Chapter 122: Lighting the Torch

Han Meng froze.

He watched Chen Ling fly away and disappear into the thick fog. A moment later, he suddenly came back to his senses.

"Light the torch..." He repeated these words, as if thinking of something, and narrowed his eyes at the factory area in front of him.

Han Meng hesitated for a moment, thinking about whether to trust Chen Ling, this Twilight Society member, but he soon reached an answer... Although he didn't know what reason Chen Ling had to help him, at least, he had no reason to lie to him.

Things had reached this point, and Han Meng decided to take a gamble.

……

"What’s the casualty situation?"

Xi Renjie walked with weary steps, slowly returning to the street.

"We’re still counting... there are too many casualties, we can't calculate them for a while," an enforcer said bitterly. "But conservatively estimated, the casualties in District 3 this time account for at least one-third of the total population."

"One-third, huh..."

Xi Renjie nodded slightly.

"Any news from Chief Han Meng?"

"...Not yet. We’ve been calling, but there’s been no response."

Xi Renjie’s heart sank slightly. He subconsciously looked toward the steel mill. The thick fog flowed quietly, and no one knew what was behind this mist.

Just as he was about to say something, a rustling sound suddenly came from the distance.

"...Did you guys hear something?"

"Seems like it... and it’s getting closer to us."

"Why do I feel like the ground is shaking?"

"...Not good, scatter quickly!!"

In Xi Renjie’s field of vision, a giant shadow was outlined from the depths of the thick fog. He roared immediately, and several people retreated to the surroundings!

Boom—!!

A massive shadow centipede crashed through the thick fog, directly crushing the surrounding residential houses into ruins. The residents hiding inside didn't even have time to scream before they turned into puddles of flesh...

In the terrified gaze of the crowd, a giant centipede with ten thousand feet raised its head. Its dark red holes opened, and countless shadows extended like branches, grabbing at the people on the street.

This attack was too sudden. No one expected that such a massive shadow centipede would appear in the street district that had already been mostly cleared. Most didn't have time to escape before they were caught by the shadows.

Their hands were raised stiffly, clutching their own necks, using all their might to squeeze until their skin and blood vessels were twisted and deformed.

Crimson bloodshot veins spread over their eyeballs, their breathing gradually stopped... Finally, they turned into stiff corpses, falling into the swarming tide of shadows, and were swallowed without a trace in an instant.

Seeing this scene, those who were lucky enough to escape were stunned in place. Xi Renjie stared fixedly at the massive giant shadow, his heart sinking to the bottom.

"Brother Meng..."

This shadow centipede was likely the "matriarch" Han Meng had spoken of. And since the matriarch had rushed out of the factory area and appeared here, it meant Han Meng had died in battle... Despair was undisguised in Xi Renjie’s eyes.

With Han Meng dead, unless someone came from Aurora City, who else in District 3 could stop this matriarch?

He had tried his best to clear the streets, but he hadn't expected to end up like this... Xi Renjie stood there, his face ashen, like a puppet that had lost its soul.

Boom—!!

Just then, a torch reaching into the sky ignited from the depths of the thick fog, like a miniature sun, burning fiercely.

This fire was so massive and hot that even from such a long distance, one could see the existence of that light. The shadow centipedes swarming into the street district stopped simultaneously, turned their heads abruptly, and looked toward the direction of the fire.

The matriarch that had crushed the houses also turned around, its dark red holes staring at the direction of the torch. It hissed without hesitation, abandoned the people and the street district before it, and rushed straight toward the torch. The dense tide of shadows followed closely behind.

The shaken crowd was full of confusion at this moment. They stared blankly at the direction where those Calamities had retreated, unable to recover for a while.

"Go over and take a look!" Xi Renjie was the first to regain his clarity and chased rapidly into the thick fog.

The other enforcers looked at each other, and only a small half chose to follow. As they continued to advance, the torch in the thick fog became clearer.

"Officer Xi." A black-clad figure ran out from the crowd and followed Xi Renjie.

"Chen Ling?" Xi Renjie said in surprise when he saw the person. "Why are you here too?"

"I was resting, and when I saw the fire suddenly appear here, I rushed over immediately," Chen Ling said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Xi Renjie examined Chen Ling carefully for a few moments, confirmed that he was unharmed, and nodded.

"There might be danger ahead, be careful."

The outline of the factory area gradually appeared in everyone’s field of vision. The torch reaching into the sky was ignited from within the devastated steel mill workshop.

The high-temperature smelting furnaces in the workshop had all been smashed to the ground, and the raging fire had ignited the entire factory. The steel frames melted in the extremely high-temperature fire. From a distance, it looked like a sun burning on the ground.

In the raging fire, the two lines of gilded characters originally engraved at the entrance, [Tempered Steel Bones Through a Thousand Hammerings] and [Hard Work is the Most Glorious], gradually faded away... leaving only the golden characters at the very top remaining.

Beneath the slogan "Everything for Humanity," a figure in black stood before a sea of fire, a burning cigarette dangling from his lips. His eyes, sharp as blades, watched the surging tide of shadows rushing toward him.

"So, it really was lured here?" Han Meng muttered to himself.

He glanced at the ground beside him, where the [Heart of 6] playing card was being ignited by a stray spark, slowly turning to ash...

"Another favor owed..."

Han Meng let out a long sigh. He raised his gun, aiming at the rapidly approaching centipede matriarch. Under the pressure of its overwhelming aura, Han Meng’s own presence began to climb steadily!

Whether it was the result of breaking through and rebuilding, or the raging fire behind him igniting his will to fight once more, he felt a layer of restraint deep within his body begin to loosen, like a giant wave crashing against a dam, about to burst forth!

Bang—

A soft sound echoed from within Han Meng’s body, and a terrifying surge of mental power erupted!

On that black, heaven-reaching divine path, Han Meng’s suspended foot finally landed heavily on the fifth step. In an instant, his aura became more dazzling than the burning factory district. Even the frantically approaching shadow centipede matriarch instinctively halted its advance...

But now, even if they wanted to retreat, it was too late.

Because the figure in black before the sea of fire had already slowly raised his gun, aiming at the dark, oppressive tide of shadows.

"This time... it's my turn."