Chapter 542: Echoes from the Abyss

The clamor outside only intensified with the arrival of these Ability Users—each surge louder than the last.

The shouts and wild laughter from the crowd outside rose like colossal waves on the sea, intermingled with explosions, gunfire, shattered glass, and the cries and curses of many—a cacophonous scene spun entirely from sound.

In stark contrast, an eerie silence blanketed the hotel room.

Lu Xin sat quietly on the sofa, a cigarette half-smoked with a long trail of ash that hadn’t yet flicked off.

He appeared lost in thought, barely registering the chaos outside.

Meanwhile, the Ponytailed Man wore a look of anxious uncertainty as he glanced at Lu Xin.

“I told you there wouldn’t be any trouble, didn’t I?”

After a moment, Lu Xin looked up with a gentle smile and said, “You can tell me what you have to say, right?”

The Ponytailed Man fixed a deep, scrutinizing gaze on Lu Xin—as if trying to gauge just how formidable his power really was.

Yet, despite that confident look, he saw nothing revealing on Lu Xin’s calm face; until now he felt that the man calmly sitting with a cigarette was entirely different from the figure he had seen deep within the Abyss.

……

……

“I’m the Captain of the First Team of Changhu City Special Pollution Cleanup Squad, codename Black Jack, sent here to support Heichao City.”

Feeling the urgency of the moment, the Ponytailed Man quickly declared his identity.

“Changhu City… Black Jack?”

Han Bing, who had just emerged from a nightmare in the Abyss, was clearly taken aback by this.

Lu Xin turned to Han Bing and asked, “Do you know him?”

Han Bing nodded and promptly stood up.

Her legs a bit weak, she pounded twice before hurrying to the bedside to grab her notebook computer. A few quick taps later, she murmured, “Black Jack is recorded in Qinggang’s early Alliance data as one of the powerful Ability Users. Official data from Changhu rates his power as A-level, though intelligence in major high-wall cities actually considers him S-level…”

“S-level?”

Lu Xin frowned as he appraised Black Jack, shaking his head softly.

He couldn’t fathom how an S-level Ability User could debut as the enemy’s puppet.

“It’s all my fault.”

Black Jack sat quietly on the carpet, his face clouded with a trace of shame.

He closed his eyes briefly and stammered, “I assumed my abilities were strong enough for any situation, but I still fell into their trap. My teammates and I were controlled. While we can unleash our powers and think for ourselves—remembering even our memories and reasoning logically—once controlled, we all became their puppets.”

At that, he lowered his eyes to glance at his own body.

A heavy stench of decay permeated the room, reminiscent of rotting flesh on a scorching summer day.

It was evident that his body was exuding a strange liquid, soaking his black professional suit.

One could even see his form beginning to collapse, like a melting popsicle.

There was no doubt that it was this very body, under control, that had deteriorated into this state.

In the Abyss, Lu Xin had seen faint, silken threads linking to that body. When he tried to pull the enemy’s horns, the entity deep within the Abyss deliberately severed its connection with Black Jack, jolting him awake. That disconnection, however, set his body on a course of decay…

“Regarding the special pollution incident in Heichao City, we had begun our investigation before they even sent out a distress report. In the end, all we learned was that about a month ago, an operation was launched to capture S-level forbidden zone creatures from within Ghostfire Marsh.”

Struggling but speaking quickly, Black Jack added, “It was that very capture attempt that triggered the subsequent issues.”

“Unlike other high-wall cities, Heichao City never really set up a proper Special Cleaning Department.”

“They’ve always managed Ability Users by keeping them on a tight leash.”

“So while intelligence from other high-wall cities had been gathering as they planned to emulate Qinggang and cultivate their own Mental Overlords, Heichao City opted to capture and herd the mysterious creatures from Ghostfire Marsh to control its Mental Overlord.”

“But in the end, they failed.”

“……”

After absorbing so much information, Lu Xin asked in mild astonishment, “Did the creature from the forbidden zone escape?”

“If it did, then that would explain everything.”

Wincing from the pain of his rapidly decaying body, Black Jack closed his eyes momentarily and said,

“Initially, we based our actions on that intel, devising a series of contingency plans.”

“In fact, when we first contacted the head of Heichao City’s Administration Hall, we had already prepared for the possibility that the hall might be overtaken by that mysterious creature. Our plans even included provisions for on-site retrieval. But when we faced it, we discovered…”

“We were wrong. And horribly so!”

“……”

His facial muscles trembled in evident agony.

The stench of decay leaking from his body filled the room with an almost unbearable pungency.

Yet both Lu Xin and Han Bing remained professional, enduring the odor as they listened intently.

“Before us isn’t the nightmare serpent from Ghostfire Marsh, but something else…”

Black Jack’s body was more than half decayed, seemingly deteriorating even faster, though his voice slowed instinctively.

Both Lu Xin and Han Bing were visibly surprised.

Even they had assumed that the Heichao City pollution incident was caused by the forbidden zone creature from Ghostfire Marsh.

But Black Jack insisted it wasn’t that—so what could it be?

What else could trigger a pollution incident that affects an entire city?

……

“It is… it is…”

Black Jack struggled for a moment before finally articulating his answer:

“A Scarecrow!”

“I don’t truly know its nature. Before I was controlled, all I saw was a scarecrow.”

“But I do know that something terrifying lurks within that scarecrow…”

“It’s a monster so dreadful that we stood no chance of fighting back…”

“……”

He rushed on until his gaze suddenly locked onto Lu Xin, “It’s even scarier than you…”

“Oh.”

Lu Xin replied calmly, not taking offense.

But Black Jack, fixing his eyes on Lu Xin, suddenly intensified his tone, “I’m telling you the truth. That thing is more frightening than you—after all, while you are fearsome, I doubt I could ever stand against you. But that thing…”

“Oh, oh.”

Lu Xin answered again, silently questioning the point of arguing.

Forcing a gentle smile, he asked, “The real question is, what exactly is that thing?”

Black Jack regarded Lu Xin with an oddly reluctant stare.

As if unwilling to admit defeat, he slowly lowered his gaze and continued,

“I don’t really know what it is, but here’s my best guess:

“I believe the operation in Heichao City unleashed something far more terrifying than the S-level forbidden zone creatures.”

“I had received information on S-level forbidden zone creatures from a reliable source. Whether by luck or misfortune, these creatures ended up being chosen by the Abyss Rift. Under the Abyss’s influence and constant presence, they quickly acquired formidable powers. Yet, at the same time, they waged an internal battle against the Abyss’s corruption…”

“Every forbidden zone creature can be seen as a gatekeeper of the Abyss.”

“When the rift spirals out of control, it’s when their will is erased—that is when they cling desperately to the Abyss until one day its influence overwhelms them, enslaving them completely…”

“And that is exactly why the Research Institute recommended that major high-wall cities and forbidden zones come to an agreement.”

“Willing or not, they now have no choice but to align with humanity.”

“……”

After a pause, he slowly offered his theory, “The issue in Heichao City likely began during that experiment where, in an effort to capture the mysterious creature from Ghostfire Marsh, their plan triggered unforeseen complications, ultimately causing the gatekeeper from Ghostfire Marsh to lose control and unleash something else.”

“Something else…”

Unexpectedly, at Black Jack’s words, both Lu Xin and Han Bing furrowed their brows.

“Yes, the monster from the Abyss—that is, the thing hidden inside that scarecrow…”

Black Jack’s body swayed slightly as he leaned against the television cabinet behind him.

It was clear that so much of his body had melted that it could barely support his head.

Yet his expression remained unchanged as he continued, “That is the true monster of the Abyss. It isn’t meant for this world; it shouldn’t have appeared here, yet through Heichao City’s plans, it has manifested in reality…”

“……”

“……”

Han Bing’s face turned pale with terror as she listened to Black Jack’s words.

To her, after all her training, the concept was still almost incomprehensible.

She had always known the Abyss existed.

And that it harbored terrifying mental monsters.

But she understood those as phenomena of the mind—if they appeared in reality, they could only project onto someone, using their body to affect the world. What Black Jack was describing shattered that understanding completely.

“For a monster from the Abyss to appear in reality… what does that even mean?”

“……”

Black Jack furrowed his brow, clearly indicating that he was only sharing his theory, not offering answers.

“It suggests that it has gained the power to defy reality—and that it has broken some kind of pact.”

Suddenly, an abrupt voice cut through the tension.

Both Han Bing and Black Jack were startled, turning to look at Lu Xin.

Han Bing gasped; in Lu Xin’s face she saw a peculiar expression that slowly conveyed, “The monster from the Abyss is nothing more than the monster within the human heart. Even if it appears, it can only manifest in our minds. If a monster from the Abyss takes a tangible form, it can only mean that another ‘rule’ has been broken…”

“……”

Han Bing had seen Lu Xin’s gentle smiles and his impassive expressions when angry before.

But she had never seen his eyes turn cold and his lips set in a scowl—expressions of pure anger and disdain.

An invisible terror seized her heart, leaving her face drained of color.

Summoning every bit of courage, she trembled as she asked, “Mr. Lone Soldier, how do you know all this?”

“……”

“Hmm?”

At her words, Lu Xin finally reacted, his expression tinged with surprise.

Indeed, how did he come to know all these things?

It seemed as if he had let it slip without meaning to.