Apocalypse: The Primordial Pearl Recognizes Its Master, Starting with Infinite Space

Chang Chengye's narration continues.

"Unfortunately, he was only at level one when he arrived, while I was already at level two. He resisted fiercely, but his mind was already clouded by the puppetry technique. Zhang Zicheng delivered a finishing blow, injuring him. I regained control, and this time... he couldn't break free."

"If he were of the same level, I'm afraid I would fail."

He raised his head slightly, a hint of pride in his voice.

"—Unfortunately, there are no 'what ifs'."

The square was deathly silent.

Then came an angry roar.

"Chang Chengye—! You son of a bitch! He went to save you, why did you have to harm our captain instead!"

"Mr. Leng has saved so many lives! How could you... how could you do this?!"

"That's a person! That's not your tool!"

The special police officers were red-eyed, the survivors were red-eyed, and even some of the superhumans cultivated by the Chang family themselves unconsciously took a half step back, distancing themselves from their "mayor".

Chang Hao trembled in the crowd.

He opened his mouth, wanting to shout, "Dad, stop talking!", but his throat felt like it was being choked, and he couldn't utter a single word.

He was only a Class B ability user.

Without his father and without the power of the Chang family, he was nothing.

He didn't even dare to look at Zhang Hui.

The man who had coveted his sister was now standing quietly behind Lin Chen, looking at him with an almost pitying gaze.

Wang Gang watched with his heart pounding.

His palms were covered in cold sweat.

--fine.

Fortunately, Chang Chengye did not lay a hand on him back then.

Otherwise, wouldn't he be one of those standing in the puppet ranks right now?

He dared not think any further.

"Quiet."

Lin Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears with exceptional clarity.

Suppressing their anger, the crowd gradually fell silent.

Lin Chen looked at Chang Chengye and continued to ask:

"You need to grab someone's head to use your powers?"

"Yes."

"Besides these two, who else are you controlling?"

"That's all. I can only add one control target per rank. Therefore, I can't use it recklessly."

Chang Chengye paused for a moment.

"At the third level, I originally intended to control you... or Li Ya."

He looked regretful, as if lamenting a plan that had failed to materialize.

"Unfortunately, I never had the chance."

Lin Chen's expression turned cold, and a Tang sword suddenly appeared in his hand, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

Li Ya's brows also furrowed suddenly.

She instinctively turned to the side, taking half a step closer to Lin Chen.

The word "what a pity" was like a cold snake, slowly crawling up her spine to the back of her neck.

Lin Chen continued to look at Chang Chengye and asked in a cold voice:

"Can they recover? Or if you die, will they return to normal?"

The SWAT team members around them and the survivors rescued by Leng Zhijie almost simultaneously held their breath.

Countless gazes were cast toward Chang Chengye, carrying with them the last glimmer of hope.

Then, that hope was extinguished.

"It's no use." Chang Chengye heard himself say, his tone as calm as if he were stating the weather. "Their minds have been completely destroyed by the puppetry. What remains now are only subconscious instincts."

—Like shattered porcelain, it cannot be restored.

—Like a piece of paper that has been burned, leaving only ashes.

All the special police officers suddenly gripped their guns tightly again, pointing them at Chang Chengye, their faces filled with grief and determination.

In the crowd, someone let out a suppressed sob—the kind woman who had been saved by Leng Zhijie finally couldn't help but squat down, bury her face in her knees, and her shoulders trembled violently.

"Is that so?"

Lin Chen spoke softly, snapping his fingers.

He canceled the mental suggestion.

Chang Chengye suddenly snapped out of that daze.

He was panting heavily, like a drowning person just surfacing.

Then he saw the faces around him.

Shock.

anger.

Hatred.

And—disgusting.

That was an expression he had never seen on these people's faces before. Not fear, not obedience, not even scheming. It was pure, physiological disgust.

He watched as the power base he had painstakingly built over two decades crumbled in just a few words.

He looked at the young man named Lin Chen, who was calmly gazing at him with those deep, dark eyes.

He finally understood.

Today's duel doesn't even require physical confrontation.

He lost the moment Lin Chen walked through the door.

We lost completely.

Chang Chengye's lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

But he found that he had nothing left to say.

The crowd was moving, constantly gathering towards him.

"What do you want? I am the leader of the shelter and the mayor of Guangzhou!"

He finally realized what was happening, and his voice squeezed out from his throat, sounding somewhat high-pitched.

No one answered him.

The crowd is still gathering.

It wasn't the surging force of a tide, it was an avalanche. At first, it was just a few snowflakes rolling down the mountain, then it picked up more, and then—the entire mountainside was sliding down.

Chang Chengye saw that his guards had retreated to a distance of ten zhang away at some point.

Some people lowered their heads, not daring to look at him; some turned to the side, pretending to check weapons; some simply turned their backs, facing the door.

Chang Chengye's throat bobbed violently.

"You..." He opened his mouth, wanting to call out those names. He had supported them for ten or twenty years, giving them houses, money, and power, turning them from ordinary people into the elite in the shelter.

At this moment, all those faces were turned in another direction.

Chang Chengye saw many familiar faces in the crowd.

He remembered the middle-aged woman in the old cotton-padded coat. She was one of the survivors Leng Zhijie had rescued from the city center.

She carried no weapon, only empty hands, and walked forward step by step. Her eyes were fixed on him as if he were a dead man.

Those men in black SWAT uniforms—he remembered them better. Zhang Zicheng's soldiers. Before, when they saw him, they would stand at attention and salute from twenty meters away. Now their hands hung at their sides, the muzzles of their guns pointing diagonally at the ground, but their steps did not falter.

And Wang Gang.

Chang Chengye even saw Wang Gang leading his men out of the crowd.

Wang Gang did not bring any weapons.

It wasn't hatred. It wasn't anger. It wasn't even schadenfreude. It was—fear.

"Mayor Chang," Wang Gang began, "do you know what makes people terrified?"

Chang Chengye remained silent.

Wang Gang didn't wait for his reply.

"It's not that I'm afraid you'll kill me," he said. "It's that I'm afraid you might take a liking to me one day and do it to me too."

He raised his hand and pointed to the back of his head.

"Just like that. Grab it when I'm not looking."

His fingers trembled slightly in the cold wind.

"And then I was no longer myself."

Chang Chengye's throat bobbed violently.

"I wouldn't—" he began, offering a flimsy excuse, "We're partners with shared interests, how could I—"

"You can," Wang Gang interrupted him.

Very light. Very calm.

Chang Chengye suddenly couldn't speak.

He saw countless faces behind Wang Gang.

Those whom he sheltered, promoted, and bestowed favors upon.

No one was looking at him at that moment.

They were looking at the back of his head—like they were looking at prey with a weak neck waiting to be slaughtered.

And then... that was it. Chang Chengye was utterly torn to shreds by the vengeful and fearful crowd...