Within the Black Mist.
Li Chen couldn't see the path, so he could only follow the force drawing him onward.
Whoosh~
The wind howled. He didn't know what was going on, but somehow, there was wind in this bizarre space.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Chen suddenly noticed that he seemed to be standing on a step.
He looked down and saw a black staircase, just like the white one that had led him upward when he first entered this bizarre space.
But there was something unspeakably eerie about the black staircase now.
Clank, clank, clank~
As Li Chen continued forward, he heard chains rattling. He seemed to think of something and frowned.
He soon reached the end, where there was only a door roughly his own size.
Li Chen gripped the doorknob, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally opened the door.
A faint beam of light shone out.
Li Chen walked in, his pupils shrinking slightly.
The scene inside was bizarre and terrifying.
Countless statues of monsters stood there, as though sealed away. A masked man hung motionless in the air, pierced through by countless chains.
It was utterly silent, without a single sound. Li Chen stood there for a few seconds before looking at the statues.
The statues were black and lifelike, as though they might come alive at any moment.
But Li Chen's attention wasn't on them. He was looking at a statue that had already shattered.
A statue should once have stood there, but now only an empty shell and fragments littered the ground.
Just as Li Chen reached out to touch a nearby statue, an indifferent voice spoke.
"Don't touch it. Get out of here. This isn't a place you should come to yet."
Li Chen withdrew his hand and turned toward the voice. It had come from above, where there was nothing but the masked figure.
"May I ask who you are?" Li Chen showed a strong person the respect they were due, especially since this guy seemed to be sealed inside his body.
His question received no answer. Silence... endless silence...
At last, chains rattled, and a fragment flashed through the masked man's eyes. "Me? I'm just a failure."
"Go. This isn't a place you should come to yet."
As his voice rang out, a cloud of black mist instantly pushed Li Chen out through the door, leaving him somewhat at a loss.
But what he didn't know was that, after he left, the statues inside began dancing wildly.
"Who exactly is he?"
"And why did he say I shouldn't come here?"
Li Chen stood in a daze. He didn't know who the person inside him was, and he felt somewhat lost.
But soon, the world spun around him, and his consciousness returned to his body.
Li Chen opened his eyes, seemingly still recalling what had just happened. Then he suddenly noticed that he was tied up from head to toe.
Jianping and Su Zhe were each holding a stick, staring at Li Chen and leaving him somewhat at a loss.
Li Chen moved a finger, and a beam of light sliced through his bindings. "What are you trying to do?" he asked.
Su Zhe was still wary. "Are you Chen-ge or the Evil God? State your name!!"
"Huh? Evil God?" Li Chen was somewhat baffled.
Jianping put away his stick, apparently understanding Li Chen's condition now.
A moment later...
Li Chen had a rough idea of what had happened outside after he entered that space.
"Chen-ge, you really weren't possessed by the Evil God, were you?" Su Zhe looked a little worried. There was no telling what he had heard while Li Chen was unconscious.
Li Chen shook his head and said calmly, "If I were possessed by the Evil God, you'd definitely be the first one torn to pieces."
Su Zhe: "..."
Jianping then said, "Since the Evil God was able to find you by some means, it definitely won't give up on you now."
"It just depends on how strong or weak your willpower is."
Li Chen said nothing. He was also wondering why they said he had communicated with the Evil God when his consciousness had merely sunk into that space.
Could the masked man who had spoken to him be the Evil God? But if he was, why would he let Li Chen leave so easily?
From what Jianping and the others had said, they had long known about the Evil God, though in the real world, reports generally only mentioned Evil Cult organizations.
This was the first time the term "Evil God" had appeared in Li Chen's world.
Meanwhile, in Shenzhou City.
The Special Affairs Bureau was locked in battle with an Evil Cult organization.
They fought the cultists without fear of death or regard for their own lives.
The sounds of countless energy waves and gunfire rang out constantly.
"Quick... go save the civilians over there!!"
"Use high-risk weapons!!"
Quite a few Special Affairs Bureau agents roared with guns in their hands.
There were too many people in the Evil Cult organization, and the agents were growing weary.
"Heh... ants." The man known as the Puppeteer had an unknown number of thin threads tied to his fingers. He controlled people who had long since died, sending them to attack the Special Affairs Bureau agents again and again.
While the fighting continued there, Blood Charm and the others had reached the designated location not far away.
"That guy the Puppeteer was sent to Shenzhou City too. Looks like Lord Ninth Seat wants Shenzhou City to fall." Spider whispered, looking exceptionally excited.
The burly man beside her listened to her words and sneered. "Heh... you make it sound so simple. There's still a behemoth in Shenzhou City. If Evil Cult organizations like ours can occupy even one tenth of it, that'll be good enough."
"Besides, Lord Ninth Seat won't stop at just one Shenzhou."
Blood Charm said nothing, instead playing with the bone knife in his hand.
The location for Pandora's Box had already been determined. The next step was to open it.
After a moment of silence...
The woman codenamed Spider smiled faintly and teased, "Blood Charm, oh, Blood Charm, look, this important task has been entrusted to you after all."
"Your team was the one that opened Pandora last time, so doing it again shouldn't be a problem, right?"
As she spoke, she held Blood Charm's soul fire in her hand.
Blood Charm's expression was grim. He knew perfectly well this was coercion, but he had no choice.
Besides, he had seen with his own eyes how opening Pandora's Box had completely drained Poison Ghost.
"Damn it." Blood Charm was still thinking of a way out when an explosion suddenly rang out.
Boom~
Boom~
Several helicopters appeared in the sky, and several masked figures looked down at the group from above.
An oppressive pressure descended instantly. Horse Squad had arrived.
Spider cried out, "Blood Charm, what are you waiting for? Open Pandora!"
But Blood Charm, who held Pandora's Box, narrowed his eyes. He knew full well that if he didn't open it now, he wouldn't get another chance. He would die either way.
Then they would see who was harder to kill!!