Chapter 253: Chaos in Full Swing

The street was a wreck, with collapsed brick walls, shattered shop windows, and several bodies covered with white cloth being carried away.

This all silently testified to the tragedy that had occurred here not long ago.

Yue Chengzhang stood at the very center of the street, his golden light saber having completely vanished, his gaze sweeping over the Supervision Bureau agents who were wrapping up the operation.

Most Aberrant Species had already been driven out and eliminated by the Supervision Bureau members, and the few that fled were being hunted down; it wouldn't be long before they were all dealt with.

These forcibly spawned Aberrant Species individuals were indeed weak; a well‑trained Supervision Bureau agent could easily handle several of them.

The trouble lay in the scattered nature of the Mutations' outbreaks and the tricky locations.

The Mutations almost always erupted near densely populated markets and residential districts, and the resulting panic and stampedes caused more casualties than the Aberrant Species attacks themselves.

Fortunately, after nearly an hour of emergency handling by the Supervision Bureau, the situation was essentially under control.

Yue Chengzhang's gaze finally fell on the opposite side of the street.

There, Shen Zexi stood together with two others.

One was a boy whose complexion was somewhat pale, constantly keeping his head down to minimize his presence.

The other was a gentle, soft‑tempered girl with smooth light‑golden hair, warm golden eyes, and faint glimmering light behind her that resembled the outline of folded light wings.

She was Yucai, a student of Mitra Academy, also a registered healer of the Church who possessed the rare Purification type of Aberrant Arts.

In this unrest, it was Shen Zexi, together with Jiangdu and Yucai, who arrived immediately to assist, allowing the Mutation to be contained in time.

Yucai's Purification ability was crucial for clearing the Mutation and stabilizing the wounded, and although Su Jin's face remained pale throughout, under Shen Zexi's command he was no slacker against the Aberrant Species.

Does that mean he finally has a successor?

One should know these youngsters are still students, just beginning to develop their own Aberrant Arts; his own strength has little room to advance, but these juniors are only just starting.

Yue Chengzhang was about to go over and say a few words to them when, suddenly, he jerked his head upward toward a direction in the city, his brows tightening sharply.

Almost at the same moment, Shen Zexi's smile froze; he instinctively raised his hand to his temple, a bewildered look flashing in his eyes.

"Yue team! Detecting abnormal energy accumulation to the southeast!"

The deputy's wrist‑mounted monitor emitted a shrill alarm.

However, before Yue Chengzhang could issue an order, the incident had already unfolded.

"Boom—rumble—rumble—!!!"

The ground beneath them—or rather the entire Floating City—shook with a deep, violent tremor, and everyone lost their balance, collapsing in a heap.

Tonight, Tianmian City was destined to be sleepless.

——————————————————

For Cai Mao, today was a good day.

The batch of firearms that Ying Duo handed to him was sold after several twists, at a price slightly above market, earning him a modest profit.

Because he had just returned from work, the bar was empty.

In the night sky, several glowing 'ribbons' crisscrossed—that was the Air Train tracks linking Tianmian City to the ground.

Occasionally when a train passed, it emitted a faint glimmer, a rare 'scenery' for the Slum's residents.

For Cai Mao, that train belonged to another world, irrelevant to him.

The Church's bigwigs called it a symbol of order and equality, yet only a handful of Slum dwellers ever boarded it.

Tonight seemed especially uneasy.

Earlier, from the direction of the Floating City overhead, explosion sounds and commotion came, even some strange colored specks burst in the sky.

But no one in the Slum cared; what did the aristocrats of the Floating City have to do with them?

Just surviving was already their utmost effort.

"Boom—!!!"

A sound like the heavens cracking thundered directly above his head.

The noise was so massive and close that Cai Mao felt his heart skip a beat; he rushed to the window, raising his head in terror.

He saw a scene he would never forget.

In the high sky, several sections of the glowing 'ribbon' he was accustomed to suddenly flared with an intense white light, looking like pearls strung upon it.

But that light, after only a moment, completely engulfed the track, expanding into a massive fireball.

The explosion illuminated the night sky above the Slum like daylight, even outshining the neon leaking from Tianmian City—a true miracle.

Before he could react, an even more terrifying event occurred.

The destroyed track sections began to fracture, twist, and then… plummet downward!

Burning metal fragments rained down like meteor showers, turning the struck area into a sea of fire, while harrowing screams tore through the night.

"Run, run!!!"—whoever screamed the gut‑wrenching cry first is unknown.

The Slum erupted instantly.

Countless people rolled and crawled out of their makeshift homes, fleeing like startled ants, forming an apocalyptic chaotic tableau.

If that earlier spectacle was a miracle, is this current scene divine punishment?

The entire fringe of the Slum had become a burning inferno, and from that sea of fire many twisted monsters emerged.

The Air Train, once a symbol of the Church, now bore a huge burning gap, like an ugly scar carved on a deity's face.

Even though he had long been utterly disillusioned with the gods, Cai Mao was seeing such a cataclysmic scene for the first time.

Sure enough, the world seemed doomed.

After all, it was the Church.

——————————————————

At the distant edge of the Floating City, Ying Duo and Fang Zhiyan stood at its outermost point, gazing at the flames rising from the Slum below.

Fang Zhiyan gracefully adjusted his cuff, not watching the fireworks they had ignited, but observing the unusually silent 'arsonist' beside him.

Ying Duo's very existence was a mystery: his hair was a Mutation Source perfectly fused with Gloomy Fluorescent Stone, displaying multiple law‑related abilities, and he was backed by a controller from the Old World.

More importantly, his performance tonight perfectly matches Fang Zhiyan's research philosophy.

Ying Duo stood quietly beside Fang Zhiyan, his golden eyes blankly gazing at the infernal scene below, his face still bearing that expressionless indifference.

Yang Yixie could not hear the NPC's screams, but he could see bubbles constantly popping up.

Honestly, it's a bit harsh on the eyes.

"The effect is somewhat better than expected," Fang Zhiyan said softly, his tone revealing no emotion.

"The contamination has already begun to spread; the Church and the Supervision Bureau will be busy tonight."

Ying Duo gave no response, only looking at the newly obtained equipment item—an unlimited 3‑minute trial card—in his backpack.

The mission is complete, and chaos is in full swing.