I adopted a child demon from the Gap, and I'm a special agent for the Bureau of Supernatural Ab

"It seems this is the problematic place. Perhaps we can find the source of the anomaly."

Upon discovering the unusual city, Reimu Hakurei unusually showed a spirited expression, took out her gohei, and flew towards the frozen ruins. After hesitating for a moment, Li Cheng followed behind her, heading towards the ruins together.

[You absolutely must not fight those things again. Wait for me to come find you, and then I'll figure out a way to get you out. Do not initiate combat; prioritize self-preservation.]

Li Cheng remembered Zi's instructions very clearly.

It's highly unlikely that any living creatures remain in these ruins; if any do, they would most likely be extremely powerful beings. While we don't intend to stop here, we must acknowledge that safety is the most important issue.

Let's participate in the exploration to a limited extent, with the premise of self-preservation.

Li Cheng mentally set limits for this operation, quickened his pace, and rushed into the city ruins shrouded in gray fog and exuding a chilling aura.

…………

Thank you to readers Zhuoyue Wuli and Feng Yongsuiyoufei for their insightful comments.

Thank you to readers Zhuoyue Wuli, Feng Yongsui Youfei, and Yue Haitang for their monthly tickets.

Thank you to readers Sakura-chan over, Zhuoyue de Wuli, and Mou Lei 9 for their recommendation votes.

My sleep schedule was disrupted during the New Year's holiday, and my condition was a bit unbalanced. Sorry, I only managed 2k points today.

Section 305, Chapter Fifteen: The Frozen Laboratory

Covered in white ice, the city ruins, breathing in the biting air that could almost freeze your lungs, Li Cheng traversed the frozen streets and arrived at the heart of these ruins, the coldest spot.

"It's unbelievably cold."

Slightly uncomfortable, Li Cheng shrank back, exhaling a puff of white mist as he muttered softly. Not far ahead, Reimu Hakurei, still wearing her overly revealing, armpit-baring shrine maiden outfit, continued forward as if completely oblivious to the heat or cold, showing no signs of distress.

Especially her shoulders, which were completely exposed to the air. Honestly, how come she wasn't cold at all in this climate?

Li Chengwei was somewhat puzzled by Reimu Hakurei's performance.

"Ah!"

Well, it looks like it'll still be cold.

"What's going on here? How can it be so cold..."

The priestess's complaints were accompanied by a crackling sound of ice, the sound of her breath freezing rapidly in mid-air. At this moment, the two had arrived at a location where the temperature was comparable to the North and South Poles on Earth, and even more so, an extreme low temperature rarely seen in the North and South Poles.

The shrine maiden named Reimu Hakurei probably had a spell that could keep her warm. After sneezing, she never complained of being cold again. Although Li Cheng had considered using his realm to improve the increasingly cold feeling, he decided to tough it out for now in order to conserve more demonic power, since he could barely endure the current temperature.

In the heart of the city ruins lay a plaza covered by massive blocks of ice. Within the ice, the figures of many people could be vaguely discerned, their identities unknown, frozen for an unknown number of years. Li Cheng scanned the plaza roughly, confirming that at least a hundred people were encased in ice, forever asleep in this frigid city.

"What's this? What kind of twisted sense of humor is this?"

Reimu muttered under her breath, clearly disliking the place. Li Cheng stood at the edge of the frozen plaza, suddenly realizing that he could vaguely sense something.

Is this a similar feeling to the one I had when I found that ghastly white human figure last time? In other words, is there something similar in this vicinity?

"There seems to be something there."

Almost at the same time, the young shrine maiden also noticed that strange sensation.

In the very center of the square, no, it should be underground in the center of the square.

Following the direction from which the strange phenomenon originated, the priestess soared into the air and instantly arrived at the very center of the plaza. Li Cheng followed closely behind, arriving at the same spot. In that place, the ice was incredibly thick; Li Cheng couldn't even see the plaza floor beneath it.

It didn't look like it would be easy to break; even punching it would probably take many tries. But Reimu Hakurei snorted coldly, raised her right hand, and a huge sphere resembling a Yin-Yang Orb suddenly formed in her hand. The next moment, she slammed it directly into the ground.

Amidst the deafening roar, Li Cheng was nearly blown away by the violent blast of air.

The ice layer, several meters thick, was easily shattered, and the concrete ground beneath it was also completely destroyed. The witch's attack caused the entire center of the plaza to sink slightly, forming a giant crater more than ten meters deep.

At the bottom of the deep pit, Li Cheng discovered what appeared to be the trace of a man-made structure, at the bottom of the crater created by Reimu Hakurei's bombardment.

Gathering her magical energy, Reimu launched another attack on the ground. Amidst a series of booming sounds, Li Cheng clearly heard the sound of something being shattered. Then, as the dust settled, he saw a straight, downward-pointing crater, somewhat resembling a man-made elevator shaft.

"Looks like it should be down here. Hmph, always hiding. I'll see what kind of guy is behind all this."

Clearly eager to resolve the situation, Reimu Hakurei flew directly down into the hole.

Li Cheng walked to the edge of the pit, carefully sensing the energy. After confirming that there was no abnormal reaction, he jumped down. Using his cultivation level to control the airflow, he reduced his falling speed and quickly fell to the bottom of the elevator shaft.

The icy air hitting him made Li Cheng shiver uncontrollably. If the surface temperature was the lowest possible temperature under normal conditions, then this place was at an extreme temperature that could only be simulated in a laboratory. Li Cheng could only endure it for less than ten seconds before he had to use his cultivation level to cover his entire body to prevent himself from getting frostbite.

Unlike the completely frozen outer city, this place was surprisingly covered only by a thin layer of ice. In the corridor outside the elevator shaft, Li Cheng could clearly see the white walls covered with cracks on both sides, as well as the almost completely broken ground.

It seems that this place first experienced a massive shockwave, followed by freezing conditions.

Li Cheng speculated about what had happened in this underground building and walked forward. Soon, he found Reimu Hakurei standing behind an open door.

"Miss Shrine Maiden, what are you doing here?"

Li Cheng asked with some doubt, and walked into the door. Then, he saw a room that was the size of a football field, with a circular machine occupying almost the entire space.

"Is this thing an egg? What kind of egg could be so big?"

The priestess, who clearly didn't understand the concept of a giant machine, mistook it for an egg.

"It's probably just a machine, right? But it's so big, was this place originally a laboratory or something?"

Li Cheng walked to the side of the room and found a large hole in the side of the machine, revealing severely damaged machine parts. Li Cheng noticed that the damage to the machine was from the outside in, and it seemed to have been caused by being torn by a sharp object.

It's somewhat like the effect caused by some kind of ferocious beast.

Encased in ice, Li Cheng couldn't clearly see the specific tear marks, but even if he had the chance to observe closely, he probably wouldn't be able to discern any further clues. Meanwhile, Reimu Hakurei, still stunned by the giant egg-shaped machine, had left the room and was heading deeper into the underground structure.

More rooms and more various machines appeared before the two of them. Li Cheng became more and more certain that this should be an underground laboratory, and the previous center of the square should be close to its top floor area, so the aura would be emanating from there, allowing them to sense the anomaly.

The room was filled with strangely constructed, high-tech machinery, various experimental equipment, and many odd rooms whose purpose Li Cheng couldn't even fathom. The only certainty was that these things were definitely for research. In contrast, the corridor floor was increasingly damaged, and numerous corpses littered the area. The further down he went, the more dilapidated the surroundings became.

However, the source of that abnormal sensation has yet to emerge.

The entity that had attracted Li Cheng and Reimu Hakurei's attention seemed to be hiding at the very bottom of the building. Li Cheng descended seven or eight floors but still couldn't find the source of the anomaly. Instead, the surrounding temperature grew increasingly frigid as they went deeper. If he hadn't used his power of his realm at the beginning, Li Cheng might have been frozen solid by now.

"Achoo! Achoo! It's so cold, so cold, so cold! Why is it so cold here?! Even fairies couldn't live in a place this cold! This is cold to an extent that completely violates the requirements for the environment in which life can exist!"

The shrine maiden ahead seemed to have reached a point where even using warming spells was insufficient to reduce the intense chill.

"It's really cold here."

Li Cheng muttered something under his breath, looking at the mangled, shriveled corpse lying by the roadside, completely frozen into an ice sculpture. He began to ponder and speculate more deeply about what might have happened here. Then, he stepped past Reimu Hakurei, who was forced to adjust her spells due to the cold, and entered the staircase leading to the lowest floor.

The severely damaged corridors, various machines, all sorts of corpses, and claw-like tearing marks found in various places suggested a battle had taken place here. Moreover, judging from the scattered positions of the corpses, it must have been a sudden, unexpected attack.

What exactly was this laboratory researching, and who attacked them? Li Cheng couldn't find concrete clues in such a short time; his expertise certainly wasn't in that area. However, one thing was certain: either after the attack ended or during its occurrence, a sudden release of cold air completely destroyed everything inside the laboratory, along with the surrounding city.

It wasn't destroyed by the Black Tide, but rather frozen solid. Perhaps that's why the ruins of this city are somewhat more intact compared to other places.

But if that's the case, what kind of powerful being could unleash such terrifying power, releasing the force from deep underground to freeze an entire city?

Li Cheng suddenly remembered what Zi had once told him: the only possibility for life to continue existing in this place.

Could there really be some kind of transcendent being here?

Li Cheng became nervous about this terrifying possibility.

In short, prepare to escape first. As for that shrine maiden, save her if you can, but if it's really extremely dangerous, then you'll have to take care of yourself first.

Then, stepping into the bottom floor, he saw an ice layer that completely covered the entire floor, and within that ice layer, a blood-red eyeball staring intently at him.

…………

Thank you to readers Terrifying Rabbit and Coolie Mother's Blade, thank you very much.

Thank you to readers Terrifying Rabbit, Sinful Demon King EX, Coolie Mother, Bodhi Bottle, Counterfeit Sealing Master, and Master Ding for their monthly tickets.

Thank you to readers Ye Luofengfei, Kuli Mu, Yingjiangover, Keran de Tuzi, Feng Yongsuiyoufei, Zhuoyue de Wuli, Da Tuzi, Zui Momo Wang EX, Bodhi Ping, Fanzao de Fengjiezhu, Ding Ye, Zuiqiang Fangbu, and Mou Lei 9 for their recommendation votes.

Section 306, Chapter Sixteen: The Name of Transcendence

The biting cold was no longer an unconscious release, but a targeted attack imbued with malice and destructive intent. Despite preparing to defend himself immediately, the attack was so swift that Li Cheng only had time to build a thin protective barrier around himself before being encased in solid ice.

An incredibly intense cold light invaded his entire body with overwhelming force, destroying his bodily tissues.

"drink!"

Unleashing his full demonic power, Li Cheng's pupils turned completely purple, and a purple light surged around him, shattering the ice covering his entire body. But before he could even catch his breath, an ice pillar descended from the sky, shattering the spot where he stood.

The next second, Li Cheng emerged from the gap and appeared near the stairwell.

"■■■——!!"

A tearing roar, utterly indescribable, echoed from the ice ahead. Immediately afterward, Li Cheng heard the sound of the ice shattering. A massive shadow suddenly enveloped him, followed by a violent impact like that of a high-speed train, sending him flying far away, crashing through the walls of the underground laboratory and embedding him deep into the rock.

This is unbelievable! What kind of force is this? What are these guys? How can each of them be so strong?

A dull rumble echoed from outside the crevice where he had been blasted out of the rock; it was probably the Hakurei priestess fighting the monster whose face he hadn't even seen clearly.

We can't let ourselves get stuck here like this.

Thinking this, Li Cheng struggled to pull his body out of the crevice, intending to use the gap to return to the outside. But before he could make a move, a violent, cataclysmic tremor shattered the surrounding rock layers. He had to quickly use the gap to cross the rock layers and return to the surface. But when the gap reopened, he saw a city that had completely collapsed and sunk.

Dust covered the sinking and collapsing buildings, while miserable screams rang out continuously from the center of the collapse. Suddenly, a giant, black hand, dripping with black slime, rose from the dust. Following closely behind it was a huge eyeball, several meters long and wide, connected to the giant hand, and three other arms connected to the blood-red eyeball.

"A monster with one big eyeball connected to four arms? It's quite postmodern in terms of design."

Li Cheng spoke softly, his peripheral vision catching a red and white figure emerging from the dust. Reimu Hakurei held a gohei (a magical weapon), and her clothes were noticeably dirtier than before. But even from a distance, Li Cheng could sense the immense magical power emanating from her.

Then, a spirit bullet, gleaming with light, was released from the priestess's hand.

Unlike Marisa's dazzling and extremely gorgeous bullet hell and magic cannons, Reimu Hakurei's attacks appeared much simpler, lacking various special effects. However, the power contained within them was extremely strong, and Li Cheng noticed that each attack unleashed by this priestess seemed to possess the ability to automatically track the enemy, ensuring that every strike would absolutely hit the body of that giant monster.

"■■■■——!!"

With a frenzied roar, the deformed monster leaped into the air, its massive body displaying agility far beyond its size. All four arms swung out, reaching for Reimu Hakurei in mid-air. The shrine maiden, however, remained motionless. Just as she was about to be grabbed, her entire body vanished into thin air. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, she reappeared behind the monster.

Immediately following was a powerful spirit strike, the light slamming the monster's massive body into the ground, crashing it into the shattered ruins.

Isn't this power a bit too much?

If Marisa's strength level can be considered as top-tier A-rank magician in the outside world, then the attack that Reimu Hakurei is showing at this moment has already exceeded the theoretical limit of A-rank in terms of power. However, when he was next to her earlier, Li Cheng knew very well that he had never felt this level of power before, and the shrine maiden herself had not reached the aura that a true transcendent could possess.

Why does she possess such immense power?

Having fully activated his monstrous side, Li Cheng suddenly noticed the girl in front of him, who seemed to have some kind of connection with this world.