Chapter 25: The Siye Society in Action
In a boundless darkness resembling an abyss, huge “bubbles” envelop the city like a thin veil, obscuring visibility and creating a haze.
Above the city shrouded in the gigantic “bubble,” a bizarre scene is unfolding.
Writhing dark red flesh, akin to a colossal serpent that devours worlds, coils atop the “bubble” shell, continuously intercepting shadows fleeing through the broken gaps of the “bubble.”
Then…
They divide, replicate, and abandon, as if searching for something.
Thus, countless shadows, tainted by the flesh of the Inheritance Beasts, continue to float upward, merging into the darkness, disappearing from sight.
Amidst this, a dark and ugly little fish darts back and forth through the vast space.
Before those shadows make contact with the dark red flesh, it uses its small body to intercept, collide, and shatter them.
Such special spaces created by high-level urban legends have existed since ancient times.
For instance, the king KAKUDMI who traveled to the celestial palace as recorded in the epic of Mahabharata, and the account in Liezi, where King Mu of Zhou was taken by a divine being to a place where “the sun and moon cannot be seen above, and rivers and seas cannot be seen below,” are both examples of this.
According to the system’s knowledge, those absurdly powerful urban legends often blend their own authority into the creation of special spaces, and the Inheritance Beast is currently seeking potential shards of authority from the scattered shadows.
If it finds them, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Without a host, the system cannot stop the Inheritance Beast; all it can do is to destroy those scattered shadows as much as possible to reduce its chances of finding the authority shards.
Suddenly, the spirit energy fluctuations permeating the darkness stirred restlessly.
The system’s body stiffened, and it looked up at the darkness, lips moving, “d*mn it! Again? How many times is this now? What on earth is that?”
While speaking, a star-like light abruptly emerged from the turmoil of spirit energy in the darkness, slowly ascending, only to swiftly plunge down, trailing a golden tail flame and blinding radiance, crashing toward the “bubble.”
This was the seventh time the system had witnessed such a strange phenomenon; that streak, resembling a falling star, repeatedly charged toward the “bubble,” being intercepted again and again by the Inheritance Beast’s flesh, seemingly unbothered.
“…”
That insignificant woman who could play mobile games while watching the world end must be thrilled at the repetitive scenes resembling card drawing, right?
The system silently mocked, and its dead-fish eyes suddenly trembled.
This time, that streak of light was actually flying straight toward it.
“d*mn!?”
The system exclaimed, hastily bending its body, its tail fin violently shaking left and right, and with a thunderous blast, it shot forward like a cannonball.
In an instant, the light brushed past the system, the brilliant glow radiating onto its body.
Like an illusion, a voice rang in its mind.
“Hello, could I ask you for a favor?”
The system was momentarily stunned, and the lifeless eyes suddenly gleamed.
It was a misty water vapor, refracting a warm golden light.
Although Gu Qiqi tends to eat a lot, shirking responsibilities, and has the slowest growth rate among the previous hosts, aside from being unusually diligent and overflowing with justice, she almost has no other merits.
However, being able to hear her voice again made the system emotionally choked up, tears welling up in its eyes.
“Gu Qiqi?”
“Eh? It’s not Gu Xixi! It’s Gu Xiliu,” the voice corrected.
The system paused, “Who?”
“It’s, it’s Gu Xiliu…” the voice weakly repeated.
The system, “…”
Changing just one character and pretending to be a stranger here? Just like you, Gu Qiqi!
Your brain is still as unsmart as ever!
But knowing that Gu Qiqi is still alive is a good thing!
The system felt a bit pleased but then recalled the stone tablet inside it that bore Gu Qiqi’s name, a wave of strong embarrassment quietly rising in its heart…
Absolutely, I can’t let her know about this! the system thought.
————
Early morning, Huacheng Central Hospital, in a certain independent laboratory.
“Bang bang bang—bang bang bang—!”
A series of sounds from a metallic tray striking the side of the bed echoed in the laboratory.
An Qing, who had been closing her eyes to rest, suddenly opened them and looked at the pale-faced Silver Horn on the hospital bed.
“What’s wrong? Did you discover something?” An Qing asked.
“I… uh… no…” Silver Horn opened his mouth but couldn’t form a complete sentence after a long pause.
“Bang—!”
As if vexed at himself, a flash of irritation crossed Silver Horn’s eyes, and he struck the side of the bed again with the metal tray, then opened his mouth toward An Qing.
An Qing peered into his mouth and felt her heart tighten.
Inside Silver Horn’s mouth, an excessive amount of teeth had grown, and two tongues were intertwined.
The proliferation of tissue in his o*al cavity had robbed him of the ability to speak; although he had made a significant discovery, he could now say nothing to An Qing.
Seeing An Qing’s expression change, Silver Horn confirmed she understood his situation and turned his head, raising an eyebrow toward the pen holder on the desk not far away.
An Qing paused for a moment, then quickly understood Silver Horn’s meaning, “Paper and pen, right? Hold on, I’ll get them!”
Saying this, An Qing hurried over to the desk, grabbed the paper and pen, propped up the table over Silver Horn’s bed, and placed it in front of him.
Silver Horn struggled to sit up, taking a deep breath, and began to write.
……
【After injecting the special substance extracted from the Nightfall Syndrome research sample into my body that night, I began to experience sleep function disorders, which is a sign of an infectious disease.
About two hours later, I felt a certain foreign tissue with spirit energy fluctuations proliferating inside me, attempting to replicate my spirit pattern powers.
It seems to randomly enter biological entities through dreams, attempting to replicate all powers it comes into contact with.
This is also one of the reasons why patients with Nightfall Syndrome ultimately exhibit abnormal proliferation of limbs.
To verify its various properties more quickly, I deliberately released the spirit patterns for it to replicate, accelerating the progression of the disease.
The moment I released my spirit energy defense, its replication speed suddenly increased by more than ten times!】
Upon reading this, An Qing’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Silver Horn in shock, “So now, your body…”
Silver Horn smiled wryly at An Qing and continued writing.
【Don’t worry, I’m fine; I won’t d*e.
My spirit patterns can create life-saving medicine, so naturally, I can also manufacture lethal poison. It is still feasible to preset slight toxicity into a power.
Uh, you can think of this process as the copying of DNA double strands before cell division, using my powers as a template.
When I granted my powers some toxicity using spirit pattern skills, it was as if the DNA mutated malignantly, thus it would gradually ‘poison’ during replication.
Fortunately, it seems its intelligence is not high; it actually fell for it, copying the intended toxin alongside my powers.
While it rapidly replicates, I also began to delve deeper into it by analyzing the changes in my spirit energy fluctuations.
Just earlier, I reached the conclusion I desired.】
Upon reaching this point, An Qing’s eyes lit up, and she took two quick steps forward.
Silver Horn smiled at her, signaling her to be patient, then continued to write.
【I can now confirm that this Nightfall Syndrome is infectious, spreading similarly to parasites. Those with spiritual ability potential are the most susceptible, followed by ordinary individuals; plants, animals, and even buildings can also be infected.
Based on current data, as long as patients have not entered the limb proliferation stage, they can use combinations of certain alchemical potions to deactivate the creature within their bodies and suppress the Nightfall Syndrome.
Later, I will use my spirit pattern abilities to produce corresponding suppressive potions; you only need to find a spiritual ability user proficient in alchemy to analyze the potion’s components to create identical potions.
Once mass-produced, spraying throughout Huacheng and adding it to daily water consumption can help contain the spread of the disease.
However, this is predicated on the organism’s activity not increasing further.
Moreover, the current outbreak of Nightfall Syndrome is triggered by the tissue of a certain incorporeal urban legend, exhibiting parasitic characteristics, and is highly active.
Simply suppressing the disease presents another significant issue.
Patients whose conditions are suppressed won’t d*e from Nightfall Syndrome; however, the urban legend’s organism, as well as the alchemical potion used to suppress the organism’s activity, will have residuals, causing short-term infected individuals’ spiritual abilities to appear falsely heightened.
The residuals of the alchemical potion can be neglected.
As for the remnants of the urban legend organism, it is necessary to locate and hunt that urban legend to prevent it from evolving in the future and reawakening the remaining organisms.
I have a list of known urban legends that can replicate the powers of other spiritual ability users and urban legends, which can be prioritized for investigation.
Later, please help me pass it to the Inspector General; she will compare and investigate in the database.
Additionally… prepare a high-spec isolation room for me; I need to be alone for a while.】
“Alone for a while?” An Qing hesitated, casting a suspicious glance at Silver Horn.
He wouldn’t be thinking of giving up and waiting to d*e alone, would he? An Qing thought.
Silver Horn smiled wryly and wrote another paragraph.
【I need to take a powerful medicine for myself; otherwise, I won’t be able to cure the Nightfall Syndrome inside me.
This medicine is highly toxic, and to prevent the toxicity from spreading, a high-spec isolation room is necessary.】
After reading what Silver Horn wrote, An Qing took a deep breath and nodded, “I understand; leave it to me!”
“Ha…” Silver Horn let out a faint, ambiguous laugh, wrote down the urban legend list he had surmised, then closed his eyes, slipping into a deep sleep—his breathing quickly dropping to a freezing point, as if he had died.
————
One hour later.
In Jin Guan City, Siye Society’s southwest headquarters, Inspector General’s office.
【…Suspected urban legends: Inheritance Beast, Bionic Monster.
The Inheritance Beast is suspected to be held by the Solar Eclipse Society; based on current leads, I have tasked Gold Horn with an investigation.
The Bionic Monster appeared three months ago in the Shanhaiguan area, requesting local Siye Society’s cooperation in the investigation.
Above, Xing Yuan.】
After clicking to upload the report, Xing Yuan slumped in her chair, letting out a long breath.
After comparing the power characteristics and recent movements of the five urban legends listed by Silver Horn, she narrowed it down to two.
Although investigating the movements of the two urban legends simultaneously would still require significant manpower and resources, it was manageable within the Siye Society’s capacity.
After uploading the report, she rested for about three minutes before sitting up straight again, picking up the golden Gray Owl Badge on her desk, lightly touching it, and sending a message to her subordinate responsible for contacting over twenty alchemists.
“How’s the progress?”
“Inspector General, everything is going smoothly; we expect to start distribution by noon at the latest tomorrow.”
“Very good!” Xing Yuan smirked slightly, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes, casually saying, “Tell them to use whatever materials they want from the warehouse; if it’s not enough, I’ll personally supplement it!”
“Understood!”
After briefly inquiring about the progress of the potion’s production, Xing Yuan settled at her desk, clasping her hands under her chin, fixating on the golden Gray Owl Badge on the table, waiting for Gold Horn’s reply.
Time flowed slowly by as she waited; roughly half an hour later, the golden Gray Owl Badge suddenly vibrated, emitting a buzzing sound on the table.
“Buzz buzz—!”
Xing Yuan reached out and lightly touched the badge, and Gold Horn’s voice sounded in her ear.
“Boss! We’ve pinpointed that guy’s location; he’s in a frozen warehouse on the outskirts of Moon City!”
“Very good!” Xing Yuan nodded slightly, a streak of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes, she said softly, “Then let’s make our move!”
“Don’t worry; for Silver Horn, I’ll turn that grandson into meat paste!”
————
Morning light in Huacheng.
“Recently, a new type of H1N1 influenza has emerged in Huacheng. A curfew will be implemented citywide starting March 7 at 5 PM… Citizens experiencing symptoms such as insomnia, vivid dreams, mental lethargy, abnormal limb pain, or proliferation should seek the nearest large hospital…”
Jiang Li quietly finished reading the news report, closed her laptop, and turned to the isolation room, her gaze landing on the now purple-gray Silver Horn, frowning.
“Qing Sister, I’ve basically arranged everything on my side. Has he shown any signs of waking up?”
After grasping enough information about the outbreak of Nightfall Syndrome, Huacheng quickly activated emergency measures and announced them via television, the internet, and text messages.
The Special Action Team was also dispatched throughout the city, isolating patients and suspected patients by region.
Though a bit rushed and suspicious, it was the only course of action; only by effectively controlling the public could they possibly administer the potion to everyone.
However, since the public perceived Nightfall Syndrome as nearly incurable, to avoid panic and chaos and prevent the situation from worsening, the announcement only stated that a new type of H1N1 influenza had appeared.
In fact, even so, supermarkets and shopping malls throughout Huacheng had already witnessed looting before the lockdown.
Some unscrupulous individuals even attempted to leave Huacheng with their household registers before the city was sealed.
Thanks to the police and the Eye of Heaven System’s assistance, along with standard spirit energy items used by the Siye Society for enemy tracking, and with Bai Kai, known as “the fastest in Huacheng,” and Li Xuan, who claimed to be “the Takumi Fujiwara of Huacheng,” as long as they weren’t using teleportation spells or flying in the stratosphere, they could catch anyone!
Inside the entire southwest region of the Siye Society, alchemists had been working tirelessly for the past eight to nine hours, and the potion to suppress Nightfall Syndrome was nearly complete.
Not staying put in Huacheng and waiting for the potion while running around was sheer recklessness!
An Qing glanced at the unconscious Silver Horn, shaking her head in resignation at Jiang Li, “No, I estimate he won’t wake up for a while.”
“If this Nightfall Syndrome truly is as he analyzed, his special spirit pattern has merely caused him to fall into a coma, barely keeping him alive, which is already good enough.”
“…”
After silently staring at Silver Horn for a moment, Jiang Li stood up and said to An Qing, “Let’s leave it at that? You stay here to take care of him; I’ll be going.”
“I just received notification from Inspector Xing Yuan that they have locked onto the movements of the Solar Eclipse Society members manipulating the Inheritance Beast and have issued the Gray Owl signal. I need to go provide support.”
By the way, I should also ask Ahua and Du Sixian if they’ve managed to contact that guy… Jiang Li added in her mind.
Initially, the growth rate of Nightfall Syndrome patients in Huacheng was relatively slow, but starting this morning, there had been a notable increase, almost every hour adding three to four new cases.
In no time, the Siye Society and major hospitals in Huacheng were swamped and tangled up.
At such a time, as the king of urban legends capable of manipulating the geophysical aura of Huacheng, Luxianbei should have been the most likely to locate the urban legend that triggered the Nightfall Syndrome in a short time, yet he had vanished without a trace.
It was one thing for him to slack off as a wage thief in the Siye Society, which Jiang Li overlooked, but at a time like this, where was he? It felt like he was slacking off all the way to the Mariana Trench.
So infuriating!
————
On the outskirts of Moon City, inside an abandoned cold storage facility.
On the cold operating table piled high with indistinguishable flesh chunks, Beres stood covered in bl**d, excitement written all over his face.
After nearly a day’s careful study of that Nightfall Syndrome patient, he finally reached a conclusion that validated his suspicions.
“Sure enough, I was right! These Nightfall Syndrome patients all have the flesh of Inheritance Beasts! But why do they lose their physical form?”
“No, no, it must have found some fantastic template for replication!”
“I need to hurry back and see what it’s replicating!”
With that, Beres tossed the saw he had in hand with a clatter and quickly headed for the cold storage exit.
As he pushed open the door to the cold storage, he froze on the spot.
A man holding a golden gourd stood in the doorway, revealing a cold smile at him, “Hey, you think you can just leave? Have you asked your grandpa Gold Horn?”
Beres, “…”
