Chapter 256: Qianxi

"Red?" Zhang Wenda checked again. After confirming it was indeed red, not blue, he was certain he hadn't made a mistake. 'The reward for a red trial is red, and the reward for a blue trial is also red.'

Before Zhang Wenda could figure it out, he saw the red mass drill into his body, completely out of his control. When he looked down at his abdomen, he found that the red inside him was now many times larger than before.

Then, the red mass suddenly exploded. Zhang Wenda collapsed in agony. He felt as if he were submerged in lava, his entire body roasting in the intense heat.

The sensation was excruciating. Even with his high tolerance for pain, he could barely withstand it.

The armor on his body rapidly melted away, reforming into Song Jianguo. She quickly reached out and struggled to help him up. "Hey! Haozi! What's wrong with you? You're burning up!"

As she spoke, she had the Black Cats conjure two pairs of heat-resistant gloves for her to wear.

Although he didn't understand what was happening, Zhang Wenda knew this was no time to deal with his own problems. The area was too dangerous. If the three of them didn't leave now, their lives would be at risk at any moment.

"Get out first... Let's get out of here!" After he managed to force the words out, Hu Maomao floated over and, together with Song Jianguo, helped him toward the factory exit.

When the three of them finally managed to leave the factory, they discovered that the Internet World outside had been completely transformed.

The sky outside was in turmoil, and the ground was breaking apart like cracked earth. Bottomless chasms had nearly surrounded them completely. The corpse of a giant Angel Engine lay discarded like trash less than fifty meters ahead.

The ground beneath them trembled continuously. The cracked earth sank and rose in waves, as if something enormous was surging and roaring madly underground.

Just as Zhang Wenda saw a blue rabbit walk over and take Hu Maomao's place, his face twisted in pain as he said, "Quick! We have to escape their thought-tide! Back to Bureau 507!"

Hu Maomao quickly got her bearings, then flew into the air to lead the way.

Meanwhile, Song Jianguo used the Black Cats to rapidly build bridges and clear a path, allowing the others to move freely through the ravaged landscape.

The next leg of their journey was relatively stable, and no enemies attacked them.

The few other creatures they encountered, despite looking ferocious, were also fleeing for their lives.

However, Zhang Wenda's condition was not looking good. Perhaps because of his extreme temperature, wisps of white smoke began to drift from the holes all over his body, as if he were about to catch fire.

More important than the external changes, however, were the changes happening within him.

As the red mass inside him intensified, Zhang Wenda's desire to attack grew uncontrollably, even though there were no enemies nearby.

His first targets were the people right next to him.

He turned his head to look at Song Jianguo, who was supporting him. Staring at her slender neck, he swallowed hard.

"Tear her apart! Bite through her neck! Eat her!" All sorts of chaotic, uncontrollable thought-bubbles materialized around Zhang Wenda.

Just as he was about to lose control and attack, a light tap from the blue rabbit snapped him back to his senses.

He shoved the two of them away, lunged forward, and began rapidly reaping the thoughts with his sharp scythe.

As he reaped, he discovered that the doubled red energy caused him immense pain. However, it seemed that as the red increased, the positive abilities he gained from mastering it also multiplied.

This included his speed, his strength, and his control over the red energy within other people's bodies.

But the pain in his body and his loss of emotional control proved that this was not a good thing.

After Zhang Wenda had cleared away all the thought-bubbles, he finally felt his mind become much clearer.

"Are you okay?" Hu Maomao quickly called out from the air.

Zhang Wenda shook his head. He grabbed a thought-bubble that was constantly screaming in pain and ripped it in half. Instantly, the pain in his own body lessened considerably. "I'm fine. How much farther?"

"I don't know, but it should be soon. I've already reported our situation. A combat team on standby nearby is flying over to pick us up." Just as Hu Maomao finished speaking, her mouth fell open in shock, and her body trembled as she stared at something behind Zhang Wenda and the others.

When Zhang Wenda and the others quickly turned to look behind them, they saw Qianxi, as large as a small mountain, with more than half of its screen-like head emerging from the ground.

As they saw Qianxi, Qianxi also saw them. The face on its screen instantly changed to a smile. "Hello there."

"Run!" In an instant, Zhang Wenda grabbed Song Jianguo with one hand, kicked off the ground, and shot toward Hu Maomao in mid-air.

At that moment, Zhang Wenda was moving faster than sound. By the time he grabbed Hu Maomao's arm, the sound of his own shout—"Run!"—finally caught up from behind.

Just as Zhang Wenda landed, ready to retreat, a giant, dotted-line box materialized and framed all of them.

Once they were all selected, they were frozen on the spot, completely unable to move.

But before Qianxi could make a move, its lower body, still buried in the earth, suddenly tilted. It was as if something was pulling it from within the soil. Big Circle Leopard had clearly made its move.

In that same instant, Zhang Wenda finally found Qianxi's weakness. With a slight flicker of intent, he took control, and the massive red energy inside the distant Qianxi began to rapidly shrink.

As the red vanished, Qianxi seemed to slow down significantly, and it was abruptly dragged downward by the thing underground.

As Qianxi disappeared, the dotted line of the selection box gradually faded, and the group instantly regained their ability to move.

Drenched in a cold sweat, Hu Maomao couldn't help but feel a wave of lingering fear. If they had been just a fraction of a second slower, Qianxi probably would have deleted all of them.

"Let's go! This is our chance to escape, we have to move now!"

This time, however, Zhang Wenda didn't leave. Instead, he stared at the heaving ground before them. "Why do we have to run? In a situation like this, shouldn't we kick him while he's down and hit him hard? What if we can actually kill him?"

"Are you insane? That's Qianxi!" Hu Maomao stared at him in disbelief.

Zhang Wenda didn't look at her. He fearlessly stared into the massive crater in the ground, the killing intent in his eyes growing ever stronger. "So what if it's Qianxi? He's a person too, not a god!"