Bewitching moonlight

"Help-!"

"Bugs! There are bugs!"

High up in one of the towers of an upscale residential complex, a flying insect smashed through the glass balcony door of an apartment.

Glass shards scattered across the floor. The fine wooden flooring, sofa, and other furnishings were all corroded by the monster's slime, giving off white smoke with a sizzling hiss.

A family of three hid in the bedroom, but insect limbs soon pierced the bedroom door, shattering the entire wooden door into pieces in an instant.

A man and woman shielded the little boy behind them. Their hands shook uncontrollably, but they still clutched a pair of golf clubs.

The flying insect chirped excitedly and lunged at them!

Despair spread across all three faces. At the last possible moment, a black-and-gold tail covered in barbs suddenly hooked around the flying insect, its tip piercing the insect's body.

The two-meter-long flying insect was hurled back into the living room at tremendous speed, the impact even cracking the living room wall.

While the Shadow Seahorse's attention was focused entirely on the flying insect, the woman tried to launch a sneak attack with her golf club, but the man hurriedly stopped her.

"What are you doing? Kill the monster!"

"Don't you recognize the little one? It's the one from the livestream this afternoon! It's here to save us!"

The woman calmed down, finally realizing she had nearly caused a disaster.

The family of three huddled in a corner of the bedroom, trembling as they listened to the sounds of vicious fighting from the living room and waited for the two monsters to settle the battle.

Before long, the living room fell silent.

The woman held her hand firmly over the little boy's mouth. The man hugged her and said, "Wait here. I'll go take a look."

"Don't!"

The woman grabbed his hand, tears streaming down her face.

"It's all right. That's the top player. The monsters under his command must be strong. That bug must be dead."

The man kissed her forehead, gripped his golf club with both hands, and walked toward the bedroom doorway with soft steps.

Only when he reached the doorway and looked into the living room did he realize he was drenched in cold sweat, his legs weak.

The flying insect's entire head had been smashed to pieces. Its body was grotesquely twisted and deformed, its bones pulverized and muscles torn apart. Its limbs had been brutally flattened and driven into the wooden flooring, while its wings had been torn apart like paper, their scraps scattered everywhere. The seahorse monster was already nowhere to be seen.

All the furniture in the living room had been destroyed, but the man felt no regret at all. His heart was filled with gratitude.

He lowered his guard and gave a smile that looked more miserable than tears. "It's dead," he told his wife. "The top player saved us!"

The family of three immediately embraced, sobbing quietly...

Scenes like this played out dozens of times across Blue Dragon City.

The soldiers could not stop every Insect Monster. Many flying insects had already flown into Blue Dragon City, and some had even burrowed beneath the ground to get inside.

To eliminate the remaining Insect Monsters as quickly as possible, Xiao Hao had sent out all seven of his seahorses, leaving only the slow, flightless Mantis Shrimp behind.

Cries for help rang out incessantly from every corner of Blue Dragon City, as though the entire city were wailing.

While Xiao Hao's seahorses cleared out the wild monsters within the city, he used the Bouncing Martin Boots to get around.

The city center had the most people, and the most wild monsters too. Xiao Hao headed there himself.

From far away, Xiao Hao could already see the hotel from that afternoon blazing with light.

Numerous monsters clung to the hotel's outer walls. Gunshots rang out from the rooms from time to time, holding the wild monsters back.

Xiao Hao walked step by step along the same street he had visited that afternoon.

Shadows swayed beneath the bewitching moonlight.

The shadows of leaves stirred over the cracked concrete.

A gust of wind swept past, rustling the leaves on both sides of the street and turning the moonlight on the ground into a hazy patchwork.

Xiao Hao gently lifted his head. Moonlight spilled over his face of shimmering black shadow, lending it an eerie air.

The hotel tower seemed to have truly become Blue Dragon City's lighthouse, strikingly conspicuous in the pitch-black night.

His eyes grew a little moist beneath his mask, and he sighed softly.

Clearly, the people inside the hotel belonged to the authorities. They had left the lights on in the middle of the night to attract the wild monsters, doing everything they could to keep them from hunting civilians.

Almost every glass window in the hotel had been smashed. The people inside were still battling the monsters, unwilling to abandon the building.

If they fled, the civilians would be in danger.

Xiao Hao's gaze seemed to pierce every obstacle, resting on the battered yet admirable figures within the tower.

"One, One, three Insect Monsters on the twenty-second floor. Over."

"Copy, Three. Over."

"One, one Insect Monster on the fourth floor. Over."

"Copy, Two. Over."

"The refrigerated meat trap worked. Sixth Insect Monster dead. Seven critically wounded. Over..."

"The alarm trap worked. Seventh Insect Monster dead. Twelve and Thirteen died of severe injuries. Over..."

"The bait plan worked. Five Insect Monsters drawn in at once. Take... take care of my family..."

"Nine!"

A man in a filthy police uniform closed his eyes in despair.

A three-meter-long caterpillar lunged at him excitedly.

After waiting several seconds, the man opened his eyes in confusion.

Before him stood a figure in a black trench coat, his back turned.

The caterpillar had been sliced neatly in half from head to tail. The two halves of its corpse crashed to the floor on either side, perfectly symmetrical.

The remaining four flying insects were pinned to the floor by four enormous scythes, writhing in agony. Green bodily fluids pooled across the floor, corroding the upscale hotel's flooring.

In the bright moonlight, the officer could finally see clearly. The figure had raised his right hand, and the ends of the four Reaper's Scythe handles were connected to four fingers on that hand.

"One... One..."

The voice over the radio was audibly excited. "Nine, you're alive!"

"The top player is here!"

"Tell the top player to reinforce the battlefield at the Giant Tree's remains! We can hold out here!"

Before Officer Nine could respond, the figure's hoarse voice rang out. "No need. I just came from there."

The police chief in the Command Center immediately became so excited that he could barely speak coherently.

"Then, did the Giant Tree win? Ah, I mean, did you stop them? Uh..."

The figure turned toward Officer Nine and spoke into the radio in his hand. "Don't worry. All the monsters there are dead."

Then Xiao Hao looked at the officer, who was struggling to his feet. "Take me to the Command Center."

At that moment, Nine was more eager for the figure to hurry off and help his fellow officers. "There are still monsters on the other floors. Our brothers..."

"They're already dead."

Yes.

Every monster in the entire building was dead.

Although he had only come to Officer Nine's floor, his Darkness Domain had spread throughout the entire building.

During their brief conversation, the last monster in the building had already had its life force drained dry.

The officers fighting on the other floors, those laying traps, and those fleeing for their lives from pursuing monsters all froze when they saw the monsters suddenly drop dead.

Officer Nine asked in shock, "You mean all the monsters in the entire building are dead?"

"Yes."

"I, I..." Overwhelmed with excitement and disbelief, Officer Nine hurriedly raised his radio. "One?"

A voice choked with tears of joy came over the radio. "Bring our great hero to the Command Center!"