Chapter 82 - 77: Full Disclosure

Chapter 82: Chapter 77: Full Disclosure

July 22, 7:00 p.m.

Night descended on Guan City as usual. Neon lights illuminated one after another, and drones wove through the buildings.

The citizens’ phones vibrated simultaneously. In a mere ten days, the citizens had grown accustomed to locking their doors and clocking in at 7:00 p.m. every day. They instinctively opened the Mini Program, pointed the cameras at their faces, bared their teeth, and smiled into the lenses.

Then, everyone’s screens went black.

Home televisions, the massive screens on mall exteriors, and even the electronic displays of roadside billboards were hijacked at the exact same moment.

The screens faded to pitch black before a symbol emerged from the darkness. A blood-red tree. Its roots plunged into a dark abyss, while its branches twisted as they reached for the sky. At the end of every branch hung an eye—open, closed, weeping, or bleeding.

Right in the center of the canopy was a faceless visage, radiating a madness suppressed to the absolute extreme.

"Good evening, citizens of Guan City."

A voice, altered by a voice changer, emanated from all the screens. It was unhurried, even carrying a hint of a polite smile.

"I know you’ve all been very confused lately. Curfews, lockdowns, drones, armored vehicles, special task forces, the nightly check-ins at 7:00 p.m.... The authorities tell you this is some sort of prevention, control, and drill, but do you believe them? Let me tell you the truth. This world is being invaded by Vampires."

That single sentence set the entire city off. People stood up from their sofas and walked out of their kitchens, staring at their televisions.

"This isn’t a movie; these are real Vampires. They come from another world. At 7:00 p.m. on the 7th, 11th, and 18th of this month, they silently took over the bodies of those around you. Those people who suddenly went mad aren’t mentally ill, nor are they on drugs. They are people who have already been replaced by Vampires."

The voice paused, as if giving the audience time to digest the information.

"However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing!"

The visuals on all the screens shifted, displaying a video. An old man in a wheelchair was bitten by a member of the Blood Clan. As the video sped up, the old man’s skin turned pale gray, his nails grew wildly, and two fangs protruded from his mouth. He had become a new Vampire.

Then he woke up. After drinking a bowl of fresh blood brought to his lips, his skin went from pale gray to a healthy rosy hue. His wrinkles faded, and his white hair turned black. Miraculously, he stood up from the wheelchair. Not only did he regain his mobility, but he also crushed a glass cup with his bare hand; the wound on his palm quickly stopped bleeding and healed.

"Those bitten by a Vampire will become new Vampires. The disabled can stand, the old can regain their youth, and the weak can obtain Strength! You can even achieve the immortality that emperors have dreamed of since ancient times! Don’t you want to stand up? Don’t you want to be forever young? Don’t you want to possess the Strength to trample those who look down on you underfoot?

"The authorities are hiding all of this! They trap you with curfews, monitor you with check-ins, and fool you with lies. They want you to remain forever weak, forever stupid, and to forever create value for them—toiling like beasts of burden without complaint. But they cannot stop the truth, nor can they stop the impending new world."

The screen cut back to the twisted symbol.

"Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that I am about to open the door to the new world for you. When that time comes, you can choose for yourselves whether to remain human slaves or become the masters of the new world. And right now, all I need from you is a little help: step out of your homes, take to the streets, unleash your anger, and fight back against the authorities who have been making fools of you..."

All over Guan City, the vulnerable and marginalized stared at their screens. White-haired elders clenched their fists, their eyes shifting from shock to a burning fervor.

"Vampires? Is it real?"

"In that video just now, that old man really stood up, and his youth was restored..."

"The authorities definitely know something! Why didn’t they tell us!"

"Why won’t they let us choose for ourselves? I want to become a Vampire! I don’t want to be human anymore!"

"Can you eat Vampires? I think there’s a record in the Mountain and Sea Realm stating that eating them grants longevity."

Arguments, fear, excitement, and suspicion—various emotions exploded in every corner of Guan City. Some were crying, some were cursing, some were making phone calls, and some had already rushed out of their homes.

Guan City Information Center.

"Wasn’t the firewall rebuilt? Didn’t you say it was absolutely foolproof?" Nan Jiamu tried hard to suppress her anger.

The technician frantically typed on the keyboard, sweat pouring down his face. "The attacker isn’t using a conventional method. He... he bypassed all the verification nodes directly, as if he possessed the highest administrative privileges..."

Nan Jiamu took a deep breath. "Cut the power. Black out the entire city."

"We’re already on it." Wang ran over from the side. "The power plant’s system has also been compromised. It takes time to shut it down manually. Just a few minutes."

Nan Jiamu closed her eyes, then opened them again.

A woman walked from the corner to beneath the massive screen, resting her chin in her hand as she stared at the symbol. It was Bai Qiang. At this moment, Bai Qiang was dressed completely differently. Her voluminous brown wavy hair draped over her shoulders, and she wore thin-rimmed glasses. Her off-white professional suit highlighted her expertise, maturity, and intellect.

"This symbol wasn’t designed randomly," she said, her voice not loud, yet it brought an immediate hush over the entire Information Center. "The roots plunging into the abyss indicate that his foundation lies in the darkness. He compares himself to a tree—not one growing in the sunlight, but one sprouting from ruins. A twisted tree, lingering on its last breath by feeding on rotting nutrients. The eyes on the branches represent his desire to be seen. Every single eye is an injury he has suffered, or a target he wants to take revenge on.

"As for the faceless visage, there are two possibilities. First, he doesn’t want to be recognized. Second, he feels he is ’no longer human.’ He is molding himself into an entity that transcends individuality—not a person, but a manifestation of will. He is highly arrogant and fancies himself a god."

As Nan Jiamu listened, her brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"His speech is a deception on the surface, but in reality, it’s an accusation," Bai Qiang said, turning around to look at Nan Jiamu. "’They want you to remain forever weak, forever stupid.’ This wasn’t directed at the authorities, but at specific individuals in his life. It could be his parents, his partner, or his boss. He once trusted them, only to be betrayed, abandoned, and bled dry. He chose to become a member of the Blood Clan not because he believes in them, but because he needs an opportunity to stage a comeback."

Bai Qiang walked briskly back to her seat, picked up the notebook she had been writing in over the past few days, and flipped through a few pages.

"Previously, the data was too sparse for me to provide a more specific profile. Now, I can basically confirm that this Black Domain Walker is a male, aged thirty-five to forty-five, and in a prolonged state of unemployment. He was once high-spirited, had a successful career, and enjoyed a happy family life. He has a strong sense of pride and a desire for control. But at some point, he suffered a massive blow—perhaps an accidental disability, a family tragedy, or a complete career collapse.

"After that, his interpersonal relationships collapsed completely. Not just his external social ties, but his familial relationships must have crumbled as well. He attributes all his failures to the outside world, believing that the world has betrayed him. He yearns for Strength, for the chance to regain control of everything, and to make everyone who looked down on him grovel at his feet."

Bai Qiang glanced at the symbol once more.

"To be able to design such an exquisite and profoundly meaningful symbol, his former profession must have involved these types of Skills..."

As Bai Qiang spoke, she suddenly realized that Nan Jiamu had frozen in place.

"Miss Nan, who did you think of?"

Nan Jiamu did not answer. At this moment, the city’s lights extinguished section by section, and darkness crept from the suburbs toward the city center.

Before the Information Center was also plunged into pitch black, a final sentence rang out from the screen.

"...If you want to possess this Strength right now, you can contact my friend..."

The Information Center fell into darkness. A few seconds later, the backup power kicked in, and the emergency lights flickered on, casting a pale, ghastly glow.

"I’m heading out!" Nan Jiamu said. Her expression was grim as she marched toward the door, appearing incredibly anxious.

"Where to? Wait for me!" Bai Qiang quickly hurried after her.

A citywide blackout.

Guan City was plunged into unprecedented darkness. Yet, within that blackness, countless pairs of eyes stared at their phone screens, fixated on the visuals that had just disappeared, as a single thought churned in their minds.

They wondered, "Should I become a Vampire? It doesn’t seem like a bad thing!"

Meanwhile, Yin Zhen’s home had also fallen into darkness.

Yin Zhen gripped Lucy’s shoulders, gaze darting back and forth between her vacant eyes and the slowly blinking indicator light on her temple. Yin Zhen hadn’t expected a blackout at a time like this, and wondered, "Will Lucy fail because of this? Will everything have to start all over again?"

Yin Zhen’s breathing stalled for about five seconds before the red indicator light on Lucy’s temple began blinking rapidly. Her eyes refocused, landing on Yin Zhen’s face.

"Are you looking for the person who just hacked the citywide network?"

Yin Zhen nodded.

"I caught him!"