Era of Magic and Martial Arts

The network signal light flickered for a moment, a weak glow flaring up briefly in the dark before extinguishing again.

Soon after, it lit up again, the light a bit brighter than before, but quickly falling silent.

However, it’s worth noting that the duration of the monotonous gray when the signal light died out was gradually shortening, while the flashing green light grew more urgent, appearing more frequently.

Every time the green light came on, it felt like a hopeful attempt, as if in the next second, it would break through the shield of the subterranean tunnels and connect back to the countless households in Zone 9, who were eagerly staring at their TV screens.

Deng Jiajia was meticulously adjusting the camera lens.

Focused through the lens, at the sewage bottom, there seemed to be a few black, broken pieces about the size of a fingernail... plastic fragments.

Judging by the state of the broken plastic, they seem to have been shattered together with the shadow.

Yet, apart from these fragments, there was no other debris similar to clothing or shattered spectacle lenses in the sewage.

"This indicates that [Mask]’s entire body is formed from shadows, including his clothes and glasses, all existence between illusion and reality."

Deng Jiajia quietly mused, with brows knitted tightly,

"If that’s the case, why is there a specific physical object on the shadow, and it’s been shattered? What on earth is this thing that can’t be conjured from shadows and must be carried physically?"

Her gaze fixated on those plastic fragments, as if she wanted to extract the answer from them.

"What is it, what could it possibly be?"

Inside Deng Jiajia, the journalist instinct for uncovering the truth was stirring.

The three of them were overly focused, each with eyes glued to their own lens, so much so that none of them noticed — the sewage at their feet gently swayed.

A sinuous shadow silently drifted through the water, as thick as a fist, resembling a secretive black python extending, extending, extending underwater.

Meanwhile, the rustling noise behind them grew closer, more chaotic.

Amidst the noise, one could vaguely hear the clashing sounds of some wild, metallic machinery, as if chaos was looming over them.

......

Feng Ju and Dong Ping sprinted along the pipeline, echoes of occasional roars from deep within the shaft resonating in their ears.

The sound was like the growl of a monster or the screams of humans, male and female voices mixed together, making one wonder if there was a horror party happening in the passage ahead.

Their footsteps made a dull echo in the metal tunnel, breaths coming in short bursts, hearts pounding like drums.

"Faster, even faster!"

Feng Ju quietly urged, beads of sweat dotting his forehead, the mechanical black arm swinging wildly as he ran, hydraulic tubes emitting a vibrating "buzz".

Dong Ping followed closely behind, a slightly thinner silver mechanical arm glinting coldly, eyes darting left and right as his heart drummed rapidly.

"Captain Feng, did you hear some strange noise, like the sound of waves surging?" Dong Ping perked up his ears, a premonition of bad things arising within him.

Feng Ju turned a deaf ear, merely lowering his head further, feet never pausing as he continued his frantic dash through the dimly lit and complex labyrinth of pipes.

Another fork in the shaft loomed ahead, and from afar, the roars grew clearer, mingling with a man’s sinister chuckle.

The sound came closer, and Feng Ju could almost make out the intermittent words:

"[Mask]... I devour... boyfriend... things... hidden where..."

Dong Ping perked up his ears, involuntarily muttering,

"What kind of nonsense is this, who’s talking to whom exactly?"

However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he was stunned as if struck by lightning, his body froze, eyes widening in shock and delight as he shouted,

"Captain Feng, he... he’s talking about [Mask]?!!!"

Feng Ju was suddenly taken aback, his pace faltering for a moment.

He hurriedly halted, not having time to think or respond as he turned his head in horror towards the right fork’s passage on the right side.

Rattle rattle rattle — rustle rustle —

The sound was like the tidal surges mentioned by Dong Ping, yet intermixed with the grating sound of countless sharp claws scratching rusty metal, making one’s scalp tingle.

So, this is...??

Feng Ju and Dong Ping’s pupils contracted violently, their backs crawling with a sheet of cold goosebumps.

They saw an ominous shadow; it was rats, countless rats, teeming in dense clusters.

Some crawled along the pipe walls, sharp nails scratching the metal surface, producing a tooth-grating sound;

More were stepping over their kind, layers upon layers, circles upon circles, stacked impenetrably, like a black torrent, surging madly into their eyes.

"Rats... Rats! How can there be so many rats gushing out of the sewer?"

Dong Ping was horrified to the extreme, his eyes spinning uncontrollably in their sockets.

Rats: "..." Aren’t we supposed to be in the sewer? Where else should we go?

"Watch out!" Feng Ju’s expression suddenly changed.

He reacted swiftly, raising the sturdy mechanical arm, swinging it down on a few frantic, lunging black rats with a fierce thud.

Thud — thud — thud —

A series of muffled explosions of flesh, dirty blood splattering, staining Feng Ju and Dong Ping’s mechanical arms, fractured black fur clinging to the metal surface, appearing exceptionally grim.

Nonetheless, this bloody scene didn’t cause the rat swarm to retreat in the slightest.

On the contrary, they seemed triggered by unpleasant memories, plunging into a collective frenzy, charging at the two more frantically.

Beneath the shaft, sewage rushed, a large swarm of rats swarming towards them, scrambling up their pant legs;

In mid-air, rats launched off the pipe walls, bodies stretched akin to gliding, sharp claws scratching at their cheeks;

On the pipe walls, rats clambered nimbly, fearlessly biting at the mechanical arms swung by the two.

In a flash, the scene resembled a bizarre and frenzied "triple battle," the rats launching an all-out attack by land, sea, and air, engaging in three-dimensional coordinated assault against the two "attacking titans."

Feng Ju and Dong Ping were terrified beyond measure, instinctively swinging their mechanical right arms.

The metal joints emitted a resounding "buzz," strength exploding in an instant, the mechanical arms slashing a sharp arc through the air, smashing fiercely into the rat swarm charging at them.

Pong — pong — pong —

The mechanical arms wielded formidable power, capable of smashing multiple rats into flying chunks of flesh and blood with every swing, turning them into lumps of meat paste.

Blood and shattered flesh splattered, staining the originally dark pipe walls, and a thick stench of blood rapidly filled the air, making one gag.

Yet, the number of rats was truly overwhelming.

They seemed endless, wave after wave, wave after wave, advancing bravely, relentlessly charging forward.

Dong Ping was so terrified his face turned ghostly pale, legs going weak, nearly unable to stand upright.

He frantically stomped on the rats at his feet to crush them, the mechanical arm swinging wildly in front of his face, shouting hoarsely,

"Captain Feng, what do we do? There’s no way we can hold them off!"