Chapter 164: Ability Users Are Viruses

The water of the Two Realms River only reached her ankles. Stepping into it felt completely different from stepping into a river in reality—it was like walking on a beach where the waves had been frozen in place.

“Does life originate from the ocean?” Kamiyu suddenly wondered.

As they walked, the sound of flowing water gradually faded away. Before they knew it, the two of them had already crossed the Two Realms River.

Suddenly, a blinding beam of light enveloped them both. Kamiyu instinctively tightened her grip on Jack’s hand and took a small step back.

The white light vanished, and a cool sea breeze blew into the iron-sheet Storage, producing a “whooshing” sound.

“It’s reality. We’ve returned to reality.” Kamiyu realized she was back at their previous hideout—the iron-sheet Storage.

Kamiyu took a deep breath, savoring the clean air of reality, which she had missed for so long. Unlike the Crimson Earth, where the air was perpetually tainted with the scent of blood.

“Where are the others?” Jack looked around but found no one else. Only the two of them were inside the Storage.

Kamiyu checked her own condition: “Clothes, Pants, Interface Panel, equipment, Skills—all usable. Everything’s normal. They probably returned to their original Login points.”

“I see. Should we contact them?” Jack asked.

There is strength in numbers. They had previously agreed that their Guild and the believers would cooperate to Recycle the Black Sphere.

Kamiyu nodded and took out her phone from her spatial backpack. “No signal outside the service area. How about yours?”

“The network is unusable. I can contact others through the Trading Post.”

Kamiyu had memorized many people’s IDs and could reach out to them via private messages. She checked her inbox, but no one had contacted her yet.

Jack shook his head, his expression turning serious. “Same here. The park’s Wi-Fi is also down. Let me try the radio.”

During large-scale disasters like wars or other uncontrollable events, radios are the only reliable tools for receiving information.

“Oh ho, nice one, Jack. As expected of a Mercenary.” Kamiyu leaned in to listen alongside him.

An emergency news broadcast played on repeat:

“Early this morning, mysterious black holes appeared worldwide, causing global panic.

Massive numbers of otherworldly Monsters have invaded countries around the world, paralyzing the functions of governments and Armies.

The royal family of the Bopomo Kingdom urges citizens to remain calm, stay indoors as much as possible, lock doors and windows, avoid going outside, and follow the instructions of Ability Users.”

“Ability Users? What are those?” Jack asked.

“Probably another term for Players. An Dao mentioned earlier that the first batch of human Players had already established a shadow government, secretly controlling the entire world,” Kamiyu replied.

“But it’s possible someone tampered with the radio broadcast to lure people in and kill them. This is the Age of Dharma Decline—anything could happen.”

“Whether they’re Ability Users or Players, whoever stands in my way of Recycling the Black Sphere will die.” Kamiyu pulled out her Barrett Sniper Rifle from her spatial backpack, speaking with fierce determination.

She had read many post-apocalyptic novels. When the apocalypse arrives, order collapses, and the world descends into chaos. The most dangerous threats aren’t the Aberrant Beast Demons—it’s humanity itself.

Many people, blinded by Strength, become slaves to their own desires. They act tyrannically and commit unspeakable atrocities.

At this moment, Kamiyu was about to transform into a messenger of slaughter, ready to blast away all these thugs blocking their path with a single shot.

“Alright, I’ll lead the way. This time, we don’t need to hide or conceal our tracks. We’ll drive straight to Dragon Roar City. The fastest route will take about three hours.” Jack pulled out the keys to the Hummer.

The two of them arrived at the garage of their hideout, where a modified, military-green Hummer stood imposingly. It was twice as tall as Kamiyu, towering and majestic.

In place of the spare tire, an off-road motorcycle was mounted on the rear. Kamiyu lightly tapped the car door. “Wow, bulletproof.”

The thickness of the bulletproof glass was even wider than a brick.

“It’s a good car, but you still dare to drive this?” Kamiyu recalled the unpleasant memories from before—they had been chasing Zhong Hao in this very vehicle when it flipped, leading to their separation between life and death.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Jack opened the car door and slid inside. “No time to explain. Get in.”

“Should I call you bold or arrogant? I’m going to modify this car a bit. The news says there are Ability Users outside now, and there’s no guarantee they won’t ambush us.”

Kamiyu had truly developed a phobia of vehicles. In Dragon Roar City, it seemed like every vehicle she rode in ended up flipping.

A bad premonition washed over her as she looked at the massive Hummer. This time, she was too scared to take chances—she needed to enhance this vehicle.

With that, Kamiyu activated her Construction Sage Talent, creating palm-sized scale armor plates one by one and attaching them to the car’s armor.

“This is the leather armor from a Level 35 Green-Scaled Poisonous Snake. The advantage of this Aberrant Beast leather armor is that it can be attached even over cuirasses and leg armor, effectively adding an extra layer of protection,” Kamiyu explained.

“If you had something this good, why didn’t you bring it out during the fight earlier?”

“There were too many eyes and ears around. It’s fine if our own people know, but there are too many untrustworthy individuals in the Main City.” Kamiyu tried jumping to reach the upper parts of the car body but couldn’t quite make it after a few attempts.

“Hey, come help! Don’t just stand there watching.”

“Ugh, my back is so sore.” As she worked, Kamiyu sneaked over to the sofa to take a break.

Jack watched her sneakily munching on snacks, unsure what to say. Despite the tense and dangerous atmosphere and the urgent mission at hand, she seemed completely unfazed, sitting there eating potato chips.

“Good thing I bought her snacks.”

“Make sure to attach them tightly. It’s fine to add a few extra layers.” Kamiyu opened a second bag to eat.

A “ding” sounded—a private message notification.

“Oh, it’s a message from Li Changde.” Kamiyu immediately opened it.

“Reporting to Lady Kamiyu, I’m currently in Demon River City and encountering fierce resistance. The strength of the Aberrant Beast Demons invading reality far exceeds that of the Crimson Earth.

Based on the intelligence we’ve gathered so far, each city has a regional Boss Creature stationed in the city center, and these regional Boss Creatures seem to be targeting the destruction of the Black Sphere.

We’ve assembled over a hundred people but still can’t enter the city center. We can only slowly advance from the outskirts.”

Kamiyu immediately replied, “What about the Ability Users? Are they Players selected and assigned Talents and professions by the Black Sphere? Or can anyone awaken their abilities anytime, anywhere?”

Li Changde responded promptly, “Ability Users are not Players screened by the Black Sphere. They seem to be the result of certain Mutations.”

“Ability Users are extremely bloodthirsty, even killing unarmed women and children to level up. We’ve fought them several times; they’re all a bunch of madmen. Lady Kamiyu, please be cautious.”

Kamiyu immediately began analyzing seriously. The Black Sphere is currently the only item capable of distributing Talents and professions, equivalent to a blood-making machine, and must be kept firmly in hand.

According to Li Changde’s intelligence, Ability Users are bloodthirsty and level up by killing people, which feels like a mutated virus—something to guard against carefully.

Kamiyu said, “Abandon the hard-to-attack major cities and prioritize recycling the Black Spheres in rural areas and small towns.”

“Understood.”

-Thanks to the unstoppable blooms like flowers that must blossom: the flower of Xiuer, the flower of Su Shikong, the flower of Dark Star-Hela, and the flower of the white-haired ball who loves instant noodles. Continuing with three updates, oh yeah~