Chapter 98: Scarlet Flower
‘So long as the freaks dare to show themselves, even the catastrophe-level ones can be killed. If the devil dares to reveal itself right in front of our faces, we’ll also be able to fight it head-on.’
The prowess of the human kingdom in reality had caused only freaks with inconspicuous and strange characteristics to remain in the world.
Therefore, the problem was not that the freaks in reality were strange and mysterious. It was that the exposed ones were already dead.
It was now Lin Yao’s mission to uncover the hidden freaks.
Lin Yao explored a few locations but did not discover anything. The forces in the city were, in fact, fairly powerful. They had already eliminated most of the freaks. Of course, it was also possible that Lin Yao was not strong enough or hadn’t detected any freaks who had been sleeping at the time.
“This is the last task of the day. We can rest after we complete this.”
While they were traveling along a remote road, the policewoman’s mood recovered slightly. She cheered up and told Lin Yao about the situation of the special location they were heading to.
“This time, the special location is a highway. There have been a lot of traffic accidents on this highway lately. Although the surveillance cameras have not detected any abnormalities, something is definitely wrong. After all, about 10 people died here in a row within three days. Now, we need you to sense this place. Old Xing, slow down and drive back and forth on this highway three times.”
“Okay.”
The car was not traveling quickly. Nevertheless, everyone was wary and was paying close attention to their surroundings, getting ready to jump off the car at any time.
The policewoman looked as if she was ready to hug and protect him at any point. Upon seeing this, Lin Yao simply closed his eyes and tried to perceive the good and evil in the surroundings wholeheartedly.
“No, no, there’s nothing. It seems that we have to return after an unsuccessful attempt this time.”
“It’s also a good sign. At the very least, it proves that there aren’t many freaks in the city… Well… Stop the car.”
Lin Yao, who suddenly sensed malice, quickly opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the malice. Then, something he didn’t expect greeted his eyes. It turned out to be a flower that was blooming in the dark.
The flower was scarlet in color and was blooming alone at night. There was a strange beauty to it. Although Lin Yao could perceive its malice, he could also sense its aesthetic appeal.
“Could this thing also become a freak? By the way, what’s its ability? Is it poisonous?”
While Lin Yao was yelling, everyone also looked in the direction he was pointing at and instantly noticed the scarlet flower. They were then attracted by its beauty.
“It’s so beautiful. It seems like… I’d be willing to die if I could guard this flower.”
“You’re too dramatic. It’s fairly beautiful, but it’s not to die for…”
Upon noticing that the usually calm policewoman, Wen Chang, was attracted to the flower and hearing her say that she was even willing to die just to guard it, Lin Yao smiled. Women loved beauty indeed.
However, as Lin Yao was smiling and thinking about this, he heard another voice.
“I want to be buried under this flower and make it more beautiful.”
“Indeed, my blood is certainly very compatible with this flower. I want to water it with my blood.”
“No, use mine. Take my blood.”
Lin Yao was stunned by these voices. When he saw many of the armed policemen around him cutting their wrists and letting their blood flow, a surge of coldness filled his mind and body.
By now, he knew that he and his group had been attacked by the freak.
What terrified Lin Yao more was that someone had already created a wound on his body with his hands. That person could not wait to feed his blood to the flower.
Upon looking around, Lin Yao discovered that, apart from himself, only Li Shan looked like he was struggling.
“d.a.m.n! What is the medium of the attack?”
While Lin Yao had been patrolling this place, he’d had a sense of foreboding. However, he hadn’t expected the crisis to come so soon. Furthermore, this crisis was extremely strange and mysterious. Everyone had been affected just by looking at the flower.
‘Is this the type of freak that will cause one to die the moment one sees it? No, one will be affected upon seeing it. But why aren’t I affected?’
With this thought in mind, Lin Yao was suddenly and inexplicably drawn to the extreme beauty of this flower. At that moment, the scarlet flower suddenly appeared in his heart. It was absorbing something that could make it bloom rapidly. As it bloomed, Lin Yao’s entire mind was on the scarlet flower and he felt very willing to offer himself to this flower, which was the most beautiful thing in the world.
“I’m filthy and dirty. If I offer my filthy soul and blood to the most beautiful flower in the world, my life won’t be pointless… Boom!”
Just as the scarlet flower was about to capture Lin Yao’s mind, a thunderbolt suddenly exploded in his heart.
It was the Tree of Heaven Punishment. While facing the strange flower that had invaded his mind, the Tree of Heaven Punishment had triggered the power of thunder and blasted the flower completely. At the same time, the ability to distinguish between good and evil had been activated, and Lin Yao could now see the true colors of the scarlet flower.
Beautiful?
No, the flower was blooming on skeletal bones, and countless souls were wailing in its petals.
Retch…
The malice emanating from the scarlet flower made Lin Yao feel like vomiting. As he was feeling uneasy, his surrounding companions turned around and stared at him with scarlet eyes.
“Don’t you find that flower very beautiful?”
“Why can’t you accept it? It’s the fairest thing in the world.”
“Offer your blood, flesh, and soul with us.”
Lin Yao listened to the fanatic shouts and could sense their tempted hearts but did not hesitate in the slightest. After taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and let out a thunderous roar.
“Wake up!”
Boom!
The roar was akin to thunder and the wrath of heaven.
The sound of this feisty, thunderous explosion would only scare ordinary people out of their wits. However, for the freaks, this thunderous sound contained the voice of heaven and could cause them a great deal of harm.
In a world of spirit energy, thunder was akin to heavenly authority. The impact of the thunderous sound had shattered the scarlet flower, which had taken root in the hearts of humans to absorb flesh and blood to grow.
With a roar, Lin Yao had pulled everyone from their freaky state and brought them back to reality.
“Ouch… It hurts badly.”
“What was wrong with me?”
“d.a.m.n! We’ve been attacked.”
…
‘The restraining power of the profound meaning of Heavenly Thunder is stronger than I thought.’
Upon seeing the group of people awakening, Lin Yao had this thought. However, he soon stopped contemplating it. He had more urgent things to do now.
The moment everyone woke up, they were still feeling confused, but Lin Yao unleashed his light attribute vital energy seed without any delay. He then opened the vehicle door and activated the combat mode of the Electric Current Stimulation Combat Suit. After he did all this, his entire body pounced toward the scarlet flower like a cheetah.
“I have to kill it.”
The spirit energy unleashed from the light attribute vital energy seed had activated the Body of Light. Coupled with the combat mode of the Electric Current Stimulation Combat Suit, Lin Yao was traveling at lighting speed.
By advancing a few meters with each step, he had covered most of the distance between him and the flower within an extremely short time. However, the scarlet flower also seemed to be awakening at this juncture. After closing in on it, Lin Yao not only sensed its beauty but also caught a whiff of its fragrance.
As he absorbed the fragrance, Lin Yao’s body felt light and ecstasy emerged in his mind. He enjoyed this blissful feeling very much and hoped to be immersed in this paradise forever.
The scarlet flower was very strong, but Lin Yao’s Tree of Heaven Punishment was stronger. Furthermore, both were plants, and the higher-level Tree of Heaven Punishment could obviously restrain the scarlet flower. Therefore, as soon as they’d appeared, the feelings of ecstasy had been destroyed by the thunderbolt. In reality, Lin Yao had also made his thunderous vital energy seeds explode and hollered by using the Deafening Thunder Roar.
“Roar!”