I love you, brother, but you, the evil god, must fall into good.

Hajime looked down and realized that his hand had somehow grabbed her tail.

"..."

The air fell silent, and Lynn felt awkward.

"Um, I just happened to take it."

After all, he had touched Mu Mu'en's cat tail quite a few times before, mainly to check the quality of the catgirl potion, and nothing else...

"you!"

"snort!"

A young girl's blush speaks louder than any sweet words!

She turned her head away angrily.

But now is clearly not the time to dwell on such things.

Meanwhile, Pochi had already begun to take action.

"Woof."

With a low hum, the power belonging to the Sun Devouring God spread out.

Supernatural power, [covering up the sky and obscuring the sun]!

launch.

The next moment, the three of them completely disappeared.

Not only vision, but even mental perception is blocked.

Even if someone walks by, they'll just think there's nothing there.

Then Poch looked at the transport vehicle.

"Woof!"

The space rippled slightly.

The two cat-like demi-humans who were originally unconscious were silently taken away by it.

To be precise, it is swallowed.

Ao Yao was stunned for a moment.

"etc……"

"Did it eat people?"

Lynn shook her head.

"rest assured."

"Hakipoch's body is special; when needed, he will... vomit it out."

Ao Yao: "...?!"

"Why does this explanation sound even stranger?"

but.

There's no time to complain now; to ensure the number of people meets the requirements of the transport team, Pochi has no choice but to adopt this method.

Then its shape changed.

That's right, the supernatural power, [Multiply]!

The supernatural power I used before at No. 1 Middle School.

soon.

Its originally enormous body rapidly shrank, eventually becoming a small dog the size of a dung beetle, which then hid on Lynn's body.

"..."

Ao Yao glanced at it.

"Why is it so skilled?"

"possible……"

"I used to do this kind of thing all the time."

Pochi: "Woof!"

It was as if they were protesting, saying that what they possessed was professional skill, not extensive experience.

Everything is ready.

In just a few breaths, neither the driver of the transport vehicle nor the controlled demi-humans noticed anything amiss.

The doors closed the next moment, and the transport vehicle slowly started moving.

Meanwhile, Lin En and Ao Yao have successfully infiltrated the group.

The target is deep underground.

The transport vehicle slowly drove into the underground space, and the lights outside gradually came on.

But since they were blindfolded, even if they weren't, how could they see inside the car?

But then again.

Night Eye, activate!

The next moment, his senses began to expand.

However, unlike ordinary X-ray vision, Night Vision cannot see through walls directly.

At least the current second-tier Nighteye doesn't have this ability.

It observed...

It is life.

It is spirit.

It is a trajectory hidden beneath the surface, like a special perceptual horizon.

In Lynn's eyes.

The mental fluctuations of everyone around him were transformed into lines and nodes of different colors.

"……Um?"

Lynn frowned slightly.

There are quite a few life forms outside.

and……

Their strength is not weak; most of the people hiding nearby are between the first and third tiers.

"These people..."

"They should have originally been residents of Xingfu Community."

Lynn muttered to herself.

"Their mental fluctuations and life trajectories show no signs of long-term pretense."

"They shouldn't be members of an outside organization."

"More like..."

"The people who used to live here!"

If that's true, then the problem is even more serious.

This means that the abnormalities in Xingfu Community have been going on for more than just a day or two.

It's even possible that something was hidden from the very beginning.

Just then.

"Thump."

"Thump."

A sound suddenly came from afar.

It resembles a drum, or perhaps some kind of ritual instrument.

Lynn tilted her head slightly.

What was that sound?

Boqi leaned on his shoulder, transmitting his mental energy.

[Master Silver.]

There were many people wearing masks there.

Lynn's gaze sharpened.

"mask?"

【Um. 】

[A very strange mask; it seems to be imitating something.]

Lynn didn't speak, but instead used his Night Vision to look.

far away.

A huge underground plaza, where a group of people were gathered.

Someone is dancing in the center.

Their movements were strange, their steps were slow, and they held various odd ritual props.

Everyone around was wearing a mask.

Beating the drum.

Chanting.

It looks like...

Like some kind of ancient ritual.

"A shamanistic ritual?"

"...But what does this have to do with the tower's apothecary?"

"An experimental drug."

"A shaman."

"So now they're all appearing in the same place?"

He felt that his worldview was gradually becoming strange.

But soon.

The transport vehicle continued forward, gradually approaching the square.

At that very moment, Lynn inside the car faintly heard a sound.

It wasn't Mandarin, but some dialect that Lynn had never heard before.

Or perhaps it's more like... traditional opera!

Old and somber.

It carried an indescribable sense of eeriness.

"When someone is in trouble..."

"Fang Wei Nuo".

"The Nuo dance begins..."

"May all difficulties be overcome!"

The sound echoed in the underground space, and the masked people danced slowly to the rhythm.

"A miasma arises, causing confusion..."

"Xiongbo has reappeared in the world."

"A phantom illusion..."

"Put it all into my belly."

As the last sentence fell, everyone bowed their heads simultaneously, as if welcoming something new.

The sounds gradually faded away, and the ceremony slowly came to an end.

……

Under Boch's mental communication, Lynn's brow furrowed more and more, for reasons unknown.

He always felt... that these things were familiar.

Especially the masks that Poch mentioned.

Those patterns, those feelings that seemed to carry some kind of pain and madness...

He seemed familiar with him somewhere before.

But I can't remember it right now.

If only he could see the true appearance of those masks right now.

I could think of that thing instantly because it wasn't the first time it had appeared.

He had just witnessed it not long ago.

Monthly exam.

The class monitor of Class Two, the student who once controlled calamities—the calamity he controlled was precisely this…

【Cracked Nuo Mask】.

And this moment.

In the underground of this happy community, similar masks reappear.

This time, however, there are more of them, and the scale is larger.

"...Beep beep..."

The transport vehicle moved slowly forward, passing through layers of protective doors.

A tower.

A colossal tower!

Of course, to say that it is like the legendary Jianmu tree, piercing through the heavens and the earth, is somewhat of an exaggeration.

After all, this is underground.

But... what if we look at the entire underground space?

This tower truly acts as a pillar, connecting the underground world with the happy community above ground.

Numerous pipes, energy lines, and various unknown devices extend continuously along the tower.

It's as if this building is the core of the entire underground area.

"..."

Lynn narrowed his eyes, his Night Eyes flickering slightly.

Then his expression became even more serious.

Because of this tower...

It is not a simple building, but a special facility containing a large amount of mental energy fluctuations.

"really……"

"This is the real core."

Ao Yao, who was standing next to her, did not speak. Although she could not see the mental trajectory like Lin En, she was not able to.

But you can still feel the atmosphere here.

Something's not right!

Who exactly said Happiness Community was a safe zone?!