Chapter 495: The Enigmatic Field

The Doll was positioned about twenty to thirty meters high in the air.

In contrast, the warship’s steel mast soared into the clouds, measuring at least forty meters tall. Lu Xin nimbly scaled the mast like a phantom under the Red Moon, easily reaching the top deck to stand on the crossbeam.

From this high vantage point, he quietly gazed into the distance…

All around lay a dark, endless sea, while before him, a massive Red Moon, nearly one-third submerged, hung in the sky.

Accompanied by the Red Moon, Lu Xin silently observed the surroundings.

……

……

The moment Lu Xin reached the top of the mast and his gaze fell upon the area, reactions suddenly sparked from every direction.

Whether it was the Thorn Crown Woman from the West, gracefully wading through the water, the colossal Sea Demon from the East surging forward amidst towering waves, the Nine-Headed Snake Man in a suit from the South arriving by yacht, or countless others whose exact number was unknown – all emanated an eerie, chilling aura.

They all lifted their heads, looking ahead.

In the vast, dark ocean, none could meet another’s gaze directly.

Yet, through the field constructed by the Doll, they made cautious contact on a spiritual level.

Within this field, Lu Xin quietly observed them, sensing their vigilance, caution, and probing intent.

Then he murmured softly, “I am a guard…”

“…No one is allowed in here!”

“…”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he gently extended his palm to caress the field the Doll had created.

In that instant, it was as if the strings of a musical instrument were plucked.

An unseen force, channeled by the field’s power, shot off into the distance in a burst.

Lowering his gaze, Lu Xin saw that his Father, Mom, and Sister had all vanished.

“Buzz buzz…”

It was as if someone had plucked the taut strings violently, producing a cacophony of complex, grating noises that expanded rapidly, carried by the power of the field across dozens of kilometers.

During this process, Lu Xin experienced a peculiar sensation.

Besides Mom, hardly any family member had ever been so far from him, yet now they were all effortlessly within reach.

The strangest part was that although they were distant, he still felt as if they were right beside him.

The field…

The Mental Overlord’s power truly was a mysterious force.

……

……

“Hm?”

On a yacht coming from the South Sea, the Nine-Headed Snake Man in a suit paused slightly in surprise.

He had entered the field constructed by the Doll without sensing anything unusual nor feeling any concern. He knew that the owner of the field was busy dealing with the power leaking from the abyss’s creatures, leaving little attention for himself.

Meanwhile, several auxiliary Ability Users without the field’s support hadn’t yet reached the point of noticing him.

He had merely paused because he detected some abnormal movement within the field.

However, before he could decide whether to proceed, he suddenly looked up, his body breaking out in cold sweat.

He saw the field subtly trembling as if propelled by some force moving through it.

The next moment, a giggling laugh echoed.

Around him, grim waves rolled and fish flipped their white bellies, as if a black tide capable of devouring everything surged.

Above all, a single vivid Red Moon reigned over everyone’s head, silently overseeing the sea.

Yet that clear laugh had suddenly pierced his ears—joyful, excited, with a hint of mischief.

“Oh my, you look so cute. I like you…”

“Come with me and play with my toys…”

“…”

Amid that chilling, cheerfully eerie laughter, the nine heads protruding from the man’s neck began to twist simultaneously. The snake heads slithered out, each fixated in a different direction, as if a single head had split into nine parts.

“Whoosh!”

From behind him, a small hand suddenly materialized out of nowhere, grabbing at his neck.

The pale, lifeless hand, with an otherworldly cold pallor, silently reached around his back.

Had it not been for his two heads already monitoring behind him, he would have completely missed that small hand.

The Nine-Headed Snake Man in the suit watched the pair of eyes behind him fixated on that tiny hand, both emitting an icy gleam.

Suddenly, his two heads elongated with a hissing sound, wrapping around the small hand and stretching along its arm. The snake mouths abruptly snapped open, aiming to bite the hand’s owner with swift, precise, and cold-blooded ferocity.

But in the very next moment, the Nine-Headed Snake Man in the suit hesitated, as if taken aback.

The snake heads, coiled around his arms, advanced to strike at his opponent’s main body—but he suddenly realized there was no main body.

Those two small hands were, after all, just two small hands.

Biting at empty air, they were caught by his two heads, which flipped outward to grasp his two necks accurately.

Soon, his forward-facing pair of heads caught sight of an adorable little face smiling at him. In that smile, a mouth lined with sharp teeth even opened wide to bite one of his nine heads.

At the same time, his shoulders sank slightly as two slender little legs wrapped around his neck, tightening their grip forcefully.

The Nine-Headed Snake Man in the suit furrowed his brow.

“Splash…”

His body suddenly softened, sliding rapidly away and detaching from its original spot.

Nine necks and nine heads all locked their gaze forward.

Where he had once stood, twisted, contorting bodies quickly reassembled into a well-behaved, adorable little girl with pitch-black pupils and razor-sharp teeth, clutching a Screaming Chicken and giving it a firm squeeze.

“Slish…”

That sound was piercingly grating.

The Nine-Headed Snake Man’s body stiffened, standing alert about three to four meters away while his nine snake heads wildly swayed, spitting saliva.

If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he would already have been ensnared by them.

On two of his nine heads, clear handprints were visible on the necks.

The eerie, distorted skin had turned into bizarre wrinkles.

It was as if, in that brief moment of contact, some force had twisted and damaged those patches of skin beyond recognition.

He stared silently at the strange and chilling little girl as the man in the suit casually slipped his hands into his pockets.

Standing tall, the central snake head slowly bowed its head as if smiling.

Its light brown eyes fixed on the little girl, and from its mouth came human words: “What a cute little sister…”

“It’s so late now; it’s not safe on the sea.”

“Where are your guardians? Why haven’t they taken you home yet?”

“…”

“Tap tap tap…”

The Screaming Chicken, clutched in the little girl’s mouth, scurried across the yacht with contorted movements, as fast as a spectral blur.

“My brother sent me.”

She seemed to be searching for the man in the suit’s weakness, and after a brief inspection, she climbed onto the yacht’s deck.

Beaming cheerfully, she said to the man in the suit, “Brother knows I love toys, so he told me to bring you back…”

The Nine-Headed Snake Man in the suit paused before softly shaking his head, replying, “That’s not exactly what your brother said.”

“But that’s exactly what he said.”

The little girl persisted, her smile on the man’s cool face growing increasingly exaggerated and distorted.

Her dark, shining pupils suddenly flared as she rushed forward again, “Come with me…”

“Be my toy…”

“You must obey your brother, or he’ll beat you to death…”

……

……

“Hehehehehe…”

At that very moment, the Giant Sea Demon from the East moved through the deep waters.

Each inch it moved stirred towering waves rising dozens of meters high.

Its massive form, gliding across the sea, inherently evoked an unstoppable aura of terror.

Even its potent and fearsome mental power caused all nearby creatures to lose their instinct to resist.

Yet as it hurried forward, amidst the churn of waves, a cold sneer unexpectedly echoed from nearby.

It was a dry, hollow laugh, filled with disdain for the world.

That laugh abruptly halted the giant demon’s advance as its six eyes simultaneously snapped open, gazing downward.

The Red Moon in the sky, amidst the inky sea, reflected a vague, shadowy figure in its glow.

That shadow was enormous, as if it encompassed the entire sea.

It seemed to be the demon’s own shadow, but in the next moment, the demon became sharply alert.

Because it saw that the shadow was smiling at it.

……

……

Meanwhile, in the northern waters, a series of claw marks emerged on the sea surface and raced forward.

It was a spectral, barely perceptible hound under the Red Moon. Devoid of skin, its muscles oozed blood, and its fierce teeth glistened. Wherever its four claws trod, droplets of blood seeped into the sea, leaving vivid red trails.

It swam rapidly through the waters, like a ghostly demon.

Some of its mental power was shredded by the encounter, while more of it fled in fear.

It loyally patrolled the domain as if guarding its master’s territory, its greedy and vicious eyes scanning the surroundings.

Finally, its sunken, lifeless eyes fixed intently ahead like a dead fish.

There, atop a dark reef, an Undercover Unit wearing a black top hat stared down arrogantly.

“Awooo…”

The Skinless Dog suddenly swelled to an enormous three to four meters tall. With its bare, exposed flesh, blood continuously seeped out.

Drip by drip, it fell to the ground like a series of blood-red blooms.

It rushed right in front of the Undercover Unit on the reef and bit down fiercely with a gaping maw filled with jagged fangs.

“Smack…”

The Undercover Unit suddenly leapt high, somersaulted, and kicked it back into the sea.

……

……

At the same time, from the western coastline, the Graceful Queen strode over and gradually halted.

The dark sea at her side churned and splashed as though being sifted by unseen hands, sending up massive waves.

Amid the crashing waves stood an elegant woman wearing a white top hat and carrying a small bag, quietly waiting there.