captured by Shian.”

In the underground conference room, Li Nian calmly explained the current situation.

In front of him, the screen displayed various reports and discussions. The cunning corpse centipede never engaged in direct confrontation with Shian personnel. It would only occasionally show up in the middle of the night and quickly escape, letting everyone know that there were still “gods and ghosts” in this world.

With frequent gruesome murders and people’s unstable mental state, combined with the reshuffling of the worldview involving “monsters” and “angel’s arms”, the Shian personnel weren’t necessarily faring any better than those on the Other Side.

Lu Xiaohe couldn’t help but glance at Li Nian a few more times. When they were rescuing the survivors, Li Nian maintained a serious expression until the end. After confirming that he hadn’t missed anyone, he silently left.

When Xiao Zheng returned, he naturally mentioned Meng Huai and Zhong Chengfeng’s situation. Upon hearing that Meng Huai wanted to stay behind, Li Nian only paused his pen for a moment, not lifting his head. No one knew what he was thinking.

In comparison, Fu Xingchuan was much more straightforward. Upon realizing that Fu Tianyi hadn’t come out, he had a worried smile on his face.

“Now the whole country knows about the ‘angel’s arms’. The good news is that besides ‘knowing that it represents protection’, the situation hasn’t further deteriorated. Those who tried to establish a cult were all arrested. The bad news is that this information is still spreading, and we still don’t know what Love’s purpose is.”

Fu Xingchuan’s dark circles returned, even heavier than before.

“It doesn’t seem too serious?” Back in the human world, Ge Tingting could only rely on her phone to voice her thoughts.

The monsters didn’t destroy cities like in disaster movies, and the corruption sources remained at their initial levels, but there was now a mischievous corpse centipede causing trouble.

Li Nian glanced at Ge Tingting. “It’s precisely because it doesn’t appear serious that it is serious. Why do you think Shian is blocking the information and keeping the metaphysical practitioners hidden underground?”

Ge Tingting shook her head honestly.

“A major disaster can be resolved quickly. But with this continuous series of events, it becomes more difficult to clean up. The unstable environment inevitably affects people’s beliefs. Spreading information about gods and ghosts at this critical juncture will lead to a significant shift in people’s perceptions.”

“Society has its own order, and the law is also evolving, all based on the premise that ‘the majority of people do not believe’. The existing order and laws cannot withstand such abrupt changes… If things continue like this, societal chaos will only spiral out of control.”

Huang Jin silently pondered the possibility of evacuation. Since Ding Lizi’s eyes had also recovered, maybe he could take her to a deserted island for a year or so after he received his prize money.

Fu Xingchuan: “Our top priority now is to rescue those who are still trapped on the Other Side. Regarding this matter, I have a few proposals…”

While Fu Xingchuan spoke, Lu Xiaohe, unusually, became absent-minded.

Assisting Yin Ren with the help of Shian might be too ambitious. This was a battle at the level of a Primordial Elemental. In the past, she would probably have blindly followed the leader—helpless situations were just helpless situations.

But she once believed that her mother’s terminal illness was beyond human power.

Shian had its own arrangements, but she was still the rear commander of Unit 9. Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were still her front-line team. The current her sat at the table, on equal footing with Shian’s two top human fighters.

Could she be even more “outrageous”?

“Our top priority should be addressing the root of the problem.” Lu Xiaohe deliberated before speaking up.

Fu Xingchuan was in the middle of speaking, but he looked at this usually obedient employee with a hint of surprise. Nevertheless, he interrupted his speech and nodded at Lu Xiaohe.

Lu Xiaohe interlocked her fingers and furrowed her brows slightly. “Addressing the corruption, tracking the monster, and rescuing the missing people—Shian has always been in a passive response. Sunken Society is using this method to buy time because it knows that compared to everything on the Other Side, Shian will prioritize the ‘human world’. If we don’t come up with an alternative, we will continue to be passive.”

“Wait.” Huang Jin hurriedly spoke up. “You don’t mean to have Shian support the Other Side, do you? Yes, Meng Huai and the others have developed some spells, but it still requires a significant number of personnel to perfect them! If we withdraw the cultivators from outside now…”

Lu Xiaohe shook her head. “I am a science post, and I can only speak from the perspective of a science post. It appears that Shian does have a clear potential ally—one that won’t cause manpower pressure or attract attention.”

“At present, the science post is relatively relaxed, so I suggest that the available senior science posts and the laboratory support Zhong Chengshuo. He already has considerable knowledge of the Other Side, and being a former Primordial Elemental, his thinking is certainly broader than that of humans.”

Lu Xiaohe’s tone was very solemn.

“This is my judgment as the rear commander.”

Fu Xingchuan raised an eyebrow and stroked his stubbled chin. Li Nian lowered his eyes, adding another layer of shadow to his already troubled expression.

Only Comrade Huang Jin persistently challenged. “If Zhong Chengshuo is on the Other Side, will Qi Xin readily assist us in opening and closing the door?”

“We don’t need to have direct contact with him.” Lu Xiaohe turned her head. “We just need data exchange, and there will always be a way.”

“Are you sure he will assist the human world?”

Hearing this, Li Nian finally spoke quietly.

“Yin Ren is currently being trained by Qi Xin. The likelihood of Zhong Chengshuo, as a fellow Primordial Elemental, providing support is higher.”

Lu Xiaohe: “Uh…”

“Zhong Chengshuo isn’t a human. At this critical moment, asking him to turn around and study the human world may not be what he desires. Your proposal is good, but unfortunately, the reasoning is insufficient.”

“I…” Lu Xiaohe’s voice trailed off sadly.

Yes, Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t human. When they were together, she always seemed to forget that. To explain to Shian, she needed to find a way to present it as feasible…

Fu Xingchuan cleared his throat, preparing to continue explaining the rescue plan. Just then, his phone started vibrating like crazy.

Minister Fu answered with a troubled expression, but after a few sentences, his face gradually froze, and his eyes turned to Lu Xiaohe.

“Miss Gao, you dreamt of Zhong Chengshuo and a black cat? He was clinging to the window and said he wanted to talk to Shian?”

“Hold on, don’t go back to sleep… Wait!”

……

Zhong Chengshuo firmly clung to the window.

He held onto the windowsill with both hands, looking sincere, while Dr. Cat sat steadily on the windowsill—both of them looking towards Gao Mengyu inside the house.

Gao Mengyue had long grown accustomed to this dream. Since she discovered that it was the real Qiqi outside her door, she no longer feared the recurring dream. Over time, she even learned to pet the cat’s soft limbs in her dream while reviewing knowledge points for the postgraduate entrance examination.

But today, her dream had two unexpected visitors.

“I just called the people from Shian, and they will send someone soon.” After getting Qiqi’s affirmation, Gao Mengyu opened the window. Dr. Cat leaped into the room, surveying the small apartment.

“I see. It seems feasible to enter dreams in a physical sense.” It lay down on Gao Mengyu’s desk with its tail swaying from side to side. “Those ‘Lonely’ cats are quite useful.”

In recent days, the Lonely cats had been crawling all over the human stronghold—their fleshy limbs flailing in fear of the large number of corpses in the cold storage. Despite this, most of the Lonely cats didn’t dare go out due to the constant surveillance of the forces of Love.

Only Gao Mengyu’s cat took advantage of its physical strength and dived into “Satisfaction” every day, tirelessly warning Gao Mengyu.

At first, Dr. Meiqiu just hitched a ride and collected data on its own. Who would have thought that today, even this Old Fear had infiltrated its fleshy limbs and smuggled himself into “Satisfaction”.

Although she knew it was a dream, Gao Mengyu still poured a glass of water for Zhong Chengshuo and opened a can of meat for Meiqiu. Gao Mengyu’s cat, Qiqi, entered through the door and comfortably sprawled in the middle of the room.

“Where’s Yin Ren?” she politely asked.

Zhong Chengshuo: “He’s recuperating.” More accurately, he was scavenging for food and then running away.

Gao Mengyu had no knowledge of the situation on the Other Side. “Are you saying that you want to talk to Shian and everyone is fine?”

“Everyone is fine. I just have something I want to discuss with them,” Zhong Chengshuo said, pushing his glasses up. “You mentioned bringing someone. Who would that be?”

“It’s me.” Fu Xingchuan appeared in the center of the room.

This should have been a handsome entrance, but it was a pity Minster Fu stepped on a sprawled-out Lonely cat. Gao Mengyu’s cat let out a loud “meow” as several fleshy limbs fiercely struck Fu Xingchuan’s back.

Startled, Fu Xingchuan and the cat instantly engaged in a one-on-one battle inside the apartment.

Zhong Chengshuo patiently held his cup of water, waiting for the two to calm down. Dr. Cat, on the other hand, calmly began licking its paws, ignoring the man and Lonely cat that was wrestling.

“…So, what do you want with Shian?”

After about half a minute of struggling, Fu Xingchuan sat down on the ground, panting heavily.

“I want data,”

Zhong Chengshuo sincerely looked down at Fu Xingchuan and started to count on his fingers.

“All the research materials of the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi; the ghost fetus data recorded by Shian in the Archive regarding the Guo Laifu case; and the blood sample analysis data of Shian on me and Yin Ren, especially the latter—the more detailed, the better.”

Fu Xingchuan: “……” While he didn’t fully understand this science post, he could sense a hint of meaning.

Whether it was Shian, the Primordial Elementals, or Zhong Chengshuo himself, they all believed that Yin Ren was the cub of “Fear”. Why did Zhong Chengshuo suddenly request this data again at this critical juncture?

Back then, “Fear” split off its power to Yin Ren, giving birth to a brand new “Fear”. Later, Zhong Chengshuo, as the old Fear, merged with a human, and Yin Ren developed as the cub of Fear. Most of the process had also been observed in the memory world.

The subtle rejection between the two also corresponded to the characteristics of the Primordial Elementals that Meng Huai discovered on the Other Side.

Even if there were deviations, they could be attributed to individual differences. Fu Xingchuan pondered but couldn’t come up with any worthwhile insights.

“Why do you suddenly need all this?” Fu Xingchuan asked decisively. “If you want to study yourself and regain your powers, I can understand that.”

“When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call it a duck*.” Zhong Chengshuo tightened his grip on the cup in his hand. “This method may be effective, but it doesn’t apply to biology.”

*Quote from James Whitcomb Riley.

Zhong Chengshuo once had spoken one-on-one with Qi Xin about the peculiarities of Yin Ren. At that time, she had made it clear that she didn’t care who Yin Ren was and only wanted to solve the problems on the Other Side. However, in their previous encounters, although Qi Xin didn’t say much, she clearly showed fear and concern towards Yin Ren.

“Now Yin Ren is focused on gaining power, so there’s no time to worry about trivial details, but I cannot afford to overlook them.”

Zhong Chengshuo looked at his own hands.

What if Yin Ren was meant to be a bird that flew in the sky but now clumsily tried to imitate swimming? What if Yin Ren’s fatal weakness was different from “Fear”? What if Qi Xin had discovered something before him and betrayed them at the crucial moment, leading to a disastrous outcome?

“I used to think that as long as I provided strong support, I could help him. Now it seems that it’s far from enough…”

Even though he had retrieved the authority of “Fear” through the Karma Lantern, that hollow feeling of powerlessness hadn’t disappeared; it had become even more apparent.

Fu Xingchuan observed this ancient Primordial Elemental.

The sleeves of his white-lined robe were slightly long, with a few folds piled up near the cup. Zhong Chengshuo furrowed his brow, showing genuine distress.

The first time Fu Xingchuan saw Zhong Chengshuo, this person exuded an air of “ease and confidence” from head to toe. But now, he seemed somewhat helpless, resembling a young person in their thirties.

“Alright, I understand.” Fu Xingchuan snorted. “Shian will provide you with all the data you need, and we will arrange for people to come here to exchange information with you. If necessary, you can access the highest-level laboratories and researchers.”

“But I heard that Meiqiu has been researching the ‘angel’s arm’ recently. If needed, please assist him,” Fu Xingchuan added meaningfully.

“No problem.” This time, Zhong Chengshuo responded quickly.

“Lu Xiaohe just mentioned it recently, that we should support your possible research.” Fu Xingchuan smiled. “Your team seems to have good coordination.”

“Please thank her for me,” Zhong Chengshuo said, bowing his head sincerely.

With a helpful assistant acquired, Meiqiu’s tail curled up straight, and it contentedly started purring.

Fu Xingchuan nodded to the two of them and disappeared on the spot. Not far away, Gao Mengyu took off her earphones and closed the graduate entrance exam materials in her hand. “Have you finished discussing?”

“Almost. I just have one more question.”

The black cat jumped onto Zhong Chengshuo’s knee and looked at him with its round eyes.

“Even if you’re incredibly bored, you wouldn’t negotiate with Shian without any clues. Hey, do you have some kind of lead?”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his gaze, and the reflection of the black cat appeared in his eyes.

“It’s just an insignificant conjecture,” he said.

Indeed, it was an insignificant conjecture. Taking advantage of Yin Ren being away for treatment, Zhong Chengshuo locked himself in a solitary space of imagination, thoroughly chewing on every memory related to Yin Ren, hoping to find even the tiniest clue.

And he did find something.

It was just a subtle feeling.

A long time ago, in the Archive, he encountered the most beautiful monster in the world. Zhong Chengshuo remembered the mottled red veil, the sea-like black wings… and the hundreds of pale arms protruding beneath the veil.

It was their first day of interaction, and he had gently pressed his hand against that enormous palm.

And not long ago, while curled up amidst a sea of wings, a pale arm suddenly attacked, narrowly brushing past him.

Their auras were undeniably similar.

---

The author has something to say:

The final unveiling begins.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 223: Recess

The broken figure of Hu Tao disappeared in place, and the white arm that was dwelling on her back suddenly shattered.

Like a crumbled marble sculpture, it scattered into palm-sized pale flesh chunks, rolling all over the ground. A tremendous force erupted, severely disrupting the surroundings. Zhong Chengshuo could no longer concentrate his imagination due to the severe disturbance, and the camouflage around him collapsed in an instant.

“Run!” Yin Ren grabbed Zhong Chengshuo’s wrist.

The two took out their photos and, following the directions in the comments, sprinted towards the exit.

Yin Ren didn’t use any magic anymore; he relied solely on his physical abilities to dash through the clusters of white. Despite his astonishing athletic ability, Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t keep up with the evil that had been bounding through the mountains and forests for three hundred years. Eventually, Yin Ren practically had to drag him along.

“Why…” The atmosphere was off. Zhong Chengshuo managed to squeeze out the question amidst the jostling.

Yin Ren didn’t answer. He had sprinted ahead of Zhong Chengshuo, so Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t see his lover’s face.

Hu Tao was a fierce ghost. Although she had been a “neighbor” for some time, Zhong Chengshuo hadn’t really seen her much. He had only recently experienced emotions, so he didn’t have much deep attachment to Hu Tao.

She had left, and he would remember, but it was just a faint regret once the dust settled.

But Yin Ren was different from him. The small Yin Village from thousands of years ago could still make the Great Celestial Master wipe out tens of thousands of troops. Yin Ren had always been open about his emotions, and now that he had lost the familiar Hu Tao like this, he was definitely deeply concerned.

Moreover, since they started acting together, Yin Ren had never left him behind like this.

Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t ignore this abnormality.

“Why?” he persistently asked.

“She was exposed to too much Evil Force.” Yin Ren’s tone was eerily calm. “Even if Love immediately gave up on her, I couldn’t bring her back to her previous state. Allowing her to rest in peace early is the only way.”

The snowy landscape quickly retreated around the two, and in the blur, silence persisted for a few seconds.

Zhong Chengshuo let out an “oh”. “I know. That’s not what I’m asking.”

Yin Ren fell silent for a while. When he spoke again, his voice was somewhat hoarse. “As ‘King Yama’, you must have similar judgments. But when it comes to the decision to ‘save her’, I don’t want your opinion mixed in. I sent her away myself, and I will remember that.”

“Because you want to firmly blame yourself?” Zhong Chengshuo pondered with difficulty.

“I’ve never liked casually releasing fierce ghosts.” Yin Ren paused for a moment and answered rhetorically. “As long as they continue to exist, they will always find something.”

Zhong Chengshuo made a somewhat incomprehensible “mm” sound and didn’t ask any more questions. Yin Ren then accelerated his pace, swallowing the sourness in his throat.

Whether it was letting go of attachments and finding liberation or gradually fading away and being forgotten over a long period of time, fierce ghosts would eventually find one or two useless yet comfortable moments during their lengthy journey entangled by attachments.

Yin Ren liked these moments the most. They might be insignificant and meaningless, but they could turn “existence” into “life”.

Just like a thousand years ago, the candy specially heated at the doorstep of Yin Village and arranged into comical shapes by children.

In room 601, Building 4 of Ping’an Manor would no longer have anyone competing with him for the tablet to watch dramas, nor would anyone point out things and share random life experiences about his online shopping cart.

“…Zhong Ge.”

“Yeah?”

“The struggle with Love is now my ‘personal grudge’,” Yin Ren said. “Since it wants to find out our abilities, I’ll let it see clearly—under no circumstances should you bring out your Karma Lantern.”

“But—”

“Love is powerful, but its true form isn’t present. Otherwise, there would be no need to use Hu Tao to buy time,” Yin Ren said. “Since its true form isn’t here, I know what I need to do.”

In an instant, darkness covered the snowy world.

……

“You’re back? Where’s Yin Ren?” Lu Xiaohe looked surprised at Ge Tingting and Huang Jin.

“Huang Jin” smiled faintly. “I think they’ll be here soon. Love’s power just collapsed, so it must have suffered a setback.”

Hearing the tone, Lu Xiaohe immediately caught on. “Qi Xin.”

“Listen carefully.” With Huang Jin’s face, Qi Xin slightly raised her chin with a hint of arrogance. “You came to me for help, and I did what I needed to do. I won’t interfere in other matters. I’m just a projection here, with limited abilities. Even if you turn to Yin Ren… Huh?!”

Before she could finish speaking, everything in front of her turned into pure darkness. This time, it wasn’t the legion of cats submerging everyone, but a soft and warm mass of wings.

Yin Ren.

As they reached the exit zone at the center of the cocoon, the mass of wings suddenly appeared and swiftly expanded. It enveloped all living beings at the fastest speed, desperately trying to drill towards the exit. For some reason, Yin Ren didn’t use his transformed appearance; he still had that old appearance resembling the “cub of Fear”.

On the other side of the exit, Fu Tianyi was busy using his sword to break through the cocoon. The weak spot became the breakthrough point. The dark mass of wings burst out from within, directly stunning Fu Tianyi with a physical blow.

When Meng Huai and her companions saw a beam of darkness breaking through the cocoon, their expressions changed drastically. Unfortunately, there were wolves in front and tigers in the back. They were surrounded by countless Elementals. The darkness, accompanied by mist, instantly sealed them off completely.

Yin Ren used himself as armor to protect hundreds of humans within. Countless masses of wings rushed towards the surrounding army of Elementals, tearing open a path of escape.

As if sensing the intense turmoil, a snowy white mist gradually permeated the surface of the hemisphere. Countless arms extended from its surface, fiercely grabbing at the mass of wings.

In an instant, the outermost layer of the mass of wings tore and became damaged. The surrounding Elementals swarmed like bloodthirsty flies, voraciously devouring the damaged wings.

With an army of Elementals attacking from the front and countless arms tearing at them from behind, that pitch-black mass of wings showed no intention to fight back. It struggled and dashed as if it didn’t know the meaning of pain, like a shark caught in a fishing net, desperate for survival.

Zhong Chengshuo, once again disguised as Yin Ren through his imagination, was hidden deep within the mass of wings. He widened his eyes, desperately trying to activate his true sight and survey the surrounding situation.

Zhong Chengshuo could understand Yin Ren’s thoughts.

With the sudden loss of Hu Tao as its vessel, Love had no time to react. If they delayed any longer, Huang Jin and Ge Tingting might become its new targets.

To preserve their trump card, they had to escape as quickly as possible.

The surrounding army of Elementals was numerous, but they couldn’t withstand the massive size of the wings. In an instant, the eyeball barrier shattered, and countless limbs were twisted off.

Various attacks came rushing at them, but the mass of wings consumed all the physical attacks, rendering emotional resonance and cognitive distortion useless. The encirclement of the Elementals was on the verge of collapse.

Seeing the unfavorable situation, the giant hemisphere within the white net finally reacted.

Bang!

A horrifying dull sound came from the depths of the giant hemisphere.

The arms on the surface of the hemisphere wildly extended, almost piercing through that black mass like countless arrows. One of the arms almost grazed Zhong Chengshuo as it passed through.

Zhong Chengshuo placed one hand on the Karma Lantern and tightly clenched his fist with the other hand.

Bang!

An indescribable sense of oppression rose from the interior of the hemisphere. It was so close that it made one’s hair stand on end, yet it felt distant, as if it was in another space.

Countless arms seemed to be injected with chicken blood*. That black mass was torn apart by one-third. However, Yin Ren didn’t let go of the person he was holding tightly, nor did he slow down their escape. With a kind of almost fanatical determination, he bit down on one direction, voraciously devouring the nearby Elementals.

*Metaphor referring to become excited or insane.

Zhong Chengshuo held onto the lantern tightly.

Seeing the mass of wings he normally cautiously embraced being torn apart, Zhong Chengshuo felt so devastated that even breathing became difficult. But he had to observe everything, not missing any details.

Bang!

Countless arms entangled and transformed into several giant hands, fiercely squeezing the black mass.

At the same time, a breach finally appeared in the encirclement of the Elementals. Like a breached flood, the sea of wings broke free from the encirclement and swiftly flowed down from the web crawling with Elementals, rushing towards the distance.

Then it disappeared without a trace.

……

As soon as they had transferred to a relatively safe area, Yin Ren returned to his human form. His skin and flesh turned over, creating a terrifying appearance.

Once everyone’s consciousness in Shian was restored, Yin Ren’s gaze directly locked onto “Huang Jin”. “Quickly escort everyone out.”

Love’s plan to trap them had failed, and it would undoubtedly send its Elementals to search in all directions. From Lu Xiaohe’s mother to over a hundred missing individuals, Yin Ren brought them out of the cocoon, and they couldn’t be left unattended.

Qi Xin decisively released the body she was possessing, revealing her figure in the mist and using her foot to nudge Huang Jin, who was lying limp on the ground.

She cast an annoyed glance at the numerous missing individuals scattered on the ground, then looked over at Yin Ren, covered in wounds. “It was unnecessary. You wouldn’t have ended up in such a sorry state.”

“The sorrier, the better,” Yin Ren said.

“For humans, perhaps,” Qi Xin replied.

Qi Xin stepped over the bodies of the missing individuals and stopped in front of Yin Ren. Her face was as cold as snow, and her voice shifted to a mental transmission.

[I trained you not to win over Love with flowery words. You should suppress it comprehensively, destroy it head-on—that’s the “Fear” I expect from you.]

A smile appeared on Yin Ren’s heavily scarred face. [Yes, I should have given it my all just now to show you clearly—see what Love wants to do, and what exactly I am, so that you can choose the next course of action.]

Qi Xin narrowed her eyes.

“Please send these people away, Qi Xin,” Yin Ren said with a smile on his face, but there was no humor in his voice. “I’m sorry, but at least for now, I can’t give you any reason to not lean towards Love.”

“Indeed, Fear without a brain is more reasonable,” she sighed softly. “I have only one request…”

“I will stay,” Yin Ren interrupted. “Not just to heal my injuries, but also to remain on the Other Side.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Chengshuo took a few steps, supporting the heavily injured Yin Ren and silently showing his support.

Qi Xin didn’t waste any more words. With a sigh, the group was teleported to the courtyard of the Lonely cats.

“Keep watch around us,” Qi Xin threw a command to Gao Mengyu’s cat.

Amidst the curious crowd, Qi Xin once again contorted her body. Accompanied by successive explosions, her flesh twisted into a horrifying ring. Within the distorted scene, gradually transforming into a vortex, it connected to the “Other Side passage” beneath Shian.

The first to be sent out were the missing individuals.

One by one, the weak people were sent away from the Other Side, awaiting Shian’s rescue. When it came time to send Lu Xiaohe’s mother, Yin Ren stopped Lu Xiaohe, who was helping with the evacuation.

He placed his hand on Lu Xiaohe’s mother’s chest, and red silk surged, permeating into her body like clouds and mist.

“She’ll be fine.” Yin Ren’s voice softened. “After she’s out, have Shian’s people take a look. Xiaohe Jie, your wish has been fulfilled.”

Lu Xiaohe opened her mouth, seeming to have countless words she wanted to say, but nothing came out.

In the end, she just nodded heavily, holding her mother, and left the Other Side.

Ge Tingting pulled the unconscious Huang Jin. “Yin Ge, you…”

“I’ll be fine. You all should go back and rest,” Yin Ren said with another smile. “After learning so much on the Other Side, it’s time for you to inform Shian as well.”

Zhong Chengshuo looked at Yin Ren with a complicated gaze.

Currently, they needed Qi Xin’s assistance to enter and exit the Other Side. Considering Qi Xin’s lack of empathy towards humans, if she were to break ties with Yin Ren, the people left behind wouldn’t know how long it would take for them to leave.

“Well, bring Xiao Zheng and Chengfeng with you too. They’ve remembered what had accumulated over the years.” Meng Huai crossed her arms and spoke casually. “I’ll stay behind to guard. Shian needs someone on the frontlines.”

“I’m not leaving. You need a partner.” Zhong Chengfeng shook her head. “I know what you’re worried about—you’re afraid that if you go back, you won’t want to come back again.”

Meng Huai clicked her tongue. “It’s been so many years. A little delay in going back won’t make a difference. You talk too much.”

“Whether I’m willing or not, it’s the same for you,” she muttered under her breath.

The missing individuals sank into their dreams, one by one disappearing into the passage. Strangely, no one showed a joyful expression—time on the Other Side was almost stagnant, while time in the outside world passed leisurely. At this moment, it might not be considered a definitive and satisfactory conclusion.

Zhong Chengshuo surveyed his surroundings. The courtyard that was filled with people moments ago now appeared empty. Apart from Yin Ren, himself, and Qi Xin, the three remaining Elementals, there were only Meng Huai and Zhong Chengfeng, Fu Tianyi, and Dr. Cat.

“At least the task of finding people is over.”

Fu Tianyi took a deep breath. He stood up straight, showing a bit of the dignity of the Fu family.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t of much help this time. Next time…”

A sharp screech from the “Lonelies” came from the outside world. Qi Xin’s twisted ring trembled, and the vortex in the center fluctuated violently. Then the flesh ring deformed and expanded, accompanied by the squeezing sound of space closing, and the exit vanished without a trace.

At the same time, the courtyard gradually became shrouded in shadows as a large number of Elementals rushed toward it.

The Lonely cats ran around the ground, picking up tablecloths and kittens, trying to hide themselves behind larger cats.

The largest “Lonely”—Gao Mengyu’s cat—quickly moved, using Yin Ren to block its massive self.

Fu Tianyi: “?”

What about his way back home?

“They’re pretty quick.” Yin Ren sneered. “Meng Jie, it’s too dangerous for you to stay with us. It’s best to leave early.”

Meng Huai lifted her eyelids. “Oh.”

She took out a large amount of Elemental flesh and smeared it on the ground, expanding and contracting it.

In the next moment, the earth trembled, and the surrounding space cracked like fish scales. Zhong Chengshuo instinctively held onto Yin Ren, and the two of them were then pressed down by a large pile of sticky flesh and limbs. After struggling for a while, they finally managed to poke their heads out from under the group of cats.

Before them, astonishingly, was Meng Huai’s stronghold.

Fu Tianyi held Dr. Cat in his arms with an expression mixed with conflict and bitterness. The entire courtyard of Lonely cats was crammed into the room, making the once spacious room feel somewhat crowded. The Lonely cats stood dazed for a moment before curiously crawling around.

In an instant, the original small courtyard was empty, leaving only one person.

Qi Xin looked up, meeting the incoming army of Elementals head-on.

“Heh, humans,” Qi Xin remarked.

She rolled her eyes and disappeared into the depths of the mist.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 222: Snowflakes

Huang Jin and Ge Tingting collided with a round cocoon and slid down in a sorry state.

Huang Jin’s brain buzzed—just now Zhong Chengshuo suddenly knocked over his smog spirit weapon, then that person gave him three instructions, and he even lied in front of Hu Tao. His heart was pounding, and he felt dizzy and heard ringing in his ears.

Now things were different. The crisis was far away, and hope seemed distant too. Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo weren’t by his side, and Ge Tingting seemed pitiful and helpless with him.

“What should we do?” He lay on the ground with a sense of despair.

“I can hear some noise. Maybe it will come in handy.” Ge Tingting patted her ears forcefully.

Huang Jin frowned and rummaged through his bag, searching through his talismans and Elemental flesh. “We need to find them at some point. Hey, do you have any convenient tools? I only have Tranquility Talismans and smoke bombs for escape. Nothing else.”

Before this, Meng Huai asked them to make handy weapons. Huang Jin painstakingly made a carving knife, Tranquility Talismans, and smoke bombs—a set of life-saving tools. For a spirit smith like him, he had endured too many demands for attacks that weren’t supposed to be his responsibility.

However, Ge Tingting, being a corpse servant, must have been in a tight spot as well. Huang Jin couldn’t help but be curious about what kind of Elemental flesh and blood weapons she could produce.

Indeed, when the topic was mentioned, Ge Tingting’s expression became somewhat subtle. Huang Jin didn’t know if he was overthinking, but he felt that this girl was avoiding his gaze.

“…Ge Tingting, what exactly have you done?” Huang Jin swallowed his saliva.

“Something that’s suitable for the present situation,” Ge Tingting answered cautiously. “It’s likely to save our lives; not very harmful, but… um…”

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Huang Jin’s heart. “Go on.”

Ge Tingting took out a dark gray candle from her backpack. The candle was as thick as a soda can, rough in appearance, with traces of minced flesh mixed in the grease. It was intricately carved with modified runes, which was very simple and crude.

Pure emotional resonance expansion.

Sweat slowly dripped down Huang Jin’s forehead. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“This is a candle made from sadness, sorrow, and despair. It has a simple resonating magic circle inscribed on it, and the wick is made to ‘steal joy’,” Ge Tingting whispered. “I’m not a spirit smith, so it may not look good. Please don’t mind.”

Is this a matter of it looking good or not? Huang Jin gritted his teeth.

If this thing were to be lit, it could accumulate a large amount of “sorrow” related emotions in a small area. What kind of candle was this? It was damn well a Qi Xin trap!

Ge Tingting explained sincerely, “Qi Xin has always been watching from the sidelines, but she doesn’t seem to want to break ties with Yin Ren. If we specifically ask her for help, she won’t ignore us.”

Huang Jin: “You mean…”

Ge Tingting: “Both of us have damaged brains…”

Huang Jin: “…”

Alright, he understood. People with damaged brains were the most suitable to be controlled by great Primordial Elementals. While he was still thinking about what weapon to use for self-defense, this girl was considering using him as a weapon.

Huang Jin rubbed his face vigorously, his gaze drifting. “You’ll definitely make a name for yourself in the future. Fine, since you still have your hearing, I’ll go along with it.”

“Alright. Don’t worry. Even if she controls you, you’ll be safe.”

“I know.”

Ge Tingting lit the candle on the spot, and a blood-red glow emanated from it. The flame ignited for only a few seconds before a piercing gaze descended upon them. Then, the surrounding mist suddenly thickened, and from within the rolling fog, connected skeletal corpses emerged from various directions.

“How troublesome.”

Ge Tingting heard a sigh from afar.

Meanwhile, Huang Jin’s head gradually sank, looking as if he had fallen asleep. However, when he raised his head again, his face became extremely indifferent.

“Speak, little girl. What do you want me to do?”

Huang Jin’s voice was still the same, but it carried a touch of cold arrogance.

“Find someone.” Ge Tingting extinguished the candle, speaking in a confident tone. “Hu Tao is highly likely to be under the control of Love. Yin Ge and Zhong Ge want to preserve their strength and haven’t engaged in a battle with her yet. Now, Hu Tao is looking for the murderer who killed her back then. Please help us find him.”

“So be it.”

Huang Jin, possessed by Qi Xin, stood up and revealed a faint smile.

“I made a promise to someone that I wouldn’t participate in their battles… But helping you won’t be considered a breach of contract. Is finding someone all you need?”

Ge Tingting took a deep breath. “If the target is close to us, I hope you can find a way to lure Yin Ren and the others over. If the target is closer to Yin Ren’s side, you don’t need to take action. Just stay nearby with me.”

“You have quite a few requests,” “Huang Jin” said calmly.

“It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. As long as Love doesn’t discover you, you can also investigate the latest developments up close,” Ge Tingting responded flawlessly.

Huang Jin, possessed by Qi Xin: “Alright.”

He first placed his hand on Ge Tingting’s head, retrieving memories. Then he closed his eyes, seemingly experiencing something, and his eyebrows gradually furrowed.

“The person you’re looking for isn’t here,” he said. “There are no relevant clues, I’m quite certain.”

Ge Tingting stood frozen in place, a chill running down her spine.

……

Hu Tao floated in front of the two of them.

The white arms tightly embraced her, and the four arms that dragged them to this place were still extended. Six arms in total emerged from behind her, resembling the long legs of a spider and the eyes of a snail. They would occasionally reach out towards Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, filled with vigilance and hostility, sometimes getting dangerously close.

Yin Ren was experiencing this kind of situation for the first time, pretending to be Zhong Chengshuo. Fortunately, their heights were similar, and he was familiar with Zhong Chengshuo’s habits, so he didn’t expose himself in front of Hu Tao. He walked cautiously, maintaining a polite and safe distance.

At the moment, he was more concerned about Hu Tao herself.

Hu Tao’s face was covered in bloodstains, but amidst the stains, there were strange cracks revealing a white color. The aura emanating from her became increasingly heavy and dense, far exceeding what a fierce ghost should bear. She was like a bomb being heated over an open flame, ready to explode at any moment.

The same power was faintly surging from beneath their feet. Just a moment ago, they didn’t feel this subtle oppressive sensation.

The milky strands surrounding them, and the nest-like structures resembled the forests of a thousand years ago in Yin Ren’s eyes. As the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi, he was most skilled at dealing with abnormal beings.

Yin Ren swiftly walked towards the nearest nest, contemplating quickly in his mind.

The surrounding aura changed, and the cocoon jolted for a while. The cocoon they were in must have changed its position. Sending Hu Tao, this familiar person, to delay them was probably an attempt by Love to place this cocoon in a troublesome location, but she couldn’t accomplish it all at once.

If they were truly trapped securely, things would become troublesome.

Without the Evil Fruit, Zhong Chengshuo, pretending to be Lu Xiaohe, made a makeshift flesh knife as a weapon. Now, Zhong Chengshuo, pretending to be “Lu Xiaohe”, was pressing on his side as he used the blade to cut the silk threads on the cocoon’s face—it was a thin and emaciated middle-aged man, but it wasn’t A’Shen.

He then placed the silk threads back in their original positions, performing his actions meticulously.

Hu Tao snorted coldly. “You’re so slow.”

“Evil beings can’t use magic here, so Yin Ren can’t be of much help.” Yin Ren spoke calmly. “Judging from your current condition, you should know this.”

Hu Tao: “Just find him and stop babbling.”

Yin Ren looked at his former partner.

Hu Tao’s eye sockets were filled with bloody chunks of flesh, making it almost impossible to find her eyes, let alone discern her emotions. But he just knew that she was staring at him at this moment.

[What are you——?!] [I warn you, don’t mess around. I’m registered with Shian!] The first time he saw Hu Tao, she had this bloody appearance, but her tone was much more panicked.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

“Hu Tao, has the person helping you ever told you that you can’t withstand this kind of power?” Yin Ren left the nest, steadily walking towards the next one, his tone sounding nonchalant. “If you come into contact with excessive Evil Force, you will collapse.”

It would be a decent ending, triggering a massive explosion for them. If things went slightly wrong, there was a possibility of transforming into an Evil Spirit without rationality, unable to meet a good end.

Even for a doomed ghost destined to dissipate, this was still the worst outcome. Yin Ren clenched his fists, trying his best to ignore the arms that were reaching out and exploring in front of him.

“I’ve been searching for him for a long time.”

Hu Tao didn’t respond to Yin Ren’s words. As she spoke, the arms behind her gently retracted, embracing her with an affectionate gesture.

“During that period twenty-nine years ago, there were too many cases happening in Haigu that didn’t make it to the news. I wandered around near my house, listening to the neighbors discussing… They said A’Shen had fled out of fear. So, I waited, waiting for him to be captured.”

Yin Ren softened his voice, no longer mentioning the word “collapse”. “And then?”

Hu Tao fell silent for a moment, as if she had forgotten how to speak. After a while, she continued slowly.

“His ID card, bank cards, and phone were all at home. For a person like him, how long could he hide? I waited and waited, but the police never managed to catch him.”

“Then you encountered us.”

“Yes, with the spirit contract, I could go to many places. I heard that he disappeared along with many others, and I heard that many people who were corrupted acted crazily back then.” Hu Tao’s voice became ethereal. “We were childhood sweethearts, deeply in love for so long. My parents always liked him. Maybe…”

She never finished her sentence. Her fingers tightly dug into her arms, piercing them and drawing more blood.

Yin Ren’s steps slowed down.

Perhaps her husband’s madness, her parents’ deaths, and all the bloodshed were due to supernatural reasons. Perhaps she was just a small victim before the occurrence of abnormal incidents…

Hu Tao intentionally sought contact with the ‘Innocent Thoughts’ and similar items, probably out of similar intentions.

“I understand,” Yin Ren comforted her. “You want to find peace of mind.”

“Yes, I need to know the reason. Otherwise, I can’t hate peacefully… can’t hate peacefully…” Her voice grew weaker, turning into indiscernible murmurs, hidden behind her bloodstained hair.

Yin Ren halted his steps.

Hu Tao, as if someone had stepped on her tail, became spirited again. “Why aren’t you moving ? Why aren’t you moving?”

“Because I realized that finding him is meaningless,” Yin Ren said gently. “Most of the people trapped here are filled with strong affection. You’re thinking that if you find A’Shen here, it will prove that he loved you and had no choice but to do what he did.”

The arms behind Hu Tao stirred restlessly, as if they wanted to attack but were drawn to this poisonous yet intriguing topic.

“You’re right,” she said hoarsely. “I must be certain…”

“But you can’t be certain.”

Yin Ren, embodying the appearance of Zhong Chengshuo, stood in place.

“Even if you find him here, it doesn’t prove anything. You’ve seen how Yin Ren looked when he consumed the ‘Innocent Thoughts’. The affection is real, but does that negate the harm caused?”

“No! He truly loves me; how could he do such a thing?!” Hu Tao screamed. “A’Shen would make breakfast for me with his own hands, never argue with me, and never force me to do anything I didn’t like! When I was sick, he was so worried that he carried me to the hospital, wearing out his feet! I’ve known him for fifteen years—fifteen years! You’re speaking so lightly—”

Yin Ren took a step forward. His expression was still eerily calm, but not quite like Zhong Chengshuo’s.

“So you must know for sure that within your social circle, you won’t come across the Ghost Market’s ‘Innocent Thoughts’. But let me tell you, during a Divine Descent, it does drive people insane, but they didn’t go mad to the extent of wanting to deceive others. When it comes to killing, indeed one can sense being watched, but that requires the act of killing to occur first.”

“Shut up!!!” Hu Tao covered her ears and instantly swung an arm towards Yin Ren. Yin Ren didn’t defend himself or even evade.

A deep bloodied gash appeared on his left cheek.

Zhong Chengshuo instinctively wanted to rush forward but then remembered he was wearing Lu Xiaohe’s shell. He stood helplessly in place, unsure of what to do.

Why hasn’t Yin Ren ended the conversation yet? Could it be that his previous words weren’t just meant to make the enemy relax?

…Why hasn’t Yin Ren taken the opportunity to communicate countermeasures with him and only kept talking to Hu Tao?

But he couldn’t intervene.

With pursed lips, Zhong Chengshuo looked at Yin Ren a few steps away.

“A’Shen is a murderer, and it doesn’t conflict with him loving you. ‘Love’ is not an almighty excuse, and it doesn’t prove anything. Let me say it again, regardless of whether you can find him here or not, he is undoubtedly a murderer.”

Ignoring the bleeding wound, Yin Ren continued calmly.

“Here.”

Yin Ren pointed at his heart.

“…And here.” He then tapped his temple. “They are fundamentally different things.”

Hu Tao rushed abruptly in front of Yin Ren; her shattered face almost touching his nose. She spewed a ghastly aura, and behind her, several arms emerged as if breaking through a cocoon, making her resemble a strange multi-limbed creature.

These new arms faintly impeded her momentum—apparently, the time Love wanted to delay wasn’t enough.

Yin Ren silently watched her with a trace of sorrow gradually appearing on his face.

Pure obsession was the essence of a vengeful ghost, and Hu Tao remained in this world through her hatred. Her hatred must have a focal point—a solid enough one.

So why, when she argued, “Maybe there’s no need to hate A’Shen”, was her state still so stable?

“What exactly do you want to say?” Hu Tao vigorously scratched her bloody and disfigured face. “Are you trying to tell me I don’t need to search, and all I have to do is hate him wholeheartedly?”

“No, that’s not it,” Yin Ren said softly. “What I want to say is that you are not at fault.”

“Your obsession is the ‘flaw’ that might have caused the tragedy back then. Now I’m telling you, you’re not wrong.”

Hu Tao suddenly retreated, instantly shrinking to three or four meters away from Yin Ren, as if poison surrounded him. The previously resentful and eerie presence transformed into a startled little creature.

She opened her mouth, resembling a bloody hole, as if she wanted to refute, but no sound came out.

Yin Ren sighed inwardly.

“If he is just a pitiful person influenced by something, then he must have been influenced before the killings. As his closest lover, your failure to notice anything amiss in time makes every person’s death your mistake.”

“If he is merely a cold-blooded psychopathic killer, and you’ve known him for fifteen years without suspecting anything, then the deaths of your parents are also your indirect fault.”

“…Hu Tao, deep down, you actually thought this way before, didn’t you?”

Obsession, obsession—how could it be so easily shaken?

The hatred toward the killer was merely superficial. Perhaps Hu Tao herself didn’t realize or didn’t want to admit it—ultimately, what she resented was herself.

Hu Tao floated in place, blood dripping from her body onto the ground. The space inside the cocoon was too snowy white, and when the blood fell to the ground, it looked like ink.

Ignoring the arms waving around Hu Tao, Yin Ren took a few steps forward, standing in front of her.

Peeling away the surface, revealing the festering wound, only one step remained.

“A’Shen is indeed a murderer. As for the motive, whether it’s deep affection or a vile nature, it is always the one who acts that causes the tragedy, regardless of their reasons.”

“You are not at fault.”

Yin Ren’s voice was clear and calm, carrying a faint authority.

“No matter what others say, this is my judgment. If A’Shen is still alive, I will help you kill him.”

“You are not at fault.”

Yin Ren stared directly into Hu Tao’s eyes, repeating it for the third time.

Hu Tao floated stiffly, and the arms behind her ceased their movement.

Time passed, and the overwhelming hostility in her subsided slightly, transforming into uncertain doubt. Those arms curled in confusion, and the blood no longer dripped. The fragmented features on Hu Tao’s face slowly came together, reconstructing her broken face.

But there were too many white cracks on her face, and no matter how she tried, the flesh couldn’t be completely restored. That familiar face now resembled a shattered porcelain doll.

“…Why do I feel like you’re not Zhong Chengshuo? That guy doesn’t have this much thought. Could it be that spending time with Yin Ren has enlightened you?”

Curiously, she scrutinized Yin Ren, just like their first encounter in the living room. Her tone became somewhat cheerful, reminiscent of her previous self.

“You make some sense. I didn’t really think about it before. Let’s go, we can search while we talk.”

Yin Ren didn’t move.

The girl in front of him was dressed in pajamas, with white cracks covering her body. In a trance, she showed a hint of distress, and her blood-colored features slightly furrowed.

The arms behind her seemed to sense something. They dangerously swayed, emanating increasingly powerful force, making the white cracks on Hu Tao’s body more pronounced.

Meanwhile, Hu Tao herself maintained that half-awake state, revealing a gentle expression. “Zhong Chengshuo?”

“I’ve encountered many vengeful spirits,” Yin Ren whispered. “You were a good person in your life, so much so that even as a vengeful spirit, you don’t repel people.”

“…Zhong Chengshuo?” This time, there was a touch of uncertainty in Hu Tao’s call.

In an instant, her long hair fluttered, and her red clothing seemed fiery.

Yin Ren removed his disguise, placing a hand on Hu Tao’s forehead. He lowered his gaze with an unusual lack of amusement on his face.

And his hand was stained with fresh red blood.

The Great Celestial Master, Zhong Yi, excelled at exorcism.

The essence of a vengeful ghost was pure obsession. When the obsession shattered, the vengeful ghost would dissipate like melting snow. And the wavering of obsession was the first crack.

There was a brief moment of surprise on Hu Tao’s face, followed by an expression that seemed to say, “As expected”, as she smiled absentmindedly.

Countless arms embraced her, jostling her. The power of Love surged madly, yet she merely pressed her forehead against that hand.

“I’m letting go. You said you would help me kill him, so I won’t search anymore.”

She said.

“Mom and Dad won’t blame me, right?”

The scenery inside the cocoon resembled the purest ice and snow, and this particular piece silently melted away.

Those arms no longer embraced anything.

The immense power approached its eruption but lacked the crucial support, ultimately dissipating into nothingness.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

I’m so sad for Hu Tao. All she wanted was just to watch 3^rd rate dramas and like to eat snacks!

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 221: Landmark

A few hours ago.

Meng Huai held a blood and flesh spirit weapon made of a hand chain and a ring, while Zhong Chengfeng alertly held her gun. The two agilely jumped up and down on the edge of the cocoon. Even Xiao Zheng, the rear science post, skillfully hooked the white silk threads around him, resembling a reincarnated spider spirit.

Whenever any Elementals attempted to approach, the two would create a minor harmless disturbance in a farther location and silently slide back. There were only a few Elementals around the cocoon, and the exit agreed upon by Unit 9 was in a blind spot, ensuring a safe retreat route.

Only Fu Tianyi remained, faithfully guarding the cocoon.

The surroundings were filled with shimmering tunnel walls, making one dizzy. Various black and white Elementals crawled around, creating a scene akin to the snowflakes on an old television screen. He couldn’t afford to provoke them or hide. Fu Tianyi firmly clung to the white silk net, while Dr. Cat clung tightly to Fu Tianyi; their movements were perfectly synchronized.

It was just keeping watch, Fu Tianyi reassured himself countless times in his mind.

They were here to steal, not to openly rob a house, so they wouldn’t be targeted by a massive army of Elementals on the spot. Besides, if the sky were to fall, there would be people like Meng Huai to bear the brunt of it. Fu Tianyi, being a seasoned individual, had nothing to fear.

He didn’t remember the excitement he felt before encountering Unit 9 in the first place. Looking back at the evil beings he had dealt with before, it felt more like playing pretend. When it came to “others being stronger than oneself”, this young rising star of the Fu family could even smile like a Buddha.

His sharpness had been completely blunted, even more serene than Dr. Cat, who had just had its nails trimmed.

“Aren’t you here to investigate?” Fu Tianyi couldn’t help but ask the cat perched on his shoulder out of boredom.

“I am investigating.”

Dr. Cat looked intently at the end of the white net.

In the center of the white net lay a half immensely large white hemisphere, motionless. It was embedded in ethereal mist, resembling an eye without a pupil. With the haphazardly stretched white threads around it, it looked like a white spider lurking in the center of a spiderweb. Compared to the obese belly of that hemisphere, the small cocoons containing the missing individuals were more like tiny droplets on a spiderweb.

Insignificant and fragile, incomparable to the massive hemisphere at the center of the web.

The black cat’s fur stood on end, and its round eyes blinked without pause. Fu Tianyi looked for a while but didn’t notice any changes in the central hemisphere.

Fu Tianyi: “So, do you know what that thing is?”

“I don’t know.” Meiqiu swished its tail. “But its interference pattern on the surrounding consciousness is similar to the ‘angel’s arm’. Since we arrived here, its interference with the surrounding thoughts has been growing stronger. Look, the tunnel walls around us have visibly distorted.”

Fu Tianyi blinked hard, but he still couldn’t see any difference.

“The curvature of the hemisphere has changed, and its volume is increasing.” Dr. Cat meowed as it explained. “This pattern looks somewhat familiar…”

Although it spoke in human language, Fu Tianyi couldn’t understand a single word.

So he decisively gave up on the idea of chatting with the science post and focused his mind, attempting to meditate for a while to regain his strength.

But before half a minute had passed with his eyes closed, the cocoon suddenly shook violently. Fu Tianyi failed to hold on and almost fell off.

“What…”

Fu Tianyi didn’t even finish his sentence when his heart nearly stopped—

In his field of vision, both the image and sound came to a sudden halt.

The Elementals surrounded them, crowded and constantly crawling, all froze in their movements. After three or four seconds, they simultaneously stood up, twisted their bodies, and turned a certain part of their bodies towards the group of Shian members.

Their movements were stiff and unified, carrying a silent hostility. The gaze felt like a grinding stone, grinding away at Fu Tianyi’s spirit, threatening to shatter it into pieces.

They had been exposed.

In the next moment, bone spikes, mucus, fleshy limbs… various indescribable things shot towards the four humans and the cat. Meng Huai leaped using the white silk threads, twirling her ring and bracelet two rounds before she put them on her hand, then she clapped her hands together on her chest.

Fu Tianyi felt a gust of wind blow past him. Countless Elementals turned into balls of flesh and blood, rushing towards the incoming objects, causing numerous explosions. Several Elementals that came dangerously close were shot down by Zhong Chengfeng’s gun.

“What are you staring at, brat!” Meng Huai shouted loudly.

Only then did Fu Tianyi snap out of it. He quickly produced talismans made from the skin of Elementals, throwing them like knives. The sword wind swept out, slicing another wave of Elementals into dust.

However, it was all futile.

The surrounding Elementals had no intention of fair competition. They climbed along the silk threads around the cocoon, seemingly confident that they could crush them to death just by squeezing their bodies.

Just as Fu Tianyi was about to scream, the cocoon began to move. It slid along the silk threads like dew, heading towards the gathering place of the white net—

That peculiar hemisphere.

Fu Tianyi almost got thrown off by the cocoon, hastily clutching onto its exterior.

Meng Huai didn’t miss this opportunity. She gracefully leaped back onto the cocoon. The bracelet in her hand extended rapidly, and the ring at the end of the bracelet also grew quickly, resembling a meteor hammer. Taking advantage of the cocoon’s movement, she swung the ring. With each swing, a burst of explosions cleared out a large number of Elementals.

The cocoon slid faster and faster, then abruptly stopped, crashing heavily into the massive hemisphere at the center of the net. Immediately, something resembling an umbilical cord wriggled over from the hemisphere and connected with the cocoon.

Fu Tianyi was shaken loose by the impact. He held onto Dr. Cat tightly, managing to land softly on the hemisphere.

At the same time, countless white silk threads extended from the surface of the hemisphere, tightly wrapping around the small cocoon. They twined and exerted pressure, causing the cocoon to merge into the hemisphere.

“Shit!” Meng Huai swung her weapon, trying to blast away the encroaching white silk. But they were like falling snow, destroying one layer only to be replaced by another, seemingly endless.

Fu Tianyi’s hand trembled as he held the talisman sword.

He didn’t know the origin of the huge hemisphere; he only knew that standing on top of it felt like standing on a small planet. In comparison, the cocoon appeared significantly smaller, resembling a toy lunar module.

Wave after wave of thin white threads enveloped them, with all the “tracks” connecting to this place crawling with Elementals. The area below the net was also filled with densely packed Elementals, surrounding them completely.

The cocoon containing their companions was continuously wrapped by the unrelenting white threads, and the army of Elementals seemed boundless. Their opponents didn’t slack off just because they were outnumbered; their tactics were flawless.

And on their side, there were only four people, utterly powerless.

In a daze, Fu Tianyi felt like he was underwater. They were treading on the back of a slumbering giant beneath the sea, surrounded by a variety of magnificent aquatic creatures. The dark seawater was colored in bizarre and spectacular hues, exuding a strange and magnificent beauty.

Sharks darted by, schools of fish surrounded them, and giant jellyfish floated gracefully.

And they were nothing more than four small clams.

“Should we… run away?” Facing the overwhelming enemies in front of them and the helpless companions behind him, Fu Tianyi felt that the talisman sword in his hand was as ridiculous as a matchstick.

There were extremely fine white threads everywhere, fragmenting the space of consciousness. Perhaps they couldn’t rely on imagination to shift their surroundings. But if they could blast a path, there might still be hope of survival.

“No.”

Meng Huai’s voice was firm and resolute.

“Even if we manage to escape, we’ll be heavily injured. The missing individuals inside the cocoon are still here. If we stay, at least we’ll have a few more hands to work with.”

Fu Tianyi’s body stiffened—given the current situation, she still wanted to save the missing people?

Meng Huai didn’t care about what he was thinking. She flicked away the strand of hair that stuck to her cheek, and with a half-smile, she leaned closer to Fu Tianyi. “It’s rare to see someone from the Fu family so spineless. Well, how about that Zhong Chengshuo—is he stronger than I imagined?”

Her intuition was even more terrifying than Fu Xingchuan’s, leaving Fu Tianyi speechless.

Meng Huai smiled at him, gripping the enlarged ring tightly in her hand. Then she swung it forcefully. The previous “meteor hammer” transformed into a “metal whip”, lashing out and causing the white threads to scatter in all directions.

Accompanied by crisp cracking sounds, the white threads tangled into a cluster, controlled by her magic, floating in mid-air. Whenever a black Elemental approached, the whip would vigorously extend, dragging the Elemental towards the cluster of threads.

Flesh collided, and the magic was activated. A searing explosion tore through their field of vision, and on the other side, a small sun seemed to explode.

Before Fu Tianyi could focus his pupils, the metal whip swung twice again, and a new cluster of threads replenished the ones destroyed. They dispersed like clouds, neither too close nor too far, forming the most terrifying defense line.

Fu Tianyi couldn’t laugh or cry—these white threads seemed to be the product of Elemental flesh and blood. Meng Huai was attacking on-site and seemed unconcerned about running out of raw materials.

The army of Elementals didn’t retreat. They clung and hung, tightly enveloping the four individuals, but they no longer dared to advance. Countless eerie eyeballs looked in their direction, with large and small eyes hidden behind the cloud-like clusters of threads, as if trying to squeeze out a patch of darkness with their pupils.

Seeing such a formation for the first time, Fu Tianyi felt his whole body go numb.

What on earth were these things? Even if he were to drop dead on the spot, he had experienced more trials and tribulations than 99% of cultivators.

“The next stage might involve cognitive pollution and emotional attacks.” Zhong Chengfeng adjusted her grip on her gun and summarized it plainly.

“Face inward and don’t look at those things.” Meng Huai turned her face towards the cocoon, speaking nonchalantly. “Xiao Zheng, help keep an eye on the emotional attacks.”

“Understood.”

“Chengfeng, you and Xiao Fu continue to destroy the outer wall of the cocoon. These things want to enclose it, but we’ll fight against it,” Meng Huai ordered. “I’ll continue to guard the outside.”

Fu Tianyi hesitated and looked at Meng Huai, who noticed his gaze and grinned at him. She avoided Zhong Chengfeng and deliberately lowered her voice.

“Alright, if you’re not comfortable saying it, then don’t say it,” she whispered. “No matter what Zhong Chengshuo might be hiding, at this point, what can I really investigate? We’ll hide as much of his strength as we can.”

Fu Tianyi: “…Um.” What’s going on? How much has this senior seen through?

“Because of the enemy’s method of attack.”

Dr. Cat interjected, giving Fu Tianyi a sidelong glance and speaking solemnly.

“When the cocoon is completely enveloped, those inside must do everything they can to escape. If they manage to escape, their strength will be exposed. If they can’t escape, they’ll be wiped out.” The black cat licked its paws. “If the hidden trump cards are revealed in advance, it won’t be advantageous for us.”

The cocoon wall wasn’t thick yet, but once it was completely encompassed by the giant hemisphere, who knew where it would be transported. Even if the giant hemisphere was made of ordinary concrete, the people inside would be trapped for at least ten days to half a month.

“So we need to quickly create an escape route.” Meng Huai flicked her wrist, and the bracelet whip created a deep opening on the cocoon. The opening was right in front of Fu Tianyi. “Hurry up. There are probably many people inside who need to be saved.”

“But what about those things around us…” Fu Tianyi tried hard not to look at the suffocating eyeball covers surrounding them.

This time, it was Zhong Chengfeng who answered him. “Let’s regroup and take it one step at a time. As long as we’re all together, we’ll find a way.”

Despite not being blood-related, her expression of sternness really resembled Zhong Chengshuo. After a few shots, the opening in front of Fu Tianyi grew larger.

Fu Tianyi let out a long breath. “Okay!”

Since the situation was already so dire, how much worse could it get?

He swung his sword at the deep fissure, and the frenzied white threads surrounding it collided with the Tranquility Talisman, instantly turning into a burst of smoke. Fu Tianyi continued striking with his sword, striving to destroy faster than the threads could envelop.

Dr. Cat jumped off him and lightly tapped the giant hemisphere with its paw. While the humans around were busy, it raised its tail and paced around.

Its gaze remained fixed on the surface of the hemisphere, covered in white threads.

“It’s grown again.” The black cat murmured to itself. “The pattern of changes in size and aura—which report have I seen it in…”

……

Inside the cocoon.

“Now you know what he looks like,” Hu Tao said. “Quickly help me find him.”

Zhong Chengshuo frowned slightly. Hu Tao’s aura was incredibly powerful, almost reminiscent of Love, surpassing even Mr. Le. If they were to rely on brute force, both Yin Ren and himself would have to intervene.

But it wasn’t the right time yet.

“I understand. I need to have a meeting with my companions.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded.

Memories at this level weren’t enough to shake off fear. The remaining people weren’t faring well—Ge Tingting immediately retched, while Lu Xiaohe and Huang Jin had pale faces and vacant eyes, clearly still not fully recovered.

Hu Tao let out an indifferent hum. “I’ll give you two minutes. Whether you finish speaking or not, I’ll scatter you all.”

“Even if you scatter us, how can we contact you once we find the person?” Zhong Chengshuo asked honestly.

“Just stab him.” Hu Tao turned her bloody and blurred face. “I’ll always remember the smell of A’Shen’s blood.”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his gaze. “…”

Hu Tao clapped her hands. “I’m starting the countdown—”

Before the others could say more, a flash of light swept by, accompanied by buzzing noises and a misty atmosphere. Hu Tao instantly narrowed her eyes, and the white arms around her started to stir, ready to grab anyone with ill intentions.

However, the mist was just mist, and the noise was just noise. No one moved, let alone any fluctuations of magic. Hu Tao tensed her arms, unsure whether she should make a move or not.

Fortunately, after a minute, the mist and noise dispersed. In the thin mist, Hu Tao flipped her hair, stained with blood. “…What are you all doing?”

Her voice was incredibly cold.

“I accidentally slipped.” Huang Jin tremblingly raised his hand. His bag fell to the ground, scattering Tranquility Talismans everywhere.

Hu Tao let out a murky ghostly breath, tilting her head. The killing intent around her grew stronger.

“We’ve roughly set our direction.” Lu Xiaohe suddenly interjected. “Can I stay here to take care of my mother?”

She sat among the pile of Tranquility Talismans. Her face was pale, looking extremely miserable.

Hu Tao slightly lowered her head, as if staring at Lu Xiaohe holding her mother’s hand. Unfortunately, evil beings were still just evil beings. She quickly turned her head. “No, you also have to come along and search.”

Lu Xiaohe bit her lip.

“Then Lu Xiaohe and I will be a team. Huang Jin and Ge Tingting will be a team,” Zhong Chengshuo said. “Clearing the threads and finding the person requires physical strength. The efficiency of a two-person team is…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Huang Jin and Ge Tingting disappeared on the spot.

Immediately, the surroundings distorted, and this time Zhong Chengshuo saw it clearly—four arms stretched out behind Hu Tao, grabbing Huang Jin and Ge Tingting directly and swiftly pulling them away.

Everything spun and became blurred. The white and dismal scene inside the cocoon turned into afterimages, quickly passing through their field of vision. The area was filled with densely intertwined webs like rainforest vines, and they all retracted, avoiding them like living creatures.

In less than two seconds, the two crashed into the soft cocoon wall and slowly slid to the ground. Zhong Chengshuo turned his head. From this position, the interior of the cocoon looked like a pale forest that stretched endlessly.

They were at the edge of the cocoon.

If he guessed correctly, Ge Tingting and Huang Jin should be on the other side of the cocoon. In any case, they were far away from the weak point of the cocoon—the exit that Unit 9 had planned.

“Alright, search with peace of mind,” Hu Tao said with a smile.

With a rapid change of location in a short period of time and obstacles all around, finding the exit was difficult. Even if they found the exit, they couldn’t contact the other group. If they randomly dug a hole and escaped… even if they succeeded, it was hard to say what the outside would be, and there was no way to effectively support the others.

Regardless of why Love wanted to buy time, this move was truly clever.

Zhong Chengshuo’s lips curled up. Truly the most human-like Primordial Elemental. If it were him, he would have done the same.

With that in mind, Zhong Chengshuo looked at his companion beside him and tidied up his slightly messy ponytail.

His companion—another “Zhong Chengshuo”—pushed his glasses and looked solemnly at Hu Tao. The backpack of that “Zhong Chengshuo” was still bulging, but there was nothing inside anymore.

As expected of Yin Ren—he played the role very well. Zhong Chengshuo himself also had to work hard. Hu Tao found them through Yin Ren’s contract, which was just perfect.

Zhong Chengshuo took a deep breath and continued maintaining the image beside him. His brain spun rapidly, and that layer of imagination turned into a thin camouflage shell, enveloping the real him in the center.

To make the imagined image move smoothly and naturally, strong computational abilities were required. Fortunately, “King Yama” excelled at calculations.

Zhong Chengshuo hobbled, pressing against Lu Xiaohe’s face, limping along behind.

Next, they needed to escape in the shortest possible time and in the least conspicuous way.

At the same time, near the weak point of the cocoon.

Under the scattered Tranquility Talismans on the ground, Lu Xiaohe struggled to pull apart the white silk and propped herself up. She coughed a few times, crawled to her unconscious and weak mother’s side, and held her in her arms.

Within her embrace lay a photo of herself and her mother.

The comments on the back of the photo were blurry, with elusive and shifting characters pointing in two directions. Lu Xiaohe knew that the words she had left on other people’s photos would steadfastly point to herself as well.

A white silk thread snake slithered over and began to wrap around Lu Xiaohe’s feet. However, Lu Xiaohe took out a can of energy drink made from transformed Elemental flesh and blood from her backpack and carefully sprinkled the liquid around her body. As soon as the liquid touched the ground, it emitted a faint red light.

Under the red light, the white threads wriggled dissatisfied and had to go around.

“I’ll stay here.”

Lu Xiaohe whispered softly, holding her mother tightly in her arms. Her mother breathed unconsciously, and the photo was warmed by their body temperatures.

“You all… Make sure to come back early.”

The development of the situation was no different from what Zhong Chengshuo had predicted—Hu Tao would scatter the group, keeping everyone away from the exit and making it difficult to regroup. However, considering that Shian was unprepared for this sudden attack and unaware of Hu Tao’s abnormality, it wasn’t wise to expose everything on the spot.

Everyone was caught in a dilemma.

Faced with such a terrible situation, amidst the swirling smoke, Zhong Chengshuo only uttered three sentences.

“Yin Ren is here; he will pretend to be me.”

“I will disguise myself as Lu Xiaohe, while the real Lu Xiaohe stays in place.”

“Everyone, remember to look at the photo.”

She would become their best landmark.

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