Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Fifteen days after Lu Yanzhou's disappearance, the S-class pollutant "Annihilation" emerged, stunning the entire world into silence.

The contamination value of "Annihilation" was hundreds of times higher than any known S-class anomaly, bar none.

China's top officials held meeting after meeting regarding how to deal with "Annihilation" and the changing global situation.

Because this super-powerful anomaly was discovered within China, the international community, under the pretext of humanitarian aid, dispatched several ability users to the country.

The Special Affairs Office received the news with darkened expressions.

"The World Alliance, led by Country M, has already entered our territory. Informing us only now shows they don't take us seriously at all!"

"It's more than that; they don't care about the safety of our people. So far, [Annihilation] hasn't attacked humans. Instead, it devours every local pollutant it encounters. What if those people provoke it and cause it to rampage? What about our citizens?!"

"We must find [Annihilation] before these people do."

"Yes!"

"Annihilation's" movements were elusive. Their only clue was that places it visited would experience a sudden, drastic drop in contamination values. By the time their personnel arrived, all traces of pollutants in the area would be gone.

Director Liu specifically invited Lin Juan to participate in this operation.

Standing in a high-rise, Director Liu looked down at the bustling traffic, deep worry in his eyes. "Based on our analysis, [Annihilation]'s next location is likely here. We've detected three Class A anomalies; two fled from elsewhere, likely because of [Annihilation]."

And "Annihilation," according to their observations, never let any food within reach escape.

Fortunately, at this stage, it was not interested in humans.

Otherwise, it was unimaginable what hellish situation humanity would face with the emergence of such a powerful pollutant.

As night fell, the streets were brightly lit and bustling. People laughed and played, with no hint of the tense atmosphere of an impending apocalypse.

Zhuang Yufeng sat by the window. This life was too different from the one he had experienced. He had already revealed everything he knew. He originally thought the premature emergence of "Sacred Serpent Mountain" was the biggest variable. Now, it seemed the biggest variable was "Annihilation."

In his previous life, "Annihilation" was not nearly this human-like. Wherever it went, it left nothing alive—it was truly a scorched earth. It didn't even need its main body to be present; anywhere its domain reached, everything would become its nourishment.

"Dr. Zhuang."

Lin Juan's voice suddenly broke into Zhuang Yufeng's thoughts.

"What does [Annihilation] look like?"

Zhuang Yufeng looked up. The young man stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. Half of his body was shrouded in darkness, giving an intangible, distant sense of emptiness.

"No one who has seen it has been able to speak coherently afterward." Zhuang Yufeng had heard countless stories about [Annihilation] but had never confronted its true form directly.

"Some describe it as a fog, blotting out the sky and earth, seeming to be everywhere."

Remembering the speculations about "Annihilation's" origins in his previous life, and connecting it to the fact that it appeared after Lu Yanzhou's disappearance, a very unsettling conjecture formed in Zhuang Yufeng's mind.

If "Annihilation" really had some connection to Lu Yanzhou...

Zhuang Yufeng was the only one who withheld the connection to the Lu family from the higher-ups. He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing, but just as he was about to speak up, a strong premonition stopped the words at his lips.

Of course, Zhuang Yufeng also had his own selfish reasons.

Whether there was a link between "Annihilation" and Lu Yanzhou remained uncertain. But Lin Juan's capabilities were undeniable. With him, humanity had an additional safeguard. There was no need to push him away over something uncertain.

After Lu Yanzhou's disappearance, Lin Juan seemed to have changed, as if the bond connecting him to this world had been severed. He often gave the illusion that he might vanish from the world at any moment.

Even Lu Mingxuan, with his animal-like intuition, hadn't dared to clown around in front of Lin Juan recently.

Once again swallowing the words that reached his lips, Zhuang Yufeng lowered his gaze to conceal the complex emotions in his eyes.

He didn't know that Lin Juan had long been aware that "Annihilation" was Lu Yanzhou.

Lin Juan simply couldn't understand why Lu Yanzhou, having become "Annihilation," was avoiding him.

Several times, Lin Juan's intuition told him he was about to find it, only to lose its trace the next moment.

They were always one step behind.

Two months was enough time for the Special Affairs Office to predict the next possible location of "Annihilation" based on its movement patterns.

Lin Juan wasn't one to sit idly by. Back when Lu Yanzhou had turned into a giant tentacle, he had clung to Lin Juan relentlessly. It made no sense that now, as "Annihilation," he would completely refuse to see him.

Regardless of what "Annihilation" thought, Lin Juan was determined to get a clear answer.

If the other party truly wanted to sever their relationship...

Lin Juan wouldn't drag things out, but he would definitely give it a parting "gift."

Late at night.

The young man under the covers breathed steadily, seemingly in deep sleep.

In the faint moonlight, a shadowy tendril emerged from under the bed, cautiously climbing onto the sheets. It raised its tip, gazing at the youth nestled in the blankets.

Instinct drove it closer, closer still.

The shadow slowly advanced.

A larger patch of shadow crept onto the bed.

It mimicked the pattern on the duvet, disguising itself as a larger blanket, completely enveloping the youth.

One tendril of shadow stopped less than five centimeters from the youth's cheek, hesitating, not daring to get closer. After a long while, it rubbed against the air near his face.

Several thin, cicada-wing-like shadows seized the chance to slip under the covers, winding around the youth's warm wrists, gradually filling the spaces between his fingers.

Lingering, obsessed, they writhed.

Half an hour later, the shadows receded like a tide.

Fifty kilometers away, deep beneath a remote, uninhabited mountain range.

A coiled mass of tentacles covered in scales thrashed violently. Scales constantly shed and regrew. Unbearable agony made it let out a piercing, agonized roar.

The earth shook, mountains trembled.

"An earthquake?!!"

Countless people jolted awake from their dreams.

Lin Juan got up, threw on a coat, and went out, encountering Zhuang Yufeng, who had also stepped out.

"It wasn't an earthquake. Lishan briefly detected high contamination concentrations. We suspect a pollutant appeared there. We need to get there immediately."

Zhuang Yufeng offered a quick explanation and hurried outside.

Lin Juan entered Mt. Lishan with the personnel from the Paranormal Special Affairs Office.

Unfortunately, as usual, by the time they arrived, nothing remained in the mountain except for trees flattened into disarray.

The surroundings were eerily silent.

With the master's departure, the pollution in the mountain slowly dissipated.

"Too late again," Director Liu lamented.

After investigating and finding nothing, everyone packed their gear to head back.

After all the commotion, day was just dawning. A fiery red sun emerged from the clouds. Lin Juan briefly shut his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness.

The group headed back. In the dense forest in the opposite direction, a figure stumbled out.

As it walked, the figure dissolved, replaced by a tangled mass of tentacles.

With the tentacles' appearance, instinct took over.

The wildly flailing tentacles coiled into a ball and rolled toward Lin Juan's location.

After just a few steps, the tentacles ran into an obstacle and were forced to stop.

A transparent, hard barrier blocked its path.

"Finally caught it."

Instantly, high walls shot up from all sides, trapping the tentacles inside.

Once sure the tentacles were trapped, a group of ability users of various types emerged from the shadows.

"Jason, how long can your 'wall' hold it?"

"At most half a minute under normal circumstances, but it just underwent a metamorphosis. I can hold it for five minutes."

"Hurry, contact headquarters. The Chinese team is still in the mountain; we need to evacuate quickly."

They were elite ability users from Country M, a team composed entirely of S-class members. Previously, they had evaded detection by "Annihilation" and the Chinese operatives thanks to an S-class stealth-type ability user.

A diminutive ability user activated his power. Soon, sweat beaded on his forehead. "No good, my channel can't transmit 【Annihilation】."

"What?! Can't transmit?"

"After the metamorphosis, 【Annihilation】's pollution value exceeds my threshold. Forced transmission would cause me to be assim..."

The short ability user didn't finish his sentence before suddenly going silent.

The remaining ability users looked at him, their faces changing drastically.

In just an instant, this ability user showed obvious signs of mutation. In less than half a minute, this S-class ability user had turned into a pollutant.

A thick tentacle pierced through the "wall" and coiled around him.

Crunching sounds echoed.

The tentacle wrapped around its prey like a python, but unlike a snake, every part of the tentacle could open into a mouth full of sharp teeth, taking huge bites out of the prey.

This scene sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

They were familiar with high-level pollutants, but one that could cause an S-class ability user to mutate and be devoured without resistance in the blink of an eye was unheard of.

"Annihilation's" strength far exceeded their expectations.

Realizing this, a chill rose from the soles of their feet. Especially the ability user who had initially trapped 【Annihilation】; he clearly felt the pollution eroding him through the barrier.

"Hel..."

His plea for help never left his mouth.

In a state of immense panic, the ability users disregarded everything else and fled for their lives.

Two hours later, Lin Juan's group, who were supposed to have left, appeared at the scene.

After investigation, an operative from the Paranormal Special Affairs Office stepped forward to report: "Besides traces of pollutants, there are also traces of ability use. The intruders were likely S-class!"

"An ID tag was found; it belongs to an ability user from Country M."

The disheveled Country M operatives, having barely escaped with their lives, looked up and locked eyes with a pair of deep purple eyes.

The rich, deep purple resembled a bottomless cosmic void. Several S-class ability users couldn't utter a single syllable before losing their ability to speak forever.

A gentle breeze blew past. All that remained was a tall man with purple eyes.

The man seemed unaccustomed to his body, moving his limbs somewhat clumsily. In the shadows beneath his feet, faint bulges could be seen churning and surging.

"...Juan"

"Find..."

"Mine."

"Mine mine mine mine mine mine mine..."

Deep purple scales covered his skin, slowly receding beneath it.

The color of his pupils grew darker and darker, so dark it was almost black, then settled into calmness.

"Juanjuan."

"My Juanjuan."

Like delirious murmurs, spoken in a language no one could understand.

As the metamorphosis concluded, Lu Yanzhou awoke.

No.

Or rather, Lu Yanzhou—as "Annihilation"—had awoken.

Vast memories flooded his mind. Everything was gray and dull, except for those related to Lin Juan—peaceful, warm, and vividly colored.

Lu Yanzhou surveyed his surroundings. He remembered the memories he had lost in childhood and also recalled the trajectory of a world without Lin Juan.

Lin Juan didn't linger long at Mt. Lishan. Just as the Office had identified the intruders' identities, news came from the capital: Lu Yanzhou had been found.

Lin Juan hurried back to the capital.

As soon as he stepped off the plane, a man walking toward him pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Juanjuan, you've been through a lot."

The familiar voice sounded in his ear, and the tension in Lin Juan's heart from the past few days suddenly melted away. He returned the man's embrace, drawing in his familiar scent. "Where have you been?"

"Sorry for making you worry, Juanjuan." Lu Yanzhou tilted his head slightly, gently kissing the hair of the young man in his arms.

No one saw the flash of deep purple in the man's eyes, nor did anyone notice the countless tentacles writhing in the shadows at his feet, scrambling to crawl toward Lin Juan's shadow.

They entwined tightly with it.

As if they were one, never to part.

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Author's note: A certain tentacle, now wearing human skin, couldn't wait to return and snuggle with his wife [owl emoji].

Entering the final stages, aiming to finish this month.