The past was built upon collecting unique characteristics.

Before Joseph could finish speaking, his body began to swell at a visible speed.

Seeing this, Morian immediately grabbed Charlotte's arm and forced his way out of the crowd.

Evans, being experienced, also had a professional intuition developed over the years that told him something was definitely wrong. Seeing the two men turn away without hesitation, he immediately followed suit and left the crowd.

The next second—"Joseph" exploded.

There was no fire, no loud noise, only flying "pieces of flesh and blood" and spurting out large amounts of "blood". Most of the liquid was spilled into the crowd in the front row below the stage, and some pieces were blown into the air. The scene was extremely bizarre.

Don Quixote, still dazed from being splattered with "blood," stood on the stage with a large patch of red stain on the front of his suit. He looked down at his hands, then looked up at the fragments of "Joseph" on the stage, standing there in a daze.

Imagine your negotiating opponent, who was just a living person, suddenly "explodes" without warning, turning into countless pieces of flesh and blood in front of hundreds of people.

Anyone would probably be terrified and at a loss for what to do.

A few seconds of deathly silence fell over the scene; everyone was so shocked by what they saw that they couldn't move.

A scream ripped through the silence, and then terror spread through the crowd at the speed of light.

As if a switch had been flipped, cries and screams of despair erupted, and the onlookers scattered and fled in panic. Many were knocked to the ground and trampled by the surging crowd behind them before they could get up, and the scene immediately spiraled out of control.

Due to the large number of people, and the fact that many people fled in a panic, the originally spacious open space on the west bank was completely blocked. Everyone was scrambling and desperately trying to leave the negotiation site that had suddenly turned into hell.

"...Fuck it!" Evans cursed under his breath, his face turning ashen.

He quickly glanced at the chaotic scene, then looked up at the platform. Tang Ji was still standing there like a fool, like a sculpture stained red, while where Joseph had originally stood, only a few lumps of "flesh and blood" remained.

Evans instinctively reached for his whistle and blew it, but the moment his hand touched his pocket, he abruptly stopped.

At various entrances to the West Bank area, dozens of people dressed in different outfits had already quietly entered and were quickly taking over the situation.

These people were divided into three groups.

The largest group, dressed in matching dark trench coats, moved swiftly and in an orderly fashion. Each person wore a silver badge on their chest, a symbol representing the "Heavenly Court".

The smaller group was dressed in the typical church attire, their suits fitting like formal wear, with gold embroidery on the collar and cuffs, indicating that at least two of the visitors were clergy of the "deacon" rank!

The last group of people wore white robes and carried various strangely shaped mechanical devices when they moved around.

"They are personnel from 'The Place of Arcane Machines'," Charlotte explained.

"They wield the power of 'creation' and are skilled at making and using all kinds of extraordinary machines. They rarely appear in public."

"Not only that, people from the Hall of Phenomena have also come," Evans added promptly, his gaze fixed on the people wearing dark trench coats.

As a sheriff who had served in Bate City for nearly twenty years, the young officer might not know the situation, but he knew it all too well.

Usually, once personnel from the "Phenomenon Hall" take over the scene, it means that the case has completely exceeded the scope of ordinary police officers' ability to handle, and is directly affected by some kind of supernatural force.

The full name of the "Phenomenon Hall" is the "Hall of Harmony of Supernatural Phenomena in the Present World". It is mainly responsible for observing and resolving serious supernatural disasters in a timely manner. Its activities cover the whole world, but it operates in a low-key manner, rarely intervenes in ordinary cases, and is unknown to the general public.

After listening to their explanations, Morian fell into deep thought.

The fact that these extraordinary organizations, which usually operate independently, were all present at the same scene indicates that the seriousness of the situation far exceeded his previous expectations.

Has the situation gotten this out of control?

Just then, lines of text appeared out of thin air in his field of vision.

[Warning - The target has escaped with a highly unstable and dangerous relic, which is currently in a semi-activated state.]

If you want to survive, please go immediately to stop Joseph from escaping.

[Name of the relic: "Grey Paradise"]

[When it arrives, it will bring about a forced "end" in the area, causing everything to irreversibly perish, with a range large enough to cover a city.]

[Countdown: 30 minutes]

What the hell?!

Upon seeing this information, Morian broke out in a cold sweat.

He finally understood, completely understood.

Now I understand why Joseph went to such lengths to set up such a complex deception, and why the three extraordinary organizations mobilized so much resources and acted simultaneously.

It turns out that this madman had no idea what kind of "bomb" he was holding. He thought he had obtained an incredible "treasure" and, with the help of the End Cult, managed to deceive everyone in an attempt to achieve some crazy goal!

Despite having countless questions in his mind, he clearly didn't have time to think about them any further. With only thirty minutes left on the countdown, the next action had to be very quick, leaving no room for delay.

Morian turned his head sharply to look at Charlotte beside him. The girl seemed to sense the drastic change in his emotions, and a hint of doubt and concern flashed in her eyes.

But he didn't have time to explain further; he could only grab Charlotte's wrist, not even caring if he was being too forceful.

"Come with me, now."

Charlotte was taken aback by this sudden action, but the tacit understanding she had developed over time prevented her from resisting. Instead, she followed Morian's lead, weaving through the chaotic crowd to the back of a cargo container.

It's much quieter here, temporarily away from the epicenter of the riots.

Where is the car you brought to the dock parked now? Can I borrow it for a while? To be precise, I need you to drive that car with me.

Faced with a barrage of questions, Charlotte did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked into Morian's eyes, and her deep brown eyes revealed a sense of urgency and panic that she had never seen before.

For some reason, she felt as if she could personally sense the other person's determination.

Charlotte tilted her head slightly, her light brown hair slipping off her shoulder. She remained silent for two seconds, but those two seconds felt like two centuries to Morian.

"Sir, you don't need to borrow a car; you want me to help you stop Joseph before he causes irreparable damage, right?"

Even though time was running out, Morian was still taken aback, surprised by the girl's keen insight.

"……Yes."

"I can't explain it to you right now. Time is extremely tight, more tight than any of us can imagine."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Charlotte turned around without hesitation and walked quickly in one direction.

"Understood. The vehicle is parked about 300 meters from here. Follow me."

Instead of wasting time asking questions like "How did you know?", she decisively chose to trust.

Morian followed closely behind, and the two hurried through the narrow passage between the cargo containers along a path along the edge of the dock, the sounds of commotion still lingering in their ears as they made their way.