# 243
**Chapter 243: The Suppressor**
"Hmm?"
Outside Cangnan City, a woman backpacking suddenly stopped in her tracks, turned her head toward a certain direction, and a strange smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
The next moment, her body rippled violently. A few seconds later, she transformed into a man draped in a deep green robe.
The man had a typical Western face, with slightly curly black hair and deep-set eyes. A faint smile flickered in those profound pupils.
"Killed another one of my clones? Interesting..."
He turned his head and looked toward Cangnan City, just a short distance away, the smile at his lips gradually fading.
"Thanks to those idiots from Greece drawing the fire, I managed to slip in without too much trouble...
But this time, the *Shiva’s Grudge* will be mine!"
He took a light step forward and calmly entered the territory of Cangnan.
---
**Cangnan City.**
Caw—!
Caw—!!
Caw—!!!
A piercing crow cry suddenly rang out, echoing through the office—sharp and shrill, making one’s scalp tingle!
Lin Qiye’s eyes snapped open. After a split-second reaction, he scrambled out of bed and rushed out of the room.
Ever since the rest of Team 136 had gone to Shangjing, Lin Qiye had temporarily stayed at the office. It was convenient, and it allowed him to look out for Chen Muye, who was also alone.
He dashed into the living room and found Chen Muye already standing in front of the birdcage, his face dark as ink.
Inside the cage, the pupil-less *Crow of Calamity* was shrieking mournfully. Its black feathers were falling out one by one, and blood seeped from its eyes...
Caw—!!!
Its cries grew more tragic, yet weaker. With one final caw, it swayed and collapsed—lifeless.
In the silent living room, a blood-stained feather slowly drifted to the floor.
Lin Qiye stared blankly at the dead crow in the cage, then turned to Chen Muye, his voice hoarse.
"Captain, this is..."
Chen Muye was silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "It seems... the thing I feared most has still happened."
"Captain." Lin Qiye’s eyes were more serious than ever. "What exactly is going on?"
Chen Muye took a deep breath and looked at Lin Qiye. "Have you heard of *Shiva’s Grudge*?"
"*Shiva’s Grudge*?"
Lin Qiye froze. He instantly recalled the highest-risk Forbidden Ruins mentioned by Chief Instructor Yuan Gang back at the training camp when he’d asked about Chen Muye’s past.
"A top-tier Forbidden Ruins carrying the Forbidden Ruins and soul of the Indian god Shiva. Sequence 008. Its true form is an ancient sheepskin scroll. As long as the price is paid, any concept written on it will be directly erased."
Chen Muye gave a brief summary, then continued:
"Ten years ago, a divine war broke out on the borders of Great Xia over this super Forbidden Ruins. Later... certain events occurred, and after much back-and-forth, the item ended up in my care."
Lin Qiye was stunned. Then, his eyes filled with shock.
"*Shiva’s Grudge*... has been in your hands this whole time?!" he exclaimed.
"Yes." Chen Muye spoke calmly. "The aura of this Forbidden Ruins involves the law of destruction. Only my *Black Impermanence* can suppress it using the authority of the Yama Hall. Otherwise, its aura would shine like a sun in the darkness, attracting the gaze of other gods."
"So... you’ve been suppressing it for ten years?"
Chen Muye nodded. "But over the past decade, its power has continued to grow, while mine has weakened. Suppressing it has become increasingly difficult...
Because *Shiva’s Grudge* carries death energy, direct contact with my skin constantly burns my soul. In the past, I could remove it for a few hours each day. But starting last month... I no longer dared to take it off."
A trace of guilt flashed in Chen Muye’s eyes. "A couple days ago, when the plane was about to crash into a residential area, I lifted a corner of *Shiva’s Grudge*. I didn’t expect the leaked aura to draw the attention of an outer god."
Lin Qiye shook his head. "It’s not your fault. Even if you hadn’t lifted it, in a few more days it would’ve broken free on its own."
Chen Muye slowly closed his eyes and said nothing.
"So, what can we do now?" Lin Qiye asked after a moment of thought.
"Wait."
"Wait?"
"A battle of this level is far beyond our ability to intervene. All we can do is wait." Chen Muye spoke slowly. "The police will handle evacuating the civilians. But with so many people in Cangnan City, a full evacuation isn’t possible in a short time.
If something really does happen to this city during that time... we’ll have to buy time ourselves."
Lin Qiye nodded firmly. "Alright."
---
**"Hehehe..."**
**"You think you can truly escape all this?"**
**"No matter how hard you try to forget... you are still you..."**
**"Come, return to my embrace..."**
**"Si Xiaonan."**
**"..."**
In a hotel in Shangjing City, Si Xiaonan jolted awake from bed, gasping for breath.
"Xiaonan?" Hongying, in the next bed, quickly got up and walked over. "Another nightmare?"
Si Xiaonan bit her lip, her face pale, and nodded.
"Who knew you were the type to get homesick even in your sleep." Hongying sighed and gently patted her head. "How about we go shopping? We only got halfway through the streets this afternoon."
Si Xiaonan buried her head in Hongying’s arms. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded.
The two girls changed clothes and were about to leave when there was a knock at the door.
Hongying opened it to find Wu Xiangnan standing outside, with Wen Qimo and Leng Xuan beside him—all wearing grave expressions.
"Weren’t you guys trying out a massage parlor? Why are you back?" Hongying asked in confusion.
"Something’s not right," Wu Xiangnan said heavily. "The moment we stepped into the parlor, we heard the receptionist say all trains and flights to Cangnan have been suspended..."
"Suspended?" Hongying blinked. "But we only arrived in Shangjing yesterday. How could they be suspended?"
"We don’t know. After hearing that, we left immediately and checked the airport, train station, and bus station..."
"They’re all gone," Wen Qimo added. "All routes to and from Cangnan City have been canceled. It’s like... the city just vanished."
"I tried calling the captain, but his phone’s out of service," Wu Xiangnan said, taking a deep breath. "Cangnan... is very likely in trouble."