Phantom in the Air

Shen City,

Scenes of civilian riots were unfolding in various places.

The patrol teams who rushed over took down the rioting civilians. The female team leader frowned at the civilians lying on the ground.

All these people...

"Boss lady, what's up?"

Someone in the patrol team asked.

"Scram, call me team leader."

"Too weird. They're neither Parasites nor Superhumans, so why would they participate in riots?"

It was obvious with just a little thought that a group of civilians was no match for even one Superhuman.

If it was due to blood feud driving them to lose their senses, they should have been Parasites.

The woman retracted her chains and crouched next to the civilians, observing them closely.

The one who had asked earlier exclaimed, "Hearing you say that, it's like they really didn't use any superpowers..."

"Could someone be controlling them from behind?"

Others in the team put forth guesses.

The woman shook her head. "Unclear. Anyway, let's first go resolve the riots in other areas."

She took out her communicator, massaging her temples with a pained expression.

The screen was filled with red dots, each representing an unresolved incident.

What was up with these civilians? Had they gone mad?

Also...

She raised her head to look in the Superpower Association's direction.

When would they be able to send people out to appease the masses?

"Team leader, something's happened!"

Someone in the team yelled loudly, jolting the patrol team woman out of her thoughts.

The woman's pupils suddenly contracted.

She didn't need to ask the one who had just spoken to know what had happened.

An enormous illusion obscured the sun, as if it would descend onto the ground in the next second.

Centered around a ghastly, boundless black forest, various bizarre scenes extended outwards within the illusion.

An ancient, mystical castle, with plants growing wildly in every crevice, the silhouette in the window looking like a woman's figure;

An endless sea of flames burning in barren lands;

Desolate ruins of a city, with countless broken walls silently telling their history...

At a glance, there seemed to be no end in sight.

"What is that?!"

The people who didn't dare leave their homes due to the riots looked up at the sky in shock, murmuring.

"Damn, is this a massive Fusion Zone appearing?"

Amidst their shock, some still didn't forget to speculate about what was behind this.

People took out their phones and started filming, their expressions a mix of anxiety, fear and excitement.

#Strange sighting in Shen City#

Related topics soon topped the national trending charts, and people from other cities joined in watching the spectacle.

【Which daoist friend is crossing the heavenly tribulation here】

【Is that a Fusion Zone? Looks weird】

【Envying Shen City residents for this spectacular day, wish I could see it too】

As they discussed fervently, the previously mentioned patrol squad were still staring at the scene before them in shock.

Illusory silhouettes emerged from the bodies of the civilians they had taken down——those were locked doors.

The locked doors slowly opened, and the civilians disappeared into thin air, leaving behind illusory shadows that seemed they could be blown away by a gust of wind.

Beyond the doors was complete darkness, voraciously swallowing any light shone into it.

"Quick, look above!"

They heard someone cry out, and reflexively looked up.

The civilians who had disappeared earlier emerged in the illusion, lying haphazardly on the ground.

After another few minutes, they slowly got to their feet, wandering around the various parts of the illusions like zombies.

The woman pressed her lips into a straight line, tightly gripping her communicator.

"This is bad, have to report to the higher ups immediately."

...

Knock knock knock——

The urgent knocking roused the Superhumans. They swallowed nervously, feeling like they had just received amnesty, and collectively turned to look at where the sound came from.

Just moments ago they were boasting haughtily, but now faced with an S-Rank monster they chickened out a bit.

That was an S-Rank monster. Running around recklessly in its domain was no different than seeking death.

"Come in!"

Yi Shi's brows were furrowed tightly.

He had instructed that no matter what happened, the patrol teams would handle Shen City's chaos and must not disturb them.

"Leader Yi, quick, look outside!"

The visitor was gasping for breath, not offering any explanation.

Trusting his subordinate, Yi Shi strode straight towards the window.

The rest crowded around the window as well, taking in the scene outside.

Doors floated in midair above various spots, the usually bustling streets now eerily quiet, residents' windows firmly shut.

"What exactly is going on?"

Someone couldn't help but ask anxiously.

And just when they had barely grasped the severity of the matter, things took a turn for the worse.

Was there no saving this?!

"Wait, aren't those the S-Rank Superhumans?"

Someone pointed out urgently.

They looked to where he was pointing. Abruptly amidst the black forest, there was an unnaturally empty space, like part of a pencil sketch that had been erased.

In that space, over a dozen S-Rank Superhumans either sat, stood or lay injured on the ground.

"So should we still go in?"

"Yeah, didn't we just need to find the S-Rank Superhumans?"

When it concerned their safety, their brains worked faster than anyone, quickly grasping the crux of things.

But Yi Shi rejected their hopes, stating firmly, "We're going in! If not, we can only wait here to die!"

He took a deep breath and squeezed out, "It might be advancing to a higher level."

As if responding to his words, the illusion floating high above slowly started descending, moving closer and closer towards them.

Advancing?

The crowd erupted into chaos. Their brains turned to mush.

The implications behind those words sent chills down their spines, raising goosebumps.

"There's no time left."

The listlessness vanished from Xue Shizong's face, replaced by grave seriousness.

Leaning on his walking stick, Shen City's Chairman wore an equally solemn expression.

"The SSS-Rank monsters in San Zhu also appeared in populous cities. So these past days, our investigation focus has been on Shen City and Ji City."

They had assumed that with that person around, there was still time for them to prepare. They didn't expect things to already be so dire.

They had to quickly make these A-Rank Superhumans understand the severity of the matter.

"There is no time to ensure your safety any more. You need to enter these doors and find out where they lead."

"Immediately get the S-Rank Superhumans to come out, otherwise all of Shen City is doomed."

Only S-Rank Superhumans capable of attacking Zone nodes could resolve this.

Qi Yuan looked towards that dozen or so S-Rank Superhumans, his gaze settling on the injured lying on the ground.

Even SSS-Rank was troublesome enough. And now there was also a Level Up.

He reached out and took the key, a hint of astonishment flashing through Xue Shizong's eyes as he stated,

"Let me scout ahead first."