Evil As Humans

Chapter 151: Mortals

“The #1 Evil Smith”, Zhou Gong, had a headache like being pricked with needles.

As a superior profession of “Corpse Servant” and “Spirit Smith”, his corpse materials weren’t abundant. Unlike the “#1 Priestess”, Qiao Shang, next to him—the fierce ghosts she summoned were enough to form an army of 100,000 ghost soldiers, whose ghostly bodies swayed and surrounded Haigu Municipal Hospital.

Layer upon layer of isolation seals rose from the ground, and the huge hospital was almost wrapped up like a cabbage core.

Thousands of hidden-type spirit weapons were operating simultaneously, and countless tiny bones were wandering in the underground pipelines. Zhou Gong was responsible for maintaining the concealment of this large-scale operation. He brought his assets to Haigu—and this time it was all of them.

The special investigation teams stationed in Shian at the A-, B-, and C-levels were all mobilized. Unexpectedly, the workload increased dramatically. Despite assigning two A-level investigation teams to Zhou Gong, his power was still constantly draining.

Zhou Gong’s chubby face was covered in sweat, like a steamed white bun.

“Lao Fu’s credit is quite high.”

Zhou Gong gritted his teeth and controlled the spirit weapon.

“He just said one sentence about the ‘aura of Divine Descent’, and the entire Haigu Branch bought it. The provincial-level comprehensive defense plan hasn’t been activated, and the nearby situation is almost the same.”

“The law of numerical changes is consistent with ‘Divine Descent’.”

Qiao Shang stood in the army of fierce ghosts with a gloomy face; her face as pale as one of them. She held an ancient compass in her hand, and countless golden charms floated on it.

The strange compass pointer trembled and rotated, pointing to the only black line on the golden compass, which was facing several blood-red “Evil” characters.

Zhou Gong pretended not to see Qiao Shang’s sulky expression.

“The law of numerical changes is consistent, but the intensity is much weaker, right? The concentration of evil qi here isn’t as high as a Divine Descent!”

Zhou Gong kept complaining, but his movements became more precise. The nesting of the concealment spell grew layer by layer, and the colorless barrier wrapped the hospital even tighter.

At this moment, as long as one wasn’t a cultivator in the industry, no matter how they looked at it from the inside or outside the hospital, this was just an ordinary and quiet night.

Qiao Shang ignored Zhou Gong’s nonsense. She held the compass with one hand and kept pinching spells with the other. Various patterns of golden charms floated in the air, and her army of ghost soldiers patrolled with them. They passed through every corner of the hospital, silently devouring evil qi.

Ghosts and humans rubbed shoulders—

The science posts walked around with detectors, constantly measuring the surrounding data. In their eyes, there was only a strange mist rising in the courtyard, which made people shiver all over.

If they could see the true appearance of the mist, it wouldn’t be as simple as “getting the chills”.

In the east, west, south, and north of the hospital courtyard, there were huge monsters crouching, each the size of the hospital’s main building. They were like town gate beasts that had been transformed into evil creatures, covered with scales like sealing spirit weapons.

Above the head that resembled a human figure, there were eyes and a mouth so large they seemed deformed. They had long necks that hung down, all focused on the direction of the abandoned building.

Strange and blurry waves of Evil Force emanated from the vicinity of the abandoned building. It felt more like a massive shadow lurking beneath a layer of ice, sometimes moving away, sometimes approaching.

The moment it broke through the “ice layer”, a great disaster was inevitable.

It was an unknown fire, and they could only do their best to shrink its area of effect, again and again.

Four giant, monstrous beasts writhed about; their rusty chains swayed gently like willow branches in the darkness. Among the gaps in the chains, the black seal employees of the Shian dressed in casual clothes floated around the evil monsters.

All of them faced outward of the courtyard, with crimson runes overlapping each other, layer by layer. In the shadow’s concealment, these non-scientific posts looked like four-legged spiders, tirelessly working.

The floating runes condensed into a dark red gauze that swayed and twisted above the hospital, constantly changing like an aurora. Wherever the light gauze passed, the space seemed to be filled with glue, creating a wonderful feeling of coagulation.

“This spell is quite fresh and more sophisticated than before.” Zhou Gong tried to change the subject, perhaps to distract himself. The more tired he was, the more he talked.

“…Not long ago, they sent us out to investigate the attackers, while the Haigu Branch secretly conducted research on their own.”

Qiao Shang rolled her eyes, and the ghost soldiers continued to circle inside the hospital. Their route had already taken shape, and they patrolled the courtyard in an orderly manner. The ground was filled with ghostly apparitions, and overhead was a misty veil. Paired with the hospital’s square architecture, the scene was both oppressive and absurd.

Tick. What should have been an uneventful second passed by.

The gently swaying red gauze suddenly began to wildly dance; its movements were bizarre and eerie, as if countless invisible giant snakes were struggling and moving within it. The intensity of the Evil Force doubled in an instant, and its state became extremely unstable.

Qiao Shang’s fierce ghost squad hurriedly changed course. With the abandoned building as the center, they walked quickly in circles, chanting mournful syllables that couldn’t be understood. The surrounding Evil Force was stirred up into a vortex by them and surged back towards the abandoned building.

The Shian black seals unconsciously increased the speed of their rune painting. The stagnant space carried the Evil Force, gathering it near the abandoned building. The gray-white abandoned building was almost wrapped in red runes, and the chaotic, shattered space was entirely covered.

At the four corners of the hospital, the four giant, monstrous beasts slowly retracted their limbs. They opened their giant mouths and emitted a hoarse and unpleasant screech. Sound waves spread out in waves, disturbing the Evil Force near the abandoned building, gradually calming the “ice surface”.

The area near the abandoned building had thus become a metaphysical explosion-proof box. As for whether this box could withstand the incoming unknown Evil Force, even a real ghost wouldn’t know.

Apart from the occasional short exchanges in the channel, the atmosphere was so heavy that it was terrifying.

Zhou Gong couldn’t bear it any longer and involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “By the way, if Lao Fu is trapped inside, why hasn’t the leadership from our side of Haigu come out to help?”

“They might be busy with something else.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Qiao Shang snapped. She quickly flicked her fingers, and a powerful ghost bomb flew past Zhou Gong like a fierce ghost, cutting off his pants to just above his knees.

Zhou Gong shut up in annoyance.

Qiao Shang’s guess wasn’t wrong. As the first person in charge of the Haigu branch, Li Nian was indeed busy.

He leaned wearily in the meeting room, facing the expressionless genius ghost master, Xiang Jiang.

“Since Fu Xingchuan is there, I don’t need to go. Headquarters always needs someone to stay,” Xiang Jiang said.

“Fu Xingchuan is sealed near the abnormal outbreak point, and the Evil Force could lose control at any time.” Li Nian drank a cup of strong tea and spun the lid of the thermos cup hard. “This is the first abnormal phenomenon of its kind in 28 years, and the more external help we have, the better.”

Xiang Jiang replied, “The #1 Priestess and the #1 Evil Smith are already there, and our functions overlap.”

Li Nian stared at him in silence for a while.

“Why beat around the bush? Why don’t you just say you don’t want to go.” Li Nian’s tone turned cold.

“Yes, I don’t want to go. My rank is the same as yours now, and your reasons are not sufficient. I have the authority to veto the proposal.”

Li Nian almost laughed out of anger.

Ever since the execution mission, Fu Xingchuan had been paying even closer attention to Xiang Jiang. But Xiang Jiang behaved himself and at least they didn’t notice any unusual contact between him and anyone else. Who knew that when it came to a critical moment, Xiang Jiang would actually defy orders—and in a way that was almost foolish.

When Yellow Millet appeared in Gengsheng Town, this guy disobeyed orders in secret, and now he was doing it again.

Li Nian looked into Xiang Jiang’s murky eyes.

There was no pleasure, fear, or hatred in those eyes, only a firm “this is how it should be” and even a hint of expectation.

What did this “this is how it should be” refer to? It was really hard to say.

Li Nian didn’t say much more. He connected with the front line in front of Xiang Jiang.

“Qiao Shang, our company’s strongest ghost master has other arrangements. The temporary commanding personnel have been cancelled, and from now on, you, me, and Hao Wenzhe will officially take over the command in a team of three.”

The voice on the other end of the phone was extremely noisy, like a crying wind, and Qiao Shang smiled bitterly. “What accurate timing.”

“What happened?”

“Just now, the Evil Force erupted.”

……

Not long ago, Haigu Branch Sunken Society, the exit of the underground corpse vault.

As the Evil Force raged, nearby doors gradually collapsed. Under the endless Evil Force, the living employees of Sunken Society had long since died, and even some had turned into evil creatures on the spot. At this moment, those who were already evil creatures had lost their reason and were screaming as they rushed out of the ruins.

It was just that the madness stopped as soon as they encountered Yin Ren.

The berserk Evil Force that manifested as a translucent blackness, looking extremely turbid, mixed with many black debris. However, in the midst of it, Yin Ren’s figure was still vivid.

The red veil on the thousand-year-old Ghost King’s body opened, revealing two pale and slender arms and a pair of bare feet without any cover. The extremely strong power spread through Yin Ren’s skin without being sealed.

To resist the chaotic and violent Evil Force around him, Yin Ren gradually released his own Evil Force. It repeatedly staggered away from the heavy torrents, like roots that penetrated into the rock formation, and extended them in all directions with difficulty.

In the collision of Evil Forces, Yin Ren desperately compressed his power and barely maintained a small safe zone around him.

The inexplicable Evil Force poured in continuously without any signs of stopping. As a true Evil Spirit, Yin Ren was almost crushed by the Evil Force pressing in from all sides, let alone the fragile facility of Sunken Society.

Just as they rushed out of the elevator shaft, all kinds of science and metaphysical equipment related to Sunken Society burst at once. Blue smoke and explosions intertwined, accompanied by a strong smell of burnt flesh. The surrounding space shook constantly, and there were clear signs of collapse.

The “breaking one’s arm to save one’s life*” technique of Sunken Society was indeed flawless.

*(断臂求生) Idiom referring to extreme measures taken in a desperate situation where sacrificing a part of one’s own body is necessary to ensure survival. Metaphorically, it means making a great sacrifice in order to survive or overcome a challenging situation.

With corpses as the roof and evil entities as the walls, Yin Ren put all his energy into dealing with this Evil Force. The Evil Force was like his shadow, following him everywhere, and the situation was at a stalemate. He had no room for error.

“The sniper is dead, but the pursuit continues. Sunken Society has abandoned this transitional space to protect itself.”

In an opening, Yin Ren summarized the situation succinctly.

A strand of hair was tied to his throat, and the other end was wrapped around the five fingers of Zhong Chengshuo’s hand that was talking to him through vibration.

[There is someone behind the sniper, but the intention to kill is not strong. Sunken Society will direct the space to an outside world to protect itself.]

In the darkness, lines of words appeared rapidly on the bright white screen of the mobile phone.

[Retreating is the best option.]

Yin Ren twitched the corner of his mouth.

Even in such an absurd situation, Zhong Chengshuo’s tone was still frighteningly calm, like analyzing the cost-effectiveness of discounted goods.

Indeed, the attack was lethal at the moment, but there was no killing intent.

The source of the Evil Force was already dead. The damaged corpses formed a torrent and kept attacking them ceaselessly. The person behind the scenes was obviously as powerful as the sniper, but instead of tearing apart the space and killing the two of them, they played this cat-and-mouse game. Everywhere was a dead end, but there was a glimmer of hope left.

If he were alone, he would probably not be able to withstand such a painful and torturous attack. But…

Trapped in the quagmire of Evil Force, Yin Ren tightly grasped the handle of his suitcase.

He had lived in the mountains for hundreds of years. The most ferocious beast attacks didn’t come from dying struggles, but from desperate fights.

Since waking up in this era, he seemed to have never really gone on a “night tour”?

The wings of the Yin Ren pressed Zhong Chengshuo into the suitcase and tightly wrapped around his body. In just a moment, the red veil extended, and the bone bells jingled. The shoddy red veil on Yin Ren’s body completely turned into a heavy red cocoon, and countless bone pieces inscribed with runes emerged from nothingness.

They pierced through the chaotic evil qi and directly hit the surrounding remnants of evil spirits.

That Evil Force was just pure strength.

Yin Ren felt those about-to-collapse evil beings and frantically performed spells.

He also had pure Evil Force, but he also had rationality and skills. If he simply imagined this Evil Force as a mudslide, at this moment, what he should do most…

The near-collapsed evil beings responded obediently to the call of the Ghost King by instinct.

They gathered around Yin Ren with difficulty. The corpses turned into flesh, while the evil spirits turned into tendons. The evil beings turned into armor, enveloping Yin Ren at the center and formed a long-nosed giant beast on the outside.

The next moment, Yin Ren gave up resisting in place. He drove the “giant beast” with all his strength and quickly rushed towards the distance.

Under the infection of the Evil Force, the evil beings were like effervescent tablets soaked in water. Black and red blood bubbles emerged on their bodies and ruptured at a terrifying speed. Just before the armor layer completely collapsed, Yin Ren finally broke free from the Evil Force’s envelope.

At the moment of breaking free, Yin Ren made a sharp turn with himself and the box.

Inside the cocoon wrapped around his body, he used his fingers as a knife to cut off a small handful of hair.

At the same time, the remaining evil beings outside Yin Ren flew away in an instant and were pierced by the constantly elongating hair. Their collapsing bodies attached to the hair gradually turned into a thin fabric-like material, emitting a heavy, deathly aura.

“Go!” Yin Ren shouted.

This opaque “fabric” blocked the corridor and collided with the chasing Evil Force head-on. Like water encountering waterproof fabric, the Evil Force was wrapped in it and couldn’t break through for a while.

Indeed, the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi was best at sealing Evil Spirits.

He could make a soft seal around his body, so naturally, he could make a tougher and more brutal one.

Yin Ren’s ten fingers touched each other, exerting all his strength to control his hair.

Once they left Yin Ren’s body, they wouldn’t drive his body crazy when they came into contact with the Evil Force. However, reducing the impact also meant that these hairs were like half-dead objects, and their abilities were extremely limited.

But Yin Ren only needed them to restore their most basic functions.

The black hair absorbed the scattered Evil Force and grew wildly. And this Evil Force was constantly breaking down into evil qi, which infiltrated and rapidly inflated the nearby remnants of evil spirits.

Grow, weave, grow again, weave again.

Different from the ethereal red gauze that enveloped Yin Ren’s body, the black hair had runes woven into it using the remains of evil creatures as a base, and they wildly extended, making them more firm and powerful.

The “fine cloth” was like a wildly growing skin. The more the Evil Force was wrapped up, the slower its movement became.

It really worked!

Yin Ren’s spirit shook—he crazily squeezed out his own power, continuously cycling through countless spells. More bone fragments scattered from his body, suppressing more evil creatures. Layer upon layer of debris turned into cloth, wrapping the approaching Evil Force more densely and securely.

The black hair shuttled back and forth thousands of times, and the torrential Evil Force finally came to a halt, forming a large bulge in front of Yin Ren.

On the “bag skin” woven from hair and evil creatures, there wasn’t a single crease caused by the bulge.

Yin Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He stretched out his wings a little bit and wearily reached for his suitcase. The box containing Zhong Chengshuo was intact and still heavy. Without any pursuers, Yin Ren believed that he could get some advice from Comrade Xiao Zhong on how to find a way out.

Yin Ren rubbed his waist and was about to untie the “red cocoon” around his body—

Suddenly, the “bag skin” that filled the corridor bulged and moved.

As if a giant face were pressed against the “cloth”, the originally round cloth bulged with huge and indistinct human features. The face moved for a moment, and the muscles on the face shifted with the bag skin.

It was a woman’s face with an exaggerated smile.

This is bad…

Yin Ren’s head had just finished turning this thought when those thick “red cloths”—his strongest seal—were lightly blown open in front of him.

The red cloth exploded into countless pieces of flesh and blood, and the person-shaped mouth made of the Evil Force condensed, fiercely pouncing towards him.

……

At the same time, in the abandoned building.

“Stand behind me and keep your distance!” Fu Xingchuan almost roared.

Inside the gap, a frenzied Evil Force almost spurted out. It collided head-on with Fu Xingchuan’s protective spell, almost piercing through it.

But that was only the beginning.

After the initial rupture, the gap that had not yet closed was like a wound, constantly oozing extremely thick Evil Force. If Fu Xingchuan hadn’t received a message from Yellow Millet in advance and reinforced the seal from the outside, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Fu Xingchuan was surrounded by countless golden spell charms, and his face was also reflected in the golden paper color. At this moment, Fu Xingchuan resembled a person propping up the ruins of a building—he was fully supporting the protection and dared not be distracted. The other four were lying paralyzed under the ruins, trembling in fear.

“As long as I’m alive, you will still have a chance.”

Fang Xingchuan bit his teeth until they bled.

“Hang on, there will be a turning point… Hey, you, dumpling, come on and help us!”

The great evil Yellow Millet groaned. It rolled and crawled into the coffin of the corpse cage and pretended to be dead.

Fu Xingchuan: “……”

It’s not like this thing is passive. It could be considered second in command in terms of strength here. But as expected, evil beings weren’t friendly by nature, and they couldn’t be relied upon. Even if Fu Xingchuan had obtained his “divination” from Fu Wuya and learned of his lifespan, he simply couldn’t hold on like this.

Fu Wuya was only a master, not a deity. The “divination” he had divined wasn’t absolute. Taking a step back, there was also the possibility he would have to live alone for a while.

He had to think of a solution.

Except for Lu Xiaohe, who was a science post, the talents of Fu Tianyi, Ge Tingting, and Huang Jin were all good, but unfortunately, none of them had any experience. Even the weakened version of the Divine Descent wasn’t something newcomers could handle.

However, just resisting the Evil Force had exhausted all of Fu Xingchuan’s strength… He had to think of a solution…

“What is that?” Ge Tingting, who had turned pale, pointed her finger—in view of the limited energy of a certain middle-aged man, after Fu Xingchuan initially closed the gap, he removed the dark magic around her eyes.

Who knew that this girl had the guts to peek into the gap.

Fu Xingchuan subconsciously turned his gaze, seeing dark red fragments floating in the black and gray mixed with Evil Force.

The remains of a monster with a human smell. It was probably the remains of a mutated evil that had turned into mud and been made into this shape… There were also some black threads mixed in it, which were supposed to be woven into a certain pattern but were now broken and unrecognizable.

“Fragments of an evil processed by magic,” Fu Xingchuan said hoarsely.

Ge Tingting’s AI didn’t answer.

She dared not look directly at the gap itself but at the fragments that were constantly surging out. After a few seconds, she took off Shian’s unilateral earphones.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Ge?” Lu Xiaohe still held her laptop tightly. “Did you find something? I can also see those fragments. Are they very special?”

“Those fragments aren’t right.” Ge Tingting’s AI replied in a clear tone. “Those Evil Force are a bit like human corpses. I can hear the unique noise of a corpse, and the noise is particularly sharp near those fragments.”

“Those fragments seem to have a negative effect on them, but I’m not sure.”

She wiped the remaining blood and tears from her face and turned her bloodshot eyes to Huang Jin.

“Huang Jin, you try to see. It’s okay, just look at the corners.”

Since Ge Tingting’s eyes bled when she stared directly at the gap, Huang Jin kept his eyes tightly closed. When he was called upon, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

“No, we can’t do anything!” Huang Jin shouted. “Keeping safe is the best help we can offer!”

Ge Tingting didn’t respond.

In the darkness, her originally soft mind became more and more like a diamond. Huang Jin could only see the words “Do what we can” from her… Did this girl have no concept of the severity of the situation?!

However, on second thought, she had just come into contact with the metaphysical world, and what she encountered was Evil Force and cognitive pollution… Thinking about the later cases she encountered, none of them provided her with any “normal” reference standards.

Huang Jin felt somewhat exhausted.

But this time, Ge Tingting didn’t insist on asking him for help. The little girl turned around on her own and reached out to the broken pieces of the corpse.

[These pieces are corpses, and I’m a corpse servant.]

In Huang Jin’s eyes, thoughts as simple as they were terrifying flashed by.

[If the Evil Force rejects these pieces of the corpse, what if I put the pieces back together?]

Ge Tingting struggled to move her fingers.

Unlike ordinary animal bones, these pieces of the corpse were particularly difficult to control, each weighing over a thousand catties. However, this young corpse servant still refused to give up, stubbornly moving them around.

Fu Xingchuan furrowed his brow but didn’t stop her.

After less than half a minute, Ge Tingting was panting heavily in place. Her face was pale, her pupils were shaking non-stop, and her thoughts seemed to have been run through a juicer, with many negative thoughts mixed in.

Huang Jin silently watched Ge Tingting.

Perhaps she was too young and naive, but despite the waves of negative thoughts flowing through her head like water, she had a few ironclad ideas.

[There’s still the cat, Luo Wanxiang and the others I just met, and sister Ding Lizi.]

[I always have something I can do. Even if I fail, the impact will still be reduced a bit.]

Her movements gradually became weak and disorderly, but those pieces of the corpse were really pieced together by her, forming a small piece of corpse cloth.

Fu Xingchuan exclaimed, “The black silk thread embroidered on the corpse pieces has a very strong seal. I can learn it, but it will take some time. Xiao Ge, well done, you can rest now.”

But Ge Tingting didn’t give up.

She persisted in moving the pieces of the corpse, and the corpse cloth she pieced together gradually grew larger. Seeing this person’s trance-like appearance, Huang Jin, who rarely refrained from mocking, just sighed deeply.

He cut his palm with a carving knife, clenched his fist, and let his blood drip onto the modified tranquility talisman.

Ge Tingting and Lu Xiaohe looked at him with surprise.

“I always have something I can do, don’t I?” Huang Jin muttered. “Although it’s just a little calming effect, it’s better than nothing, right?”

Ge Tingting smiled at him and moved the pieces of the corpse again.

Hmm?

The feeling of irritability and ferocity that had just been present had dissipated quite a bit, and the pieces of the corpse in the Evil Force felt lighter now… No, it was more accurate to say that she “had learned how to operate correctly”.

Ge Tingting looked at Huang Jin with some surprise, but this wasn’t the time for idle chatter. She quickly assembled the pieces of the corpse while the feeling was still present.

It wasn’t her imagination.

As the spell on the pieces of the corpse became complete, there were signs that the surrounding Evil Force was being suppressed. She quickly glanced at the gaps where the Evil Force was still flowing and raised her hands…

It transformed into a crooked and distorted adhesive bandage that covered the most severely leaking areas.

As the source weakened, the surrounding Evil Force immediately became thinner, and there was a clear smile on Fu Xingchuan’s face.

“Very good.”

He said, not forgetting to glance at Huang Jin.

“I underestimated you. With this, I can also exert some of my power. You all prepare…”

Before Fu Xingchuan finished speaking, the gap that Ge Tingting had just finished patching suddenly completely collapsed.

The collapse came without warning, and the surging Evil Force burst out, instantly engulfing the five of them.

……

Inside the gap, the transition space.

When the seal exploded, Yin Ren was once again overwhelmed by the Evil Force. Unlike the last time, he was unprepared and had insufficient energy.

Yin Ren quickly constructed a winged ball and only had time to wrap himself and his suitcase behind him.

The Evil Force this time wasn’t as chaotic as before. If the previous attack was like a mudslide chasing behind him, this time the mudslide had turned into an earth dragon and was strategically suppressing him.

The person controlling from behind became serious.

…He took out his strongest sealing technique, but in the end, wasn’t it still like a cat playing with a mouse? All his resistance now seemed a bit ridiculous.

In the tattered winged ball, Yin Ren wiped the dirt from his face and tried to calm his breathing.

No, he couldn’t give up yet. He just had to escape, not win.

The winged ball, which was wrapped into a ball, trembled incessantly, and the invasion of the Evil Force from the outside was extremely painful. Yin Ren gritted his teeth and tried to squeeze out his exhausted thoughts.

Just then, a hand reached out from the suitcase and firmly squeezed the winged ball.

[Yin Ren, please restore yourself to your original form.]

Zhong Chengshuo held tightly onto his phone and turned on the only source of light in the darkness.

[No matter what kind of evil we face, your true form will always be stronger.]

“I can’t do that. It’ll cause sensory chaos!” Yin Ren immediately replied. “I need my normal five senses to properly protect you.”

Indeed, his state of mind was more favorable when fighting a sniper, but at that time he thought Zhong Chengshuo was dead and only saw the sniper running around, ignoring the damage it caused to its surroundings. But now, he had to protect Zhong Chengshuo…

[It’s not necessary. Your sense of touch is enough, leave the rest to me.]

Zhong Chengshuo replied. He lifted himself from the suitcase and hugged the bundle of wings beside him.

[Leave it to me.]

“Okay,” Yin Ren said, closing his eyes.

The next moment, a gray-black ocean poured out.

Compared to that, the Evil Force rushing towards them was like stagnant, turbid water. His sense of touch became somewhat numb, perhaps due to sensory chaos, and his severe pain became dull. With his five senses gone, Yin Ren’s world plunged into nothingness.

The sniper he was chasing had completely died, and there were no living beings around, which was terrifyingly desolate.

Yin Ren’s consciousness drifted away again, leaving only evil spirits and corpses around him. They were wandering in the distance of the battlefield, echoing almost imperceptible ripples.

In the void, those ripples were small and clear, as if they could be touched by reaching out.

…If he tried to seal them in this form again, perhaps the effect would be better, Yin Ren thought in a daze while his thoughts scattered.

It was just a thought, but those evil spirits seemed to have received a death order and gathered here at high speed. As if a layer of gauze before his eyes had been lifted, controlling the evil spirits had never been so easy.

But where was the enemy?

When the sniper was still alive, Yin Ren could track the ripples belonging to the enemy. Now, it was just manipulated wreckage. In the chaos of his five senses, it was difficult for Yin Ren to distinguish the direction of his target.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on a certain part of his body, like a polished claw gently scratching.

A very small and soft pull.

Yin Ren instinctively moved his body, only to collide with a sudden attack of Evil Force.

…Zhong Chengshuo was guiding him.

Although it was unclear how that person did it, there was no doubt that his partner was guiding him in battle.

Just the sense of touch was enough, as it turned out.

There was another gentle tug, and Yin Ren’s body contracted. This time he had no hair, but instead shed large chunks of his body, which were covered in countless runes that merged with the gathering evil spirits.

Compared to hair, the effect of large chunks of flesh was obviously much more powerful.

If this were outside, it would be a serious source of evil qi pollution. Yin Ren’s thoughts raced through his mind, but the anxiety and pressure had disappeared.

The evil spirits that came into contact with Yin Ren’s flesh rapidly swelled again, transforming into a heavy seal. However, this time, the seal didn’t weakly envelop those forces—it turned into sharp blades that sliced the surging Evil Force cleanly.

A gentle pull.

The ocean of wings surged and intertwined with the murky power.

A quiet tug.

The flesh and blood gathered into blades fell, and the dead torrent violently disintegrated. One piece, four pieces, eight pieces—the seal cut them off and then tightly isolated them.

As if sensing something, that power was guided to rampage and destroy, seemingly wanting to damage the space itself. The surging flow of Evil Force caused countless small cracks to appear in the transitional space. If this were in normal circumstances, it would be enough to disrupt any conscious attack.

However, except for Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren had almost given up all external perception.

That person seemed to have become his most agile combat nerve. Yin Ren acted very quickly and without hesitation.

This feeling was very strange. Previously, maintaining human form and fighting felt like a mortal dealing with a natural disaster. Now he had also become a natural disaster, despite being exhausted and unable to see or hear anything.

…But he was very calm.

That person guided him time and time again, and the entangling forces were scattered and separated by the seal. After dispersing, the process of decomposing them into evil qi became faster.

Finally, the murky power stopped moving.

The ocean of wings slumped in place, and the tense nerves suddenly relaxed. Yin Ren almost laid down to recover his human form.

As soon as his five senses returned, Yin Ren was too lazy to deal with the spatial cracks. He looked in the direction where Zhong Chengshuo was. The smile on his face hadn’t had a chance to appear before it froze on his lips.

Zhong Chengshuo was standing two steps away from him.

The man’s chest, neck, and many small wounds were all covered in Evil Force… No, it wasn’t so much that they were covered, as they were absorbed.

They wriggled, transformed, and revealed a newborn’s delicate flesh color at the broken parts.

Inside the wound, the organs were initially the size of a baby but quickly expanded and transformed into adult organs. The head was even stranger—a mixture of baby, adolescent, and adult features blended together on the fleshy ball. They looked like some kind of bizarre computer effect, slowly floating and merging like drops of oil, gradually becoming the facial features that Yin Ren was familiar with.

Those were the facial features of Zhong Chengshuo.

Even at the moment of growth, the head was still tilted—Zhong Chengshuo’s neck hadn’t turned, but his chin was facing his left shoulder.

But the “ordinary” man only fumbled for a moment. He held the head on both sides and lightly twisted it forward.

Crack.

The final wound slowly healed, and Zhong Chengshuo stood quietly in front of Yin Ren, bare-chested.

“Yin Ren.”

He opened his black hole-like eyes and called out softly.