Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Even more than last time... more intense.

With a thunderous rush, Shi Yu felt his brain practically explode.

Mr. Sang actually said that?!

Unthinkable—this refined man would say such things through the door.

With a "thud," Shi Yu flailed in panic, hastily grabbing his phone, which had fallen to the floor from his sudden movement.

Sang Huaiyu's voice hitched slightly.

After a moment, a low chuckle drifted through the door.

Shi Yu: !!!!

Was he... being mocked?

He whipped his head around, but the god across from him merely said, "Since Xiao Yu needs to rest, I’ll head out for now."

Sang Huaiyu’s tone was laced with amusement. "See you tomorrow."

Shi Yu, fuming, jumped onto the bed and slammed a fist into the mattress before turning away and muttering, "See you tomorrow."

The mansion’s lights dimmed, but Shi Yu’s mind raced, leaving him unable to sleep.

One moment, his thoughts were consumed by Sang Huaiyu; the next, he berated himself: Why am I such a coward?!

So what if it’s flirting?! It’s just wanting to get laid!

What’s there to be afraid of?

He’d already seen men give birth—why was he still hesitating now?!

Gritting his teeth, he yanked the covers over himself and sternly vowed: If Sang Huaiyu pulls this again next time, he wouldn’t hold back!

After returning to his room, Sang Huaiyu recalled Xiao Yu’s reaction, his chest burned.

But just as a smile began to form, he suddenly sensed something and froze.

The southwest direction...

What were those incompetent pests up to now?

In the past, no matter what those failed ancient deities did, Sang Huaiyu wouldn’t lift a finger. But now, just as he and Xiao Yu were getting somewhere, someone had to rock the boat again.

His brows furrowed gradually as he weighed it briefly before turning his gaze southwest.

Time to take out the trash.

......

The next morning, Shi Yu woke up fully prepared, having plotted a hundred comebacks to face Mr. Sang.

But as he was sprawled across the bed, he received a message.

Mr. Sang had to handle something and would be gone this morning. Maybe 2-3 days?

Wait, he's not here?

After a moment of surprise, delight quickly flooded him.

Shi Yu swiftly sat up, unsure whether to relax or stay on edge.

But what could be the major event that made Mr. Sang leave?

Those Ancient Gods?

Thinking of the Ancient Gods frequently appearing in City B recently, Shi Yu's lips twitched, convinced his guess was correct.

But what are those Ancient Gods scheming this time?

Indeed, the Ancient Gods were planning something big this time.

Having failed twice in targeting Shi Yu, they grew more and more puzzled about the human's identity while their survival instincts grew sharper.

Twice already—the Ancient Gods weren’t foolish enough to think Sang Huaiyu was unaware. The only reason he hadn’t appeared yet was because that human remained unharmed.

If Shi Yu were truly injured...

The Twisted Figures shuddered, realizing they had to plan their escape now.

Though the other Ancient Gods thought the Twisted Figures were overreacting—it’s just a human, nothing to worry about—what happened to Dark Moon left them silent.

"So, what should we do now?"

The Mirror Ghost spoke.

The Twisted Figures hesitated. They sensed something deeply wrong about that human, but their top priority was opening the Space Vortex.

If Sang Huaiyu noticed them here, none of them would escape. Opening the Space Vortex now would allow them to escape this dimension.

All the Ancient Gods knew that no matter how hidden the pocket dimension was, it was merely a tiny pocket attached to this world—easily found by Sang Huaiyu.

But upon hearing "Space Vortex," the other Ancient Gods’ faces darkened. They never expected the Twisted Figures to propose opening it.

Once opened, the Space Vortex would shred this world through dimensional tears. In the past, back when they still had their divine powers, they could have avoided the vortex and fled elsewhere. But now...

Now, as demigods, if the Space Vortex backfired, they would all perish.

The pocket dimension fell silent.

After proposing the idea, even the Twisted Figures felt it was too radical—a last resort.

"Think carefully," they said.

The whispers faded, restoring silence.

...

Meanwhile, after breakfast, Shi Yu sneezed, feeling as if someone had been gossiping about him just now.

"Achoo!"

Why is Mom sick again?

The Little Monster fretted so much it nearly spoke, prompting Shi Yu to quickly comfort it.

"It's nothing."

"Maybe someone was just talking about me."

Speaking of which, Shi Yu thought of Mingyue, who was still detained in the Ability User Association. How was that ancient deity in the form of a giant wolf doing now?

"Mingyue" was locked in a cage. After waking up, having been stripped of its demigod form, it had now devolved into a mindless Horror. Its intelligence and ability to think vanished too, along with its energy.

After hours of interrogation, the Ability User Association could only frown in frustration.

This Horror, like other SSS Horrors, was mindless—yet it somehow managed to infiltrate the Ability User Association, which clearly set it apart from the rest.

"Dr. Shen, do you remember where you were affected?" President Chang asked thoughtfully.

Shen Yan shook his head. He had been at the Ability User Association these past few days, so if he'd been infected, it must have happened there.

Unfortunately, the creature before them had no consciousness, making it impossible to extract any information.

Still, Shen Yan had some suspicions—was this incident related to Shi Yu?

Whether it was the message he had sent or the way the Horror had later been expelled from his mind, Shen Yan was sure someone had bailed him out.

Yet everyone in the Ability User Association looked blank, leaving only one possibility... Shi Yu.

At this thought, he instinctively glanced at Fu Nanyao across from him, but couldn't read his face.

Shen Yan had noticed long ago that Captain Fu seemed to be hiding something from the Association.

He lowered his gaze, lost in thought.

After the meeting ended, Shen Yan deliberately hung back on purpose. Just as Fu Nanyao was about to leave, he suddenly spoke up.

"Captain Fu, I have something to ask you."

No one suspected anything, assuming Dr. Shen just needed to go over work with Captain Fu—especially since Dr. Shen had just woken up from his injuries, and the duty room's examiner had said he needed rest.

Wang Shan and Zhao Wen nodded and left.

The office was now empty except for Shen Yan and Fu Nanyao.

Shen Yan wasn't sure what Fu Nanyao was hiding was related to Shi Yu, but he blurted out, "Someone helped me today."

"Does Captain Fu know who it was?"

The moment the discussion in the meeting room began, Fu Nanyao had already had his suspicions. However, due to Shi Yu's evasive attitude, he hadn’t voiced it. Now, Shen Yan had cornered him with the question.

Their eyes met.

"Who do you think it was?"

Shen Yan pulled up his phone. "When that Horror possessed me, I only sent a message to one person."

"Besides, Wang Shan mentioned that Shi Yu had asked him about my condition."

As improbable as it seemed, Shen Yan just knew this was no accident.

Silence hung in the meeting room. After scanning the messages, Fu Nanyao knew he was right.

It’s Shi Yu again.

Shi Yu had once again helped the Ability User Association, confirming his theory that Shi Yu was an ally.

But Shen Yan, standing opposite him, was still waiting for his response.

Fu Nanyao said calmly, "Just act like it didn’t happen."

It was hard to believe these words came from their captain, who always put the Ability User Association first.

Shen Yan hesitated for a moment.

Fu Nanyao spoke again, "Just wait a little longer."

Something told him the recent spike in abnormal incidents was no coincidence. Sooner or later, Shi Yu’s true nature would come out.

By then, both his and Shen Yan's questions would have answers.

Shen Yan frowned deeply. Just as the two were about to say something, the Association’s alarms suddenly screeched.

The abrupt alarm startled everyone still in the building, with no idea what was going on.

Han Chuyi turned around and couldn't help but curse under his breath, "Now what?"

Shi Yu also wanted to know—now what?

The moment he stopped thinking about the giant wolf, he sensed something wrong. Looking up, he realized the sky over City B and the surrounding areas had completely darkened.

Thick, menacing clouds blotted out the sky. The sunny sky had turned pitch black. The villa district where Shi Yu lived was the first to issue a warning.

"An extreme weather event, unpredictable by meteorological stations, may occur. Please stay indoors and ensure your safety."

"Management’s already alerted the authorities."

The message from the property manager played over the broadcast. Shi Yu had just frowned when a message from Mr. Sang arrived on his phone.

"Ran into some trouble."

"Xiao Yu, stay in the villa. Don’t come out."

The villa had long been reinforced by Sang Huaiyu’s power. Nothing—not even those ancient gods—could break in. It was the safest place around.

Even if a Space Vortex were to open, it’d take over thirty minutes to breach the villa. Sang Huaiyu had more than enough time to return and protect Xiao Yu.

He’d only turned a blind eye to those strays for a couple days, yet Sang Huaiyu never expected the ancient gods would pull something like this—attempting to open a "Space Vortex." Had they lost their minds?

He slightly narrowed his eyes, and after casually snuffed out one of the fleeing creatures, his brows furrowed as he swiftly searched for their hidden locations.

Long before gathering those ancient gods, the "Twisted Figures" had already made preparations.

They had even planted traps in several secret spots, biding their time for the right moment to unleash latent cosmic laws that would tear open space and summon the Space Vortex.

Sang Huaiyu’s usual cool demeanor hardened as he glanced at the darkened sky outside before looking away.

Truth be told, He hated these mind games more than anything.

After receiving Sang Huaiyu’s message, Shi Yu knew this was no small problem. It might even be… bad.

After all, as far as he knew, Sang Huaiyu had never sounded this urgent before.

What could have happened to make the Evil God so serious?

Shi Yu looked at the sky outside, which seemed no different from when the Horrors attacked before, yet it undeniably carried a sense of foreboding.

The Little Monster made a noise: "Wala."

Mom, it’s like... chaos outside.

The Little Monster suddenly spoke in confusion.

"What's chaotic?" Shi Yu jolted back to attention, realizing the Little Monster wasn't referring to humans. In such a situation, chaos outside was normal, but for the Little Monster to mention it specifically...

He pondered for a moment before hearing the Little Monster say, "Wala."

It's the aura... the aura outside seems... disordered.

The Little Monster couldn't quite express this feeling.

It was just strange, like mixing Mom's popcorn with sweet and sour fish—it made it very uncomfortable.

Popcorn and sweet and sour fish? What a bizarre analogy.

Shi Yu twitched his lips slightly but still grasped the key point.

—Aura disorder.

Or in other words: spatial distortion?

That would explain it. He had sensed something was off.

Right now, it was still in the smoldering stage, with hidden traps planted at various points, but the Space Vortex hadn't been opened yet. Even so, it was already extremely unsettling.

Shi Yu had initially obeyed Sang Huaiyu's words and stayed home to wait, but as time passed, he felt like ants under his skin—unbearable.

So strange.

Hugging a pillow, he lowered his head, finding even his milk tea lost its flavor, and he grew inexplicably restless.

Was he being affected by the weather?

Shi Yu pressed his lips together and glanced at the messages on his phone.

Due to the sudden dark clouds, the weather bureau had urgently issued a severe weather warning, though nothing major had happened yet.

But the Ability User Association in charge of this matter was just as clueless as he was.

Previous Horror disturbances had identifiable sources, but this time... after the alarm sounded, what was truly alarming was that the phenomenon in the sky resembled a natural disaster. The detectors had also gone completely haywire, leaving them completely in the dark about what was happening.

Shi Yu mindlessly scrolled through his phone until an alarm reminded him it was mealtime. He then got up and made instant noodles in the kitchen.

But after just a few bites, he suddenly put down his fork.

It wasn’t his imagination—he really did feel a bit off.

His skin... was it itching?

Shi Yu turned his head with a frown and touched his arm. There was nothing visibly wrong with his skin, but the subtle but persistent itch made him suspicious.

At such a sensitive moment, suddenly itching was something that demanded attention.

Worried that he might have unknowingly fallen victim to some ancient god's trap, Shi Yu immediately used his Spirit Threads to conduct an emergency scan upon realizing something was wrong.

Yet the Spirit Threads showed—nothing was wrong with his body, except for the unrelenting itch on the pinky finger of his left hand.

Now, the sensation grew sharper.

Alright, focus on the left hand. Shi Yu closed his eyes, channeling all his attention to his left hand, trying to hazily perceive through it.

But the next second, his expression turned strange.

Wait, was his left hand… letting in a draft?

What the hell was this feeling?

Earlier, the itch in his finger—was it wind whistling through his bones?

Shi Yu nearly shuddered at the thought that popped into his mind, staring speechlessly at his left hand for a long time.

Who in their right mind feels this?!

Definitely a misperception.

Shi Yu withdrew his hand, certain his earlier perception was off, and decided to continue eating.

Ten minutes later, the sky outside grew even darker, and weirdly… the clouds had crept unsettlingly closer to the ground.

Shi Yu twitched his lips. As the itch in his left hand worsened, he had no choice but to face the problem head-on.

Well, if wind was leaking through his bones, couldn’t he just patch it?

After some thought, Shi Yu gingerly guided his spiritual energy toward the spot where he’d sensed the draft.

But the moment he poked at it—wait, what?

It wasn’t just a draft—there seemed to be something else there too?

Whatever. No matter what it was, it couldn’t be good. Better purge it.

His Spirit Threads swiftly tore through the breach’s links and slammed it shut in a flash.

Shi Yu tested the gap—good—sealed tight now. No more drafts this time.

Satisfied, he withdrew his Spirit Threads.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the "Twisted Figure" that had just fled to the icy plains was moments from slipping into the "Space Vortex" it had prepared earlier. But the moment it stepped into the space, it realized something was wrong.

Wait, where were the spatial laws it had woven here?

And the connected Space Vortex—where was it?!

Just gone?!

The Twisted Figure first thought it had entered the wrong place.

But no matter how frantically it searched, the spatial entrance was definitely here—only the painstakingly hidden vortex entrance had completely vanished?

How was that possible?!