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Chapter 181 Where is this again?
Honglian also saw the black ball of light that suddenly exploded on the rooftop.

It came quickly and left quickly, covering almost half of the building at its largest, and after it faded away, only a small, distorted shadow remained in mid-air.

But to her astonishment, after the black light faded, a large section of the building also disappeared, as if the light had swallowed it. The previously square building exterior was now only half there, with irregular, jagged edges that perfectly matched the outline of the black light.

Was this incident also caused by the Wanderers?

Honglian was completely confused about the situation.

“Look…” Wang Baihu pointed in surprise at the shadow hanging in mid-air, a scene that seemed strangely familiar. “That’s… an erosion phenomenon, isn’t it?”

Jiangcheng had previously experienced an erosion that occurred in the sky, which was then concealed by a mirage. However, less than six months later, they witnessed another completely suspended intrusion point.

This time it's much smaller, about half the size of a room.

"Notify the logistics team...seal off the scene." After a moment of silence, Honglian could only utter these words.

Half a building disappeared, hundreds of people died in the Wuhuan Industrial Park, and a large number of eyewitnesses... This is an accident that the logistics team cannot cover up.

Locking down the park under these circumstances could easily lead to various conspiracy theories.

But in order to keep people away from this dangerous area and prevent further casualties, she had no other choice.

In the coming period, the Weixian government will likely be thrust into the spotlight again.

……

……

Chen Xuan was slammed hard to the ground.

For a moment, he felt as if he had turned into a withered leaf in the wind, not only powerless but also losing all sense of weight. It wasn't until his body made contact with the ground again and he rolled several times that he felt gravity return to his body.

Pooh!
He spat out the sand from his mouth and slowly got up from the ground.

Although I feel a bit of a stinging sensation all over my body, at least my bones are mostly unharmed.

Then Liu Shuyue was also thrown over.

But she managed to adjust her posture in mid-air, touching the ground with her toes and bending her knees to cushion the impact, landing smoothly like a dragonfly skimming the water.

"are you OK?"

After she steadied herself, she took the initiative to help Chen Xuan.

Is this the difference between being a master of flying and not being able to fly at all?
"I'm fine, I just tripped and fell." Chen Xuan patted the stains off his pants, then looked around and said slowly, "It seems we're no longer in Jiangcheng."

Actually, the word "seems" is completely unnecessary.

Anyone who sees this scene will realize that this is another world.

Because the surrounding scenery was so desolate.

It's not the kind of desolation where you can see nothing but plains and sand dunes, but rather the sensory desolation brought about by a broken city.

They had probably landed in a park, which had a sandpit, flower beds, and some parallel bars and climbing ladders, but without exception, they all looked like they had been in disrepair for a long time. The bricks and stones that made up the sandpit were broken and dilapidated, the grass and vines in the flower beds had climbed onto the road, and the iron fitness equipment was all rusted, with flowers even growing in the steel pipes.

The same applies to two small houses not far away.

The walls were stained, the bricks were cracked, the window glass was missing, and the inside was pitch black.

There could not possibly be such a place in Jiangcheng.

Even if it exists, it will definitely become a famous tourist attraction for online influencers.

However, there was no sound at all; the plants were so lush that not even a bird could be heard.

And the weather too...

Chen Xuan looked up; the sky was a hazy gray, without a single cloud in sight. The sunlight was completely blocked, making it impossible to discern the time or direction.

“I remember just a second ago… we were still on the roof of the building,” Liu Shuyue pondered. “And then that black crack suddenly widened?”

"That's right, it should be a kind of teleportation ability. However, the user's death seems to have caused it to go out of control."

The demon is definitely dead.

It wasn't because its body was shattered by the Thousand Thoughts Sword, nor because its head was cut off; Chen Xuan was so certain because he felt the joy that the Seed of Power was transmitting to him.

It is inconceivable that an ability could have its own emotions.

But his guess was generally correct: Gustav, who possessed the "poker version of coin toss," was precisely the enemy most hated by the givers of the Curse of Flesh. The power of the demon after its death became nourishment for the Seed of Flesh.

"I... still don't understand." Liu Shuyue shook her head. "Why is his spiritual energy so similar to that of demons?"

Demons are spiritual beings born from the creation of heaven and earth.

But it is merely a spiritual object.

Both their minds and thoughts are far removed from those of humans.

They can neither communicate with humans nor be tamed like livestock.

However, in Liu Shuyue's view, Gustav became a clear flaw in this argument.

If humans could turn into demons, the world would descend into chaos.

Chen Xuan couldn't answer the question either. So far, he had seen four types of demons. The first type was mountain demons and tiger spirits, or rather, aquatic monsters that appeared along the European coast. The second type was mutated species that still retained human form, such as the human centipede in the Steel World and the Qingge Sect disciple who had been replaced. Of course, the puppets in the Fifth Ring Industrial Park could also be considered this type.

The third category consists of the Dark Demon and Azure Dragon, which can unleash the power of heaven and earth; the last category is the Tower of Flesh and Blood, which turns Chang'an into a slaughterhouse.

Their spiritual energy reactions all conform to the characteristics of demons: scattered and not concentrated, large but not refined. At the same time, special spells that are used to subdue demons can also produce miraculous effects on them.

However, the range of these four categories is quite broad.

Chen Xuan felt that defining demons solely based on a question of intelligence was too hasty.

The first three categories can be considered monsters, but can the fourth category be considered the same? The Tower of Flesh and Blood never opened its mouth from beginning to end, but seeing the eyeball hidden inside its body, and the various defenses it made against the Immortal Alliance's siege, do not seem to be abilities possessed by a creature without intelligence.

Perhaps it doesn't communicate with humans simply because it disdains to.

Now... another kind of monster that is almost indistinguishable from humans has emerged—the demon. This method of differentiation is clearly on the verge of collapse.

There is no doubt that there must be some deeper connection between demons and monsters.

"Let's think about it when we get back to the store. This place is gloomy and doesn't feel like a good place," Chen Xuan said, taking out a barcode scanner from his pocket.

However, when he saw the gun, his heart skipped a beat.

The gun casing is cracked.

Ultimately, it's just a barcode scanner commonly found in small supermarkets, with a hard plastic casing that's easily broken under strong impact, especially since it landed belly-first.

However, because it was a barcode scanner from the ability store, Chen Xuan forgot how ordinary it originally was.

Chen Xuan hurriedly pulled the trigger.

The screen did not light up as expected.

He tried twice more, even removing and reinstalling the battery, but the result was still the same.

"What's wrong?" Liu Shuyue noticed his unusual behavior.

Chen Xuan raised his head with a somewhat serious expression. "The barcode scanner... seems to be broken."

He took out his phone again, and the barcode scanner in the Bluetooth connection list also showed that the device was unavailable, and the signal was unsurprisingly zero bars.

"If the magic item is broken, we won't be able to get back to the shop?" Liu Shuyue asked.

"At least there's no way I can go back on my own initiative."

Chen Xuan failed to restart the scanner several times and had to accept the reality that it was broken. This meant that he could not use the return and recall functions, nor could he change his abilities.

"Can it be fixed?"

"That depends on whether there's a repair shop." Chen Xuan glanced at the silent city and couldn't help but sigh softly. Maybe a department store would work? The residents have all disappeared; borrowing a barcode scanner shouldn't be a problem, right?

"Ah...no, don't come any closer...help!"

Suddenly, a woman's panicked scream broke the silence of the scene.

The source of the sound was very close, at most a hundred meters away from them.

The two exchanged a glance, and Liu Shuyue spoke first, "Shall we go take a look?"

"I knew you'd say that," Chen Xuan nodded and replied succinctly, "Use an invisibility talisman; be careful, it might be a trap."

(End of this chapter)