I'm No Hero of Justice

That feeling still clung to him like a shadow.

A furry, many-legged creature crawled onto him and slipped into his clothes with a sudden hiss.

A chill shot from the base of his spine through his entire body.

He immediately broke into a moonwalk!

More and more people were experiencing the same thing.

"Ahhh!"

Fear spread like a plague. Screams rose and fell around them, one after another, never letting up.

The terror on their faces, their bodies shaking violently, and their frantic attempts to escape something made the people behind them panic, though they had no idea what was happening.

They began screaming and stumbling backward in fear, but the crowd was packed tight. Those behind them had no idea what was happening up front. Hearing so many people scream, they thought something exciting was going on and pushed forward to get a better look.

The people in front desperately tried to flee, while those behind them shoved forward just as frantically.

Caught between them, the people in the middle could barely breathe or move!

Sensing that aura, Xu Zhou stared in shock and disbelief and shouted, "How is this possible? Is this Brother Bai's Ghost Domain?"

The Aberration Association was a vast, well-organized institution. To prevent Contract Anomalists from abusing their powers and losing themselves in their strength, it had established numerous rules to keep them in check.

The Human Reason Protection Code explicitly stated that Contract Anomalists were not allowed to use their abilities against ordinary people without cause.

If an anomaly was present, and a Contract Anomalist's efforts to deal with it caused collateral harm to bystanders, that could be excused.

Ji Wu desperately tried to push his way toward the Divine Altar.

But the panicked crowd had bunched together so tightly that there wasn't the slightest gap for him to squeeze through.

Xu Zhou clenched his fists, then raised both hands and formed a hand sign.

Seeing this, Ji Wu immediately tried to stop him. "Stop! Contract Anomalists can't use their abilities indiscriminately when there's no anomaly around!"

Xu Zhou's expression was resolute. "Brother Bai saved my life. If they keep pushing like this, there'll definitely be a stampede. If the casualties mount, the Aberration Association will pass judgment on Brother Bai!"

If another Contract Anomalist had done something like this, the Association might have taken into account that they were affected by an anomaly. At worst, their merits and faults would cancel each other out.

But Bai Zuo was already under supervision. He had become a Contract Anomalist while serving a sentence. The punishment imposed on him by the Aberration Association was to contain anomalies and protect human reason for the rest of his life, atoning for the sins he'd committed.

Bai Zuo hadn't been a Contract Anomalist when he committed his previous crimes, so the Aberration Association had treated him relatively leniently. At least he received all the benefits other Contract Anomalists did. Apart from being watched over by a Supervisor, he was otherwise quite free.

It was a chance for him to make up for his past mistakes. If Bai Zuo performed well, they might even lift his supervision.

But now, without warning, Bai Zuo had opened a Ghost Domain in front of so many people and dragged countless ordinary people into it.

Xu Zhou couldn't bear to imagine what would happen when word got back to the Aberration Association. Would they send someone to eliminate Bai Zuo outright?

Xu Zhou calmed himself and reached out to the Ghost Hand bound by his contract.

Under the pressure, Xu Zhou found it easier to control the Ghost Hand than he had the last time.

He summoned it in short order and directed it to separate the people packed together.

That way, they wouldn't be crushed into human cans.

The sky gradually darkened.

If any Adaptive in the crowd looked up, they would be horrified to see an enormous spider looming overhead.

Its vast body blocked out the sun.

On the ground, layer upon layer of dense, sticky webs began to appear. A single layer was easy to tear free from, but the layers piled atop one another, forming a tightly woven net like a sheet of white cloth!

Its powerful stickiness and resilience made it impossible for any prey standing on it to escape.

There was no way to hide something this big!

Ji Wu gaped in disbelief. He couldn't understand it!

Why would Bai Zuo do this?

Bai Zuo was willful, but he had completed every task assigned to him perfectly.

Had he been pretending all this time?

"Bai Zuo! You bastard! Stop! Withdraw your Ghost Domain! There haven't been any casualties yet!"

Ji Wu's shouts were drowned out by the screams around him.

Ji Wu knew it was already too late!

There was no denying that Bai Zuo had opened his Ghost Domain in public and used his ability to mark so many people, even if they could blame the whole incident on the unknown Ghost Domain at the Abandoned Bridge.

It was over!

Once people from the Supervision Department and the other Contract Anomalist teams arrived, they would find no traces of another anomaly at the scene. Bai Zuo's unjustified use of his abilities against ordinary people would come to light.

The Aberration Association would strip Bai Zuo of his contracted anomaly, turning him into a disposable tool for containing anomalies.

There was... no way to save him.

Ji Wu drew the weapon at his waist. It was a special pistol issued by the Aberration Association. The bullets inside could harm anomalies, and they were also a powerful weapon against Contract Anomalists.

The reason Supervisors were equipped with such weapons wasn't actually to give them the power to attack anomalies.

It was for... when a Contract Anomalist under their supervision lost control. One bullet could end them quickly and prevent the danger from spreading further.

Bai Zuo, standing on the Divine Altar, looked toward Ji Wu. A malicious smile hung on his face, making him look like a cruel, heartless demon.

The corner of his mouth curled up as he mocked Ji Wu. "I'm no hero of justice."

Ji Wu's pupils contracted.

His finger twitched involuntarily, and he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Bai Zuo tilted his head. The bullet grazed his face, leaving a bloody streak.

"Ah!!!!"

The loud gunshot sent the already-panicked crowd into even greater chaos. Some were shoving others aside; others were trampling people as they fled.

Xu Zhou struggled to control the Ghost Hand, lifting those who shoved or trampled others and tossing them into open spaces where no one stood.

There were too many people!

The frightened crowd was like a swarm of headless flies, with no reason left to guide them.

If even one person fell, everyone else would trample them without hesitation. They had lost the ability to think.

Overcome by fear, they did things they would never have imagined doing under normal circumstances.

Xu Zhou was drenched in sweat. There was no way he could stop the disaster about to unfold with his strength alone!

Since becoming a Contract Anomalist, Xu Zhou's senses had grown sharper by the day. From far away, he spotted a frail little girl being shoved by several people. Unable to keep her balance, she began to fall to the ground.

To him, everything unfolded in slow motion.

No matter how hard Xu Zhou tried, he couldn't make the Ghost Hand save her.

Xu Zhou roared, trying to make them stop!

But his voice was swallowed by the sea of people, barely audible.

A tragedy was about to happen!