A dozen minutes later, He Xuelin's car stopped at the edge of the suburbs.
Bzzt!
He gazed at a residential complex in the distance; the black bead on his forehead emitted a peculiar ripple.
The ripple enveloped the entire estate. After finishing, he walked in with a blank expression.
Now every living thing inside was caught in an illusion; even electronics were jammed. No one would notice what was happening.
At the gate, black liquid coated He Xuelin's body, turning him into a two-metre-tall black Monster.
"Become the fuel for my revenge," he murmured.
The next instant his body rippled and collapsed, flowing across the ground like true liquid.
Yet the liquid kept gushing out endlessly, surging toward the complex.
Every scrap of flesh had to devour vast amounts of other flesh; to eat more efficiently, each host had evolved mass-swallowing abilities.
"What is that thing?" Inside the complex, a patrolling security guard shone his torch at the black liquid streaming across the ground.
Shluck! The instant the light hit it, a glob of black liquid shot up from the ground and pounced on the guard several metres away.
"Ahhh—!" After a short scream, the guard vanished; only a torch and clothes remained.
In liquid form, not even bones were left.
More and more black liquid appeared, splitting into six streams that rushed toward the six buildings.
The next morning, on the roof of Rong City's tallest tower.
He Xuelin stood expressionless at the edge, watching the sun rise in the distance.
The left half of his face alternated between black liquid and human skin.
"So this is the power of Level Four?" He lifted his left hand; a mass of black liquid appeared in his palm.
He could feel that, whenever he wished, he could turn into black liquid and ignore physical attacks—far stronger than before he had devoured the whole city.
"Since I've reached Level Four, it's time to take the initiative!" Eyes full of hatred, he leapt from the hundred-metre-high rooftop… In Fengyue Country's capital, inside the Lonely Lantern Society HQ.
A middle-aged man kept dialling a phone, brows locked. "That bastard won't even pick up his old man's call."
"President, why so angry so early?" A sultry female voice sounded behind him. A thirty-something woman in green qipao and violet eye-shadow hugged him from behind.
Feeling the two over-pressurised footballs at his back, Chen Wenbin gave a helpless smile. "Kong Cheng took people to Rong City last night to handle an Awakened criminal. After one night he hasn't replied or answered; it's driving me crazy—tomorrow's banquet starts soon."
"Oh, a mere criminal kept Captain Kong busy? President, why not ask the local bureau what's up?" the woman asked, puzzled.
Kong Cheng plus his squad should handle even a Level Three without trouble; no word for a whole night was definitely abnormal.
Reminded by her, Chen Wenbin's face changed; he too sensed something wrong.
He turned toward the office door and shouted, "Secretary Yu! Get me the Rong City Inspector Bureau Chief on the line!"
"Yes, sir!" A quick answer came from outside.
Five minutes later hurried footsteps approached; the door opened and a pretty young woman burst in, flustered. "President, something terrible! The Inspector Bureau phone won't connect; the mayor won't pick up either, and finally the local army garrison—still no answer!"
She rattled it all off in one breath.
Chen Wenbin's face shifted. "Signal tower down?"
"No. Other cities connect fine—only Rong City is dead." Secretary Yu was certain.
"Summon every member to HQ at once! Pull up surveillance and find out what happened!" Chen Wenbin strode out, face flickering between grim and pale.
In all his years as president, nothing major had ever occurred—until now.
An hour later, every Lonely Lantern member in the capital crowded into the 55th-floor conference room.
Chen Wenbin, in a red suit, stood at the front, expression ugly. "Everyone, military reconnaissance just confirmed: Rong City is empty."
"What! President, what do you mean?" Some still looked lost.
"I mean—" Chen Wenbin began, then his gaze suddenly sharpened.
'Something's wrong!'
He swept his eyes across the attendees; at some point every one of them was staring at him with vacant gazes.
"To affect everyone but me in an instant—you must be a Level Four Mental-type." A transparent force-field appeared around Chen Wenbin as his expression turned grave.
The face of a man seated below on the left melted into black liquid, then re-shaped into He Xuelin's features.
He looked up at Chen Wenbin, teeth clenched. "Chen Wenbin, remember the Lucky Estate incident in Rong City five years ago?"
He had just arrived to find the Lonely Lantern gathering; enemies assembled were perfect for wiping them out in one go.
Hearing that, Chen Wenbin looked blank. "What incident? What did I do?"
He couldn't be bothered to recall the ordinary people killed by the aftershocks of a fight with friends.
But those words snapped He Xuelin's last restraint; his face twisted.
Half-mad, he shouted, "Are ordinary lives so worthless? Why do you look confused? Why forget? Do you know how I lived these five years?"
"No idea." Chen Wenbin answered casually.
Bang! The world before Chen Wenbin exploded; torrents of black liquid surged toward him… That afternoon a bombshell report flashed across the globe.
"400,000 Vanish Overnight in Rong City; National Awakened Organisation Wiped Out!"
The article detailed the catastrophe in Fengyue Country, appearing even faster than intel reached the world's Awakened groups.
Ola Ora: "WTF, real or fake? Was it the Monster Association?"
aiufyhdak: "Probably not. If the Monster Association did it, we'd already see a ton of videos online."
Sun Cow·DA: "The world's getting scarier—first Tizi Country's Gray Fog Incident, then Anna Country wiped out, and not long ago rumours said Nanwu Country launched a nuke at Jinghe Kingdom. How are ordinary people supposed to survive?"
DreamBackAncient: "The world needs an organisation uniting every Awakened—only then can we fight the Monster Association and the unknown disasters that keep coming!"
That comment sparked massive discussion.
Monsters and fiends appeared daily, threatening everyone's safety.
You might be walking to work when a Monster rounds the corner and chops you to pieces.
Or you could be sleeping at home when some stray energy blast smashes down and kills you.
Yet the major Awakened organisations ignored the debate; they enjoyed their own turf—if Monsters came they'd fight if they could, flee if they couldn't. No way would they risk their lives for ordinary folk.
Perhaps a handful of Awakened still wanted to protect ordinary people—but far too few.