Chapter 670: Chaos Unleashed in Flame City

“Huh?”

Even Lu Xin, who was entangled by three Number Two duplicates, hadn’t expected so many people to show up at once.

And besides the familiar Red Moon Club members, many new faces appeared.

It looked like those arriving in Flame City weren’t limited to just the Red Moon Club and the Research Institute’s investigators.

Many who had ulterior motives and were lurking in Flame City were forced to reveal themselves by this overwhelming frenzy, and realizing the terrifying nature of what Flame was doing now, they had no choice but to act—adding Seven and Eight, they united in force.

This was a moment of desperate urgency.

As Lu Xin, still struggling to shake off the three Number Two duplicates to deal with the hellish embryo, sensed an enormous complication.

The appearance of the club members was nothing short of a delightful surprise.

But what even surprised Lu Xin was that these people arrived in time and, facing such a perilous situation, they…

…started greeting each other!

…

“Hello, hello…”

“Who’s there?”

“Hey, how do you refer to this person in the club?”

“Huh? So Dracula in the club turns out to be a pretty young lady…”

“She’s really handsome, though a bit handicapped…”

“Bro, why are you throwing cash while speeding in your sports car?”

“Don’t even mention it—it’s all for the sake of the kid’s education…”

…

A group quickly gathered, their faces alight with enthusiasm and surprise as they looked at one another.

They tested the waters with greetings and used secret codes to confirm who among them was truly one of the club.

During this, they amusingly discovered several things: that Dracula was actually a girl, that Red Dancing Shoes was stunning, and shockingly, that a member had brought along a child—even donning the matching Pikachu Bandit Parent-Child headgear…

Everyone shook hands warmly, exchanged friendly words, and shared knowing smiles amid bursts of congenial banter.

The atmosphere around the stadium immediately grew remarkably harmonious.

Yet Lu Xin, who was still upstairs at the stadium urgently handling the hellish embryo, was completely dumbfounded…

What on earth are these people up to?

Do they think this is a party?

No, wait—it seems they actually came here on purpose to party…

…

…

Before they could exchange a few more words, a sudden sound of rope slicing through the air erupted from the distant skyline. A group of Negative Zero Unit personnel, clad in high-tech black protective suits and carrying plasma weapons, swung swiftly between buildings, their bodies carving elegant arcs through the air as they landed around the stadium and began rapid deployment.

In the next moment, Xia Chong, carrying a rocket launcher, emerged from a nearby door.

“Why have so many people turned up?”

After her arrival, she cast a severe glance to both sides, landing on the group of club members deep in animated conversation.

Astonished for a moment, she then smiled approvingly, “Is that Dracula’s mercenary squad?”

At the same time, the newly arrived Negative Zero Unit personnel had already scanned the surrounding mental power and hurried over to exchange the latest investigation details with Xia Chong: “The source of the abnormal mental radiation is definitely here. Based on the information we gathered, every mysterious ritual around Flame City points to an unknown mental space.”

“The mental power here is the strongest, coalescing into a vortex of enormous magnitude—a mysterious mental channel.”

“But according to our findings, the channel very likely leads to that mental space.”

“Our scattered investigations revealed that various locations around Flame City had pre-installed related instruments and auxiliary mental devices, including high-frequency radiation stabilizers and reinforced glass fiber materials developed by Flame…”

“…”

Xia Chong frowned, “Get to the point.”

“Yes!”

The Negative Zero Unit member nodded slightly and said, “We can say that Flame City has been transformed into a parasitic item…”

“One that hasn’t yet housed a mental entity.”

He paused before saying in a low voice, “It’s like a lamp filled with oil, just waiting for that final spark…”

“…”

“So, Flame is nothing less than hell…”

Xia Chong, expressionless, couldn’t help but take a deep, chilly breath.

In fact, she had already begun to suspect this after she and Lu Xin encountered Number Two in the Nightmare of God…

But as an investigator, she needed evidence. So together with the Negative Zero Unit, she probed Flame City, confirmed its layout, and found solid evidence supporting her suspicions.

Flame City, as it stood now, was an unfinished parasitic item.

Both the city itself and every person in it served as raw material for this parasite.

Once a certain type of special mental power is injected, the entire Flame City will instantly merge into a unified giant whole.

At that moment, the gates to hell would open, and hell would manifest in reality.

…

…

“Transforming the entire Flame City into a parasitic item—what kind of mental power are they planning to harness?”

There was no time to ponder the potential consequences if Flame succeeded. Xia Chong quickly turned her gaze toward Lu Xin at the stadium, knowing he was busy preventing something from descending. The very layout of Flame City spoke volumes about the terrible power they were up against. Lost in thought, her face grew even graver.

“What level of power clash is this?”

She whispered, glancing at the electronic screen on her wrist before exchanging looks with the Negative Zero Unit member.

Neither the detection data nor their perception of the mental power could clarify the situation.

All they saw was mental power colliding and tearing apart, yet they couldn’t decipher the specific changes in traits or the conflicts of force within.

How can they stop this? How can they assist the Captain?

Xia Chong quickly made up her mind. While instructing the Negative Zero Unit to resume scanning, she strode over to a group of lunatics and shouted, “I’m Xia Chong, Senior Investigator of the Moon Eclipse Research Institute. Everyone, we must stop Flame’s plan now…”

“Excuse me, which one of you is Dracula?”

…

…

Unlike Lu Xin’s anxiety and the gravity on Xia Chong’s side, a group of members was bickering.

It started when Old Wang saw Dracula and lunged forward with a brick in hand.

People nearby grabbed him, exclaiming cheerfully, “No fighting, no fighting, we’re all on the same side. Just talk it out…”

Old Wang objected, his voice near tears, “She just kicked my groin…”

Those around replied, “In life, what man hasn’t been kicked at least once?”

Old Wang’s cry became even more pronounced, “Have you ever been circled by a bunch of women kicking you?”

“They couldn’t beat me, and then one of them came over, hugging me and saying she liked me. I’ve never been liked before. When I tried to return the hug, she snickered and knocked me down, and then a swarm of high-heeled fighters came and kicked me in the groin…”

…

Attempts to break up the fight only made things more chaotic as glances of both reproach and awe were cast towards Dracula.

“Tch!”

Dracula glared at Old Wang dismissively before swiftly joining Xia Chong, hands on her hips, saying, “What’s my problem?”

“You?”

For once, Xia Chong’s normally impassive face showed clear surprise: “You’re a woman?”

Dracula glanced at her chest and retorted angrily, “Is that really something that needs to be questioned?”

…

“Oh, I see…”

A moment later, Xia Chong, suddenly understanding, puffed out her chest and said in a serious tone, “Miss Dracula, we’ve already investigated Flame City’s plan for hell’s descent. They’re building something capable of threatening the entire world, so…”

She paused and then looked at everyone with hopeful eyes, “I expect you to help the Captain stop this.”

“Ew…”

At her words, the group turned their gaze toward the stadium, inspected it for a moment, and then all shook their heads.

“I’m not going—it’s too terrifying…”

“I mean, what kind of power is this? I don’t even understand it…”

“It’s so dangerous; I feel like I’d die if I got close…”

“I don’t care—I just want to take down Dracula…”

“I’ll help if it’s within my power, but if it exceeds that, well…”

“We’re just here for the party; we’ve got to get up early tomorrow to take the kids to school…”

“…”

“?”

Xia Chong was utterly baffled.

Their reaction was nothing like what she expected.

Just moments ago she thought they hadn’t noticed the urgency with the Captain, or perhaps they were confident enough to casually chat in the midst of this chaotic battlefield—a calm, nonchalant demeanor. Now, she realized something was off…

More importantly, why were they so readily rejecting her earnest and serious request?

What kind of gathering is this?

She shot an inquisitive glance at Dracula, only to see her rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

“Everyone, the situation is critical. If no one helps, Flame City will be doomed…”

She couldn’t help but raise her voice.

“Huh?”

The group was taken aback and exchanged uneasy looks as their expressions turned serious:

“So, should we call off this party early?”

“…”

“Yeah, since we’re all here, might as well wrap it up, right?”

“Feels like something’s missing. Should we find a place to grill some skewers?”

“Skewers? At this hour? How many places in Flame City can even help you grill skewers?”

“Then let’s have hotpot. It’s easier to prepare…”

“…”

“…”

Xia Chong was at a loss for words.

Is this really the so-called strongest mercenary force brought by Dracula?

It hardly seemed serious.

The real kicker was that even Dracula, the so-called strongest mercenary, had begun stealthily surveying the surroundings.

Although there was no hard evidence, Xia Chong suspected she was looking for an escape route.

…

…

Amid Xia Chong’s growing anxiety, a car pulled up at a nearby street corner, and several people got out.

The driver was a Beast Tamer with a punk look, carrying a whip.

She seemed upset with red-rimmed eyes, wiping tears and snot with a tissue as she walked. Trailing behind her were two individuals who appeared to be under her control. After getting out, they opened the car’s rear door and hauled out a stretcher.

On the stretcher lay a mummy—oh, it was Scalpel.

Scalpel tilted his head with effort, looked up at the stadium, and pointed vigorously ahead.

The Beast Tamer understood and, wiping her tears, flicked her whip.

The two controlled individuals immediately jogged over to the group.

Scalpel raised his hand as if to shoo Xia Chong, who was in a state of panic, and leaned in to listen.

In a faint voice, Scalpel said, “We’ve got to help the Captain…”

“I know!”

Fuming with anger, Xia Chong almost lost her temper. Turning around, she glared at the group of surreptitiously whispering, who showed no sense of responsibility or resolve—in fact, some were already discussing withdrawal strategies, members of Dracula’s squad.

She was both anxious and irate, determined to rush in and help.

But her skirt was tugged—once again by Scalpel, who was using two fingers to grab its edge.

“What now?”

Fuming and impatient, Xia Chong leaned in once more.

Scalpel murmured, “Your ability isn’t enough; you need help…”

“I don’t need your advice!”

Xia Chong lifted her hand in anger but restrained herself from striking him.

“At this point, just cut to the chase…”

The Beast Tamer, tearfully watching from the sidelines, couldn’t hold back and reminded Scalpel sharply.

Scalpel slowly rolled his eyes at her, gave a subtle nod, and raised his hand.

He flashed an OK sign.

The Beast Tamer was momentarily speechless, then noticed Scalpel beckoning her. Once she dismissed any suspicion of unwanted advances, she suddenly recalled the megaphone she had been told to grab and picked it up.

A long sigh…

As the megaphone was brought to Scalpel’s mouth, he took a deep breath and bellowed, “So…”

“Is the one hundred-million bounty from the Research Institute only going to the strongest Mr. Lone Soldier from the Red Moon Club?”

…

…

Whoosh…

Scalpel’s once weak voice now blared through the blue-and-white megaphone, its uniquely distinctive tone piercing into everyone’s ears. Instantly, all the club members—and even some Ability Users from other factions—turned to look at him.

Down below the stadium, the previously disorderly and unserious atmosphere shifted dramatically.

Everyone exchanged wary glances, their expressions turning grave.

After a long moment, Dracula suddenly lifted her head, a look of worry flashing in her single eye as she asked, “Bounty?”

Old Wang, who was about to charge at Dracula, furrowed his brow, “The strongest?”

The others echoed, “One hundred million?”