“Suggestions?” The aloof young man in a white uniform slightly raised his eyebrows upon hearing the Chong brothers’ words. After saving the data in his hand, he turned slightly to the side and looked directly at the two people who had never had any connection to him.
“The Creator said this time the matter should be entrusted to us,” Chong Ying blinked and took the initiative to speak. “Among the people I know, only your intelligence stands out. My brother and I have no experience, so at the very least, we wanted to get some advice.”
Zhu Yan thought carefully for a moment. “Was it the Creator who told you to come to me?”
Chong Ying shook his head. “The City Lord said that since it was handed over to us, everything would be up to us to decide. Whether we consult someone else or choose to give up and not do it at all, it’s all allowed.”
“You’ve come to ask me now because you don’t want to give up?” Zhu Yan asked.
“It’s because we don’t want to disappoint the Creator.” Even without asking, Chong Ying could understand his brother’s thoughts. Everything he said represented the will of both of them.
Zhu Yan’s gaze flickered as he stared at the two standing before him.
He knew very clearly the strength of these two, as well as their importance to the Creator.
He could also clearly see what set them apart from everyone else.
Even though these brothers didn’t seem any different from others in the city on the surface, it was obvious that they held no closeness or attachment to anyone.
They were like people who stood apart from the world, living in their own realm.
Even after becoming subordinates of Yuan Zhiran, due to Yuan Zhiran’s own nature, he had never truly integrated the two brothers into the normal rhythm of the city. One was always silent, and the other forever immersed in his own world of weapons. They had never fit in.
Has the Creator noticed this anomaly as well? Zhu Yan narrowed his eyes in thought.
After a brief moment, his mind had already roughly deduced He Fang’s intentions. “I understand. Then let me share with you my ‘suggestions’. As for everything else, you’ll have to make the decisions yourselves.”
Zhu Yan explained several potential developments in the current incident. Based on the limited clues available, he analyzed the situation, each word clear and precise in outlining the current state of affairs.
There was no doubt—this time, the ones approaching did not come with good intentions.
Zhu Yan raised his brows slightly, but since this was a test assigned by the Creator to them, it left no room for interference from others.
And what he had to do was to provide as much detail as possible about the current state, to help guide them forward.
Chong Ying watched Zhu Yan’s explanation from start to finish, not taking a single note. Yet Zhu Yan showed no displeasure. In fact, he was quite certain that even without notes, they would remember everything he said.
These two were geniuses. Even within this crafted city, they stood out on their own merit, undoubtedly shaped by some cruel and unknown past.
People like them—brilliant, yet cautious.
“Zhu Yan, you really are smart,” Chong Ying said, lowering his head, looking over the detailed analysis Zhu Yan had laid out. His admiration came from deep within.
“But all this—” Zhu Yan suddenly raised a hand and blocked the brothers’ view with it. “—is only meant to leave you with an impression. Reality is ever-changing. What I’ve told you is just one possibility, a train of thought, nothing more.”
Chong Ying lowered his gaze to the screen that had already gone dark under Zhu Yan’s hand. The youth’s slightly slender figure appeared especially delicate in the dim light. He slowly asked, “Then in this matter… what can my brother and I actually do?”
Zhu Yan took in Chong Ying’s confusion.
“Then consider it this way.” Zhu Yan understood. Just as he had once been patiently reassured by the Creator, now it was his turn to carefully guide someone who was extremely important to the Creator. “The only thing you need to consider is whether this is good or bad for the Creator—whether it aligns with the Creator’s will. Use your own judgment to think it through. That alone is enough.”
Chong Ying lifted his gaze. A flicker of light shone in his clear, pure eyes as he asked, somewhat surprised, “As long as we think about what’s good for the Creator, we can make decisions?”
Zhuo Yan curled his lips into a small smile. “Mn.”
—
He Fang sat on the transport heading toward Light City. Recently, the “Ruins Without Restart” event has become too frequent. After playing for so long, his instincts told him that this was likely to be another long, drawn-out mission. He wasn’t even sure if he could finish it in a single day.
He was currently conducting a universal screening through the system panel, trying to make sure there were no hidden spies remaining in any of his three cities.
But the only thing He Fang could do was filter through the current residents. If a traitorous NPC came from Arrival City or Angel City, there was nothing he could do.
Fortunately, his current level of technological advancement hadn’t been fully deciphered yet. He’d always used Landmark as a cover, pushing all temporarily unexplainable phenomena onto the landmark. Thanks to the inherent authenticity of the landmark, no one ever doubted it.
Moreover, all real centers of power were firmly in the hands of the main city’s NPCs. His main city’s NPCs weren’t data constructs that wild NPCs could casually fool or bypass.
He Fang didn’t believe that any spy could cause significant harm to his cities. According to the damage report from the last attack, not even many weapons had been destroyed, aside from the border guards in Angel City, who had been deliberately killed.
Just thinking about that incident irritated him. He closed the system panel at once.
“Are we supposed to keep going straight in this direction?” He Fang asked Zhang Guangshi, who was in the passenger seat.
“Because of Ao City’s orders, we’ve had no choice but to keep moving closer to Angel City. And Ao City says Angel City has very rich resources. Now that Angel City is no longer under protection, we can also seize resources from it,” Zhang Guangshi answered respectfully.
“You’ve always been sneaky with your actions. Why the sudden boldness now?” He Fang asked.
“There are some things that can’t be compromised. From the beginning, we were raiders. To strengthen our city, we absolutely cannot bow to Ao City.”
He Fang remembered they had said the same thing before. But the follow-up question this time was: “If you become neighbors with Hope City, then those women from Arrival City whom you once bullied and looked down upon—how do you plan to treat them?”
At that moment, Zhang Guangshi fell silent. He had noticed the trap hidden in He Fang’s question.
Under Chong Ying’s sharp gaze that seemed to press him with a silent ‘you must answer’, Zhang Guangshi slowly said, “We always had a transactional relationship with Arrival City—taking what we needed from each other. Now that the trade relationship no longer exists, if we do become fellow citizens, then it would become one of mutual support. I can’t guarantee how others will act, but at least I will act this way. Besides, I believe Hope City now surely has its own ways of managing and resolving these things.”
He Fang had only been making casual conversation. He hadn’t intended to extract any real information.
But Zhang Guangshi’s reply made He Fang narrow his eyes slightly. This man’s way of speaking and behavior, seen from a normal perspective, was too flawless. His every word seemed crafted to satisfy the listener. That kind of skill was likely a form of rhetoric.
Unlike Sai Gu, whose way of speaking felt more direct, Zhang Guangshi’s rhetoric came off as too official, distant, and hard to trust. And He Fang couldn’t shake the feeling that this small, thin man wanted him to remain in this state of constant tension—wanted him to be pulled into guessing and analyzing.
This time, the travel party was composed of only He Fang and the Chong brothers. Zhang Guangshi, acting as envoy and guide, naturally had to accompany them.
Because of his wariness toward Zhang Guangshi, their first meeting had actually been arranged in a prison. At that time, Zhang Guangshi had proposed releasing all the imprisoned spies.
But Chong Ying had refused. He said that whether or not to release them still depended on whether what Zhang Guangshi said was true, and that they would also need to confirm with Light City whether those spies were truly theirs.
Zhang Guangshi didn’t argue back. He seemed to understand clearly that, given their current situation, he had no standing to say much.
He turned his head slightly and asked Chong Xiao, who was in the driver’s seat, “May I ask… could you tell me some of your preferences? That way, when we arrive, we’ll be able to provide you with the most satisfying service and hospitality.”
Chong Xiao: “……”
Throughout the journey, Zhang Guangshi had tried multiple times to strike up a conversation with Chong Xiao, but without exception, he was shut down cold each time. Chong Xiao clearly had no interest in engaging with him—or rather, He Fang felt that, so far, aside from Chong Ying, no one had ever managed to hold a successful conversation with Chong Xiao.
He Fang quietly covered his mouth and laughed to himself. He was now convinced that his guess about Zhang Guangshi’s tactics was right: this man was using his rhetoric to try and guide anyone with initiative or opinions. Unfortunately for him, his current target—Chong Xiao—wasn’t someone who could be “guided” through conversation.
Let alone Chong Xiao—even the usually noisy and endlessly chattering Chong Ying had shown Zhang Guangshi no friendliness whatsoever. The only things he enjoyed saying were things like, “City Lord, are you tired? We can cuddle and nap in the back seat.”, “City Lord, have you ever tried a lap pillow? Want to give it a go?”, or “City Lord, are you hungry?”—topics completely devoid of substance.
Every time this happened, He Fang would glance up at the large gray question mark floating above Chong Ying’s head, wondering if, perhaps, NPCs didn’t actually change that much even in the middle of a mission.
Zhang Guangshi soon realized that the only person he could talk to was He Fang. But if the conversation wasn’t initiated by He Fang himself, it would always be interrupted by one of the two younger men.
He Fang observed Zhang Guangshi carefully. The man was wearing heavy armor, which made him look rather bulky in the passenger seat. When he noticed that neither Chong Xiao nor Chong Ying wore armor, he was very surprised and asked several times about it.
And every time, He Fang simply replied, “They don’t need it.”
He Fang remembered clearly the surprise in Zhang Guangshi’s eyes at that time.
But what was strange was that, in that surprise, there was a hint of delight. A very odd kind of delight.
Zhang Guangshi said that Light City was very close. When He Fang opened his system map and looked in the direction they were heading, he confirmed that the place they were approaching would indeed be the spot where the plane had made its second landing. As expected, the plane had originally taken off from Light City.
Although all information inside the plane had already been hidden, there was nothing that Zhu Yan couldn’t crack. All information that could be exposed had been thoroughly and completely exposed.
He Fang looked at the system map. They had already entered the exploration range of Light City.
And from afar, he saw the gatekeeper of Light City.
This was the first time He Fang had seen a gatekeeper guarding the gate on a motorcycle, and there wasn’t a single scout from an exploration team beside the gatekeeper.
They came to a stop at a distance.
From that distance, the gatekeeper directly threw them a bottle. The top of the bottle had a very sharp needle tip, and inside the bottle was a tiny flying insect.
Zhang Guangshi explained to them how to use this thing: use the needle tip to prick a finger, and the blood would slowly flow along the tip into the bottle. Inside was a very fragile insect. If this insect died quickly in a short amount of time, it meant they were a Nightmare Beast.
He Fang vaguely felt that this thing was highly unreliable.
First of all, how could one ensure that the bottle hadn’t been touched by any living being at any point in the process? Secondly, in making these things—a dual-flow tube that allows blood to enter—if it got contaminated, wouldn’t it easily allow parasites to infect ordinary people who hadn’t been parasitized before? There were simply too many suspicious and questionable points here, to the extent that He Fang’s distrust toward this thing was almost reaching its peak.
“I think this isn’t right.” Suddenly, Chong Ying spoke the words that He Fang had been wanting to say. Chong Ying was fiddling with the bottle in his hand and said bluntly, “If someone as smart as me turned into a Nightmare Beast, I could use this thing to kill a lot of innocent people.”
This didn’t resemble a proper detection method that a gatekeeper should use at all. He Fang silently nodded at the side.
“Then let’s just skip it,” Zhang Guangshi said, seemingly not concerned in the slightest. “It doesn’t really have much significance. We only do it to give those entering the city a bit more peace of mind.”
He Fang frowned. If the city’s border defense wasn’t properly reinforced, weren’t they afraid of letting in a Nightmare Beast and causing the city’s destruction? And the gatekeeper wasn’t even part of a team—it was just one person. Could one person handle a Nightmare Beast?
“We’re a small mobile city, and we’re also a combat city. To ensure our safety, of course, we use every method available. All our route planning is based on following other cities—to put it bluntly, we tail them. As long as the city ahead of us doesn’t have an accident, we won’t either.” Zhang Guangshi explained this off to the side.
He Fang pondered quietly. He could roughly understand the logic behind this approach. So, that’s why combat cities could always precisely find the cities where they could strike, because from the beginning, they were already prepared to attack.
“It’s fine, let’s just go in directly.” Zhang Guangshi raised his hand and took out a small black box. The gatekeeper in the distance, upon seeing the black box, nodded in acknowledgment, signaling that they could enter. Zhang Guangshi turned back to them and said, “We’re allowed in.”
He Fang frowned. This was already the second time he had seen that small black box appear in Zhang Guangshi’s hand.
Back before they left Hope City, the box had made an appearance once. Zhang Guangshi had said it was a kind of positioning guide—something that allowed those who left Light City to find their way back again using it. At the time, He Fang hadn’t asked much, but now it had been taken out again, and clearly, the people inside had already recognized it.
He Fang glanced at Chong Xiao and Chong Ying. On the faces of these two brothers, he found no expression that could be described as a reaction.
Just as Zhang Guangshi said, they were allowed to enter the city, and the city had already opened its gates for them.
But it wasn’t until entering Light City that He Fang truly felt how terrifyingly dilapidated this place was. Its outer walls bore many signs of having been attacked—patches of repairs could be seen everywhere. With the city in this condition, He Fang couldn’t believe it was capable of withstanding the parasitic invasion of Nightmare Beast seeds.
He Fang was thinking that there should still be quite a few children of those from Arrival City living here in Light City. If Light City could be brought under Hope City’s jurisdiction, perhaps many families could finally be reunited.
This small mobile city of a hundred thousand people fully displayed its state of decay. Only when He Fang saw the city with his own eyes did he finally understand why Zhang Guangshi, as a messenger, appeared so thin and frail.
“Everyone, my task was to bring you here, and I’ve now completed it perfectly. Due to the unique nature of Light City, from here on, you’ll need to proceed on your own. Please go ahead—there will be guidance provided along your way,” Zhang Guangshi said, giving a deep bow to He Fang and the other two. “I wish the three esteemed guests would find Light City satisfactory.”
Zhang Guangshi left. His stooped, small frame looked as though he had merely completed a task, leaving without a trace of sentiment.
As He Fang watched him walk away, a hand suddenly grasped his—it was Chong Ying’s hand. Chong Ying held his tightly and, at that moment, removed his mask.
Unlike Chong Xiao’s gloomy, unreadable eyes that made it impossible to tell whether he was a Nightmare Beast, Chong Ying’s eyes were bright. Yet now, those eyes were filled with intense vigilance. He was scanning the surroundings, and his sharp gaze seemed like it could cut through Light City’s tattered walls and see the scenes hidden beyond them.
“What’s wrong?” He Fang asked.
“No matter what happens, don’t take off your armor,” Chong Ying said, gripping He Fang’s arm tightly. He Fang noticed that the young NPC was completely tense, as if facing a formidable enemy.
He Fang found it strange, but vaguely recalled that Zhang Guangshi also didn’t seem to have removed his armor at any point.
Chong Xiao started walking ahead, and Chong Ying followed. The two brothers, linked in thought and action, stepped forward almost in perfect sync. He Fang’s heart was uneasy. He had a faint sense that something was off about the current situation. But since he had entrusted things to Chong Xiao and Chong Ying, he wouldn’t question it further.
He Fang felt that the surroundings were eerily quiet. Unlike every other city he had entered, where there were always streams of people coming and going, Light City was completely at odds with its name. The entire city was so silent it was frightening, as if it hadn’t moved at all.
Through a nearby window, he could see people working hard, but all he could see were their backs. These backs worked diligently, their movements appearing extremely uniform, like machines.
Even though there were people all around, the place felt dark and devoid of life.
He Fang felt uncomfortable with every step he took. This feeling… it was strangely familiar.
He Fang noticed the walls of Light City. Though they were still made of metal, they were completely covered in old grime, and rust stains were scattered everywhere. The entire corridor was particularly dim and gloomy.
“Respected guests, please turn left.” As they passed a fork in the path, an electronic voice immediately gave them directions.
At every subsequent fork, they heard more electronic prompts. He Fang opened his system map—it was still plotting the route he had just taken.
“Brother.” Chong Ying, still holding He Fang’s hand, suddenly looked up and called out to Chong Xiao. Chong Xiao didn’t stop walking, but he gave a small nod.
He Fang had no idea what these two overly in-sync brothers had just communicated with such a simple exchange.
He wanted to ask, but held back.
He Fang realized that they were moving straight toward the center of Light City without any twists or turns. It was a direct path.
The closer they got to the center, the more suffocating He Fang felt. It was probably this strange atmosphere that made it so hard to breathe. It was too oppressive, completely lacking the ferocity and vitality of the battle city, Scorching Sun City.
And finally, they stood before a door.
“Brother.” Chong Ying called out once more.
Chong Xiao halted in his steps, and He Fang saw the other pull a weapon from his waist.
What shocked He Fang, however, was that it wasn’t the usual black long blade Chong Xiao frequently wielded—but rather, a weapon meant for fighting Nightmare Beasts!
The radiant glow of the anti-Nightmare Beast weapon illuminated everything in its reach with an intensely bright light. In such a narrow and dark space, suddenly unleashing this kind of brightness—had He Fang not been clad in armor, he felt his eyes might have been blinded in an instant.
Then, He Fang felt himself being embraced by Chong Ying.
“Chong Ying?” Just as He Fang was puzzled, Chong Ying unexpectedly dragged him behind Chong Xiao.
“City Lord, no matter what, please don’t let go of my brother.” The youthful face of Chong Ying, now slightly stripped of its childishness, was filled with solemnity.
“What’s going on?” He Fang instinctively wrapped his arms around Chong Xiao’s neck. At that moment, Chong Ying seemed to input something into He Fang’s armor, which somehow bound him more securely to Chong Xiao’s back.
“City Lord.” Chong Ying’s voice was filled with struggle, and then he clenched his teeth and said to He Fang, “In the entire Light City, not a single soul survived.”
He Fang’s mind went blank. “What?”
A shadow passed through Chong Ying’s eyes. “No—there is. Zhang Guangshi!”
An indescribable shock flashed in He Fang’s gaze. He suddenly noticed that, likely due to the intense illumination, those ‘rust stains’ on the walls were actually fading away bit by bit.
He Fang’s heart took a heavy blow. For something to react like this to an anti-Nightmare Beast weapon—it could only be Nightmare Beast seeds!
The moment He Fang understood, Chong Xiao fiercely slashed open the door ahead. The sharp weapon designed to slay Nightmare Beasts instantly tore the entire door apart. At the same time, what burst forth from within was a massive creature that had already lost its human form!
It was a Nightmare Beast!
Because He Fang was clinging tightly to Chong Xiao’s back, his line of sight was almost identical to Chong Xiao’s. He watched, eyes wide open, as that massive and terrifying monster revealed muscles even more grotesquely developed than those of an ordinary human. Its eyes, completely devoid of any human emotion, stripped of any light, stared straight into the depths of He Fang’s own.
At the same time, with one swift motion of his blade, Chong Xiao’s strike cleanly sliced the fully mutated Nightmare Beast into pieces using the anti-Nightmare Beast weapon.
Yet what appeared before He Fang was not blood or death, but countless Nightmare Beast seeds. The black seeds instantly consumed the severed flesh, multiplying by the hundreds and thousands, all falling to the ground.
In that moment, the words Chong Ying had spoken—”no one survived”—flashed through his mind.
This was the very center of the Light City.
The true heart of the not-very-large city, the one place that was supposed to be absolutely secure and impenetrable.
And yet, that monstrously strong creature—likely once a manager or overseer of Light City—had already turned into a Nightmare Beast!
At that moment, all the “people” who had previously shown no reaction suddenly appeared before their eyes. And it was only then that He Fang remembered—ever since they had entered this place, not once had they seen any of those people’s faces. And now, all of them had turned into Nightmare Beasts!
“Brother!” Chong Ying called out.
Chong Xiao gave Chong Ying a light nod.
At that moment, Chong Ying glanced at He Fang.
He Fang seemed to sense it, and somehow his eyes met Chong Ying’s.
“City Lord, don’t be afraid.” Chong Ying gave He Fang a gentle smile. Then, he turned around—and the anti-Nightmare Beast weapon he carried with him erupted with dazzling force. He Fang watched, wide-eyed, as Chong Ying disappeared into the blinding white light and the darkness of the Nightmare Beast seeds.
He Fang clung tightly to Chong Xiao’s back with both hands and feet, gripping with all his strength. He shut his eyes, not wanting to see those Nightmare Beasts swarming forward in wave after wave, trying to implant their seeds into them.
Nightmare Beasts could rapidly force out all of a human’s latent potential, so it wasn’t surprising at all that the people in front of him had transformed into such horrifying shapes.
But to see humans twisted into those forms was something He Fang never wanted to witness, no matter what.
Min Zhizhou had told him countless times about the Nightmare Beasts, and those words still echoed in his ears: Nightmare Beasts didn’t completely lose the ability to think. They retained the mental faculties they had while alive, but their goal had changed. Now, it was parasitism.
They were fully aware that they had become Nightmare Beasts, yet they did not resist it. On the contrary, they believed they had willingly chosen this fate and were ready to sacrifice their lives to spread the Nightmare Beast seeds. They had lost all belief, all sense of self. From the moment they were parasitized, they were already dead.
From the time they entered Light City to the moment they reached the very center, all these Nightmare Beasts had been enduring it.
Suppressing their overwhelming urge to parasitize, just to ensure everything would go smoothly.
Who told them it had to go perfectly?
Who told them about this plan, back when they were still human?
If he himself were parasitized, or if someone from his own people came here and got parasitized, they would, without hesitation, turn back toward his Hope City—and spread the seeds to every innocent person there.
This was a conspiracy.
A conspiracy that might not even succeed.
And yet, for the sake of this one plot, they had directly sacrificed the entire Light City. A mobile city that still held hope. Over a hundred thousand people!
He Fang suddenly saw Zhang Guangshi’s gaunt face flash through his mind. He immediately opened the system panel to locate him, only to see, with his own eyes, that Zhang Guangshi was already outside Light City!
What else was there to not understand?
He Fang gritted his teeth. Zhang Guangshi actually lied to him? He Fang remembered a conversation between Chong Ying and Chong Xiao earlier. Had they already discovered that Zhang Guangshi had escaped?
But He Fang couldn’t understand it at all. All of Zhang Guangshi’s information had been fully displayed in front of him, so how could he have been deceived? How had Zhang Guangshi managed to escape from a swarm of Nightmare Beasts?
Was it a new technology?
Damn Zhang Guangshi! But then, He Fang became confused again. If Chong Xiao and the others had found out Zhang Guangshi had run—why didn’t they stop him?
Then, a possibility crossed He Fang’s mind. Could it be that they let him escape on purpose? To let the enemy take the bait?
Was this… the Chong brothers’ decision?
Were they growing up?
He Fang could feel every movement of Chong Xiao beneath him. Chong Xiao was fast—so fast that even when He Fang occasionally opened his eyes, he couldn’t make out anything clearly ahead. Armed with only a single anti–Nightmare Beast weapon, Chong Xiao was somehow cutting a path through a space once filled with a hundred thousand people, invincible and unhindered.
This was the first time He Fang had seen Chong Xiao fight from this perspective. That speed was something no normal human could possess. He Fang figured his armor must be doing something to cushion his physical condition. Otherwise, he probably would’ve already vomited. Partly from the violent motion, and partly from the nonstop horrific scenes flashing before his eyes.
Chong Xiao wasn’t just fighting the Nightmare Beasts. He was even attacking the walls and the floor. This narrow passage made of metal—before him, it was like a city made of sliced bread, effortlessly carved open. Because of this, new Nightmare Beasts kept appearing from above and below.
Suddenly, He Fang realized—perhaps Chong Xiao wasn’t escaping at all. He was making sure that every single Nightmare Beast trying to flee… would be left behind.
He Fang suddenly had a strange and bold thought. Could it be that Chong Xiao intended to eliminate all the Nightmare Beasts in the entire Light City?
Yet He Fang also felt that if this was true, it might actually be the right choice. Light City had already completely turned into a city of Nightmare Beasts. For those Nightmare Beasts who still retained human thoughts, if they used the city as a carrier to approach other cities, just a few gatekeepers wouldn’t be able to stop them. When that happened, a city war was bound to break out. If they won, it might be okay—but if they lost, it would only mean the Nightmare Beast cities would spread even further.
Cold sweat broke out all over He Fang’s body, and his fingers clenched tightly.
Had the people behind this considered such a risk?
Or were they really just madmen?
When an eyeball suddenly appeared right before He Fang’s eyes, all his thoughts were shattered. His breath caught, his heart skipped a beat, and his mind went blank. True death was appearing right in front of him—utterly unstoppable.
But in the next moment, Chong Xiao shattered a wall, and sunlight suddenly poured in.
They had reached the edge of the wall.
Chong Xiao stood by the wall. Before He Fang, the shattered limbs and broken arms were all replaced by an orange glow. In that instant, from the high place in Light City, he saw a beautiful sunset.
Stunned by the sudden shift to this breathtaking scene, He Fang briefly lost the ability to speak.
Chong Xiao removed the mask he had been wearing on his face all along. The mask was clean and spotless—just like Chong Xiao himself, who remained clean even after bursting out from the inside.
He Fang instinctively looked at Chong Xiao. His profile was handsome, utterly elegant to the point of being hopelessly charming. Yet, no matter how beautiful the sunset was, it still could not illuminate the pitch-black pupils of Chong Xiao’s eyes, as if he were a monster born to exist in darkness.
At this moment, Chong Xiao slightly glanced to the side, and He Fang suddenly met those pupils, constantly filled with black. But what he saw was not coldness—the glow of the sunset actually shone into his eyes, and He Fang’s bright armor seemed to penetrate into Chong Xiao’s pupils.
It was as if…
Chong Xiao was looking at him.
Only at him.
The fear that had just manifested moments ago disappeared without a trace. He Fang blinked, as if vaguely sensing something.
However, this time his vision was suddenly blocked by a mask gradually covering his face.
The last thing remaining in his sight was that beautiful sunset, and Chong Xiao’s eyes beneath it.
He felt the mask being pressed down, seemingly to secure it, and the next moment, He Fang sensed Chong Xiao turn around and rush back into Light City.
He didn’t know how long the battle lasted, but his fear was gone. It felt like he was simply sitting in a somewhat bumpy vehicle, without a shred of insecurity.
He Fang opened the system map, only able to watch the current situation from it. He was puzzled to see Chong Ying continuously running along the edge of the city, moving even faster than before, with no clear purpose.
Suddenly, He Fang felt the bumps lessen again. He glanced at the system map and realized they were actually moving away from Light City.
At that moment, He Fang noticed the mask being lifted.
He instinctively looked up, only to see an endless starry sky.
Chong Xiao pressed down lightly on He Fang’s head with one hand, and He Fang followed the force to lower his gaze.
He gasped sharply—They were flying!
They were actually soaring in midair?!
Before He Fang’s shock could even be fully expressed, suddenly a massive sphere of light enveloped the entire Light City!
Thanks to his armor, He Fang’s eyes could look directly at the glowing source. That enormous orb of light displayed an unparalleled beauty right before his eyes.
The whole scene was overwhelming.
But amid the awe, what He Fang felt was an indescribable desolation.
He closed his eyes and mourned.
The destruction of a city is so simple.
It only took two people.
While Chong Xiao kept all the Nightmare Beasts inside the city focused on him, preventing any that seemed normal from escaping, Chong Ying was constantly placing Nightmare Beast weapons around the perimeter.
Their Nightmare Beast weaponry was already highly advanced. This time, the entire Light City, turned completely into a Nightmare Beast city, would have no chance of escape.
Chong Xiao landed beside Chong Ying, who was slightly panting, a faint flush still coloring his cheeks. This was the first time He Fang had seen Chong Ying look tired.
Chong Ying met He Fang’s gaze briefly, but immediately looked away.
Under the immense light, Chong Ying’s expression was fully exposed, unable to hide anything.
“Sorry, City Lord.” Chong Ying whispered his apology, the young boy lowering his eyes slightly. “We can only kill them—the Nightmare Beasts. They are no longer living people.”
“Then why are you apologizing to me?” He Fang stepped down from Chong Xiao’s back. His legs were numb and nearly gave out, but Chong Xiao grabbed his arm, helping him steady himself with his strength. He Fang looked up, and at that moment, Chong Xiao slightly averted his gaze.
“We couldn’t think of a better way.” Chong Ying sounded like a child completely at a loss, unsure of what to do, showing his helplessness before an adult. “My brother and I have only ever learned to rely on our own abilities. Although we really want to live up to your expectations, City Lord, we truly have no other way. We only know how to destroy. If it were you, City Lord, maybe you would have a better plan, maybe even a way to restore the Nightmare Beasts to humans. But we only know this…”
He Fang’s eyes widened slightly, disbelief flooding his gaze.
Chong Ying didn’t even dare raise his head. He looked so nervous that it seemed his clothes might tear apart.
“Why do you think I have a way to restore the Nightmare Beasts? I’m not a god.” He Fang felt as if, in Chong Ying’s calculation, he had become omnipotent. “I don’t think what you did was wrong. Even if it means killing these hundred thousand Nightmare Beasts, if it were me, I would give the same order.
You only started acting after entering the city center, at least you confirmed whether anyone survived, and that is enough.
Force might not be the best choice, but it is still a choice.
Maybe many things can be resolved peacefully, but without force as a foundation, peace is an illusion. Sometimes, force is also a method.
You did well. Very… impressive. I’m proud.”
