Chapter 10: Would You Yield to an Ant?

The Congress building was under attack.

Following the explosion, amidst the rising chaos and the dense, disoriented crowds still reeling from the sudden catastrophe, came the terrifying roars of monsters and the screams of humans from nearby.

Zhou Yan, pulling Long beside him, looked toward the billowing black dust erupting in the distance and couldn't help but sigh: "Though the method is as clichéd as ever, it remains undeniably effective..."

Clearly, the Church of Extreme Desire had employed the same tactic used in Desire City, utilizing a special black powder to aggressively catalyze the desires of those infected within the crowd, forcing them into a state of rapid, uncontrollable rampaging.

However, he hadn't expected the metropolis to harbor people infected by the black pupae, or perhaps the Church had covertly infected them through other means over the past two days.

Regardless, among the tens of thousands of onlookers outside the Congress, thousands of terrifying, grotesque, and diverse "Desire-Men" had suddenly emerged. While not as numerous as the incident at the Desire City plaza, it had still incited massive panic.

The police forces, originally ordered to cordon off and protect the Congress building and prevent the agitated crowds from breaking through, received orders at that very moment to retreat inside to protect the numerous legislators and the Federation leader. Without hesitation, they abandoned the countless civilians on the scene and pulled back their formation, rushing into the Congress.

The next second, the squads charging toward the main entrance broke into cries of alarm and agony.

The first officers to cross the threshold were cut in half before they could even grasp the situation, their lives extinguished amidst their own wails.

An eagle-eyed officer in the rear shouted: "There's someone there! Wearing black armor, wielding a black blade!"

"Adjust formation!" the captain at the back commanded. "Three-man cover, move fast!"

In an instant, nine men in a triangular formation surged through the gate. The next second, the three in the lead were cut down just as they opened fire. The subsequent two teams seized the opportunity to fire, their submachine guns erupting in a barrage that instantly engulfed the target in black armor.

*Rat-tat-tat-tat!*

But the two teams quickly realized that the target, struck by countless bullets, showed no signs of slowing down.

Before their horrified eyes, the armored figure blurred into an afterimage. With a sweep of the sharp black blade in his hand, he executed all six men in just three seconds, then stood calmly at the gateway, blocking the only path.

Only then did the officers outside the gate clearly see the figure: a tall man encased in black armor, holding a long black blade, resembling an ancient warrior.

"Open fire!" the commander ordered.

Immediately, a hail of gunfire erupted, countless bullets striking the black warrior with precision. Yet, to everyone’s terror, sparks showered off the warrior’s armor; he stepped back under the relentless fire but remained completely unscathed. He side-stepped behind a wall, leaving the officers without a target.

"Advance!" the commander ordered again. The officers gritted their teeth and charged into the hall in groups.

Those who entered first immediately raised their weapons to fire, hoping to gain the upper hand. However, ordinary humans lacked the "superpowers" of Suppressors or Desire-Men, and their physique and reflexes were vastly inferior. Just as the muzzle flashes flickered, the black blade—now stretched to five or six meters in length—swept out in a horizontal arc.

*Slash!*

After cutting down the officers, the black warrior stopped hiding and lunged out from behind the gate.

"Fire—!" the commander began, but then he saw the black blade, already five or six meters long, suddenly extend even further. The tip spanned ten meters in an instant, piercing the commander's skull.

With a fierce horizontal sweep, the razor-sharp, narrow black blade traced a perfect semi-circle. Dozens of officers gathered before the gate were all sliced in two!

Those cut down let out desperate cries, unable to die immediately. The black warrior launched himself into the fray amidst the cacophony of wails, dodging most of the incoming fire with incredible speed and slaughtering his way into the armed crowd.

Under the sweep of his terrifying blade, the scene turned into a purgatory. One man had stalled nearly two hundred armed troops attempting to breach the main entrance.

A similar situation was unfolding at the rear entrance, where a massive, winged beast was mercilessly slaughtering the guards. The police fired frantically, trying to track the beast, but they couldn't land a single hit.

"You're with the Church of Extreme Desire, aren't you?"

The black warrior pulled his blade from a silent corpse and heard a clear voice from behind him. He turned slowly, looking at the man in sunglasses standing ten meters away, remaining silent.

Zhou Yan smiled and continued: "Where is your Pope? Where is he?" He looked left and right, then pointed toward the Congress building behind the warrior: "Is he inside?"

The black warrior did not speak; he simply held his blade horizontally beside his face with both hands, pointing the tip at Zhou Yan, assuming a combat stance.

"The silent type, huh..." Zhou Yan chuckled and took a step forward. "Then I suppose I'll have to go in and see for myself—"

*Whoosh!*

With a sharp whistle through the air, the black blade surged forward, spanning the ten-meter gap in an instant, aiming straight for Zhou Yan.

*Snap!*

The black sunglasses shattered.

Zhou Yan tilted his head slightly, evading the tip with perfect precision. His expression remained one of curious interest as he took another step forward.

The black warrior did not hesitate, twisting his hands and swinging the blade in a horizontal arc. The next instant, the blade, just beginning its motion, stopped dead.

"This texture... is it carbon?" A domineering, eerie voice resonated.

As the strange light faded, Zhou Yan, now in his Ghost God form, held the sharp black blade "gently" between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. He asked with a faint smile, "Can you manipulate carbon?"

The black warrior exerted force, but his hands froze, trembling uncontrollably; he couldn't force the blade past Zhou Yan's grip. He then realized something, and while struggling against Zhou Yan, he growled, "Is this armor the same one from the city plaza that day..."

"Was it you who killed Sha He!?"

"So, you can talk." Zhou Yan nodded. "Now, tell me, where is the Pope?"

The black warrior still didn't answer. He let out a roar and unleashed his ability. The thin carbon blade clamped by Zhou Yan suddenly deformed, sprouting countless sharp spikes that lunged toward Zhou Yan's faceplate!

Then, the expression beneath the warrior's helmet shifted in horror—the Zhou Yan who had been ten meters away had vanished.

"I knew you villains wouldn't just listen quietly." Zhou Yan's sigh came from right beside his ear.

The black warrior swung his blade in terror, only to find his wrists gripped firmly, rendered immobile. Zhou Yan stood inches from him, saying calmly, "Do you have any other tricks?"

"Die!!!" The black armor suddenly erupted with countless sharp carbon spikes, like a sea urchin, in a desperate attempt to force Zhou Yan away.

*Crackle!*

A sight of pure despair followed. The hard carbon spikes shattered the moment they touched the surface of Zhou Yan's armor, falling to the ground in pieces.

"It seems the carbon structure you've created isn't hard enough." Zhou Yan kept his grip on the warrior's wrists, chuckling. "You really should read more academic papers and study how to produce higher-performance carbon."

As he spoke, beneath the black warrior's terrified gaze, the runes on Zhou Yan's armor erupted with a scarlet glow, and the ghost horns atop his helmet surged in size.

*Ghost God Transformation!*

The next instant, Zhou Yan squeezed his hands shut.

*Crunch!*

The black warrior's wrists were crushed on the spot, eliciting a muffled groan of pain. Zhou Yan showed no mercy, sweeping his leg into the warrior's shins, shattering countless carbon spikes in the process and knocking the warrior to the ground.

Simultaneously, he raised his left fist, which glowed with a terrifying, eerie light, and brought it down with overwhelming force.

*Ghost Fist!*

*BOOM!*

The fist struck the warrior's helmet, instantly covering it in fractures; the ground beneath them cracked into a deep crater. The black warrior spat blood from beneath his helmet, dazed and struggling to resist, but the second punch had already landed.

This time, the helmet shattered, and the black warrior's skull was pulverized on impact!

[Killed "Great Desirer," gained 3815 Spirit.]
[You obtained "1-Star Runes—Physique, Sharpness, Spirit."]
[Killed six "Great Desirers" (3/6).]

"Even though their rating is the same as Justice's, they're much easier to kill than that giant robot."

Zhou Yan stood up calmly, flicked the blood from his hand, and stepped on the black butterfly that flew out of the warrior's body. In his previous battles, he had focused on experimenting with his new form's capabilities, and now he had a basic understanding of everything. There was no need to "play" anymore.

With that thought, he raised his hand and summoned the Ghost Gourd, which began to spew endless purple mist.

*Domain of Victory!*

All humans near the Congress plaza were pushed out of range, while the mutated Desire-Men were trapped within the purple mist by Zhou Yan.

"Let's finish this quickly!"

***

Inside the main Congress hall, the Federation leader sat trembling in his seat, not daring to move.

Squatting on the table before him was a young man in sportswear, looking down at him with a wide, beaming smile.

"I could only see you on TV before, but seeing you in person... you're really nothing special, are you?" The young man teased, showing no sign of respect.

The Federation leader swallowed hard and said in a deep voice, "Sir, while I don't know what gives you the confidence to oppose national institutions so brazenly and with such fanfare, it is hardly a wise move, even with your extraordinary abilities..." As he spoke, he instinctively glanced around, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

The entire Congress hall had transformed into a bizarre indoor forest.

The floor was covered in fragrant grass and small flowers. Everyone on the floor and the stage was bound and immobilized by thick tree branches and vines. The guards who had been standing by with rifles to protect the officials were now suspended in various parts of the hall, pierced by sharp branches. If one traced the roots, they would see that all the vegetation originated from the massive root-vines growing out of the young man's back.

"Haha, I don't really understand what you're saying." The young man smiled brightly. "I only followed the boss's orders to come here because I thought this game would be fun."

As he spoke, thin vines began to grow from beneath the Federation leader's feet, climbing up like snakes until they bound him completely, leaving only his head exposed. The leader struggled, but he was powerless against them. Terror filled his eyes, and he opened his mouth to speak, but a mass of vines suddenly forced their way in.

The young man watched it all with a grin. He pulled out his phone, started a livestream, and captured the image of the twitching Federation leader.

"Yo-ho, everyone! I'm the Church of Extreme Desire's four... uh..." He stroked his chin. "One of the three Archbishops, 'Nature.' I'm going to show you something good."

He aimed the camera at the Federation leader: "Look, everyone, doesn't he look familiar?"

Just then, a mass of purple mist appeared in the hall.

The young man's expression shifted, and an excited smile appeared. He ignored the suffocating Federation leader, held the phone camera in front of his chest, turned around, and looked at Zhou Yan, who was slowly walking into the hall.

His voice was filled with excitement: "Look! This powerhouse in the red armor walking in is the guy who took down the big robot in Desire City two days ago!"

He jumped off the table, walked quickly toward Zhou Yan, and said happily, "You're in luck! I'll be the one to have an epic battle with this guy!"

He stopped before Zhou Yan, who was standing quietly. Seeing Zhou Yan tilting his head to look him over, he couldn't help but ask, "Hey, brother, how did you get past the defenses of 'Black Blade' and 'Beast King' to get here?"

"Get past them?"

Zhou Yan let out a soft laugh.

"Do you step aside to let an ant pass?"

The young man's expression changed drastically.