Chapter 84 – Run!

Lu Yuan glanced at the syringe in his hand.

Without further delay, he followed Zhou Ling’s instructions and injected 1 milliliter of the blue liquid into each of the three Yellow Bear members lying on the ground.

After finishing, he felt each of the Yellow Bear members’ chests and was surprised to find that, after the injection of the Blue Potion, two of them, who had previously stopped breathing, began to show faint heartbeats.

“Amazing!” Lu Yuan couldn’t help but exclaim.

Holding the still half-full syringe, he contemplated whether he should save some for himself.

If the Blue Potion could forcibly revive the “dead,” then next time Lu Yueping had a cerebral infarction, a shot of this might make him spring up like a carp, perform a set of Tai Chi, and save the trouble of going to the hospital for surgery.

As he was pondering, Zhou Ling dragged out two more Yellow Bear members.

The brutal truth of the battle slowly unfolded before Lu Yuan.

The group of Yellow Bear members that Zhou Ling brought were in increasingly severe conditions, with some almost unrecognizable.

Lu Yuan noticed one man with a square face and a strong build.

Previously, he had been dragged to Zhou Ling with an electronic shackle, leaving a deep impression on Lu Yuan.

This man now had a gaping hole in his left chest, with his heart missing.

The most bizarre part was that there wasn’t a drop of blood at the wound, which instead seemed to be decaying and rotting.

“Are Powerful Divine Servants really that formidable?” Lu Yuan injected the Blue Potion into this seemingly beyond-saving man and couldn’t help but ask Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling plopped down on the ground, exhausted from repeatedly rushing into the fire to save people. His forehead hair was matted together with sweat.

“Huff… huff… Powerful Divine Servants are much stronger than Ordinary Divine Servants. I was foolish this time,” Zhou Ling answered between heavy breaths.

“He took a big hit from me and survived without fleeing. He dared to stay and continue fighting us, which should have hinted at his strength. I should have called for backup earlier, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“What exactly does ‘Divine Servant’ mean?”

The term “Divine Servant” sparked numerous guesses in Lu Yuan’s mind, and he wanted to verify them with Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling glanced at him and slowly explained, “There’s a group of madmen who try every possible way to communicate with deities from folklore and legends. They seek power, wealth, authority, even immortality. They rummage through ancient texts and use the lives of many innocents for their experiments. The most absurd part is,” Zhou Ling sneered, “they actually succeeded, to some extent.”

“Of course, it’s not a complete success. Anyone who seeks to gain extraordinary power in this way ends up as a monstrosity, neither human nor ghost, with a mind that becomes bizarre and alien.”

“They call themselves Divine Servants, implying they are attendants, servants, or lapdogs of the deities.”

Listening to Zhou Ling’s explanation, a rough framework began to form in Lu Yuan’s mind.

“The Ratman I killed, would it be equivalent to an Ordinary Divine Servant level?”

“Not even close,” Zhou Ling shook his head. “Didn’t I tell you? That thing at best is a Mutated Follower. Not just any random creature can become a Divine Servant.”

Lu Yuan wanted to ask Zhou Ling if the purpose of their Yellow Bear organization was to combat these so-called Divine Servants. He also wondered if there were only Ordinary Divine Servants and Powerful Divine Servants, how their strength compared to cyborgs like them, and how martial arts fit into all of this.

But Zhou Ling seemed to sense the myriad of questions swirling in Lu Yuan’s mind and decisively cut off the topic, possibly out of sheer exhaustion.

“Got any more of that Potion? Give me some,” Zhou Ling panted for a moment and then shouted to Lu Yuan.

“None left,” Lu Yuan shook the empty syringe in his hand. “Maybe there’s some residue on the walls of the syringe. Want me to rinse it with water and inject it into you?”

Zhou Ling rolled his eyes and then, too tired to argue, began rummaging through his belongings with his one remaining hand, searching for anything useful.

With nothing else to do, Lu Yuan stood in place and looked towards the fire scene not far away.

The orange flames had died down significantly, revealing the charred, partially burned bodies of crows scattered on the ground.

Tonight’s experiences felt like a dream to Lu Yuan.

He had stumbled into a confrontation involving the extraordinary powers of this world, witnessing bizarre and surreal scenes that he had only seen in movies before.

Encountering the Ratman had opened the door to the extraordinary world for him.

But today, that door had cracked open slightly more.

It allowed Lu Yuan to peek through with curious and eager eyes, cautiously observing the wondrous light shining from behind it.

“Right!”

Lu Yuan suddenly remembered that Wang Zhichao and the survivors from the basement, rescued by the Yellow Bear members, were still in the house.

He wanted to ask Zhou Ling about their whereabouts.

If given the chance, he wouldn’t mind playing the hero in the fire scene.

As for the Man in a Vest and his crew, Lu Yuan thought they hadn’t been burned thoroughly enough.

Lu Yuan turned around and found Zhou Ling staring straight at him.

He was momentarily stunned.

Zhou Ling looked strange.

He stood rigidly in place, his limbs stiff.

His facial muscles twitched, and his mouth opened and closed, as if he was in great discomfort but couldn’t speak.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Yuan hesitated, probing with his question.

“Ru-ru,” Zhou Ling’s mouth emitted a few syllables. Lu Yuan took a couple of steps closer.

But he didn’t dare get too close.

Zhou Ling looked like someone who’d been bitten by a zombie and was about to mutate. Lu Yuan felt that if he got too close, he might suddenly get bitten.

“What are you trying to say?” Lu Yuan asked, his tone more forceful.

“Ru-r,” Zhou Ling’s expression became increasingly ferocious, his eyes fixed on Lu Yuan as if urging him.

Lu Yuan stared at the movements of Zhou Ling’s mouth.

Once, twice…

On the third time, he finally understood.

Zhou Ling was telling him to…

Run.

Run!

In an instant, Lu Yuan felt a cold sensation, like a venomous snake, quickly coil around his ankle.

The surrounding scene seemed to undergo a bizarre transformation in the blink of an eye.

The bright flames burning in the nearby ruins suddenly dimmed.

The sound of flapping wings echoed in his ears, and dark shadows appeared in his vision, rising into the air.

The crows had returned.

The most significant change, though, came from Zhou Ling right in front of him.

Lu Yuan watched in disbelief as a bulge formed on Zhou Ling’s forehead.

The bulge grew rapidly.

It was as if something was growing underneath.

Zhou Ling’s expression became increasingly ferocious and pained.

“Bang—”

With a soft, muffled sound, the bulge on Zhou Ling’s forehead burst open.

A long, sharp, downward-curving “horn,” accompanied by dark red blood mixed with brain matter, forcefully emerged from Zhou Ling’s head.

Zhou Ling’s entire body convulsed violently.

Lu Yuan saw wisps of a strange black aura rising from his body, like smoke after a fire.

Then, a humanoid shadow slowly and silently emerged from behind Zhou Ling.

“Gurgle,” Zhou Ling made a choking sound from deep in his throat and suddenly lurched forward.

With a “squelch,” the “horn” on his forehead retracted.

Only then did Lu Yuan see clearly.

This was no “horn.”

It was actually a grotesque, foot-long deformed finger, complete with a nail!

This finger had pierced through Zhou Ling’s head, from the back to the front of his forehead!

Barely able to break free, Zhou Ling staggered and then, with his remaining arm, fiercely embraced the “attacker.”

The words stuck in his throat for so long finally burst out.

“Run!!”

His scream shattered the silent night, as cold crows flew by.

A gust of wind blew.

All Lu Yuan could see was the bloodied hole in the back of Zhou Ling’s head.

And the eerie figure he was holding tightly.