Chapter 655: A Twist of Fate in Flame City

“So there’s even someone we know here?”

Lu Xin was taken aback; the oppressive feeling he’d just experienced vanished in an instant.

Meeting someone from the Club here really caught him off guard.

But he soon recalled that when he had just met up with Xia Chong and the others, he’d overheard the Negative Zero Unit reporting to her. After the Hell Regiment was dispatched, the chaotic Flame City quickly settled down. According to the Negative Zero Unit’s analysis, many of the rioters in the city mysteriously disappeared. Could they have been sent into the Nightmare of God?

What puzzled Lu Xin was that, by the timeline, they should have been here a long time.

So why were they still lively and well?

He’d nearly been swallowed by the nightmare’s power just a moment ago…

With the question weighing on him, he couldn’t help but glance at Number Two, only to find him looking utterly disinterested.

…

…

Lost in thought, Lu Xin missed their secret signal, but from the raft below a chubby figure rose and waved excitedly at him, “Hey bro, look here—so you’re here too…”

“What a coincidence…”

While shouting, he leaned over to Lu Xin on the bridge, suddenly becoming aware of his precarious situation.

He immediately yelled, “Bro, help me out! Pull me up!”

…

Suppressing his surprise, Lu Xin turned to look at Number Two.

Understanding his meaning, Number Two didn’t object; he just let out a low sigh.

There was a faint ripple of mental power around him. In the next moment, Lu Xin saw that on the raft in the river below, three figures suddenly vanished, while right before him a massive surge of mental power erupted—causing the three to tumble down and land hard. Two of them clutched their fists, desperately mimicking a rowing motion.

“Huh?”

Only after several strokes did they realize they had ended up on the bridge; their expressions turned blank.

Cautiously, they scanned their surroundings, patted the ground beside them, and then slowly stood up, engaging in a silent stare-off.

“Bro, I never expected to see you here again…”

For the first time, Fat Man reacted, eagerly charging toward Lu Xin with visible excitement.

“Bro, did you come all this way just to pick me up?”

…

“Well…”

Lu Xin found it hard to explain why he was here and was at a loss for words.

He glanced at the other two with a puzzled expression.

“Hey, hey, I didn’t expect a familiar face here…”

On the raft, the skinny Monkey eagerly extended his hand to Lu Xin, “Bro, what should we call you?”

“Family Portrait…”

Shaking his hand hesitantly, Lu Xin asked, “Who exactly are you guys…?”

“We’re all your people, bro…”

Before the others could respond, the chubby one at the back—Night Owl—excitedly introduced, “Bro, this is the Nine-Headed Serpent, and this guy here is a real force. He’s the one in our Group who neither kills Dracula nor goes by Mr. Wang…”

“It’s amazing how fate brings us together here…”

…

“Can you really call it fate?”

Lu Xin was dumbfounded for a long moment.

He shot a glance at the skinny Monkey and suddenly realized just what this audacious guy looked like…

As he scrutinized the skinny Monkey, he noticed that behind him his head had morphed into nine snake-heads, making him appear more like a Mental Monster than a human. All eyes were on him, on Xia Chong, and on Number Two seated by the stone bridge railing, their curiosity evident. The skinny Monkey—Old Wang—was the first to break the silence:

“Is this guy also from the Club?”

“And who’s that Weapon Rack lying on the ground?”

…

“He’s my friend, and the other is my… relative,” Lu Xin replied casually, while eyeing them up and down.

Instantly, the others warmly extended their hands toward Number Two, saying, “Hey, hey…”

Feeling a bit helpless, Number Two exchanged a slow handshake with them after glancing at Lu Xin.

Meeting Number Two’s gaze, Lu Xin couldn’t help but feel a touch of resignation.

He wanted to explain that although they were in the same Club, he was of a different sort.

But thinking better of it, he skipped the explanation and, with curiosity, asked, “How is it that you all…?”

…

…

“Hey, we’re all from Flame City, aren’t we…?”

Old Wang, covered in tattoos, tossed his hair in frustration and said, “Back when I got into a fight with the Flame West District, before we could even decide a winner, they pulled out—a whole truckload of people headed toward Flame. I followed them, and when I arrived, everyone here had fallen asleep. I figured it was the perfect time to stir up some serious trouble, but then…”

“I don’t know how it happened—I just ended up here.”

…

Night Owl added innocently, “I heard the megaphone from Flame ordering everyone to sleep, and I was feeling drowsy too…”

“So I thought I’d crawl into the mind of a sleeping person, and that’s how I got here…”

…

At the rear, a suited monster whose head resembled nine snakes, noticeably calmer than Night Owl and Old Wang, stepped forward. After arriving, he said little—first carefully scanning Lu Xin, and, not noticing anything odd—no strange little girl by his side, he allowed himself a moment of relief. With elegant composure, he covered the central snake head, cleared his throat, and said:

“We’re all caught in Flame’s trap. Even though Flame doesn’t have a Mental Overlord, its residents are problematic.”

“Once someone tries using their ability to pollute or influence them, they get sent into this world…”

…

Lu Xin nodded, acknowledging the Nine-Headed Serpent’s analysis, though inwardly he suspected it wasn’t that simple.

Indeed, to many, Flame might not have a Mental Overlord.

But with Number Two here, it was clear that Flame was even more terrifying than having a Mental Overlord.

“Bro, what about you?”

While Lu Xin pondered, Night Owl eagerly asked, “So how did you get here?”

“Me?”

Lu Xin paused, glanced at Number Two, and softly said, “We came in willingly…”

“Oh…”

Night Owl immediately beamed with respect, “Bro, did you come to pick me up?”

Even Old Wang, standing behind him, was both surprised and delighted, “So does that mean we can get out too?”

Only the Nine-Headed Serpent keenly noticed that Lu Xin’s expression seemed a bit off.

“Of course you can get out…” Lu Xin replied vaguely, then changed the subject. Looking at these exuberant people and the silent Number Two beside him, he sensed a strong contrast in their emotions and slowly said,

“But I’m really curious—how is it that you all seem unaffected by this world’s influence?”

…

“Influence? What influence?”

Faced with Lu Xin’s puzzled, even astonished inquiry, the three who had just come up from the raft showed no sign of having done anything extraordinary. Old Wang mumbled blankly as he looked down at the river below.

Their expressions even hinted that they were itching to try something.

Lu Xin looked at them in mild surprise, “Can’t you feel the pressure of this world?”

“Pressure…”

Their faces reflected sheer confusion, “What do you mean by pressure?”

Lu Xin froze, realizing he didn’t know how to explain it to them.

He had just felt a shift in the world—a force both supremely rational and overwhelmingly powerful that twisted and shattered all his perceptions. It wasn’t solely Number Two’s influence; he had simply let that force wash over him, making its change unmistakably real and irresistible.

Lost in thought, Old Wang mused, “It sure feels exhilarating…”

“Exhilarating?”

Lu Xin looked up, puzzled, at this bizarre world.

This was a realm that defied logic—everything was off-kilter.

From human perceptions and emotions to desires, everything was irrational and strange.

After his recent experience, Lu Xin realized that nothing in this world would ever return to normal.

The stronger one’s resistance, the greater the pressure one felt.

This was a hopeless, twisted realm.

Yet these three on the raft called it exhilarating?

If it weren’t for Number Two, they might have already been swept away by the river below.

“I must say, it’s the first time I’ve seen a place like this. But it sure is thrilling…”

Old Wang turned his head and laughed excitedly, “Everything feels so unreal—dangerous even. It’s all so messed up yet vivid, like playing a VR game set in the Red Moon world. Hey bro, you know what VR games are, right? The kind where you put on glasses and suddenly you’re surrounded by gorgeous women who kiss and caress you…”

“Cut it out…”

Lu Xin stopped him from continuing his VR ramble.

Though he had never played a VR game himself, he instinctively felt that this kind of game wasn’t really representative.

What intrigued him more was another point: “How did you all dodge the dangers of this world?”

“No need to dodge…”

Old Wang replied nonchalantly, “At worst we flip the raft—if it capsizes, we just grab some more people, build another raft, and keep running…”

“What?”

Lu Xin looked at them in disbelief.

Night Owl nodded apologetically, “Yes, we’ve capsized several times…”

The Nine-Headed Serpent added, “Each time, there’s a sensation of vanishing, only to realize you’re still alive in this world—meeting up somewhere to continue our research—only to be shattered into pieces again…”

Hearing the word “research,” Lu Xin couldn’t help but glance at the Nine-Headed Serpent.

Instantly, the latter tensed, retracting his snake-heads and refraining from further comment.

But as he listened to their words, Lu Xin felt a spark of clarity, as if he finally understood something.