Chapter 195.2: The Shadow of Spring City Part 2

The two vehicles, linked together as they drove along the ruined street, suddenly blurred within that ripple. Their outlines became hazy and indistinct, fading into the dark city until they were almost impossible to make out. Even the sound of the engines vanished.

Ji Jue looked up curiously at Tong Shan. The others seemed long used to this and showed no surprise, as though it were nothing worth mentioning.

Lou Feng had not paid much attention at first either. It was only when he realized that the camouflage effect was not being produced by some Mirror-type Blessed Creation that he frowned slightly.

At this moment, all of them were enveloped within Tong Shan’s telekinesis. It wasn’t just the vehicles in front and behind them; every movement within a kilometer around them, both ahead and behind, was covered by those invisible ripples.

If this were merely a matter of bending light, then although it would be troublesome, an Origin user, who specialized in interfering with all things formless and intangible, could achieve a similar effect with enough practice.

But while they were moving, Tong Shan was camouflaging them like a chameleon in real time, directly canceling out all engine noise with opposing waves, and even pinning the dust they kicked up firmly to the ground. The amount of control required for this was absurdly high. Even for telekinesis, which was known as the most versatile and all-purpose ability of all, being able to perform such ridiculous micro-control so casually was truly astonishing.

The woman Ji Jue had encountered before in the Time Ruin had been taken down by a single monster fetus. She was also an Origin Chosen One with access to the Myriad Defense matrix. Even if Tong Shan were at the same realm as her, Ji Jue probably wouldn’t even get the chance to make a move in front of Tong Shan. No, the mere thought of comparing the two was already an insult to Tong Shan.

“You’re such a badass.” Ji Jue gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Tong Shan nodded. “If you need anything or have any suggestions, you can tell me at any time. But while we’re inside Spring City, you follow orders and obey the rules. The mission and the team’s safety come first. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to send you back.”

“Don’t worry. Even when I’m joking around, I know the limits. You’re the carry here, so what you say goes. If you need anything, just give the order.”

Beside him, Lou Feng nodded as well.

Seeing how cooperative they were, Tong Shan gave a slight nod of approval. His small display of strength just now had not been wasted. This wasn’t about showing off or intimidation. A team could only have one voice, as too many voices would only lead to chaos. As the captain, he had to take responsibility for everyone.

He was actually not too worried about Lou Feng. The main concern was Ji Jue. Judging from what Tong Hua had told him, the kid had pulled off far too many outrageous stunts. To be honest, Tong Shan was a little afraid he would not be able to keep him under control.

After stressing all the precautions, Tong Shan looked at how familiar the two of them seemed with the routine and reached a conclusion. “You two have experience exploring rift realms, don’t you?”

Lou Feng and Ji Jue didn’t reply.

In the awkward pause, Ji Jue glanced at Young Master Lou out of the corner of his eye. Lou Feng’s face twitched. After glaring at him, he finally squeezed out a reply through gritted teeth. “We do.”

“Both of you?” Tong Shan was puzzled. Why had the atmosphere suddenly tensed up?

“Yes. Ahem. Both of us.” Ji Jue turned his head away, struggling to keep his expression under control as he forcibly pressed down the corners of his mouth. With a solemn face, he said, “The two of us, uh... worked together pretty well. We made a pretty good team, actually. Right?”

Lou Feng nearly ground his teeth to pieces. Good team, my ass!

“Shh.” Xu Guan, who had been sitting quietly with his eyes lowered, suddenly looked up and signaled for everyone to be silent. No one knew what exactly he had seen, but both vehicles instantly cut their engines and pulled over to the side. Beneath the many layers of telekinetic concealment, they blended into the ruined street.

At Tong Shan’s hand signal, everyone stayed perfectly still inside the vehicle. Outside the window, everything remained just as dilapidated as before. Broken bricks and shattered tiles lay there with no visible change.

Ji Jue and Lou Feng exchanged glances, completely confused. Tong Shan suddenly raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist.

Inside the vehicle, everyone’s minds and bodies went taut.

Only then did Ji Jue hear what seemed like gentle rain falling onto the ground, dense yet soft, slowly heading toward them from a distance. Then, he saw a shadow charging through the darkness. There was no visible body, nor could he sense any spirit matter fluctuations.

The shadow, like some living thing, slowly swept through the ruins. Wherever it passed, it spread like mercury spilling across the ground, engulfing everything in its path and leaving behind cracks.

Through the binoculars, Ji Jue saw a writhing bug crawl out from what looked like a sewer. Before it could even react, it was swallowed by the shadow. After a series of faint, brittle cracks, it turned into ash and drifted away.

Lou Feng seemed to have seen something else entirely. He was drenched in cold sweat, his face deathly pale. When he noticed Ji Jue’s curious expression beside him, he scowled, as if to say, If I have to suffer, you damn well don’t get to stay comfortable either.

He reached out and pressed a hand onto Ji Jue’s shoulder. On his index finger, a diamond-like blessed relic flashed with an illusory light, granting Ji Jue its enhancement.

It was Ji Jue’s turn to sweat. Above that writhing, shifting shadow, vague outlines emerged, looking very much like limbs. As the shadow squirmed, twisted legs dragged themselves forward, lurching unevenly.

Every now and then, as it stumbled forward, its full form would flicker into view. It looked like the half-rotted corpse of some colossal beast, its bones jutting through swollen, decaying flesh. Beneath its split-open abdomen, vague shapes of organs dragged along the ground. Its massive body, as huge as a building, passed lightly through ruin after ruin without the slightest obstruction, like a phantom. A viscous shadow spread from beneath its feet, hungrily devouring any life it touched.

From its blurred body, parasitic tendrils reached out, writhing in the air as they sniffed and searched for the scent of every living thing. The jaws of its half-bare skull opened in a silent shriek.

As though it had sensed something, it abruptly turned its head and stared straight toward the advance team hidden beneath the illusion. Its eyes were vicious and savage.

Then, just as suddenly, it froze. The shadow swept past like a tide, but it touched nothing.

It was like a hand reaching into a jar of snacks, groping around and carefully digging into every corner and crevice, only to eventually find that it was all in vain. There was nothing here.

After a long while, that mass of shadow finally shrank back. Amid the writhing of the hungry giant beast, it headed off into the distance before disappearing entirely.

Ten minutes later, when Xu Guan nodded, everyone in the vehicle let out a breath in perfect unison. The two vehicles, which had been suspended in midair, slowly settled back onto the ground. They did not stir even a speck of dust as they landed.

Tong Shan started the vehicle, picked up speed, and shot out through the ruins. “Let’s keep moving while the road’s clear. That thing just swept through, so we probably won’t run into trouble for a while.”

Ji Jue leaned forward and asked the people in the front row, “What was that? A beast of doom? An aberrant? Some kind of local aberrant that grew here?”

“No idea,” Ji Xue answered. “We hadn’t run into it before either. That thing may be huge, but it’s still fairly easy to fool. As long as it can’t find you in the places its shadow covers, it can’t do anything to you. It isn’t too troublesome. Just avoid it and you’ll be fine.”

“Are there many things like that in Spring City?” Ji Jue asked.

“Based on all our exploration runs so far, we’ve come across probably eight or nine of them, all different types and sizes.” Even Ji Xue didn’t sound entirely certain. “Sometimes they just appear for no reason, then disappear for no reason too. There isn’t even enough time to classify or observe them properly.

“The team over in Ship City ran into something even worse. It was as big as an entire city block. You couldn’t see its shape at all. It was just a huge mass of fog. Anyone who went inside would dissolve without realizing it. They died without even knowing how they died.

“Apparently, it might have been some damned thing that crawled out from beneath the vortex. It cost them quite a few people, and they only managed to drive it away after a director personally took action. Compared to that, we should be thanking our lucky stars there’s nothing that troublesome in the area we’re exploring.”

Her brother reached through the sunroof and knocked her on the head. “Don’t jinx it. There are still plenty of nasty things out here. Mr. Ji, you and your friend should be careful as well. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, do not get out of the vehicle. The anomaly-dense area is just up ahead. Everyone, stay alert.”

As they sped on in silence, the world before Ji Jue brightened for the briefest instant. The afternoon sunlight blazed overhead, illuminating the storefronts and signs on both sides of the street. Traffic flowed endlessly like a river, and crowds of people streamed past one another. The place was noisy, bustling, and prosperous. It was peaceful, as if nothing had ever gone wrong.

Beneath the glaring sun, the smiles on the pedestrians’ faces were dazzling. They turned back and looked at the group of outsiders. They saw Ji Jue, waved, and called out to him.

But in the very next moment, everything vanished without a trace, like a mirage dissolving into nothing. Only the broken walls and ruins remained, with gloomy darkness writhing between them. Not a single living thing could be seen. A stale wind blew in from the distance, lifting the tattered curtain hanging over a doorway.

In the darkness behind that curtain, a blurry face slowly rose. Its exaggerated smile stretched wide as it watched them. It waved, its arm swaying lightly as if it had no bones at all, calling out to them with feverish enthusiasm. Phantom voices whispered in everyone’s ears.

“Spring City snacks, delicate light meals, truck w-w-w-water refills... Spring, Spring City snacks... light meals... meals... meals... so hungry, so hungry, so hungry... Hurry, hurry, hurry, come in and sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down...”

The vehicles went by without stopping. If anything, they sped up. But every time they turned a corner, they passed that same broken doorway again.

The blurry voice kept chasing after them, as though it were pressed right up against their backs, drawing closer and closer. Every time Ji Jue looked into the rearview mirror, he could see that face. Its smile was bright and eager, but its pupils held only darkness, and they were hollow and empty as they stared straight at him.

At last, the speeding vehicles came to a sudden stop. The deep, ruined doorway now stood directly ahead. Behind the tattered curtain, the face drew closer and closer, its exaggerated smile pressed against the window.

“I’m so hungry, so hungry, so hungry. Come in and sit. As long as you eat something, everything will be fine. Eat, eat, eat, eat... Just eat something, and everything will be fine, okay? Okay? Okay?” Those hollow pupils looked at Ji Jue, and the creature’s smile twisted even further. “Won’t you eat with me?”