Chapter 548: Shifting Shadows in Heichao City

A bustling city where crowds press in so tightly that movement is nearly impossible.

An empty city where not even a single soul could be seen on the deserted streets.

These two strikingly different scenes evoke completely different feelings—as though they represent two extremes of existence.

And at this moment, Heichao City was rapidly shifting from one extreme to the other.

Those fervent, yet living souls were being wiped out as swiftly as fading colors. Bustling streets turned eerily silent, and crowded plazas gradually became barren, as if erased with an eraser.

……

“Buzzz…”

In the center of the plaza, dark smoke rose silently, its shape shifting grotesquely as if buffeted by an invisible wind.

In an abstract sense, it resembled an image reflecting varied moods—a presence gripped by terror, influencing everything in the plaza, even the smoke, which twisted into monstrous forms.

It sensed the vanishing crowds of the city and knew how dreadful that truly was.

It could even feel that those people hadn’t really disappeared—they were still in the city, just unseen.

To it, not being seen was as good as disappearing…

Originally, the unique mental qualities of Heichao City’s residents helped them combat this disappearance.

But it dared not intervene, for the force behind this vanishing act was accompanied by a powerful will.

If it tried to resist that force, it would be caught squarely by that very will.

So, it could only watch helplessly as people faded from the outside world, their absence slowly spreading into the city…

In the end, the plaza was utterly empty—only a dozen or so individuals with collars fastened around their necks stood silently at its periphery, heads bowed in sleep as if oblivious to the transformation above.

At the very center, a group of officials from the Heichao City Administration sat on the ground, their faces etched with terror.

……

……

“Isn’t it simple?”

Inside the company office adjacent to the plaza, Lu Xin slowly released his grip from Mizang’s hand.

“Just hold on as long as you can…”

He smiled at Mizang and said, “If you can’t keep it up, who knows how many people might end up in trouble…”

Mizang trembled, too frightened to utter a single word.

Meanwhile, outside the office, the disturbance in the corridor had faded into an eerie silence. Only a chilling wind sneaked in through the window, carrying a bone-deep cold. Peering out, Lu Xin noticed the few remaining figures in the plaza, and a satisfied smile crept across his face.

Excellent—the city’s population had dwindled, and the person he was looking for was among them.

“Stay put, don’t wander off. Just watch.”

Lu Xin stood upright and cheerfully addressed the nearby Gecko, Han Bing, and the freshly arrived Red Serpent.

The few present wore grim expressions as if they had something to say.

But before they could speak, Lu Xin turned and headed for the meeting room, forcing them to shut their mouths hastily.

They suddenly realized he was instructing them, not asking.

Now that’s true leadership…

……

……

After leaving the meeting room, Lu Xin lit a cigarette and strode toward the elevator.

As he reached the elevator, its doors slid open just in time for him to step inside. But right before the doors closed, he noticed a ‘No Smoking’ sign posted beside them, making him pause for a moment.

Then, with a smile, he took a slow drag and exhaled the smoke directly onto the no-smoking sign.

The lobby was equally deserted. Exiting the lobby, he stepped onto the street leading to the plaza, which too lay empty.

Only a stray gust of wind swirled around, tossing old newspapers across the ground.

Lu Xin, cigarette dangling from his lips, walked forward with a light, almost buoyant step.

“Brother, brother…”

A series of excited shouts rang out as his sister clambered down from the wall. She looked thrilled, yet beneath that excitement was a hint of eagerness to please as she repeatedly called, “Let me help you, alright?”

His sister had grown up and become so sensible, even offering to help on her own.

She never used to do this before.

Lu Xin looked at her and shook his head with a smile, saying, “No need.”

Her smile instantly froze as she pressed herself against the wall, too frightened to come any closer.

Lu Xin gave her a gentle smile, then glanced back at the street before continuing toward the plaza.

His sister watched his smile with a timid, reluctant expression.

On the opposite side of the street, Mom appeared, carrying a small bag and silently watching Lu Xin’s retreating figure.

In a heavy shroud of darkness, Father emerged from inside—tall yet profoundly silent.

This time, the family did not follow; instead, they lined up slowly, watching Lu Xin as he proceeded alone toward the plaza.

“Did you expect this outcome?”

Only after Lu Xin had rounded the corner did Father murmur in a low voice.

Mom remained silent for a long moment before softly replying, “I tried to stop it.”

……

……

As Lu Xin entered the plaza, his first impression was of vastness.

Moments before, the thronged, cramped scenes made the plaza seem small by comparison.

In reality, the High-wall City—rich from heaps of amassed Black Grass—had spared no expense in its façade projects. The entire plaza spanned over 100,000 square meters, with fountains and statues constructing the most elegant landmark of Heichao City’s main area…

Even though, in essence, Heichao City perhaps did not deserve such a splendid plaza.

While pondering these matters, Lu Xin strolled into the plaza and soon heard a rustling clamor.

Slowly lifting his head, he saw a vast swarm of black shadows descending upon him like a swirling storm. The densely packed shapes formed an ominous cloud, accompanied by the sound of scales scrabbling and chaotic chattering.

“The kind of monsters from Tianhe Ghost Building?”

Lu Xin recognized these creatures—they had been seen before at Tianhe Ghost Building. His sister had even caught one to play with, though she soon lost track of it. Kids are always so careless, losing things and then feeling sorry about it.

Now, he was suddenly confronted by a multitude of them.

And unlike the fledgling ones he remembered, these were clearly more potent and even stranger.

Lu Xin guessed that these might be the seeds from something that had crawled out of the Abyss, now preparing to spread further.

Having just emerged from the Abyss, they required tremendous power.

Perhaps they intended to disperse these seeds far and wide before reabsorbing them—a peculiar kind of growth?

Maybe he should catch a couple more for his sister to play with?

Clatter…

As he mused, the ominous cloud drew nearer, its countless, razor-sharp sounds enveloping him.

Noisy and bizarre.

These sounds seemed capable of burrowing straight into one’s skull, infiltrating the cerebral cortex, causing an itch in the brain—yet with the skull as a barrier, the itch became an agonizing, unrelenting discomfort…

His temples throbbed, and blood was pressed forcefully into his brain.

“Hmph…”

The fastest among them lunged directly at Lu Xin, a tiny head quickly dominating his field of vision, its vicious maw agape.

He could even glimpse the glint of dangerously sharp, cold teeth.

……

……

Taking a deep breath, Lu Xin closed his eyes, then suddenly flung them open wide.

Whoosh.

An invisible ripple burst outward from his forehead, rapidly expanding.

Within its bounds, the air grew alarmingly thick.

That viscous force kept intensifying without limit, and as the cloud-like mental monsters collided with the ripple, they were instantly frozen in midair—as if captured like mosquitoes in amber.

Crack, crack…

Lu Xin looked up, his eyes clicking like a camera shutter.

In a fraction of a second, his pupils dilated and contracted in one swift motion.

Then, in the next moment, the mental monsters were simultaneously torn apart—their bodies twisted into fragments no larger than a centimeter. The process, strangely, was not instantaneous but a slow, meticulous dismantling.

“Forget it…”

Lu Xin thought to himself that he wouldn’t catch any for his sister after all.

After all, these things were too fragile; his sister was too rambunctious and deserved something sturdier…

He continued forward as the shredded remains of the monsters began to fall around him like hail.

……

……

“Is that a mental force field?”

The Gecko and his companions on the upper floor witnessed the scene.

Even though they couldn’t clearly see the details of the mental monsters, they observed the oppressive, cloud-like mass of twisted mental entities surging toward Lu Xin.

The most terrifying part was that under Lu Xin’s unleashed mental force field, this dark, swirling mass was instantly torn asunder.

In what seemed like an instant, the overcast sky cleared to reveal brilliant sunshine…

The stark contrast left the onlookers, even the usually unflappable Han Bing, staring in stunned silence as he turned to ask:

“Captain, how much psychic power did you just release?”

Han Bing instinctively glanced at the small mental detection device on his wrist, its screen a tangle of chaotic signals.

……

……

Continuing onward, Lu Xin’s footsteps echoed on the smooth stone slabs of the plaza, as if he were walking on water.

Every step sent subtle ripples outward into the surrounding space.

His solitary silhouette exuded an aura of loneliness.

With each expanding ripple, several of the slumbering figures with collars around their necks slowly lifted their heads, as if awakening from a deep dream, their eyes gradually fixating on Lu Xin.

In the next moment, their lips twitched into tight, crimson gashes.

“Wuuuu…”

In an instant, everyone plunged to the ground, limbs flailing as they viciously lunged toward Lu Xin.

With a gentle smile, Lu Xin slowly opened his arms as if welcoming old friends returning home, ready to embrace these fervent greeters.