26: Chapter 26 Thank God, the Dark Lolita of the Redemption Society

This world is becoming increasingly dangerous!

To think that just a few months ago, C-Class Abominations were the strongest existences!!

In such a short time, in just the Qinglong Prefecture, a large number of A-rank Abnormalities and taboos with horror levels far exceeding A-rank have emerged!

Especially those taboos; compared to common aberrations, their danger level is more than just a bit higher!

Any taboo is the manifestation of rules, an unspeakable source of horror... Just as Lin Chuan was deep in thought.

Buzz!!

A cold, greasy will of rules carrying a thick scent of decay suddenly penetrated layers of the Void Realm and descended into the Rebirth Temple without warning.

That rule-based will was very ethereal.

Its appearance was not to attack Lin Chuan, but rather felt like it was placing a mark!!

"Hiss..."

Lin Chuan felt a burning, sharp pain on his back.

He immediately scanned the area with his 360-degree vision.

Following that, he saw a twisted, snail-shaped cyan mark suddenly appear on the back of his pitch-black stone Buddha statue.

The mark was still slowly wriggling, as if trying to burrow into the stone buddha's body.

[Warning! You have been marked by the SSS-Class Tier 3 taboo — 'nightmare old master'!]

[Warning! This mark will continuously attract the attention of Nightmare Apostles!]

[Warning!! When it descends upon this world, its Believers... will guide it to find you! No matter where you hide, you will never be able to escape!]

"Again?!"

Lin Chuan looked at the ugly snail mark on his back, then glanced at the growing blood-colored handprint on his chest.

He felt speechless.

First the Mysterious Old Man's handprint, now a mark from a taboo statue.

How did his stone buddha body become a check-in spot for these terrifying existences?

"When you have too many lice, they don't itch; when you have too many debts, you stop worrying."

Lin Chuan snorted coldly in his heart.

Since he couldn't hide, he could only face it.

As long as he became strong enough—strong enough to ignore these marks or even devour these taboos... The scene shifted.

Five hundred miles away from Rebirth City.

A survivor base city surrounded by high walls.

This was originally an industrial town, now under the Control of a B-Rank Ghost Controller who had established a shelter with a population of fifty thousand.

However, at this moment.

This once relatively peaceful base city had fallen into unprecedented panic.

In the sky, there was no sun and no moon.

Only a massive mirror that blotted out the sky hung suspended in mid-air.

The mirror's surface was covered in cracks, reflecting the city below.

But strangely.

The city inside the mirror was burning and collapsing.

Countless people inside the mirror were screaming and wailing.

As for the people in reality, as long as they looked up at that mirror, wounds would mysteriously appear on their bodies, or they would simply vanish.

"Help me!!"

"Don't look! Don't look at the sky!!"

The streets were in total chaos.

Qin Yao and Zhou Kai hid in a dark alley, their faces pale.

They were originally acting on Lin Chuan's orders to scout the surrounding situation.

Not long ago, they arrived here by accident and were planning to infiltrate and spread the 'Rebirth Cult'... who knew that just a few days after sneaking in, the ruler of this base city—the B-Rank Ghost Controller who controlled the [ghoul mirror]—was suddenly consumed by his internal aberration!

Once that B-Rank Ghost Controller died, the aberration inside him completely revived and spiraled out of Control.

Now, the entire base city was shrouded in a Ghost Domain, turning into a lethal, ominous land.

"It's over, it's over. This ghoul mirror seems like it's about to advance to A-rank!"

Zhou Kai watched the mirror in the sky grow larger and larger, his hand holding the ghost pen trembling.

Qin Yao gritted his teeth, desperately calling out to Lin Chuan in his heart.

"My Buddha! My Buddha above! Your most loyal Believer is facing a crisis..."

"na mo Supreme Infinite Buddha of Rebirth..."

However.

Before Lin Chuan's response could arrive.

A powerful surge of rule-based energy suddenly descended.

Whoosh!!

A gust of yin wind blew past.

A feminine-looking young man dressed in a black robe appeared out of thin air above the city.

He held an old oil-paper umbrella in his hand.

The surface of the umbrella was painted with eerie human faces that were constantly blinking.

"Is this the out-of-Control ghoul mirror?"

The young man looked at the mirror in the sky, a contemptuous smile curling on his lips.

"A mere A-rank that hasn't even fully advanced dares to act presumptuously before this Protector."

His voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly spread throughout the entire city.

"Listen up!"

"I am the Third Deacon of the 'Redemption Society', Northern Evil."

"By order of the President, I have come to take over this city."

"From now on, all people and all resources here belong to my Redemption Society!"

"Anyone who dares to resist will be executed without mercy!"

Domineering.

Arrogant.

He completely disregarded the lives of these fifty thousand people.

"Redemption Society?"

Qin Yao, hiding in the shadows, was stunned for a moment.

"What kind of thing is that? It sounds even more arrogant than the 'New Federation'?"

Inside the Rebirth Temple.

Lin Chuan had already seen everything through Qin Yao's perspective.

"Redemption Society..."

Fragments from Xu Lan's memories surfaced in his mind.

The so-called 'Redemption Society' was actually a massive organization on a similar scale to the New Federation.

The president of this organization was a mysterious young girl who controlled a terrifying A-rank Abnormality.

Furthermore.

That girl seemed to believe in some unknown taboo and frequently held human sacrifice rituals.

While Lin Chuan was contemplating.

The young man named Northern Evil had already made his move.

"Umbrella open, souls severed!"

He violently spun the oil-paper umbrella in his hand, activating a certain rule-based power.

Countless black raindrops flew out from under the umbrella, flowing upward and crashing into the ghoul mirror.

Every drop of rain contained the curse rules of a B-Ranked Anomaly.

Sizzle, sizzle... Black smoke rose from the surface of the ghoul mirror, like wax dripping onto a red-hot iron plate.

"Suppress for me!"

Seeing this, a flash of smugness appeared in Northern Evil's eyes as he increased the output of his ghostly power.

However.

He had clearly underestimated the horror of the ghoul mirror.

In fact, his actions even accelerated the ghoul mirror's growth... Crack!!

A crisp sound of shattering rang out.

The massive ghoul mirror suddenly exploded.

Countless shards fell like a rainstorm.

Inside every shard, a twisted world was reflected.

"Ah!!"

Northern Evil screamed.

He found that his body was actually becoming transparent, as if he were being sucked into those shards.

"Not good! It's advanced! A-rank!!"

Realizing that the situation had spiraled out of Control, Northern Evil was terrified and turned to flee.

But he found to his despair that the surrounding space had already been sealed off by countless mirrors.

No matter which direction he ran, all he saw was his own reflection.

"President! Save me!!"

He desperately crushed a jade pendant.

The next second.

A blood-red pillar of light descended from the sky, directly smashing the mirror space to pieces.

A young girl wearing a Lolita dress and holding a tattered cloth doll in her arms slowly stepped out of the pillar of light.

She looked only twelve or thirteen years old, with a face as delicate as a porcelain doll.

But in those large eyes, there was no hint of innocence, only a chilling Death Qi.

The girl was none other than the President of the Redemption Society... the Blood-Eyed Demoness!

"Useless trash."

The girl gave a cold, sidelong glance at the pathetic Northern Evil.

Then she turned to look at the mirror shards dancing in the sky.

"A bit interesting."

"Perfect, my doll is missing a mirror."

She raised her small, fair hand and made a light grasping motion toward the void.

Buzz!!

A terrifying A-rank rule-based power erupted.

Those mirror shards, which were originally violent, were instantly frozen in place.

Then they obediently converged, turning back into a complete mirror that fell into the girl's hand.

"Done."

The girl toyed with the mirror, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.

Next, she looked at Northern Evil and said coldly:

"Go, take all the people in this city away."

"If they're unwilling to go, just kill them."

"Yes!"

Northern Evil quickly complied, a cruel light flashing in his eyes.

The next moment, he suddenly looked toward Qin Yao and the others hiding in the alley and sneered:

"Tsk tsk!! You friends over there."

"You've watched the show long enough, it's time to come out, isn't it?"

"As Ghost Controllers, please come back with me obediently to receive baptism."

"Otherwise..."

The oil-paper umbrella in his hand spun again.

Qin Yao and Zhou Kai's expressions changed drastically.

Facing a B-Rank Ghost Controller like Northern Evil, they simply had no power to fight back.

"My Buddha... save me!!"

Zhou Kai immediately screamed in fear.

Just then.

"Na... Mo..."

A grand Buddhist chant suddenly echoed above the city.

Immediately following.

Endless dark-red Buddhist light surged like a tide, instantly enveloping the entire city.

Within that light.

A massive, pitch-black phantom of a Buddha statue sat faintly visible.