Chapter 29: As a Civilized Person
The twelve-eyed female specter arrived beneath the metal pillar, her gaze somewhat complicated.
"Is our struggle truly meaningful, Undying King..."
"Shut up."
The cold voice of Zuiyasi came through. The twelve-eyed specter opened and closed her mouth, ultimately lowering her head, muttering something under her breath while occasionally stealing a glance at Zuiyasi, her adoration unconcealed.
"Zuiyasi, Yue Shi's doubts are not unfounded. She..."
The elderly specter spoke, his faceplate completely smooth—not only lacking eyes but even breathing holes, giving off an eerie sensation.
This female twelve-eyed specter was precisely the target Su Xiao had come to the Eden Manor to find, but the records in the register were incorrect. She was not only the proposer of the Eye Chamber Project but also a powerful twelve-eyed specter.
"Nothing is worth doubting. Only when the Undying King descends will we have a chance. As long as that 'monster' Harold lives, we specters will never rise again."
Zuiyasi let out a long breath. His pale complexion revealed just how weak he was. Although Monarch Harold was an ordinary human, in Zuiyasi's eyes, he was a monster—one that had reduced the specter population by over sixty percent.
"Sorry, my earlier words offended you."
Zuiyasi leaned against the metal pillar. The twelve-eyed specter Yue Shi quickly shook her head.
"It's nothing. I shouldn't have doubted you. The Undying King is with us. Yes, definitely with us."
Yue Shi also leaned against the metal pillar and edged closer to Zuiyasi. Zuiyasi's cheek twitched. Though he was a half-blood, he preferred human women, having grown up in human society. Besides, the appearance of female specters... was far too arbitrary.
"Old Ghost, what's that?"
Zuiyasi stood up and walked to a corner, picking up a mechanical metal bee.
"It looks like... a human creation!"
The elderly specter, called Old Ghost, quickly scanned the surroundings. However, Beini wasn't there. This cat was far too clever to personally enter the Undying Castle.
Just as Zuiyasi and the others discovered the metal bee, the evacuation of the city above was already complete. The area within half a kilometer fell silent.
Crack!
Reinhardt snapped the neck of a four-eyed specter. Arcs of electricity flickered across his body. His awakened ability was storing and releasing electrical current—not a perfect ability, as releasing too much current could harm himself.
Su Xiao stood atop a tall building, holding a pocket watch, timing the event.
'18, 17, 16, 15...'
The watch emitted clicking sounds. When Su Xiao's countdown reached nine, roars erupted from beneath a cluster of residential buildings in the distance.
Meanwhile, inside the Undying Castle, specters charged frantically into the tunnels, rushing toward the exit. They crowded together so tightly that they began trampling each other.
In the lowest level of the Undying Castle, Zuiyasi's expression was murderous. His hands pressed against the metal pillar, and beside him, Yue Shi did the same.
A cyan-blue viscous fluid seeped from Yue Shi's skin, wrapping around the metal pillar. The eyes on the pillar gradually closed, and the entire pillar slowly sank into the ground.
With a sizzling crackle, white-green arcs of electricity flashed. The viscous fluid on the pillar instantly solidified, forming an uneven crystalline layer.
"Zuiyasi, you first..."
Yue Shi began, but Zuiyasi interrupted her.
"If I die, another specter will replace me. If this is destroyed, all hope is lost."
With Zuiyasi and Yue Shi's efforts, the metal pillar rapidly retracted underground. Spatial energy began to emerge.
Rumble!
Tremors came from above. Zuiyasi had experienced this sense of crisis before, so he knew—his old adversary had arrived.
With a whoosh, like a basin of water being poured out, Zuiyasi was enveloped in cyan-blue viscous fluid.
"Yue Shi..."
Before Zuiyasi could finish, he felt a pulling force—an irresistible force. Through the opening in the ground, he saw over a dozen eyes on the metal pillar burst, and cracks spread across the pillar itself.
In an instant, Zuiyasi was dragged into the pitch-black hole. Yue Shi rushed to the edge, watching Zuiyasi's figure gradually fade. She couldn't go down; otherwise, the metal pillar would explode from the overload, and all their years of effort would vanish.
Yue Shi reached her hand into the hole, but she was too far from Zuiyasi.
Inside the hole, Zuiyasi, covered in cyan-blue viscous fluid, sighed.
Crack, crack. The soil above split open, and incandescent flames surged in. The last image Zuiyasi saw was Yue Shi reaching forward with one hand, her twelve affectionate eyes, the white flames behind her dazzling, her silver hair flying, blurring her features.
At that moment, Zuiyasi suddenly felt that this female specter wasn't so ugly after all—and even had a unique charm?
"Sorry."
Yue Shi's faceplate cracked, and she smiled.
Boom!
Solar Flame—purifying everything.
On the surface.
Rumble...
As if an earthquake had struck, the ground began to shake. Then—
Boom!
The surface split open. Soil scattered like flowers in all directions, rising hundreds of meters high. Faint incandescent flames surged from the fissures.
Various residential buildings and high-rises toppled in chaos. Within seconds, nearly two kilometers of residential area was destroyed. The Empire's treasury was burning!
Civilians in the surrounding area who hadn't evacuated screamed in panic. This time, the Seventh Unit didn't even need to direct the evacuation.
"The power is greater than expected."
Su Xiao stood up from a pile of building debris. His plan had been simple and crude. As a civilized person, why would he directly charge into the Ghost Ring's lair? Of course, he used technology—no, alchemy.
Bubu Wang had sent an Apollo into the Ghost Ring's lair and then hidden it.
The Apollo's detonation time was twenty-five seconds. After activating the Apollo, Bubu Wang didn't immediately retreat. Instead, it merged the Apollo with itself into the environment.
Experiments had shown that Bubu Wang could indeed conceal the Apollo's traces, but it couldn't erase the sense of danger the Apollo emitted. That was precisely why the specters desperately fled outward—unfortunately, all exits had been rigged with traps by Bubu Wang.
When the Apollo had three seconds left before detonation, Bubu Wang used the [Wolf Clan Heirloom] to escape, teleporting away. Then the Apollo exploded.
...
At the edge of the blast zone, Madam Nancy stared at the vast ruins before her, frozen in place. If there weren't so many people around, she would have cursed: "I don't want this credit anymore! And I have nothing to do with this operation!"
...
Near the blast zone.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Reinhardt crawled out from a pile of debris. After scanning his surroundings, he looked bewildered. Where would the specters charge out from? Or rather, were there any specters still alive underground? That was a question worth pondering.
...
Su Xiao closed the notifications from Reincarnation Paradise. The moment of the explosion, messages flooded the screen. Although using Apollo to kill enemies had a low chance of dropping Secret Code Cards, the World Source yield wouldn't be reduced.
Of course, this came at a cost. If he wasn't mistaken, he would soon be sitting in the special seat at the Arbitration Hall again. Hunting specters was important, but destroying buildings within a two-kilometer radius and dealing with terrified civilians filing complaints to the Imperial Administration were problems Su Xiao had to bear for detonating this Apollo. However, compared to the gains, these were minor issues.