Translated by: Novellise
"The situation in Jiangcheng is not optimistic, and the speed of the dark invasion has accelerated."
Lu Yuan stood on the roof.
High above, overlooking all of Jiangcheng.
Eight years ago.
He had fled to Jiangcheng with refugees from the coastal city hundreds of kilometres away.
Jiangcheng was still prosperous then.
You couldn't call it bustling, but you could call it a city with lights everywhere.
At least a hundred times better than it is now.
But in just eight years.
Jiangcheng has fallen into such a state of ruin and decay.
If the situation continues to deteriorate, the exodus of simulators will inevitably accelerate.
By then.
Probably in a year or two, all of the more than seven million ordinary people in the outer city will be abandoned without hesitation.
The human tragedy of eight years ago will be repeated!
When I think about it,
Lu Yuan couldn't help but clench his fists.
In this apocalyptic world of universal simulation and sinister invasion.
Only Simulators can dispel the darkness.
Once stripped of the simulators' protection.
Ordinary people can only desperately wait for death in the darkness.
The coastal town eight years ago is a lesson to be learned.
However.
Lu Yuan's power alone can hardly change anything.
Besides.
The experience of escaping years ago has already shown him the harsh reality of the world.
He no longer has that kind of saintly feeling.
He will never put himself in danger for a group of unrelated people.
Just then.
The surrounding darkness seemed to have sensed Lu Yuan's presence as if it had come to life and quickly surged towards him.
Lu Yuan was about to summon his blood to dispel the darkness.
But he suddenly had a clever idea.
He activated the Heavenly Purgatory Scripture instead.
In an instant.
Hundreds of spirit runes lit up.
These spirit runes were engraved on every part of Lu Yuan's body, covering him almost completely.
A blinding light suddenly erupted from his body.
It instantly illuminated an area one hundred metres in diameter!
At that moment.
Lu Yuan became the most handsome guy in the night sky!
A hundred metres in diameter?
An area equivalent to ten thousand square metres, or one hectare, which is about 15 acres of land!
Converted.
The equivalent of a hundred houses, each one hundred square metres.
Even bigger than a standard football pitch!
This result.
Even surprised Lu Yuan himself.
Moreover.
The darkness that was about to pounce on Lu Yuan like a hungry wolf.
The moment it touched the light emanating from Lu Yuan, it recoiled as if it had encountered a natural enemy.
With a sharp, deafening screech, it desperately retreated in all directions.
But in the next moment.
The Heavenly Purgatory Scripture automatically activated, unleashing an irresistible, terrifying pulling force.
Under the effect of this force.
The darkness within a hundred metres formed a wave of energy that converged on Lu Yuan.
At that moment, Lu Yuan was like a bottomless black hole, swallowing up all the darkness!
Thirty seconds later.
Lu Yuan looked radiant and let out a burp.
"The Heavenly Purgatory Scripture truly deserves to be the supreme law of the Myriad Realms, even capable of absorbing dark energy."
"But that dark energy is actually actively hunting and escaping, isn't that too intelligent?"
Lu Yuan looked at the fleeing darkness and felt quite confused.
Especially when he thought about the deafening screech he had just heard.
It made him even more suspicious that this kind of dark energy might have some kind of autonomous consciousness.
On the other side.
After Lu Yuan had absorbed the darkness within a hundred metres.
Nearby simulators immediately sensed an anomaly and looked in his direction.
Every night.
The simulators had to activate their blood to dispel the darkness for ordinary people.
But the simulators stationed nearby were surprised to find that today's dark energy seemed much weaker than usual?
On the outskirts of the city, in District Six.
On a pitch-black street.
Two simulators dressed in Public Security Bureau uniforms stood under a street lamp, smoking cigarettes with worried expressions.
"Li Team, calculate the time. Shouldn't this year's new recruits be reporting in by now?"
"Since I was assigned here after graduating last year, I've been in this damn place for a whole year without a break!"
The young man with the flat top had bloodshot eyes and complained discontentedly.
He spoke with an air of arrogance.
But look closer.
His face looked very young, probably no more than twenty years old.
In this post-apocalyptic world full of mysticism and invasion by various races.
The Empire promised to protect ordinary people until they came of age.
But at a price.
After becoming a Simulator, everyone had a responsibility to dispel the darkness and resist evil spirits.
Therefore.
After the annual simulation test,
many new recruits would be assigned to different major districts.
This undoubtedly helped to ease the pressure on the Public Security Bureau.
However, as the situation in Jiangcheng worsened.
Any new recruits with connections were either transferred directly to the downtown area or assigned to safe areas in the city centre.
Only their group of unconnected fighters remained in the outskirts of the city.
"What's the hurry? Now the Public Security Bureau is short of manpower, and I haven't taken a break for years."
Li Team sighed.
The last few years.
The number of simulators had been rapidly decreasing,
life in the outskirts of the city had become increasingly difficult.
And he only had three or four small cats and dogs under his command, barely able to maintain this small jurisdiction.
"Captain, when will our subsidies arrive?"
"The people in the inner city are living in luxury, feasting every day. We should at least get something to drink."
The young man with the flat top complained again.
When the simulators activated their blood, they also consumed a large amount of spiritual energy.
Illuminating themselves to illuminate others.
Aren't they just human-shaped light bulbs?
If it weren't for the grant, who would be so selfless?
"You, why do you complain so much when you're on night duty? Does the Empire not give you enough allowance?"
Li Team's eyes narrowed and he scolded impatiently.
"You should be grateful. When you were assigned to District Six, you should be happy that you were not sent to Black Dragon City Fort."
"Black Dragon City Fort? That place, no place for humans to stay!"
The young man with the flat top shuddered and immediately stopped complaining.
But after a while, he asked curiously.
"Captain, I heard from the Zhang team that with your qualifications, you should have been transferred to the city a long time ago. Why are you still here, Captain?"
"My son will graduate soon, I plan to leave this position to him."
Li Team smoked, not even bothering to look up as he answered.
Actually, there was another reason he didn't mention.
In recent years.
Many old members of the Public Security Bureau were trying to find ways to leave, and the number of new recruits was decreasing.
If even a captain like him left.
What would happen to the ordinary people of District Six?
"All right, stop complaining and work hard for a few years. Maybe you will be transferred to the city centre."
"If you work hard, I'll look at other streets."
Li Team stubbed out his cigarette butt and prepared to go to other streets.
But at that moment.
Less than five hundred metres away, on a rooftop.
A blinding light suddenly erupted, illuminating the surroundings as bright as day.
It was as if someone had thrown a flash-bang, making it particularly dazzling in the dark.
The two men quickly turned their heads and instinctively closed their eyes.
Even though they were simulators with much stronger physical abilities than normal humans.
Years of working at night had accustomed them to the dark, making their eyes more sensitive to changes in light.
Even when they closed their eyes, tears slipped uncontrollably from the corners of their eyes.
After a brief moment of blindness.
The two men finally regained some vision.
"Captain, what just happened? My eyes were almost blinded by that flash!"
The young man with the flat top covered his eyes, tears streaming down like a waterfall.
"After nightfall, only the simulator's lifefire can penetrate the darkness."
"Is this dazzling light a passing Morning Star level power?"
Li Team pondered in his heart.
But when he looked up again.
The intense light had vanished into the night.
(End of this chapter)