Chapter 122: Igniting the Torch

Han Meng was stunned.

He watched Chen Ling disappear into the thick fog, and only after a moment did he snap back to reality.

"Light the torch..." he muttered repeatedly, as if something had occurred to him, and squinted at the factory ahead.

Han Meng hesitated, wondering whether to trust Chen Ling, a member of the Twilight Society, but he quickly found his answer. Although he didn't know Chen Ling's reasons for helping him, there was no need for Chen Ling to deceive him. Given the situation, Han Meng decided to take a gamble.

"What's the casualty situation like?"

Xi Renjie slowly returned to the street, his steps heavy with fatigue.

"We're still counting... The casualties are too numerous to calculate quickly," an enforcer said bitterly. "But conservatively, the casualties in District Three this time account for at least a third of the total personnel."

"A 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 instinctively looked towards the steel factory. The thick fog still flowed quietly, its depths unknown to anyone.

Just as he was about to speak, a rustling sound suddenly came from afar.

"...Did you hear something?"

"Sounds like it... It's getting closer."

"Why do I feel the ground shaking?"

"...Damn it, scatter!!"

A colossal shadow emerged from the depths of the fog into Xi Renjie's vision. He immediately roared, and several people quickly retreated in different directions!

Boom—!!

A massive shadow centipede burst through the fog, instantly crushing the surrounding civilian houses into ruins. Residents hidden within didn't even have time to scream before being flattened into pools of flesh and gore...

Under everyone's horrified gaze, a gigantic centipede lifted its head, its dark red orifices opening as countless shadows extended from them like branches, reaching for the people on the street.

The attack was too sudden. No one expected such a massive shadow centipede to appear in a street that had largely been cleared. Most didn't have time to flee and were caught by the shadows.

Their hands stiffly rose, suddenly gripping their own necks, squeezing with all their might until skin and veins twisted and deformed. Scarlet blood vessels spread across their eyeballs, their breathing gradually ceased... Finally, they became stiff corpses, falling into the surging tide of shadows, instantly vanishing without a trace.

Witnessing this scene, those lucky enough to escape were frozen in terror. Xi Renjie stared intently at the colossal shadow, his heart sinking to rock bottom.

"Brother Meng..."

This shadow centipede was most likely the "mother" Han Meng had mentioned. Since the mother had broken out of the factory and appeared here, it meant Han Meng had fallen in battle... Despair was unmistakable in Xi Renjie's eyes.

With Han Meng dead, who else in District Three could stop this mother creature, unless someone arrived from Aurora City?

He had exhausted himself clearing the street, only to meet such an end... Xi Renjie stood there, ashen-faced, like a puppet without a soul.

Boom—!!

Just then, a towering torch flared up from deep within the fog, burning fiercely like a miniature sun.

The flames were so immense and hot that their glow was visible from such a great distance. The shadow centipedes, swarming into the street, all simultaneously halted and snapped their heads back towards the source of the fire.

The mother creature that had crushed the houses also turned, its dark red orifices fixed on the torch. It let out an unhesitating shriek, abandoning the people and the street before it, and charged directly towards the torch, followed closely by a dense tide of shadows.

The shaken crowd stood in a daze, staring blankly in the direction the calamities had retreated, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened.

"Let's go see!" Xi Renjie was the first to regain his senses and quickly pursued into the fog.

The other enforcers exchanged glances; only a small portion chose to follow. As they advanced, the torch in the fog became increasingly clear.

"Officer Xi," a figure in black ran out from the crowd and joined Xi Renjie.

"Chen Ling?" Xi Renjie exclaimed in surprise, seeing the person. "What are you doing here?"

"I was resting when I suddenly saw a light here, so I rushed over immediately," Chen Ling said, wiping sweat from his brow.

Xi Renjie scrutinized Chen Ling for a few moments, and after confirming he was unharmed, nodded. "There might be danger ahead; be careful."

The outline of the factory gradually came into view. The towering torch was indeed burning within the ravaged workshop of the steel factory.

Inside the workshop, high-temperature furnaces lay shattered on the ground. A raging inferno engulfed the entire factory building, and steel supports melted in the intense heat. From a distance, it looked like a sun burning on the ground.

Amidst the raging flames, the two lines of gilded characters originally inscribed at the entrance – "Forged by a thousand trials, steel bones tempered; enduring hardship brings the greatest glory" – gradually vanished without a trace... Only the golden text at the very top remained.

And beneath the slogan "All for Humanity," a figure in black stood before the sea of fire, a burning cigarette dangling from the corner of their mouth, their sharp eyes fixed on the surging tide of shadows.

"It actually drew them in?" Han Meng murmured to himself.

He looked at the ground beside him, where the Six of Hearts playing card was ignited by a fallen wisp of flame, slowly burning to ashes...

"Another favor owed, then..."

Han Meng let out a long sigh. He raised his gun, aiming at the rapidly approaching mother centipede. Under the creature's formidable presence, Han Meng's own aura began to rise steadily!

Whether due to a breakthrough after suffering or the raging fire behind him igniting his will to fight again, he felt a certain restraint deep within his body begin to loosen, like a massive wave constantly crashing against a dam, on the verge of breaking through!

*Thump*—

A soft thump emanated from within Han Meng's body, and terrifying psionic energy surged forth!

On that black, sky-reaching divine path, Han Meng's hovering foot finally landed heavily on the fifth step. His aura instantly became more dazzling than the burning factory, and even the frenetically approaching mother shadow centipede instinctively halted...

But by then, it was too late for them to retreat.

Because the figure in black, standing before the sea of fire, had already slowly raised their gun, aiming it at the overwhelming tide of shadows.

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