The villains are redeemed, and the heroines cry and beg for forgiveness.

Woman: "Don't you want to know what happened in Far East City? My mission and duty is to tell you everything."

Gu Ran: "A mission and a task? Who ordered you to do this?"

Woman: "I just want to...save them, that's all."

"Save them?" A thought suddenly popped into Gu Ran's mind. "You mean the residents of Far East City?"

“It’s not just the residents, everything in Far East City, everyone needs to be saved.” The woman’s expression revealed a hint of sadness. “Far East City is no longer the Far East City it used to be.”

"Far East City is heading into an abyss that no one can predict. It will either be shattered to pieces or devoured by demons, unable to be itself again."

"Demons? This matter is related to demons from the abyss?" Gu Ran frowned slightly.

The woman smiled, but her smile was full of bitterness: "I don't know, but in my opinion, this situation is almost like encountering a demon. If it weren't a demon, how could the Lord of Far East City have become like that?"

The city lord system is a very ancient system in which the city lord, as the ruler of the main city, inherits the position of ruler through his family lineage from generation to generation.

Other major cities have long since abolished it, with only a few major cities like Far East City, located in remote areas, still retaining similar systems.

Seemingly having been given a talking point by Gu Ran, the woman continued talking along the same lines.

"Everything has changed. Everyone's behavior is converging, as if they are becoming one person. Have you ever felt that kind of eerie terror?"

"Even though they are people of different ages, professions, and genders, doing different things, when they all turn their gaze to you, you will be horrified to find that they have a strange sense of similarity."

"It was as if they weren't different people, but different parts of the same being; though seemingly different, they had a magical synchronization...that feeling..."

As she said this, the woman's expression was filled with terror.

"But you didn't become like them, you didn't become part of that existence, why?" Gu Ran interjected.

Gu Ran's sudden question interrupted the woman's panic, and she returned to her usual calm demeanor.

Gu Ran frowned slightly upon seeing this scene.

He discovered that this woman was actually in one of two extreme states: either her emotions were as calm as still water, or her emotions were extremely intense.

“We are the chosen ones, observing those outcasts who are unworthy of being chosen. If any of the outcasts suddenly become ‘strange’ and try to get rid of their current state, then we, the chosen ones, will kill them and put everything back on ‘track’.”

Beloved?

Gu Ran remembered that Yoriki and Kiyohime seemed to be the ones who had been befriended.

So, does this mean that those who are attached to others are high-ranking individuals who still retain their "self"?

Gu Ran continued, "Then why aren't you like the other followers? You retain fear of the gods, but you seem... lacking in respect? Why?"

The woman's expression became agitated again: "That's not a god! That's a demon, and it's going to devour the entire Far East City!"

Gu Ran squinted.

Is the "god" going to devour the entire Far East City?

"I will not let him succeed, I will not let him succeed! I will protect Far East City, I will protect Far East City..."

The woman kept repeating this phrase.

Gu Ran fell silent.

The woman kept repeating that phrase, as if trying to convince herself, to convince herself to fight against that godlike being.

"I want to protect Far East City. Far East City is our shared home..."

As if she had finally convinced herself, the woman's expression gradually calmed down.

Gu Ran watched this scene in silence, and after the woman's expression finally calmed down, he asked the most important question.

What is God?

This is a question that Gu Ran absolutely must understand—what exactly is the "god" of Far East City?

“God…” The woman’s pupils suddenly dilated, as if she had seen something that terrified her.

Gu Ran's heart skipped a beat, and a sense of crisis suddenly arose in her heart.

A tentacle suddenly descended from the sky, moving as fast as an arrow.

The filthy, slimy tentacle pierced the woman's body, stringing her together from her heart.

The woman didn't even have time to resist, or perhaps she didn't dare to resist at all; the whole process was as fast as lightning.

The woman, pierced by the tentacles, twitched slightly and moved her mouth as if she wanted to say something.

But in the end, her gaze slowly glazed over, though she stared intently at Gu Ran.

"Welcome...guests..."

The woman glared at Gu Ran, her voice as harsh as sand, unbearably unpleasant.

"Who are you? A god?" Gu Ran asked calmly.

"No one dares to offend the majesty of God. I am not God, but His favored one. You can also call me the deputy city lord. I am the city lord's uncle and the abbot."

The woman's body looked like it was skewered on a barbecue grill and was hanging high up.

The city lord's uncle?

God's chosen ones?

Deputy City Lord?

With several factors combined, and considering that a coup had recently occurred in Canglong City, Gu Ran naturally drew parallels between the two main cities.

"Did you orchestrate all of this?" Gu Ran asked.

“No, it is all God’s will.” The woman said in a hoarse voice, her mouth agape. “They will become part of God. It is an honor for such lowly people to become part of God.”

"Honored? How come you're not honored?" Gu Ran's face held a slight sarcasm.

“Of course I will also contribute to the descent of the gods into the world, so what is there to regret about my mortal body?” Kazuhito continued, “However, what I did not expect was that warriors from Azure Dragon City would come to Far East City to investigate midway through the plan.”

"And what surprised me most was that God could actually have...desire for your body."

Suddenly, Kazuo's voice carried a strong sense of joy, as if Gu Ran's arrival was a delightful surprise.

"God actually desires your body... This means your body has transcended the mundane; you will be the perfect vessel for God!"

"Warriors of Azure Dragon City, how about it? Join us and become a part of the gods, and you too will become sacred and great!"

"Wain-kun spoke in a devout yet mad voice," he said.

198. A Rain of Tentacles! Gu Ran Walks into the Trap! (4k)

Gu Ran watched Kazuo's performance with a cold eye.

"It seems you don't want to become part of God with us?" Kazuo's voice gradually calmed down, as if he had regained his senses.

"What arrogant people from Azure Dragon City!"

"Damn it! Damn it! Everyone in Azure Dragon City deserves to die! Why do you get to own one of the best lands? Why are we left to eke out a living on this treacherous sea?!"

"People of Azure Dragon City, become nourishment for the gods!"

In an instant, Kazuo's voice became unusually furious.

It seemed that he was venting all his past resentment and anger towards Canglong City, and Yuanjun was no longer the "gentle and refined" person he used to be; his tone was full of murderous intent.

The tentacle that had pierced the woman suddenly moved, and the woman's corpse immediately became shriveled and fell off the tentacle, while the main body of the tentacle stabbed towards Gu Ran with lightning speed.

However, although the tentacles were as fast as lightning, Gu Ran's reaction speed was even faster. With just a slight movement of his body, he dodged the tentacles' piercing.

The tentacle that brushed past Gu Ran paused slightly, then quickly turned back and continued to pierce Gu Ran.

Gu Ran seemed to have eyes in his back; before the tentacles could touch him, he turned around again, easily dodging the piercing attack once more.

Then the telekinetic energy took shape, materialized, and formed a huge "cloth bag" that wrapped around the tentacles.

It was as if a long sword had been sheathed, and the tentacles were bound by an invisible psychic force called a "cloth bag".

However, the tentacles' strength and attack power were truly astonishing. Although they were bound by telekinesis, they only struggled a few times before piercing through the "cloth bag".

The power of telekinesis is far less than that of tentacles.

However, Gu Ran achieved his goal. He didn't expect his mental power to completely bind the tentacles; he just needed to buy some time.

The next moment, a huge vortex of spiritual energy suddenly condensed in front of Gu Ran.

And that tentacle was right in the center of the spiritual energy vortex!

This is the technique Gu Ran used when he used spatial props twice before. By resonating his mental power with spiritual energy, he was able to control the spiritual energy to a certain extent and achieve the effect of a martial arts golden core.

The Golden Core of Martial Arts is the source of a martial artist's power and has many uses. One of its uses is something that all martial artists can learn without a teacher: self-destruction!

If a martial arts master decides to perish together with his enemy, he will self-destruct his martial arts golden core.

The destructive power of a martial arts golden core's self-destruction is related to its own "mass," but usually, the self-destruction of any martial arts grandmaster is stronger than the most powerful city defense cannon currently available.

Therefore, the self-destruction of a martial arts master is a very threatening thing for many people. Generally speaking, in order to prevent the martial arts master from dying together with others, either the martial arts master is killed or the martial arts master's dantian is destroyed.

Ordinary martial arts masters only have one chance to self-destruct, but Gu Ran discovered that he seemed to be able to create countless "martial arts golden cores" that could self-destruct using his telekinesis.

Of course, a true martial arts golden core is the essence of a martial artist's life's strength, and the power of its self-destruction is far beyond what Gu Ran could artificially create with spiritual energy in a short period of time.

However, its advantage lies in its large quantity, safety, lack of pollution, and unlimited recycling.

boom!