Chapter 97
Zhu Changan looked at the man in disbelief.
That face, from the eyebrows to the expression, was exactly the same as the mother in his childhood memory.
But that shouldn't be the case. His mother had clearly passed away a long time ago. Her body was even buried in a cemetery somewhere in Sifang City. He had witnessed her burial with his own eyes.
"Monster! Save me, save me!" The woman looked at Zhu Changan with hope in her eyes. Only then did Zhu Changan realize that her voice was exactly the same as his mother's.
"Shut up!" The invisible black mist surrounded the eerie figure, looking a bit creepy in the night. The sharp claws, as big as a dustpan, moved back and forth at the woman's neck, as if trying to give her a quick death and make her shut up forever.
Zhu Changan shook his head to get rid of the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and thought to himself: No matter what, let's rescue the people first.
Zhu Changan released his supernatural power without any warning, and ochre-colored rock spikes appeared out of thin air under the feet of the strange creature, catching it off guard and successfully interrupting its next move.
Seeing this, Zhu Chang'an unleashed several more rock spikes. A strange claw grasped the woman's neck and lifted her up, its body nimbly dodging sudden attacks. As if possessing a predictive ability, it always managed to accurately avoid the traps Zhu Chang'an set.
Zhu Chang'an was clearly aware of this problem, but this was exactly what he wanted. The next second, two rock pillars suddenly appeared from thin air on the path that Guiyi had to pass through. Driven by the attack from its feet, Guiyi crashed into them without warning. Simultaneously, an attack force quickly gathered behind its head and struck out heavily.
That sound was a good sign.
Guiyi was forcibly knocked unconscious and briefly lost control of the woman. Zhu Changan grabbed her arm and ran downstairs.
The woman looked a little dazed and hadn't reacted yet. She followed Zhu Chang'an all the way in a daze. The strange thing behind her seemed to be finally enraged and suddenly erupted with a terrifying aura.
Zhu Changan suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart. He turned around subconsciously and saw that the strange appearance had changed.
If it had initially resembled the usual twisted, grotesque form, it now resembled a humanoid, black-robed Grim Reaper, only without the massive scythe. Its claws were incredibly large, and behind it clung a massive black wing.
It had no facial features, but instead had a deep, yawning maw extending directly to its stomach. No wonder it had been trying to stuff the woman into its arms; it had been planning to eat her.
The creature shook its head strangely, making a crackling sound. It swung its claws, its attack imbued with a strange aura, leaving dark claw marks on the walls and ground.
Zhu Changan couldn't imagine the consequences of such an attack on a human. All he could do was pull the woman up and run as fast as possible. Under his control, the rock element transformed into a solid shield, firmly protecting the backs of both of them.
Since awakening his powers, Zhu Changan had seen almost every level of weird creature except SSS. It was no exaggeration to say that whenever he encountered a weird creature, even without the aid of a weird detector, he could roughly guess its level based on its aura.
But the one in front of him was different from any monster he had seen before, and the monster detectors had been handed in to the school during the holidays, so now he had no way of judging the strength of this monster.
The jet-black wings suddenly retracted, and the next second, the entire thing rushed down like a cannonball. Zhu Changan was startled and dodged to the side, then pulled the woman in the opposite direction.
At the moment when they just passed each other, Zhu Changan even felt that the opponent's sharp blade was brushing past his chest. If there was a deviation of 0.1 millimeter, he would have been ripped open on the spot.
Zhu Changan reacted with a frightened sweat. Fortunately, the strange creature rushed at a very fast speed and was heading downstairs. He and the lady were running in opposite directions, and for a moment, they had opened up a considerable distance between them.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhu Changan quickly took out his cell phone and called Yuheng.
"Senior! Help! Two lives lost on the rooftop of the building at No. 55 Sanshan Road!!! And there's a black monster with scissor hands!" Without waiting for the other party to speak, Zhu Changan quickly reported the entire information. A second later, the other party's calm voice came through the phone: "Hold on, I'll be there soon."
Zhu Changan heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had asked his senior for his contact information before, otherwise he would be dead now. He turned to look at the woman and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, Auntie, we will be rescued soon."
Now they only have two choices, either go upstairs or go downstairs. The strange guy has already rushed downstairs. If they want to have a chance of survival, they can only run to the rooftop in the opposite direction.
At this moment, the two of them were already standing on the rooftop.
The strange creature quickly returned, blocking the narrow passage with its body. Although its face was featureless, Zhu Changan still felt a cold gaze falling on him.
It spread its wings, and an invisible energy field began to spread out. Zhu Changan thought to himself: Oh no, it's going to release the strange domain.
But unexpectedly, the next second it folded its wings, and the enormous energy was forcibly withdrawn before it could form a strange domain. Its body arched, and it looked uncomfortable.
It flapped its wings strangely and irritably, but did not continue to attack.
It seemed to be wary of something. Would releasing the strange domain attract anyone? Zhu Changan reached out and subconsciously stopped the woman behind him.
"Why did you save me? There is obviously no interest between us." The mother's voice came from behind. Zhu Changan was dazed for a moment, but quickly realized that it was the woman talking to him.
Perhaps knowing she was about to be rescued, the woman seemed much calmer, which made her even more similar to the person in his memory. For a moment, Zhu Changan even thought she was his mother—the mother who had walked out of his memory and resurrected.
But this is impossible. The first lesson their teacher taught them after they entered school was that the cycle of yin and yang cannot be violated, and resurrection from the dead simply does not exist.
Zhu Changan turned his head away from her, trying to shake off the influence: "For us, saving people is our duty, and we don't need a reason."
"You just called me mom, didn't you? Do I look like her?"
"...similar, even exactly the same." Zhu Changan finally couldn't help but ask: "Do you know my mother? Or do you have twin sisters?"
"No. I look exactly like your mother, so you can think of me as her. Or rather, I am your mother." The woman looked at Zhu Changan, her calm face tinged with a hint of strangeness. Zhu Changan noticed something was wrong almost immediately, and he quickly stepped back to distance himself from the woman.
The "woman" attacked very quickly. If Zhu Changan hadn't been carrying the amulet given by Zhu He, he would have been feeling heartbroken right now.
"You're weird too." He only then realized that the woman was also surrounded by a circle of weird black mist. Previously, it was in the weird hand of the Grim Reaper, and the two people's auras overlapped, so he didn't notice it at first.
Zhu Changan subconsciously mobilized his supernatural powers.
"Are you going to attack me, my son?"
"Shut up! You're not my mother!" Zhu Changan's anger threatened to burst through his chest. His family was his bottom line, and no one could trample on it. This bizarre behavior was simply hitting a nerve with him.
The "woman" looked puzzled. "How strange! Clearly, in your memory, you admired this woman very much. Clearly, I have restored her one-to-one according to your memory, so why are you unwilling to accept me?"
"No matter in appearance or composition, I am your mother." It seems that it sincerely believes that it is Zhu Changan's mother.
Zhu Changan was speechless after hearing this outrageous statement. It turned out that this was a non-human creature, and their brain circuits could not be explained by common sense.
"Human consciousness is truly strange. Never mind. Once I devour you, I'll be able to understand your consciousness. Let's maintain this emotion for a while longer. It would be a great loss if such a strong emotion were to dissipate with death."
The "woman" said this while using her hands as claws. The Grim Reaper behind her floated up quietly like a puppet controlled by her, and the huge and sharp claws swung out in sync with Ju Ran's movements.
A sticky, strange energy suddenly appeared beneath Zhu Changan's feet, clinging to his legs like a swamp, leaving him unable to move. Zhu Changan could even feel himself slowly sinking, and could only watch helplessly as the black energy emanating from the sharp blade drew ever closer.
He was done for, he was really going to die here. He hadn't had time to atone for his sins to his grandfather, he hadn't had time to fulfill his parents' dream of traveling around the world, he hadn't even raised his favorite golden retriever himself.
Zhu Chang'an felt a surge of resentment once again, and at that moment, he heard the sound of something breaking. Unlike the previous two faint sounds, this one was even clearer, as if someone had smashed a glass right next to his ear.
A familiar yet unfamiliar force suddenly emerged from his dantian, but the next second, Zhu Changan felt that he was being picked up by someone - like a mother cat carrying her kittens, someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him out of the swamp, forcibly interrupting the output of energy in his dantian.
Zhu Changan subconsciously flapped his arms and legs, and when he looked up and saw that it was Yuheng, he immediately gave up struggling and behaved like a motionless human pendant.
Yuheng stood quietly on an invisible stairway in the air, effortlessly blocking the Grim Reaper's bizarre attack with his fan. With a flick of his slender fingers, the white jade fan folded in his hand, spun a circle, and then unfolded again, returning the same attack.
"Why are you still here, awake so late at night, disturbing people?" Yuheng still had a gentle smile on his face, but Zhu Changan beside him noticed the murderous intent in his voice.
The moment Yu Heng appeared, the two monsters turned and fled like mice at the sight of a cat, even taking their own attacks without a care in the world. The only "woman" with facial features even had a look of obvious fear and panic on her face.
Yu Heng snorted softly and flung his fan, instantly enveloping the two strange beings in a small, fiery red energy field. This was a skill Yu Heng had recently developed, and its principle was similar to that of the Strange Domain, but with some abilities removed and no need for a person to enter in person.
A shrill scream suddenly erupted from the translucent energy field, and Zhu Changan suddenly felt dizzy and even wanted to vomit.
The Grim Reaper mysteriously severed its connection with the "woman," and in that instant, it burst forth with energy, forcibly breaking through the energy field and fleeing without looking back. That scream was the sound of the "woman" in agony.
Such a dramatic development made Zhu Changan unable to react for a moment. Yuheng put Zhu Changan back on the ground, but did not continue to chase him.
The strange being in the energy field rolled on the ground in agony, unable to maintain even a basic human form, its body gradually disintegrating. It and the Grim Reaper seemed to have a strange symbiotic relationship, but the Grim Reaper was the main body. If the Grim Reaper killed it, it could still survive, but if it was abandoned, its only option was death.
Perhaps because death was imminent and it no longer feared anything, the strange creature suddenly let out a manic laugh and lay on the ground without any image, no longer rolling around. "When the old world ends, it will be the time for my God to descend. The dead will obey God's call and return from the grave. All will gather in God's court to accept God's judgment."
Its eyes stared straight at Zhu Changan, meeting his gaze like a cold, venomous snake, and it slowly uttered a curse: "See you later, my son."
After saying this, it turned into a cloud of dust and disappeared.
To be on the safe side, Yuheng burned it again with Phoenix Fire.
Zhu Changan stared blankly at the place that had mysteriously vanished. After a long moment, he knelt on the ground, seemingly having lost all his strength. He lowered his head, his heart pounding like thunder.
"That's not your mother." Yu Heng said, "This monster can steal your memories and project the people in them into reality. Don't be fooled by it."
"At first, I really thought I could save her." After a long silence, Zhu Changan finally spoke. He put a hand to his face, and his body began to tremble. Suddenly, a tear fell on the lime-colored floor, standing out against the gray.
"I thought I could save her," he repeated. "Even though that wasn't my mother, she just looked like her. If I could save her, I could atone for some of my sins."
But it was all just a weird tease.
Yuheng sighed softly and wiped the tears from Zhu Changan's face. Today's ups and downs had been quite a shock for Zhu Changan. He frantically tried to wipe away his tears with his sleeve, but the more he wiped, the more tears came. Finally, Zhu Changan simply gave up on trying to save him and burst into tears.
He has been suppressed for too long.
A happy person isn't necessarily truly happy, and a heartless person isn't necessarily free of worries. Often, they simply choose to ignore their problems, pretending nothing happened. But after peeling back the gauze, the knife that caused the pain remains firmly lodged in the heart, perhaps even sinking deeper because of the gauze.
By the time You Lin arrived, Zhu Changan's mood had slowly calmed down. He saw the two bosses staring at him with concern, and even his usual social status felt a touch of embarrassment.
"Sorry to disturb your sleep at night." He scratched his hair, glanced at You Lin's expression, and suddenly felt guilty when he remembered the phone call he made in the middle of the night.
You Lin folded his arms and said quietly, "I didn't sleep."
"We were out clearing out other weird things," Yuheng explained. But for some reason, he felt his friend's eyes looked a little strange, but he didn't think much of it.
"Your action this time is too risky. Shouldn't the school have taught you how to fight in a team? If you are alone and the enemy's strength is unknown, you should give priority to asking for help and wait for your companions to arrive before taking action. But you just rushed in directly?" You Lin rarely spoke when facing other people, but when he opened his mouth, he hit people's hearts.
Zhu Changan lowered his head and scratched his hair: "I...this guy showed up because of me. I thought it's better for me to solve the problems I caused myself..." But in the end, he ended up making things worse and still had to shake the senior over.
Yu Heng was a little surprised: "Chang'an, these strange things are not directed at you, and they are not because of you that you are here."
Zhu Changan raised his head, his lips trembling: "It's not because of me?"
Yu Heng shook his head. "The reason these strange things appear here is precisely because of the boundary gate. This boundary gate connects our world with the strange world. The more strange energy released from the gate, the more strange things will appear in our world.
The monster just now only ran into you because it escaped here. Chang'an, they have nothing to do with you.
"I understand." Zhu Chang'an made an expression that was hard to tell whether to laugh or cry. If it were before, he might have cried out of grievance, saying, "From now on, I'm clear." But he had just cried without any dignity in front of Yuheng, and if he cried again, he would look down on himself.
My friend finally untied the knot in his heart, which was a cause for celebration. The system disappeared somewhere, so Mo Xuanji had no choice but to set off fireworks for herself in her sea of consciousness to celebrate.
Yuheng smiled softly, holding his fan to his lips. Speaking of which, it seemed like what he'd sensed from Chang'an earlier wasn't an illusion. But that aura had vanished as quickly as it had come. If he hadn't been in physical contact with Chang'an, he probably wouldn't have noticed it.
He sighed imperceptibly, then said, "Go back to sleep, it's almost dawn."
"Okay." Zhu Changan was probably the only person in the room who was truly looking forward to going back to sleep. After all, after returning to his room, he could temporarily forget about his embarrassing behavior today.
The journey back wasn't as dark and silent as I'd imagined. The streetlights were all on, and Zhu Chang'an followed Yuheng and Youlin eagerly as they chatted about this strange incident. As usual, Yuheng spoke, and Youlin listened, occasionally chiming in.
He was a man of few words, but every time Zhu Changan thought he would just say "hmm" all the way home, You Lin would suddenly open his mouth and reply with a long string of words in all seriousness, even if Yu Heng had just asked a meaningless question like "What are we eating tomorrow?"
Zhu Changan: Shocked face.
So this is the legendary old married couple model. Thinking of this, he scratched his hair again.
…
At the same time, at the headquarters of the Supernatural Bureau.
The room full of instruments was filled with busy staff, and the sound of beeping alarms was endless.
"Quick, quick, clipboard! Write this down."
"Report, high-level strangeness has appeared in Area 3, initially determined to be high-risk!"
"Report! A large number of strange things have appeared in Area 1..."
"Report……"
The responsible-looking specialist pinched his brows and sighed, "My life is about to end. I'm not going to be able to live anymore."
"Humph, aren't these beasts just aiming to kill us all?" someone nearby snorted coldly.
"Have you found the energy source? What are the coordinates?" They had previously detected a strange energy fluctuation, completely opposite to that of the boundary gate. It didn't seem strange at first, but it was precisely because of this complete opposite that they realized the problem.
This was truly a ray of hope, and those above even believed it was likely the legendary artifact. After all, wouldn't it be normal for the artifact, specifically crafted by the Demon King to seal the Realm Gate, to be 100% the opposite of it?
"No response. We've been chasing them for more than half a month and there's been no response. How could they suddenly pop up—" The man was stuck in the middle of his words.
"Beep! Alarm! Target energy source detected in Area 4! Repeat, target energy source detected in Area 4! Repeat..."
Everyone present opened their mouths wide, and for a moment the entire room fell into silent silence.
"Holy crap, where is it? Hurry up! Pull up the map!"
"District 4, District 4, oh, don't squeeze me!"
"Who the hell are you cursing to death? I just squeezed you."
"I said it's District 4! Wan Tusui's fo!"
"Fo you big head ghost, that is..."
"Wait, it's gone? Check the historical records. We must find it. This is our last hope."
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