Ark Chess Player.

The white dust, carried by the wind throughout Lungmen city and even reaching the slums, nearly drained the life force of any infected it touched, turning them into mummies. The corpses disintegrated, releasing even more dust, spreading more suffering and death. Only a few infected individuals with the ability to protect themselves were able to resist; the majority of the Reunion Movement's infected members became victims, dying in agony and despair.

The number of infected people that Reunion sent to invade Lungmen this time is approximately 2,800.

Under Mephisto's arrangement, these people spread out in a fan shape, dying one by one like pre-prepared sacrifices, becoming the source of the white dust contagion. In a short time, it swept across Lungmen, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation, as people watched helplessly as they turned into Originium sculptures and crumbled.

"Xiaomei! What is this!?"

Faust asked in astonishment, having heard the screams of his men.

On the rooftops of the East Second Floor and South Third Floor of the Guard Bureau, Faust's direct squad of Phantom Crossbowmen were covered in dust. Their magical skills of concealing themselves through air refraction were rendered useless in the upheaval, and their disguises were directly exposed.

"Faust, save me—"

"Faust!!"

The Phantom Crossbowman couldn't even hold his weapon properly and collapsed to the ground. He tried to retreat, but his body began to petrify, rendering him immobile. Even if he could move, what good would it do? The entire city was about to be engulfed in Originium dust; there was nowhere to go!

Faust, seeing this, anxiously tried to reach out and press his friend's shoulder, but Mephistopheles turned and glared at him, startling him so much that he took several steps back.

"Quiet."

Mephistopheles' eyes were bloodshot, and even his voice was hoarse.

Faust looked at Mephistopheles and suddenly felt that the other man was a complete stranger, as if he had become a different person.

"Only through exquisite darkness can one know eternal and endless pain. I will sacrifice my soul and offer the blood of this ritual."

Mephistopheles slowly inserted the crimson eyeballs into the eye sockets of the skull chalice, while simultaneously cutting his palm and pouring his blood onto it.

"Stop him!"

Chen Huijie tried her best to make a sound.

She plunged her sword into the ground, enduring the pain that was almost tearing her apart.

Two streams of blood flowed from Chen's nose without any regard for appearances, and a layer of mineral gradually covered Chen's shoulder, causing his clothes to bulge on one side.

Countless murmurs exploded in her mind, catching her off guard and nearly breaching her mental lake, directly transforming her into a herd.

"Quick!"

Chen angrily retorted that she had pinned her hopes on the Guard Bureau.

The officers in the assault team hesitated for a moment, but still charged forward with their shields raised.

They hadn't yet recovered from the deception of Superintendent Chen concealing a highly contagious disease with a 100% fatality rate and pretending nothing had happened. No one could accept that, in a modern world without any medical solutions, someone would be carrying a highly infectious disease and wandering around aimlessly.

However, now is not the time to pursue Superintendent Chen. What's the point if he doesn't survive until today?

Mephistopheles didn't even look up. Holding the barren, righteous Holy Grail that exuded an evil aura, he said calmly, "Faust."

Faust shuddered. He didn't know what Mephisto was doing, but his actions seemed to be using the Reunion Movement as leverage against Lungmen. Now, his squad members were suffering from the corrosive effects of Originium dust, and many more were being harmed.

What should he do?

A chaotic and sorrowful feeling filled Faust's heart. He no longer wanted to fight, or even seek revenge for the torture Lungmen had inflicted on him these past few days. All he wanted now was to take Mephistopheles away, and to take the Phantom Crossbowmen away.

"Faust!"

Mephistopheles scoffed, already feeling the officers from the assault team closing in on him.

Faust's mouth opened slightly, then he pursed it deeply, a thousand words condensing into one sentence...

"Yes."

The etched crossbow bullets exploded, their powerful impact and deadly corrosiveness striking the menacing Guards officers. One officer's shield was instantly shattered, and his severed limbs, trailing blood mist, flew off to some unknown corner.

"Kill!!"

The task force did not retreat; they had nowhere to retreat, for behind them lay the Dragon Gate.

Faust numbly loaded his crossbow, pulled the trigger, and shot, repeating the process over and over. His face was pale, his eyes vacant, as if his thoughts had long since drifted away from the battlefield.

Mephisto raised the skull chalice high, and wisps of Originium dust were drawn into it, surging in like a vast ocean.

"This will be a grand celebration."

“It begins with the blood of the gods.”

Let us raise our glasses.

"Cast away your worries."

"Open your eyes."

The scattered seeds sprouted and bore abundant fruit.

The skull chalice was filled with the tainted blood of the ancient gods, which Mephistopheles drank in one gulp.

Once the ceremony is over, it cannot be reversed.

In an instant, leaden clouds spread from the southeast, obscuring the setting sun.

The sky was as black as ink. A bolt of lightning tore through the clouds and struck the ground with a deafening roar.

In a fleeting instant, the lightning illuminated a terrifying figure—it was…

The Great Old Ones.

Chapter 405 Amida (4K)

"Quickly, come in, hurry up!"

At the Lungmen slum shelter, Alexander Swell evacuates infected residents.

When the white dust drifted in from the city, the infected residents who were building their new homes initially thought it was just a bag of building materials that had broken. It wasn't until the dust clung to them, like locusts swarming across the fields, that a terrifying famine struck.

One infected after another collapsed amidst agonizing screams. Originium dust relentlessly eroded their Oripathy lesions, and these ordinary infected could only watch helplessly as their bodies turned to Originium, dying in agony. Their corpses even cracked and exploded after death, spewing out more Originium dust, constantly searching for the next source of infection.

By the time Swirl realized something was wrong, a large number of infected people had already collapsed and lost their lives.

Without hesitation, Swell immediately organized the residents of the slums to take refuge in the shelter. At the same time, he made the difficult decision to let several infected individuals who had volunteered to distract the dust leave. These infected individuals were elderly, and they knew they were already very lucky to have escaped the infected hunting operation by the Lungmen New Generation Organization and to be able to enjoy warm beds and hot meals in the newly built shelter.

Alexander Swail spent a day and a night earning their trust through his actions.

If Swir hadn't provided assistance, hadn't organized manpower and resources to build this shelter, then during the daytime downpour, these infected individuals, without food, drinking water, or shelter, would have had a high probability of their Oripathy worsening and dying.

Therefore, these infected residents trusted him and entrusted their lives to him.

"Hurry up, move faster!"

Swell was in turmoil, but his expression remained calm, a habit ingrained from years of professional experience. No matter how terrified he was, how harsh the environment, or how dire his situation, he had to maintain a composed demeanor.

It must be admitted that Swer's calm and composed attitude in the face of danger reassured these infected residents who had witnessed the deaths of their compatriots, preventing them from making irrational decisions in their panic.

Just then, an infected girl was accidentally pushed down by someone while running, falling heavily to the ground and hitting her forehead, breaking the skin. When she raised her dizzy head, the terrifying white dust was already drifting over.

Those suicide squad members held out for a full five minutes for these people! Countless others seized the opportunity to escape into shelters, delaying death's reaping of lives. But they were ultimately caught by the dust, and in unbearable torment, they carried on the legacy of hope.

"*Longmen swear words*!"

Swell saw the girl fall to the ground, and he also saw the deadly dust.

His rationality and his long-standing will to survive told him not to go; he wasn't confident he could save the girl.

But he still started running.

Swer avoided the crowds desperately rushing towards the shelter, running against the current towards the little girl. He didn't know why he was doing it, and he couldn't guarantee he could save even one more person, but...

"Take them with you, and live on."

These were the last words the suicide squad left for Alexander Swell before they lured away the dust.

I must have gone crazy.

Swell thought to himself, "How afraid I was of death before, how brave I am now."

The infected girl struggled to get up, hot blood slid into her eyes, leaving her with only one eye open, her movements unsteady. She saw someone rushing towards her desperately. She tried to stand up but fell back down. This time… it didn't hurt.

"Live."

Swell embraced the girl, speaking in a steady voice as if he were hypnotizing himself in the mirror.

The girl looked at the person who picked her up and ran away, and gently hummed in agreement, determined not to fall asleep.

Swell tried his best.

He had been secretly working out, and he was confident in his physical abilities, but he was wrong. He wished he had pushed himself harder and worked more diligently in the past, so he could at least run a little faster.

The white dust had caught up with him and was just a hair's breadth away from sticking to the girl.

Swell looked at the hesitant people at the entrance of the shelter at the end of his line of sight. After a few seconds of hesitation, he felt relieved.

"Close the doors and windows! Close them!!"

We absolutely must not let this dust get into the shelter, or everyone inside will die.

Since we've already gone this far, what's wrong with trying a little harder?

Looking at the closed door, Swell had no regrets. He picked up the girl and ran in another direction.

"I'm sorry... I can't save you."

Swell was panting; he had just shouted with all his might, and now he could only make incoherent sounds.

The little girl in his arms, who looked no more than ten years old, didn't say anything. She struggled to open one eye and just looked at Swell.

"Dead end..."

Swell saw the ravines above the almost fractured foundation, but he never expected that he would eventually be driven to a dead end by the Originium dust.

He stopped running and sat down on the wet ground, covering the girl's increasingly cold body with his security guard uniform coat and hugging her shoulders.

The girl watched as blood began to seep through the bandages wrapped around Swell's chest, and reached out her small hand to touch them.

Does it hurt...?

Swell was stunned. If the girl hadn't said anything, he really wouldn't have noticed that his wound had reopened.

This is the gunshot wound Swerve received yesterday at the Wall of Maria command center. The Army Without Borders doctor told him he needs to apply medication regularly and rest as needed, and he'll recover quickly. He should avoid strenuous exercise, especially running, as it will tear the wound… but he had completely forgotten that.

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt... Ha, ha ha ha ha!"

Swell laughed, he laughed heartily, tears streaming down his face.

"This way of dying isn't so bad."

Swell looked at the overwhelming white dust and muttered to himself.

He had imagined how he would die, but... he never thought that he would die one day to save someone. For someone as selfish as him, someone who would do anything to survive... it felt pretty good.

The next moment, Originium dust engulfed Swir.

"..."

Swell thought he was going to die.

However, after the powder surrounded him, it quickly coalesced like soldiers receiving a retreat order, flowing like a river towards Lungmen City.

Swell slowly raised his head. He had been holding the girl tightly, hiding her in his arms. He had intended to try and shield her from the Originium dust with his body to buy her more time, but unexpectedly... it actually worked!

But why did this white dust escape?

"Is it because I didn't shower yesterday?"

Swell checked his own body; the blood was still wet, there was the smell of sweat, and the distinctive cement smell of a construction site.

It's really possible!

"It's safe now... right?"

Swell muttered to himself, gazing in the direction where the Originium dust had disappeared, but he soon realized he was overthinking it.

Things have changed.

Although he knew it was a rainy day with dark clouds, he didn't think it would suddenly turn dark.

It wasn't until thunder roared and lightning pierced the earth that he realized something was wrong.

"God..."

"Swell murmured."

Lungmen City, Imperial Guard Building.

Chen Huijie withstood the corrosive effects of the Originium dust, and now that the dust has left her body, she is finally able to stand up a little.