492. Curse

A musty smell wafted over, causing Zi's expression to change slightly.

She still wore a warm smile, "Mr. Li Zhi, please cooperate!"

"No! No! I'm not sick!"

Li Zhi screamed frantically, his facial muscles contorted. "You must be trying to harm me! You want to capture me and dissect me for experiments! I know... I know everything..."

He was breathing heavily, and his fingernails had visibly grown longer and sharper...

Sizzle!

Without any warning, he grabbed with his right hand, his sharp nails aimed at Zi.

Iron Sand Palm!

Wang Chaoqun lunged forward and struck out with his palm, hitting Li Zhi's 'claw' squarely.

An immense force erupted, slamming the opponent entirely into the house.

"[Hunter]? Doesn't seem like it..."

Wang Chaoqun entered the room with his hands behind his back. Looking at the bones scattered on the floor, the even more disgusting smell, and the flies buzzing around, he was speechless.

"Wang Chaoqun, without my order, you are not allowed to lay a hand on anyone!"

Zi glared at him, then spoke into the microphone on her collar, "It's confirmed that Li Zhi is ill and needs treatment... Medical staff, prepare a stretcher and anesthetic."

This is a disease that has broken out among extraordinary individuals worldwide.

The main symptoms are mania, aggression, and paranoia; the cause of the illness remains a mystery.

However, it only occurs in professionals, and the incidence rate is low, around one percent.

"So weak... that scared me!"

Wang Chaoqun stared at Li Zhi, who was kneeling on the ground, and curled his lip. "Sister Zi, aren't you being too cautious?"

"He poses no threat to us, but to ordinary people it's a massacre... there have been precedents."

Zi sighed, feeling something was off.

It seems... people who fall ill are considered weaklings among professionals...

From a tall building not far away, a telescope lens peeked out from under the curtains.

Cheng Feng stared solemnly at the apartment, then rubbed his eyes after a moment. "It really is Heavenly Net, they've made their move."

Beside her, Li Weiwei was lying on the sofa playing on her phone with a bored expression, while Lin Hong was typing on her laptop.

"Is our team's first mission just going to be a passive spectator show? How boring..."

Li Weiwei yawned.

"You should be content..." Lin Hong laughed and scolded, "You're too comfortable. If you were abroad and experienced a street gunfight and explosion, who knows how terrified you would be."

"We live such an easy life because someone is carrying the burden for us."

Cheng Feng sighed, causing Li Weiwei to roll her eyes. "Alright, alright, I'm not a child anymore, don't try to reason with me... yawn..."

She yawned, then suddenly her expression changed. "The smell of the wind... has changed!"

"What does the wind... smell like?"

Lin Hong was taken aback.

"Anyway... it's a weird feeling, and... I'm so sleepy."

Li Weiwei mumbled something and then fell into Sleep.

"Unconscious?"

Cheng Feng rushed over and felt her pulse. "Strange... what's going on?"

Suddenly, everything went black before his eyes, and drowsiness surged over him.

"This seems to be... a calling?"

Lin Hong, who was beside her, murmured to herself and fell asleep, resting her head on her arm.

On the rooftop of this small building, a black-feathered, red-eyed Crow perched on Sulu's shoulder, gazing at the bright moonlight. "The second Spirit Tide? It seems it's going to be along with the 'curse'."

Where there is light, there is darkness!

A world that has developed to this point must have accumulated a great deal of darkness and resentment!

Previously, without the resurgence of Spirit Tide, there was no outlet for expression.

But now, things are different.

"The 'incentive mechanism' I set up seems to have some overlap with this venting of the curse?"

Sulu closed his eyes and entered a dream.

In the dark space.

Countless firefly-like spirits emerged, each with a layer of shimmering light on its surface, making their specific forms indistinct.

"This is..."

"Inspiration!"

"Haha... I never thought I'd be here after the first initiation and the subsequent promotion ceremony!"

"This is an opportunity, a tremendous opportunity!"

Near Sulu, several spirits, seeing this, immediately surged frantically into the depths of the Black Fog.

They wanted to worship that giant and gain more Occult Lore!

Having already experienced it once, they naturally weren't afraid; they were only excited.

Sulu looked around and saw that only a few spirits could barely suppress their Greed and remain still.

But... it didn't work!

"Mayana... Godo ...Havis..."

In the darkness, a static-like noise, like electromagnetic interference, appeared, mixed with a string of Ancient God whispers.

"Ah!"

Many spirits screamed in agony, feeling as if the whispers were a sharp thorn piercing their minds.

Intense pain and nausea filled their hearts, making them want to scream and vent like madmen.

In this extreme state, many people understood the meaning of this rambling:

Those who slack off and fall behind on the ladder of transcendence will be punished by an indescribable being!

Whoosh!

A strong wind blew by, revealing a massive figure.

That is the extraordinary source of this world, an indescribable Ancient God!

Countless spirits stared intently at it, only to find that it was shrouded in a layer of mist, with not a trace of Occult Lore emanating from it.

Moreover, it seemed to have transformed into a the Vortex, constantly devouring the surrounding Black Fog.

An inexplicable suction force acted on all the spirits, drawing them forward continuously.

"No!"

"Ancient God... please spare me!"

All the spirits knew that something terrifying would happen if they truly came into contact with the Ancient God, and they all screamed.

Fortunately, the suction force wasn't strong.

Anyone who diligently trains and develops their abilities after gaining superhuman power can barely maintain their form.

Among a swarm of fireflies, some unlucky ones, or rather, lazy ones, kept moving forward, forward... They saw the towering black shadow, as tall as a mountain, and were drawn closer against their will, eventually coming into contact with the Ancient God.

They vanished the instant they made contact.

It was as if it had transformed into water, flowing into the body of the Ancient God!

"Dead... dead?"

"Their souls? Were they devoured by the Ancient God?"

"Great terror... the real great terror... so after becoming a superhuman, every so often, the souls of the weakest are devoured by the Ancient God?"

"What about their physical bodies in the Material World? Do they die directly?"

Many extraordinary individuals felt fear and deep regret.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have become a professional!

This is for those who are acquired later in life; true innate awakeners have no choice at all.

Seeing this, Sulu felt a chill run through him. "Using this kind of elimination method... is this also a countermeasure by the world's will?"

He originally only intended it to be a form of encouragement.

But it has been transformed by the world into 'terror' and 'curse', while also harboring a hidden counterattack!