Chapter 49

Chapter 49

A taxi driver waited at a red light, chatting idly through the rolled-down window with a fellow driver.

Their conversation ranged from the mundane to the extraordinary, covering everything. These taxi drivers in Arkham, in a way, knew the city best: where new shops opened, which ones were affordable and good, where the government was constructing roads and where to detour, all this firsthand information was exchanged among the drivers.

"Speaking of which, there've been a lot of strange happenings recently," the fellow driver said. "You know that rumor that's been hot online lately? About seeing creatures that don't belong to this world."

"Aren't urban legends like this common?" the driver responded.

"Who knows, maybe it's just been hyped up again. But there are quite a few oddballs looking into this stuff. I've driven a few," the colleague scoffed. "They're really weird, always fidgeting in the car. Next time, I'm definitely not taking them."

Driver: "Exactly, those weirdos, especially inquisitive, they won't even spare personal questions like when you got married or how many people are in your family."

Recalling his last experience, the driver felt perplexed; although he liked chatting, it didn't mean he enjoyed being incessantly questioned, especially about how he divorced his ex-wife.

His colleague, peering through the car window, spotted a photo placed next to the middle-aged driver's seat and teased him, “Been to see your daughter recently?”

“No, just watched her from a distance outside her school,” the middle-aged driver said with a bitter smile, “I promised her plane tickets for our next meeting. I hadn't saved enough money then, and I didn't want to disappoint my little angel.”

Saying this, his face beamed with happiness and longing: “But it’s almost there. I’ve nearly saved enough, and I’ve worked things out with my ex-wife. We’re going to travel together.”

“Oh, I envy you,” his colleague couldn’t help but smile. “I wish you a pleasant journey in advance.”

“Heh, thanks.”

The red light turned green, signaling it was time to move. The driver rolled up the window and was about to start the car when suddenly, a sound like raindrops hitting the window caught his attention.

He turned his head in confusion, his pupils shrinking in an instant.

It was blood.

Fresh human blood had splattered on the window he had just rolled up, originating from the colleague who was just chatting with him.

An indistinct creature suddenly appeared in the driver's seat; the colleague hadn't even had time to react. He screamed, only to be bitten in the neck, his carotid artery rupturing and spraying blood profusely.

Terrified screams erupted around him. The driver thought someone nearby had witnessed the scene and turned his head in panic, only to be petrified.

Monsters, countless monsters, suddenly appeared in people’s view. The driver saw crows with human faces perched on traffic lights, croaking hoarse tunes.

A young couple on the street looked in horror at the slender figure before them. Children who had just received balloons found the vendor with two heads smiling kindly at them.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed they had abruptly entered a fantastical world.

Or rather, they had finally seen the true face of the world.

In the moment when the human pupils reflected the bizarre, those creatures that hovered between reality and dreams descended into reality.

The entire block plunged into chaos instantly. A car just starting up crashed into another coming from the opposite direction, simply because the driver's eyes were covered by bat wings from behind. Amidst human screams, the anomalies began their rampage, turning the once peaceful and bustling city into hell in an instant.

Everywhere was blood, limbs, and bodies, alongside monsters hunting humans.

The driver's hands trembled uncontrollably as he gasped, witnessing this hellish scene. Outside the car window, someone was pounding on the glass, begging the driver to open the door. He was screaming something, but the driver couldn't hear, or perhaps didn't want to, because behind the man was a giant with multiple eyes.

The giant easily grabbed the person seeking help outside the window. The driver, steeling his heart, floored the accelerator, ignoring the pleading outside and headed straight for a certain elementary school in Arkham.

After leaving the block, the driver despairingly realized that this chaos wasn’t confined to one area.

It was everywhere, like the apocalypse had descended. The established order was completely shattered by the sudden appearance of these monsters, showcasing humanity's helplessness and fragility.

In such a situation, it seemed all humans could do was pray. The driver saw many people on the streets kneeling down, begging for God's forgiveness, while others despondently collapsed on the spot, waiting for death.

Bang!

Suddenly, a gigantic spider falling from the sky hit the driver's car, flipping it over against a utility pole. The car door deformed and popped out, the driver bloodied, his vision blurred, faintly seeing the giant spider crawling towards him.

No, no! I still have to pick up my daughter, I still need to... go on a family trip, reconcile with my ex-wife.

The driver thought of the travel plan he had prepared overnight, the plane tickets he had carefully chosen, his eyes filled with nothing but despair.

Bang bang bang——

Multiple bullets hit the spider, forcing it to halt its advance. The driver barely lifted his head, only to see several oddly dressed people wielding weapons, fearlessly rushing to fight the spider.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Matcha Milk Green approached the driver, figuring out how to pull him from the driver's seat, when the driver grasped her wrist: “Save...”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Save my daughter, she's in the school just ahead…” the driver pleaded with the blonde woman with earnest eyes.

“Don't worry, we already have someone on it,” Matcha Milk Green said while pulling the driver out and administering first aid with her medical kit.

The driver felt as if he had miraculously survived. He looked at the scene before him, the players fiercely battling the spider, none of them retreating.

On the contrary, they seemed excited?

The driver couldn't help but ask, “Who exactly are you?”

“Oh, you can call us...” Matcha Milk Green hesitated, recalling that in this game, terms like ‘player’ or ‘Fourth Calamity’ seemed to be censored, “Well, call us 'believers.'”

After all, she had become an impassive believer in Yun Lanen.

“Believers,” the driver muttered the word, a glimmer of hope arising in his heart.

It wasn’t just the players involved in the rescue and combat.

Clarence had received Lanen's warning before the incident and naturally couldn’t ignore it. He had prepared everything in advance, and as soon as the disaster struck, the teams responsible for rescue and combat were immediately deployed.

Of course, Black Poker mostly defended their own neighborhood and places that usually paid them protection money. The residents probably saw for the first time that their protection money actually worked. As soon as the monsters appeared, neighborhood broadcasts instructed everyone to stay inside, while fully armed gang members with various illegal firearms opened fire on the emerging monsters.

“Damn, where did these monsters come from?”

“Shut up, John, and aim better!”

Clarence personally took to the field to direct the operations, but soon he realized that humans were almost no match for these monsters.

Even with firearms and grenades, it was hard to damage these creatures' hides. In contrast, human resistance seemed exceedingly fragile, often being bisected or seriously wounded by just a swipe of the monsters' claws.

The gang members' resistance gradually weakened, and someone beside Clarence suggested, “Boss, we should retreat for now.”

Clarence bit his back teeth, a bitter smile of helplessness in his heart.

Ordinary people, when faced with such mysteries, are ultimately powerless.

He was about to nod in agreement but suddenly noticed a change in the situation on the field.

A group of oddly dressed individuals emerged from a corner. Some were well-equipped, while others wielded mere sticks and daggers. However, they all shared one common trait: an excited, fearless expression on their faces.

Clarence's mind raced, recalling the ferocious behavior of the players at the banquet, and a sliver of hope surged within him.

“No rush, cover them, and try to organize the residents' evacuation!”

Clarence quickly made a decision.

In the district where Kamuiren resided, Carmen made the same decision. His family used special magic potions to sprinkle at their doorstep, shielding them from the gaze of the outside monstrosities.

“Uncle... what should we do?”

“Don't panic, child,” Carmen remained calm even in this critical moment, “He will surely prevent the destruction of Arkham.”

Players’ Forum

“Main Quest Unleashed, Arkham Falls, Big Action Time, Guys!”

“Who’s at the Second Elementary School? There's a task to organize student evacuation here, we're short on people, need backup!”

“At Cross River Bridge, severe traffic accident, many injured, urgently need doctors, time to level up those medical skills!”

“Damn, the monsters here are too strong, watch for retreat, no need to force a fight with so many around!”

The players' forum became lively again. It had been bustling for the past few days, with Druid and others' mutation post just hitting the front page, only to be quickly replaced by the events unfolding in Arkham.

1L: Does anyone know what's happening? Why has Arkham City suddenly turned like this? Where did all these monsters come from?

2L: Who knows, I was still searching for the Outsiders' circles, and then it all changed suddenly.

3L: But to be honest, it's not bad. I was getting bored of the search-and-find game. The circles drawn by the Outsiders are getting harder to find. I'm fed up.

4L: Finally, more monster-fighting missions, friends!

5L: Haha, it's good, but feels like there are too many bosses, and some are just unbeatable!

6L: Right, what's up with these monsters? Some make me lose sanity just by looking at them, and a single touch is lethal. It's terrifying! Are these really the monsters players should be encountering?

7L: At the end of the day, it's because the players' levels are too low, and there are too few of us! Let me join the game! They need me in this big family!

8L: Plus one for madness, I've been lurking on the forum for so long. When do we move to the next phase? Hurry up and open player slots, damn it!

9L: Does this game even want to make money anymore? Let me in—

No matter how much the cloud players on the forum complained, they couldn't change the current situation. The real five hundred players in the game were already overwhelmed. Even those who had just logged off were called back by friends and family. There just weren't enough hands!

Fortunately, after the main quest started, the game officials temporarily lifted the 12-hour death restriction for logging in with a new card. Otherwise, players really couldn't afford to die!

Everything happening in Arkham City was condensed into hot posts on the player forum, and Lanen was watching all these posts.

“What's wrong?” Archie noticed something off about Lanen’s mood.

“Arkham... the situation is really bad.” Lanen closed his eyes for a moment, knowing that the inevitable had arrived.

“Let's go, it’s time for the final showdown.”

……

Perhaps it's the butterfly effect.

The hospital was originally supposed to be the final location where the leader of the Outsiders would open the gateway to the Dream World, but now, he's not here.

The location of the final battle has changed. Lanen couldn't understand it at first, but after the recent transformations, many things came back to him, and he realized where the real final battle should be.

Lanen, with mixed emotions, touched the tree trunk that had once been a player's body, took one last look at the forest, and left the nighttime hospital with Archie.

Upon arriving at the daytime hospital, they found the sky had darkened.

Patients, doctors, and nurses who were struggling against the monsters in the hospital fell one after another.

“What’s happening?” Archie exclaimed in shock, looking around.

Lanen shook his head, gazing into the distance, murmuring: “The second phase.”

“What?”

“Nothing, let’s hurry.”

Lanen couldn't quite describe his feelings. His pupils reflected the sky gradually covered in fog, the blue backdrop being replaced by a grey haze.

After they left the hospital, they noticed fog starting to envelop the surroundings.

The city of Arkham, once filled with despair, screams, and fear, suddenly transformed into another atmosphere.

It was a silence akin to death.

Strangely, after humans fell in the fog, the monsters ceased their attacks and resumed wandering in the mist.

The scenes of uncontrolled car accidents, bodies, and burning flames did not vanish. Instead, as everyone fell into unconsciousness, Arkham descended into another kind of chaos. Cars speeding initially collided in a series of crashes, fires broke out everywhere, but there was no one to manage them.

Lanen and Archie walked into the fog amidst this chaos, heading straight in a certain direction.

Archie initially wanted to ask where they were going, but seeing Lanen's profile and recalling the terrifying forest upon waking up, he hesitated to speak.

It felt like Lanen had become somewhat unfamiliar.

And a bit terrifying.

Unconsciously, Archie's steps slowed, moving from walking alongside Lanen to trailing slightly behind to his left. Lanen didn’t notice Archie’s change, just kept walking determinedly in that direction.

There was no mistake, the final battleground...

Lanen recalled a past experience when he almost left Arkham City, the vacant lot he had seen on the road.

That wasn’t just a vacant lot.

It was a place forgotten by people.

And now the location of the boss.

Suddenly, Lanen stopped, looking into the fog in a specific direction, prompting Archie to instinctively raise his guard.

They heard footsteps, hurried and almost undisguised, approaching rapidly.

Archie instinctively stepped forward, nearly cracking the concrete beneath his foot due to his suddenly enhanced physical abilities. He hadn't controlled his strength well, losing his balance instantly.

Damn!

The figure in the fog, moving incredibly fast, burst out of the mist while Archie was still off-balance, brushing past him and heading straight for Lanen.

Lanen recognized the figure and froze for a moment, instinctively reaching out his hand.

Then, he grabbed the newcomer's wrist.

Archie, having just regained his balance, hurriedly turned to look in Lanen's direction.

At this sight, he too was stunned.

“He is...”

The man with clown makeup looked extremely disheveled, his clothes almost completely soaked in blood, a sight similar to Archie's current state. However, his expression showed no trace of sanity, only ferocity and madness.

“Edmond,” Lanen called out instinctively.

“Hehehe~” The clown had no reaction, and as his wrist was caught, he swiftly turned his knife to slice Lanen's skin.

But the blade, which could easily cut through human flesh, was like it had struck steel, even sparking upon contact.

The knife's edge was bent.

Lanen himself was momentarily startled, but the clown, driven purely by insanity, didn't stop. Seeing the weapon was ineffective, he discarded the knife, attempting to strangle Lanen.

Could Lanen let him do that? At this critical moment, he closed his eyes and mercilessly grasped the white light point belonging to Edmond in the Dream Rift.

Squeezing it forcefully as if venting frustration.

The previously frenzied clown instantly became quiet, standing still as if a dog had been grabbed by the back of its neck.

Lanen opened his eyes, looking at the clown's vacant expression, then thought about Archie's reaction when his light point was pinched.

He was genuinely curious – why were their reactions so strange? What kind of sensation was this?

But now clearly wasn't the time to ask. Lanen dropped Edmond's hand from his neck, irritably pinching his paint-covered face: “Bad boy.”

What happened to waking up when he was called? It seems a man's words are just words after all.

The once-raging beast quieted down, its eyes intently fixed on him.

After dealing with Edmund, Algie approached slowly, observing the uncertainty still in Edmund's eyes: "He too is..."

Lann nodded: "It seems he, like you, has entered the second layer of the Rift of Dreams."

In reality, Lann was somewhat perplexed. Although Edmund had indeed mentioned entering the second layer of the Rift of Dreams, Lann had thought it was just a show of loyalty. But now, he had truly entered...

Why? Was there some irresistible force? Like with Algie before, was it a case of entering or dying?

Before Lann could figure it out, he suddenly looked up ahead.

Another set of footsteps.

Unlike Edmund's blatantly obvious approach, these footsteps were almost silent, yet for some reason, Lann just knew someone was there.

"Come out," Lann said calmly.

Algie quickly looked in the direction of Lann's gaze. As the wind blew, the fog slowly dispersed. The person, perhaps knowing they were discovered, silently emerged from the mist.

Algie's eyes widened slowly: "Albert..."

"Why are you here?"

Albert didn't respond. In fact, since emerging from the fog, he hadn't once looked at Algie, as if he didn't exist.

"Don't... come any closer," Albert said in a hoarse voice.

At that moment, Algie also sharply noticed something off about Albert.

This wasn't about his physical appearance. If anything, Algie, in his blood-stained clothes, appeared more intimidating. Compared to him, Albert, despite his wrinkled, dusty, and slightly scuffed clothes, seemed relatively unscathed.

The unease came from his eyes. Lann still remembered Albert as a sunny, blonde man, but now, aside from his golden hair, he was almost unrecognizable. His previously clear, cloudless blue eyes were now murky and lifeless.

It was as if everything that had once sustained this man had been drained away.

"Albert..." Algie spoke, "I already know about your identity, including the matters at the Inspectorate. You don't have to endure this alone anymore. We share the same goal; there's no need for us to weaken each other here."

Albert looked at Algie listlessly, not saying a word.

The words of Amos wandered through his mind.

The Inspectorate... it wasn't the bastion of justice he had imagined. What had he been doing all this time?

People are like that, always needing a belief, a support, to endure the temporary darkness and exhaustion of the road ahead, especially in an undercover job that requires strong convictions.

Before knowing the compromises of the Inspectorate and the foreigners, Albert had entered the foreigners' ranks driven by a sense of justice and a desire to avenge his friend's father. To quickly climb the ranks and penetrate their core, he participated in many cult activities, saw the warmth and coldness of human relationships, and was even forced to shed blood, doing many things he didn't want to do.

At his apartment, washing his hands under the tap, he often hallucinated that there was blood on his hands that he couldn't wash off. At first, he frequently washed them two or three times, almost peeling the skin off, before he barely came to his senses.

Over time, after experiencing such things repeatedly, Albert gradually became accustomed to it, a terrifying habit that slowly eroded a person's will.

It was during this time that his origin ability began to backfire. When Albert joined the foreigners, he concealed his ability, knowing it was a deadly blade against those stained with sin, a trump card that could secure victory when needed.

But when that trump card turned into a double-edged sword, the pain it inflicted was extraordinary.

Albert's endurance was solely due to a deep-seated belief sustaining him. Otherwise, he would have collapsed long ago. But now, knowing the corruption within the Inspectorate and that the intelligence he had provided and the work he had done might have been in vain, that supporting belief suddenly collapsed.

What could he do now? How could he proceed?

Albert himself didn't know anymore, as if his soul had already left his body, leaving only instinct to drive his actions.

When Edmund was pursuing Amos, Albert followed behind, but he moved slowly, unsure of his destination or purpose.

Along the way, he witnessed the dire state of Arkham, a consequence of the foreigner's conspiracy. Yet, he couldn't save many, as people perished in places he couldn't see.

He had to stop the foreigner's plot…

Even if the Bureau's rescue wouldn't arrive.

At this moment, Amos's voice echoed again in his heart. Albert stood still, gazing at Lann and Archie nearby, silently pondering.

I'm sorry.