PD -Chapter 109 Citywide Evacuation

But Liu Xiaopeng’s bloodline power was still extremely unstable at this stage. It had not yet reached the level where it could work reliably every single time.

I could see he was trying his best, but there was still nothing to show for it. Liu Xiaopeng’s eyes were bloodshot with urgency. The Demon-Refining Fire in his hands erupted with his spiritual power and surged outward, flames crashing directly into the black shadow… but even now, it was still useless. There were simply too many insects—too many for any normal means to handle.

Liu Xiaopeng went almost mad, constantly hurling out bursts of demonic flames… while I had already raised my spiritual sword and slashed toward the shadow that had reached the doorway.

A golden strike split the black figure cleanly down the middle. But I knew—even this was meaningless.

As expected, my sword only slightly slowed its advance… and soon after, the insect army regrouped once more, forming again into a human-shaped mass of darkness.

And this time, the black figure was even larger.

I swung my sword again, but suddenly the shadow stretched out an arm and caught my spiritual blade.

Its other hand shot toward my head with lightning speed…

At the same time, countless insects outside the bathroom broke through the last line of defense and swarmed in.

I immediately dropped my sword and leapt backward. Behind me, Li Zi somehow found a water pipe and started spraying it toward the shadow.

But it was still useless—like pouring a cup of water on a burning house.

The insects had already taken over the entire space. Dense and countless, they crawled up my legs and into my clothes.

I felt an unbearable mix of itching and pain all over my body.

Just then, I noticed a streak of blood-red dawn outside the window. The sun was slowly rising out of that crimson sky.

A beam of sunlight poured through the window and landed on the black figure.

The moment it was touched by sunlight, the figure froze for a few seconds—then emitted a rustling sound. Its massive humanoid form collapsed like a breached dam.

The insects that composed it scattered in all directions.

Even the insects that had already invaded the bathroom seemed terrified. They immediately turned and fled.

I shook my sleeves and pants, and the insects clinging to my body fell off and retreated with the swarm.

In an instant, the overwhelming insect army receded like a tidal wave.

Soon, not a single living insect could be seen in the bathroom or the collapsed hall outside.

I leaned toward the window to look outside, and saw that the swarms of hornets in the sky were also retreating toward the distant mountains. The entire county fell into silence again, as if nothing had happened last night.

“Let’s go out and take a look!” I shouted, leading the others out first.

Li Zi’s uncle’s family was still shaken, but fortunately they were not injured. We stepped over the burned ruins and reached the street, where many people were already gathered.

Almost everyone looked extremely disheveled. It seemed the insect attack had not been limited to us alone. I sighed inwardly—there must have been significant casualties last night.

“This place is no longer suitable for human habitation,” I said, staring at the distant silhouette of the mountains.

“Li Zi, immediately arrange for your uncle’s family to leave. Shut down the construction site. All workers must evacuate,” I said, taking a deep breath of the cool morning air.

Li Zi nodded. After last night’s life-and-death ordeal, even his uncle understood clearly now: life mattered more than anything else. Money could be earned again, but life only comes once.

“What about the rest of the county?” Liu Xiaopeng asked.

I thought for a moment. “We need to report this to the 507 Institute. Only they have the authority and capability to persuade the local government to evacuate everyone.”

As I spoke, I looked up at the already blazing sun—and suddenly, a voice echoed in my mind.

“You have done well to uncover the truth of this matter.”

“Di Ting?” I froze. The voice in my mind was extremely familiar. Only then did I remember that Di Ting had left a seed of spiritual power within me.

“The aftermath will be handled by the 507 Bureau,” Di Ting’s voice continued.

“That place… where exactly is it?” I asked, though I already knew it likely wouldn’t answer. “Where did the Ghost Emperor and Lucifer go?”

A faint sigh echoed in my mind. Then silence.

I stood there for a long time until Liu Xiaopeng patted me, snapping me back to reality. I then discussed plans with Li Zi and the others, preparing to leave before nightfall.

The response from the 507 Bureau was swift. Although they could not evacuate the entire county before sunset, they had already prepared emergency measures.

They deployed large numbers of drones to spray powerful insect-repelling agents in various areas, while organizing mass evacuation efforts.

We managed to get on the highway before traffic became congested and began heading back.

On the way back, Li Zi was driving. Exhausted from the night and drained of spiritual energy, I unknowingly fell asleep in the back seat.

In my deep sleep, I had another dream about Tang Shanshan…

But this time, it was not the familiar dark cliff. She was not locked in a cage either.

In the dream, I was working on drawings in my office when the door suddenly knocked—at a rhythm I found strangely familiar.

I went to open the door and saw Tang Shanshan standing there, still looking like that cute landlady with her striking figure. Seeing me stare blankly at her, she wrinkled her little nose.

“Stupid Taoist, why did it take you so long to open the door?”

“What… what is it?” I asked, coming back to my senses as if from another world.

“The rent is due. Time to pay up!” she said, holding out her hand.

I stared at her hand and suddenly realized I was dreaming… and froze again.

At that moment, the car jolted violently, and I woke up instantly. We had just exited the highway; the bump was from a speed breaker.

Outside, a light rain had started. The windshield wipers moved back and forth, scraping softly against the glass.

I stared at the familiar city outside the window, lost in thought.

When would Tang Shanshan ever come knocking on my door in the morning again, just like in my dream?

Even though I felt emotional, I still did not know—this dream was not just imagination.

What happened next would completely surpass anything I and Liu Xiaopeng could have imagined.

We almost believed we had been hit by some expert’s illusion…

Or perhaps, that we had been poisoned by some kind of gu at that old woman’s house from the Gu clan the day before.