Chapter 140 - 130: Raid Call to Arms

Chapter 140: Chapter 130: Raid Call to Arms

"Cultists are just like cockroaches—impossible to wipe out completely. However, cockroaches don’t have the Ability to kill people," Xia Yuxiu said with a bitter smile. "For a Captain Level bigwig, mere cultists are indeed nothing but ants. But what if the Ghost Race is backing this batch of cultists?"

He continued, "A while ago, relying on the clues tracked down from that disaster, I led my team to destroy several cultist hideouts and rooted out this Nightmare Sect’s Bishop. The other party had already gained a foothold. Using some unknown method, he actually refined three Curse Objects and cultivated to the Peak of Third Refinements Realm.

"At first, it was precisely my miscalculation of this Nightmare Bishop’s strength that allowed him to escape.

"But the second time, I laid down an inescapable dragnet."

Half a day ago.

In the Present Realm of Baijiang City, inside a factory located in a remote area on the outskirts of a certain county.

Xia Yuxiu led over a dozen Elites from the Ninth Team to corner the Nightmare Sect’s Bishop. The Bishop’s hair was a mess, and his eyes were bloodshot. Seeing that a group of Dream Descenders in black trench coats had surrounded him, he showed no fear. Instead, he laughed wildly, "You think a mere dozen Dream Descenders can stop this Bishop? This Bishop possesses far more strength than this!"

In the entire Ninth Team, only Captain Xia Yuxiu made him wary, while Deputy Captain Ran Mo was considered a minor obstacle. The rest of the Countermeasures Bureau’s Elites were no different from ants in his eyes.

"Die, you ants!"

He downed a vial of black Potion. Instantly, Curse Power surged. Pitch-black Curse Power seeped out of his body, forming a thick mist that swirled and released waves of suffocating Curse Pressure. In this state, the surging Curse Power within the Nightmare Bishop’s body had far exceeded the standard of the Third Refinements Realm, arguably reaching the level of Half-Step Extraordinary.

Xia Yuxiu thought to himself that in a one-on-one fight, he was no longer a match for this Bishop. Even with the entire Ninth Team, it would be difficult to take the man down. It was no wonder the Bishop acted so arrogantly.

But...

"This is reality." Xia Yuxiu waved his hand.

Behind him, the Elites all pulled out specially-made firearms. Further out, elite snipers had already locked onto the location, red laser sights settling on their target.

A barrage of bullets poured down! The area was blanketed in firepower!

RAT-A-TAT-TAT! The deafening gunfire echoed throughout the entire factory.

The Bishop, whose body was wreathed in viscous Curse Power, instantly shook uncontrollably like a leaf in the wind. In just a single round of confrontation, the Bishop was severely injured.

"That Bishop had clearly suffered qi deviation from his cultivation, completely forgetting the lethality of modern weapons," Xia Yuxiu recounted. "He later fled into the Nightmare World. We pursued him into the Nightmare World and eventually Slashed and killed this Nightmare Bishop."

Up to this point, everything seemed to have gone smoothly. Shi An nodded slightly, acknowledging the professional competence of the Countermeasures Bureau. In places unseen by ordinary people, the Countermeasures Bureau was indeed protecting Baijiang City. Captain Xia made it sound simple, but the process of tracking down the Nightmare Bishop and silently setting up an encirclement could easily fill a book of tens of thousands of words.

"But just as I Slashed and killed the Nightmare Bishop, a sudden incident occurred," Xia Yuxiu continued. "Old Luo, who had descended into the Nightmare with me and Old Mo, suddenly drove a blade through Old Mo’s kidney and wounded me as well."

Lu Qing’s eyes widened. "Old Luo was a Cultist?"

"No, both of Old Luo’s parents died at the hands of anomalies, and I personally brought him into the team. There’s no way Old Luo could be a traitor!" Xia Yuxiu exclaimed. "I counterattacked on the spot without holding back in the slightest. But when my Slash pierced through Old Luo’s body, his skin peeled off, and his face lost its features. He... It was an anomaly! Old Luo had long been replaced by an anomaly!"

Even Shi An felt his scalp tingle.

Not far away, Old Yao and Lina, the two little Camillas, got goosebumps all over. Yang Lina already felt that the Nightmare World was far too deep and dangerous. This revelation further strengthened her resolve not to take risks and to stay in the Safe Zone forever. If she didn’t still have attachments in reality, she would have loved to completely turn into one of the Lost and commit herself to the Safe Zone, just like the Hair Ghost.

Listening to Captain Xia’s description, it now seemed that the real world wasn’t all that safe either.

She asked, "What kind of anomaly was that? That... That Old Luo, was he replaced in the Nightmare World, or... was he replaced in reality?"

If it was the former, that was somewhat acceptable. But if it was the latter...

"That anomaly was only comparable to the Second Refining Realm," Xia Yuxiu explained. "It couldn’t possibly have replaced an Elite right under my nose. So, Old Luo was very likely murdered in reality... No, he might also have been killed during his last Fallen Dream."

But even if Old Luo had met his doom in the Nightmare World, after the anomaly replaced him, it still used Old Luo’s identity to return to reality and enter the Safe Zone. This anomaly possessed intelligence, and it had been lurking in human society.

Thinking about this was absolutely chilling!

They couldn’t help but think, "This world is still far too dangerous!"

As for what this anomaly exactly was, the Countermeasures Bureau still hadn’t reached a conclusion. Some experts named it the ’Faceless Man,’ claiming it possessed the Ability to disguise itself. However, Xia Yuxiu felt that the anomaly wasn’t just disguised as Old Luo. Before the anomaly attacked and truly exposed itself, it *was* Old Luo. It had replaced everything about Old Luo—his body, his strength, and his life.

They wondered, "Does this kind of anomaly really exist?"

Since Xia Yuxiu and Lu Qing hadn’t brought the Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearl, they only stayed in the Safe Zone for a dozen hours before returning to the Present Realm.

Taking this opportunity, Shi An also asked the Countermeasures Bureau to share some intelligence with him, which would be passed along through the liaison office.

The liaison office managed by Old Yao took on additional responsibilities. This was a good thing for Old Yao. His strength wasn’t bad now; he had already stepped into the Refining Stage and mastered two Curse Arts.