Chapter 227: Fireworks

Desperate straits, truly desperate straits.

Yue Chengzhang's figure appeared directly ahead of them, in the passageway that had opened up because the Supervision Bureau members had retreated to the sides.

He did not rush forward, but calmly surveyed the two people surrounded on all sides, his gaze finally settling mainly on Bai Mu Yun.

"Illusion arts... does this count as our first official meeting?"

Yue Chengzhang spoke, his voice steady.

The Supervision Bureau has the least information on Bai Mu Yun, yet even the few times he has appeared have each been somewhat connected to him.

The primary example was the previous operation targeting Lu Mu, the 'Hunt Raven' mission; if the Shepherd hadn't intervened midway, Lu Mu would have long fallen into the Supervision Bureau's hands.

"The infamous 'Co-Absorption' scavenger, the 'Dark Raven,' and you..."

He looked at the pair of sheep horns on Bai Mu Yun's head, narrowed his eyes; Bai Mu Yun had always concealed his true appearance with illusion arts, meaning his hidden identity in Tianmian City is not lowly.

"To slip past so many eyes in Tianmian City and get in here, your true identity can't be simple either. Come quietly with me, tell me what you know, and you might still have a way out."

Leaving other matters aside, the fact that Bai Mu Yun's mutation source is a herbivore yet he constantly suppresses Lu Mu is enough to draw Yue Chengzhang's attention.

Bai Mu Yun merely gave a cold snort, did not respond to Yue Chengzhang's words, and tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand.

Lu Mu, facing this 'old acquaintance,' split his mouth open, revealing a bloody, provocative smile.

"Captain Yue personally taking the field—really giving us face."

Seeing that neither of them had any intention of surrendering on the spot, Yue Chengzhang said no more, merely raising his right hand slowly.

With his motion, the air rang with repeated sword-like hums.

Centered on him, the air suddenly condensed into countless light swords made of pure golden energy.

These light swords were only finger-length, yet their edges were fully exposed, their tips all pointing at Bai Mu Yun and Lu Mu; numbering in the hundreds to thousands, they completely enveloped the area where the two stood.

"This is your last chance to surrender." Yue Chengzhang's voice carried no emotion.

Bai Mu Yun and Lu Mu's hearts sank to the bottom of the valley; facing this level of attack, with their current state they could neither resist nor escape.

【Team Channel】 Ying Duo: Fireworks are here.

Ying Duo's chat box popped up simultaneously in the minds of Bai Mu Yun and Lu Mu.

To be honest, Ying Duo didn't know if this was necessary, but anyway the teammates' damage immunity was still active.

Bai Mu Yun and Lu Mu obviously hadn't reacted yet; under Yue Chengzhang's gaze, the two seemed to have suddenly noticed something, their movements pausing at the same time.

Without overthinking, the lingering trust in Ying Duo's bizarre yet repeatedly effective method led both to make the same judgment.

Yue Chengzhang had just frowned when, the next second, he saw the two simultaneously lower their bodies as fast as possible.

This neat, uniform strange action made Yue Chengzhang's brows knit sharply.

"Surrender......?" Not likely.

More like they were dodging something.

Yue Chengzhang suddenly thought of something; after all, judging from the trap that had just been blown open, that 'Flame City Cannon' was surely involved as well.

Where is he?

Yue Chengzhang's vigilance instantly shot to the maximum; after all, this is inside Tianmian City, and if the other side caused such a commotion again, it would inevitably involve ordinary people.

However, just as Yue Chengzhang's vigilance was maxed out, ready at any moment for an explosion or a sudden cannon blast——

"Whoosh——"

The sound came from above their heads, transmitting the first sharp tearing-through-air noise.

That sound wasn't loud, but if you listened quietly it was especially noticeable.

Immediately after came the second, third…… tenth, hundredth!

Hundreds to thousands of 'meteors' dragging various brilliant tails shot out from the launch devices previously set up by Ying Duo's small robots, screaming toward the night sky.

They bore seven-colored, variegated tails, continually shooting upward into the night sky until they reached an unbreakable peak, where they burst into a brilliant fireworks display.

The night sky over Tianmian City was staging an extraordinarily grand fireworks show; countless citizens, patrol teams, and even other Supervision Bureau members rushing to the scene instinctively looked up, their attention captured by this sudden marvel.

"Fireworks?" a young Supervision Bureau member murmured, his face even showing a hint of dazedness.

Does Tianmian City have a fireworks performance tonight? Recently the Supervision Bureau has been swamped with affairs; nobody has paid attention to these.

The fireworks are beautiful, but they have nothing to do with the capture operation they are conducting.

Logically, even if everyone had a momentary lapse when the fireworks first rose, they should now be focusing entirely on the matter at hand before them.

Too eerie, too........ abrupt.

Yet amidst this dazzling, rising fireworks display, Yue Chengzhang saw that the detection device's readings were off the charts.

Those fireworks bloomed beautifully, but after they faded, the air was filled with a large mass of eerie mist resembling smog.

These mists varied slightly in color—some leaning green, some reddish-brown—but without exception, they emitted high-density mutation fluctuations.

Those mists, like greedy living things, rapidly sank downward, spreading to the streets, plazas, and commercial districts below.

First to be hit were the ordinary citizens who had been looking up at the 'fireworks'.

When a curious citizen reached out to touch a slowly drifting patch of 'mist fluff' speckled with fluorescent green light——

"Ah——!!!"

A shrill, inhuman scream rang out; only to see that the person's skin where his arm touched the mist began to mutate at a visible speed.

His skin instantly turned deep purple, irregular lumps bulged beneath it, and his whole body resembled a battered doll that had been kneaded and reshaped.

"Monster, monster! Monster——!"

"My eyes! So itchy! Something is burrowing in!"

"Save, save me......"

The people of Tianmian City rarely deal with mutation; basically, as soon as the mutation value approaches 20, they rush to the Church to obtain holy water.

Thus, most of them are at a loss when confronted with a sudden rise in mutation value.

Shrieks, wails, shoving and trampling sounds, and even more howls from bodies beginning to mutate instantly flooded the area, then, as the mist spread and the crowd fled, spread outward like a plague.

This is the "fireworks" Yang Yixie prepared.

He had been pondering a question before: how to get through this instance?

His level is too low, only twenty‑one, while Lu Mu and Bai Mu Yun are both over forty, but they are both quite wary of Yue Chengzhang.

Yang Yixie makes an initial guess that Yue Chengzhang's level is at least fifty.

Then how is he supposed to beat this stage?

Even if he started frantically making bombs on the spot, it would still be too late; after all, his Modification level sits there, and the big uproar he can normally cause depends on having accumulated enough bombs in daily practice.

Then he realized he had fallen into a misconception.

They are now doing the mission under the name "Co-Absorption". What is "Co-Absorption"? A bunch of cultists!

What's evil about them? Isn't it just a Mutation?

He's pretty much used up his bombs and such, but he still saved quite a bit on other things here.