Chapter 236

Something is behind me!?

He Jia'an turned and threw an elbow strike with almost no hesitation, only to feel his elbow make contact with an oily, soft, and easily pulped object, followed by the sound of something flying through the air, then crashing into the wardrobe in the bedroom with a clatter.

He had no desire to investigate whether that thing was Kawakami Rumi; the safest bet was to avoid direct contact and run first, as the dark environment was truly unfavorable for a human to perform.

Just as he was running downstairs, He Jia'an heard a series of rapid movements following closely behind, shifting from directly behind him to his rear right with strange, high-frequency sounds, and then appearing above his head. He focused his gaze and saw a rotting female body covered in wormholes moving rapidly across the ceiling like a scurrying reptile; unknown flesh-worms were constantly burrowing out of the bloody holes in her body, some falling off along with black fluid and landing on the stairs.

It was actually Mrs. Kawakami?!

Only then did He Jia'an realize that the thing hunting him was not Mimiko as he had assumed, but Mimiko's mother, who had been hanging in the living room just moments ago; he had not expected this thing to suddenly "rise from the dead"!

His hand had just reached into his pocket before pulling back out; the power of the New Year Red Envelope could not be wasted on Mrs. Kawakami, it had to be for Mimiko!

Jumping down the stairs, He Jia'an turned and leaped into the living room.

The ferocious Mrs. Kawakami pursued relentlessly, nearly catching him several times, shaking her head and swaying her crumbling body as she chased him into the living room.

Bang! Bang!

He Jia'an crashed through the living room's floor-to-ceiling window, jumped onto the lawn outside, rolled once on the ground, stood up, and charged toward the gate not far away.

Who would have thought, after chasing him out, Mrs. Kawakami suddenly stopped, then violently thrust her waist forward on the spot; the dense, honeycomb-like wormholes on her body emitted a gurgling sound, like the precursor to a water pump in operation, and then she suddenly sprayed out countless clawing black bugs and a large amount of putrid liquid.

The bugs and foul liquid descended from the sky like a torrential downpour, covering the patch of sky above He Jia'an's head, the shadows blotting out the moon; He Jia'an looked back subconsciously, watching as those maggot-like bugs spat out long, sharp fangs from their mouths, his eyes widening until they were about to pop out.

Whoosh—

A wild gale suddenly sliced past about a centimeter above his head, the terrifying invisible wind instantly scraping away everything above He Jia'an and shredding it into powder.

He Jia'an was momentarily distracted, tripped over a stone on the path with his right foot, and fell to the ground immediately.

He turned around at once, but could not clearly see what the massive figure that had snatched Mrs. Kawakami into the house in an instant actually was; he only heard a series of intense fighting and crashing sounds coming from the Kawakami House.

Rumble—

He Jia'an struggled to crawl up from the ground and ran out of the Kawakami House.

The overly thrilling and harrowing experience left him unable to think for a moment, let alone express any emotion, and he could only rely on his instincts as an Investigator to flee from danger.

Perhaps that massive figure with wings had saved him, but He Jia'an did not know if such an Abnormal creature was trustworthy; the other party saving him might just be dogs fighting dogs, merely competing over him as a piece of food.

Not until he had run far away, and could no longer hear the high-pitched bird calls and the massive sounds of destruction amidst the hazy fog, did He Jia'an finally slowly relax his tense nerves, stop sprinting, and walk normally, his mouth emitting heavy gasps, his entire body drenched in sweat.

His relaxed mind allowed his brain's nerves to function again, and he could not help but look back at the overlapping peaks formed by the fog and the buildings, recalling the heart-stopping encounter just now; he was somewhat shocked that he actually found those few bird calls somewhat nostalgically familiar, though he felt it was absurd and unacceptable for a moment, while his turbulent inner heart also made him afraid to guess at a certain thought that had flashed through his mind.

"There really isn't much time left." He Jia'an wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and suddenly felt a wave of pain; shifting his gaze, he discovered that at some point, two huge wounds had been burned into his arms, along with several spots of burns that were nearly merging into one. Recalling carefully, it seemed he had accidentally come into contact with that foul-smelling slime while fleeing.

Those liquids seemed to carry strong corrosiveness; just a few drops had left such huge and hideous wounds on his arms, yet he was also fortunate that the monster that had whipped up the gale had acted in time, blowing away the foul liquid that would have otherwise corroded him into nothingness, along with those bugs that looked like they could easily pierce his flesh and blood.

"It really hurts." He Jia'an found a Law Enforcement Office on the street, locked the doors and windows, took a fruit knife he had brought from the hospital out of his pocket, and then gently shaved off one of the corroded wounds.

After shaving away the burnt and rotted part, he saw that the wound underneath revealed the fresh red of normal flesh; while feeling immense pain, He Jia'an also let out a long sigh of relief, as at least he could confirm that the foul liquid was not poisonous and the amount he had accidentally touched was not much.

With pale, trembling lips and his teeth clenched tightly against his clothes, after treating the remaining corroded wounds, he found a handgun, ammunition, and a medical kit in the Law Enforcement Office; biting the bullet, he used a flame to ignite the wounds doused in gunpowder, and after a series of crackling sounds and the soul-piercing, intense pain, He Jia'an collapsed onto the floor with a vacant gaze, nearly fainting.

It is best not to get injured easily in the Inner World, and even if injured, one should not let their blood be exposed to the open air, lest those strange creatures of the Inner World smell it and come looking; besides being attracted by the negative emotions of living beings, those things are also attracted by the scent of blood.

After barely regaining his senses, He Jia'an groggily crawled up to rummage through the medical kit, re-treated his wounds, bandaged them, and rested and caught his breath for a while before intending to walk out of the Law Enforcement Office with the handgun.

Just as he was preparing to leave, He Jia'an suddenly noticed that the thick fog outside in the Inner World seemed to have become thinner, visibility had increased, the scenery in the distance had become visible, and the street trees were leaning in one direction due to the gale outside the house, as if a typhoon were blowing.

Thump, thump, thump—

He Jia'an walked to the window to check the situation and found that the glass of the office was shaking uneasily; he tilted his head to look outside and immediately saw a terrifying scene he would find hard to forget for the rest of his life.

He saw a large expanse of green swamp seemingly rolled into the sky by a suction force, continuously drilling into the huge hole in the horizon he had seen before; within the body of that vast swamp, countless figures of vengeful spirits were screaming in despair, trapped in the glowing green marsh, unable to break free, floating and struggling in the crowded sea of souls.

The huge hole in the sky of the Inner World was growing larger, and it was not just an expanding eye of a storm, but a super-large Space Channel accelerating its tearing; the Thousand-Illusion Moon lurking in this world was attempting to squeeze its body into this Space Channel.

It was hard to imagine that if the Thousand-Illusion Moon, this terrifying Alien God, were to truly descend completely into the Real World, not to mention humanity, the entire Earth would suffer an unimaginable catastrophe.

"No, this place is too close to the eye of the storm; if the wind force continues to strengthen at this rhythm, I will sooner or later be forced into the gale and eventually be devoured by her." He Jia'an only glanced at it before quickly withdrawing his gaze, his heart pounding; the fear he had been able to suppress and control surged uncontrollably at this moment, and his body could not stop trembling.

Suddenly glimpsing two bleeding mannequins on the street outside the office hiding behind a utility pole, silently peering at him with a pair of eerie eyes, He Jia'an clenched his fists tightly, constantly soothing himself in his heart, forcing himself to calm down again.

Opening his eyes again to look, the floor-to-ceiling glass windows surrounding the office were already covered with various strange mannequins, dolls, and other bizarre creatures of the Inner World; they had smelled the thick fear radiating from He Jia'an and now could no longer restrain their appetite, wanting to tear He Jia'an apart and eat him.

Run!

He Jia'an turned to escape through the back door of the office, but the moment he opened a crack, he was startled again by several fingers that had squeezed in from the gap, and pairs of eyes emitting strange, eerie light peered in through the opening.

He Jia'an had no choice but to grit his teeth, turn, and climb the stairs to the rooftop of the office; when he saw the terrible scene on the rooftop that looked like a zombie siege, his inner defenses were inevitably impacted.

Fear is like a breach in a dam; once a crack opens and a little water leaks out, the entire flood control system of the dam immediately collapses, impossible to defend any longer.

Fortunately, He Jia'an did not lose his necessary reason due to a moment of panic; he carefully estimated the distance to the nearest building nearby, confirmed that he should be able to barely jump across, backed away to gain some running distance, and before those Inner World residents sniffing his scent could rush onto the roof, he sprinted out of the rooftop first, leaped with all his might, and jumped toward the rooftop platform of the bungalow opposite.

The mannequins outside smelled the scent of fear and shifted their gaze, then followed He Jia'an's movements and quickly gave chase; and what was fatal was that their mobility suddenly became no longer mechanical or slow, not only beginning to show speed exceeding that of ordinary people but also becoming increasingly ferocious and swift.

He tried firing a few shots at those mannequins, but just as he had thought, even with their heads pierced by bullets, they could still move with agility, and he immediately felt that the firearm in his hand was such a fragile thing.

"Where the hell is the nearest Space Channel!?" He Jia'an jumped from the bungalow to the wall, then back to the street, and then ran wildly all the way; behind him, countless mannequins suddenly opened their mouths, revealing the intricate, flesh-like, peculiar structures inside, frantically snapping their jaws while giving high-speed chase.

"He-kun, lower your head!" Just as He Jia'an's brain was racing, pondering a strategy to escape alive, a voice abruptly entered his ears; he looked up and saw a smiling white-haired man standing straight at the end of this street, holding a sword in one hand, shouting at him while slowly extending the arm holding the sword, the blade level with his shoulder.

He Jia'an's gaze sharpened, and he slid forward in a crouch, hiding behind a utility pole by the road.

"Thank you for cooperating with me this time." Matsumoto Gin smiled softly; the blade of the katana in his hand flashed with a purple demonic light, and the hilt suddenly sprouted purple tubes that violently stabbed into his body along his arm, invading wildly beneath his skin and within his body.

Matsumoto Gin's entire body began to convulse wildly, and then his calm, smiling expression became abnormally ferocious and twisted, his torso swelling several times over, looking like a monster dominated by a Demon Sword.

The next moment, Matsumoto Gin suddenly lunged forward, crushing the ground where he stood, and charged ferociously at the army of mannequins ahead, waving his long, sharp katana and hacking at them wildly; those mannequins were like thin paper before that Demon Sword, severed with every strike, while the monster that Matsumoto Gin had become killed and slaughtered without fatigue.

At the same time, other members of the Chosen Alliance suddenly appeared from all directions, emerging with firearms and coordinating with Matsumoto Gin's hacking attacks to help him clear the enemies at his back.

"Investigator He, are you alright?" Several Chosen Alliance Investigators, each wounded and looking disheveled, found the hiding He Jia'an and protected him as they slowly retreated.

He Jia'an glanced at them and immediately guessed that these people had followed him into the Inner World all the way, and presumably had encountered quite a few unexpected troubles before finding him; he reminded them aloud: "Shooting them in the head with firearms is useless; you might have to chop off the entire head or destroy it." He looked at the figure fighting like a madman in front and noticed that those mannequins and dolls whose heads had been chopped off or thoroughly destroyed were, without exception, unable to get up again.

"Thanks for the reminder, switch to Explosive Bullets!" Hearing this, an Investigator who was likely the team's deputy quickly thanked him and then shouted loudly to the other team members.

Hearing the order, the other Investigators quickly discarded their original magazines, then took another type of magazine filled with red-marked bullets from their bodies and swapped them onto the firearms they were holding.

Bang, bang, bang!

The gunfire suddenly became louder and more intense, the recoil of the firearms was increasing, and the stability was losing control, but the effectiveness of the bullets was beyond doubt; every bullet that landed on the bodies of those Inner World creatures immediately blew open a huge gap, and if it hit the head or neck, the entire head would almost cease to exist, or be left so mangled that it could no longer have any connection to the body.

With the coordination of the Explosive Bullets, the efficiency of clearing out these Inner World creatures accelerated significantly.

But this did not mean they were to completely wipe out all these monsters; after all, compared to them, the number of humans was far too small.

Thus, after successfully rescuing He Jia'an, the people from the Chosen Alliance began to fight while retreating, eventually gathering inside a Department Store.

Inside the Department Store, there were two more Chosen Alliance members waiting; it turned out that there was actually a Space Channel leading to the Real World in this Department Store.

"Go!" the deputy ordered, and He Jia'an and the others safely withdrew from the Inner World through the Space Channel.

After returning to the Real World, they waited quietly on the spot for a while, and Matsumoto Gin, looking like an evil ghost, also returned to the Real World, while those Inner World creatures almost all stopped in their tracks before the channel, with only a few chasing people out, but the moment they passed through the Space Channel, they seemed to lose some kind of gift of life, suddenly their eyes went dull, as if they had turned into real mannequins, falling to the ground and breaking into pieces.

The Chosen Alliance members activated some kind of scientific instrument, instantly closing this temporary Space Channel that seemed to have been opened by their own other means.

"Sorry... still... still two short..." Matsumoto Gin stood at the entrance of the Space Channel and turned his head to look at the crowd.

Hearing this, He Jia'an was somewhat stunned, while the other Investigators remained silent, and immediately after, two Investigators voluntarily walked to Matsumoto Gin's side.

In He Jia'an's shocked gaze, Matsumoto Gin swung his blade and chopped their heads off.