Yang Fan's legs trembled violently, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes.

"Dear, why aren't you saying anything?"

The moth spoke. At this moment, it had landed on top of the woman's head, lying there, facing Yang Fan directly. Its grayish-yellow wings slowly spread open, and on them were two twisted patterns resembling eyes. Just looking at them made Yang Fan's scalp crawl.

"Am I... ugly?"

Yang Fan forced an awkward smile. "N-no, you look... very beautiful."

At the same time, he was edging toward the door.

Hearing his words, the moth seemed a little pleased. Its wings fluttered, sending yellow powder pattering down. Some of it even fell onto Yang Fan's shirt.

Yang Fan sped up his pace. The moth, noticing him trying to avoid it, moved even faster. "Why are you running? Are you lying to me?"

A sudden sense of danger burst through him. Yang Fan had never moved so fast in his life. He dodged just as the moth extended its long mouthparts toward him. These mouthparts, usually curled up like a rolled wafer, were used for feeding. Now they lashed out toward Yang Fan.

He scrambled out the door in a panic.

When he glanced back, the creature had already abandoned its human body. It was flying toward him in its full moth form, and it was extremely fast.

Yang Fan fell to the ground in his panic. The moth was about to pounce and suck out his brain!

He squeezed his eyes shut, but the pain he imagined never came. Instead, gunfire rang out, and the moth was blasted away.

"There are more and more second-stage moths."

A voice spoke up.

Yang Fan turned toward the speaker. It was a young man with long hair tied back, wearing a mask, with a crow perched on his shoulder. He looked sinister, but it was clear that he had just saved Yang Fan.

The young man tossed something over. Yang Fan saw it was medicine and quickly swallowed it himself.

"Come with us. We're going to the Quarantine Center to check the situation," Ruan Xing said.

It was almost impossible to get into the inner city. In the outer city, the safest place was the Quarantine Center. Besides, by now, those people should have realized what was happening.

Ruan Xing glanced at his wristband. Fu Zhi's message was still there.

【Wait for me at the Quarantine Center.】

Fu Zhi was also in the outer city today. They had originally planned to meet after Ruan Xing's meeting and go see a movie together, but they didn't expect something like this would happen.

Three people followed behind him, all looking grim.

These creatures were not powerful, but their infection rate was alarming. Over time, they evolved from the pupa stage, the first stage, to the moth stage, the second.

In the pupa stage, they controlled humans to attack and had a strong infectious ability. In the second-stage moth phase, they could produce many small moths, with one large moth emerging from inside the body. At this point, they could speak human language and break free from the human body entirely.

Who knew if there would be a third stage?

And if there was… what would it be like?

No one knew where these pollutants had come from, which only made people feel more uneasy.

Still, along the way, everyone came to believe this young man was truly powerful as he was able to save and protect them with ease.

The man in the black suit was one of Secretary An Mao's aides.

He was familiar with both the Investigation Corps and the Quarantine Center, but in his memory, apart from the First Squad, which possessed such strong individual attack power, few other teams could fight like this.

Although everyone here had extensive experience in anti-pollution efforts, fighting pollutants was a very different matter.

Yang Fan looked at the strange team in front of him, hesitated, then forced himself to swallow the pill and follow.

It was only a few streets away, but to their surprise, there were a lot of mutants in the area. Some had even reached the third stage: giant moths.

One half-human-tall moth crouched on the ground, white-speckled wings dropping powder as it rampaged through the crowd. Having left its human host, it clung to people's heads, inserting its mouthparts into their nostrils or ears. The victims' eyes turned white like dead fish until their bodies stiffened.

Most terrifying of all, the front of the moth's body was faintly taking on a human form.

Using humans as hosts, then becoming human again... wasn't this just a nesting doll?

When it saw Ruan Xing's group, it didn't flee. Instead, it lifted its grayish-white head, smiling, and revealed a spiral tongue that hissed threateningly.

The mycelium made a move, trying to sever the moth's head, but it was like hitting metal. Only a ringing clank, with the head completely unharmed.

The man in the suit fired a shot, but it only left a shallow dent without penetrating.

The moth's body became extremely hard.

It was completely defying the law of conservation of mass!

Chen Fu studied it carefully, then spoke. "We can't beat it head-on unless we have a large-caliber rifle or a submachine gun…"

Before he could finish, a black arrow struck the moth. At the same time, flames appeared from nowhere, following its tongue upward.

With both attacks combined, the moth turned black and yellow like coal and finally collapsed onto a corpse.

Chen Fu immediately shut his mouth. He stared at the fallen moth in astonishment.

Was… killing pollutants really this easy?

"Fire attacks work," Chen Fu said at once, pulling out his wristband to send a message to someone.

The young man in the black suit looked grim.

In just a few hours, there were already third-stage insects!

If this continued, what would these moths become? Would they fully turn into humans?

Even more surprising was the astonishing array of abilities this person possessed: fire abilities, materialization, animal speech, control over strange threads, and a soundwave that affected the moths.

Who exactly was he? Some of his powers overlapped with those of a Team One member he remembered, but that person's funeral had been arranged by him not long ago.

Could it be just a coincidence?

The young man looked over at Chen Fu again.

After sending his message, Chen Fu's expression changed, with a touch of madness. His mismatched eyes trembled and even reddened. Whether it was from the gore or something else was unclear.

The minister had sent him to keep an eye on Chen Fu, who was a dangerous person who had once tried to bomb the Tower, only to be stopped and imprisoned for several months.

But this unregistered young man seemed even more in need of watching…

They encountered many moths along the way, but some managed to slip through. After feeding, these moths spread their wings and flew into the sky, their destination unknown.

After burning another fully grown moth, Ruan Xing checked the map, confirmed the direction, and said, "Let's go."

The incident happened suddenly, without warning, catching the Quarantine Center off guard and forcing them to activate an emergency plan.

They temporarily closed the base and inner city entrances, sealing off the entire outer city.

This level of emergency had only happened once before since the base was built. After that, the base's population had dropped to a dangerously low number.

Ruan Xing's group was in the southern outer city, but surprisingly, the northern area was also experiencing the same outbreak.

The young man in the suit looked grim at the news. This many coincidences didn't exist. How can two far-apart outer city districts experience problems simultaneously?

Someone must be behind it.

He thought of the Tower conspiracy theory that had been spreading recently.

Clearly, someone was pulling the strings.

It seemed that two forces had chosen the base as their battlefield for some kind of contest.

The Enforcement Division already acted. Earth-ability users set up defenses outside the inner city, while a cordon was raised over the city.

Personnel within the city mobilized quickly.

At the same time, the situation stirred public fear.

"According to reports, this incident has already caused over 2,300 deaths, with tens of thousands at risk of pollution. All citizens outside, please return home immediately, close your doors and windows, and wear masks. If the pollution index exceeds 40%, take anti-pollution medicine immediately. Those who can should take anti-pollution serum…"

"The Enforcement Division has taken action. Please wait calmly. Relief packages are being airdropped…"

Overhead, drones buzzed, dropping countless emergency supply packs to various neighborhoods. At the same time, the drones' attack systems cleared large open spaces to ensure residents could retrieve supplies.

"Emergency Level 2 activated. All residents, please stay indoors in enclosed spaces. Watch out for flying insects. If you see lepidopteran-like creatures, take precautions. The main pollution transmission route is through the respiratory tract…"

A slender finger pressed the power button, and the announcer's voice disappeared.

Zhou Zheng was beside himself with anxiety, shouting at Pei Yi, "No, I have to go to the outer city! Humanity is facing a life-or-death crisis right now!"

The Tower had been closed for a long time, and Zhou Zheng's movements had been restricted.

When he opened the door, a man in white robes blocked him with a blank expression. "Mr. Zhou, Mr. Will has ordered that you cannot leave right now."

Zhou Zheng shoved him aside. "The base is about to be destroyed, and you're still hiding here waiting for incense at your funeral?!"

The man watched Zhou Zheng leave, then said to Pei Yi, "Aren't you going to see it? Your work?"

Pei Yi flipped his mirror face down, frowned at the man, and said, "No."

After the man left, Pei Yi looked at Zhou Zheng driving away, his expression calm.

The mirror in his hand once again showed Ruan Xing's group, though from a strange angle: blurry, as if looking from far away.

From the angle, it was clearly being viewed through the mirrored outer wall of a nearby building.

As Ruan Xing walked toward the Quarantine Center, listening to the broadcast, that feeling of being watched returned.

Without hesitation, he attacked the source of the gaze.

"Crash!"

The building's mirror shattered, revealing nothing inside.

No one?

Or was the surveillance being done directly through the mirror?

"Let's go," Ruan Xing urged.

The others were startled by his sudden action but knew that he wouldn't act without reason.

The Quarantine Center's gates were open to refugees. People were coming and going, and it seemed safe enough.

But as Ruan Xing entered, his heart skipped. He felt something, but when he focused, nothing seemed wrong.

Chen Fu turned to look at him. "Why did you stop?"

Ruan Xing shook his head. "You go first."

Chen Fu turned to leave, then a black arrow pierced his chest.

Chen Fu turned back in disbelief. "What are you doing?!"

Ruan Xing's expression was cold.

He clearly remembered that Chen Fu's left eye was higher, near his forehead, while his right eye was lower at the nose bridge. But now, the face before him was reversed.

Chen Fu's eyes widened. His body melted like water, leaving no trace of blood.

The others stopped, staring at Ruan Xing in confusion.

"Ruan Xing, what are you doing?!" the suited man shouted in shock and anger.

Huang Mao quickly hid behind the suited man, trembling with fear.

But Ruan Xing just looked coldly at these "people," raised his hand, and countless arrows aimed at them.

"Parlor tricks."

The arrows shot forward, piercing through their skulls instantly.