The Spreading Spiderweb, Mind Control Art

The Character Card emitted a glow, and on its surface, The One—that gloomy youth—materialized.

He appeared out of thin air not far away.

Shen Yu himself found an inconspicuous corner and curled up.

A flood of information surged into Shen Yu's mind like seawater.

Malice!

Malice!

Malice!

What was the malice of human nature?

Shen Yu had always known that the evil in human nature could sometimes defy imagination, but never before had he felt it so viscerally—this intense, nauseating malice.

Malice from all directions converged on him like a tide.

In just a few seconds, he felt himself sinking into a swamp of malice, accepting, devouring, digesting.

Torrents of malice poured into Bai Zuo's shell, swallowed whole by that greedy thing inside!

Stop!

Stop right now!

Bai Zuo's body was nearly burst apart by the excess malice.

Shen Yu seized control of the switch that drew in the malice in time.

The malice halted, no longer flooding into Bai Zuo's body.

The thing inside Bai Zuo stirred, seeming somewhat dissatisfied, but under Bai Zuo's suppression, it could only sink into temporary stillness.

So this was the Weird Bai Zuo had contracted—the Heart Gu?

It really had thrown him a curveball right from the start.

Shen Yu's mind felt a bit dizzy; he needed to multitask to control Bai Zuo—dual vision, the mental load of piloting two bodies at once left him exhausted.

But still.

After sensing Bai Zuo's abilities, Shen Yu was thrilled beyond measure.

He now possessed the power to influence a person's memories and cognition, to brainwash someone, reshape their personality, and even control others.

The Heart Gu truly lived up to being an S-rank Weird!

After his excitement subsided, Shen Yu remembered one thing—how was a character's completeness improved?

It should be through roleplaying, staying as true to the Character Card's persona as possible. Judging by this, the card was well-suited as a villain card.

How could he justify someone born evil like this saving people and doing thankless work like containing Weirds?

He needed to fabricate a plausible reason.

"Bai Zuo enjoys toying with human hearts, testing or challenging the depths of human evil. After being discovered by the containment organization, he was recruited and kept under watch. As the price for washing away his sins, he must keep containing Weirds."

Having written the script, Shen Yu couldn't wait to take the stage.

"My first performance—I'm actually a little excited! Time to raise some hell!"

On the other side.

Zhang Lin, to prevent the driver from continuing to bite passengers.

Used his own hand to block the driver.

The driver sank his teeth into his arm, drawing blood quickly.

"Tie him up, now!"

Even though pain made sweat bead on his forehead, he didn't utter a single groan.

Several people used a rope provided by a kind passerby to bind the driver.

Just then, a helpful man nearby exclaimed in shock, "Patrol Officer, look at him!"

Zhang Lin turned his head to look.

The passenger who had been bitten earlier by the driver lay on the ground, limbs twitching uncontrollably, face pale and cyanotic, eyes slightly bulging, making strange gurgling sounds from his mouth.

"What the hell! A zombie?" a young student shouted.

"Careful not to let him bite you!"

Zhang Lin's heart sank. At the top of his lungs, almost roaring, he yelled, "Scatter! Everyone scatter!"

At the same time, he pressed his own body down on the passenger.

Though movies about viral infections like doomsday zombies were always playing, encountering it in real life left Zhang Lin momentarily uncertain.

How could zombies exist in reality?

Zhang Lin looked at his own bitten arm—semi-coagulated pus and blood oozed from the wound, which was swollen and discolored, a livid purple.

He was infected too.

Zhang Lin felt his consciousness begin to blur, a violent urge to attack the people running before him surging up, only for him to suppress it with all his might.

No!

I am a Patrol Officer, I must protect the masses! I cannot attack the masses!

But no matter how firm his will, it was no match for the Weird's corruption.

"Ah!"

Another scream rang out.

A passenger underwent a mutation, losing control and lunging at the onlookers.

Then, one by one, the other passengers began to go mad.

The corruption was spreading rapidly.

Zhang Lin felt his body undergoing a startling transformation—his strength increasing, his five senses sharpening. The running crowd appeared to slow down tenfold in his vision.

Blurred, they looked like large, screeching, darting insects.

His consciousness grew hazier, nearing the point where he could no longer control his body. Then, he seemed to hear a frivolous, teasing voice by his ear.

"Oh! Just found an Adaptive—how lucky~"

"Otherwise, even I would have a bit of trouble facing so many Weirds!"

"This Patrol Officer sir? Huh? Consciousness about to fade? Then I won't have to violate the Humanity Code, saving myself a lot of trouble!"

"Want to gain power, this Patrol Officer sir?"

The youth's tone was light and casual, yet it carried the seductive pull of a devil's whisper, brimming with confidence in manipulating the human heart.

"Don't struggle or resist, you see those things have already started attacking others. How terrifying—if it spreads, this city is done for, right?"

Zhang Lin's nearly eroded consciousness jolted. He reached out recklessly, grasping the thread that extended toward him. God or demon, it didn't matter—he needed power, the power to protect everyone in this city!

With the last shred of his sanity, Zhang Lin roared: "I... want to protect them!"

"Excellent, then—Mind Control!"

His blurry consciousness seemed caught in a spreading spiderweb.

Zhang Lin "saw" a white spider leap onto his face, burrowing through the center of his brow into his brain.

His nearly collapsing consciousness was firmly stitched together by that web.

This time, his mind was clear.

Clear as he watched his own body, under the manipulation of an unknown force, pounce ferociously on those maddened people like a descending god.

Those people were strong, so he used even more brutal strength to crush all resistance!

With every punch and kick, he even heard the air around his fists explode with sonic booms.

For the first time, Zhang Lin realized he could unleash such immense power.

In just a few minutes, he had caught up to all the maddened people, breaking their limbs one by one and tossing them to the ground.

"Huff! Huff!" Zhang Lin gasped for air, his body heating up from the high-speed movement, white steam rising from him.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"

Bai Zuo walked over, applauding. "Brilliant!"

The black-haired youth stepped toward him against the tide of fleeing people. The morning sunlight spilled over him, draping him in a coat of golden orange.

It was a very warm scene.

But those who, in their panic, collided with him suddenly calmed down after meeting his gaze, slowly sidestepping him.