Chapter 547: Chaos in the Corridor

Gecko’s agility was off the charts, and his nerve was equally impressive.

On any other day, Lu Xin wouldn’t have dared to dash into such a frenzied crowd, but today he was brimming with confidence.

After Lu Xin’s words, he shouted his reply and raced to the window. Squeezing through a gap barely twenty centimeters wide, he sped along the wall, scrambled down the building, and headed straight for the Elegant Lady’s bicycle.

Swish, swish, swish…

His daring move instantly caught the attention of many on the street, successfully diverting the frenzied mob’s focus.

Before long, some people leaped up to grab him, others stepped on shoulders as they jumped to catch him, while a few clever ones even predicted his route and swarmed below, waiting for him to descend.

Notably, before anyone could react, Gecko had effectively slowed their advance up the building.

First, he feinted left to draw the crowd, then suddenly darted to the right, skittering next to the Elegant Lady’s bicycle, snatched up Mizang, and executed a series of swift leaps, trampling over the mob’s bending heads as he raced toward the wall.

Mizang, caught between two groups, trembled in sheer terror.

Meanwhile, trailing behind Gecko, a group fixated on him grew even more frightened as tentacles clung tightly to his body.

That grip, however, prevented him from falling off.

As Gecko swiftly climbed toward the Office, a small, satisfied smile appeared on Lu Xin’s face.

At that moment, a clamor erupted from the corridor outside—the frenzied crowd had reached this floor and was quickly converging on the Office, their roar crashing through the hall like a tidal surge.

“I’ll go ahead,” someone declared.

Red Serpent turned to glance at Lu Xin, then boldly fixed her gaze on Han Bing, her expression resolute.

Han Bing, visibly nervous, nodded and said, “Be careful, Miss Red Serpent…”

Red Serpent nodded curtly, her face set with determination. After a deep breath, she strode into the corridor.

Looking up, she saw a surging, almost packed crowd rushing forward.

No one facing such a maddened mob could help but feel fear. Although they were ordinary people, their collective outburst of mental power in this frenzy was enough to wreak havoc on any Ability User.

Yet, Red Serpent took a deep breath and charged straight at them.

The two groups drew inexorably nearer, their faces twisted in madness and their eyes bloodshot…

Smack…

Just as they were about to collide, Red Serpent’s body went limp and she collapsed onto the floor. One hand patted the ground gently while the other brushed the legs of the frontliners, and a heart-wrenching cry erupted:

“Scumbag, have you forgotten about me…?”

The sudden wail nearly drowned out the corridor’s usual clamor.

“Huh…?”

Everyone who surged forward and came into contact with Red Serpent, even if only briefly brushed by another, experienced a momentary blank in their mind.

Her cries seemed to invade their thoughts, subtly altering their perceptions.

Their pupils dilated slightly before slowly refocusing, their bewildered eyes now fixed on her.

In that moment, they even strained to push back those behind them, trying to avoid colliding with her.

It was as if, deep down, they began to feel a sudden sympathy.

“A day’s love is worth a hundred days of affection…”

Once Red Serpent began crying, she couldn’t stop. Her anguished wails broke your heart: “You once swore you loved me, promised you’d never let me suffer, and now, as this mob rushes to beat me, you don’t even care?”

“Is true love even real anymore?”

“…”

Her sorrowful laments left the crowd even more bewildered, mixed with a hint of unexpected delight.

Some wondered, ‘Is he really married now?’

While others mused, ‘Wow, she’s actually quite attractive…’

“…”

A sudden philosophical debate on whether true love exists stumped everyone.

It was a question destined to remain unanswered, yet it brought tears to many eyes.

Earlier, it was just their eyes that reddened, but now even their entire expressions were filled with emotion.

Clatter, clatter…

Furious, many turned and pushed those coming from behind, shouting, “How dare you hit my wife?”

Red Serpent had chosen a strategic spot—right around the midpoint of the corridor.

Once her hand made contact with the mass, an impromptu ‘husband’ group formed, nearly half the corridor rallying to defend her.

Meanwhile, those charging up the stairs had to navigate a corner to enter the hall.

Thus, the corridor quickly split into two distinct zones.

Those intent on harming Lu Xin and his crew clashed immediately with the scumbags.

Though a clear winner didn’t emerge right away from the brawl, the ensuing chaos formed a sturdy barrier that kept others at bay.

…

…

Amid the chaos in the corridor, Lu Xin remained unruffled.

He might have despised this city, but he never intended to harm these people tainted by pollution.

After all, hurting them would accomplish nothing.

Instead, he gently crouched down and observed Mizang, discarded in the center of the room by Gecko.

For a fleeting moment, Mizang nearly tried to scramble back out the window in terror.

After being grabbed by Gecko, it had been thrown right into the middle of the room.

Then, as it was scrutinized by Han Bing, Gecko, and Lu Xin—and it seemed at least three pairs of eyes were fixed on it—it experienced a type of attention it had never known before.

Before it could react, it caught sight of Lu Xin’s calm, gentle smile.

Lu Xin said, “Would you like to experience what it’s like to be a Mental Overlord?”

Mizang: “?”

…

…

Before extending his hand, Lu Xin glanced at Mom.

Mom nodded softly, as if encouraging him, though it wasn’t really necessary.

This time, Lu Xin wasn’t asking for advice or seeking her opinion.

He was merely informing her of his next move.

Lu Xin closed his eyes, savoring the feeling in his heart as he slowly reached toward Mizang’s slippery little head.

His eyes, strikingly clear and the mark of a disciplined life, began to flicker with dark particles as his hand neared, gradually turning them black.

Mizang trembled in fright, nearly attempting to escape.

But it dared not, so it only watched Lu Xin’s hand approach.

Then, his palm gently covered its head.

Though not broad, his hand radiated warmth, softening Mizang’s tiny body in a comforting embrace.

But almost immediately, an indescribable surge overwhelmed its mind.

It felt as though it were at the center of an ocean, the entire weight of the sea crushing it, nearly tearing it apart—saved only by a hand that upheld that vast mass.

Thus, it bore the burden of the sea yet felt no true weight from it.

With the sea’s presence, the surrounding world plunged into darkness.

Mizang, timid by nature and a little afraid of the dark, instinctively shrank back.

But with just a step back, it caught sight of a pair of eyes emerging from the depths of the darkness, silently watching.

“Go on!”

A voice resonated from the darkness—not frantic at all but warm, like the soothing touch of that hand on its head.

“Go hide everyone you can feel.”

“…”

“…”

Throughout Heichao City, especially near the central Plaza, chaos reigned.

Yet amid all the noise, a moment of silence suddenly fell.

It was as if an invisible ripple had abruptly stretched across everyone’s mind.

In the next moment, from a window that had caught the entire city’s attention, the glass shattered and enormous tentacles emerged—hundreds of meters long, like a leviathan from the deep, swirling in mid-air.

In an instant, they stirred up boundless waves of mental power that rippled outward in concentric circles.

“What is that?”

Within the chaos, one or a few individuals looked up in astonishment.

They—or rather, it—could hardly comprehend what was happening.

But it had already sensed that something was amiss.

It swiftly navigated through the crowd, confirming its path.

Originally, it could have fled the city at the onset of this upheaval.

But there was no place better than this city for it to restore its power, and leaving would mean abandoning over 99% of its body—clinging to just a sliver of its main essence.

So it hesitated.

In that moment of chaos, it darted among the crowd, double-checking its route.

Everything was clear…

It could still wander along its solitary mental path, with no extraordinary force drawn to its main body…

This brief confusion gave way almost immediately when it sensed a disturbance.

The people of this city were disappearing.

…

…

Starting from outside the city, the insomniac souls of wanderers began vanishing one by one.

Groups and clusters alike, like countless lights, were snuffed out in an instant.

This city was slowly turning into an empty shell…