He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Just as the fox slipped into the Great Gift Pool, the last ray of light faded, dusk ended, and boundless darkness enveloped the city.

Night fell silently.

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Downtown, outskirts.

Beneath the dome, on the black soil, a team of a dozen people moved silently forward. Their blurry figures were infinitely small against the scorched black background, like army ants climbing over ruins and passing through dilapidated buildings, finally stopping in front of a warehouse that was still relatively intact.

Thick gray fog was everywhere. A tall figure with his hands behind his back walked from the center of the group to the front, and the people surrounding him helped him pull up the roller shutter in front of him.

The man strode into the darkness, and the group followed him in single file.

"Lionheart..."

Hearing the commotion, someone rushed out from inside, habitually taking the black coat from Lionheart's hands, only to be quickly startled by the huge wound on his abdomen—

"This is?"

"Don't say anything more..." Lionheart's voice was low and hoarse, filled with heavy weariness. "Go and get the medicine."

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The "medicine" Lionheart mentioned refers to prosthetic sutures—these tiny, autonomous machines filled in syringes can be used as fillers for specific types of prosthetics.

The "medicine" he was holding was a third-generation product from Cardinal Heavy Industries, perfectly suited to his antique-level prosthetic body. After pushing it all into the wound on his waist, Lionheart took a deep breath, his thick facial muscles completely deformed, and the mane around his neck stood up, making him look ferocious and hideous.

—In the darkness, the silhouette leaning against the corner of the wall was nearly two meters tall, and his bestial characteristics were all over his body... Rough hair, wet with sweat and blood, clung to his dark brown skin, making him look like a lion walking on two legs.

This is Lionheart, one of the "headhunters" of the strangler party, a severely mutated species... His external animalization is so severe that he is very likely a "highly degraded species".

"...Do you need painkillers?" the woman who had handed him the medicine earlier asked softly beside him.

"..."

Lionheart shook his head, the distorted expression on his face quickly fading, and sat silently in the corner.

He was in bad shape; a gruesome gash, almost the width of a hand, had torn half of his abdomen apart, nearly severing his body in half.

The small amount of blood had already been drained... Through the wound, one could vaguely see the intricate mechanical structure inside, arranged like a skeleton. The broken hoses and power pump were leaking a transparent liquid, which was the fuel used to power the prosthetic body.

The injected autonomic machine is working, repairing the wound at a visible speed, and the metallic-looking bones are sprouting and growing anew from the cracks.

It's really itchy, and there's a really nauseating feeling...

Sometimes, Lionheart loathes his own body—even though it has been modified to be riddled with holes, with a terrifying symbiotic ratio of 65%... but the flesh and blood growing in the cracks of steel still remind Lionheart of his presence with an almost unbearable itch.

He is still a "human being".

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"Damn it... those scum hiding in the alleys, they're insane!" someone cursed, pounding on the wall, but his voice still betrayed his fear. "They ran out of bullets, and they even tried to rush up and bite my trachea through—don't they know they're committing suicide?!"

"Of course they're going crazy. That outpost is their last stronghold. If they can't even hold that..."

Lionheart slightly raised his eyelids and laughed disdainfully, but then seemed to remember something and fell silent, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Bluebird, how many resources do we have left?"

The woman called Bluebird took a deep breath and whispered a number close to Lionheart's ear.

A few seconds of silence.

"Tsk, just as I expected."

Lionheart first clicked his tongue in self-deprecation, as if he had expected this, then burst into uncontrollable laughter, "Hahahaha, we're all fucking the same!"

The warehouse was completely silent, save for Lionheart's increasingly maniacal laughter, until he slammed his fist into the wall. The shockwave from the supporting pillar sent dust flying, leaving a clearly visible crater where the wall and bone collided, filled with minced meat.

Lionheart slowly lowered his hand, revealing the black steel at his joints. He stopped laughing, stood up dejectedly, and his bright yellow vertical pupils held an almost frozen expression.

He turned his head away, not letting anyone see his expression.

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The situation in the suburbs is complex and ever-changing, but for any faction, the recent anomalies are more absurd than a dream.

Starting one night about two weeks ago, almost everyone was awakened by a light that nearly pierced their eyes, dreaming of a brilliant, perfectly round moon shattering and falling from the sky—

At first, it seemed that few people were actually harmed, but from that day on, a plague called "Light Erosion" began to ravage the outskirts.

If you stay in the light for a period of time, you will be entangled by the light for a long time—whether it is day or night, whether your eyes are open or not, you will always be surrounded by bright light.

This is a plague originating from Radiance. It makes people tired and negative, lethargic and depressed, but it has not driven them to their deaths.

But what truly plunges everything into despair is a color.

grey.

That damn gray...

Lionheart clenched his fists tightly, as if he wanted to crush the omnipresent gray matter in his palms—ever since the gray covered the outskirts, it was like putting a glass dome over this black soil, imprisoning everyone inside the gray, making them its prisoners.

Immediately, it was noticed that all transportation routes between the suburbs and downtown were cut off. No one could leave the area under the gray rule, and nothing from the outside could enter. Two days later, the coyotes and vultures, which are sensitive to the environment, had already noticed the problem. The catastrophe seemed to be far from over.

Food quickly became the most precious resource here.

The Dark Alley Workshop quickly ceased all product supply to the outside world. As the only faction in the far suburbs that retained some production capacity, everyone knew that... the workshop must have stored raw materials.

The workshops were the first to be besieged, and the next round was a brutal cannibalism.

To survive, the ravenous wolves had no choice but to tear each other apart, devouring each other's flesh and blood to sustain themselves until the gray blockade ended.

Now, half a month has passed since the disaster struck, but how long can life on this closed black soil last?

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Even Lionheart himself didn't know the answer to this question.

"I'll think of another way..."

Just as the atmosphere became so heavy it almost froze, a sound of footsteps approaching from afar suddenly rang out—

Lionheart suddenly raised his head, his body, which was over two meters tall, suddenly stood upright. The red heart in his chest pounded violently, and the overwhelming sense of oppression almost overwhelmed the enclosed space.

"Who's outside?!"

The warehouse door was pushed open a crack from the outside, and almost simultaneously, dozens of guns were raised from all corners, aimed directly at that spot.

The next second, half a foot cautiously stepped through the crack in the door, then half a body, and then a woman with short, straight black hair, who looked quite ordinary, walked in from outside.

"Sorry to bother you..."

The strange woman surveyed the scene in the warehouse, showing no sign of embarrassment at being surrounded by weapons. Instead, she politely bowed to everyone.

What the hell?

Lionheart remained unmoved, slightly raising his hand to block his subordinate's attack, and said solemnly in a voice that sounded like a roar:

Explain your purpose, or die.

"..."

Lin tilted her head, feeling that the scene before her seemed familiar.

A few hours earlier, she had heard something similar at the headquarters of a nearby underground cult—the cult leader, dressed in black and acting strangely, was furious at her sudden intrusion and wanted to tie her to an altar and burn her alive.

And now... that rabble cult called the Pain Cult seems to have no members left.

So Lin sighed softly and said weakly, "I just came to let you know... Gray Court is currently recruiting throughout the entire suburbs. Are you interested in learning more?"

"Grey...court?"

Lionheart narrowed his eyes, feeling that the name seemed familiar—not long ago, such a rumor had spread in the suburbs: the former ruler of the suburbs, the ruthless king, had returned, and the entire suburbs would become his execution ground, and those who did not follow his will would drown in endless fear.

"Heh... I've never heard of any owner existing in the suburbs."

Lionheart looked disdainful. As a headhunter for the Stranglers, at the top of the suburban food chain, he found it all laughable.

Titles like "Lord" or "King" are only used by small factions eager to make a name for themselves, employing such low-level marketing tactics to try and expand their influence.

The truth is... Lionheart, as a mortal, could not comprehend the grand ceremony that changed the world, nor could he remember the "Ash Name" that had been completely discarded and dissolved into the radiance.

Lin shook her head, sighed helplessly, and felt that things were about to develop in a more favorable direction. So she decisively passed the topic to someone else and made way for the girl behind her—"Liuli, it's up to you."

With an expressionless face, the exquisitely beautiful girl, as delicate as a doll, silently took a step forward and stood in front of the crowd in the warehouse.

This is number six. Ai gave her a name before she left. Now, the doll is wearing a black and white dress that looks exactly like Nie's, and she looks like a very pretty little girl.

Her originally broken body seemed to show signs of further repair; at first glance, it was almost impossible to detect the fragments of white bone and red flesh growing under her tender skin.

Liuli's voice was delicate and soft, yet cold and clear to everyone's ears: "Mr. Gray said that you must submit to Gray's will, obey Gray's program, and are not allowed to resist or refuse—"

Lin: I actually think that this line is one of the important reasons why we can't recruit new people.

as predicted.

"You little brat, who the hell do you think you are?"

Someone was already roaring angrily at Liuli, "Grey? What kind of dog..."

The moment those words left his mouth, a chilling sense of crisis suddenly enveloped Lionheart. With the added speed from the implanted nerve cord, he threw a punch to the side without thinking.

A crimson afterimage flashed past him; the girl's slender figure looked even thinner than one of Lionheart's thighs, but the collision shattered that contrast—

Even when faced with a hurricane or a tsunami, the strength of steel is still insignificant in front of Liuli, bending the arm that tried to block it into a right angle in the opposite direction.

She listened to the crisp sound of iron and bone shattering, and amidst the fearful or incomprehensible gazes around her, she grabbed Lionheart's chin with one hand and, like manipulating a large toy, dragged and lifted the more than two-meter-tall body.

The modified, hardened jawbone cracked with a "crack" in that seemingly soft, boneless, delicate white hand.

The violent struggle was futile. Lionheart's entire body was emitting a roar of overload and unbearable strain. The steel was howling, and detached iron filings were flying into his blood vessels like asbestos fibers inhaled into his trachea. Even his internal circulation could hardly be maintained.

The sutures that had been injected just minutes earlier were still working, and excruciating pain and itching surged through him. Every nerve was on the verge of collapse under the pressure—Lionheart felt his head was deforming, his skull pressing against his brain, his eye sockets pressing against his eyeballs… The suffocating sensation overwhelmed him, as if he were about to drown in boundless fear.

"Put him down!"

Witnessing this almost incomprehensible scene, some people went mad, raising their guns and opening fire. A curtain of bullets almost instantly covered the entire warehouse.

"Damn it, aren't you afraid of accidentally hurting someone?!"

Although she verbally feigned weakness, Lin's expression remained arrogant. She didn't even take a single step back.

The next second, the solidified ash formed a curtain in front of her, and after a series of clanging sounds, the ash mist enveloped the clumps of bullets that fell to the ground, piling up into a small hill.

How could that be...?

Gray...is it helping her?

The scene before them finally shattered the courage of everyone present. After Lionheart roared from the depths of his throat, "Let's talk," both sides were finally able to calmly begin an "equal exchange."

After examining this group of fairly loyal stranglers, Lin labeled them "Grey Court," thus successfully turning a business into a success and strengthening the nascent cult.

Yay... I won't be looked down upon by Nie when I get back.

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Finished work, off work.

It was completely dark when Lin skipped and hopped across the black soil, as if she were walking in her own living room.

She kept muttering to herself:

"Gangs, stranglers, fraternities, homes of con artists and fugitives, eccentric clubs, desire clubs, back alley workshops, white gloves, dens of iniquity, wish suppliers, ecstasy, party parties, cults..."

Lin rattled off a long list of factions in the suburbs, much like reciting a menu. These notorious organizations were vermin living in the shadows.

Her task these past few days has been to label these forces, assess which ones are still worth using, and which ones can be destroyed directly.

This job may seem easy, but it's actually quite difficult.

In this godforsaken suburb, it's really not easy to find a group of decent "cleaners" among a bunch of idiots whose brains have been ruined by sugar candy and industrial alcohol.

In the past two weeks, she and Liuli have eliminated more than fifty factions, large and small. Among them, there were very few that could be communicated normally. Even when they tried to persuade the other party to surrender after being beaten up, Lin could see endless greed and hatred in their cunning eyes.

A pack of insatiable mad dogs is utterly unfit to be soldiers of the New Tantric Church, let alone disciples...

And then there are those most despicable cults.

Unable to comprehend the essence of esoteric power, unqualified to glimpse the invisible arts, their hearts are turbulent yet unsteady; their red fluids are murky, their vessels fragile—these mortals, unwilling to be ordinary, attempt to understand the mystical world using their own self-defined "methodology."

Excessive desires lead to a completely distorted psyche. They arbitrarily define "mystery," "sacrifice and ritual," and "the unknown great existence," and attempt to please the great in the most primitive and bloody ways.

From what Lin witnessed at the ritual site, young children were their favorite sacrificial offerings, and there were often grotesque scenes of them eating raw flesh and bones and bathing in pools of blood... This group of madmen who had forgotten their humanity had almost lost all sense of propriety as "human beings".

Later, when she encountered factions in the form of cults, Lin didn't bother to negotiate. She simply released Little Liuli, killing as many as were present, and ordering the gray matter to hunt down those who weren't there, based on their scent.

I couldn't stand it, so I just scribbled it all over.

Their deaths could serve as a way for Grey Court to establish authority and influence in the suburbs—a direct and decisive destruction might be the most cost-effective use of those fools.

"But there's a fundamental problem that hasn't been solved yet, right?"

Just before leaving get off work, Lin had managed to subdue a seemingly decent faction, putting her in a good mood. A long-absent sense of grander ambitions returned to her. "How long will the Gray Matter's blockade of the suburbs continue? If this continues… a whole bunch of those guys will be dead. Will we still be able to develop smoothly?"

Although it's safe in the suburbs, Lin misses life in the city center a little—compared to the gruesome daily life here, where blood and gore fly and brains splatter everywhere, even the life of a corporate slave seems kind and friendly.

People need to compare themselves to others to feel satisfied.

"It will be soon."

Liuli didn't give a precise time, or rather, she herself didn't know that point. "Once the Gray Matter breaks the mysterious seal... the Foundation's power will soon sweep this place away. We can't resist it now, so let's wait a little longer..."

"The day when the will left behind by the master is completely completed will come soon... We have collected almost endless malice, and only the final purging is needed."

Liuli looked upwards, her gaze lingering on the scar on the dome. She observed the malice flowing within the purifiers, remaining silent for a long time.

—Grey knew that after he raised the great ceremony of intercalation, the Foundation's attitude towards him would never be as harmless and gentle as before... Faced with a "taboo", if there was a possibility of completely eliminating it, they would do everything in their power.

The current Gray Court is far from being able to withstand the opponent's power. Therefore, it still needs to wait for a heavyweight bargaining chip to appear, one that is heavy enough to allow the suburbs to firmly grasp their own voice and strive for the qualification to talk with the Foundation at the same round table.

A deadly weapon that can make the entire nest tremble.

Lin said blankly, "I still don't quite understand..."

"You don't need to understand."

Liuli moved silently across the black earth like a cat, ignoring Lin's resentful gaze. She breathed in the deep malice that settled beneath her feet...

The entire outskirts seemed to sense this gaze at that moment. The thick, turbid black mud, like stagnant blood, surged like a swamp. The filth brewing within it, like a beating, pitch-black heart, continuously transported and built up the black mud, spreading this ominous tremor little by little.

The sins accumulated over time are fully borne by the name of Ash, and it will become the cornerstone of the Ash Court.

"The Unfinished Singularity Creation: The Crown of Ominous Signs"

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