It is no longer a battlefield ruin with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

He stood in a narrow, filthy, dim alleyway reeking of urine and cheap, low-grade liquor. Icy rain poured down, stinging his face. Underfoot was the slippery, sticky mud. A hunched man in ragged, greasy work clothes and a wide-brimmed straw hat stood a few steps ahead. A hand, rough as bark, gripped his tiny wrist tightly, dragging him staggering forward with an irresistible force. The hat, dripping with muddy water from its brim, obscured the man's face, revealing only his grimy collar and the strong, sour odor of cheap tobacco and sweat.

"Dad... Dad? Where are you taking me?" The young Pei Du (in the illusion) struggled with tears in his eyes, his tiny body dragged almost off the ground. Fear coiled around his heart like an icy snake.

The man in front of him didn't turn around, but coughed even more violently, as if he was going to cough out his entire lung. The cough echoed in the narrow rainy alley, with a sickly, creepy, and sticky feeling.

"I'll take you to... a good place... a good place to sell..." The hoarse voice broke in and out, accompanied by heavy breathing, like a rusty saw tearing at wood. The hand gripping his wrist was so strong it nearly crushed his bones. At the end of the alley ahead, there was an even deeper darkness, and the vague outlines of several menacing figures could be seen swaying there.

Sell ​​for money?! An icy chill instantly shot from Pei Du's tailbone (a fusion of reality and illusion) to the top of his head! The fear of being abandoned, the despair of being traded as a commodity, instantly overwhelmed him like an icy tide! This implanted, distorted "memory" reached its peak at this moment, the negative emotions contained within it infinitely amplified by the mental pollution of the fungus dome!

"No... Let me go! Let me go!" The young Pei Du in the illusion screamed miserably and tried desperately to pry open those iron-like fingers with his other hand.

In reality, Pei Du stood frozen in place, as if bound by invisible ropes! His eyes lost focus, his pupils dilated, filled only with the boundless fear and icy despair of the hunched figure dragging him through the rain. The alloy dagger slipped from his limp hands, landing on the gravel with a clang. A fatal flaw!

"Pei Du! Wake up!" Xu Shuangyao's anxious cry seemed to come through thick glass, distant and unreal.

A high-ranking Fungal Warlord, covered in thick silver-gray fungal plaques and wielding a massive chainsaw blade, instantly locked onto this perfect target like a shark scenting blood! Its crimson electronic eyes locked onto Pei Du's frozen form. Its heavy metal body crushed the gravel beneath its feet, emitting a harsh grinding sound. The rapidly spinning chainsaw blade, its teeth still stained with shreds of flesh and blood, whistled violently as it slashed down towards Pei Du's unprotected neck with a shrill, air-ripping scream! The breath of death was icy and piercing!

A critical moment!

"Pei Du——!!!" Xu Shuangyao's scream was heartbreaking. She rushed forward desperately, trying to block the fatal blow with her body!

At the moment when the chainsaw blade shredded the air and was about to touch Pei Du's neck skin—

Deep within Pei Du's unfocused pupils, a crimson glow, like a burning ember, suddenly exploded! That wasn't a return to reason, but the most primitive and violent counterattack of a beast driven into despair! It was a ferocious nature emanating from deep within his blood, twisted by the contamination of the Fungus Master, and forcibly ignited by the Crown of Thorns!

"roar--!!!"

A roar that was completely inhuman burst out from the depths of Pei Du's throat, like a wounded and dying beast! The sound was filled with savagery, pain, and a madness that wanted to destroy everything!

He moved!

Instead of dodging, he faced the falling chainsaw blade with a violent posture that exceeded the limits of the human body and was almost self-destructive!

He jerked sideways, the violent teeth of the chainsaw blade barely scraping the skin on the side of his neck, sending up a trail of blood and a few strands of severed hair! The scorching air from the rapidly spinning teeth scorched his cheek. At the same time, his right fist, infused with all his strength, muscles bulging, veins bulging, like a cannonball, fiercely and without pretense, smashed into the Fungus Skeleton Warlord's chest, covered in thick fungus-plated armor!

“Bang!!!!”

A dull and heart-pounding noise!

It wasn't the sound of metal hitting metal, but more like a heavy hammer crashing down on soaked, rotten wood! The silver-gray, fungus-covered armor covering the warlord's chest visibly dented the moment it came into contact with Pei Du's fist! Fine cracks instantly spread like a spiderweb! A sticky, dark green liquid with a sweet, rotten smell suddenly spurted out from the cracks, splashing all over Pei Du's face and body!

The heavy metal body of the Fungus Corpse Warlord was actually knocked back a step by this pure brute force punch! Its scarlet electronic eyes flashed wildly, and it was obvious that its core processor had also experienced a brief period of logical confusion due to this extraordinary blow.

Pei Du stood there, slightly hunched over, gasping for breath. The wound on the side of his neck burned with pain, and warm blood flowed down his neck, soaking his collar. His face was stained with sticky, cold fungus juice, emitting a sickening stench. But his eyes were now frighteningly bright, like will-o'-the-wisp fires ignited in the abyss, churning with mad bestiality and a deep murderous intent that had not yet completely faded. The cold fear brought by the illusion, like a spider web burned by a raging fire, temporarily retreated under the stimulation of the real pain and impending death.

He slowly raised his right hand. The hand that had delivered that earth-shattering punch was now a bloody mess, its phalanges a mess of flesh and blood, the white bone fragments visible. Blood dripped down his trembling fingers. The Crown of Thorns emanated an even more eerie dark red light from his forehead. Strands of icy energy coursed through his veins, numbing the intense pain while also bringing a deeper sense of corrosion.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!