Chapter 545: The Frenzied Heart of Heichao City

A Jeep barreled straight through the main gate of Heichao City’s Main City, then wound its way through one street after another until it reached the city center.

Heichao City’s Main City was arranged in a perfect circular design, with countless buildings set in neat concentric rings. At its core lay a vast round plaza, positioned right in front of the Administrative Main Hall, featuring broad, spotless stone pavements and elegant fountains.

But now, it had become the realm of frenzied revelers.

Lu Xin and his crew’s convertible Jeep had already stopped a few blocks away because the streets ahead had transformed into a human sea. They saw throngs packed like sardines, all surging toward the expansive plaza.

There were simply too many – so many that their numbers could make you dizzy.

And this was just a fraction – those who had rushed here made up barely ten to twenty percent of the city’s population.

……

“Captain, what now?”

Gecko surveyed the dense mass ahead and eased off the accelerator.

We can’t just crash through them, can we?

Lu Xin glanced around from the car and soon spotted a tall building adjoining the plaza.

After a quick assessment of the area, he nodded slightly and said, “Let’s head over there.”

They ditched the Jeep on the street and stepped into the adjacent building.

Taking the elevator to the top floor, they found a space laid out much like a company office building. The entire floor was eerily empty – even the doors were unlocked – with wind whipping through the windows and scattering papers everywhere.

At the window, looking down, all they could see was an endless mass of people.

“Wahaha, wahaha…”

A deafening, rolling roar rose from below. In the middle of the plaza, countless people had linked arms into a serpentine line, chanting bizarre slogans as they swayed and moved forward.

Their numbers were overwhelming, and their unified shouts melded into an astonishing and bizarre din.

Everyone caught in this mindless revelry had reached the height of their ecstatic frenzy.

Their eyes were bloodshot, filled with streaks of red, and they swayed as though half-awake, half-asleep.

At the plaza’s center, a towering pile of withered straw – stacked over a hundred meters high – had been set alight. Thick, black smoke billowed from it, carried by the wind to other parts of the city amid a peculiar stench.

Beside the burning heap, countless onlookers formed a tight ring around a performance area where wild revelers acted out their strange shows.

Clad in outlandish outfits, they shouted at passersby while hawking their bizarre spectacles.

Soon, the frenzied crowd pressed in, watching as a magician in a tuxedo and red shirt dramatically lifted a skirt to his thighs, then shoved a glittering beauty into a case, all while elegantly directing two burly men to saw the case in half…

Blood spurted out along the jagged saw marks, and the surrounding crowd roared their approval.

Next, someone bound an enthusiastic spectator to a rotating platform, blindfolded him, and picked up a throwing knife.

“Snap,” “snap,” “snap,” “snap.”

The throwing knives landed precisely on his lower abdomen, shoulder, and neck, sparking an earth-shattering cheer from the crowd.

Elsewhere, an acrobat forced a rusty long sword deep into his own throat.

Stuck halfway, another individual stepped in and pushed it further in.

Then, someone set himself ablaze, transforming into a blazing fireball.

There was also a performer who, irritated by the weight of a massive stone, simply tossed it aside and eagerly awaited the drop of a huge hammer.

……

……

Amid the excited cheers and wild performances, the air was alive with raucous shouts.

People kept streaming in from all parts of the city, joining the fevered throng.

“Tear faces apart, break limbs, to please the Gods…”

Upstairs, Han Bing watched the chaotic scene below, his face growing unnaturally pale.

Not only him, but even Ability Users like Gecko and Red Serpent felt a creeping sense of panic amid this grotesque revelry.

Where this city once earned a reputation for sleepless nights, it now resembled a living nightmare.

The chaotic crowd and crazed performances gave the impression of witnessing an ancient, primal sacrifice.

Among the mad masses, they even recognized the hotheaded Front Desk Girl from the hotel, Group Leader’s subordinate Yin Mao, and his trusted aides Yongzi and Qiangzi. They even spotted Ye Xue’s brother, Ye Xiaoyu.

Some were drenched in blood; others limped terribly.

Some had only scraps of skin left on their left arms, as if numb to pain.

All they could do was join the frenzied shouting and aimless wandering.

They could even sense a bizarre, complex, and powerful mental force gradually gathering with the sacrificial energy, forming an oppressive presence over the plaza like a shifting, black, gigantic serpent.

“Mr. Single Soldier…”

It took Han Bing a long moment to steady himself. Slowly turning, he whispered, “We should have tracked that monster by now…”

“……”

Lu Xin nodded, his expression impassive as he absorbed the boiling, ocean-like surge of mental energy emanating from the crowd.

Han Bing’s plan had certainly succeeded.

She had pinpointed the Mental Monster’s hiding place – it was right here in this area.

Yet, it all seemed futile.

For the frenzied throngs, numbering over a hundred thousand, and their chaotic mental energy were more than enough to conceal anything.

He could feel with absolute certainty that the Mental Monster was among them.

But so what?

A deep, unsettling disgust began to well up inside him.

Lu Xin had never liked this city, but now his revulsion had reached its peak…

But then, how were they supposed to deal with that Mental Monster?

Kill everyone?

……

……

Ring ring ring…

At that moment, an abrupt phone ring shattered the chaos.

In this maddened city, the sudden ring of a phone was jarringly out of place.

Everyone instinctively turned their gaze to the side.

There lay a telephone, battered to pieces with its keypad scattered about.

Its wires had clearly been severed and the receiver hung limply, yet the phone started ringing—a crisp, urgent tone that even drowned out the thunderous clamor below.

Everyone jumped at the sound, some nervously glancing toward it.

Lu Xin, somewhat surprised, let a slight smile cross his face as he said, “I’ll answer it.”

With that, he moved over amid puzzled stares and picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

His tone was gentle, betraying a calm temperament.

“Crackle… crackle…”

The line was filled with heavy static, reminiscent of the rustling of straw.

Then, a hoarse, inhuman voice spoke from the other end in a mechanical, detached tone, “Before things go further downhill, I suggest you leave.”

“Hm?”

Lu Xin’s expression registered genuine surprise and a hint of amusement as he said, “You want me to leave?”

The voice continued flatly, “I suggest you leave.”

“I don’t want to make an enemy of you…”

“……”

A wry smile played on Lu Xin’s lips as he retorted, “If you don’t want to be my enemy, shouldn’t you be the one leaving?”

There was a pause before the mechanical tone replied, “If you wish, I can indeed leave.”

“……”

Lu Xin was taken aback, nearly at a loss for words.

He longed to engage further, but inside he trembled.

Not out of fear, but from an indescribable, overwhelming emotion.

A trembling born of desperate urgency that sent pulses of blood racing into his brain at several times its normal speed, stirring impulsive urges deep within him.

He couldn’t explain it, but the raw surge of disgust forced the words out.

“It’s already too late.”

“……”

There was a long, heavy silence on the line.

It was too late.

That is, whether to retreat or escape, it was already beyond saving.

“You’re right – you won’t even grant someone a chance to repent…”

Then the voice resumed slowly, “Don’t overestimate yourself…”

“I know—you’re awakening your divine power.”

“During the awakening of divine power, it’s all too easy to fall into an illusion.”

“Believing that this power is solely yours; that the exalted feeling belongs to you. But you’re mistaken – everything you have is merely a side effect of awakening divine power, a fleeting illusion…”

“Remember…”

“Even if you were once tainted by that existence, you are nothing more than an ant endowed with divine power.”

“……”

From the other end, the voice began to climb to an unnaturally high pitch, ebbing and flowing like the tide.

On closer inspection, it didn’t even sound like a true voice.

It resembled the roar of mental energy, triggering changes deep within the mind as if words were being heard.

Lu Xin listened silently, not replying, though his pupils shrank momentarily to pinhole size before quickly returning to normal. A few cold chuckles escaped him.

An eerie hollowness prevailed.

Then the voice, now a bit calmer, said, “In this city, you’re not necessarily my equal.”

“Even if I choose not to fight you, I can still run away.”

“The city’s pollution, driven by their ambition, has spread its influence far beyond its borders. Even after I took charge, they didn’t seal the city off. Greed-produced commodities are flowing into every corner of this world, and once someone comes into contact with them, I can seize their mental power—or even make it descend upon them.”

“Even with divine power, you can’t stop me from leaving.”

“And if I’m forced to depart, then at the very least I hope to leave you with a lasting impression…”

“……”

After finishing his words, an eerie silence fell over everything.

The deafening shouts and chaotic clamor from below had inexplicably ceased.

“Cap… Captain…”

At the window, Gecko suddenly let out a low cry, stepping back slowly as his face turned as pale as a ghost.

From Lu Xin’s vantage, he could see a corner of the plaza below.

There, every frenzied person had frozen in place. Each stared with blood-red, vacant eyes fixed on their current location, their hollow gazes exuding a chilling, intimidating light.

“These decaying remains can bring ruin even to those closest to you.”

“And I can leave at any moment, only to regroup and rebuild my strength…”

“Even with divine power, you cannot stop me – nor can you prevent the death of those around you…”

“So, I’m giving you one final chance: leave!”

“……”

The phone’s sound shifted to speaker mode, so everyone in the office heard the ominous message.

Their faces gradually turned to expressions of terror, all fixated on Lu Xin’s calm demeanor.

Yet, in their eyes, his face remained unchanged as he slowly began to speak:

“You got one thing right.”

“That is, I won’t even grant you the chance for repentance…”