"All right." Everyone nodded and stepped onto the Cloud Ray's back.
Once they were all aboard, clouds billowed from its skin, quickly wrapping around its body and the people on its back.
"Wuu!" With a cry the Cloud Ray simply floated upward, to the group's amazement.
"There's no jolt at all." Wei Gaocheng stood at the edge of the ray's skin, watching the scenery through the thinning mist.
The cloud soon thickened, sealing everyone inside and carrying them far away.
Jiang Yan sat at the front, gazing calmly at the cloud: 'Nanwu Country, I'll be back…'
Top-floor conference room of the official hundred-metre tower in Yuan City, Lingzhou Prefecture.
Only a round black table stood inside; Meng Zhiyao, eyes ringed with fatigue, occupied the head seat.
To his left sat an old man in a black military suit—Wei Qing, commander of Lingzhou's armed forces.
Click! The door opened; Fang Wenyu, white suit and gold-rim glasses, walked in. "Gentlemen, I seem to be late."
"Not at all, Wenyu. You had a hard night." Meng Zhiyao nodded toward a chair.
Fang Wenyu sat down with a sigh. "I'm still upset we let the enemy escape—and so many civilians died."
These three were Lingzhou's real decision-makers: government, military, and the Awakened faction.
Meng Zhiyao looked at the secretary beside him. "Report the casualties and damage."
"Yes, Governor." The middle-aged secretary bowed and opened his file.
"Yesterday the Monster Association killed four of our Awakened, the Liuyang Inspector chief, thirty-nine soldiers and riot-squad Inspectors, 4,890 civilians, and wounded over two thousand; four streets were levelled."
The figures were staggering; silence fell.
A moment later Meng Zhiyao spoke gravely. "We've reported this. They're no ordinary terror group; we'll hunt them worldwide and wipe them out."
He turned to the old general. "Lao Qing, you've captured quite a few Association members—some Monsters too, I hear?"
Wei Qing looked up. "Thirty-one businessmen who joined were arrested; only three Monsters, all Level Two."
Meng Zhiyao nodded. "The research institute keeps asking me for Monsters—they're practically drooling."
"I'll send two over when we're back," Wei Qing replied.
Fang Wenyu leaned back, eyes flickering behind his lenses, thoughts unreadable.
Online, the Liuyang monster incident barely rippled; a chemical-plant "explosion" topped the trending list instead.
Videos and photos of monsters were purged by an army of bans and deletions.
Only local whispers remained… Three days after the Liuyang incident.
Morning.
Outside the capital, a manor of several white villas. Inside one of them—
Jiang Yan sat on the living-room sofa, attention fixed on the Ghost Buddha only he could see.
After evolving, a ring of black Buddhist light circled its head and black qi made it eerier.
Jiang Yan closed his eyes and checked its new ability.
"Soul of Sorrow: forcibly extract souls who died by accident within fifty years; the Ghost Buddha gains full control. (Forceful extraction damages the soul; at its natural lifespan it disperses. Cooldown: one month.)"
'A crooked way of resurrection, I suppose,' he thought.
Perfect for consigning the detestable to utter oblivion.
The pearl of the abyss in his mind was full—ready to summon at any time.
He rose and walked out of the villa.
They had bought the manor as a temporary base; a permanent site still had to be chosen.
An Conghao was handling domestic and foreign lab construction; the others were gathering intel or buying equipment.
Reaching the open ground, Jiang Yan focused inward.
pearl of the abyss: 12,800 / 12,800
"Negative energy full. Summon?"
He had postponed it yesterday; now, settled again, it was time.
'Summon!'
Buzz! A mass of purple-black clouds appeared, rapidly swelling.
Rumble! It grew to twelve metres, thunder echoing inside.
Ten minutes later the clouds dispersed, revealing a towering Bodhisattva. Jiang Yan's expression turned odd—it was peculiar.
A huge pale head gazed down, eyes half-lidded, face blank; below the neck its ten-metre body was a black meat-mass studded with white limbs.
Hundreds of arms and legs waved at him—well over a thousand in all.
A gaping maw in its midriff brimmed with squirming limbs like live maggots; even Jiang Yan's strong stomach felt a lurch.
Information on the creature surfaced in his mind.
"Flesh Bodhisattva: a being from a special world, existing in flesh form."
"Assimilation: devour living flesh and memorise its every structure. (Cannot devour anything larger than the flesh-hole.)"
"Enlightenment: craft flesh-bodies within itself; they are mindless. (Cannot exceed the flesh-hole's size.)"
Jiang Yan's eyes sharpened; he instantly thought of the Ghost Buddha's new power.
'Combined with Soul of Sorrow… could we attempt resurrection?'
The idea took root—exactly the art of revival he sought.
Flawed, but perfect for accumulating experience.
'First target must be chosen carefully—only one chance a month.' He looked up at the Flesh Bodhisattva.
Excitement burned, but he quelled it; something more urgent remained.
Seizing control of the King of Liyang Country.
Meanwhile, inside the capital of Liyang—economically vibrant though militarily weaker than neighbouring Nanwu—skyscrapers lined the streets.
At the centre stood an immense, ancient palace, guards posted thickly outside.
In the central hall, a tangle of pale bodies sprawled across a vast bed.
"Aaah…" A stately middle-aged man yawned and stretched.
Creak! At his movement the doors opened; six pretty maids in black-silk miniskirts entered with wash-basins.
Cai Hong stood while they washed, brushed and dressed him.
"Any business today?" he asked curtly.
Beside the maids a middle-aged female officer, files in hand, bowed. "Nothing, Your Majesty."
"I shall visit the library," Cai Hong murmured, eyes half-closed.
"As you command!" she answered.
Moments later, when the last maid finished, one held up a mirror.
Cai Hong opened his eyes—and saw only swirling mist, as though the glass were smeared.
As he drew breath to scold her, a pair of ash-grey eyes appeared within the fog.