Chapter 436: A Chaotic Night
"Whew, good thing we ran fast."
Sera said with relief.
The collapse affected a large area around the Abyss Products Company. Those high-level spiritual energy users basically got the news in advance, but there were still some high-level spiritual energy users who didn't make it out.
That's the confidence of the strong.
There are always people who think they don't need to run.
"Do you know what's down there?"
Lin Ye looked at the bottomless pit below and asked.
"Maybe it's connected to the Bottomless Pit, maybe it's the next Bottomless Pit, who knows?"
Sera kicked a pebble into the pit. The pebble fell, and no sound of it hitting the bottom could be heard.
"This kind of overall collapse, including underground areas, shouldn't be something that can be done casually. It seems the Abyss Products Company was already infiltrated by those parasites from the Bottomless Pit." Lin Ye didn't expect there to be such a big pit in the city.
"They're willing to expose themselves to do this, they must be trying to achieve some purpose. I wonder what this pit is for."
Sera felt it was very dangerous inside, but she didn't know what the danger was related to.
"It's definitely related to the Bottomless Pit. Maybe it's another exit from the Bottomless Pit."
Considering the current state of the Bottomless Pit, Lin Ye felt this was likely the correct answer.
"Uh... then shouldn't we run for it?"
Sera asked nervously.
"Not urgent. If the things inside can all come out, it's already too late to run now."
Lin Ye took out his Communication Device. He had received a communication request from Raymond.
"You're near Abyss Products? Then you'd better get away from there as soon as possible. Free City's spiritual energy defense system has a gap torn open by that pit. The early warning system detected obvious spatial fluctuations deep in the pit. We're about to send people in to check the situation. Don't go this time."
Raymond didn't want Lin Ye to take the risk.
"I wouldn't go even if you asked me to."
Lin Ye suddenly turned his head. He heard screams ringing out in the distance. This was the first time he'd heard such sounds in Free City.
"Damn! They teleported anomalous phenomena into the city! Those anomalous phenomena are attacking citizens! I have to go deal with this. Be careful yourself!"
Raymond cut the communication. Lin Ye's mental energy spread into the distance, and he quickly found the anomalous phenomenon wantonly killing people on the main street.
It was a man wearing a crown of spikes. The crown of spikes was embedded in its brain. The man let out painful screams. The pedestrians around him also grew spikes on their bodies, kneeling on the ground and wailing in agony.
Noticing Lin Ye's mental energy, the man turned to look in Lin Ye's direction, incidentally twisting its own neck in the process.
"Boss, things are a bit not good here. I haven't collected the laundry at home yet. I'm pulling out first."
Sera turned around wanting to slip away, but Lin Ye grabbed her by the collar.
"Don't run. I'll contact Ms. Carnot in a moment. I hope you haven't lied to me."
Lin Ye used a spiritual energy blade to slice the man's body to pieces, but its head, still wearing the crown of spikes, continued flying toward Lin Ye.
"I really didn't lie to you. That thing is coming over. I'll just hinder your performance if I stay here."
Sera took out her Communication Device and showed Lin Ye a photo of her and Ms. Carnot together.
"Preparations are quite thorough. Just the background looks a bit fake."
Lin Ye used his Communication Device to contact Ms. Carnot, simultaneously drawing the blood-colored longsword from his spatial item.
The blade extended rapidly into the distance, stabbing the human head crown two streets away.
The head exploded into a bloody mist. Blood-colored patterns spread across the crown of spikes. Buds of flesh grew on the surface of the crown of spikes, and dense spikes sprouted from the flesh buds.
"Something the matter?"
Ms. Carnot's virtual image appeared on the Communication Device.
"Do you know her?"
Lin Ye pulled Sera next to the Communication Device.
"She's an employee of Carnot Heavy Industries. Is there a problem?"
Ms. Carnot gave an answer that Lin Ye found strange.
"... So that's how it is. Then it's nothing. Sorry to bother you."
Lin Ye let go of Sera, turned off the Communication Device, and casually put the crown of spikes, which had been brought back by the blood-colored longsword, on his own head.
For Lin Ye, Ms. Carnot's answer surprised him more than the Abyss Products incident.
"... Can I go?"
After being released by Lin Ye, Sera instead leaned closer. She looked curiously at the crown on Lin Ye's head, seemingly very interested in it.
"Yeah, I already know who you are. You can go."
Lin Ye walked toward the abandoned clubhouse. Due to the spatial teleportation, anomalous phenomena were now all over the city. He planned to first clean up the area around the abandoned clubhouse. The anomalous phenomena obtained could be used for research, and after research, they could be used to extract Rule Crystals.
"Really? You know who I am?"
Sera followed behind Lin Ye. Her previous nervousness was gone, as if she had become a different person.
"Yeah, I can roughly guess. Someone who can survive in that kind of situation, someone Ms. Carnot needs to cover for... there aren't many people like that in this city."
Lin Ye didn't really want to fight her here, and even if he did, he might not win.
"Oh my, you figured that out? That's right, I am the master of this city, City Lord Sera."
Sera said with a serious expression.
"Is that so? Then can you give Free City to me, since I saved your life?"
Lin Ye said casually.
"Sure, Free City is yours now."
Sera also answered very casually.
"Then it's settled."
Lin Ye increased his movement speed. Sera was no longer behind him.
On the road, armed squads from major factions and some squads composed of adventurers were cleaning up the anomalous phenomena in the city. For them, dealing with anomalous phenomena in the city was much more convenient than going to the Bottomless Pit.
However, Lin Ye could clearly feel that the anomalous phenomena in the city were more active than those inside the Bottomless Pit, as if they had shaken off some kind of restriction.
After returning to the clubhouse, Lin Ye began cleaning up the nearby anomalous phenomena. The base was being looked after by Bessie Pro; it could handle ordinary anomalous phenomena.
The chaotic night quickly passed, and Lin Ye's spatial item now contained a few more Rule Crystals.
Most of the anomalous phenomena that were teleported over had been cleaned up, leaving only some of the more troublesome ones still in the city.
"Boss, many factions have come to us to buy stock. Should we produce more spiritual energy cards?"
During breakfast, Little Ke came over and asked.
"I'll make another batch of templates later."
The production speed of spiritual energy cards mainly depends on the printing speed of those young people and the supply of materials, not the speed of template creation.
"Boss, there are people outside selling the corpses of those monsters. Should we buy some?"
Black Dog also came over and asked.
"Eighty percent chance they're scammers. If there really were such good things, they wouldn't be available to us."
Lin Ye didn't think he could pick up bargains in Free City.