Is desire truly all that humans yearn for?
Canghai Pass, Dawn Pass, Sinful Pass, and Ruined Pass together form the Four Great Passes of today. The inland areas are isolated by these towering city walls, and everything outside is so terrifying, complex, and strange, but for humanity, it is nothing short of devastating.
They didn't understand who their enemy was, and they didn't know how to resist...
The man lay prostrate on the ground, his eyes filled with terror, trembling as he pleaded, "Sir, please spare me! I'm just working for the guild. You won't gain anything by killing me; it will only dirty your hands!"
With a "bang".
His body was pierced through by the cane as easily as a piece of paper, but he did not die.
Li Chen glanced at Zai: "I don't like disobedient dogs."
"I'm sorry, my My Lord."
The man who was still smiling froze, and slowly retreated into the darkness.
Li Chen continued to look at the man before her, her eyes icy cold, and said in a detached tone, "Freedom or imprisonment, which would you choose?"
The man trembled, his mind blank. The blood dripping onto the ground served as a constant reminder that if he didn't answer, he would die right there!
But what is the problem?
Freedom? Prison?
He's about to die, what does he care about these things?
All I know is how to survive, and how to survive.
The man stared at Li Chen's lifeless eyes, as if he were uttering the loudest sound he had ever made in his life.
"Free!!"
"People live for freedom, but I live in this world for safety, to make a living, to support my family, and to support my loved ones. So I am imprisoned in my own world, a world governed by rules!"
The tremor in the man's voice seemed to have stopped.
At this moment, under the threat of death, his rationality was rising wildly. The pain signals from his body stimulated his brain, and he uttered what he believed to be the most correct answer.
Sunjie, who was kneeling on the ground to the side, was a little confused. What on earth were they talking about?
Free?
"Good answer, but I can't save you." A ripple flashed in Li Chen's eyes. It's true that people can unleash their most terrifying potential in desperate situations, but few people usually notice it.
Under Li Chen's gaze, the man's body gradually rotted and he died. Once the power of the disaster was unleashed, it could not be undone, not even by Li Chen, unless he could withstand the devouring of the Forbidden Substance, but Li Chen would not do so.
Sunjie watched helplessly as a person disappeared from existence, her eyes wide open, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Who exactly is this person? Evil Cult?
Li Chen looked at her, his gaze still that of someone looking at a dead person, and said casually, "Is your choice the same as his?"
My mind went completely blank.
Sunjie dared not look directly at Li Chen. As she recalled the scene of the man being killed, she couldn't help but gag.
This is an expression of fear of death.
They were both from inland areas, and although they were indeed bounty hunters, conflicts were inevitable. This time, the man only wanted to rob her. Sunjie naturally knew that the man wouldn't kill her, since the two of them had some acquaintance, otherwise they wouldn't have come to this city outskirts together.
I never expected to run into such a ruthless person.
Does he really value human life so little?
Isn't he afraid of being wanted by the Order of Justice?
Suddenly, a memory of drinking flashed through Sunjie's mind, and a news article appeared in her head, with a photo of a young boy flashing by.
She abruptly looked up at Li Chen's face, her expression as if she had seen a ghost. Her mouth opened slightly, and she stammered, "You... you... a demon!"
"You're a demon who destroyed the gate!"
Li Chen frowned, but he seemed to have become somewhat interested.
Demon?
Am I now being called a demon in the mainland?
Is the border crossing she's referring to the Canghai Pass?
So, the reason I'm imprisoned in this City of Sin is because of this incident, and I, an innocent person, have taken the blame?
Hmm~
Li Chen grabbed the woman's mouth and stared into her eyes with his abyss-like gaze. Immediately, Sunjie's pupils began to turn white.
Accessing memories... using the power of desire to control emotions, implanting it into the deepest part of human consciousness to explore memories. This was a common trick used by Lust at the time. After all, the best way to change emotions is to control memories, making you recall happy or sad memories, thereby controlling your emotions.
A moment later...
Sunjie lay unconscious on the ground. Li Chen, holding a black umbrella, seemed to pierce through the Black Mist, his gaze fixed on the city not far away. He murmured, "So things have developed this way?"
Through his memories, he instantly grasped most of the information about the outside world. He had already been discovered by humans, and it could be said that every city harbored absolute hostility towards him, regarding him as one of the Evil Cults, and that his level of danger was no less than that of the other three major religions.
Therefore, it seems as if they have been abandoned by humanity.
Order of Justice, Arbiter, Special Affairs Bureau... So much has happened in a year, and he still needs to process his memories. He only checked the key information he needed.
There is no turning back now.
A surge of Black Mist appeared.
Li Chen's tall, slender figure vanished, leaving behind only an extremely cold statement...
"Zero-scale initiation of the Eerie Tide."
Huizhou City extremely lively at night.
The news of the lockdown had already caused many people to seek entertainment and vent their emotions indiscriminately.
However, the newly built city wall in Yanbian was quite empty, as people had all gone to the night market to pass the time.
After all, it's not uncommon for Eerie Monsters to attack cities, but Eerie Tides are just something we've heard about; what are the chances of such a coincidence?
Several men dressed in special clothing sat on the city wall, gazing into the distant Black Mist from the towering edge of the wall, joking about the future.
"Hey, Lin Hua, wanna have a drink?"
"This stuff is pretty potent!"
Lin Hua waved his hand in polite refusal, continuing to wipe the silver spear in his hand, and said with a smile, "If my wife won't let me drink, then I won't."
"Tomorrow's her birthday, and I've had too much to drink. I'm probably so drunk I can't even tell the difference between a god and a human. I'll be kneeling on durians when I get home!"
A soldier standing nearby, his face flushed, shook the bottle and asked, "Wow, you're almost Arbiter now, why haven't you and Di Li gotten married yet?"
"Hasn't the marriage policy changed now?"
Lin Hua brandished the spear in her hand, testing its feel, before replying, "Marriage? Isn't it too early?"
"I'm still so young, and in these chaotic times, my strength is far too weak. If I were stronger, I would marry her, at least to let everyone know that her husband is quite powerful!"
Hearing Lin Hua's words, the others were not surprised and were filled with emotion.
"Haha, you little rascal."
"You young people really know how to have fun, we can't keep up!"
"This era belongs to you young people. Back in our day..."