They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 432 Prelude to the Apocalypse

As soon as the words were spoken, the tense and busy atmosphere in the command hall instantly froze.

Everyone stopped moving, and all eyes were focused on Zheng Zha.

The sorcerers, dressed in various uniforms and traditional costumes, all had expressions of anticipation in their eyes.

"Senior Dongtang!"

Yuujin Akutagami's expression turned somewhat troubled. He hurriedly tried to explain, but was stopped by an impatient look from Toudou.

Hisahito Akutagami's heart sank.

Dongtang Kui was completely different from him. He was just a second-level sorcerer who had only started practicing halfway through his career, while the man in front of him was recognized as the strongest man in this branch, a true monster.

"Alright, I also want to know what level the strong in this world are."

Zheng Zha took a step forward, meeting Dongtang's aggressive gaze, but instead, an excited smile appeared on his face.

He moved his shoulders, and his joints made a series of crisp popping sounds.

In such an away game, demonstrating strength is indeed the fastest and most effective way to gain a voice and even the right to cooperate.

Chu Xuan had already deduced this before even stepping into this place…

……

The training ground inside the Countermeasures Bureau is a huge hangar large enough to hold tanks.

The thick alloy walls are covered with scratches and dents of varying depths, silently telling the story of the fierce battles that once took place here.

Zheng Zha and Dongtang Kui were twenty meters apart, facing each other from afar.

In the audience, Yuujin Akutagami and a few other high-ranking sorcerers watched the scene with serious expressions.

"Hey, Yuujin, where did you find such an arrogant and ignorant guy?"

A bespectacled, refined-looking sorcerer asked in a low voice.

Yuji Akutagami swallowed nervously, offering no reply, his gaze fixed intently on Zheng Zha's retreating figure.

In the arena, Toudou Aoi slowly lowered her waist, assuming a starting stance similar to that of a sumo wrestler.

The next moment, a visible, deep blue-black cursed power rose from his body like a burning flame, forming an unstable aura around him.

The oppressive force of the curse made the air feel thick and sticky.

"Oh?"

Sensing Dongtang's imposing aura, Zheng Zha's expression also turned serious, because the man opposite him gave him the feeling of facing an evil spirit.

"Come on, let me see your capacity!"

With a loud shout, the special cement floor beneath Dongtang's feet cracked violently.

His massive body moved with astonishing speed, completely disproportionate to his size, transforming into a blurry black shadow that instantly covered a distance of twenty meters, appearing before Zheng Zha.

There were no tests, no tricks.

A straight punch, imbued with all his strength and immense magical power, slammed towards Zheng Zha's face like a cannonball.

Before the fist even arrived, the force of the punch, mixed with cursed power, already made people's skin sting!
Faced with this earth-shattering attack, Zheng Zha's eyes shone with an astonishing light.

He did not back down.

Just as the fist was about to touch his nose, he moved.

A simple straight punch met Dongtang's fist head-on.

The moment he threw the punch, the genetic lock within his body was suddenly unlocked!

The second stage: Liberation!

The muscle fibers throughout the body pulsated and bulged wildly at a frequency that exceeded biological limits, and beneath the skin, bulging veins writhed and swelled like venomous snakes that had come to life.

The internal energy and boiling blood energy within his body instantly merged, condensing into an invisible, high-density force field on his fist.

boom--! ! !
Two fists of vastly different sizes collided solidly.

Then came an extremely deep and loud bang.

Centered on the point where the two fists made contact, a white ring of air suddenly exploded outwards, sweeping in all directions and blowing away all the fine pebbles and dust on the ground!
Several sorcerers in the audience changed their expressions drastically and instinctively raised their arms to shield themselves from the oncoming gale.

In the arena, time seemed to be slowed down.

For the first time, a look of shock appeared on Toudou Aoi's arrogant face.

He sensed that what was coming from the other's fist was not magical power, but some kind of more vital energy.

"Click——"

A clear cracking sound rang out.

Aoi Toudou's arms, which were thicker than a normal person's thighs, were bent backward at an odd angle.

Immediately afterwards, that overwhelming force erupted completely, and his burly body, which was over two meters tall, was sent flying backward, like a sandbag being hit head-on by a battering ram.

Boom!

His massive body slammed heavily against the alloy wall dozens of meters away, producing a deafening roar that shook the entire training ground.

The east hall slowly slid down the wall, crashed to the ground, and kicked up a cloud of dust.

His right arm, the one that had thrown the punch, hung limply at his sides, unnaturally twisted. The entire arena was deathly silent.

In the audience, the disdain and amusement on the faces of the sorcerers had vanished without a trace, replaced by identical shock and horror.

Hisahito Akutagami opened his mouth so wide it could almost fit an egg.

One punch...

With just one punch, in a pure contest of strength, he directly defeated Toudou Aoi, a first-level sorcerer known for his physical prowess.

Zheng Zha slowly withdrew his fist, leaving only a faint red mark on his knuckles.

He exhaled a breath of white air and looked at Dongtang, who was struggling to stand up.

Dongtang braced himself on the ground with his left hand, his chest heaving violently. He looked up at Zheng Zha, and the shock had faded, replaced by an intense excitement and fervor.

"Haha...hahahaha! Interesting! So interesting!"

He burst into laughter, as if he weren't the one who was injured. "What's your name?"

"Zheng Zha."

"Great! Zheng Zha! From now on, you are my best friend!"

……

This match solidified the Central Continent Team's position in the Strategy Bureau.

After a formal negotiation, the two sides quickly reached a cooperation agreement.

Zheng Zha, Ling Dian, Ba Wang, and other members of the Zhongzhou team will serve as "special advisors" to assist the sorcerers in dealing with disasters that break out in various places.

In exchange, the Countermeasures Bureau will provide the newcomers with the highest level of protection and open all intelligence data to the Central Continent Team.

Zhang Qi and Chu Xuan unsurprisingly chose to join the research department of the Countermeasures Bureau.

Rather than running around earning reward points, they are more eager to analyze the essence of this world and explore the secrets behind the "inside world invasion" and the "curse".

In the following days, the sorcerers of the Countermeasures Bureau also witnessed the power of the Central Continent Team.

Zheng Zha goes without saying; with his double B-level enhancements and second-tier gene lock, he can even deal with level one cursed spirits on his own.

The Zero Point Gauss sniper rifle, combined with spirit bullets and the magic of clairvoyance, can be used to snipe targets from several kilometers away.

Their performance drew the attention of the entire countermeasures bureau and earned them a considerable number of points.

……

Meanwhile, under the meticulous care of the medical department, Zhan Lan and Zhang Jie also woke up one after another.

When Zhang Qi saw Zhang Jie again, he keenly noticed the changes in him.

Zhang Jie sat on the hospital bed, his expression somewhat complicated.

"How are you feeling?" Zhang Qi asked.

"It's strange..."

Zhang Jie felt the new power within him, his brows furrowing slightly.

"A new power has appeared within me, cold and full of negative emotions, but... it is very powerful and I can control it as easily as I move my own limbs."

"That must be the power of curses. Perhaps because of your assimilation with Sadako, your Soul Gem absorbed and assimilated the core essence of that Demon King-level soul, thus gaining this power."

Zhang Qi nodded and explained.

"This……"

Zhang Jie was taken aback upon hearing this, and his expression turned somewhat strange.

But then he smiled with relief, thinking that no matter what, being alive was already a good thing.

Thus, Zhang Jie, who had become familiar with his new powers, and Zhan Lan, who had regained her mental strength, also joined the ranks of those exorcising the curse.

Time passes day by day.

With the combined efforts of the official Sorcerer organization and the Central Continent Team, the situation has been temporarily brought under control.

However, this is just a drop in the ocean.

Starting from the tenth day, those bizarre and terrifying events began to spread wildly from Japan to the rest of the world.

Giant white balloons with human heads appeared in the Parisian night sky, chasing pedestrians; schools of fish with human legs took over the Sydney coastline; and eerie spirals appeared on the Cairo pyramids…

The whole world seemed to be being eroded by an invisible, malicious force.

The negative emotions such as panic, despair, and hatred generated in human society are converging and fermenting at an unprecedented speed, like a huge magnetic field, attracting an even more terrifying being to descend.

Day 15, night.

Zhang Qi stood alone on the rooftop of the Countermeasures Bureau headquarters, gazing up at the night sky.

The enormous, dark red moon, like a bleeding eye, coldly gazed down upon the chaotic city below.

The blood-red moonlight cast an ominous halo over the rows of skyscrapers.

Suddenly, Zhang Qi's gaze sharpened slightly.

Right next to that enormous blood moon, a faint point of light flickered without warning, then lit up...

(End of this chapter)