Chapter 634: Crisis in Flame City
by xennovel“How is that possible?”
Inside the central administrative building of Flame City, in one of its control centers, many awake individuals had gathered.
Among them was the man in the white Zhongshan suit who initiated Flame City’s emergency defense plan, accompanied by several figures in black cloaks and a researcher in a white coat. They all focused intently on an electronic screen on the wall that displayed the entire map of Flame City.
Several flashing red dots had already appeared on the screen.
One could see countless green dots, representing some other entity, steadily advancing toward the red dots.
“What kind of monster is that, exactly?”
Now, everyone’s attention was fixed on a red dot in the northern sector of the city.
Countless green dots repeatedly approached that red dot, only to vanish again.
Then, an endless stream of green dots kept flowing toward that red dot to maintain equilibrium.
If you total all the vanished green dots, nearly over seventy percent of the quantity appeared here.
And it was still increasing continuously.
Moreover, that location was consuming so many green dots that massive gaps started appearing elsewhere.
“This must be the person we were looking for…”
The man in the white Zhongshan suit squinted at the screen, his pupils nearly pinpricks as he spoke in a voice tinged with coldness, “I never expected someone could hold off the Hell Regiment single-handedly for so long…”
“He hasn’t moved an inch—was he deliberately drawing our attention?”
“Perhaps he intends to create an opening for his comrades by doing so?”
“…”
As he spoke, his voice dropped to a murmur; his expression flickered between a smile and stern seriousness.
An old researcher beside him, his tone laced with fear, remarked:
“He hasn’t tried to forcibly pollute our dormant residents of Flame City to boost his mental power…”
“Is that pure madness or extreme confidence?”
“Does he really believe that his own mental power alone can counter the Hell Regiment of Flame?”
“…”
“Anyone daring enough to stir up trouble in Flame City must have some skills…”
The man in the white Zhongshan suit replied calmly, “Normally, anyone who enters Flame City is driven into a corner, and anyone pushed that far instinctively contaminates the dreaming to boost their mental power—this is a subconscious reaction for any ability user reaching the third stage. And once they do that…”
“They get locked inside the Nightmare of God, trapped forever.”
“But he stubbornly refused…”
“This was meant to be a foolproof plan, yet until now we’ve only managed to lock up three…”
“Sigh…”
“Firstly, these intruders seem particularly cunning, devising absurd methods to evade the Hell Regiment. And secondly, he’s so formidable that he’s absorbed much of the Hell Regiment’s strength, inadvertently giving the other invaders a chance to escape. This confirms my earlier suspicion that he is a key figure among the intruders…”
He paused briefly, then fell silent. Using a handkerchief, he gently wiped his mouth, “But that doesn’t matter. Successfully locating him is enough to meet our expectations. Since he refuses to enter the Nightmare of God, we shall…”
“Deploy the Hell Umbrella Series Plasma Missiles…”
“…”
“Hell Umbrella?”
The surrounding personnel shuddered at the mention, gasping, “But that’s a residential area…”
“Launching the Hell Umbrella Series Plasma Missiles, even at their smallest yield, would wipe out every living thing within a three-kilometer radius.”
“…”
The man in the white Zhongshan suit’s lips twitched into a faint smile, as if amused, “It doesn’t matter.”
He murmured, “After all, aren’t they all asleep?”
“Besides, given our current progress, should we really worry about too many casualties?”
“…”
The others exchanged uneasy looks; some even glanced instinctively at a red button shielded by a glass cover beside them.
Then, in the stifling atmosphere, an elderly researcher suddenly stepped forward to block the red button, his voice sternly declaring, “No, I disagree. We can’t toy with these residents’ lives…”
“Even these intruders haven’t harmed the residents arbitrarily. We…”
“…”
The man in the white Zhongshan suit shot him a glance.
The old researcher immediately stepped back, clutching his coffee cup as if it were a weapon.
The man in the white Zhongshan suit sneered coldly, his gaze icy as he looked at him.
His eyes narrowed as if planning something.
At that moment, someone suddenly whispered, “Look!”
That quiet call drew everyone’s attention. They quickly turned to the screen, and surprise spread across their faces.
……
……
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just minutes ago, facing wave after wave of charging black mental entities, Lu Xin was barely holding on.
He felt an intense headache.
Every surge of black particles sent a jolt through his brain, as if his blood vessels were expanding wildly, pumping blood with excruciating pressure.
Occasional pulses were tolerable, but this constant beating made him feel dizzy.
He could even sense that his Father was deliberately withholding the mental power he had lent him. Now, Father was using every ounce of his strength to fend off the encroaching black mental entities and buy Lu Xin time…
Although his trait is fear, as an individual he also possesses significant mental power.
Even after becoming the Mental Overlord of Heichao City, his mental power remained impressive.
Under normal circumstances, his trait would suffice to solve the problem.
But now he had to rely on depleting his mental power to combat these black forces.
It was like watching a scientist thrown into a battlefield…
…no, more like a butcher stepping into a boxing ring with a professional fighter.
From another perspective, it had always been Lu Xin who lent his family mental power, but this time the roles had reversed.
Father had even unleashed his own mental power to help Lu Xin.
But why would a usually selfish Father do that, knowing full well it was forbidden?
Could it be that he had been so deeply contaminated himself?
……
……
“I’m here fighting for you, and yet you’re smirking…”
Just as Lu Xin’s expression brightened with a mix of amusement and contemplation over this, Father’s roar suddenly cut through the air.
As the swirling black shadows morphed into countless shapes to repel the increasingly overwhelming mental entities, they too glared fiercely at Lu Xin. Father’s discontent and anger were palpable, as if he were challenging Lu Xin to a fight.
“No, no…”
Lu Xin quickly wiped the smile off his face and replied gravely, “I’m just thinking of a countermeasure.”
Father seemed to become momentarily animated as his shadow surged like a tidal wave, blasting away the black mental entities.
He fixed his gaze on Lu Xin and demanded, “So, have you come up with something?”
“Yes…”
Lu Xin snapped to attention, his mind racing as he suggested, “Maybe we should run?”
“Run?”
Father looked dumbfounded, “You want to run?”
“Yeah…”
Lu Xin responded nonchalantly, “Why be so prideful? Losing a fight and retreating is perfectly natural.”
“Besides, they’re gang up on us—dozens of them beating on our family—and Mom isn’t even here…”
“…”
“Y-y-y-you…”
Looking at Lu Xin’s confident, self-righteous face, Father’s shadow splintered in anger.
It seemed to sprout innumerable hands pointing in every direction as he fumed, “Whether you run or not, that’s beside the point…”
“With enemies everywhere, how do you expect to escape?”
“…”
Lu Xin fell silent, at a loss for words.
A dull pain throbbed in his head. Yes, he thought…
Father had changed; he himself had changed. Admittedly, when making that decision, there was a hint of satisfaction—as if he secretly took pride in it—but the crucial problem was…
“…what do I do now?”
……
……
Smack! Smack!…
In that instant, several dazzling blue flare bombs rained down from the sky.
They hit the ground instantly, forming swirling clusters of blue electric arcs.
Growing rapidly—from an initial diameter of less than a meter to over ten meters within two to three seconds.
Their razor-sharp electric arcs sliced through the black mental entities, annihilating them in swathes.
“Huh?”
Both Lu Xin and Father looked up in surprise.
Atop a nearby high-rise, several fully armored figures in black were tethered by black ropes. They were firing bizarre blue electric arc bullets midair, then swinging down high to land amidst the crowd.
Lu Xin’s heart pounded as he saw them descend, only to be engulfed immediately by countless black mental entities.
He knew all too well the terror of being touched by those mental entities and instinctively felt for these men.
But the next moment brought an astonishing sight: the armed men, even after being touched by the black mental entities, remained unscathed. They swiftly raised their guns and fired spiral electric arc bullets that obliterated the surrounding mental entities.
Their movements were agile—not as nimble as the Spider-type, but marked by the crisp efficiency of seasoned fighters.
As they cleared the area with startling speed, they reached Lu Xin’s side almost more efficiently than Father.
Kneeling on one knee with their backs to Lu Xin, they formed a massive encirclement, continuing to eliminate any approaching mental entities.
……
……
“Negative Zero Unit?”
Once they were closer, Lu Xin finally recognized these men. What were they doing here?
Creak…
At that moment, the door of a residential building across the street suddenly swung open, and a short-skirted girl peeked out.
With her short skirt, short legs, and exquisitely impassive features, she was none other than Xia Chong, the ability user from Central City.
She quickly waved at Lu Xin, “Are you crazy? Taking on the Hell Regiment alone in Flame City…”
“Come over here…”