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The seemingly motionless cocoon suddenly trembled, bursting forth with bursts of energy, filling the dark space with crimson mist.
Cheng Xin stood with his hands behind his back, admiring his work. He watched the cocoon tremble incessantly, as if the dormant life had been bound by chains of control, awakening from its anger, only to find itself powerless to break free, in great pain, struggling desperately.
What a beautiful scene.
Cheng Xin had a faint smile on his lips; every time he saw this scene, he found it incredibly beautiful.
This is his work.
his.
How many materials are there now?
An invisible link connects him to the cocoon, and energy flows to him like nutrients, nourishing him.
What a powerful material! It's the most powerful one we've ever used.
The materials are ready.
So comfortable.
One hand involuntarily blurred, and because it felt so good, it involuntarily transformed into a monster. Only a small part of its original form had completely monstrousized, yet it stretched for thousands of miles, one end extending far into the endless dark space.
The monstrous form resembled smoke and mud, churning and boiling, with one or two terrifying and ferocious faces emerging only to be quickly swallowed up by the smoke and mud.
Materials, lots and lots of materials.
Cheng Xin's face was full of greed.
Given enough materials, he will become the master of the world!
The red mist in the space grew thicker and thicker, making him feel slightly uncomfortable. Cheng Xin's smile froze slightly.
He snorted coldly, retracted his monstrous form, and flicked his sleeve, leaving the dark space.
*
boom--
With a sweep of its powerful forelegs, the toy cat snapped a pillar in two, shattering it into pieces.
Black fur grew from the giant cat's smooth, gilded forelimbs, slowly spreading across its entire body. It was soft and flowing; upon closer inspection, it was actually wisps of Pollution smoke, like a demon.
The Pollution in the air is getting thicker and thicker, so thick that the air feels a hundred times heavier, making it difficult to breathe.
Cries and shouts mingled together. Regardless of strength, whether ordinary people, F-Rank ability users, or A-Rank ability users, all of humanity's consciousness was corrupted, turning them into sorrowful and depressed walking corpses who only knew how to cry and shout or were filled with violent riots that hurt others and themselves. No one was spared!
And all of this happened in the blink of an eye!
Upstairs, the three monsters also showed varying degrees of discomfort. The low-level Monster No. 7 was in a daze, the medium-level Monster No. 5 was slightly disoriented, and the high-level Monster No. 3 was in better condition, only feeling a slight tingling sensation on its scalp.
On the floor below them, the toys that had gathered to send the humans away also stood motionless.
On the first floor, the Mirror Woman dodged the flying pebbles, shook her head, and shook off the slight daze in her mind.
Her condition was similar to that of Monster No. 5.
What level of Pollution is this?!
Having experienced the darkest hour three hundred years ago, the Mirror Woman still feels terrified.
Why did the toy cat suddenly transform into a demon cat corrupted by Pollution? Was it the work of "Cheng Xin"?
The Mirror Woman looked at the Healer with concern, then froze in shock.
The Healer appeared clear-headed and clearly unaffected.
monster.
The Mirror Woman twitched; her worries were unnecessary.
Out of the corner of his eye, he accidentally caught sight of a young man and saw that he looked just like the Healer, and his eye twitched again.
They're all monsters.
She mechanically shifted her gaze from the monsters to the humans suffering from the Pollution. Most of these humans were superhumans; close contact with this level of mental Pollution was manageable for a short time. If they were rescued, they could be treated to remove the Pollution, which, although troublesome, would allow them to recover. However, if the time dragged on, even if they were rescued, their mental sea would be destroyed, leaving them as fools for life. Some, even more fragile ones, might not even survive until rescue and would simply explode and die here.
The demonic cat, enraged, swung its forelegs wildly, wreaking havoc on the mall; malice and murderous intent were clearly visible in its dark eyes.
However, they only vandalized the shopping mall and did not harm the residents inside the building.
Why?
The Mirror Woman actually empathized with the Demon Cat at this moment. She was the same when she first fell into Polluted, seized by malice and murderous intent, bloodthirsty, and only wanting to kill.
However, a faint sliver of consciousness remained, preventing her from completely succumbing to despair.
The Mirror Woman turned her gaze to the back of the Demon Cat, where three cat clones stood guard. Their eyes shifted between sinister and indifferent, their claws scratching at the floor as if they were restraining something. They were covered only by a few tufts of light-colored "black fur."
The Mirror Woman suddenly realized she had found the reason.
This is because a small part of the demon cat's consciousness is scattered across the three cat clones. This part of the consciousness has not yet succumbed and has slightly held back its original body.
But it's only a matter of time before it gets completely out of control.
Looking at the "black fur" gradually spreading on the cat's body, the Mirror Woman thought to herself that this was different from her own situation when she was corrupted.
What exactly did Cheng Xin do to the cat?
As the Mirror Woman pondered, a figure flashed past her vision. It was the Healer, who had dodged to the other side to avoid an attack from a mentally broken person in the building. The Healer didn't attack the human who was attacking her but chose to dodge. She landed in a safe spot, staring at the group of walking corpses with a complicated expression.
What is the Healer thinking? Pity? Compassion?
They are clearly not human beings at all.
The Mirror Woman's cold, hard heart skipped a beat, and for a fleeting moment, she regained her human emotions. She suddenly shouted at the Healer, "Healer, use the shards of mirror in your hand!"
Ye Jiang heard a shout coming towards her, looked up, and saw the Mirror Woman with a strange expression.
Use fragments?
Ye Jiang pulled out the almost forgotten shard of mirror, a piece belonging to the Mirror Woman. The Mirror Woman said it could be used as a disposable prop. How to use it?
"Throw it on the ground!" the Mirror Woman shouted at her, her expression subtle. She was meddling too much, actually trying to protect a group of humans who had nothing to do with her for the sake of the Healer.
Ye Jiang glanced at her a few times, then threw the shards onto the ground.
A flash of silver light appeared, fragments fell to the ground, and an ice-blue, transparent mirror rose from the ground, enclosing a space. That space then grew larger and larger, encompassing most of the people on the first floor of the mall. The mirror appeared to be tangible but was actually intangible, and flying pebbles occasionally flew into it without any obstruction.
However, where the mirror is covered, Pollution overflows outwards, while the mirror itself creates a clean, Pollution space!
The Mirror Woman uses the shards herself; these shards are the sharpest weapons in her hands, capable of shattering everything.
However, when the fragments are used by others, they become the safest protection, keeping the area clean.
This is a world riddled with Pollution, and who wouldn't want such an ability? That's why the Mirror Woman thought she held the most tempting bargaining chip when she proposed the deal.
Ye Jiang looked at the newly erected clean barrier, and her expression finally changed slightly, revealing a hint of surprise. The Mirror Woman, who had been watching her, saw this and a smug smile appeared on her lips.
She looked at the Healer as if seeking praise, but didn't keep looking. After making eye contact with the Healer, she started running, grabbing all the humans who had fallen outside and throwing them into the barrier.
As he passed the Healer, he said to her, "My mirror won't last much longer. To save these people, I still need to deal with the cats over there before these people are completely destroyed by the Pollution."
Ye Jiang: "..."
Did she say she was going to save people?
Despite her inner grumbling, she still turned her gaze to the struggling cat. Now that the humans were alright, she could finally focus her attention on the cat.
She heard the sound of pain.
Just like the struggling, unwilling screams she heard from the Mushroom Man and the Invisible Man.
I also smelled the same familiar, unpleasant stench that had once appeared on the Mushroom Man and the Invisible Man.
This time she was even angrier.
The demonic cat raised its giant paw and swung it forcefully. Ye Jiang's new position was right in the attack range, but she stood still, simply looking up at the cat, which was much, much taller than her.
She looked at her own creation.
Creations that have been manipulated.
anger.
Her eyes turned bloodshot. The giant paw of the big cat was about to strike, but seeing that she didn't move, it abruptly changed direction and smashed down at her feet.
Just like back then, the blue-skinned, big-eyed zombie toy controlled by Zhang Fan would rather self-destruct than harm her.
"Squeak--"
The giant cat let out a painful howl, its three clones having been Pollution and turned black. The murderous intent in the giant cat's eyes surged several times over in an instant.
One by one, the clones melted away, turning into black wisps of smoke that entered the large cat's body. The cat's body swelled dramatically, and it raised its paws, several times larger than before.
Monster No. 3 leaped down, grabbed Ye Jiang's arm, and pulled her to dodge. Bang! The cat's paw slammed into the ground, creating a huge crater.
Next to where Ye Jiang had been standing.
Even as its murderous intent surged, it still managed to restrain itself from harming Ye Jiang.
"Huh?"
No. 3 blinked and realized this.
"Let her go." A cold voice came from behind. No. 3 froze abruptly. Even without turning around, he could feel the Slaughter God staring at him from behind, sending chills down his spine.
But he didn't let go, forcing himself not to, even though his hands were already starting to tremble.
Suddenly, his hand felt empty No. 3 was startled, thinking that the Slaughter God had attacked him, but upon closer inspection, he realized that Ye Jiang had simply pulled her hand away.
Ye Jiang looked at No. 3's still chubby, youthful face.
"Thank you," she said, "But don't worry about me."
No. 3 was taken aback, then...
She raised her chin high and snorted, "I didn't mean to care about you, I just... I just..."
He's lost his mind.
The Slaughter God was right down there, yet he still ran down; his brain must have been corrupted by Pollution!