Chapter 76: Rule-Breaking Strange

On the streets of South City.

Li Heng watched the pedestrians on the street, lost in thought. Several days had passed, yet the tense atmosphere had not eased in the slightest; it truly was a case of "the wind blowing through the tower before the storm arrives."

The Government really has shifted its focus to the Inner City.

After mulling it over, Li Heng took a bite of a pork and scallion bun, his mouth slick with oil, the fragrance of meat lingering between his lips and teeth. He then set aside his sighs, intending to head toward the Tongtian River to investigate.

It was only morning, and Li Heng estimated that the Flower Boat would not appear yet; he only intended to scout the location to see if he could obtain any useful information.

"Official Report, Official Report, get the latest news first-hand..."

A small newsboy ran over from the distance, opposite Li Heng. He wove through the street, the papers in his hands fluttering in the wind as he called out to nearby pedestrians to buy a newspaper.

Li Heng raised an eyebrow. An Official Report?

Wasn't the Government slacking off, having almost completely abandoned the outer city? How did they still have the leisure to issue an Official Report announcement?

At this moment, the small newsboy had already run up in front of Li Heng.

The newsboy was petite in stature. As Li Heng focused his attention on him, the surrounding scenery blurred, as if separated by a layer of frosted glass.

"Young master, would you like to buy a paper? The latest news from the Government, guaranteed to let you stay one step ahead and seize the initiative..."

The voice was young and sincere, drowning out the surrounding sounds.

Hm? Li Heng frowned.

His perception told him that these newspapers seemed to have something strange about them, as if they possessed an attraction to things, making people feel that they contained important information.

It was just that these anomalies were too minute, making him doubt whether it was his own illusion. However, in these troubled times, for such a thing to appear, it was likely not a small matter...

He directly performed the Visualization of the Heavenly Eye, wanting to see the True Reality.

The next moment, Li Heng smiled.

"Little one, where did you get this Official Report?"

He leaned down and pressed his hand onto the newsboy's shoulder. With a burst of force, a "Crack!" sounded, the ground shattered, and the boy's lower half sank into the earth. But the newsboy seemed to feel nothing, still repeating, "Young master, would you like to buy a paper..."

Li Heng frowned, visualizing the Great Sun in his heart. A flash of light erupted from his hand, bursting with the intent to destroy demons and punish evil. The newsboy's body began to slowly melt, like ice and snow meeting fire.

Finally.

It turned directly into a wisp of blue smoke, leaving only that large Official Report fluttering in the air before landing on the ground. But Li Heng still frowned; the surrounding Ghost Domain had not shattered.

He looked at the Official Report on the ground. Under the observation of the Heavenly Eye, that so-called little newsboy was not a living creature at all, but merely an auxiliary product of this Weird Official Report.

It was precisely because of this Weird Official Report that it seemed to have formed a Ghost Domain that was unlike a Ghost Domain, making Li Heng seem as if he were no longer on the level of the Present World.

Although Li Heng could see the pedestrians around him now, the pedestrians around him could not see Li Heng. Even if Li Heng were to commit murder on the street and crush an innocent little newsboy to death.

Interesting. The auxiliary product vanished with a boom in the face of his intent to destroy demons and punish evil. But this Weird Official Report, as the source, was completely unharmed...

Li Heng laughed; this was truly rare.

To be able to manifest in broad daylight, to ignore his intent to destroy demons and punish evil, and to inadvertently pull him into a Ghost Domain until he opened his Heavenly Eye to see through its True Reality...

What on earth is this thing?

He looked around.

This kind of Ghost Domain was very fragile; he was confident he could blast it apart with one punch and return to the Present World. However... he looked down at this Weird Official Report.

He visualized the Great Sun True Form to protect himself.

He picked up the Weird Official Report from the ground.

In an instant, Li Heng felt an alien force invading.

It was extremely irritating, like fingernails scratching a blackboard, and a voice full of resentment reached Li Heng's ears. "You are the little newsboy, the newsboy, hurry up and sell the papers... otherwise, die, die, die!"

The content of the Official Report also began to change, finally settling to display specific text: 【Task: Sell one hundred newspapers within one hour, otherwise die!】

Li Heng looked at this so-called task with disdain in his heart.

Selling papers? And dying? This curse could not invade him at all. Under the garrison of his Great Sun True Form, the moment the curse invaded, it was purified by the Great Sun True Intent.

At this moment, he also knew what this thing was.

The Records of Strange Phenomena states: "Suddenly there is a Strange, following rules to act, encompassing all things in the world, harming human lives."

This is a branch of the Weird, a Strange!

In Li Heng's understanding, the so-called Strange can be a person, an object, or even a piece of text or a sentence. This thing follows corresponding rules to operate, manifesting in the world to harm human lives.

Moreover, according to rumors, this thing is immortal and indestructible. It can only be suppressed or contained!

In his view, rather than classifying this so-called Strange as a Weird or a living creature, it would be better to call it a fallen and alienated rule, maliciously targeting the human race.

Knowing the nature of this thing, Li Heng was even less likely to let the curse invade him. This thing plays by rules; if one were to fall for it, it would be extremely troublesome.

It was just that Li Heng had some doubts in his heart.

Things like Stranges should be very rare. Even if they exist, they are usually suppressed by Demon Exorcists, noble families, or certain sects and contained in deep mountains and old forests.

How could it suddenly appear in such a bustling market?

Could the rumors be true?

Great Disaster arrives, Weirds emerge, Stranges appear?

Li Heng felt his scalp tingle; if that were really the case, it would be troublesome. Not only would he have to deal with Weirds, but also these Stranges that only play by rules and ignore Reason?

Once a Strange is left unchecked, it can brew a great Disaster.

Take this so-called newspaper selling, for example.

If one hundred Official Reports were sold, then those one hundred Official Reports would serve as sources of infection, continuing to infect others, repeating endlessly; that would absolutely form a natural Disaster!

Fortunately, this newspaper-selling Strange had not spread. Otherwise, the newsboy selling papers at the beginning would not have been an illusory product, but a real, living person.

His heart calmed slightly.

But how should he deal with this kind of Strange?

After thinking for a moment, Sun True Fire surged from his hand, wanting to incinerate this Weird Official Report. At first, it had an effect, burning the Official Report until it turned yellow, as if it were about to ignite.

But subsequently, it remained in a state of being about to burn but never actually igniting...

Li Heng, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief.

He never believed that anything was immortal or indestructible, not even the so-called Strange. As long as one is strong enough to shatter even the worldview, who cares about your immortality?

Just like now, the Sun True Fire is still effective against this Strange. It is just that his current Sun True Fire level is too low to burn it away.

After some thought, he threw a punch, and the Ghost Domain shattered.

Li Heng returned to Reality and directly put away this Weird Official Report. With the Great Sun True Form presiding, this Weird curse could do nothing to him, so he temporarily contained it with his physical body.

He would deal with it later when he had the ability.

This kind of Strange should also belong to the category of Weird; perhaps killing it could also yield Source Power, making it a form of wealth.

Li Heng stood amidst the bustling crowd, used his Heavenly Eye to scan the surroundings, and after finding nothing unusual, he planned to continue toward the Tongtian River.

The appearance of this Strange might just be a coincidence...

Or perhaps, it was not specifically targeted at him?

Thinking to himself, he began to walk.

At this moment, he vaguely heard some conversations from the pedestrians around him. "Have you heard? The long-abandoned Earth Temple here has actually been repaired, and I hear it is very efficacious..."