CH 100

Zhong Yi—or rather—Yin Ren had rarely had such a moment of concentration.

He was ashamed to say, but Lord Ghost King didn’t like to use his brain. He had wandered around in the wilderness before and didn’t have the habit of thinking deeply. After entering the world, his opponents were nothing more than humans. Relying on hundreds of years of experience in communicating with humans, Yin Ren was able to deal with things freely.

As for using strategy to fight for power and profit, similar ideas never entered his mind.

After all, there was nothing more relaxing in the world than “lying on the sofa and not wanting anything”. If there was, then the first part of that sentence would be changed to “lying on Zhong Chengshuo”, and the second half would remain resolutely unchanged.

Now that Zhong Chengshuo knew his identity, everything was subtly relaxed.

Yin Ren was even a little thankful for Sunken Society that allowed his identity to be exposed. Otherwise, if they were walking down the street one day while chewing on some popsicles and he suddenly said, “Actually, I’m the Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi”, it was hard to tell how Zhong Chengshuo would react.

His Comrade Xiao Zhong was a genuine science post.

Even if Zhong Chengshuo was blinded by his feelings and was willing to believe him without any evidence, for a good young man with strong roots, the so-called “Celestial Master Zhong Yi” was far less impactful than a “humanoid Evil Spirit”.

Then Zhong Chengshuo may just have the same surname, which might not be much different from “A dog biting Lu Dongbin*”…

*(被狗咬的吕洞宾) Originally meaning that two people don’t know each other’s thoughts so they misunderstand. Now used to refer to someone who doesn’t know good from bad.

Yin Ren had paid attention. The “Zhong Yi” of this era was just a statue of a deity, a wall painting in a cultivator’s home, or a few pages of legend in a library; closer to a symbol.

The place where he had the strongest sense of existence was nothing less than a summary from the 100-year work report… Ah, no, <The Book of Exorcism>.

Those reports had been edited and sorted by the relevant personnel of Huajisi, and many people had compiled other discoveries in later generations. They gave the author’s name to Yin Ren and let it pass through prosperous and troubled times, continuing to this day.

But that was about it.

Previously, Huajisi said that they made a statue of him and placed it in the most conspicuous position in their lobby as a sign of respect. Today, there were only large electronic screens showing various information and news in the hall of Shian.

…Well, he was thinking too far.

It was imperative to get out first and uncover the evil thing behind the scenes.

Yin Ren suppressed his aura well. He met his 1,000-year-old cushion, but it didn’t seem to recognize him. That thing swelled itself and was chasing after them plaintively. The “eyeball” was covered with purple and black flakes that looked like silk ribbons.

Yin Ren knew Yellow Millet better than anyone else. That thing’s intelligence was flimsier than a dog’s, and it was lazy as hell.

Right now, Yellow Millet was instigated by the evil thing behind the scenes and was chasing them like a dog. However, it didn’t use any spells because it was 100% lazy. If it couldn’t catch up for a while, it would use all of its strength, which would make the situation more difficult.

Yin Ren thought humorously about how many times in one’s life one would get the chance to be chased by a sofa cushion.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t share this humor with the two ministers.

The architecture of the Ant Nest gradually became newer. The murals were so dense that they made them feel uncomfortable. The dry corpses were gathered in piles like trash, with dry filaments stuck between them. The lights of the everlasting lanterns were dazzling, and the interior of the rooms was full of a strange “popularity”, as if a researcher would turn in from outside the door in the next moment.

They were close to the edge of the Ant Nest, and the gap between the buildings was much larger than the previous tight seams.

More evil things gathered in the shadows and joined the killing team led by Yellow Millet. Odd figures popped out of the gap, surrounded by strong evil qi, and rushed towards the five of them with a murderous aura.

Fu Xingchuan controlled his levitation spell with one hand while quickly switching between attack and defense with the other. The attacking evil beings were swept away by waves like rainwater encountering windshield wipers.

Under high-speed travel, ordinary people would have to concentrate entirely just to identify their environment. This man was in his forties, yet his dynamic vision was simply terrifying.

This made Yin Ren even more relaxed.

They were quite close to the surface. With the strength of Fu Xingchuan, it wasn’t difficult to break through the ground. The hard part was to confirm whether there were residential buildings above them.

In the event of a residential building collapse, the two ministers wouldn’t have to worry about assigning execution missions any longer. Everyone would just pack up and leave Shian together.

Having said that, it was good that Fu Xingchuan was so preoccupied like this. He could take the opportunity to drop out and probe using his hair.

As long as Zhong Chengshuo was willing to cooperate with his act…

Yin Ren subconsciously moved his wrist.

Zhong Chengshuo held Yin Ren tightly, as if he were afraid he would suddenly evaporate at any moment. If the man hadn’t hugged the sampling backpack on his chest with so much force that he could strangle it, Yin Ren would actually have been moved.

He looked at Zhong Chengshuo for about half a second. The latter suddenly turned his head and stared at Yin Ren for a moment, then shook his head gently.

“Now’s not the time.” Zhong Chengshuo mouthed.

“Be careful of surveillance from Sunken Society.”

Sure enough, compared with before, Zhong Chengshuo’s attitude toward him hadn’t changed much.

After this person cautiously instructed Yin Ren, he turned his head calmly. His soft bangs were blown about by the wind, and the flames from the everlasting lanterns danced around his lenses.

They happened to be leaping over a rugged, narrow path. An evil thing was cut in half by Fu Xingchuan. Ghost blood splashed on Zhong Chengshuo’s face like ink. Like water droplets touching a lotus leaf, those dark blood beads rolled off the skin and fell into the darkness.

Just when Yin Ren thought Zhong Chengshuo was going to stay put, the man opened his mouth and was unusually solemn…

“Minister Li, we can blow up the building.”

This person had a gentle and harmless appearance, but he spoke more ruthlessly than anyone else. Wasn’t the Archive already such a big explosion? Zhong Chengshuo’s macroscopic view was too large!

Fu Xingchuan, Li Nian: “…?”

Hearing such treacherous remarks, Fu Xingchuan’s movements stagnated for a second. The direction of the levitation spell changed slightly as the five of them passed under the low eaves, almost becoming a bunch of radishes strung out to dry under the eaves.

Unexpectedly, not long after Li Radish, who was named, responded, “It’s a way.”

Fu Xingchuan seemed to want to cover his face. Since his hands were still frantically performing spells, he simply endured. “Okay, Xiao Zhong. Let’s hear it.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “The above ground group will create huge shocks in no man’s land so we can immediately determine the direction and forcefully break through.”

“Yes, there are many abandoned buildings in the center of the mountain town. They just need to disperse the townsfolk,” Li Nian added with a frown.

Fu Xingchuan’s expression was complicated. He glanced at Zhong Chengshuo from the corner of his eye.

There was nothing wrong with the logic of Zhong Chengshuo’s idea, but being able to come up with this type of solution in the first place was certainly a problem in and of itself.

There was something missing in his tone, as if he wasn’t talking about a real mountain town but a level that needed to be knocked out in a game. The nature of Shian’s personnel’s instinct for maintaining order was deeply engraved in their bones, so it was truly difficult to think of… an action with such destructive tendencies.

This kid…

Fu Xingchuan muttered in his heart but didn’t waste even half a second.

“Xiang Jiang, come in. Where are you?”

……

On the surface, three Shian personnel plus a panting Mayor Ren were shuttling back and forth among the ruins of buildings.

The residents of the town seemed to have been possessed. It was obviously a working day, but the men, women, and children in the town seemed to have nothing to do. They kept gathering at the center of the town with all kinds of objects that could be considered weapons in their hands.

Some people still wore their indoor slippers and had uncleared foam on their hair as they joined the army that was chasing them.

Every time the four of them moved a little, those heads would follow their movements in a neat manner. A thousand pairs of eyes stared at their group.

One person’s pursuit could be called “intentional killing”, while a group of people’s pursuit was considered “hunting”. From Ge Tingting’s point of view, the current scene was already in the realm of a “siege”.

Before receiving Fu Xingchuan’s communication, Shian’s “ground team” was parked on the top of an abandoned office building.

The building was eight stories high and was inlaid with expensive glass curtain walls. It had been abandoned for some time, as climbing vines had drilled in and out of the windows and the old air-conditioner had merged with a bird’s nest. It had long since become a paradise for animals and plants. The chains locking the doors couldn’t prevent the townspeople from breaking in.

Even though the elevator no longer worked, the group of townsfolk ran up the stairs tirelessly.

Ge Tingting listened nervously to the faint sounds of their footsteps. No one spoke in the corridor; only the sounds of weapons colliding and panting could be heard. The townspeople approached them mechanically, reminding her of a movie showing a zombie siege she had just watched a while ago.

It was truly worthy of being a site of Sunken Society, as it accurately hit Shian’s weakness. The townspeople wanted to tear them to pieces, while the staff of Shian weren’t allowed to hurt them and could only flee in panic.

In the previous escape, every time the townspeople rushed to the rooftop, Xiang Jiang would pop out a spirit weapon and swing them to the nearest roof of the next building. The townspeople began to catch on and would squat on nearby rooftops.

Finally, they couldn’t escape.

Before they knew it, they were forced into the very center of the mountain town. The circular line rumbled around them; the sound and mist intertwined to form a heavy cage.

Those mostly aging figures stood on the rooftops of nearby buildings, all facing the direction of the office building. They either had their heads raised or lowered, and their eyes were tightly tied to the four of them as if they were bound by invisible ropes.

The mist at the bottom of the building shook like waves.

No matter how strong a person was, as long as they were mortal, their strength would be limited. This group of people wanted to grind them to death—they had been at the bottom of society for too long that even Ge Tingting and Huang Jin had reacted quickly to their malice.

Just like that, they had stopped on the eight floors of the office building for a few minutes. Before they could even catch their breath, the door of the rooftop creaked. Xiang Jiang didn’t turn his head back and arranged his spirit weapon again with a blank face.

Ge Tingting pursed her lips tightly and looked over worriedly, but she only saw the man frowning tightly. The expression on his face was more one of disgust, like he was looking at dirty things rather than exhaustion.

The disgust disappeared quickly. When Ge Tingting wiped the sweat from her eyes with her sleeve, Xiang Jiang’s face returned to blankness again.

A dark red rope as thick as a thumb popped towards a nearby rooftop. Xiang Jiang quietly performed a levitating spell.

It was unknown whether he had consumed too much mental energy leading the townspeople across the mountain town, but the red rope swayed weakly a few times, but failed to latch onto the adjacent building and softly fell between the gap.

Xiang Jiang retracted the rope with a sullen face and turned around.

Seeing that the situation wasn’t good, Huang Jin gritted his teeth and took out a picture of a crimson paper cutout. The paper cutout twisted and unfolded itself, turning into a circle of small people holding hands in a circle. It trembled and slowly rotated as it surrounded the four people in the middle.

On the roof, to the right of them, were about six town residents waiting in a line, which was the “breakthrough” with the fewest people.

The father and daughter who sold them the donuts were among them; their greasy aprons was particularly conspicuous.

The father wielded a wide-back cleaver used for mincing meat, while the daughter held two long chopsticks with sharpened ends. At first, the expressions on their faces were slightly different. The father’s face was full of pleasure, while the daughter showed some resistance.

But after a while, only the same dazed state remained on their faces. Ge Tingting raised her eyes and looked again. Around them, everyone showed exactly the same emotions. It wasn’t hatred but was closer to despair and sorrow.

The townspeople who besieged them were men, women, and children; old and young, with different heights and weights. The different facial features of the people blurred and gradually changed into one appearance. It was like copying the same expression and forcibly pasting it onto all the townspeople’s faces.

The residents struggled to get closer, but their bodies were stopped by the red paper circles. However, they seemed to be tireless and felt no pain, and they continued to squeeze persistently through the barrier.

Ren Jiying wasn’t affected, but she was terrified. Along the way, she couldn’t even muster up any questions to ask, probably because she was putting all her courage into running.

At this moment, the headsets of several people trembled.

“Blow up a ruined building.” Fu Xingchuan paused. “Show us a way.”

“This place has a lot of problems. If it continues to drag on, something will definitely happen.”