14: Chapter 14 Subjugation! The Mysterious Sphere from the East

The moonlight was a deathly pale.

Wild grass in the abandoned industrial zone ebbed and flowed in the night wind like a dark ocean wave.

A scrapped school bus lay across the center of the wasteland.

Qin Ming and Emma sat atop the school bus.

Each held a corn dog, eating with great relish.

"It's here."

Qin Ming swallowed the last bite of food and casually tossed the wooden stick away.

In the distance.

Two stumbling figures were sprinting toward them.

It was Oliver and his mother, Sarah.

The mother, who originally hadn't believed in the supernatural, was now deathly clutching her son's hand, her makeup long since smeared by cold sweat and tears.

And behind them.

The streetlights along the road burst one after another.

Electric currents darted through the air, making crackling sounds.

That invisible monster was hunting them down, following the power grid.

"Over here!!"

Sarah saw the abandoned school bus as if seeing a literal lifesaver, pulling Oliver as she rushed over.

Panting heavily, they leaned against the wheels, looking back in terror.

There was no electricity here.

No screens.

It was a dead zone.

"We're safe... there's no electricity here..."

Sarah gasped for air, trying to comfort her trembling son in her arms.

However.

Oliver suddenly pushed his mother away, pointing in terror at the grass a few meters away.

There.

A tablet computer abandoned that afternoon lay quietly.

At this moment.

The tablet, which had been a black screen, suddenly lit up with an eerie green light.

Zzt—

The screen rippled like water.

A pale, large-knuckled giant hand suddenly reached out from that tiny screen, firmly clutching the grass.

Then came a second hand.

Then that hunched, spindly body, twisted like a stick insect.

Larry.

It crawled into the real world through that forgotten window.

"Ah!!!"

Sarah let out a desperate scream.

Larry slowly stood straight, reaching a full three meters in height.

It had no eyes, only hollow black sockets staring straight at Oliver.

"Fri... end..."

It reached out a long hand, grabbing for Oliver's head.

Sarah lunged forward in desperation to block the monster, but was sent flying by an invisible force.

Just as those withered fingers were about to touch the tip of Oliver's nose.

"Hey, big dummy."

A playful voice came from overhead.

Larry paused and slowly looked up.

On top of the school bus.

Qin Ming looked down at it, and the halo behind his head instantly lit up.

Hum!

It was like a flashbang detonating in the dark night.

A holy, domineering, and unreasonable light instantly submerged Larry.

"Roar—!!"

Larry let out a shrill scream.

It was a spiritual entity composed of resentment and data; this high-purity holy light was like concentrated sulfuric acid splashed on its face.

Boom!

The massive impact force directly blasted Larry's spindly body away.

It slammed heavily onto the grass, flattening a patch of withered stalks.

Sarah and Oliver were stunned.

Their mouths hung open as they watched the youth on the bus roof, looking as if an angel had descended.

"Step back a bit."

Qin Ming jumped down from the roof, brushed the dust off his hands, and spoke to the mother and son without looking back.

"Don't want to get blood all over you."

Larry was enraged.

It scrambled up from the ground, black electricity swirling around its body.

It no longer cared about Oliver, instead charging at Qin Ming like a madman.

Its speed was as fast as a bolt of black lightning.

"Watch out!" Sarah cried out.

Qin Ming stood his ground, motionless.

He simply raised his right hand and made a grasping motion in the air toward the charging monster.

"Holy Light Cage."

Five golden pillars of light appeared out of thin air and slammed down.

They pinned the sprinting Larry firmly in place.

Bang!

Larry collided with a pillar and was bounced back.

It hammered frantically at the cage, letting out ear-piercing roars, but the golden bars didn't budge.

"This is that monster?"

Emma also jumped down, standing behind Qin Ming and poking her small head out to look curiously.

"It's so ugly, looks like a skinned frog."

"It certainly isn't very presentable."

Qin Ming pulled a red-and-white metal sphere from his pocket.

He pressed the button in the middle.

The metal sphere instantly enlarged, looking full of high-tech flair.

Qin Ming assumed a standard throwing pose.

"Well then..."

"In this wasteland with no network cables and no power source."

"You're just an orphan who's been disconnected."

Qin Ming swung his arm forcefully.

The metal sphere turned into a red light and accurately struck Larry's forehead.

"Go, poké ball!"

Thud.

The metal sphere bounced off and split into two halves in mid-air.

A red beam of light instantly enveloped Larry.

Under the red light, the three-meter-tall terrifying monster's body began to twist and compress.

It tried to struggle, its claws digging hard into the ground.

But under the absolute suppression of the rules, it had no room for resistance.

Whoosh!

The massive body turned into a stream of light and was sucked into that small metal sphere.

Snap.

The sphere closed and landed on the grass.

The indicator light in the middle began to flash red violently.

The sphere rocked intensely on the grass.

Once.

Twice.

Sarah covered her mouth, forgetting even to breathe.

Oliver's eyes were wide.

Thrice.

Ding!

A crisp notification sound rang out.

The indicator light turned a steady green.

The sphere stopped shaking.

The wasteland was deathly silent.

Only the sound of the wind blowing through the withered grass remained.

Qin Ming walked over and bent down to pick up the still-warm metal sphere.

He tossed it in his hand and turned to look at the petrified mother and son.

His face wore his signature bright smile.

He held the metal sphere high toward the moon, striking that classic victory pose.

"I caught Larry!"

Emma rolled her eyes from the side.

"Childish."

Qin Ming put away the ball and walked over to Oliver.

The little boy was still in a state of shock.

Qin Ming patted his cheek.

"Alright, the nightmare is over."

"Remember to give a five-star review."

With that, he took Emma's hand and turned to walk into the depths of the darkness.

"Let's go, home."

"I want to see how many points this thing can sell for."

He left only Sarah and Oliver standing dazed in the wind, watching the tall and short silhouettes disappear into the night.

As if everything that had just happened...

...was just an absurd hallucination.

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