Chapter 117: The Filthy Bride (Part 2)

Zhang Zheng was stunned by the scene before him, frozen like a wooden chicken.
Fear?
Not exactly…

More precisely—powerlessness.

For decades, he had been like a stubborn old hunting dog, searching through the steel jungle of Xinhai City, sniffing out the secrets buried beneath its prosperity.

He locked away those unexplainable case files in a cabinet, obsessively believing that beneath the polished image of this “model city,” there lurked a vast darkness.

Find it.
He must find it!

This goal had long become a knot in his heart, the very force driving him to keep working.

But now that the “truth” had truly descended, he realized how laughable he had been.

The truth wasn’t a case that could be solved, nor a criminal that could be arrested.

It was a natural disaster—something no human effort could contend with.

Suddenly, he understood the people “above.”

Why they sealed information.
Why they disguised everything as “gas explosions” or “accidents.”

Because this was simply not something ordinary citizens could face!

Once that thin paper layer called “order” was pierced, Xinhai City’s pride—its economic miracle, technological utopia—would overnight collapse into a hell of fear and chaos.

“Heh… heheheh…”

Zhang Zheng covered his face and mocked himself.

So this was it—what he had spent half his life trying to uncover wasn’t a treasure chest, but Pandora’s box.

And he had once been proud of his own “curiosity.”

“Zhang—Zhang Captain! What do we do now?!”

Wan Xiaohu glanced anxiously out the window, panic in his voice.

Right now, the death of their comrades had ignited the police officers’ fighting spirit, pushing them to continue battling the monster.

Zhang Zheng finally snapped out of his daze.

Right. Now.
What do they do now?

Staring at the endlessly writhing monster outside, Zhang Zheng found himself at a complete loss.

Oh—right!

Support.
Call for support!

“Xiaohu, Shaotian—quick! Notify the nearby Armed Police units immediately—”

Bzzz—Bzzz—

A sudden vibration cut him off.

It was his police terminal.

He picked it up on reflex, and when he saw the name on the screen, his pupils shrank violently.

【Zhao Liwei — Municipal Emergency Management Bureau — Special Disaster Response Division】

!?

He didn’t recognize the name, but the department…
He had heard something about it.

Old leaders had mentioned it once—
This was a department that appeared only during major catastrophes.

Its authority was immense.
If the police could handle it, they handled it.
If the police couldn’t handle it, they still handled it.

Act first, report later—legally permitted.

A truly domineering department.

Why were they calling now?

He took a deep breath, tapped the answer button with trembling fingers, and hit speaker.

“This is Zhang Zheng.”

“Hello, Captain Zhang Zheng. I am Zhao Liwei, liaison officer of the Special Disaster Response Division.”

The voice on the other end sounded fatigued, as if he hadn’t slept properly in days.

“You seem to be encountering a contamination event that cannot be handled by conventional means, yes?”

“Contamination event?”

Zhang Zheng couldn’t wrap his head around it for a moment.

He stared at the massive figure rampaging outside the window and roared into the device:

“I don’t care what you call it! We are under attack by a giant monster! It’s immune to bullets and can control people’s minds! My men are dying! Patch me through to the Armed Police Command right now—I’m requesting deployment of their mobile unit for full firepower coverage!”

Silence for two seconds.

“Captain Zhang, please remain calm.”

Zhao Liwei’s voice stayed steady.

“First, according to Article 38 of the Special Disaster Event Handling Protocol, the proper term for that monster is ‘contaminant.’ Second, you do not need to contact the command center, because as of now, the scene command authority is being formally transferred to our Emergency Management Division.”

“What?!”

Zhang Zheng couldn’t believe his ears.

“According to our preliminary backend evaluation, the contaminant is classified as ‘Foul Bride,’ disaster level C, Filth-Accretion lineage characteristics, with capability for physical environmental alteration. The assessment report has been generated. Relevant ‘social-service requests’ and ‘procurement orders’ have also been auto-issued.”

Zhang Zheng understood nothing of what he was hearing—but Luo Shaotian seemed to catch a hint of meaning.

“Mr. Zhao, was it?”

Zhang Zheng gritted his teeth, suppressing his fury as he squeezed out each word:

“I don’t give a damn about your orders or dog-orders! Tell me—right! now! Where the hell is my support?!”

“Support is already en route. Therefore, on behalf of the Division, I order you: gather all surviving personnel, abandon the lower floors, and immediately move to the upper safe areas of the building. Seal all entrances and exits. Await the arrival of our outsourced service unit—our professional team, who will take over.”

“Professional team? What damn professional team?!”

Zhang Zheng thought he misheard.

“Hey! Are you kidding me—this kind of shit can be outsourced?!”

BOOM—!

A deep impact shook the building’s support pillars!

Even Zhao Liwei on the other end seemed to hear it, shouting “Hello? Hello?!”
But no one responded.

Zhang Zheng’s terminal slipped from his hand and hit the floor, the screen shattering instantly.

Crackle… crackle…

A sickening twisting sound echoed from all directions.

Those sickly green fungal masses clinging to the walls began to multiply and spread at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The solid concrete walls, under their corrosion, turned black and soft, like foam board drenched in strong acid!

“Z-Zhang Captain… the building’s collapsing!!!”

Wan Xiaohu screamed, pointing outside.

The police bureau’s auxiliary building—symbol of their authority—was shedding chunks of its walls, revealing rust-eaten steel bones, before letting out a groaning death wail and collapsing sideways in a massive cloud of dust!

At the same time, the office floor lurched sharply downward!

“Hold on! Hold on to something, damn it!”

Zhang Zheng roared, gripping the window frame with all his strength to avoid being thrown out.

Outside, the colossal contaminant seemed to notice something interesting.

Its head—woven from billions of twisting strands—slowly turned, locking onto the room where Luo Shaotian stood.

Gul… gulu…

The foul, slimy maw opened wide, releasing a roar dripping with greed and hunger.

ROAR——!!

Its mountain-like body twisted toward the main building.
Two massive arms—made of rotting flesh and pus—raised high and smashed toward Luo Shaotian’s floor!

BANG—!!

The already crumbling exterior wall shattered like paper!

Stone and glass poured violently into the office.

“Brother Luo, watch out!”

Wan Xiaohu instinctively tried to push Luo Shaotian aside—but it was too late.

A massive tentacle, coated in glistening slime, whipped in through the hole and wrapped toward Luo Shaotian!

Tch…

Shaotian had no time to think.
He shoved Wan Xiaohu and Zhang Zheng out of the way.

But he lost balance for an instant—and that was enough for the rancid tentacle to seize him, lifting him clean off the ground!

“Shaotian!!!”

Zhang Zheng’s eyes went blood-red.
He drew his pistol and fired wildly at the tentacle!

But the bullets only kicked up weak splashes of pus and blood—completely useless!

The sticky tentacle squeezed tighter around Luo Shaotian’s chest, crushing his lungs until he could barely breathe.

He wanted to struggle—but he could feel clearly that the violent mysterious power he once had…
was gone.

Wrapped tightly, drowned in suffocating pressure and helplessness, he gradually stopped resisting.

“Maybe… this isn’t so bad…”

His eyelids were heavy, his vision blurring.

“At least… I’m dying fighting a monster…”

“Die your damn ass—Justice Heart-Bombardment!!”

A sharp, girlish shout detonated above him!

The voice was crisp—and strangely familiar.

Then, a pink energy projectile, bursting with hearts and star effects, came crashing down like a meteor, blasting into the monster’s body.

BOOOOOOOOM————!!

The world turned pure pink.

Shaotian saw a blinding flash—the explosion so intense it even purified the air corroded around them.

Then suddenly, he felt weightless.
The tentacle binding him had vaporized instantly.

Falling—
He plummeted rapidly!

He braced himself for his bones to kiss the floor.

But the impact never came.

Instead, a slender pair of arms caught him midair, pulling him into a perfect princess carry.

“…Uh?”

Shaotian forced his eyes open.

His blurred vision cleared—
And settled on a face just inches away.

The first thing he saw was a grimy, slime-stained—but impossibly delicate—face.

A girl’s face.
Soft contours.
About fifteen or sixteen years old.

Her long, waist-length silver-gray hair whipped wildly in the wind and firelight, and her heterochromatic eyes shimmered with an uncanny glow.

Looking down, Shaotian saw a black-and-white maid dress.

Once elegant and immaculate, it was now torn and corroded, revealing vast stretches of skin.

In the distant firelight, her skin glowed with a dangerous allure.

The shredded lace and fabric fluttered in the wind—messy, yet mesmerizing.

“…So familiar…”

Something flashed violently through Shaotian’s mind.

The cold rainy night…
His battle with Wu Jianguo…
And the mysterious… maid?!

“Hey!”

The girl spoke, sounding annoyed.

“Can you stand up? My arms… are getting kinda tired here…”