Chapter 285: Crimson Arrival

The sunset died.

This is not an adjective.

The warm sun that had hung over West Mountain, in this single second, seemed to be violently squeezed and burst by an invisible giant hand.

The golden afterglow vanished without a trace, replaced by a viscous, fetid, even physiologically nauseating dark red.

That is not light.

That is blood.

The entire sky over Anhe City instantly turned into an overexposed film just developed.

The red halo, as if solid, pressed down heavily, staining every building, tree, even the dust in the air with a nauseating iron‑rust hue.

Finally.

A red moon floated in the sky.

"Hey hey hey...... this level of energy fluctuation......"

Liang Wen knew this was not an ordinary natural phenomenon.

It is—【Weird Domain】.

Moreover, it is a super‑large Weird Domain that covers the whole city, gives no warning, and can even rewrite the rules of reality!

"Ah—!!"

A scream, shrill to the extreme, abruptly pierced the expensive yet hypocritical silence of the Hospital.

The sound came from the inpatient building opposite.

Liang Wen's gaze swept over like a hawk. On the third floor, directly opposite, was the Nurse Station window.

A little nurse in a pink uniform was leaning on the glass, staring blankly at the red moon above. She still held a Medical Tray, and a second ago seemed to be admiring this strange "evening glow."

"Something's wrong, don't keep looking!"

Liang Wen realized something and shouted.

Too late.

At the instant Liang Wen shouted, the little nurse's body underwent a terrifying transformation.

There was no transition at all.

It was like a lump of wax figurine tossed into a microwave.

Her facial features began to melt. Eyelids, nose, lips, as if they had lost skeletal support, sagged and flowed down.

The eyes that had been clear quickly filled with blood and swelled under the red light, then with a "pop" they burst like overripe berries.

No blood poured from the eye sockets; instead, two dark red tentacles that were still writhing emerged.

Then came the limbs.

"Crack, crack, crack."

The tooth‑aching sound of bones cracking was crystal clear even through double‑pane soundproof glass. The little nurse's spine bent backward oddly, her whole body like a spider whose waist had been broken, limbs on the ground, joints twisted into inhuman angles.

She—or rather "it"—snapped her head around.

On that face, now devoid of features and bearing a huge, barbed oral organ, a stream of yellow‑green acid sprayed out.

"Roar—!"

The monster let out a beast‑like roar, its hind legs kicked off the wall, and it surged forward like a cannonball, shattering the Nurse Station's glass door and lunging at the stunned patients and relatives in the Corridor.

Fresh blood splattered.

The screams instantly merged into a cacophony, turning the upscale Hospital into a battlefield.

"Visual Trigger...... Mutation Time Five Seconds......"

Liang Wen glanced at it, his brain raced at high speed, dissecting the information into the coldest intelligence. Without any hesitation, he spun around and rushed back to the ward.

Though he had already paid the price of twenty years of life, his movements were sharper than any special forces soldier.

The first thing he did was pull the curtains.

"Swish—!"

He yanked the heavy blackout curtains aside in one motion, sealing that maddening red light outside. The ward instantly fell into dimness, only the faint green glow of the cardiac monitor flickering.

But that wasn't enough.

The red light seeped through every crack; even the curtain's seams let the blood‑colored hue leak in.

Liang Wen grabbed the Medical Adhesive Tape from the table, moving so fast his afterimage lingered. He tore, stuck, sealing the curtain's edge tightly to the wall, leaving no gap.

After finishing, he staggered back a step, leaning against the wall, gulping breath after breath.

Cold sweat had already soaked his stylish Windcoat.

The searing pain in his brain made him want to yank his eyes out. It was a side effect of being an Abyss Walker, and also his Radar for sensing the power of the Rules.

After all, only the weird can counter the weird.

Now, that Radar was screaming wildly, the sharp sting telling him:

"Don't go out."

"Outside is full of monsters."

"Beep... beep... beep..."

The monitor's tone was steady and monotone.

Liang Wen turned his head toward the bed.

Liang Ting still lay there quietly. The little girl's frail face looked especially pale in the dimness, unaware of the horrific changes outside.

At this moment, it was fortunate.

She was still unconscious.

If she were awake, even just out of curiosity to glance outside......

Liang Wen dared not think further. He felt his heart as if seized by an icy hand, and that lingering dread made his fingers tremble slightly.

He was a gambler who tucked his head into his belt, able to wager his life against time, and could scar his own body to the bone to save millions.

But he could not afford to lose this.

It was his only weak spot, and also his only anchor.

"Huh......"

Liang Wen rubbed his face hard, scrubbing away that feeble emotion.

When he lifted his head again, the despondent father was gone.

He straightened his collar, put on the slightly crooked Fingerless Gloves, and forced a wildly arrogant grin at the corner of his mouth.

"Hm, that's interesting."

Liang Wen walked to the bedside, knelt on one knee like a knight guarding a princess, inspected the tubes on his daughter's body, and confirmed none were loose.

"It seems the Demon Realm's seal has been completely shattered. At this level of demonic erosion, even my barrier has been affected."

He muttered nonsense while dragging the spare Oxygen Bottle from under the bed and hefting its weight.

They were all iron tools; not as handy as a knife, but in this cramped space, smashing a few heads would be more than enough.

"Tingting, can you hear?"

Liang Wen leaned on the bedside, his voice low and gentle, a stark contrast to the earlier chuunibyou tone, "Dad is going to play a game with you now. We're going to play the Stealth Walker game."

"Many broken puppets have come from outside. We must slip away quietly, without being noticed by them."

Only silence answered him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

At that moment, the ward door was being pounded wildly.

The force was astonishing; the solid wood door panel quivered, and the lock let out a strained squeak.

"Open the door! Open it quickly! I know someone's inside! I just heard a sound!"

It was a man's voice, filled with extreme terror and despair, his throat already hoarse from shouting, "Help! I am Liu Yisheng, let me in! That thing is coming! It's coming!"

Liang Wen did not move.

He stood like a statue behind the door, silently, his hand gripping the heavy Oxygen Bottle tightly.

He was listening.

He listened to the man's breathing, the footsteps outside, and that... besides the pounding, the faint, sticky rubbing sounds.

"Please! Open the door! I don't want to die! I still have a wife and Child at home... Ah!!"

The man's plea abruptly stopped.

In its place came a brief, as‑if‑the‑windpipe‑had‑been‑ripped‑apart sound, a "Gurgle".

Immediately after.

A chilling chewing sound followed.

"Crunch, crunch, crunch."

It was the sound of teeth crushing cartilage and a tongue licking fresh blood. Outside the door, through that thin wooden board, even without looking, Liang Wen could picture the scene.

The Liu Yisheng who was just pleading for help had probably turned into a heap of rotten flesh by now.

Liang Wen's gaze was as cold as ice.

He felt no mercy, nor any impulse to open the door and rescue anyone. At the first moment the Weird Domain arrived, anyone could be a potential source of contamination.

That Liu Yisheng might have already begun skin necrosis behind him when the door was being pounded.

The chewing continued for about two minutes.

Then it stopped.

"Is that thing full?"

"Or is it still hunting for the next prey?"

"Sss— sss—"

A Nail scratching sound came from the door panel.

The creature hadn't left.

It was right outside the door.

It seemed to know someone was inside.

Liang Wen held his breath. He lowered his center of gravity, lifted the Oxygen Bottle to his chest, ready to strike at any moment. Though his body was battered, his murderous hands were still intact.

If that thing dared to rush in.

"Thump, thump, thump."

The scratching turned into a knocking sound.

Very polite.

Three knocks, neither too light nor too heavy.

"Hello, it's time for rounds."

From outside came, surprisingly, the voice of the Liu Yisheng who had just died a gruesome death.

His tone was steady, even professionally gentle, showing no trace of the earlier heart‑wrenching despair. Except... his voice was a bit hoarse, as if a mouthful of thick phlegm lingered in his throat.

"Is anyone at Bed 306? It's time to take the temperature."

"Liu Yisheng" said from outside, his hand gripping the door lock and turning it gently.

Clack!

The door wasn't locked.

Liang Wen's pupils constricted sharply. Damn, he had rushed back too quickly, only sealing the windows and forgetting to deadbolt the door!

His hand was slowly pressing down.

If just one more second passes, that door will open.

Liang Wen did not retreat.

In this narrow ward, there was nowhere to retreat. Behind him was Liang Ting; he could not yield a single step.

Even if it meant destroying this body utterly, even if it meant overdrafting all his remaining lifespan.

This second.

He had to hold it.

Click!

The lock sprang fully open.

That solid wood door slowly pushed open a crack.

A strong smell of blood mixed with that special, rotten stench unique to Weird creatures seeped in through the door crack.

A hand gripped the door frame.

That hand wore the sleeve of a Doctor's Lab Coat, and a Name Watch was still on its wrist.

But that hand's fingers...... numbered seven.

Each finger was like a mollusk's, boneless, with sharp barbs at the tips, dug deep into the wood.

"Family...... why aren't you turning on the light?"

That voice sounded again, with a creepy laugh that made the scalp tingle: "Not turning on the light...... how am I supposed to give you guys an injection?"

Just as that face was about to squeeze through the door crack.

Liang Wen moved.

He used the most primitive, most violent physical means.

Because I'm going to crack your skull!

Liang Wen let out a low roar, the Oxygen Bottle in his hand swinging round like a heavy hammer, with a whistling wind, smashing precisely onto those fingers gripping the door frame.

Boom!

That strike was huge and heavy.

No technique, just pure brutality.

Even if he had become a monster, the pain of broken bones was still universal.

Ah—!

An inhuman wail came from outside the door.

That mutated hand instantly retracted, several broken fingers falling to the ground, still wriggling like earthworms.

Taking advantage of the opening, Liang Wen lunged forward, slamming his shoulder hard against the door panel.

Clang!

The room door was shut again.

He quickly turned the anti-lock knob, then pushed the nearby guard bed over, bracing it firmly against the door.

After doing all that, Liang Wen felt like he'd been fished out of water. His lungs heaved like bellows, each breath tasting of blood.

Cough... cough cough...

He covered his mouth, bright red blood seeping through his fingers.

Damn it.

This body really can't hold on much longer. Just that burst already pushed it to its limit.

The monster outside seemed dazed by that blow, or perhaps enraged, and began frantically battering the room door.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

With each impact, the guard bed braced against the door slid back a few centimeters.

This door won't hold much longer.

Liang Wen wiped the blood from his mouth corner, turned around, and looked at his still-sleeping daughter.

His eyes held no fear, only a near‑mad calm.

"Is this what they call a Hell-level Dungeon?"

Liang Wen muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with ruthless resolve: "Fine, if you don't want me to retire, then let's have some fun."

He walked to the bedside, reached into the inner pocket of his Windcoat, and pulled out a small Metal Box.

It was the Contraband he had smuggled out of the Investigation Bureau.

A high‑purity adrenaline shot, plus a few specially made Black Pills that could suppress pain for a short time and overdraft potential.

Take too much of this stuff and you'll die.

Liang Wen smiled.

He tossed the pills into his mouth, swallowed them without water, chewing them raw.

A bitter taste exploded in his mouth, followed by a scorching surge like molten lava rushing down his esophagus into his stomach, then quickly spreading through his limbs.

The deep‑bone fatigue and excruciating pain were forcibly blocked by the drug's effect.

Strength.

The power belonging to the Dark-Blooded King, even if it was false strength bought by overdrafting life, returned to this broken husk.

Liang Wen's eyes blazed frighteningly.

He ripped off the bandages on his hand, revealing those hands covered in wounds.

He bent down and lightly kissed his daughter's forehead.

"Don't be scared, Tingting."

"Dad transformed."

Liang Wen straightened up, turned, and faced the door that was shaking and about to collapse.

This time, he didn't strike that embarrassing pose.

He simply pulled out a specially made folding knife from his waist.

The blade flicked out, a cold light glinting sharply.

"Come on, you bastards."

Liang Wen's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a chill from the Abyss.

"Welcome to...... the Dark-Blooded King's domain."

The door panel shattered with a boom.

ps:

At month's end today, there will be a ten-thousand-word burst update; don't say it's short again.