Chapter 117 - 100: Destined Death

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At night, the bustling amusement park was a sea of people. The slowly turning Ferris wheel glittered with brilliant colors, and rainbow-colored neon lights illuminated every corner of the park.

A smile graced Erin’s face as she happily hummed a tune. She carried several shopping bags in her left hand and a strawberry sundae in her right, taking a lick from time to time as she walked with a light step toward the park’s exit.

Beside her, Zhou Chen carried shopping bags of all sizes in both hands, his gaze vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

He couldn’t help it. His trouble-magnet constitution was acting up, so he had no choice but to be on his guard.

Throughout the day, he and Erin had encountered quite a few contamination events.

—First, while shopping in the morning, they ran into an incident with reanimated mannequins. Then, they received a text message Curse from a Ghost Killing Maniac. After lunch, they went to see a movie, only to get caught up in a supernatural film incident...

When they arrived at the amusement park near dusk, they had barely entered when they received a life-stealing flyer—the kind of bizarre flyer that had to be passed on to the next person within a set time, or else your life would be "borrowed."

Luckily, his Extraordinary Abilities were special. After sensing something was wrong, he directly burned away the flyer and the Power of the Curse it contained.

As for the Corrupter handing out the flyers—a teddy bear twisted and mutated from a living person—he beat it black and blue with a flurry of military-style combat moves and arrested it on the spot.

’Yep. The Special Operations Team members who came to handle the aftermath were the same two unlucky bastards.’

Zhou Chen didn’t know whether to consider himself lucky or unlucky. A contamination Curse like the life-stealing flyer, once it spread, would undoubtedly become a severe contamination event.

The previous contamination events had been the same: all were fast-spreading contamination Curses. If they had been given time to develop, dealing with them would have ultimately wasted a great deal of manpower and caused numerous casualties.

Being able to nip these vicious incidents in the bud was undoubtedly a good thing, but for him, being forced to work overtime on his day off was hardly a wonderful experience. ’I have to make Jiang Che give me a bonus when I get back!’

"Mr. Zhou Chen, let’s take a picture, shall we?"

Just as they were about to leave the amusement park, Erin called out to him. Her smooth, golden hair shimmered under the lights, and her sapphire-like eyes sparkled. She wore a sweet, genuine smile, looking like a child whose wish had just been granted.

"This is the happiest day of my life. I’d like a memento."

Zhou Chen instantly felt his bad mood melt away like snow under the sun. He returned her smile.

"Alright, let’s take it over there."

「In front of the carousel at the park entrance.」

Zhou Chen raised his phone and switched to selfie mode. "How’s this angle?"

"It’s perfect. We can get both the carousel and the Ferris wheel in the shot."

"Okay then. Three, two, one..."

Erin winked at the camera and flashed a peace sign. "Wink~"

CLICK.

With the sound of the phone’s shutter, their bright smiles and the magnificent park were frozen in time.

"Where’d you learn to do that?" Zhou Chen asked, turning his head in surprise.

"I saw it in an online post. It said pictures look better this way..." Erin belatedly realized what she’d done, and her cheeks began to burn.

’That was so forward... Erin, how could you be so unladylike... But... but it should be fine just this once. Today’s an exception...’

Erin pursed her lips, quickly composed herself, and said with a faint smile, "Let’s go. My father wants me back before nine for a video call, and you have to be there too, Zhou Chen."

"..."

Zhou Chen couldn’t help but tense up.

’That’s my main benefactor!’

·

「Star Association, brightly lit main office.」

"Leader Jiang, here is the report on today’s contamination events—Incident JZ-1028-001, ’Reanimated Mannequins’; Incident JZ-1028-002, ’Ghost Killing Maniac’; Incident JZ-1028-003, ’Supernatural Film’; Incident JZ-1028-004, ’Life-Stealing Flyer’; Incident..."

A staff member was reporting on the cases. In a single day, eight contamination events had been discovered in Jinzhu. Seven had been resolved quickly, leaving only the "Ghost Killing Maniac."

This special type of Corrupter requires a Dreamwalker to be dispatched to slay it within a dream for it to be truly eliminated. At this very moment, a Dreamwalker was engaging the "Ghost Killing Maniac."

Jiang Che nodded, her tone calm. "Increase the power of the detection Secret Ceremony and intensify patrols in all sectors."

"Starting at 22:00 tonight, Jinzhu will enter a state of Level One Combat Readiness."

Silence.

—The entire office was plunged into dead silence.

Countless people stopped their work simultaneously, staring in astonishment at the expressionless Jiang Che. Her calm words, which carried an immense weight, echoed in their minds like a clap of thunder.

’Is she kidding us?’

’Level One Combat Readiness???’

’For just a few Corrupters, Level Five Combat Readiness would have been more than enough.’

’But jumping straight to Level One...’

’Did a Gate of the Abyss open in Jinzhu, or are a bunch of Tier Fives about to throw down in the city?’

’This is no joke!’

Jiang Che calmly scanned the stunned crowd, her tone unflappable. "Were my orders not clear enough?"

"...Yes!"

The shuffling of papers, the clatter of keyboards, the dialing of phones, the rush of hurried footsteps... A cacophony of noise shattered the silence. Amid the uproar, the entire Jinzhu City branch of the Star Association kicked into high gear, mobilized by a single command.

·

「Meanwhile」

After showering, Zhou Chen put on a tailored black suit, styled his hair, and walked into a room equipped with a large screen.

Erin was already waiting in the room. Her lustrous golden hair cascaded down her shoulders, and she had changed into a brand-new, pale pink long dress adorned with plentiful lace decorations.

Her slender arms were clad in pure white lace gloves. She sat with elegant grace, her hands folded in her lap. With ruby lips, pearly teeth, and bright, captivating eyes, she looked serene and lovely—like a princess from an Imperial Palace, or the most exquisite and perfect work of art in a museum.