CHAPTER 184: FEARLESS

While Chen Chuan spoke calmly, his words were filled with strength, and everyone could sense his unwavering strength and resolve.

“Heh.” A regretful expression appeared on Wei Jun’s face as he patted the metal railing. “Is that so?”

Suddenly, he laughed. “Did you know that Shen Zheng died here? That’s right. He died right here, in this factory. You might have learned about it before coming here, but do you know how he died?

“We found his biological sister. They had been separated for five years, and from the kindness of our hearts, we let them get reunited here. You must be thinking that I threatened him with his sister’s life. No, no. That’s too crass. We just wanted his sister to see what happens to those who go up against us.”

He looked down. “And you’re about to find that out too. You’re going to experience what he did.”

He snapped his fingers.

Loud clicks followed his words, and the spotlights turned off. Instead, the lights at the corner and above Chen Chuan were turned on, lighting up the entire area.

Right then, Chen Chuan saw everything around him. There were countless strange patterns on the walls and floor left behind by paint that looked like it was made from rotten blood and sludge from the sewers. They formed an array that contained countless messy, interconnected lines.

They stretched from the wall, floor, and ceiling to finally gather at the spot where Chen Chuan stood.

“Shen Zheng stood at the same spot three years ago.” Wei Jun’s voice echoed through the spacious factory.

The Mutual Aid Group members watched eagerly, as if they were looking forward to a show that was about to start.

The array was a secret ritual from the Two-Faced Cult. The cult got its name from using a ritual to control a supernatural being known as the Two-Faced Creature and increasing its power.

Once the ritual was activated, everyone within the array was affected. The entire floor of the factory was part of it. If anyone walked in, they would become a part of the ritual, and the supernatural being could be attracted to their presence at any moment. Of course, the person who stood at the center of the array would get the most attention.

Jiang Wei had suggested using spotlights to form a trajectory for Chen Chuan to take and force him to stand at the center of the array. His plan worked out.

Once the Two-Faced Creature zeroed in on its prey, it would attach itself to that person. Then, two effects would occur.

First, it would become immune to all external damage, though it could still sense physical and mental pain.

Second, all damage caused by the prey would be absorbed by the prey themselves. Under the effects of the Two-Faced Creature and the ritual, the prey would see all their worries and fears, leading to them repeatedly attacking enemies their minds conjured.

Shen Zheng might have been a great martial artist, but that didn’t matter.

They had found and brought his sister to the factory to make him anxious and worried. Those emotions led to his mind conjuring all sorts of illusory enemies.

Back then, Shen Zheng must have seen his family, friends, mentor, and even acquaintances getting hurt. In his eyes, they all needed his help.

So, he kept fighting the fake enemies to protect all the people he loved, but the harder he fought, the more injured he became, because all the attacks were reflected back to him, and in the end, he was the one who got hurt.

Meanwhile, the Mutual Aid Group members watched him like a clown. They kept provoking him, teasing him, and saying all sorts of triggering words as he tried to fight back but was unable to do anything to them. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they toyed with him like a cat toying with a mouse.

Chen Chuan’s fate was the same.

But after a while, he was still standing in place and not moving. One of the members above asked curiously, “Why is he just standing there?”

“That’s right. Why isn’t he moving? Did something go wrong with the ritual?”

Wei Jun wondered about it, then figured out the answer. He huffed. “I suppose he doesn’t have anyone he holds close to his heart. This sort of person isn’t easily affected by their internal worries. That’s fine, though. We just need to give him some external shocks, and he’ll start fighting the fake images his mind conjures. Then, we’ll get our show. Who wants to do it?”

“I’ll do it!” Shao Xiaobie shouted out.

He grabbed a steel pipe and walked down the metal staircase, while the other Mutual Aid Group members watched in interest. Some of them seemed to be miffed that Shao Xiaobie was going first. They booed and said that he got to go first only because the process was rigged.

Wei Jun smiled and declared loudly, “Patience. Everyone will have a chance to go at him.”

Shao Xiaobie swung the metal pipe a few times before going up to Chen Chuan. He brought his arms over his head, then let them fall behind him. After that, he raised the steel pipe with both hands and pretended to swing at Chen Chuan’s head a few times.

Then, he brought the steel pipe up high and was about to swing down for real when a fist landed squarely on his face.

Bam!

Shao Xiaobie’s head was crushed. His blood, flesh, brain, and shattered bones splattered backward as his headless corpse swayed with the steel pipe still held up high. He then fell backward with a loud crash, and the steel pipe rolled out of his hands with a clatter.

All the laughter, jeering, and cheers came to a screeching halt.

Chen Chuan brought a hand up and placed it on his opposite shoulder. As if he had grabbed something invisible, his forearm muscles bulged, and he started pulling outward.

Everyone in the factory saw a nearly invisible two-faced monster getting slowly dragged out from Chen Chuan’s body.

The creature was struggling to break free, but it was useless against Chen Chuan’s powerful grip. In the end, with a soft ripping sound that sounded like a piece of cloth had been torn apart, the creature was completely removed.

Chen Chuan watched as the creature struggled and flailed its limbs while making all sorts of expressions. He threw it on the floor, then stomped on it. With a loud crunch, both heads were crushed, as if Chen Chuan had stepped on some rotten bags of flesh. Then, wisps of smoke spread out from under his feet.

Before coming, Chen Chuan had read up on a lot of files and asked Lei Guangcheng for information. All the research had led to him forming a theory as to how Shen Zheng had died, and he got ready for it.

Though even at this point, he didn’t know what the creature could do, it didn’t matter. As long as he had his second self, he was immune to all the damage from secret cult rituals and supernatural beings for a certain amount of time.

Also, the moment he sensed that he could touch the thing, he grabbed it, pulled it away from himself, and crushed it.

The Mutual Aid Group members watched in dumbfounded shock.

They had come because Wei Jun promised them a good show, and they were absolutely confident in the ritual. After all, Shen Zheng had been strong, but he still died.

That precedent proved that the ritual was reliable and feasible. They had looked forward to crushing this new piece of trash who refused to accept their kind offer and even tried to cross the line, but the results were different from what they expected.

Chen Chuan looked up at Wei Jun and the Mutual Aid Group members. “Did you think that you were the ones who sought me out?”

He smiled brightly.

“I’m the one who has been dying to meet all of you.”

Wei Jun realized that everything had gone terribly wrong. He had been holding on to hope that things would still go according to plan, but after hearing what Chen Chuan said, he knew that the ritual had failed.

Fear and rage rose like a tidal wave in him, and he kept retreating while shouting, “Shoot him! Kill him!”

The security guards on the platforms and passageways lifted their guns. Right away, some of them saw their wrists and guns falling off their bodies, as if some sharp weapon had sliced them off, leaving behind only a smooth, flat wound.

They were all flabbergasted.

Right above them was a barely perceptible web.

Before Chen Chuan walked into the factory, he had set down the box containing the Tayana Combat Spider and ordered it to enter the factory ahead of him through the cover of the shadows.

The spider could secrete highly durable mutated spider threads. If any body made of flesh and blood pressed down on or pushed against it even the slightest bit, it would cut them apart. Hence, when it came to assassinations, the combat spider could usually get rid of its targets quietly and silently.

But this wasn’t the spider’s main mode of attack. It had custom-made blades installed into its stomach, back, and limbs. Its climbing and jumping speeds were also much better than those of the average martial artist. Once it got close to its target, it could easily cut them to shreds.

At that moment, the combat spider was skittering swiftly over the walls and ceiling while slicing up all the security guards who tried to open fire. Wherever it went, people lost their limbs or heads. Pained wails filled the air.

The spider’s instructions told him to identify those who looked as if they were about to open fire as the primary threat and eliminate them first.

But no matter how fast the combat spider moved, it could only target one area. The factory was large, and there were just too many people around. The guards in the other areas could still fire at will.

Chen Chuan cast a glance at the guns pointed at him and sucked in a deep breath to overlap with his second self. Then, everything around him slowed down.

Before his eyes, one muzzle after another lifted and shifted slowly toward him.

He stepped forward. With each step he took, cracks formed on the array painted on the floor and spread outward.

Finally, sparks burst from the muzzles, but the bullets landed behind Chen Chuan. The Frost King Saber slowly came out of its sheath and revealed its sharp blade.

Chen Chuan’s body swooped forward in a wide arc. With a heavy stomp, he jumped onto a platform. The security guards in front of him were still firing downward. Chen Chuan dived forward, and the Frost King Saber flashed as he swung it past them.

When he reached the other end of the platform, the dozen security guards on the platform froze for a second before their severed limbs fell on the steel plank.