How exactly was this city able to read their memories? So deeply that it could even dig into the ones buried at the very bottom?

Fu Gui: "This thing is basically a pollutant that formed a physical body. But for some reason, it has taken on your dad's appearance. Don't tell me… back in the illusion, was it something like this?"

It was way worse than this.

Right now, Ruan Xing barely had the energy to respond. The wood-like pollution had already started to affect Fu Gui's thighs. Ruan Xing noticed that Fu Gui's feet had completely turned to wood, with visible grain patterns crawling up the surface.

That was extremely rare for both him and Fu Gui, who were almost immune to pollution.

"Ruan Xing, get down here!"

That giant figure suddenly shouted, reaching out toward Fu Gui. His face twisted in anger, and his muscles shifted so naturally that he no longer looked like a puppet at all.

Fu Gui was startled and quickly flew higher.

"Ruan Xing! Give me back my son's life!"

Only now did Ruan Xing truly understand what Fu Zhi felt when facing those puppets. It was just too complicated.

This pollutant clearly knew who he was. That was why it didn't pretend to be clueless like Ruan Zhi would have. Instead, it acted like a furious father who knew his son's body had been stolen.

It wasn't actually Ruan Xing's father, but the pollutant was using that to mess with his head, trying to break his focus and mark him as the target. And if anything happened to Ruan Xing and Fu Gui, that disruption could very well impact Fu Zhi's actions.

The monster didn't leap up. Maybe because its body was so large now that gravity weighed it down heavily. Its movements were slow and clumsy, and it couldn't catch the nimble Fu Gui. Then it took a deep breath, its chest swelling like it was about to unleash something.

Ruan Xing's eyes sharpened. "Dodge—now!"

Fu Gui reacted quickly and flew higher.

"Ruan Zhi" filled his lungs and was about to blow out at Ruan Xing. If that breath hit them, both he and Fu Gui would probably be turned to solid wood on the spot.

Fu Gui was panting heavily as he flapped his wings as hard as he could. The wood transformation had already started to spread to his wings, and each flap took tremendous effort.

But they were still not at a safe distance. If he got hit by that breath, it was over.

Ruan Xing looked down at Fu Zhi, who was standing right in front of the giant monster.

"What's Fu Zhi doing?"

Fu Gui: [Are you kidding me?! We're up here risking our lives like acrobats in a circus, and you're still worried about your man? How can you be so heartless to me?!]

But Ruan Xing never looked away. His eyes stayed locked on Fu Zhi.

The man stood tall, long blade in hand, watching the monster from a higher position. Around him, the puppets weren't letting him go. They rushed at him all at once, and among them, countless familiar figures flashed by.

The blond Holy Son, Will, Bai Xu, Pei Ye, Su Xiaona, Chen Yihang... people from the illusion were showing up one after another.

Fu Zhi was undeniably strong, but against a full-on swarm, he could only do so much. That was why the enemy used a mob tactic to deal with him from the start.

Even if a person were strong, facing a whole army of roaches… most people would crack.

Fu Zhi gripped his sword in his right hand, and with his left, he slowly cut into his palm, causing blood to drip onto the long blade.

Buzz!

The blade let out a low hum, and then black flames burst from the hilt, rising into the sky.

And in Ruan Xing's eyes, among all this green, that black flame was the brightest thing there.

The puppet still hadn't exhaled that breath. But as soon as it saw the black fire, it froze, swallowed its breath, and blurted out, "What is that?!"

Fu Zhi moved.

Ruan Xing remembered when he was little, playing with burning sticks, spinning them fast through the air, leaving glowing trails behind.

That was exactly what he saw now. The sword danced, and all he could see were black flames tracing through the air, glowing faintly red against the darkness.

"Ruan Zhi" screamed as both legs vanished below the knee. "Major! Why are you trying to kill me?! I just wanted revenge for my son! That thing inside his body is some stray ghost! Whatever it is, it's not Ruan Xing!"

Fu Zhi lowered his eyes and raised the blade again. The puppet stared at it in terror.

The regular-sized puppets around him began vanishing under this assault. Some were sliced in half, some lost their heads, and others lost both legs. The blood-stained blade had become the sharpest weapon in the world. Before they could react, they were all wiped out.

"Soul annihilation…"

The giant puppet's voice trembled. "You can't do this to me, Fu Zhi. I still have memories! I'm still alive! I was forced to become this way. Please, listen to me—"

Clearly, the puppet's power was tied to memory. Someone who had all of another person's memories... did that make them that person? If they had lived through their experiences, felt their emotions, understood their relationships, could they claim to be that person?

Fu Zhi stared with icy blue eyes. In the puppet's chest, right where the heart should be, a patch of pitch-black flame had started to burn. It meant one thing.

It was already a full pollutant.

He had seen many people turn into pollutants right in front of him. One second, they were in pain, and the next, they were laughing madly, mumbling through twisted grins: "Captain, don't kill me… I'm still your teammate…"

Even if this really was Ruan Zhi, he was already gone.

And Fu Zhi made his stance clear with action as he sliced off one of the monster's arms.

It let out a sharp scream and transformed into a middle-aged man in a suit. Compared to the clean-cut "Ruan Zhi," this version had rough facial features and obvious woodgrain patterns.

Ruan Xing had seen him before, in Fu Zhi's wristband files. He was wearing a tie, taking a photo with members of an environmental organization, and holding a certificate. This was the mayor of the city.

After the transformation, he moved more easily. He clearly knew disguises were pointless now and wanted to fight directly. He reached out with another hand to grab the sword, but forgot how fast its wielder was.

Fu Zhi's blade moved in a flash. Before the puppet could react, both arms were cut off. Then the black flames caught and lit up the limbs like perfect fuel, burning them into nothing.

"Come!"

The suited man called out to the surrounding puppets. They swarmed toward him and latched onto his body, becoming his new arms and legs. From a distance, it looked like a group of parasites clinging to him and sucking his limbs dry.

Once fully grown, he swung his arms and attacked Fu Zhi again.

But they grew too slowly to keep up. For every wave of puppets that replaced a limb, Fu Zhi would slice it off again, like harvesting weeds.

In the end, the entire city's puppet population had joined the fight. They became fuel for the massive puppet, then fuel for the black fire, which raged higher into thick clouds of smoke.

The middle-aged man panicked and screamed, "You maniac! You killed them all!"

Fu Zhi paused. He stood on the tree canopy, and the trembling plants beneath his feet didn't dare shake him off.

Fu Gui shouted, "You're the maniac! You killed over a hundred thousand people in this city!"

At this point, the mayor only had his upper body left. His lower half was rooted into the ground, sucking nutrients like crazy. The surrounding trees withered one after another just to keep him alive.

Even so, the black flames still crawled up his body like maggots on bone.

His puppet's face froze, but there was still a hint of madness behind his eyes.

"I didn't kill them. They willingly died."

Fu Gui was stunned by the sheer shamelessness.

The mayor looked up at the crow floating above. "They were old, weak, and cast out by society. They ate plain rice for decades just to afford a place to live. For a small reward, they were willing to risk everything. I didn't need to kill them."

"All it took was some tiny favors. A few rumors about shortcuts to wealth, and they walked into the trap on their own."

"This plaza had an old legend, that if you performed a certain ritual here, you'd get rich."

And yes, you could get rich, but the wealth of the rest of their lives was just handed to them in a different form. After all, death benefits still counted as a payout.

Ruan Xing asked, "Who were you sacrificing to?"

The puppet looked at him. "A target? I don't know. As long as it gave me what I wanted, I didn't care who it was."

"You planned this long ago?"

"Of course. The pollution started way earlier than you people think. Long before the apocalypse, the experiments had already begun. I was lucky I caught the last train out. Just didn't expect the whole system to collapse in the end. But keeping my position didn't matter anymore."

Fu Gui: "Wow. What a great mayor."

The puppet let out a twisted laugh, looking at the little black puffball. "Ruan Xing, you're really interesting. Do you know why I set my sights on you the moment you entered the city? Because I remembered your 'father.' He left quite an impression."

"But I never expected you to be even more fun. A mage? Seriously? Ha!"

The puppet rambled on, "Back in the illusion, I gave Ruan Zhi a test. Pick his own life or his teammate's. A classic dilemma. Most people would choose themselves. But that guy gave up his own life. Can you believe that? It's hilarious."

"Your father was too kind. Just like the rest of those stupid citizens. Even when he knew he might die, he still gambled everything on that tiny shred of hope."

"When his teammate was in trouble, he chose to take the risk himself. And in the end? He died and became my fuel."

"I admired him. I respected him. But I never wanted to be like him."

While he talked, the mayor was trying to buy time and slip underground again.

It was working. His body turned into roots, digging deep into the ground, and his upper half began to vanish.

His head, about the size of a car, sank lower and lower, getting closer to escape.

But then, a black blade pierced the earth in front of him, cutting off his retreat.

The black flames spread across the ground and into the puppet's body. The burning sensation grew stronger, echoing the tiny flames already clinging to him.

His face froze. "What are you doing? Do you disagree with me?"

Fu Zhi shook his head.

The puppet sneered, "You grew up in the Tower. You've never suffered. Why pretend to understand people like them?"

The ground suddenly rumbled.

Knowing he couldn't escape, the puppet chose to drag everyone down with him.

Roots twisted beneath the soil, kicking up dust. He had absorbed enough power and was ready for the final fight.

But Fu Zhi gave him no chance.

He moved fast, stepping on the monster's shoulder, then leaped behind it and raised his blade high.

Black flames engulfed the puppet's car-sized head. Dry wood met fire and instantly exploded with a boom. A high-pitched scream echoed from underground. The giant round head lit up like a fireball, boiling over as it set the surrounding trees ablaze.

Plants without earth could not survive. Once the puppet rooted itself, it could no longer escape the ground.

Fu Gui spat, "Serves you right!"

The little black dumpling finally let out a breath as Ruan Xing felt the stiffness in his body fade. But just as he was relaxing, Fu Zhi's following words made his nerves tighten again.

"Ruan Xing, care to explain?"

 

 

 

Author's Note:

I ate something icy today, and my lips got stuck (it seriously froze shut, I almost cried). Everyone, please let your ice treats melt a bit before eating! Don't eat stuff that's too cold, okay?