Chapter 121 - 120: The Shadow that Devours the World (Part 2)

Chapter 121: Chapter 120: The Shadow that Devours the World (Part 2)

A single membrane was all that separated the two sides of Huayang Road.

Well-trained soldiers in camouflage uniforms quickly planted high explosives.

As soon as they retreated to a safe distance, they detonated the charges.

BOOM!!

The massive blast made everyone’s ears ring.

A pillar of fire erupted, so close it singed the fine hairs on many of their faces.

When the smoke and dust cleared, the crowd fell silent, staring at the unharmed black membrane.

’So thermal weapons are useless too?’

In the Cleaner conference room, the vice minister once again pushed his custom-made glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Our only hope now is the Energy Research Department. Let’s hope those scientists can solve this mess."

The vice minister’s words made most people in the room recall some very unpleasant memories.

’They vaguely remembered the ’miserable’ experience of being tricked into becoming test subjects back when they were just rookies.’

’The pay had been good, sure, but if given another chance, they’d be damned if they ever trusted a single word from those researchers’ mouths again!’

Soon, several custom SUVs carrying a few scientists in white lab coats arrived at Huayang Road.

They were accompanied by four of the Talented, who were responsible for their security.

After all, the nights in Shanghai were hardly peaceful.

A dozen or so soldiers unloaded all sorts of strange instruments from the vehicles. Then, everyone could only stand aside and quietly wait for the results from the Energy Research Department.

Half an hour later, one of the scientists walked over to Lei Yang and his team.

"Our preliminary analysis indicates a materialization of Spiritual Power. I don’t need to elaborate—as members of the Talented, you should be quite familiar with it. Spiritual Power isn’t especially strong at first, but as one’s abilities grow, it can erupt with incomparable force.

Unless our attacks can overpower this materialized Spiritual Power shield, they will be completely nullified. You could also try a continuous barrage; the damage might accumulate enough to eventually break it."

’The researcher’s answer was about as useful as no answer at all.’

’If we could do either of those things, would we have bothered calling you people here in the first place?’

"Wait, did you say this is a shield?"

"That’s right. Our data indicates its function is protective. And have you noticed? The black substance inside is constantly flowing, as if it desperately wants to break out. It’s just being thwarted by this barrier of materialized Spiritual Power."

Lei Yang and Captain Su exchanged a glance. ’Great,’ they thought.

’Now that you put it that way, there’s no way we’re going to try and break it.’

’If we release some ferocious, unstoppable monster, we’ll go down as the villains of Shanghai!’

Back in the conference room, the situation felt even more fucked up.

’On one hand, the lives of the people on Huayang Road. On the other, the safety of all of Shanghai. How could anyone choose?’

’Either choice was correct, and at the same time, terribly wrong.’

’The bespectacled vice minister felt like a massive load of blame had just been dropped on him from the heavens.’

’His career as Vice Minister of the Cleaners was probably about to go up in flames.’

’Unless... he could find a way to save both.’

"001, connect me to the containment cell of the man from the Netherworld. I need to speak with him."

["AI System 001, at your service. Verifying identity... Identity confirmed... Command issued by: Cleaner Vice Minister Roger... Verifying authorization... Level-A authorization confirmed... Please confirm: initiate communication with File No. 10, Tang En?"]

"Confirm." The vice minister’s eyelid twitched. ’So slow and rigid. And it has the nerve to call itself an AI system? The Energy Research Department really is full of shameless hacks.’

In the center of the conference room, a projection screen flickered to life, displaying the inside of a cell.

On it was a powerfully built man, his physique rivaling that of the superstar Schwarzenegger, in the middle of a workout.

Well, "working out." He was actually doing squats with the metal bed frame on his shoulders.

The thick beads of sweat on his forehead indicated he had been at it for a long time.

"Hello, Tang En. I’m Roger, Vice Minister of the Shanghai Cleaners. We’ve run into some trouble and are hoping you might be able to help."

The brawny man in the cell looked at the projection that had suddenly appeared, but unlike the first time, he didn’t cry out in shock.

A top linguist on 24-hour standby quickly translated Roger’s words, which were then broadcast into Tang En’s cell through a speaker.

"Alright."

A line of subtitles appeared on the conference room screen.

For convenience, the Cleaners had a dedicated subtitler on staff to facilitate communication.

"Do you know what this is?"

Vice Minister Roger wasted no time, directly transmitting the footage from Lei Yang’s team to the brawny man who hailed from the Netherworld.

When Tang En saw the black substance, his pupils visibly constricted.

’There’s a lead!’

Seeing this, Roger threw a triumphant punch in his mind.

’Looks like he wouldn’t be getting an early retirement in the logistics department just yet.’

"This thing is terrifying. Our village chief called them the Shadows that Devour Worlds."

"Shadows that Devour Worlds?"

"That’s right. In the Netherworld, there’s one rule you must always remember: get back to a village or a city before nightfall. Even if, for some unavoidable reason, you can’t make it back in time...

...you must build a bonfire and make sure it doesn’t go out all night. The moment the fire dies, something terrible will happen."

As he said this, a boundless fear appeared in Tang En’s eyes.

This was a man who hadn’t even groaned when the medics treated his shattered bones.

It was hard to imagine him being afraid of these so-called Shadows that Devour Worlds.

"I advise you not to act rashly or try to attack that membrane. If it breaks and the Shadows spread, believe me, you will regret it. Wait until dawn. The sunlight will make them evaporate completely."

"But there are many people trapped inside. We have to..."

Before Roger could finish, an agitated Tang En cut him off.

"Then sacrifice them!"

"Impossible."

"Let me finish! The Shadows are terrifyingly powerful. Even the high and mighty figures of the Netherworld can’t eliminate them; at best, they can only protect themselves. This stuff dissolves the bodies of living creatures, then reassembles them into abominations.

If the Shadows break out in your world, believe me, you won’t be able to stop them. Everywhere outside of human settlements will be crawling with cruel, vicious, and completely insane bloody abominations."

In Tang En’s homeland, the Netherworld, everyone lived in misery, never knowing if they would see the next day.

No one dared venture out of their village after sunset unless they had a death wish.

’To be honest, even though the Cleaners had him imprisoned under heavy guard and stripped of his freedom...’

’...he was happy. These were the happiest days of his life.’

’Because it was safe!’

’Not only could he eat his fill, he could eat fucking *well*!’

’What kind of life was this? It was a life he wouldn’t trade, not even for godhood.’

’Every day, he could lie comfortably on a large, soft bed and sleep soundly.’

’This was a luxury he hadn’t experienced in over thirty years.’

’How many years had it been since he’d slept through the night?’

’Ten years? Twenty?’

’He couldn’t remember anymore. He had grown numb to it all.’

’The reason?’

’Simple. He was on the village’s night patrol!!’