When he returned to the abandoned building, Huang Jin was still in a daze.
He rushed all the way to the ward where Hao Wenzhe and Unit 7 were located, and just as he was about to knock on the door, he was almost scared to death by the door suddenly opening.
Hao Wenzhe’s eyes were tinged with a terrifying dark color, and his tablet emitted a faint light.
“The abnormal data has been reported. There is spatial oscillation nearby. The reading of Evil Force is increasing linearly,” he muttered wearily. “The coordinates are near the abandoned hospital building. Be prepared for protection. Fu Xingchuan will be here soon…”
Two neatly dressed members of Unit 7 and Xiao Wu were standing behind him, and the rear commander, Xiao Zhao, gestured with his thumbs up to indicate that preparations were ready.
After a brief exchange, he noticed Huang Jin, who was standing dumbfounded at the door.
“Do you have something to say?” Hao Wenzhe asked perfunctorily.
In Huang Jin’s eyes, Hao Wenzhe was covered in all thought sizes of “How annoying. This is why I hate going to public places”, and his impatient emotions almost smeared his face.
“I know what happened.” Huang Jin spoke at the fastest speed he could manage. “That attacker has come again. He’s attacking Unit 9 and dragged Yin Ren into the gap.”
“Follow me and explain in detail.” Hao Wenzhe turned his head.
In just a couple of sentences, the two members of Unit 7 and delivery guy Xiao Wu, had already disappeared without a trace, leaving only Hao Wenzhe and Huang Jin in the corridor.
Hao Wenzhe ran at a standard speed for a slightly chubby middle-aged man. “What were you guys from Unit 9 doing in the abandoned building so late at night?”
‘Good question.’ Huang Jin choked.
“Yin Ren thought that the attacker valued the Other Side and wanted to tear the gap open to force him to make a move”… This reason sounded unreliable just by saying it. Except for Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian, others may not even know that Yin Ren was an evil.
“He… He witnessed Zhong Chengshuo being dragged into a rift and tried to enter the rift to find him. We were afraid that he would be too depressed, so we accompanied him to do some research.” Huang Jin squeezed out the little emotional intelligence he had left and tried to talk his way out.
Hao Wenzhe scoffed.
“Just looking at the data, the space near the abandoned building is about to explode. Your friend worked really hard to get into that rift.” When Hao Wenzhe said this, Huang Jin thought he was being sarcastic. Even if Yin Ren had entered the rift, his actions would at most only affect the space on the other side of the rift.
But at that moment, when he returned to the abandoned building, Huang Jin felt that Hao Wenzhe’s statement was still understated.
The entire abandoned building appeared to have dense cracks.
The building was clearly in front of them, but it looked like a scene in a broken mirror—cracks and deformities were exaggerated to the extreme, like a game model with a serious texture error. Those “space fragments” were still constantly moving, and their trajectories were extremely ominous, as if they would burst at any moment.
The three Level-B investigation team members hesitated outside, while Fu Xingchuan stood at the forefront with a limping leg and a black cat standing quietly at his feet.
Hao Wenzhe wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh.
“Is this all the people we have?” he frowned.
“I suggest that the main force be stationed farther away,” Fu Xingchuan said, observing the constantly changing “fragments” of buildings. “We are enough here.”
“This is not a small matter,” Hao Wenzhe said, dissatisfied. “According to my calculations, there is a strange variation in the concentration of Evil Force here. Moreover, there is a large and close abnormal ‘interstitial space’.”
“Which is why we are enough,” Fu Xingchuan said. “If something really happens, it’s not something that can be solved with numbers.”
Huang Jin swallowed his saliva, trying hard not to look at the broken spaces. “Fu—Fu Tianyi and Lu Xiaohe are still inside…”
“I know,” Fu Xingchuan raised his hand, and a bright red magic light instantly ignited the night. Countless fire dragons rose out of nowhere, swirling and dancing around the shattered old buildings, gradually gathering the floating space fragments together.
“We need to activate preventive containment measures.” Dr. Cat squatted next to Fu Xingchuan with his tail slightly curled.
Huang Jin’s face froze.
Preventive containment measures, commonly known as “amber sealing”. It referred to the practice of first freezing the relevant space in the face of an inexplicable and spreading disaster.
If there were people in the relevant space, they would become like little insects fossilized in amber.
Hao Wenzhe glanced at Dr. Cat. “Indeed. This is a hospital, and there are still many patients here. We need to prioritize the safety of the people. The abnormal spatial data here has already exceeded the standard. If a large gap reappears, it may affect the civilians in the entire area.”
As he spoke, he dialed a certain phone number. “Hello? Prepare the department’s…”
Beep.
Hao Wenzhe’s phone was snatched away by Fu Xingchuan, who hung up directly.
“…What are you doing?” Hao Wenzhe narrowed his eyes. “You don’t have the authority, I can only make my own judgment.”
“If I were still a Minister, I might agree with your judgment. Now… I’m not in that position, and I have to do something stupid to justify my job.” Fu Xingchuan snapped his fingers, and a fire dragon descended from the sky, entwining around him.
“I’m going in. Give me three hours. After three hours, do whatever you want.”
“Min… Senior Fu, this is not in accordance with the regulations,” Wang Zhou from Unit 7 stuttered. “We must obey the commands of the rear command and not act without authorization…”
Fu Xingchuan smiled. “Stop me?”
Everyone in Shian fell silent.
Fu Xingchuan smiled and shook his head, turning towards the shattered and dilapidated building. At this moment, a small figure pushed past the crowd and followed him step by step.
“I’m going too. I’ll take responsibility for the consequences!” Ge Tingting’s face still had a dazed look from just waking up. “All my friends are inside!”
Fu Xingchuan patted her shoulder without refusing.
His footsteps paused for a moment, as if waiting for something.
Yellow Millet in Huang Jin’s hand muttered as it struggled itself out of his sweaty palms and shot towards Ge Tingting in the darkness. Huang Jin remained where he was, with beads of sweat on his forehead.
He wasn’t obliged to go; Unit 7 was waiting outside. He had done his duty by reporting, and now it was up to fate.
It was a violation of the safety regulations, but as long as Fu Xingchuan was there, it should be okay. Ge Tingting was just a passionate young girl, and it was normal for her not to understand the gravity of the situation.
…Besides, staying outside didn’t mean he was doing nothing; he could assist Hao Wenzhe and the others with the external work. He was only a talented spirit smith; not a strong figure like “King Yama” who could save the world.
What he had to do was simple; he just needed to stand where he was.
Just like before, he meticulously planned each step, being cautious and careful—as long as he didn’t take any risks, he wouldn’t have to face additional danger. As long as he didn’t strive for success, he wouldn’t be hurt by failure.
As long as he stayed here, he wouldn’t have to face an unknown future.
Just like before.
Huang Jin stood rigidly, and in the dim lighting, countless fragments of space fused and folded in front of him.
After a brief pause, Fu Xingchuan resumed his stride. Another fire dragon lit up, encircling Ge Tingting. A tall and short figure walked towards the dilapidated building on the edge of collapse, their silhouettes almost being swallowed by the darkness.
“Alright, let them go.” Hao Wenzhe heaved a sigh. “Um… Xiao Huang? Xiao Bai? Come help me set up the site. I need to measure the site… Hey?!”
“Wait for me!”
Huang Jin tightly grabbed the small bag of talismans in his hand and rushed forward.
“I… I’m going too!”
……
Yin Ren felt the environmental spell around him start to activate.
This interstitial space should have been incredibly vast, but it had been cleverly divided into numerous, precise spells. His disturbance had been detected early on, and the nearby space was neatly isolated, like a leaf that had fallen from a branch.
Since they dared to establish their base in an interstitial space, the creators had certainly taken precautionary measures.
…But so what?
The fights between mortals were something Yin Ren didn’t care to think about anymore.
The body wrapped inside him was cold and heavy, and the sensation of broken skin and flesh made him shiver. Yin Ren dared not touch the deep and shallow wounds, but he couldn’t stop himself from fidgeting with them.
The body was so damaged that he couldn’t even give it a farewell kiss.
Yin Ren’s body swelled subconsciously. The relic warehouse was completely reduced to rubble. A translucent black ocean filled the torn space—the means of separating human space were indeed crude. With just a few movements, small cracks appeared around the small space.
Those were small gaps.
They connected the interstitial space with the real world, corresponding to its location.
Yin Ren embraced the remains of what was Zhong Chengshuo’s mutilated corpse in a numb state. If not for the contract he had with Fu Xingchuan, he would have even wanted to let go of his restraint over his Evil Force.
Perhaps he had devoured too much of Mr. Qiu that it caused his body to grow too large. Yin Ren gradually lost control over them, and even his thoughts became increasingly fragmented and scattered. The peculiar dizziness accompanied by paralysis appeared again, just like the last time he vomited in the hotpot restaurant—he was probably changing again…
Last time, he felt uncomfortable, and Zhong Chengshuo moved him into his bedroom. Yin Ren still remembered that look of helplessness as Zhong Chengshuo held the IV bag.
He really wanted to go back to that time.
Now that he had avenged Zhong Chengshuo and found his target, the nearby space had been completely destroyed. As for the remaining issues, he would let humans solve that themselves…
Yin Ren didn’t even have the strength to go berserk. He tried to shrink his body to restore some semblance of human form, but unfortunately, his body didn’t obey.
Sadness. Weariness. Suffocation.
Unprecedented pain he had never felt before.
He didn’t want to think about the future anymore. He didn’t like this era, and he didn’t want to like mortals anymore.
If he couldn’t return to human form, it would be better to sleep with this corpse here. Time was always the most useful thing, and after sleeping for another thousand years, perhaps this grief would be somewhat diluted.
At that time, the outside world would have changed drastically.
Was there a more suitable seal than the “interstitial space” of the gap?
Yin Ren struggled to move his body, and his wings brushed over Zhong Chengshuo’s corpse.
[If I dream of you again.]
He thought with difficulty.
[Don’t wake me up again, Zhong Chengshuo.]
With the fluttering of his wings, the remains of Mr. Qiu’s limbs trapped in the space were shattered. The debris splashed onto the wings, but Yin Ren didn’t move again.
Yin Ren squeezed out his last bit of reason and began to construct an array around his body, preparing to reinforce this space as a true seal. Dim red light crawled up the damaged walls, weaving dense runes and covering the surroundings with layers of “red gauze”.
“Puff.” Yellow Millet caught a wing cluster and rubbed it fiercely. “Puff…”
After that, dozens of fire dragons followed, cautiously moving through small gaps to ensure they wouldn’t close up.
It was Fu Xingchuan’s spell.
“Yin Ren. Yin Ren. Can you hear me?” Someone called out to him urgently, sounding like Lu Xiaohe.
“Is Yin Ren really inside?” Ge Tingting’s AI voice was very clear. “This place gives me a really uncomfortable feeling…”
“Something’s not right…” Fu Tianyi’s voice was hoarse and parched. “You have to come out quickly.”
Poor young people, ignorant of the truth.
But it didn’t matter. Once he sealed himself in here, Fu Xingchuan might tell them the truth. He didn’t know how long it would take him to recover his human form—perhaps he would never be able to. Unfortunately, they would have to be responsible for the follow up regarding Zhong Chengshuo’s parents, …
[Tell Fu Xingchuan that I want to seal myself.]
Yin Ren laboriously lifted a small wing and lightly brushed against Yellow Millet.
[Tell him I took care of the sniper and let him handle the investigation afterwards. How much they can find out depends on the whims of fate…]
Yellow Millet made a long, mournful puffing sound.
[Hu Tao and Lu Tanfei are both fierce ghosts under my command, so take care of them since they’re your juniors.]
“Puff! Puff—”
[Go.]
Yellow Millet’s large eyeballs became moist.
“Go. I’m just taking a nap. No need to worry.”
Yin Ren repeated.
The ball bounced out with a pop, leaving only the fire dragons carefully wandering through the darkness. Their light reflected off Mr. Qiu’s body parts, giving off a dim and obscure radiance.
The semi-transparent “black seawater” was as calm as a mirror.
‘It’s not much different from before,’ Yin Ren thought. They had been sleeping against each other’s foreheads all along. This time they were sleeping pressed up against each other. Unfortunately, Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t give him a hug.
The feeling of his wings being held was still vivid in his memory.
The sensation was so vivid that it was as if he were being tightly embraced.
……
Yin Ren: “?”
His wings were wrapped around him as if he were being tightly embraced.
Like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, his scattered and blurry consciousness was suddenly scared into focus. Despite his body’s difficulty in controlling itself, Yin Ren tried to flap his wings and feel the posture of the corpse.
…The corpse was broken and stiff, as cold as ever.
But its posture had indeed changed. At this moment, the missing arms were no longer curled up on the chest, but were stretched out wide, holding his wings tightly. Something was pressing against the palm of the corpse’s hand, and it felt a bit rough.
What’s going on?
Could it be that he was too attached to the past and unconsciously moved Zhong Chengshuo’s body?
Time seemed to freeze, and Yin Ren’s wings trembled slightly as he carefully withdrew from Zhong Chengshuo’s embrace.
In the next instant, the corpse unhappily pulled the wings back that tried to escape, and gently rubbed its neck against them.
Yin Ren: “……?!”
The sealing technique that was being perfected suddenly stopped, and all the wings exploded at once.
This time, he truly stopped thinking.
“Zhong… Zhong Chengshuo?”
The author has something to say:
Xiao Yin: Explain what he was about to do (?)
Xiao Yin: Woohoo, preparing to shut down.
Xiao Zhong: (hug)
…
Things suddenly became awkward!
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