Chapter 31: The Whip of God

The facilities in the Black Prison were fully equipped, with everything from water and electricity to food and heating.

Considering the influence of certain curses, even the lounge area consisted of single-occupancy rooms.

If one ignored the potential for sudden disturbances from Taboos and the lack of sunlight, life here was actually quite decent, wasn't it?

In any case, Li Yela quickly integrated into this environment.

He would wake up on schedule to rotate shifts with Cheese and the others, acting as a handler to inspect various Taboos—either suppressing them or soothing those showing signs of losing control.

Such as the Foul-Mouthed Scarf. Such as the Incense-Burning Door God.

Or, sampling teas that might either restore stamina or cause severe diarrhea.

However, after falling victim once on his very first attempt, Li Yela stopped trying that teapot.

During his rest periods, he would listen to the senior handlers and Nightwatchers swap tall tales.

He heard many novel things, especially accounts of what lay beyond the High Walls.

In truth, Li Yela's parents came from the Wilderness beyond the walls; his mother appeared to have been a citizen of some distant megacity.

But they had settled in the Border City when he was young.

Consequently, Li Yela didn't have a clear understanding of the Wilderness; he only knew it was a place of chaos and danger.

And indeed, it was.

"In the Wilderness, human life seems to be cheap," a Nightwatcher codenamed 'Poplar' remarked.

The Wilderness was filled with vast numbers of abandoned cities. After the outbreaks of Calamity, the populations had been swallowed whole by the Disaster Mists.

Only these deserted cities remained as traces of the civilization that once existed there.

The abundance of abandoned cities had given rise to the profession of Scavengers. They risked their lives entering the Wilderness and these ruins to seek items or knowledge that could make them wealthy.

They were the most common group in the Wilderness.

Because some Scavengers were unable to enter the megacities, settlements and villages had passively emerged in various corners of the Wilderness.

Next were the merchant caravans traveling between the various megacities.

They possessed impressive firepower for protection, and some large caravans even hired Psionics.

Then came the Wilderness bandits, who frequently raided villages and settlements, or perhaps even targeted merchant caravans.

Of course, these four groups often shifted between roles.

A Scavenger one day could turn into a Wilderness bandit the next.

A bandit might become a mercenary for a small merchant caravan the day after.

It was precisely because of this chaos that, in the eyes of ordinary people, everything beyond the High Walls was considered a death trap.

Even Psionics had precedents of being ambushed and turned into "human char siu bao."

Of course, for Psionics, the danger wasn't limited to these groups.

Forbidden Zones and the Aberrations wandering the Wilderness were also lethal threats.

"If you are in the Wilderness, do not trust anyone unless you encounter an official colleague. There are cases where powerful Psionics have killed Aberrations only to meet their end in a gutter at some settlement," Poplar, a middle-aged man appearing to be in his forties, reminded the handlers beside him once more. "In the Wilderness, you must remain cautious regardless of who you face. Certain Aberrations can read memories and mimic the appearance of loved ones; they are impossible to guard against."

"Night General, if you ever leave the megacity to work in the field, you must remember this! We don't want to be the ones sinking in a gutter."

Li Yela nodded repeatedly. These were lessons born of experience, and he naturally wouldn't waste such kindness.

As the newcomer of Team One, the other teammates were very protective of him.

Especially the Nightwatcher Poplar, who looked as if he wanted to become sworn brothers with Li Yela, only to be stopped by the teasing laughter of the other teammates.

"Old man Poplar, look at your age! You still want to be sworn brothers with young Night General?"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"Get lost, get lost!" Poplar cursed under his breath. "What are you lot meddling for?"

As a veteran member of Team One, he was well aware of certain intentions held by Captain Yang Chen.

Thus, he was very eager to build a good relationship with Li Yela.

Unaware of this, Li Yela simply felt that his teammates were very warm.

However, due to the lack of sunlight, Li Yela felt a sense of temporal disorientation.

If it weren't for his periodic calls to Li Yunyan outside to report he was safe, he wouldn't have known he had already been in the Black Prison for nine days.

"Only twenty-one days left, big brother, then you'll be out," Li Yunyan's voice came through the communicator.

"How have things been lately?" Li Yela inquired.

"Fine, of course. Doll-Sister brings me food every day. I feel like I've gained a bit of weight. It seems that little girl wants to curry favor with her sister-in-law. It's quite thrilling, hehe. I wonder how your beautiful senior's cooking is? When can I try it?" Li Yunyan began her usual monologue.

Li Yela ignored her; he felt his sister always liked to fantasize about nonsense.

More importantly, that beautiful senior, Cheese, was right beside him, chatting with the administrative staff.

Then, he heard Li Yunyan say with some regret, "What a pity, big brother. You're going to miss this Illusion Band concert. I wanted you to snag a few autographed items for me. Since you're official personnel, you can probably run into their lead singer, right?"

The Illusion Band?

Li Yela searched his memory and finally recalled that highly popular band.

He asked, "I didn't even know you were a fan all these years."

"I'm not a fan, but their autographs are worth money!" Li Yunyan's voice was full of envy. "A single autograph can sell for hundreds of Megacity Credits. You handlers work yourselves to death and still don't make money as fast as he does. What kind of world is this?"

After a few more words, Li Yela hung up the phone.

He needed to prepare for rest; he had to rotate shifts again in a few hours.

***

On the other side, tonight in Border City No. 3 was exceptionally lively.

The plaza in the South New District was a sea of people.

Pushing through the crowd, Xinghuo pulled his sister, Yingliu, using immense effort and even activating a Psionic shield just to barely enter the concert venue and find their seats.

"It's really crowded," Xinghuo complained. "I've never seen so many people!"

There were tens of thousands of spectators inside the concert alone, with even more people outside waiting expectantly.

"This is the Illusion Band!" the meticulously dressed Yingliu said. "They are the hottest band in years. They started from the Chuan-Shu Megacity and are touring five megacities; they finally made it to our Border City No. 3. Of course it's lively. Actually, many people don't even know this band, but this is a rare spectacle. Look at how many families have come to watch."

Xinghuo followed his sister's finger and indeed saw many families.

Men held their wives' hands, and daughters were perched on their fathers' shoulders. They couldn't get inside the concert, but even so, their faces were filled with smiles, a family of three enjoying a happy moment.

Ordinary and blissful.

"Then we have to be even more careful. With this population density, if any accident occurs, there will be massive casualties," Xinghuo warned, looking into the distance.

It wasn't just the East City Branch; other branches had also dispatched many handlers to lurk within the crowd to prevent any incidents.

In the backstage of the concert, a handsome man sat alone in the lounge.

A shadow flickered beside him, and then a beautiful woman suddenly appeared.

The woman stroked the man's cheek. "Everything is ready. We can play the 'Song of Extinction' at this power level at any time. Anyone who hears the sound at the venue will be affected to varying degrees. How many people are there? Fifty thousand? Or a hundred thousand?"

"Have you thought this through? Once it's played, there is no turning back. And your status as a superstar, which you've cultivated for years, will vanish instantly. You will no longer be the star Qin Zhi, but a wanted criminal sought by all the megacities! Those dangerous Nightwatchers will hunt you deep into the Wilderness!"

"At this point, why are you still talking such nonsense? Trading one identity for the chance to ascend once, or even multiple times—do we still need to calculate that cost?" Qin Zhi reached out to embrace the woman, stroking her skin, and smiled calmly. "This will be our celebration for our ascension! We are all Ark Elects; why should we care about the lives of mortals? Besides, this trial might actually be a good thing for them."

The woman also chuckled softly. "It's confirmed. The 'God's Whip' is ready. Once it is swung, the 'Royal Banners' contained by the various megacity branches will respond. They will each summon the undead legions that once whipped the entire world!"

"Whipped the entire world? Hahaha..." Qin Zhi shook his head with a laugh. "They alone are not enough to shake the megacities, let alone challenge the prestige of the Border Iron Guards. But those Taboos... they likely won't pass up such an opportunity! This way, the forces of each branch will be tied down. This is enough."

"Come, let us wait and see if the sorrow of this world can move that Mad King!" Qin Zhi walked out of the lounge and stepped onto the stage.

The spotlights illuminated his body, and in an instant, countless cheers erupted from below the stage.

Countless fans screamed his name.

Qin Zhi, however, placed a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

His handsome face combined with a gentle expression made many female spectators scream.

But soon, the noise gradually subsided.

Qin Zhi picked up the microphone, looked at the sea of people below, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you to everyone in Border City No. 3 for coming to my farewell performance... After all these years, I truly find it hard to leave you all." His voice amplified through the speakers.

"Farewell?" The audience was bewildered, not understanding why this superstar would speak of a farewell. He was clearly so young and handsome.

"What is he doing? Why didn't he tell us about something this big?" The other band members also looked surprised; clearly, this was the first they had heard of it.

"He's retiring at the height of his fame? Is this some kind of publicity stunt?" Some media personnel, while surprised, immediately moved closer, intending to get first-hand information.

But facing countless questions, Qin Zhi offered no explanation, continuing to smile. "Please, let me draw a perfect period to my final performance. A period that the world will never forget!"

Then, as if nothing were wrong, he slightly raised his hand, and a fervent accompaniment began to play.

He picked up a guitar and struck the strings heavily, as if a passionate gust of wind were sweeping through the venue.

The entire crowd seemed to forget their previous doubts and began to sway feverishly.

"What is he trying to do?" Xinghuo asked in confusion. "Sis, do you know?"

"I have no idea. Is he retiring? No way, out of nowhere..." Yingliu was also confused, but suddenly she clutched her head in pain.

Startled, Xinghuo supported his staggering sister and asked, "What's wrong?"

Then, he heard words that made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Big brother... my Soul Well is shaking..."

The Soul Well? Is it about to distort?

Recalling Motor's death, a massive sense of dread instantly overwhelmed Xinghuo.

After his best friend, was even his own sister to suffer such misfortune? How could this happen? Everything was fine!

No, absolutely not!

He grabbed Yingliu, intending to force her to leave.

Right now, it was only the shaking of the Soul Well, not a collapse; there was still time!

However, when he looked around, he found that the audience had already fallen into a state of madness.

They were screaming, roaring, and shrieking, as if trying to vent everything.

Xinghuo saw that happy family; the girl being carried on her father's shoulders bit off her father's ear. Her father, laughing maniacally, slammed her violently into the ground, while the mother, witnessing this, rushed forward screaming to stop them, only to bite into her husband's neck.

Further away, a couple embracing and kissing passionately bit through each other's tongues and began gnawing on each other's lips.

The entire venue, and even the areas outside, were filled with frenzied crowds.

Countless spectators seemed to have been stripped of their rationality, indulging in their primal desires.

This was Distortion!

Everyone here was distorting!

Seeing this, Xinghuo's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he glared toward the stage.

"It's him! Stop it!" Carrying his sister, he leaped up, performing an aerial step, roaring with all his might while rubbing his fingers together.

He ignited a brilliant fireball that exploded in mid-air, a warning to all his colleagues!

Before him, a handler had already reacted, rushing toward the stage. Without hesitation, they swung a blade and cut the power to the entire venue.

However, even as all the lights vanished, the singing did not stop.

The handlers' faces turned pale as they fought to strike with their weapons, smashing one speaker after another before the singing finally ceased.

But before the enraged handlers could reach him, Qin Zhi smiled and bowed.

Then, embraced by a woman who suddenly appeared, he vanished from the stage instantly.

Watching the increasingly frenzied crowd and the appearing distorted entities, the handlers' eyes burned with rage.

In an instant, alarms from all branches and even the headquarters began to wail incessantly.

***

On the other side, in his sleep, Li Yela felt an unusual exhaustion and a sudden, piercing chill.

In his dream, he instinctively pulled the quilt tighter.

But within seconds, he felt himself being shaken violently. He tried to wake up, but he couldn't open his eyes no matter how hard he tried.

Until a familiar voice rang in his ear.

"【Listen to me】 Wake up!"

Li Yela finally struggled to open his eyes, only to see Cheese, wearing loose pajamas, pressing down on his quilt and looking at him urgently.

He was being shaken forcefully by her grip on his shoulders.

The loose pajamas could not hide her voluptuous figure, causing those pale, soft curves to sway before his eyes.

For a moment, Li Yela couldn't tell.

Was he having a dream that was a bit hard to put into words?

Or was Cheese actually attempting a night raid on him?

That shouldn't be possible, right? Cheese only knew how to say suggestive things; she wouldn't have the guts for this. And he shouldn't be having such dreams, should he?

His mind was still clouded with wandering thoughts.

However, Cheese's next words jolted him wide awake.

"【Listen to me】 Awaken!"

"Taboos have breached containment!"

Only then did Li Yela hear the dense, rapid alarms.

'Ding-class Taboo, Hidden Scarf, containment breach!'

'Bing-class Taboo, Heart of Slaughter, containment breach!'

'Yi-class Taboo, Ice Witch, containment breach!'

'Bing-class Taboo, Baku, containment breach!'

'Ding-class Taboo, Folded King's Banner, experiencing violent changes, danger level increased! Containment breach!'