Chapter Forty-Five: City of Flesh and Blood

Chen Tu clenched his fists, watching the distance between the ghost doll and their destination. With savage determination, he unfurled all his silver threads, wrapping them endlessly around more than a dozen buildings. Using the principle of pulleys, he pulled with all his might, setting the ghost doll in motion.

The ghost doll struggled fiercely, seemingly unaware of where the terrifying attack had come from moments before.

Chen Tu strained so hard that blood burst from his temples. His hands, white as jade, were sliced open by the silver threads, leaving streaks of blood.

“Die, Pulse-Bearer!” the ghost doll suddenly stopped struggling and, instead, charged violently toward Chen Tu.

Chen Tu abruptly lost his resistance, stumbling as pain surged through his overtaxed veins.

The ghost doll thundered toward him, ignoring Qi Qiuchan, who continued to attack from behind, and lunged at Chen Tu with force.

Chen Tu surveyed the terrain with growing desperation: No, still two numbers away!

At that moment, the ghost doll leaped at him, its stitched mouth wide open.

He gritted his teeth, abandoning his last chance to flee, and yanked all the silver threads. As the ghost doll reached him, he pulled with all his strength.

The ghost doll seized Chen Tu, but the combined force of its charge and the pull sent it directly into Adonsa’s firing range.

A massive energy built up in the distance; sparks of electricity nearly illuminated the city, making Qi Qiuchan’s hair stand on end.

Adonsa spoke without hesitation: “Fire.”

A tremendous voltage surged through the roller coaster tracks, heating them until they melted, and arcs of electricity turned into a storm of lightning, plunging half the city into darkness.

But this sacrifice sent a roller coaster car shooting out at twice the speed of sound. The front melted from the friction, becoming a meteor that crashed into the ghost doll.

After the first shot’s calibration, and aided by the calculations of split bodies along the way, Adonsa’s margin of error was now small enough to hit the ghost doll precisely.

The supersonic roller coaster shell struck the ghost doll, and this monstrous entity from another world could not withstand such immense energy. After an explosion, surprisingly gentle compared to its force, most of its body was obliterated.

The doll’s form could not absorb the horrifying attack; nearly half the city was pierced by the electromagnetic shell, which then vanished without anyone knowing where it landed.

The ghost doll’s upper body turned to dust; its legs silently disappeared into the shadows, and the demon fetus vanished without even a final curse.

Qi Qiuchan stepped forward, unable to see but relying on her keen senses to feel the devastating power wrought by technology. She could not help but feel dizzy.

She shook her head, listened closely, and began to search cautiously.

This blind woman possessed senses far beyond those of ordinary people, except for sight.

She vaguely sensed that Chen Tu had done something in the final moment, but dared not be certain.

Meanwhile, in the ruins of a distant building, Chen Tu and Lividar lay buried.

At the last moment, the demon fetus used all its strength to preserve Lividar and itself, and Chen Tu seized the brief opportunity to drag Lividar out, only to be violently blasted away by the shockwave from the electromagnetic cannon.

The cannon’s power was immense; just a glancing blow was enough to kill Chen Tu instantly.

Now, Chen Tu's chest had been obliterated by the cannon’s impact, while Lividar’s body remained intact but lifeless.

Yet even these two corpses were not spared.

Dozens of greenish-blue tentacles extended from the shadows, slowly dragging them into the darkness.

Qi Qiuchan suddenly appeared atop the ruins, raising her Dragon Whip and smashing down. Tons of debris were swept aside, but she found nothing she sought.

Two corpses that should not exist simply vanished from the battlefield.

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The story to follow is about an ordinary person, a mortal struggling in a world of humans and non-humans.

Just as Adonsa began its evolution—

Lin Jicang was jolted awake, his entire body itching and tingling, as if ten thousand ants were burrowing into his bones. He struggled in agony, tearing off his bandages and IV tubes.

A low, unbearable growl escaped him.

Guo Yixian squinted, “Who’s in the next room?”

Lin Jicang frowned, “The next room… a strange fellow. He may be involved in this incident, so I brought him here for treatment.”

Guo Yixian listened intently, catching every sound from the adjacent ward, growing more puzzled.

“Such rapid heartbeat and breathing… I can even hear over ten smaller heartbeats…”

Guo Yixian gently opened the door and saw a strange man curled up and struggling beneath the hospital bed.

“Go, leave… don’t come near me!”

Lin Jicang’s clouded eyes turned toward Guo Yixian; his hands, driven by itching, had shredded the sheets, dented the steel bed, and scratched deep wounds into his own body.

Guo Yixian observed Lin Jicang carefully, a faint sense of familiarity stirring.

“Black Mountain’s water, the blood of the Kirin…”

Those ancient records resurfaced in the memory of the Pulse-Bearer. Guo Yixian murmured, “The chronicles of the Black Kirin Emperor spoke of his immortal legion. Those who drank the black blood either turned into demons or died of old age.”

“Black Death Emperor?” Li Zhicheng entered, “That’s a figure from over a thousand years ago. Is there a connection?”

Guo Yixian replied, “Even Pulse-Bearers can't vouch for the accuracy of these historical records; ancient Pulse-Bearers tended to mythologize people and events. But the Black Kirin Emperor was indeed a real demon, directly challenging the authority of the Pulse-Bearers. Some say that because of the Black Death Emperor, the Pulse-Bearers gradually retreated behind the dynasty’s scenes.”

Li Zhicheng crouched to examine Lin Jicang, “You mean this guy is a descendant of the Black Death Emperor?”

Guo Yixian was perplexed, “Impossible. The Black Death Emperor was sealed by the Pulse-Bearers beside the waters of Mount Wu. It can’t be… Watch out!”

Lin Jicang, nearly suffocating from agony, suddenly opened blood-red eyes. His muscles bulged grotesquely, writhing like slugs, as he lunged at Li Zhicheng.

Li Zhicheng was not easily frightened by such an assault; he slapped Lin Jicang against the wall, spinning his head one hundred and eighty degrees.

“Damn it, I used too much force.”

Before Li Zhicheng could regret it, Lin Jicang erupted in a spray of blood. Veins, like serpent tongues, danced in the air as he launched another frenzied attack.

Li Zhicheng, frowning, used grappling techniques to pin Lin Jicang’s limbs, but Lin Jicang twisted each joint at impossible angles, continuing his claw strikes.

Li Zhicheng countered every move, blocking all attacks, but soon realized that Lin Jicang’s tentacles had crept onto his skin, trying to penetrate it.

A faint sting made Li Zhicheng tense—he dared not be careless. With a punch, he sent Lin Jicang flying out the window.

Guo Yixian rushed to the window and looked down; the ground below was empty.

“Damn it, we can’t let him escape! Quick, after him!”