Chapter 166: Twenty-fourth Middle School

Chapter 166 -163: Twenty-fourth Middle School

In the early hours of the morning, at Twenty-Fourth Middle School in the South Sea’s North District.

A young man stood on the roof of the school building, holding an umbrella as the wind ruffled his short hair.

The Eight-foot Bride stood beside him, looking like a giantess on the rooftop.

The Evil Qilin pulled the Black Stone from his neck and looked at the Eight-foot Bride.

“You’ve done well.”

The Eight-foot Bride brought a hand to her mouth. She opened it, revealing her fangs, and bit down hard on her own pale, giant hand.

Blood, formed from condensed Yin Qi, trickled from the web of her hand and dripped onto the Black Stone.

The Evil Qilin held the Black Stone, faced the sky, and drew a symbol in the air.

As the symbol vanished, an extremely oppressive power rippled out from the school building.

It was like a wildfire just ignited; soon, it would set the sky ablaze.

The Eight-foot Bride suddenly felt a sense of unease. She asked in her ethereal voice,

“What is this?”

The Evil Qilin glanced down at his feet.

“The resentment of someone renowned throughout the world.”

“It’s time to go. Otherwise, we won’t be able to leave.”

The Eight-foot Bride scooped up the Evil Qilin and flew rapidly away from the school grounds.

In the night sky, the Eight-foot Bride’s ethereal voice rang out:

“My lord, where are we going?”

The Evil Qilin’s short hair whipped about in the wind as he said leisurely,

“The fruit is ripe. It’s time for the harvest.”

Excitement flashed in the Eight-foot Bride’s eyes.

“Is my lord’s wish finally coming true?”

The Evil Qilin said,

“Technically, we’re a year early, but it’s of little consequence.”

As the Evil Qilin said this, his eyes shifted away.

‘Actually, the best time to pick the fruit is next year.’

‘I don’t know if acting a year early will cause any complications.’

The Evil Qilin paused, his gaze turning resolute.

“But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even if it’s not fully ripe, I have to pick it.”

‘South Sea City is about to be plunged into the most terrifying anomalous event yet.’

‘This is a metropolis at the forefront of the world.’

‘The Anomaly Administration Bureau will have to go all out to resolve it.’

‘Dusk’s subordinates will also be forced to deal with the incident to protect the South Sea.’

‘After all, Antique Shop Zero is in the South Sea. They have to protect Dusk’s den.’

‘And as for Dusk…’

‘That stupid pig, Prince Heng, was tricked by me into looking for trouble with Dusk, all for the sake of earning merit.’

‘Although Prince Heng is an idiot, his Combat Power is still decent.’

‘Dusk will be tied up.’

‘By the time Dusk kills Prince Heng and returns to the South Sea, it will have already become a city of anomalies, and he’ll have to face a truly terrifying monster.’

‘Therefore, no one will be able to interfere with me.’

‘This is a golden opportunity.’

The Evil Qilin tilted his head back and gazed at the full moon.

“When my plan is complete, the entire world will achieve a grand harmony of Paradise.”

“Everyone’s dreams will be realized.”

“Their lost loved ones will return to their side.”

“The wealth they could never obtain in their lifetimes will be within easy reach.”

“The enemies they wish to kill with their own hands will be slain by them a thousand times over.”

“That, I believe, is Paradise.”

“What are gods, what are Demons, what are immortals, what is Buddha?”

“All living beings in the Human World will be equal—equal in their ability to realize their dreams.”

“I will become the one and only Buddhist to bring salvation to the Human World.”

“The one and only… Buddha!”

The Eight-foot Bride didn’t understand.

She felt she was already in Paradise.

The Eight-foot Bride was originally a pear blossom tree that bore the resentment of Chen Ajiao, an Empress of the Han Dynasty.

Because of this, she was born with her own obsession.

Simply being with the one she loved was the most joyous thing in the world.

The Eight-foot Bride was willing to accompany her lord to realize his dream.

Even if it meant being smashed to pieces.

Thinking only of the Evil Qilin’s interests, the Eight-foot Bride asked hesitantly,

“The only thing to worry about is whether the Taboo Item inside Twenty-Fourth Middle School can truly stop the Anomaly Administration Bureau and Dusk’s subordinates.”

The Evil Qilin chuckled lightly.

“Don’t worry. That Taboo Item… even if Dusk himself were to show up, he might not be able to subdue it.”

The Eight-foot Bride asked in astonishment,

“Do you think Dusk is weak, my lord?”

The Evil Qilin shook his head.

“Dusk is very strong, but that Taboo Item is even stronger.”

…

「Twenty-Fourth Middle School. School Building.」

A young security guard was hiding in a hallway, playing a game on his phone.

“Go! Go! Monkey, just flank them! What are you waiting for?!”

Just then, his walkie-talkie crackled to life.

“Xiaozhao, are you done with your checks over there?”

The young guard quickly put down his phone and spoke into the walkie-talkie.

“Almost, Captain, almost.”

The captain’s angry voice erupted from the device:

“Are you slacking off again?!”

“I’m going to check the signatures in the patrol logbooks on every floor in a bit.”

“If your name isn’t there, I’m docking half a month of your pay!”

The young guard chuckled awkwardly.

“Okay, okay, don’t be angry. I’m checking right now.”

The young guard turned off his phone, letting the game hang, and stood up, muttering,

“Always giving us working stiffs a hard time.”

The young guard walked to the nearest media classroom, gave it a cursory sweep with his flashlight, and then signed his name and the date in the patrol logbook hanging on the wall.

The young guard left the media classroom and went to an art classroom.

This time, he couldn’t even be bothered with a token sweep of his flashlight, and he signed the logbook on the art classroom’s wall directly.

Next, he went to the dance studio.

The young guard still didn’t look around. He took the logbook from the wall and grumbled,

“Always giving us workers a hard time. If I had money, who would want to be a beast of burden?”

He didn’t notice that something was moving among the pile of dance equipment in the corner.

After signing the logbook, the young guard left the dance studio.

If he had stayed just one second longer, he would have seen a wooden staff from the pile of dance equipment float into the air.

The staff looked like a broom handle, or perhaps a tool used by dancers for support.

But it looked even more like… a spear with a broken head!

The wooden staff trembled violently, emitting a thick black smoke.

The black smoke gradually coalesced into seven human figures.

Each one was shrouded in a wide, black robe.

Strangely, the moonlight didn’t seem to touch them.

It was as if light deliberately avoided them, or perhaps, they devoured the light itself.

The seven of them were like shadows of the purest, deepest black.

A moment later, the young guard walked back in.

If he had even an ounce of diligence and had been willing to sweep his flashlight around, he surely would have seen the seven eerie black figures.

But he didn’t. He just muttered to himself,

“Nobody usually comes in here. I might as well sign for the whole month now. Then I’ll have one less room to check later.”

The young guard excitedly wrote future dates in the patrol logbook, followed by his own name.

He didn’t notice that the seven black figures had already come up behind him.

The seven black figures watched the young guard, walking past him one by one as if they were inspecting something about him.

When the fifth black-robed figure came up behind the young guard, its eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing pupils in the shape of a silver Cross!

It clapped a hand on the young guard’s shoulder.

The young guard jumped, whirling around in a panic.

“Who’s there?!”

When the young guard saw what was behind him, he let out a scream.

“AHH!!! What are you?!”

The fifth black-robed figure spoke in a mechanical voice, like the grinding of rusty gears:

“Sloth.”

The next second, darkness surged from the black-robed figure. Like an extension of the robe itself, it instantly enveloped the young guard.

The young guard vanished from the dance studio as if he had never been there at all.

…….

PS: Thanks to Jiu Li for the donation.