In the dim corridor, investigators in protective suits stood fully armed in an attack formation before an ornate door.
Their feet sank into the thick carpet without making a sound.
Around the building, frontline investigators from the Anomaly Bureau had already been quietly setting up a perimeter.
Everything had been done without a sound.
Most of the Anomaly Bureau's forces had been mobilized, and the Support Center's communications and intelligence teams were on standby.
Five Awakened from the Anomaly Bureau had come.
These weren't rookie Awakened whose mental strength had only just scraped past the passing mark. They were Awakened with field experience, each with an impressive record and a history of handling numerous anomalies.
At the entrance, an investigator held a silent mental-radiation radar, watching its readings.
It showed a large number of mental-radiation waveforms from ordinary people, along with several that clearly belonged to Awakened.
Just moments ago, several powerful mental-radiation waveforms had suddenly appeared, then quickly vanished.
At the same time, the number of mental-radiation signatures inside had dropped by more than ten.
Hong Tao, captain of the Anomaly Bureau Investigation Department's Third Detachment, stood at the end of the corridor, quietly reporting to the Command Center through his earpiece:
"Based on current observations, the targets may have turned on each other, and their strength has been weakened. The Investigation Department's forces are in position and ready to attack at any time. Awaiting instructions. Over."
After a while, a woman's voice came through the communications channel:
"The Support Center is setting up a mental interference network. It's 73% complete. Standing by for orders and ready to attack at any time. Over."
Hong Tao nodded slightly.
"Understood. The Awakened investigators are ready to breach. Over."
Then he turned and gestured to his team to wait for orders.
Looking up at the ornate wooden door before him, Hong Tao narrowed his eyes.
Twenty minutes earlier, they'd received a tip that an Awakened criminal organization was holding a secret gathering here. After setting up surveillance, they'd indeed detected strange fluctuations in mental radiation.
Everything was ready. All that remained was for the curtain to rise, so they could arrest every one of those arrogant fools inside.
To pull something like this right under the nose of the Anomaly Bureau's Southwest Bureau—they must have had a death wish!
When the big shot in the blank white mask pointed at them, Lv Yalian began to tremble all over, tears spilling down her face.
Song Zhonghai, Lv Feng, and the others trembled too, as if they'd been plunged into an icy pit.
It hadn't been long since Feng Shihao's body had been corroded into liquid. The bodily fluid was still flowing, and the Shepherd was pointing at them, saying, "It's not over yet."
What did that mean?!
Was he going to kill them all too?!
Auntie Zhang, who wore a smiling mask, froze for a moment, then immediately nodded.
"Yes."
Since it was an order from the Collector, there was no room for doubt. She just had to carry it out.
"Wait! Lord Shepherd, we've been framed! We're not spies!" Song Zhonghai cried out in a hurry. "Please, have mercy on us. If you're that lord, then all the more, please have mercy!"
"That's right, Lord Shepherd! I swear by the Lord of the Abyss, I don't even know Feng Shihao!"
"Please don't kill us! Please!"
"I'm the Association's most loyal servant! I'm loyal to you too!"
"..."
The rest of the group hurriedly shouted their pleas.
Feng Shihao's gruesome fate was right before their eyes. If they didn't hurry up and swear their loyalty, they'd soon become blood-syrup fruit trees!
A few of them were nearly scared unconscious.
Lv Yalian was trembling all over too, her face deathly pale, already consumed by the despair of imminent death.
She turned and saw that the rich kid who'd come with her had collapsed on the ground and wet himself.
Auntie Zhang didn't care about any of that. She was about to start planting trees on the spot.
Li Fan shook his head slightly.
"Let them come over."
Auntie Zhang froze again, then changed her gesture and made an elegant "please" motion toward Song Zhonghai, who was at the front.
Did the Collector want to handle this personally?
If it would help him cool down, then everyone present could have their heads taken off and kicked around like balls.
Song Zhonghai was anxious and uneasy. Trembling, he crawled up to Li Fan and said, "Lord Shepherd, as a Cleaner, I've always been utterly loyal. I wouldn't dare harbor the slightest disloyalty toward the Association. Everything I've done has been for the arrival of the Lord of the Abyss..."
Li Fan remained impassive. The mark of a key in his right palm lit up. He reached into the air, caught Tiger Pillar God's chain, and pulled it out in an instant, letting it attach itself to him.
The Mother with the Clown Mask, Auntie Zhang, and the others beside him immediately sensed a strange kind of mental radiation coming from the Collector.
This mental radiation was extremely bizarre, unlike any of the mental power the Collector had used before!
The mental power from Tiger Pillar God immediately invigorated Li Fan's mind, allowing him to see the anomalous mental infection clinging to Song Zhonghai.
A patch of black mold covered Song Zhonghai's forehead, with something faintly crawling inside it.
It was one of those Human-Faced Snakes they'd encountered before.
But compared to the Human-Faced Snakes on the archaeologists' corpses, this one was much smaller.
That was why they could still move around normally.
Li Fan gently pressed his hand against Song Zhonghai's forehead. Tiger Pillar God's power shot out at once. The giant python spirit in his right arm burrowed into Song Zhonghai's forehead, seized the Human-Faced Snake in its jaws, and dragged it out. Then it tore it to pieces and swallowed it.
A surge of mental power immediately flowed into Li Fan's subconscious, where it remained.
The mental power from killing Feng Shihao was still dissipating, and everyone there was also in a state of extreme tension. Almost all of them saw this scene from the mental realm and instantly understood what had happened.
They had already been infected by anomalous entities. Lord Shepherd was going to remove the infection for them!
Once Song Zhonghai realized this, he finally understood why he'd been getting headaches lately. He hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and said in a trembling voice:
"Thank you, Lord Shepherd!"
Then he crawled over and kissed the back of Li Fan's hand.
Li Fan said, "Next."
Song Zhonghai immediately withdrew. Lv Feng crawled forward on his stomach and bowed his head before Li Fan.
Li Fan raised his hand again and gently pressed it against Lv Feng's face from a distance. The giant python spirit pulled a writhing, struggling Human-Faced Snake spirit out of Lv Feng's left eye, tore it to pieces, and swallowed it.
Lv Feng gratefully kissed the back of the Shepherd's hand too, his movements utterly reverent.
One by one, the Cleaners and Association members crawled forward, coming before the Shepherd to await his redeeming hand and warm mercy, then kiss the back of his hand.
After seeing what had happened to Feng Shihao, they all understood how terrifying these strange spirits living inside them were.
If Lord Shepherd hadn't removed them, they might soon have turned into those fused monsters and died horribly!
At last, it was Lv Yalian's turn.
By now, she'd stopped caring about anything else. She twisted her hips and quickly crawled over to Li Fan, like a well-behaved pet dog.
"Look up." Lord Shepherd's commanding voice rang out.
Lv Yalian immediately raised her head, her gaze hazy as she looked at the great figure before her.
Then she saw the big shot gently press his hand toward her. A hideous Human-Faced Snake immediately crawled out of her left eye, then gradually faded away in the air.
The headaches and dizziness she'd suffered these past few days vanished at once.
She was saved!
Lv Yalian trembled all over, realizing this might be the closest she'd ever come to the big shot.
Instead of kissing the back of his hand, she lowered herself and pounced at his feet like a dog. She cupped one of them in both hands and kissed it frantically.
By now, she had been utterly overwhelmed by the mysterious, unknown power and unparalleled authority.
This was true power, true status!
She was willing to become this big shot's dog!
"Next," Li Fan said coldly.
Lv Yalian could only withdraw reluctantly, making room for the others.
Finally, the Human-Faced Snake spirits inside the dozens of people still present had all been removed.
The mysterious Shepherd in their eyes now seemed to shine with an aura that inspired awe and worship.
The few Cleaners were even more devoted, and many who had only just joined the Cleaning Association had also been completely won over by that powerful force of darkness.
The more power the Cleaning Association displayed, the more loyal they became.
The Mother with the Clown Mask, Auntie Zhang, and Old Chen were even more shaken.
All this time, they'd known only that the Collector was good at killing—one could even say exceptionally good at killing and destruction.
They'd never seen him use any kind of healing ability.
But what the Collector had just done was absolutely unprecedented!
What did this mean?
The Collector had filled in the gaps in his abilities!
He would become a powerful being without a single weakness, all the more impossible to overcome!
Just then, the phone of the Mother with the Clown Mask gave a sudden buzz.
She took it out at once, glanced at the screen, then said to Li Fan:
"It's the Anomaly Bureau. They're preparing to attack."
Before you continue