ATPnovel 118-18 Evil Deeds
118-18 Evil Deeds
Chen Jiahong nudged Deng Kaiyang, hovering in mid-air: "There's someone in the palace, the one who attacked us earlier." He then released his mental energy to probe. A figure hiding behind a door, holding a bow, trembled, as if an electric current ran through their body. They felt as if even their underwear had been exposed, and a sense of fear washed over them: "This mutant is already so powerful… how are we going to defend against it in the future…?" With that, the figure immediately ran away, their skirt sweeping away the dust on the ground.
Immediately afterward, Chen Jiahong pushed open the door, and a dusty, earthy smell hit him. Deng Kaiyang leaped in, shouting, "If you're so capable, let's face each other head-on! What kind of underhanded tactic is this, shooting arrows from the shadows?" Chen Jiahong added, "It's a woman." Deng Kaiyang immediately changed his tune: "Never mind then, bad luck." Then he sat down outside, wondering how to see a person clearly in 3 seconds.
The woman hiding in the shadows pressed a mechanism and immediately retreated to the other side. Chen Jiahong pushed Mo Bei aside, creating a deep pit where they had just stood, and instantly closed the pit. Startled, Mo Bei activated his Thunderous Flame Unleashed, wings of lightning and flame sprouting forth. Chen Jiahong tried to stop him, but it was too late. Two flames chased each other, hurtling into the distance. Thus, the two pieces of cloth burned, while Chen Jiahong prepared his skills, ready to repel Mo Bei at any moment.
A mechanical sound came from nearby. Chen Jiahong immediately used his spiritual skill, knocking Mo Bei away six times, while activating his weapon seal, ready to defend himself from any potential damage. Countless torches lit up, and a portrait fell at the end of the long corridor ahead. Chen Jiahong stood still, listening quietly for a while, and only turned to check on Mo Bei after confirming there was no more sound. At this moment, Mo Bei had just been carried back down the stairs by Deng Kaiyang, still grumbling, "Ugh, so troublesome, so boring." He gently placed Mo Bei on the ground. Mo Bei lay on the ground, indicating that he had been gone for a while.
Chen Jiahong instructed Deng Kaiyang to take good care of Mo Bei before going inside, so he wouldn't have to worry about anyone else's safety. After Chen Jiahong left, Deng Kaiyang lay down and went to sleep: "Anyway, there's no danger."
Chen Jiahong walked to the painting and saw several lines of extremely rare characters. He leaned closer to examine them. "Judging from these hieroglyphs, they should belong to the Senhuo clan," Chen Jiahong translated, not forgetting to explain to the reader, maintaining his persona as a riddle solver: "May their power ensure the clan's longevity, may their evil deeds lead to their downfall..." The central image is a Holy Grail, but this isn't right, is it? Isn't this ridiculous? A quick correction. The central image is a tree, from which flows black mud with a flowing sand texture, surrounded by a group of people.
"No, he actually knows about the Forest Fire Script..." The woman watched from the shadows. "I don't think he's a mutant, but we can't let our guard down."
Just as the woman was observing, Chen Jiahong spoke up: "Come out. I am Chen Jiahong from the Destroyer. My intrusion is without malicious intent. I was entrusted by someone to eliminate the influence of my old subordinates, a difficult task indeed." The woman was taken aback, her bow fully drawn, and she slowly emerged from the shadows, asking, "You... can you really trust me?" Chen Jiahong replied with some disdain, "If I didn't trust you, would you have come out?" The woman lowered her bow. She knew the man before her was likely stronger than her, and she had heard a little about the Destroyer from her father, who had indeed sought help from someone named... Ibuprofen.
The woman spoke, "My name is Gao Zhiyu, you can also call me Zhizhi." Chen Jiahong said, "Tell me about what you told me when you were little." Zhizhi thought for a moment...
When Zhizhi was little, her father told her that the outside world was not peaceful.
When Zhizhi was six years old, her father took her to see those tainted by bad karma: "Zhizhi, let me take you outside to see the world," Gao Ji said to Zhizhi. Zhizhi was very happy; this was her first opportunity to leave the palace.
The heavy door was pulled open by a mechanical mechanism, revealing fresh yet polluted air outside. Little Squeak saw for the first time the Kingdom of Love her father had described; it was indeed vast, located just outside the palace. Trees on both sides were adorned with wind chimes, which tinkled in the gentle breeze. The love motif carved in the center was incredibly three-dimensional, its raised sections gleaming with golden light, reflecting off even the hundred steps, making it appear from a distance like a giant flashbang.
They reached the bottom. Gao Ji removed two wind chimes, walked to one side of the steps, opened a hidden compartment, and inserted them. He did the same on the other side. Immediately, cracks appeared in the love-pattern carvings on the first 50 steps, followed by the return of the hollow steps on both sides, revealing a downward passage. The moment the passage was opened, light immediately illuminated both sides.
Seeing this, Zizi exclaimed excitedly, "Wow, Daddy, our house is so big!" Gao Ji smiled, patted little Zizi's head, and took her hand as they walked downstairs.
At the end, the space below was vast, filled with cages, numbering in the tens of thousands, with several people in white robes moving about and observing. One of the white-robed figures saw Gao Ji and immediately ran over: "Report! The black mud has been removed from the surface, and Gao Mu'er has returned to normal." Gao Ji was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately informed another white-robed figure that a new reservoir had been built above, with no expense spared in modifying roads, roofs, and the water purification system. They also purchased tens of tons of water from outside, exhausting the nation's resources—a feat that cost over ten spiritual veins! However, money lost could be earned back; it was meant to be spent anyway. But once a citizen dies, it's difficult to bring them back to life. The Kingdom of Love also returned to normal and even held a water festival.
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiahong immediately realized the rapid spread of the black mud.
Before Zhizhi's 10th birthday, the number of infected individuals in the Black Mud increased, which puzzled Gao Ji. Nevertheless, he ordered his men to activate the water guns. However, even though the infected individuals were clean and spotless this time, they hadn't regained their senses and rushed forward to infect Gao Ji's men. Gao Ji immediately locked them back in the cage.
On his birthday, the number of infected people skyrocketed. Gao Ji said to Zhi Zhi, "I'll be back after you finish your cake. I have to go out for a bit." Zhi Zhi quickly ate her cake. Whenever Gao Ji left the palace, he would lead his men to arrest people.
Gao Ji encountered a person with black markings (later referred to as the mutant). Upon seeing this, Gao Ji immediately sensed something was wrong, as two or three more people with the "Distortion" ability appeared from behind.
After finishing her cake, Zizi pressed herself against the French windows, watching intently, with two guards standing beside her. Gao Ji felt his consciousness blurring, as if his strength and mind had been drained away, and he was being carried towards the palace. With his last ounce of strength, he plummeted from the high building, shattering into pieces like Zizi's heart.
Little Squeaky started crying, and the two guards beside her could only watch. Countless streams of spiritual energy surged towards Little Squeaky, along with the spiritual energy she had awakened at that moment, named Love. Her first learned spiritual skill allowed her to absorb negative status effects, including black mud.
So, for the next few years, she absorbed the black mud and housed the survivors in the palace. She is now fourteen years old.
2026 0318 1943
2026 0319 0926
2026 0610 0122