Richard Luo, hiding at the edge of the mist, was so scared his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He clamped his hand over his mouth, terrified of being discovered.
Oh man, all I did was act a little chummy, but that guy just went and chopped off his own blood relative’s head! All those thoughts I had about begging for help, switching sides, or cozying up to someone powerful—gone in a puff. Now all I want is to keep my own neck safe. I didn’t catch most of what was said since I was too far away, but Xu Peng’s line—“I’m a killing gun, and if I remember you, it’ll only end one way”—nearly gave me a heart attack.
From start to finish, it’s actually Xu Peng who’s dealt with me the most!
Richard Luo felt both terrified and wronged—he’d cooperated with everything, so why did he have to end up in this mess? Instinctively, he shrank further back into the mist, not daring to be seen.
His mind was a total mess as he worried over a dozen things at once, so he didn’t really catch what Xu Peng and Parfice Zade were talking about. It sounded like some kind of deal. Keywords like “proof” and “results” popped up, and he thought he heard them mention Cobra.
A lightbulb went off in Richard Luo’s head—he might’ve just stumbled onto a secret deal. This Xu Peng and the red-haired woman (he didn’t recognize Parfice Zade) were probably making moves behind Cobra’s back!
Secrets, huh? Should he listen or not? What’s in it for him? How risky is it? If he got the goods, could he cash in? Just as Richard Luo started weighing his options, the ground suddenly shook, followed by a deafening boom.
Now what?!
Richard Luo’s eyes went wide as he looked over, nearly biting his own tongue in shock—a massive creature had just dropped out of the sky, landing with a crash right in the middle of the fog-free street. “Tha-tha-that’s...a Western dragon?!” The thing was nearly four meters long, with broad membrane wings—about the size of a minivan, and it looked heavy as heck.
The monster turned its face toward them, revealing a weird eyeless mug and a huge bloody maw. Two long upper fangs dripped black liquid that sizzled on the ground, burning little smoking pits wherever it landed. From the front, it didn’t even look like a dragon—its short neck made it look more like a bat.
"Screee—!!" The monster let out a piercing shriek, and even from that distance, Richard Luo felt like his bones were about to split apart.
He clutched his ears in agony, then heard a plop—something landed right in front of him. He looked down. It was a human finger! Holy crap, did that thing just burp and spit out whatever was stuck in its teeth? What now, what now—this thing is bad news!
He glanced up to check the action—Xu Peng had taken two cautious steps back, while Parfice Zade stood her ground, totally unfazed by the raging bat monster. The giant bat flapped its wings, whipping up a storm and looking ready to pounce, but she just raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
Snap! It was like a signal—or maybe a command.
The next second, it looked like a flash of a blade swept out from deep in the mist. Richard Luo rubbed his eyes, not quite trusting what he saw—it was like someone had snapped a photo of the monster’s front, then drawn a white slash right across it. That slash flashed by, cutting across its head, chest, wings, and body.
Then, he saw the monster actually split along that line! Fur, flesh, bone, even its mutated organs—all separated and fell to the ground with a thud. Fwoosh—black and red fluid sprayed high into the air under the pressure from its massive body. And out of the rain of gore, a figure slowly walked forward.
Clank, clank—metallic footsteps echoed, and Richard Luo’s eyes went wide.
Wait, isn’t that Minister Zhu?
How did he end up like this?
It was Zhu Ming, now fully bio-modified. His old registration ID had come true—he’d really turned into a man of steel. In a dimension ordinary people couldn’t see, Zhu Ming’s face glowed with light—that was his boundary mark. Now, only his brain and face were still his; the skull that used to be on his chest had moved up to his face, fitting perfectly. That cold face looked just like a skeletal mechanical god of death.
But now, the Boundary Mark that used to glow red was giving off a dim silvery light.
Before Richard Luo could even react, Xu Peng did something completely out of left field: he suddenly whipped out two pistols and started blasting away at Zhu Ming! Gunfire thundered through the air, but Zhu Ming’s face stayed icy—no surprise, no fear, just pure war machine.
He flicked his right wrist and swung the blade in his hand.
The blade flashed again and again, sparks crackling in the air about five feet in front of him.
The magazines ran dry fast, and though the ground behind Zhu Ming was riddled with bullet holes, he himself was totally untouched!
"Hahahahaha!!" Xu Peng suddenly burst out laughing. His attack didn’t work, but he looked even more pumped than before.
Seeing this, Richard Luo just couldn’t take it anymore—he shuffled his feet and retreated deep into the Black Veil. Maniacs, all of them! But—damn, only maniacs like this actually make it out alive! Crap, if I go back to the Survivor Squad, they probably won’t even take me. Where the hell am I supposed to go now?
Right now, Richard Luo missed his daughter more than ever. If she were here, he wouldn’t have to roll around like a dog—life would be way easier. Daughter, hurry up and come save your old man!
But enough about Richard Luo’s survival drama. While he’s desperately missing his daughter, let’s flip to the other side of the story.
Three hours into the Black Veil lockdown, inside the City Museum, a few figures hurried through the halls. There’d been a fire here not long ago—the SD Syndicate’s blaze threw everything into chaos, just the distraction they needed to swipe the Crystal Coffin. Now, a handful of people were moving quickly through the dark, creepy exhibits.
(This chapter isn’t finished ^.^, please click next page to keep reading!)
"Almost there, just up ahead!" Professor Ethan Ho was leading the way, with Rachel Luo right beside him.
Two hours ago, a frantic Rachel Luo tried every trick in the book, but couldn’t find Richard Luo. In the vast Magic City, she’d gotten separated from her dad. Staring into the endless Black Veil, she suddenly realized—the only way to save her maybe-still-alive father was to block the source. So, she started rallying other Chosen Ones for a rescue mission.
Ever since Rachel Luo ran away from home, she’s had her share of wild adventures. She’s met all kinds of people, learned a ton, and picked up loads of info. Don’t think everyone else is clueless—there are hundreds of Chosen Ones in this city, and plenty are keeping tabs on the weirdness and tossing out theories.
Among all the wild theories, Rachel Luo and her new friends were convinced it had something to do with the Shanghai Corpse King.
As the discoverer, exhibitor, and top archaeologist for the Shanghai Corpse King, Professor Ethan Ho had to know something!
So, an hour ago, everyone rushed to the hospital where Professor Ethan Ho was being treated. The place was basically a haunted house—dozens of twitching freaks in nurse uniforms (just regular folks who’d been corrupted) roamed the halls with syringes and scalpels, straight out of a horror movie. Everyone was nearly hopeless; there was almost no chance of finding a "usable" Professor Ho. But in the end, to their surprise, Ethan Ho was still alive!
Maybe it was because his ICU was well isolated, or maybe his coma kept the twitching freaks from noticing him—either way, the professor was seriously lucky. While the world outside went nuts, old Ho just snoozed in his hospital bed. When he finally woke up, he found the city had turned into a monster movie.
After hearing Rachel Luo and the others explain the situation, Professor Ethan Ho’s face fell apart in pure despair. The guilt was so intense, not even dying a thousand deaths could atone for it. But what made everyone admire him was how fast he bounced back, unleashing a willpower so fierce he was ready to risk everything to make things right.
"If this really is all about the Black Death Emperor, we need to get to the City Museum—right now! All the documents, records, and gold-jade artifacts from the Black Death Emperor’s tomb are there—oh, and that broken jade piece!" Professor Ho swore, "I’m almost done translating the language; I swear I can read those files! Please take me there—I know I’m probably a burden, but you really can’t do this without me!"
Without another word, everyone charged toward the museum.
The hospital wasn’t far from the museum—even an ordinary person could walk it in an hour. But now, things were different. The group moved carefully and finally reached the museum in the third hour of the fog-shrouded city.
“Just up ahead—wait, huh?!” In the darkness, they could only feel their way forward. Professor He suddenly stopped, feeling around—there was a collapsed slab blocking the way. Who knew what the museum had been through? It looked like it had taken a direct artillery hit: broken walls, collapsed ceiling and floors, obstacles everywhere, and now this at the last hurdle.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this!” With a bold voice, a burly guy stepped forward. Okay, folks, let me introduce one of Rachel Luo’s teammates. If there were lights, you’d see this bold fellow was just over thirty, about 5'9", and built like a mix of muscle and fat—a real chunky powerhouse.
Nobody knows his real name—Chosen Ones have gotten used to calling each other by their forum IDs. And this guy was actually kind of a celebrity online, though not for the best reasons. After teaming up, Rachel Luo realized he wasn’t a useless teammate at all—actually, he was pretty reliable, even a god-tier teammate in a weird way.
But that “god-tier” part… was in a very strange field…
The guy spread his legs shoulder-width apart, sank into a horse stance, clenched his fists at his waist, and steadied himself. He took a deep breath, gathered his energy, and shouted, “Watch me!”
“Who wants to watch you? Go play with yourself!” someone snarked, and Rachel Luo turned away, embarrassed. Even in the darkness, she couldn’t bear to watch this guy—whose forum ID was “Laughs at the Overlord, Not a Real Man”—show off his power.
Swish—a zipper sound echoed in the darkness…
“Hyaah!” With a loud shout, Not a Real Man’s eyes bulged with effort, his stance powerful and his voice booming. He didn’t move his hands or feet—just thrust his hips! Suddenly, the slab blocking their way was pierced and flipped aside with a crash, sending dust everywhere. Swish—another zipper sound. The guy exhaled and stood tall, looking cool, but someone couldn’t help but complain: “Seriously, did you have to use that? Couldn’t you just use your hands?”
“Uh…” Not a Real Man scratched his head awkwardly and grinned. “Actually, that’s the only part of me that’s strong…”
Remember that post bragging about powers? The guy who claimed he could flip trucks with his junk? Turns out, Rachel Luo saw it for herself—it was true! This guy can, and only can, use one part of his body to unleash power! He can, and only can, defeat gods with one thing!
The first time Rachel Luo saw it, she couldn’t help but rant: “Just what kind of world did you get that power from?! With this, you don’t just laugh at the Overlord—not a real man, you could mock every man alive!”
But then a bold girl asked, “Even if your junk is like a jack, how useful is it in practice?”
Not a Real Man’s answer left everyone speechless: Sure, I can do some crazy stuff, but sadly, it doesn’t last—three seconds max. Three seconds, and that’s all she wrote… Wait, so that’s why your forum name has a comma? First half is ‘Laughs at the Overlord,’ second half ‘Not a Real Man.’ You were honest when you picked your username!
Alright, enough about that—let’s get moving!