I can equip strange items

"Is it a strange entity not attached to a specific object? Is it a rule-based entity? Or some kind of domain covering the entire city?"

Li Yuan frowned.

This method was too bizarre and grand, exceeding all the unusual events he had encountered before.

Perhaps... the events here are comparable to the great horrors of Levin City.

The ever-decreasing numbers in my palm, like a Damocles' sword hanging over my head, brought a heavy sense of oppression.

Although there is no immediate threat to my life—

But Li Yuan's intuition told him that when the countdown reached zero, something extremely terrible would definitely happen.

Sixty minutes, time is of the essence!

"We can't wait any longer; we must prepare the fertilizer as soon as possible!"

Li Yuan made a decision instantly.

Regardless of what happens after the countdown ends, strengthening oneself and ensuring the survival of the Extreme Yang Grass are the top priorities.

He forcefully suppressed his doubts and a hint of unease, and his eyes sharpened again.

Instead of waiting for a taxi, he relied on his memory and the map on his phone to take long strides and run at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people towards the farmers' market he remembered.

His figure moved nimbly through the chaotic crowd and the stagnant traffic, like a fish swimming upstream.

The screams, chaos, and the densely packed, pulsating scarlet numbers above his head became the backdrop as he raced toward his goal.

As expected, most of the farmers' market was pitch black, but a few dim lights were still on in the live poultry slaughtering area, and the air was filled with a strong smell of poultry and a faint smell of blood.

Several stall owners were grumbling and packing up their things, clearly quite frightened by the sudden and eerie countdown, and preparing to close up shop and go home early.

Li Yuan walked directly to a stall owner whose stall still had a lot of plucked, white-feathered chickens piled up: "Boss, how much are these chickens, cleaned and prepared?"

The stall owner, a middle-aged man with a fierce face, was looking at the [58:12] that had appeared on his arm with annoyance. He replied irritably, "I'm not selling anymore! I'm closing up shop! Can't you see something serious has happened?"

"I want them all."

Li Yuan pulled out a thick wad of cash and slammed it onto the blood-stained and feather-covered cutting board: "At the usual wholesale price, I want all of this, as well as the chicken giblets and heads in that bucket over there. Pack them up immediately."

The thick wad of cash instantly caught the stall owner's attention and temporarily suppressed his panic.

He glanced at the money, then at Li Yuan's excessively calm face, and at the numbers flashing in the other's palm. He gritted his teeth: "Fine! I've met someone like you who's not afraid of death! Just you wait!"

He deftly stuffed more than twenty dressed chickens from the cutting board into several large black plastic bags, and then dumped the frozen chicken heads, feet, and internal organs from a bucket full of blood into the bags as well, filling four large bags in total.

Li Yuan picked up the heavy bag that reeked of a strong fishy smell, turned around and left without lingering.

The stall owner watched his retreating figure disappear at the market entrance, then glanced at the money on the counter and the numbers flashing on his arm, and spat out, "Crazy!"

Li Yuan carried four large bags of chicken carcasses and entrails, quickly traversing the city amidst the pervasive atmosphere of panic.

The streets were even more chaotic than before, and the sound of police sirens grew louder as they approached, clearly indicating that official forces were beginning to intervene.

But their efforts seemed futile in the face of this supernatural phenomenon that covered the entire city.

Many people took refuge in buildings.

Some people also attempted to flee the city by car, causing traffic to come to a complete standstill.

The scarlet countdown numbers danced on everyone's body, on streetlights, and on electronic screens on buildings, like a death proclamation covering the entire city.

"Um?"

Suddenly, all the streetlights in sight went out.

Even the lights in the entire city were turned off, leaving only the light bulbs on the backup power support columns inside some buildings shining with a pale white light.

Citywide power outage? Is it government-manipulated, or is a disaster imminent?

Li Yuan looked at all the passersby with suspicion and noticed that the numbers above their heads had not disappeared.

This made his heart sink.

The thing I least wanted to see has indeed happened.

Even when all the streetlights are off, those numbers are still there.

Therefore, it is impossible to predict whether the streetlights caused all of this.

About a minute later, the streetlights came on again.

Then all the lights inside and outside the buildings in the field of vision, including the GG brand lights, lit up again.

Clearly, what just happened was an attempt by the authorities.

But it clearly failed.

Turning off the lights is not a difficult problem to solve.

When Li Yuan returned to the Chengfeng Hotel, the hotel lobby was in chaos.

The front desk was crowded with panicked customers asking questions. The security guards, who were relatively calm, tried their best to maintain order, but to little avail.

Ignoring all of this, Li Yuan carried the blood-dripping bag straight to the elevator.

His unusual "luggage" and the strong odor emanating from him caused those around him to frown and give way, but in this eerie moment, no one dared to ask any questions.

I went back to my room and locked the door.

Li Yuan immediately dumped the four large bags of chicken carcasses onto the carpet around the flowerpots.

Instantly, a strong smell of blood and the stench of poultry filled the entire room, even overpowering the lingering smell of stinky tofu.

The white chicken carcasses, dark red chicken giblets, and chicken heads with beaks piled up into a small mountain, surrounding the small flowerpot in the center.

Li Yuan did not immediately activate [Temporary Symbiosis]; he needed to observe first.

The leaves of the 'Extreme Sun Grass' in the flowerpot seemed to tremble slightly, as if it had caught a whiff of longing.

A faint suction force began to emanate from the grass roots, slowly drawing in the invisible life energy and nutrients emanating from the pile of corpses as they decomposed.

"efficient!"

Li Yuan felt a sense of relief.

Although the speed was slow, it validated his findings.

He glanced at his palm: [23:18].

There is less than half an hour left.

Li Yuan no longer hesitated.

He picked up his lapis lazuli bamboo staff and sat down by the bed.

The bamboo stick rested horizontally on his lap, its cold touch quickly calming his chaotic thoughts.

He picked up his phone, which was charging, and sent a message to Lu Jiayin asking her about it.

Lu Jiayin quickly replied that the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs was also conducting an urgent investigation.

But there are no results yet.

"As expected, this was an unexpected incident!"

Li Yuan sighed helplessly. It seemed that this time, he needed to take it seriously.

He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and slowly poured his energy into the bamboo stick, strengthening the bamboo knife through the [Equivalent Evolution] attribute.

However, this time he did not sacrifice a large amount of his essence, energy, and spirit all at once, but maintained a balance between the rate of recovery and the rate of consumption of his essence, energy, and spirit.

In this way, one's energy and spirit are almost always at their peak, and the quality of the bamboo knife can also be slowly improved.

Feeling the resilient and protective power contained within the bamboo sword, strengthened by countless sacrifices, his confidence grew slightly.

I just don't know if what we're facing this time is actually evil spirits.

At that time, will the bamboo knife, which has the property of warding off evil, be able to play its role?

At the same time, he also spared some attention to monitor the absorption of the "fertilizer" by the Extreme Yang Grass.

The room was deathly silent, with only the faint sounds of the chaotic city outside the window and the silent yet heart-pounding countdown in my palm.

The pile of chicken carcasses on the carpet exuded an aura of death.

Meanwhile, the small blade of grass in the center greedily absorbed the nutrients brought by this death, tenaciously maintaining its vitality.

Like a lurking beast, Li Yuan adjusted himself to his best condition, waiting for the unknown moment to arrive.

Time passed by, second by second.

【00: 10】

【00: 09】

【00:08】…

When the scarlet number in the palm finally jumps to—

【00: 00】

In an instant!

Li Yuan felt an irresistible, overwhelming force of spatial distortion instantly envelop him.

The hotel room, the pile of chicken carcasses, the small grass in the flowerpots—

Like a shattered mirror, it broke apart, peeled away, and disappeared!

There was no sound, no dramatic changes in light and shadow, only an absolute, suffocating sense of being stripped away and falling.

The next instant, his feet slammed onto solid ground.

The cold, damp air, thick with the smell of decaying leaves and earth, filled my nostrils.