Lin Jin opened his eyes and formed hand seals.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."
Poof, poof, poof, poof, poof!
Eleven clouds of white smoke burst out, and eleven shadow clones appeared in the room.
Including his original body, there were exactly twelve of them.
"Twelve locations," Lin Jin said evenly. "One each."
The eleven shadow clones nodded in unison, then all vanished from where they stood.
Lin Jin's original body pushed open the window and disappeared into the night in a flash.
Meanwhile, at the Jiangcheng Paranormal Bureau's command center.
Red alarm lights spun wildly, and shrill sirens pierced the night sky.
On the large screen, twelve red dots were like twelve nails driven into different corners of Jiangcheng's map.
Each dot pulsed, representing a mass of paranormal energy taking shape.
"Report! B-Rank paranormal fluctuations detected at the abandoned factory in the east!"
"The unfinished buildings in the west, B-Rank!"
"The old hospital site in the north, A-Rank! It's A-Rank!"
"The school in the south, another A-Rank!"
Reports rang out one after another, every word striking everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Su Qianxue stood before the large screen, her brows tightly furrowed.
Eight B-Ranks and four A-Ranks.
That force was enough to raze all of Jiangcheng to the ground.
"Leader!" Chen Mo rushed to her side, his head covered in sweat. "Where's the director? Have we reached him?"
"He's already on his way." Su Qianxue took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "How have our personnel been deployed?"
Chen Mo reported rapidly, "Leader Fang Rou has already taken her people to the old hospital site in the north. That's an A-Rank, so she's handling it personally. Two squads from our team have already been dispatched, but..." He paused, his voice turning bitter. "But we only have four squads. With twelve locations, we simply don't have enough people."
Not enough people.
Of course Su Qianxue knew that.
She was Team A's operations leader, at the peak of the Source Energy Stage. Fang Rou was Team B's operations leader, also at the peak of the Source Energy Stage, with an A-Rank ice superpower. Even if both leaders took action personally, they could only handle two A-Ranks at most.
Who would handle the remaining two A-Ranks and the B-Rank paranormal entities?
"Mobilize the reserves!" Su Qianxue gritted her teeth. "Send out every awakened person who can move!"
"We're already mobilizing them!" Chen Mo said urgently. "But most of the reserves are only at the Awakening Stage. They can handle C-Ranks, but sending them against B-Ranks is sending them to their deaths! Let alone A-Ranks!"
Su Qianxue closed her eyes.
She thought of the innocent citizens, the children still asleep, and this city she fought so desperately to protect.
If Jiangcheng really fell today...
"I'll go to the school in the south." She opened her eyes, a trace of resolve flashing through them. "Have Fang Rou handle the hospital in the north. As for the rest..."
Before she could finish, the command center's doors were shoved open.
A tall figure strode in, with a square face, thick brows, and piercing eyes, his entire body radiating a suffocating pressure.
Chen Zhenshan, director of the Jiangcheng Paranormal Bureau, at the middle stage of the Domain Realm.
"Director!" Everyone rose in unison.
Chen Zhenshan walked up to the large screen, his gaze sweeping over the twelve red dots, his face dark as a thundercloud.
"The Dark Moon Organization," he said, enunciating each word. "What a massive undertaking."
"Director," Su Qianxue stepped forward quickly, "we're severely understaffed. We need to request support from above!"
Chen Zhenshan shook his head. "There's no time. The nearest reinforcements would take at least an hour to reach us from the provincial capital."
"Judging by the speed and locations of these paranormal entities' arrival, this should be the Dark Moon Organization's sacrificial formation. They'll complete the sacrifice in twenty minutes at most."
He paused, his voice low. "There's only one way."
Su Qianxue looked at him.
"I'll deal with the strongest ones. Do everything you can to hold the others back." Chen Zhenshan turned, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the command center. "Even if it costs you your lives, hold out until reinforcements arrive."
Death.
The word weighed on everyone's hearts like a massive stone.
But no one backed down.
"Yes!"
"Move out!"
Just as everyone left, a technician suddenly cried out.
"What's going on?!" He pointed at the screen. "The paranormal energy fluctuations have decreased!"
Chen Zhenshan, who was about to leave, spun around.
On the large screen, one of the twelve red dots, the one at the very edge, suddenly flickered a few times, then went out.
Everyone present froze.
"What's happening? Which location's paranormal entity disappeared?"
The technician hammered frantically at the keyboard, bringing up the surveillance footage.
First location: the unfinished buildings in the west
Three minutes earlier.
Lin Jin's figure appeared out of thin air on the rooftop of an unfinished building.
Under the moonlight, a paranormal entity covered in black scales crouched on the ground, carving intricate blood-red runes into the surface with its claws.
It was enormous, like a lizard that walked upright, with a three-meter-long tail. With every breath, black mist seeped from the gaps between its scales.
B-Rank paranormal entity: Black-Scaled Ghost.
Sensing the human presence behind it, it spun around, its blood-red slit pupils locking onto Lin Jin.
"A human?" It grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs. "Have you come to die?"
Lin Jin did not answer.
He merely raised his hand, lightning gleaming in his palm.
"Lightning Blade."
Blue lightning streaked across the night sky in a blinding line, impossibly fast.
The Black-Scaled Ghost's pupils contracted sharply. It instinctively tried to dodge, but its body had barely moved before that streak of lightning pierced its skull.
The lightning entered its forehead and blasted out the back of its head, spraying black blood and brain matter.
Before it could even scream, its massive body crashed to the ground.
Lin Jin withdrew his hand and glanced at the corpse on the ground.
[System: Killed B-Rank paranormal entity Black-Scaled Ghost. Gained 50 points of world power. Current total: 110 points.]
He turned and disappeared into the night.
Second location: the abandoned factory in the east.
A rotting humanoid paranormal entity wandered through the open space inside the factory building.
Its body resembled a corpse rotted from soaking in water, and every step left a trail of foul-smelling liquid.
The liquid fell to the ground, corroding pits that gave off white smoke.
B-Rank paranormal entity: Rotting Corpse Ghost.
It suddenly stopped, its rotting head turning toward the factory entrance.
Someone stood there.
"You..." It opened its mouth, a garbled sound coming from its throat.
Before it could finish, that person's eyes turned scarlet.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan rotated slowly.
The Rotting Corpse Ghost's body abruptly went rigid.
It felt its consciousness dragged into a dark space by an irresistible force.
There, countless rotting corpses surged toward it, tearing into its body and devouring its soul.
In reality, it merely stood motionless.
Three seconds later.
Lin Jin walked past it and casually tossed out a mass of flame.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique."
The enormous fireball engulfed the Rotting Corpse Ghost's body, burning it to ashes.
From beginning to end, Lin Jin never stopped walking.
[System: Killed B-Rank paranormal entity Rotting Corpse Ghost. Gained 50 points of world power. Current total: 160 points.]
Third location: the old district in the north
Deep in a dim alley in the old district.
A paranormal entity wrapped in black tentacles clung to a wall like an enormous spider.
Its body was a human torso, but all its limbs had become long, slender tentacles, each covered in suckers and barbs.
B-Rank paranormal entity: Tentacle Ghost.
Sensing someone approaching, it shot out three tentacles at once, as fast as lightning.
Lin Jin did not even glance at the tentacles.
"Kamui."
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in his left eye rotated, and space distorted around the Tentacle Ghost.
Just as the three tentacles were about to touch him, an invisible force suddenly twisted them off and sucked them into a spatial vortex that had appeared out of nowhere.
The Tentacle Ghost let out a piercing scream, its remaining tentacles flailing wildly as it tried to escape.
But it was already too late.
The spatial vortex expanded, sucking its entire body inside.
Twisted, torn apart, pulverized.
A few seconds later, the vortex vanished, leaving only a smear of black blood on the wall.
[System: Killed B-Rank paranormal entity Tentacle Ghost. Gained 50 points of world power. Current total: 210 points.]
Lin Jin withdrew his gaze, turned, and left.
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