Chapter 1 Endgame

The black energy expelled from Jiang Cheng's body not only didn't dissipate, but began to coalesce, burrowing into Wu's wounds.

This was just the beginning. A black mist, equally thick with despair, surged from the Old Chairman's shattered corpse, drilling into Wu's body with incredible speed. Even the monsters who had been brutally dismembered, and even figures like Master Shui, had traces of black mist appear within them, all converging on Wu.

His once pale skin began to seethe. Veins and capillaries snaked outwards from the wounds, eventually crawling onto his face.

The pair of blood-red eyes finally dimmed, swallowed by boundless darkness. Yet even so, the healing power didn't cease. Jiang Cheng's fingers twitched slightly, and a glimmer of life returned to Fatty's dull eyes. Many of the critically injured could now move their bodies slightly, and the corpses were restoring themselves at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This healing power was terrifyingly strong, but it also drained Wu's last reserves. He was powerless to resist the invasion of the black energy.

Beneath his skin, black energy surged. Reddish-black blood vessels burst open one after another as the black death energy devoured everything.

The monster released from Jiang Cheng's body was now merging with him in an extremely violent manner, or rather, devouring Wu, much like Wu had once devoured those strange entities.

An invisible force tore at him. He could feel himself being ripped apart bit by bit. Amidst the extreme pain was extreme exhaustion. His thoughts grew heavier and heavier, as if he were in a dream, a dream from which he would never awaken.

He was gradually losing control of this body, and this feeling was irreversible. No matter what he did, it was useless.

All he could do was stagger backward, doing everything possible to stay away from Jiang Cheng and Fatty. He didn't know what would happen after he completely lost control, but he couldn't allow it to affect these two.

His world darkened little by little. Endless killing intent surged within him. In the distance, black flames seemed to burn, as if trying to burn through the world. In a daze, he saw an apocalyptic scene: the old king died, the new king ascended. He, or rather, the entity that would ultimately occupy his body, would break through the barriers of this world and unleash his anger on another world. In blood and fire, treading on the bones of countless corpses, he would walk towards his throne and welcome the new world.

In the eyes of those who had survived by chance, Wu had now transformed into a monster. Black energy corroded his body, riddled with holes, yet it was also rapidly reshaping his physical form. What once belonged to Wu was being gradually stripped away as another great existence was constantly being resurrected.

Part of the scene that Wu saw was not an illusion. In the extreme distance, at the very end of this world, black flames were burning all around, rapidly closing in on the battlefield. Even more terrifying, these flames were the same as those that had once appeared on Jiang Cheng's knife, not blazing, but exuding a chilling aura that seemed to freeze the soul with a single glance.

Black flames rose from Wu's body at the same time, rapidly spreading outwards. This world had now become a prison in the truest sense, with no way up to heaven and no way down to hell.

Chen Ran supported Lin Wan'er. Master Shui, the River Goddess, the old general Yan Can, the Ghost Mask Granny, and the others could only watch as the black flames drew closer and closer. Even if they were at their peak, let alone not having recovered their strength, they wouldn't dare to touch these flames in the slightest.

Some corpses in the distance, as well as those who had just been partially healed and hadn't had time to move, were engulfed by the black flames, turning into lifelike ice sculptures.

"Here! Everyone, come here quickly!" a childish voice cried out anxiously.

At this moment, Marquis Wangyan and the friends he had brought were working together to maintain the newspaper scroll floating in mid-air.

The scroll was gradually being opened, revealing a ink wash painting. But upon closer inspection, this ink wash painting was unusual. It actually depicted a modern city in ink, with numerous buildings under the night sky as the background. Near a street lamp in the foreground was a small studio.

One could feel that completely opening the scroll required tremendous strength, and Marquis Wangyan and the others couldn't do it at this moment.

Seeing the situation at a standstill, the old man with a feather fan crashed into the painting, sacrificing himself for the art. This set the stage for everyone. Immediately afterward, an extremely young man and woman crashed into the painting one after the other, their bodies instantly shattering as they touched the painting.

At this moment, some vibrant colors appeared in the originally black and white ink wash painting, and the cold scene gradually came to life. Along with Marquis Wangyan's roar, the painting shattered with a boom, and this time they could actually see another living world directly through it.

It was the real world they were in! It was also the exit Jiang Cheng had used many times to leave the Nightmare World!

Even in his daze, he could see clearly that not far from the dim yellow street lamp was his studio.

Marquis Wangyan and the others had actually opened a path to leave here.

"Go!" Marquis Wangyan's face was becoming increasingly distorted, making it obvious that he couldn't maintain this door for long.

Without hesitation, the crowd quickly moved towards the exit. Fatty grabbed Jiang Cheng, took one last look at Wu's figure, and gritted his teeth as he rushed towards the exit.

One by one, the survivors left through the exit. However, the battlefield was severely divided. Some people were simply too far from the exit, and others were too badly injured.

The edge of the exit had already begun to break apart, and there were still people desperately trying to get here. Yao Shunyu was carrying Li Bai, whose leg was broken, and he couldn't run fast at all.

Fatty gritted his teeth and was about to rush out to save people, but Number 8 and Number 13 held him back tightly. "Don't go! There's no time. You won't be able to come back if you go!" Number 13 hugged Fatty's leg, screaming heartbreakingly.

The exit finally couldn't hold on any longer. They still had many people who hadn't been able to leave. Marquis Wangyan and his friends were among them, but unlike the others, Marquis Wangyan and the others were unwilling to leave.

"Go! You'll die if you stay!"

Wu, who was far away, exuded a terrifying aura. Perhaps his last shred of sanity still remained, and he hadn't launched an attack on the crowd.

Facing the crowd's cries, Marquis Wangyan simply shook his head gently. He turned around, his gaze fixed on Wu's figure. "You broke the prophecy. I also want to try and see if I can do something."

Before the words could fade away, countless cracks spread out near the exit. At the last moment of collapse, Jiang Cheng shouted at the figure covered in black flames in the extreme distance, "Wait for me! I will definitely come back to find you and take you home!"

The next moment, the exit shattered with a bang. When they regained their senses, they were already standing on a midnight street, with rain falling from the sky. Not far behind them was the small studio.

February 2nd.

The Dragon Raises its Head.

In a spacious and bright office, several well-dressed men and women left with smiles on their faces. Jiang Cheng slowly exhaled, leaning back wearily in his chair, and slowly closed his eyes.

He didn't know how many groups of people he had seen off today. Dealing with these people made him feel exhausted.

When he closed his eyes, the world suddenly darkened. Only at this time could he calm down. Images of the figure with black flames rising from his body, and Yao Shunyu carrying Li Bai and running desperately, constantly appeared in his mind.

Two whole months had passed since that event, but these images seemed to have taken root in his mind. He didn't want to let himself be idle, because as long as he was idle, he would think of these things.

Fatty fell ill after returning. Fortunately, Number 8 and Number 13 were by his side. He didn't have time. He couldn't fall. Because he still had many important things to do.

He had now been appointed as the new acting executor of the Night Watchers, responsible for rebuilding the Night Watchers.

This position was originally intended for Lin Wan'er. Whether it was ability or seniority, she was more suitable than him, but Lin Wan'er firmly refused and recommended him to the higher-ups.

He wasn't originally interested in such things, but when he thought of those dead brothers, those partners who had fought alongside him, he felt that he had a responsibility to shoulder this burden, to prevent the tragedy from recurring, and even more so to prevent the future Night Watchers from going astray.

Also, he needed to integrate the power of the Night Watchers and find a way to return to that world.

Jiang Cheng opened his eyes the moment he heard a rapid knock on the door. Wan Yuanning, wearing a Night Watcher uniform, rushed in慌慌张张. She was the helper that Lin Wan'er had left him.

After noticing Wan Yuanning's expression, Jiang Cheng immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. "What happened?"

"Here's an urgent report from Rong City." Wan Yuanning quickly handed over the documents in her hand, her fingers trembling. "A series of mysterious events have recently occurred on Tang Street in the southwest of Rong City. Around 2:00 AM, all the nearby cameras will inexplicably fail for a period of time. Our people accidentally discovered this during the investigation. It was captured by the infrared camera of a shop a moment before it failed."

After taking it and only taking one look, Jiang Cheng was stunned. The picture was blurry, but it could still be seen that it was a black figure. The pair of blood-red eyes on the figure's face was chilling.

"By the way, I've checked. The location where the picture was taken is not far from your studio." Wan Yuanning added in a low voice.

Wu!

It must be him!

He... he actually came back!

But recalling the last scene, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but wonder whether the one who came back was Wu, or the monster wearing Wu's appearance.

But no matter which one it was, he had to go and see him. "Book me a plane ticket. I'm going back to Rong City right away, the sooner the better!"

"Now?" Wan Yuanning also became nervous. "We later replayed that battle. Your friend had no chance of surviving at all. The one who came back is no longer the Wu you knew!"

"He is now a monster no less powerful than the Old Chairman. I suggest urgently contacting the Execution Department to have them go to the research institute to receive that special weapon. If one is not enough, prepare a few more. Destroy that monster completely before he gains a firm foothold!"

Jiang Cheng had no reason to refuse such a proposal. If the other party was not Wu, then he was the enemy who killed Wu, and he was also going to launch an invasion of the current world. Perhaps this was the Old Chairman's ultimate plan.

Special matters were handled specially. All parties attached great importance to such matters. The special weapons, which originally had extremely complicated procedures, were quickly prepared. There were a total of 4 pieces, including an advanced experimental product. These weapons were soon loaded into a military transport plane and escorted by special personnel to the airport closest to Rong City, and then deployed as quickly as possible in the places where Wu had appeared in the surveillance, and carefully disguised.

At midnight, on the empty street, only Jiang Cheng was sitting alone on a street bench. Waiting was long, but fortunately he was not alone. Those few well-disguised bombs were quietly lying under the seat, waiting with him. The bombs were packed into gift boxes of various sizes.

The detonator was strapped to Jiang Cheng's wrist. Everything was ready.

Originally, the higher-ups strongly opposed him going. The price was too high. But later, considering Wu and his relationship, if Wu really had a little bit of sanity left, then only Jiang Cheng would have a chance to stop the disaster from happening.

From midnight to early morning, at a little after 2 o'clock, Jiang Cheng heard intermittent voices in his earphones, "Camera abnormality, you you pay attention..."

The signal seemed to be interfered with by something, but at this moment Jiang Cheng didn't need a reminder, because he also heard it, heard a familiar sound.

It was the roar of a huge machine, and the ground was trembling.

It was that old bus!

Jiang Cheng could even smell that ominous aura.

But the next moment, this aura was dispersed by a powerful coercion, and a cold feeling invaded, making his whole body unable to move instantly.

Something was approaching from behind him, not fast, but with full of pressure.

Jiang Cheng regretted it. He could feel that this aura was too unfamiliar, definitely not Wu. It was over. It didn't matter if he died here. Since he dared to come, he was prepared to die together. But at this moment, he couldn't control the detonation of the bomb at all. He regretted it. He should have tied the bomb detonation device to his heartbeat, so that he could pull the other party along with him at the moment he was killed.

But it was too late to say anything now, because that familiar figure had already appeared in front of him.

Not walking, but a cloud of black mist飘过来, and finally slowly condensed into a figure in front of him.

Still that familiar face, that familiar windbreaker, but Jiang Cheng knew that this was definitely not Wu. The temperaments of the two were completely different. This Wu's eyes were full of indifference, an indifference that looked down on everything. He came to this world to destroy it.

"Can we talk?" Jiang Cheng's attitude was very good. "Actually, we can cooperate. I'm also very interested in the new world. You also need someone to help you understand this world, right? We commonly call it a lackey."

Jiang Cheng was full of sweet talk, just to make the other party relax their vigilance. If there was really even a little bit of chance, he would not hesitate to break free and press the detonator to blow up these bastards.

Yes, it was these, because he could feel that there were also monsters behind him. The cold aura was tightly attached to his back. This was a gang.

Slowly, Jiang Cheng's expression brightened with joy. He actually saw a hint of thinking on the strange Wu's face. He took advantage of the situation and continued, "Do you know about the guides? They do all the dirty work and hard work. I can do it!"

The strange Wu seemed to have made a decision. Without any movement, the ground in front of Jiang Cheng cracked a little bit, and blood-red words floated up one by one.

But after seeing these words, Jiang Cheng was dumbfounded, "No woman in my heart, the sword is naturally divine, the first page of the sword manual, first..." (A Chinese meme)

After a brief loss of consciousness, Jiang Cheng suddenly raised his head and looked at Wu, whose mouth was gradually upturning. The emotions that had been suppressed for two months burst out in an instant, "You're back! It's really you!"

"Cough cough..."

Hearing the coughing sound behind him, Jiang Cheng suddenly turned around and saw Huai Yi, grinning, standing side by side with Wang Qi, standing on the left and right like bodyguards beside the River Goddess. Then there was Master Shui,眯着眼 stroking his beard. It had been two months since they last met, and Master Shui's green hair had grown out again, and his body had become fatter. Number 2 was also there, raising his hand to straighten his cowboy hat. Yao Shunyu and Li Bai were also there, and many, many more people, even some that Jiang Cheng only thought looked familiar, but they were all partners who had fought alongside him.

"Brother Jiang, we're back." Huai Yi stretched his neck and looked left and right. "Where's Brother Fugui? Why didn't I see him?"

"Aiyo, aiyo, Jiang boy is promising. Knowing that I, old man, is coming, he specially prepared gifts." Master Shui was a character who didn't stand on ceremony. His eyes were still good, and he saw the gift boxes under the chair at a glance, saying that he would open them and take a look.

But Jiang Cheng was quick-witted and immediately stopped him, while quietly putting away the detonator. He couldn't say that these were bombs, specially prepared for you, not to mention the large number, but also the latest improved models.

The moment he turned around again, Jiang Cheng was hugged by a pair of arms. The coldness on Wu's body disappeared instantly, and a warm and joyful atmosphere enveloped everyone. Large drops of tears flowed from his eyes, and Jiang Cheng reached out and hugged Wu tightly.

"Welcome home!"

(End of main text) (End of chapter)