Free Web NovelChapter 421: Chapter 38: Sniping the Queen of Hearts
Taking advantage of the monster’s slumber, Bai Wu left the underground warehouse.
He didn’t care about the lives of those around him, yet he still set up a sign warning of danger and the risk of accidental entry. He placed it right outside the warehouse.
Many things, even with Prayle’s Eye and the Angel Envoy, are difficult to fully comprehend.
In Bai Wu’s guess, this monster was probably going to absorb many Evil Fallen and form a conglomerate.
Indeed, that was the case, but the process was actually nearing completion.
Not long after Bai Wu left, the monster in the underground warehouse began to squirm.
The human heads opened their eyes, and their mouths began to emit various wails, but their bodies slowly moved like viscous liquid, appearing cumbersome yet moving very swiftly.
To go from Button Town to the center of Aulora Island—the capital, Manser City—required a long journey.
But the speed of these monsters was very fast.
It was as if some object was calling them, and they could sense the direction from thousands of miles away.
Their real brain was elsewhere, and these heads growing on the "shared" body were merely decorations.
These heads still retained some of the memories from their lives, but now, they were all sources of power for the monster.
Countless hands and feet supported the massive body as it crawled on the roads built by humans.
Quite a few people witnessed this scene; some were frightened into fainting, others were made nauseous by the stench and began to vomit.
Still, others were so overwhelmed with fear that they underwent an Evil Fallen Transformation.
The most tragic were those as soon as they sensed Evil Fallen nearby, the monster’s remnants stopped moving and instead absorbed the Evil Fallen first, and thus within the body formed by countless heads—another head was soon added.
Unlike the other decaying heads, the new head loudly cried for help, but no one paid attention, or rather, no one dared to rescue him.
Wherever the monster went, it ignited human terror.
In the information age, such bizarre events spread quickly, and even though people had become accustomed to various strange and twisted things these days, they were still terrified by this body stitched from countless people.
This was certainly the most terrifying creature among the many mutants and distortions seen so far. For many white people, it was even more horrific than devils.
And such creatures, in various parts of Aulora Island, it was unknown just how many there were.
All their behaviors were the same, all moving steadily towards the capital of Aulora, Manser.
If they sensed Evil Fallen on the way, they would assimilate it.
On the distant seas, nations were gathering their significant military forces at a certain location, preparing to head to the location of the giant cruise ship to wage war.
The military presence remaining in the cities, although still existent, was weak.
Humanity was united against the outside world, and the countries held back little, especially since they knew more than the average person, feeling a sense of impending calamity.
So the first to respond... were probably the cursing white security officers.
But their power was meaningless against these monsters.
The monster continued to approach the Aulora capital of Manser.
It was as if a beating heart lay at the center of Manser City, calling to the scattered bodies.
Live programming soon began to report on it.
Aulora Finance Channel:
"We have never seen such creatures before. Witnesses claim to have seen their own family members among the monsters made of countless heads and bodies. God bless Aulora! What exactly are we facing?"
The host of the finance channel had stopped discussing the methods that made the poor poorer and the rich richer because the appearance of this monster was too disturbing.
Aulora Science and Exploration Channel:
"At the moment, it appears to be a completely new life form. If we can capture this kind of life form, it may allow humanity to emerge in a new way and possibly solve many problems that we currently can’t."
A scientist calmly finished saying these words; after the program ended, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, took his money, and left with trepidation.
He had talked nonsense about many things in his life, but what he just said on the program was the most far-fetched.
This creature was clearly from hell, wasn’t it?
Aulora Entertainment Channel:
"Everyone, don’t panic. Let us pray together, God bless Aulora! Let’s defeat the devil with our singing!"
A certain singer sang a song with considerable agitation, cracking three times, off-key twice.
All of Aulora, and indeed the whole world, was paying attention to this.
Actually, the Queen of Hearts made a good point—the media only dare to report on the weirdness in people’s lives, not on the state level.
If you want to ignite fear, you have to enter the comfort zone of the public’s hearts.
As for the war at sea, even if the countries suffered a terrible defeat, the first thing they would think of was not to count their losses or summarize after the battle... but to block the news.
But his methods were different, the monster that appeared in the public eye, with its terrifying form, eerie speed, and bulletproof body, was enough to instill the deepest fear in the Aulora people.
All along the way, the Queen of Hearts could even feel that she was absorbing many humans who had transformed into Evil Fallen due to fear.
On Pike Street in Manser City, an aberration had occurred in a supermarket there not long ago, and soon an even greater aberration was coming. The Queen of Hearts was confident that this time...
No one could stop the aberration, as from Aulora, humanity would fall into fear.
...
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Aulora, Manser City.
The Card Sealing Group had divided into six action teams to prepare for the impending disaster, and its members had already gathered in Manser City.
"Listen, Tang Jing, my secretary has found a point through mathematical algorithms, from the intersection of the infected mutant monsters in various places, which is currently on Pike Street in the capital city of Manser, not far from you. It’s even close to the site of the last supermarket incident. It’s very likely that this time you’re facing someone from the Poker Card Organization...and it’s a big card."
Zhao’s voice appeared at Tang Jing’s ear, he always had confidence in Tang Jing, despite Tang Jing’s subordinates all believing that Tang Jing had risen to his position by relying on women and brown-nosing Zhao.
But Tang Jing didn’t care about that, nor did Zhao, and none of these matters were explained. Both men were focused on significant tasks and didn’t sweat the small stuff.
On the contrary, it was Xu Ling who often felt indignant on Tang Jing’s behalf.
"You need to find the source, I surmise that those stitched monsters act in a very simple manner and might just be parts of a larger monster, probably seeking some sort of fusion. If we can just deal with the monster’s central hub, that is, the brain-like existence hiding somewhere on Pike Street, we’ll be able to dismantle this disaster!"
"Understood, don’t worry. Six squads have already started searching. Xu Ling and I are also looking for the target."
Tang Jing and Xu Ling were now on the outskirts of Pike Street, a substantial street with numerous buildings.
Whether they could stop all of this before all the monster bodies arrived and completed the final stitching depended on how quickly Tang Jing, Xu Ling, and the mutant members of the Card Sealing Group could find their target.
The search for the monster’s "central hub" kicked off quickly, with other members of the Seal Card Group also scouring Pike Street.
At this moment, Pike Street was swarming with numerous mutants and a few... infected individuals.
While the other groups consisted of four-man teams, only Tang Jing and Xu Ling worked as a pair.
Ever since the supermarket incident, Xu Ling’s fondness for Tang Jing had shot up considerably.
As for Tang Jing, ravaged by the premonition of Hei Wu’s spread, he had few real friends, let alone a girlfriend.
Despite the barrier between humans and the Evil Fallen... um, there were many things impossible to achieve. But Tang Jing and Bai Wu had one similarity: they didn’t treat the Evil Fallen with any special regard.
There was no discrimination, no hostility, and no misplaced pity that backfired, just treating them like normal people, with no difference whatsoever.
In Tang Jing’s eyes, there truly was no difference between the infected and mutants, as long as the infected could maintain human rationality like Xu Ling, they were still human.
Bai Wu felt the same, but Bai Wu wouldn’t allow himself to fall in love with an Evil Fallen.
However, if Bai Wu knew about his pupil’s thoughts, he would probably not stop him.
Tang Jing really liked Xu Ling. Under the influence of the supermarket’s "Truth" and "Facing One’s Heart," he expressed his fondness for her unabashedly, almost to the point of social suicide.
Xu Ling was also happy; the authentic Tang Jing was more passionate than the usual Tang Jing. That feeling of eventually being abandoned was thoroughly suppressed.
The investigation continued with no progress, although Zhao stopped it from involving mutants. But at this stage, their Innate Force was weak.
Some people who awakened their Innate Force, though still living in the twisted area for months, had difficulty progressing past the third tier of their powers without the four-hourly descent of "negative attributes" present Inside the Mist.
The investigation had been going on for four hours, and there was absolutely no progress.
During those four hours—the monsters had reached the outskirts of Manser City.
They were just about ten minutes away from reaching Pike Street in the central residential area.
The terrifying creatures from various parts of Aulora... funneled horror into one place, inside Manser City of Aulora Island... filling everyone with dread.
Countless vehicles attempted to flee the city, but this only caused an unprecedented traffic paralysis.
People didn’t know what was going to happen next, but everyone wished to avoid facing it.
An innate repulsion to the disgusting and terrifying monsters drove them to flee the city.
As a result, the city experienced unprecedented chaos.
Pike Street was no exception.
...
...
Ten minutes remained before the monsters arrived and completed their final phase of fusion.
As the monsters drew closer, Zhao ordered the investigation to stop.
The four-hour search yielded indeed no progress regarding the monster’s hub, because there were too many cases and abnormalities.
Various personnel had disappeared, traces of different monsters had been found, and all of this greatly delayed the investigation.
It could be said that Pike Street had become a place full of infected.
Those who were not infected started to frantically flee in the last ten minutes, creating an incredibly chaotic situation on Pike Street.
All members of the Card Sealing Group, under Zhao’s order, began evacuating people and entered combat-ready status, preparing to face the imminent catastrophe.
Xu Ling and Tang Jing were not part of this.
The two hadn’t given up on the investigation, and in the last few minutes, Xu Ling stopped because of a building.
"Xu Ling, what’s wrong?"
Tang Jing noticed Xu Ling was shivering.
At that moment, they were standing outside a mental health clinic. This was the source of the last distortion, Square Four—psychiatrist McDro’s clinic.
"I... I sensed someone... that person... the presence is very familiar."
Xu Ling’s body trembled slightly.
Tang Jing’s first thought was of the person who had bullied Xu Ling, the university professor named Xi Erwa.
It was Xi Erwa’s mischief that led to Xu Ling becoming an infected during an emotional upheaval. The Evil Fallen, as her master called it.
He had always suspected that this person might be a member of the Poker Card Organization.
"I’ll go in and take a look, wait here for me," said Tang Jing, eyeing the clinic.
The clinic was three stories high, and McDro, quite well-regarded on Pike Street as a doctor, had a not insignificant income.
After his death, this neatly decorated clinic was temporarily closed.
"I’ll come with you."
"Aren’t you afraid?"
"No... I can’t let you take risks for me, I need to protect you."
After Xu Ling said those words, Tang Jing’s heartbeat quickened, and he suddenly didn’t dare to look back at Xu Ling.
The two didn’t say much, cautiously beginning their exploration inside the clinic.
The first floor of the clinic was where McDro usually received patients, while the second floor was his living quarters.
Due to the floor-to-ceiling windows, the first floor was quite bright, but the second floor was much darker.
When Tang Jing and Xu Ling walked into the second floor’s living room, they happened to witness a disturbingly twisted scene.
Xu Ling’s face turned pale, and Tang Jing felt his stomach churn, ready to vomit at any moment.
They indeed saw Xi Erwa, but from his body wriggled a white, worm-like creature. More precisely, it crawled out from Xi Erwa’s ears, nose, and mouth.
"Hahaha... Hahaha... My lord, I can finally follow you forever. You are the greatest existence in this world!"
Xi Erwa’s body softened into a mud-like substance, just like those monsters that were closing in from outside.
But his expression held no fear, only absolute worship. He looked at the blond man with fanatical eyes, as if he was making an ultimate honorable sacrifice.
Xu Ling and Tang Jing subconsciously looked at the blond man’s wrist, both of their expressions shocked.
Red Heart represents charming allure, and the Red Heart Q even more so, with the appearance of a divine youth.
Even though he was a man, he made Xi Erwa utterly infatuated.
In front of Xu Ling and Tang Jing, the one who lured Xi Erwa into willingly becoming nourishment, was the Red Heart Q.
Red Heart Q paid no attention to Xi Erwa, who had been serving him to this day, his gaze amused:
"Before the main course begins, have two appetizers come?"
Xu Ling looked at Xi Erwa, terrified.
"You are afraid of me, but you don’t remember who I am, no wonder, dad has erased your memories, only I and three others know it all."
Red Heart Q approached Xu Ling, and Tang Jing immediately moved to protect her, yet he was far too weak in front of Red Heart Q.
With a wave of his hand, Red Heart Q unleashed a force so great that Tang Jing was helpless against it, sending Tang Jing flying against the wall of the second floor.
In that moment, Xu Ling glared angrily at Red Heart Q, intending to use sound waves to form an illusory attack, but was stopped by Red Heart Q grabbing her throat:
"Your ability is not bad, but your weakness is clear. Also, as part of the Red Heart lineage, it’s others who die for you, not the other way around. How embarrassing."
Red Heart Q lifted Xu Ling with one hand:
"Dad arranged for us to come out here, not to fall in love with humans. Our real purpose is to become Evil Fallen, to accelerate the distortion of regions.
The petty fights before, the anomalies around the world, they were just a probe. Compared to 700 years ago, this world will be far more interesting."
"We were also dear half-siblings who shared a father, though I don’t know which farm you’re from, I’m willing to accept you. Soon, you will become a part of me, just like Xi Erwa."
As Red Heart Q spoke, the huge, foul-smelling monster finally arrived on Pike Street. free𝑤ebnovel.com
In the despair-spreading city of Manser, countless people turned back to see the monsters from all around Aulora merging together to form an enormous beast.
Inside the clinic on Pike Street, Xu Ling saw through the window the massive shadow outside the building.
Tang Jing wrestled free from the restraint of the wall, desperate to rescue Xu Ling from Red Heart Q’s grasp!
But the disparity in their strength was too great.
"In the early stages of distortion, level 9 mutants are unseen, but we’re different. We may not possess high levels, but we have strong attributes, especially my ability, which can compensate for the lack of mutant levels to some extent."
"You can’t recall the happy life in Land of Bliss anymore, it doesn’t matter, after you become a part of me, I will remember that happiness for you. We’re all dad’s good children, right?"
Suddenly, Red Heart Q let go of Xu Ling, because outside the house, the gigantic creature had finally assembled.
The ultimate Evil Fallen, configured by Red Heart Q using Corruption Worms over several months from various places in Aulora, had taken form.
A monster composed of countless heads and limbs, like a massive ghost, with a depression on its head.
It seemed like a chamber, powering the giant entity made of humans who had undergone Evil Fallen Transformation and were stitched together.
It was akin to a monster named Infernal Yero in Aulora myths, consisting of countless human faces filled with fear, anger, and grief!
White, worm-like Corruption Worms emerged from the countless mouths of the giant creature’s heads, these worms piercing through the window, forming a white path.
Red Heart Q, this man with the face of a divine youth, stepped onto the path laid by the white Corruption Worms, walking step by step towards his throne.
Like an angel of light, he was advancing towards the hellish bastion.
But there were no angels in this world.
Xu Ling knew all too well that the stitched-together giant creature had already lost its consciousness.
If she could kill Red Heart Q now, she could avert this catastrophe.
Blood flowed from the corners of her eyes, her mouth, and her nostrils.
At this very moment, the screams and fear of everyone in the city seemed to gather together at Xu Ling’s command, twisting into a massive spear.
The spear hung hundreds of meters in the air, aiming at Red Heart Q.
Yet Red Heart Q seemed utterly oblivious to this scene:
"Arrogant and ignorant woman, a mere Red Heart Six dares to strike at the future King?"
Xu Ling didn’t understand the meaning of this sentence, she just knew that all her power had come together. If she couldn’t kill this monster...
Then the city would plunge into great terror, and countless humans would become monsters like her, out of despair.
She detested many humans, but she was determined to protect them!
Xu Ling’s hair moved without wind, as if floating due to telekinesis, her bleeding eyes, ears, mouth, and nose signifying she had already reached her limit!
The sound-wave formed spear was finally about to fall!
But Red Heart Q had already walked along the white carpet laid by the Corruption Worms, reaching the "throne."
The next second, he would be enveloped by the giant creature, becoming its brain. Even though the body was unspeakably ugly and foul-smelling.
But it possessed the power of countless Evil Fallen, far surpassing that of a common level nine Mutant.
In its early stages of distortion, it was a world-ending monster!
"You don’t think I’d let you go, do you? Since you have no remorse, then I’ll help you feel remorse,"
As the giant sonic spear fell, countless onlookers believed that a savior had wrought a miracle!
It was as though God was punishing a monster akin to Yero!
Zhao’s heart leaped to his throat, and Tang Jing, gazing at the blood-covered Xu Ling, felt the same.
Only the Queen of Hearts, sensing the gigantic spear Xu Ling was gathering, let out a disdainful smile.
"Don’t assume you can inflict harm on me. I merely wanted to enjoy the sight of this city, the people of this country... as their hopes are dashed to pieces,"
Just as the sonic spear, like divine retribution, was about to touch the Queen of Hearts...
The white Corruption Worms wrapped around Xu Ling’s calves, biting open a gash.
"I told you, you will become a part of me, just like these people,"
The pile of slush on the ground that was once Xi Erwa began to converge toward the huge monster outside the building.
Xu Ling, at that moment... showed a face stricken with horror.
Her face covered in blood, she could feel her will being destroyed by the Corruption Worms, and at this most desperate moment of her life, she turned to look at Tang Jing.
In her bleeding eyes, tears blurred.
"Tang Jing... save me..."
After those words... Xu Ling’s eyes became lifeless, her expression, like the faces on numerous monsters... frozen in fear.
Tang Jing opened his mouth wide as overwhelming grief engulfed him.
He frantically tried to reach Xu Ling but was repelled by the sonic forces she emitted.
This was Xu Ling’s final act of will.
She was waiting for Tang Jing to rescue her.
She knew Tang Jing would surely save her.
But not the Tang Jing of now—rather, the Tang Jing she first met.
...
...
In Manser City, everyone beheld the gargantuan creature that stood a hundred meters tall. They all awaited the descending of the enormous spear suspended in the sky.
But the next instant, the spear, gripped by Telekinesis, shattered in the air.
A fracturing of that, and of countless people’s hopes as well.
The colossal creature, originally motionless, also began to move toward the city center after a few seconds... as if it had been endowed with a soul.
The Aulora military had already dispatched their strongest firepower to the sea, and the weapons left in the city, while sufficient for crime prevention, were absolutely incapable of dealing with such a monster.
Even if the military bases retained basic combat equipment, they could not deploy large-scale firepower in Manser City crowded with pedestrians.
But just when people thought this city was about to be destroyed, nearly a hundred military fighter jets flew in the sky.
Inside Pike Street, all members of the Seal Card Group heard Zhao’s words at that moment:
"All units, be advised, the objective of this operation is to exterminate this monster, and I have called in aerial firepower support. They will coordinate with you Seal Card Group members to provide you cover, do find a way to kill this monster!"
After Zhao finished speaking, many people were actually thinking of backing out, but then Zhao said:
"I know this is a fight to the death, but please consider... if not us, the empowered, who will take on these tasks?"
"Escaping from Manser City will not solve the problem, this monster will eventually find every city we live in, running is easy, but it’s the most meaningless,"
"Think of the people in this city, think of our wives, children, parents. If we run, what awaits them is destruction and death."
"Gentlemen... I beseech you!"
A member of the Seal Card Group, looking at the massive monster, was already somewhat resistant to the idea.
But Zhao’s words indeed managed to bolster the courage of many, and pointed out the problem directly.
Escaping was meaningless; it would only allow the monster to spread the contamination farther.
No matter the race or color, they might not have collectivism, but they have their own families.
"Understood, we will stop this monster at all costs!"
All members of the Seal Card Group had become resolute to face death.
The battle to protect Aulora had begun; the city’s streets remained as congested as ever, and people realized the difficulty of fleeing this city was likely insurmountable.
As one fighter jet after another swept across the sky, countless people bowed their heads, silently praying.
Meanwhile, outside Manser City, Bai Wu with a giant sword on his back, arrived at the outskirts of the capital of Aulora Island.
"Quite the big move... If this city falls, it might turn into a black zone in the future,"
Four hours after Bai Wu left, he sensed the monsters in motion. He did not stop them because the Angel Envoy reported that similar creatures were appearing in various parts of Aulora.
So he followed the creatures to see where they would ultimately converge.
As the monsters reached Pike Street in Manser City, Bai Wu also arrived at the outskirts of Aulora Island’s capital.
Looking at the massive, ugly creature in the distance, he had a revelation.
"My apprentice’s beloved is inside, seems like I need to make haste,"
(Three Chapters yesterday; today’s Chapter is also a mega Chapter of almost 7,000 words, a monthly ticket wouldn’t be too much to ask for, right?)
