Chapter 536: Chaos Unleashed

As the frenzied crowd began to overrun the city, four unnervingly calm figures appeared on the street.

Clad in black professional suits, their statures and features were oddly mismatched – their bodies feminine yet each distinct.

One looked like a man in his thirties with a tied ponytail, another a plump fellow with subtly rounded cheeks and a slick, oily smile. The other two were a young woman with a nose piercing and heavy makeup and a man with dyed blonde hair.

Their stark differences in appearance and attire made them all seem strangely out of place.

Even their walk, as if a man had donned a ladies’ suit, exuded an unsettling incongruity.

They stood at the street corner, looking upward with vacant eyes to witness a mad, nightmarish scene – a tidal wave of frenzied people, charging toward the Administration Hall from every direction.

“Clack clack clack…”

They all turned simultaneously, a crisp sound from their spines punctuating the air as they exchanged glances.

No words were exchanged, nor were any particular expressions shown; that blank, direct stare was enough to communicate their intent.

Then, defying the surging crowd, they advanced against the tide and quickly vanished among the throng.

……

……

“Hahaha, this is exhilarating…”

On the street, a particularly fierce group surged wherever chaos reigned – once they charged, pandemonium was inevitable.

Amidst this, Gecko nestled happily among the people, reveling in an unprecedented thrill.

While enjoying the chaos, he schemed to stoke the fiery fervor even higher; his eyes soon zeroed in on the Security Hall.

The impassioned crowd at that moment was hardly armed—someone had even hurled a pair of slippers.

So, if they could break through the Security Hall and seize some weapons…

He grinned slyly and bellowed, “Charge, brothers! Head to the Security Hall and grab some guns!”

It wasn’t just his shout—nobody else had even thought about arming themselves.

Yet his call instantly sparked excitement, and together they surged toward the Security Hall in a mighty, unstoppable wave.

Driven by reckless excitement and fervor, like crashing tidal waves, nothing seemed able to hinder their advance. But as they rounded a corner, their pace suddenly slowed as they instinctively glanced ahead in astonishment.

A couple of dim streetlights cast their glow over the dismal road.

On the street, a few cars lay crisscrossed, slicing the road in half.

A man in a professional suit stood with his head bowed, silently waiting in their path…

His head-lowered posture was unnervingly odd.

It hung limply as if disconnected, swaying slightly with no strength.

“Charge… charge on…”

The crowd faltered at the sight of this bizarre figure, their pace slowing as if doused by a bucket of cold water.

But soon someone from within the throng yelled out, rallying the group to keep up the momentum.

“Swish!”

At that very moment, as the crowd’s fervor reignited from the shout, the person seated in one of the cars suddenly raised his head.

That slight lift of his head seemed to snap his neck into place, accompanied by a faint “clack”.

His gaze, imbued with a chilling, cold indifference, swept rapidly across the faces in the crowd.

Finally, it landed with pinpoint accuracy on one face.

Gecko, who had been as feverish and excited as everyone around him, was suddenly shocked.

Hidden within the bustling crowd, he felt as if a bullet had struck him in the midst of the chaos.

Then he saw that peculiar smile slowly creeping across that person’s face.

With a gold chain, dyed blonde hair, and somewhat rustic features adorned with gold-capped teeth.

Though the man sported an almost unreasonable look, his smile was humble, respectful, even a bit sycophantic.

Yet as Gecko looked on, that smile ignited an instant surge of alertness in his heart.

Before he could decide on his next move, he saw the person on the car roof suddenly spring up.

Twisting his body into a bizarre posture, he kicked off the car roof with a whoosh, leaping as high as three to four meters, then grabbed a nearby streetlight. Using the momentum, he swung his body downwards, targeting Gecko.

Even in the chaos and from a distance, his movement was uncannily precise as he lunged for Gecko with astonishing agility.

“Spider-type?”

At once, Gecko’s instincts screamed danger. He jerked his body sharply and retreated quickly through the crowd.

Though surrounded by people, not one brushed past him.

Both he and his assailant were Spider-type. With his opponent suddenly springing forward, Gecko barely had time to slip away.

“Swish!”

Unexpectedly, after his foe had leapt down—even though Gecko had dodged—the attacker made no further move to retreat, instead plunging back into the crowd. His two hands shot down, grabbing two shoulders.

The two people whose shoulders were seized opened their mouths to retort, yet found themselves incapable of uttering a sound.

Their bodies lost all control, dragged backward swiftly by a strange force.

That grab then extended to two more people, who too suddenly lost control. In an instant, they all reached out and clutched at others—a chain reaction, as if they had become parts of a giant, possessed machine.

Their expressions were terrified and bewildered, yet their hands, locked like pliers, reached out to grab Gecko.

“This is bad…”

Gecko was utterly shocked, feeling as though hands were reaching at him from all directions.

No matter how fast he moved, with hands grabbing from every side, he couldn’t shake off the panic.

Despite his seasoned battle experience and calm composure, his Spider-type abilities kicked in, rendering his movements extraordinarily agile. Dodging countless grasping hands, he burst out of the crowd with swift, zigzagging maneuvers.

When he glanced back, he saw those who had once been his comrades now stood rigid and dazed.

One after another, they lifted their heads, all eyes turning to stare at Gecko.

Gecko’s expression grew grave as he fixed his gaze on the man in a feminine professional suit among the crowd.

It was he who, through physical contact, had managed to control the masses.

Indeed, he was Spider-type.

But his power clearly far exceeded that of Gecko—at least reaching the Second Stage.

Taking a deep breath, Gecko scanned potential escape routes and then, with a grim expression, posed his question:

“Friend, are you a man or a woman?”

Silence.

Silence.

“Charge, charge! Let’s show them—City No.3 answers the call!”

At the same moment, on a street in City No.3, Group Leader sat in a convertible, vigorously waving his cane.

Amidst the all-consuming chaos engulfing the city, he served as a de facto spiritual leader. His very presence electrified the frenzied crowd, merging with the defiant forces of the Administration Hall.

Red Serpent, meanwhile, linked arms with Group Leader, softly urging, “Dad, you need to keep the troublemakers to a minimum…”

“Dad, didn’t you say that City No.3 would tremble if you stamped your feet? Then why isn’t it trembling?”

Silence.

That small, soft tone—tinged with both reverence and doubt—mirrored the way his three-year-old daughter would ask if he was really powerful enough to protect her from the big goose in the yard.

Can you really say otherwise?

At the very least, Group Leader couldn’t deny it.

Thus, his face flushed red as he swung his cane with even more gusto…

Yet, as he dominated his surroundings with countless lackeys eager to enforce his reign, Group Leader failed to notice a woman in a professional suit—adorned with a nose piercing and heavy makeup—emerge at the street corner.

She wore a smile that was both humble and ingratiating, yet beneath it lurked an unsettling, icy chill.

“Did you start this chaos?”

In the next second, she suddenly appeared atop a car, directly across from Group Leader. Her voice was mechanical and flat, echoing strangely.

“Who is this?”

Group Leader was taken aback, nearly toppling from his seat, but Red Serpent reacted swiftly.

Trained in Qinggang’s secret units, she instantly lunged toward the woman, ready to unleash her power, simultaneously drawing a gun from her side.

However, as she reached out to seize her target and fired her gun, the woman beside her vanished.

Her hand extended stiffly into empty air, grasping nothing.

Yet, on either side of the street, within the chaotic throng, the woman’s figure began to appear again.

Not just one, but many – one, two, three…

Countless images of the woman materialized along both sides of the street, her ingratiating yet chilling smile fixed on every face.

Red Serpent felt a sudden chill crawl over her body.

……

……

“When a swarm of frenzied ants forms a tidal wave, there’s an equally terrifying power behind it…”

Facing the onslaught of crazed protesters at the Administration Hall, Old K from the Changhu City Ability Users team blocked their advance.

The mob was delirious with excitement; no one dared stand in their way.

Faced with them, there was only one option: join them or be trampled and crushed.

Yet Old K stood with his head bowed in the middle of the road, making no move to step aside.

He looked up carefully, scanning the crowd for the Ability User he sought. When he saw none, he slightly lowered his head again. As the frenzied mob on the opposite side neared with overwhelming force, he suddenly raised his hand. Clutched between his five fingers were several oddly shaped, slender black nails.

Clack, clack, clack, clack…

He flung his hand, sending eight nails flying. Each one struck the foreheads of the eight people at the front of the charge.

Blood trickled from the wounds. Those around, noticing the nails embedded in the foreheads, burst into terrified screams.

The sight of blood incited them further, and they charged recklessly, intent on gunning Old K down.

“But ants are still just ants…”

Old K’s face curled into a slight, cold smile as he flicked his hand casually.

The eight people with nails driven into their foreheads – seemingly done for – suddenly transformed. With a nail still lodged in place, they erupted with an unimaginable, frenzied power. Blood spattered across their contorted faces as muscles twisted, eyes rolled to the whites, and mouths gaped beyond measure as they charged savagely toward the surrounding crowd.

The immense mob immediately descended into internal strife, their assault transforming into a slaughter reminiscent of a battlefield.

……

Finally, beneath the hotel, a man with a ponytail slowly moved upstream through the chaotic mass.

He arrived at the hotel’s base, raised his gaze gently, and locked eyes with Lu Xin, who was peering down from behind a gap in the curtains on the fourteenth floor. In the next moment, Lu Xin’s eyes constricted abnormally, and the man’s figure suddenly vanished.

“Clack…”

At the same time, behind Lu Xin, the sound of bullets being chambered rang out—Black Jack’s firm, resounding voice echoed.

“Don’t move.”

Silence.

“Hm?”

Lu Xin paused briefly, then slowly raised both hands.