Chapter Seventy-Six: Time to Slip Away

Human beings, under the influence of twisted rules, have their desires and negative emotions infinitely magnified, becoming immersed in their own worlds of longing—thus, the Fallen are born.

Because desires and negative emotions differ, the Fallen they create vary as well. Just like humans, they are divided into good and evil, and also—whether or not they possess intelligence.

Here, intelligence refers to wisdom.

To put it simply, the psychological counselor Fang Tang encountered in the catacombs was one of the wise kind, possessing considerable intellect, perhaps tied to his abilities. In contrast, the fitness fanatic he met before was a mindless Fallen—utterly lost in the depths of desire, unable to extricate himself.

On the third floor of the psychiatric hospital, all the Fallen Fang Tang came across were mindless as well. Their hearts were consumed by rage and slaughter; they'd forgotten pain, forgotten why they killed, acting on nothing but the urge to kill for killing's sake.

Within the cramped corridors, Fang Tang darted through the sea of Fallen, his Great Xia Longque sword occasionally slicing open fresh wounds on their bodies. Within two minutes, each Fallen bore his mark—a shallow cut. Some marks triggered beheadings, others required a sixth strike before dealing any real damage. This was the utmost Fang Tang could achieve, even after exhausting all his means. After all, he was only at the ninth stage of the second tier, not even at the threshold of the third. Facing this horde of tier-four Fallen, he was as defenseless as a chick.

"Three minutes…"

Fang Tang gasped for breath, mechanical claws on his back spraying dazzling flames. The claws' power was cut by seventy percent under the twisted rules, no longer providing much assistance. However, the flames did serve to obscure the Fallen's vision. Fang Tang would stop at nothing to gain an edge in battle—this was his way.

In half a minute, he sprinted twice down the corridor, dealing each Fallen another wound. This time, only two beheadings were triggered, but it still eased the pressure on him considerably.

The fight raged on, but Fang Tang heard Yueyue's labored breathing. Was her stamina giving out?

He instinctively checked the time—three minutes, twenty seconds. That meant Yueyue could hold on for just over four and a half minutes, not even five.

Fang Tang patted her, "Yueyue, don't boost my speed anymore. Save your strength."

"Woof?" Yueyue pressed her head to his shoulder, her bright eyes full of confusion. But she obeyed nonetheless.

The burst of speed vanished; Fang Tang's movements slowed to normal. Though he had increased his agility, making a qualitative leap in speed, it was still unimpressive in the eyes of these Fallen. He activated Ghost Step, and paired with his Ring of Lightness, though not fast, his movements were nimble—like a drifting seed on the wind, leveraging force with elegance.

Agile but not quick enough, wounds soon appeared on his body. Fortunately, he had Steel Guard; otherwise, the barrage of attacks would have finished him. Ghost Step lasted only ninety seconds. After one round trip, Fang Tang claimed four Fallen heads before the skill faded.

Now he could only rely on the acceleration from his mechanical claws and his own speed. Thankfully, he had the Frost Gun: though it couldn't freeze the Fallen, it could slow them down. The handful of tier-five Fallen, however, were troublesome—not only were they higher level, but their mutation abilities were formidable.

Rare Mutation: Severed Yet Connected.

Perfect Mutation: My Thirst for Battle.

Rare Mutation: Soul-Calming Roar.

Rare Mutation: Tenacious Claws, Swift Strike.

These four tier-five Fallen, with their mutations, had a tremendous impact on Fang Tang. The worst part was that he couldn’t even hurt them. It was infuriating.

The battle was fierce, and Fang Tang felt a strange agitation. A nameless rage burned uncontrollably within him.

He was startled—he possessed Tranquil Mind, so why this feeling? Glancing around, he caught sight of a dog in the corner, tongue lolling, eyes glinting crimson.

Rare Mutation: Death Stare.

"This dog is affecting me. I need to find a way to deal with it."

Fang Tang frowned deeply. In this area, shrouded by twisted rules, he couldn’t afford any emotional slip; otherwise, he’d become one of the Fallen. Unfortunately, there were too many of them—he couldn’t even get close to the dog. The agitation grew heavier, the fire within darker, and even visible attacks became difficult to dodge.

Taking a deep breath, he manipulated his mechanical claws to cling to the ceiling and tapped his pass.

If he couldn’t win, he’d flee.

Light enveloped him. As he looked down at the crowd of Fallen, he muttered, "My first time in the twisted rules and I’m already in such a sorry state—there really are too many Fallen here. Still, reaching tier three in evolution isn’t a bad gain."

[What a pity about this journey—this area is one of the rare, interesting places in the Twisted World, but your lack of strength made for a disappointing experience. If you were above tier seven, you could traverse this area with ease, maybe even receive the fifth-level Overlord’s gift. That’s a treasure—I wonder if you’ll ever get another chance.]

After eight seconds, the teleportation faded, and Fang Tang appeared at a familiar spring.

Under the astonished gaze of the ranking staff, he walked out of the blue circle of light…

Blue?

He was bewildered; wasn’t the return glow supposed to be blue?

"You’re Fang Tang, right? Come with us."

Three soldiers from the Garrison approached, showing their credentials. Still dazed from his recent battle, Fang Tang knew better than to speak carelessly in such a state. He glanced at the time—the green numbers had reset to the countdown: 00:01:42:09.

The same countdown as when he entered the Gate of Evolution.

He nodded indifferently and boarded the Garrison’s vehicle.

Within the Cradle World, there were ways to travel through the various catacombs, but only the great factions held those secrets. Thanks to the Garrison, Fang Tang now enjoyed this thrill for himself.

He thought to himself, this vehicle is really something—how much does it cost?

He couldn’t tell what material the vehicle was made from, but when it crashed into the wall, there was no sound of destruction—only a flash of light, and the group found themselves in an unfamiliar catacomb.

Here, there was only one building. The car stopped at the entrance, and Fang Tang finally noticed the sign above the door:

Garrison District L Subdivision.