[The train is about to arrive at the station.]
Beyond the train windows, faint, illusory projections of a B-Class anomalous space emerge, a place choked with slaughter and raging howls.
Rats within have grown ferocious, swarming out of their nests to chase people in all directions. Although most have begun to flee, some groups, undeterred by the 300-year deduction in Chronos, choose to stand and fight the rat-men.
Yang Zicang tore off the train conductor’s silver uniform, allowing it to dissolve into ethereal energy.
–Right here will do.–
The train shuttling through the void abruptly materialized in the real world, and stopping without pulling into a station consumed a great deal of Chronos for the train—yet it dared not utter a single word of complaint.
–The Xiongying gang is here to back them up. Run!–
The crowd fled in panic. It was said that at night, anyone struck by this train would become its puppet.
There, the legendary train of the Xiongying gang—capable of galloping through every corner of the city—appeared, churning the air as it emerged from the void. One of its central carriages coalesced into solidity, hovering one meter above the ground, while its front and rear ends faded into obscurity, untraceable.
–It really is Matt Chao! Get out of here!–
The members of the other teams had already taken off and run away ahead of everyone else.
The train door slid open with a clamor, and a robust figure appeared at the entrance, holding a bloodstained longsword.
In the darkness, no one could see clearly, but someone still recognized him.
–Oh my god, it’s Yang Zicang!–
–Those InvestMoxels weren’t begging for clemency earlier, telling him to stop… Could he have been on this train?–
–Stop? Damn, what the hell is going on?–
The surrounding crowd instantly erupted.
–What is that thing beside him? Is it carrying a blurry humanoid figure in its mouth?–
–Do souls really exist? Could the one being carried be Matt Chao?–
–How is that possible!–
Many people halted in their tracks; this scene was too unbelievable.
Yang Zicang had actually stepped off Matt Chao’s train, accompanied by something like Matt Chao’s spiritual form.
{I’ll head to the nearest subway station. If you need me, just call out my name.}
Judging from Zhang Fei and this Matt Chao’s case, the baleful spectral fiends nurtured by humans all seem to respect the strong.
But Yang Zicang was still a bit worried it would take off, so he threatened menacingly:
–Don’t even think about running, or I won’t be the one dealing with you next time.–
The Paleshade Wyrm turned its head to glance greedily at the train.
{I’ll wait for you here.}
–Yang Zicang, did you kill Matt Chao?–
Someone shouted from beside a steel ruin several dozen meters away.
Yang Zicang ignored everyone. He walked forward, heading toward a fissure that led to the rat-man nest.
–Watch out, Lu Zhishen is inside.–
–Hey, are you going in to take down the Oppressor? I advise you not to throw away your life…–
Suddenly the sky lit up. A crimson shockwave burst through the ground from inside the nest, shooting straight into the heavens. Faintly, another silvery-white moon emerged above.
A terrifying pressure shrouded the heavens and the earth. A dull roar echoed deep within everyone’s soul.
How could anyone dare stay? They madly scattered in all directions.
……
Inside the A-tier Intersection Dimension.
Zhou Heng and the others began re-stabilizing a different patch of space, trying to replace the previous scene to prevent them from hiding any entry platforms inside.
Zhou Heng, who was stabilizing the first sceneryscape, suddenly received a Syn-Link.
–How many of our people are left?– he asked urgently.
{Hardly any remain. But there’s a piece of news: Matt Chao probably won’t enter your Intersection Dimension for now.}
–Did he go to hunt you guys down?–
{No, he’s already crippled. He might die.}
–What?!–
–What happened?–
A few members at headquarters found the news utterly preposterous; Matt Chao had been standing before them, alive and well, just minutes ago.
–What the hell is going on?– Zhou Heng asked nervously.
{It’s Yang Zicang. That brat is heading straight for the Denizens’ nest right now. He’s suspected to have taken control of Matt Chao’s parasitic demon train! He might even have seized Matt Chao’s psionic form!}
–Hiss~–
The group was profoundly stunned.
The man who had just been threatening them under their very noses was now rendered useless by a newcomer?
–How could this happen?–
The hulking man beside Zhou Heng murmured. Matt Chao was someone he himself couldn’t even handle.
{Our side suspects that Yang Zicang may have gained the ability to truly manifest tangible objects from his mind.}
–He has telekinetic powers!– Zhou Heng’s chest heaved.
The hulking man looked at the silent Tong Wenqi: –If that gun were in Matt Chao’s hands, could you snatch it away?–
Tong Wenqi remained silent, his gaze dark and solemn.
At that moment, he understood why that C-level Void Point, one boasting a shadow-and-moon beast, had been breached so quickly.
This realization dealt a heavy blow to Tong Wenqi’s confidence.
One of them, a sharp-jawed man in glasses, said:
–It’s been dozens of hours now, but my predictions have yet to bear any fruit.–
He quickly cast the dice within the small square box.
[I predict that Yang Zicang deliberately abandoned the Cent-Arms not under coercion.]
[My prediction is correct.]
A flicker of shock flashed in his eyes—the answer had emerged directly!
–It was intentional!–
Almost at the same time, Tong Wenqi let out a snide, disgruntled laugh:
–Hmph, I hate this kid. He can even kill Matt Chao, so how couldn’t he hold onto a single gun? It’s absolutely deliberate.–
–But why throw away the gun?–
–Who knows.–
Having said that, a few of them turned to Zhou Heng, –How about we return the gun to him and say we specially retrieved it for him?–
Zhou Heng pinched the frame of his glasses with two fingers and nodded, –The Cent-Arms was precious before, but now, clearly, Yang Zicang’s worth is greater. Let’s do it that way.–
……
The moment Yang Zicang’s figure stepped into the nest, a tangible gaze came from the depths of the nest.
–The Resister, huh,– he hesitated inwardly.
His target was Lu Zhishen, but if the other party had already joined forces with the Resister, then he would have no choice but to flee.
Just as this thought occurred, Yang Zicang suddenly gained a clear intuition.
[Councilman No.41 is watching me.]
[–You’ve made the right choice, so don’t back down. Go reclaim the ‘Containment Object,’ and I will grant you the possibility of a reward.-****]
Yang Zicang looked up at the top of the nest.
–May I ask, esteemed Councilman, what exactly are you people?–
[Do you wish to use that ‘possibility of a reward’ to pay for this answer?]
–No, I’d rather not.–
Yang Zicang asked no more. Though the answer might be pivotal, it held no real value for him at this moment.
He charged inward with swift determination.
……
A tall, burly man with a cleanly shaven head stood at the small doorway on the edge of the great hall, holding a book in his strained hands.
The formidable aura of the Defier hung heavy; without the aid of this book, Lu Zhishen felt he would have already lost his sanity.
Footsteps thudded, thudded, thudded.
A young man with a receding hairline rushed in, the Moxel on Huang Hsu’s chest flickering as he spoke with a groveling unease: –Brother Shen, there’s some bad news…–
–This is a critical moment. Didn’t I say not to disturb me with anything?–
Part of the burly man’s mind fused with the book; through this artifact, he conjured a translucent female apparition that stepped into the hall, engaging in a deep, subconscious exchange with the hostile Defier.
The information exchanged between them surged like the vast, tumultuous ocean, and Lu Zhishen was already mentally drained; any disturbance at this moment could stir up intense resentment and fury in his heart.
Suddenly, the warden who had been sinking deep into these ancient information abruptly turned his head, his gaze erupting with earth-shattering murderous intent, as waves of oppressive force condensed into whiplike shadows and claw marks flickering like choppy tides.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Columns and walls within the great hall were instantly etched with countless deep furrows.
Lu Zhishen turned his head and said irritably, –It seems someone those bastards cares about is here. Go out and find out who it is, and take care of them.–
–I’m afraid it’s Yang Zicang.–
The warden’s gaze instantly turned icy cold toward him.
–Oh… alright, I’ll go check it out.–
The bald young man’s forehead broke out in cold sweat as he fled outside.
–Damn it! Of all times it had to pick now, when it’s almost the finishing touches.–
Lu Zhishen threw more of his concentration into subduing the partly seething warden barely able to hold back from breaking the match and facing off in person.
If that happened, then his second chance for –deep dialogue– would slip away—the warden never let anyone glean a third engagement at close quarters, not even a so-called brainchild.
Through the perception gained that silent evening, Yang Zicang followed instinct and began to find a path he had gradually known like the back of his hand.
｛Mr. Zicang, it seems that a terrifying monster has appeared in your city—I never expected such a beast to emerge from a backwater town. Are you planning to hunt it down or seal it?｝
Morris was a bit agitated; he had always believed Yang Zicang was formidable, but he never imagined he was this powerful—this guy truly dared to challenge such a menace on his own.
[More or less.]
Yang Zicang gritted his teeth and replied.
If he refused the councilor this time, he would probably be completely done for.
He had already asked Morris if he could temporarily provide some support in case Chronos demanded something later, and surprisingly, Morris readily agreed.
The training proxy contracts had already been sold twice through secret channels by Morris and Boboli.
The buyers were thrilled—anyone who had survived in this world for a few months would know that these contract books inscribed with skills could hardly be obtained through ordinary means.
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