Chapter 66

“`

The legendary disaster actually looked like this.

Back in the familiar warehouse, Fu Qian closed his eyes, recalling the scene he had just witnessed.

Merely glancing at it caused his SAN Points to drop continuously; the Flesh Tree that appeared on the mountain top must be of a fairly high rank.

In just that brief moment, he lost a full dozen or more SAN Points.

The last time he encountered a similar situation was with that spawn of the Evil God.

If he hadn’t upgraded to a 2/3 Thug, greatly increasing his mental resistance, his SAN Points would have been almost depleted just now.

Was that tree the object of sacrifice behind the Evil Omen?

Recalling how the members of the Huang Family stood rigidly, looking up at the sky—the sight was truly bizarre and abnormal.

And Xi Yuan City as a whole was probably no different.

Perhaps some people didn’t see it at first, but like just now, those who were affected couldn’t warn others, and those unaffected always wanted to see what was going on.

In the end, they would line up one by one to become idiots, leaving a city of walking corpses.

Is this the true form of a Calamity? It’s definitely more imaginative than a volcanic eruption!

And much more terrifying!

So, the Evil Omen continuously killed and sacrificed people just to bring this thing to come forth?

No, not necessarily to come forth.

Like that time with the spawn of the Evil God, creating such a big impact and still needing a carrier to have a chance of birth.

How could such an existence, which seems much more terrifying, possibly descend upon us by killing a few Transcendents?

Maybe it’s always been there, simply imperceptible, untouchable, and uncommunicable.

And what the Evil Omen has been doing is not making it descend, but making it seen!

By constantly torturing and sacrificing, the Evil Omen accumulated enough power after killing Huang Jianyuan and his group, removing some kind of barrier, making the tree appear before everyone.

“The dangerous Evil Omen is lurking, and with it, Calamity converges.”

Is this the true meaning of lurking?

Regardless, losing a dozen or more SAN Points in one go means this trip could be considered a heavy loss.

But it wasn’t entirely without gain, at least he got a name.

Huang Yuanchang.

Fu Qian recalled the roster he had seen earlier, and the name was on it.

If he remembered correctly, this person was also a Transcendent from the Huang Family, but with mediocre talent, unable to cultivate the family’s inherited Emperor Energy and thus not considered a core member of the family.

Given the current situation, his suspicions could be said to be extremely high.

The mission timeline was much tighter than he had anticipated; there was no time to eliminate every possibility one by one. Next time, he would go straight for him as the target, kill him first and ask questions later.

As long as he avoided looking up at the sky, he had enough chances to try and err.

Speaking of which, Fu Qian always had a question in his mind.

With this type of mission, the difficulty usually lies in finding the person. Once the target is locked, the rest is simply a matter of how to crush them.

Even without thinking, just by repeating the process several times, using the process of elimination could easily lock down the target.

Theoretically, it is still the simplest type of mission.

So why does the introduction contain the phrase “regardless of whether there is a way” that sounds so desperate?

Could it be that the Evil Omen is so strong that it’s completely impossible to kill?

Impossible!

If it were indeed an invincible entity, they would have simply gone on a rampage; why bother being chased and forced to dodge and hide by the Night Watchman?

As Fu Qian pondered, he once again touched the Mist Gate.

[1 SAN Point consumed, attempting containment again, current SAN Points 41]

[…1%…3%…7%…15%…31%…63%…100%, containment scene loading complete]

“Sir, please enjoy your meal.”

The familiar voice rang in his ears, Fu Qian opened his eyes, and the restaurant where the bloodshed had occurred appeared before him again.

Inhaling the aroma of the food deeply, Fu Qian did the same as he had done last time, picking up the work meal from the plate and putting it into his mouth to soothe his wounded heart.

While enjoying the food, he looked in the direction of the incident based on his memory.

In the corner of the restaurant, a young and slender figure in a black dress sat upright, her back elegantly poised, and the position opposite her was empty, just as he had seen before.

“`

And the next moment, as if growing impatient with the wait, the figure picked up the cup on the table and took a sip.

Hmm?

Hmm-hmm!

He actually didn’t die?

Fu Qian’s eyes sharpened.

Compared to last time, his actions hadn’t changed at all, yet a person who was supposed to be dead was now alive!

Something was off with this world line; it was his first time encountering such a situation.

Fu Qian tried looking outside the restaurant, and soon noticed Lu Jun and company passing by.

However, these two showed no intention of coming in, instead hurrying away.

Last time, they must have noticed something odd in the restaurant and that’s why they entered, but this time, possibly because Geng Yue hadn’t died, they didn’t come in.

What could be the reason?

Fu Qian’s mind began to race.

Compared to last time, his behavior could be said to have no difference, and in theory, it shouldn’t have any effect on the normal course of events.

Moreover, based on last time’s experience, this woman should have died before he regained awareness; otherwise, it made no sense that he hadn’t noticed the killing process at such a close range.

But this time she definitely hadn’t died; something must have caused this situation.

Wait a minute, experience!

An idea flashed through Fu Qian’s mind.

If there was any difference between himself now and last time, it was that in the last attempt, he had learned a few names.

For instance, Huang Yuanchang, for instance, Ryu Xing.

Just because he knew the names of the Evil Omen, this woman hadn’t died?

Su Gao had once mentioned that Evil Omens have an animal-like intuition for danger, which is how they repeatedly escaped from the Night Watchman.

If these changes were due to that, then the gift of the Evil Omen might be more than just intuition.

This mission was getting more and more interesting!

Fu Qian thought for a moment, then stood up and walked straight towards the woman in the corner, pulling out the chair opposite her and sitting down.

“I’m sorry, I’m waiting for someone…”

Geng Yue, clearly in a bad mood and about to impatiently shoo the person away, suddenly realized that the wine glass in her hand had somehow ended up in the hands of the man opposite her.

“Drinking before meals isn’t good for your health.”

Fu Qian looked into the cup as if nothing was amiss.

“Miss, are you waiting for someone?”

This guy is no ordinary person!

Geng Yue’s eyes lit up, and after three seconds, she sighed, shook her head, and appeared on the verge of tears.

“Yes, but I’m afraid that person won’t be coming.”

“That’s really quite rude!”

Fu Qian nodded and scanned her from head to toe, not missing any detail.

Feeling his piercing gaze, Geng Yue was secretly thrilled and quickly adjusted her emotions, doing her utmost to present herself in the most graceful manner possible.

After observing for a while, Geng Yue felt smug, her lips curled slightly as she was about to speak, only to see the wine glass being pushed back towards her.

“Then you should drink a little more.”

…?

Geng Yue was momentarily confused and had not realized what had happened before Fu Qian had already drifted away.

Indeed, there was something special around her neck.

Fu Qian, leaving the venue, recalled the scene he had just witnessed.

On Geng Yue’s delicate and slender neck, there was a barely detectable ripple of energy.

It originated from a transparent pattern beneath the necklace, barely distinguishable from the skin; it wasn’t noticeable at all without close inspection.

The pattern encircled her neck, the texture somewhat similar to what he had seen in Ryu Xing’s small workshop before.

Ninety-nine point nine percent chance that it was drawn by her husband, Ryu Xing, unbeknownst to her.

And this object imbued with Talismanic Power would activate at a certain time, neatly severing her head from her neck.