Chapter 639: Ruined Echoes

In the ruins ahead, a parched wind, mixed with rust-like debris, scraped across the ground.

Everywhere, collapsed eaves and shattered railings lay strewn about. Steel bars and car shells formed a haphazard mound, resembling a decaying turtle afloat. Visible rust slowly spread over the metal, creating an indescribable yet undeniable sense that the steel was rotting, exuding a pungent, iron-scented stench.

Almost tangible mental radiation swirled around, carving spiral ripples into the ground.

From the outskirts inward, the distortion grew clearer, guarding a silent monster at its center.

Atop the only relatively intact staircase amidst the chaos sat a red-sofa monster. Seated quietly at the far end of the stairs, it was tall yet taciturn, its skin a deep crimson and its muscles knotted like twisted ropes. Two long, ram-like horns sprouted from its head, which drooped toward its chest, unmoving—resembling a stone statue.

Though it appeared to be simply squatting here motionless, every inch of the vast area around it subtly merged with its form—as if its true body was this entire region rather than the physical form it occupied.

After a long period of stillness, it suddenly lifted its head slightly.

At its temple, the skin split abruptly, revealing a massive eyeball rolling within its flesh.

Then, its pupil contracted sharply as it fixed its gaze on something.

In the distance, through a haze of dark red air, a mass of distorted, swirling air began to take shape—a colossal black shadow.

It slowly drew nearer.

Up close, one could see that the shadow was, in fact, a chaotic monster resembling a tangle of blood vessels. Countless vein-like strands floated behind it like tentacles, while the front, resembling a head, wore a mask akin to a Beijing opera face makeup.

Bearing the mental pressure radiating from the red-sofa monster, it inched closer until it was about thirty meters away.

The mask’s six eyes blinked once before casually shifting its gaze elsewhere.

The red-sofa monster’s mental radiation trembled slightly, clearly expressing its intense discontent.

Before it could react further, it suddenly paused. On its scaled, crimson back, the skin split again, and another enormous eyeball emerged, scrutinizing a point behind its body.

As the arid, cold wind blew away the dark red mist, a tall, gaunt figure appeared—a structure resembling a rust-stained camera rig, complete with a camera perched atop. Three slender supporting rods interlaced like legs as it inched forward. From the camera’s lens emerged a round eye, blinking as it observed ahead.

Right behind the camera, where a film cartridge should have been, there was instead a glass hourglass.

The red-sofa monster’s mental radiation was now fluctuating violently.

Within the reach of its mental power, such a feeble entity shouldn’t have appeared.

They should have sensed its mental radiation from afar and fled—any presence would be seen as an act of defiance.

Rustle…

Before it could do anything else, another eye opened on its shoulder.

In another part of its field of vision, a round head rolled into view—just a head, without a body. Upon closer inspection, that head was unstable, formed of countless floating black cubes that shifted incessantly, vaguely outlining two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. When the red-sofa monster’s gaze fell upon it, the mouth immediately split into a grin.

It looked as if it was smiling in a sycophantic manner.

With a cold, indifferent stare, the red-sofa monster barely had time to react before an eye suddenly opened on the right armrest of the red sofa.

Within its view, a skinless dog appeared, dripping bright red blood. It had been sneaking closer, but when caught in the monster’s sight, it recoiled immediately, then lay on the ground, casually scanning its surroundings.

Alert now, the red-sofa monster slowly rose, and the red sofa transformed into a part of its body—a sort of backpack.

As it stood, its enormous body seemed to swell, growing larger and taller by the second.

Eventually, it reached over three meters in height, carrying the red sofa on its back like a hunched old man.

Then, facing four monsters that had materialized before it, its body trembled suddenly and began to crack apart, splitting into four segments that stretched outward and writhed incessantly like pulsing masses of flesh imbued with fierce vitality.

Astonishingly, each extended chunk reformed into a complete body—with a head, arms, and a gaping maw.

It lunged at the four surrounding monsters, unleashing a ferocious roar.

Rustle…

The four monsters trembled violently in fear.

Facing the gaping maw that threatened to devour them, they seemed on the verge of fleeing.

Yet, for reasons unknown, despite their feebleness, they shut their eyes and stood rooted in place.

Their suicidal display was so blatant that even the red-sofa monster paused in astonishment.

“Hello…”

At that moment, a gentle, calm voice sounded from behind.

The voice was so sudden that the horned monster’s body jerked violently, sensing something amiss.

By then, it had already grown four distinct bodies, each facing a different direction.

For it, there was no true front or back, yet it unmistakably felt something.

Someone had appeared at its “back”.

In an instant, the head that was about to devour those little monsters recoiled sharply.

The four dismembered flesh chunks merged back into one body.

Immediately, its whole form twisted unnaturally; its legs remained still as its body spun a full 360 degrees, sweeping swiftly by before fixing its gaze in one direction. Its mouth opened as if without limits, and at the throat, a massive eye contracted its pupil.

It stared at a spot behind it where, clearly, no one should be…

Yet as its eyes contracted, it perceived the air thinning.

Layer by layer, the dark red glow receded, revealing a young man clad in a hoodie emerging from that direction.

He looked no different from any ordinary person in reality, with a gentle, friendly smile.

However, perched on his shoulder was a little girl grinning broadly to reveal sharp teeth, and by his side loomed a heavy, profound shadow within which a tall figure opened blood-red eyes.

The young man smiled warmly, flashing bright teeth as he said, “Shall we talk?”

The monster felt an inexplicable surge of terror and recoiled slightly.

Then, the red sofa on its back suddenly split open like a backpack, unleashing bizarre, writhing tentacles that snapped rapidly toward the towering ruined buildings around it. Each tentacle latched onto a solid structure, exerting tremendous pulling force to hurl it backward. At the same time, from the sockets of its two eyes, two massive, blood-red hands reached out to grab the young man.

In a frantic blend of retreat and counterattack, there was no time for thought—only instinct guided its every move.

Crack, crack…

Yet facing the two hands reaching from its eyes, the little girl on the young man’s shoulder suddenly extended two thin arms, each grabbing one hand and forcefully twisting sideways. Instantly, the arms shattered, with splinters of bone piercing the skin.

At that moment, the black shadow beside the young man surged forward like a tidal wave, promptly knocking him down.

A crushing, cold aura enveloped everything, and the scene around became a chaotic blur. When the monster abruptly regained its senses, the overwhelming pain and chilling numbness seemed almost illusory; it hadn’t been thrown down at all—it was merely seated. The red sofa now lay on the ground, with the young man still standing before it.

He stood in front of the creature, reaching to press his hand on its shoulder, preventing it from rising.

On its shoulder, the little black-haired girl with sharp teeth clung tightly, while behind the sofa stood that tall, dark shadow.

Around them gathered the Beijing Opera Masked, vein-like monster, the camera-like one-eyed tall monster, the black and white blocky monster made of unstable cubes, and the skinless dog, with an additional faint black shadow lurking nearby.

They encircled the creature, their presence ominously chilling and terrifying.

“I heard you’ve come close to a divine presence?” the young man asked with a warm smile.

In an instant, an indescribable, overwhelming fear gripped the red-sofa monster.

It hesitated for a moment before its body disintegrated, scattering into a mass of swollen, pulsating flesh.

The young man before it suddenly revealed a bizarre smile, flashing pristine white teeth.

…

…

Rumbling…

In the distance, Xia Chong suddenly clutched her ears.

She had no idea what was happening and couldn’t even steal a glance.

All she felt was a surge of violent mental fluctuations, like a towering tsunami.

Every fiber of mental power became as savage as a blade, etching deep wounds into the ground around her.

Amidst the chaos came unearthly, echoing screams and hollow, cold laughter that might have been hallucinations.

Confronted by such fierce mental turbulence, Xia Chong was utterly powerless.

She could only cover her ears and hide behind a broken building, straining hard to shield herself from the chaotic mental onslaught. It felt as though her consciousness was a fragile raft facing colossal waves in a stormy sea.

One misstep, and she would be capsized, her mind utterly devoured by the tide.

By then, even if she survived, she’d be rendered a mindless wreck.

Lost in the turmoil, she lost all sense of time.

Only gradually did she notice the surrounding mental power subsiding.

In the gloomy, deep abyss of dark red, even the wind seemed to soften.

After a while, confident that the dangerous aura had dissipated, she cautiously lowered her hands from her ears and slowly opened her eyes. Summoning her courage, she peeked out, only to be stunned as if she were hallucinating.

Not far off, a Single Soldier from Qinggang was seated on the red sofa, engaged in conversation with something.

The scene was so shocking that she immediately recoiled and rubbed her eyes vigorously.

When she dared to peek out again, her entire body trembled in fright as she saw the Single Soldier dragging a chunk of red, blood-soaked flesh toward her.

Rubbing her eyes frantically, she could hardly believe what she was witnessing.

Finally reopening her eyes, Xia Chong nearly choked on her fear.

She saw that the Single Soldier from Qinggang now stood before her, holding a dark red mental monster by the hand.

It was unclear whether the creature was alive or dead, but the wounds on its body were unmistakably evident.

“You…”

Xia Chong shuddered violently, teeming with questions—

Questions like what exactly had Lu Xin done just now,

Or what step number was the manifestation of his ability…

But before she could voice any of them, Lu Xin tugged on the red monster’s leg and brought it close to her, grinning:

“You can now form a contract with her.”

“…”

Xia Chong was utterly dumbfounded as she innocently looked up at Lu Xin.

Lu Xin beamed radiantly and said, “I’ve already discussed it with her. Now, she’s quite friendly.”