Zheng Feng was a superpowered individual, yet he found himself confined within a cell in the disaster zone.
His subsequent behavior had rendered him indistinguishable from a monster.
Watching Zheng Feng writhe in his cell, eventually taking shape, Wen Wen felt a twinge of nausea.
The current Zheng Feng was beyond recovery; he was merely a lump of flesh retaining a human form.
Through Zheng Feng's ordeal, Wen Wen profoundly understood the necessity of the Hunter Association's existence.
Without the guidance of the Hunter Association during their initial awakenings, the vast majority of superpowered individuals would likely stumble into the gray mist layer, precipitating unfavorable events.
One could only imagine what fate would befall this world.
Zheng Feng could be considered a pitiable superpowered individual, but Wen Wen felt no sympathy for him. Although demons had instigated his actions, he himself was the one playing with life.
Every superpowered individual who commits evil may have a tragic past, but once they lose control, they deserve no more pity.
If, one day, Wen Wen were to lose control and indiscriminately slaughter the good, he too would not warrant sympathy.
Regardless of the reasons, what is wrong is wrong.
However, Wen Wen had not brought Zheng Feng here to utilize his physique.
The shaggy baboon physique was already sufficient to render Wen Wen intellectually challenged. He feared that utilizing Zheng Feng's physique would lead to immediate brain damage.
He dreaded the possibility of creating a "human centipede" of his own make; such a scenario might drive him to suicide.
The purpose of bringing Zheng Feng to the cell was to locate that shadow demon by leveraging the connection between Zheng Feng's physical body!
Among all the monsters in the Inner World, the demon species was among the first to enter the real world.
Relying on their cunning nature, they had left their mark on the human world, becoming one of the more well-known monster types.
Most demon species monsters were incorporeal. To move freely within the human world, they required a human body. The shadow demon had chosen Zheng Feng's body for this purpose.
Now, the shadow demon was no longer restrained by Zheng Feng and could be considered to have regained its freedom.
However, it was still using Zheng Feng's body, and there must be an unseen connection between them.
Wen Wen intended to exploit this connection, using the power of the Disaster Prison Keeper to utterly annihilate that shadow demon!
The shadow demon had witnessed Wen Wen wielding the Wings of Steel and the Containment Chains, and it knew Wen Wen possessed multiple abilities.
While it might not necessarily act upon what it had seen, Wen Wen could not afford to leave it alive.
He intended to silence the demon before it could react.
...
Outside Furong River City lay a picturesque estate.
This estate was under the ownership of the wealthy magnate Zhang Kewei. In his youth, he occasionally resided here for periods; now, he primarily lived in a sanatorium.
The shadow demon, Baliel, now appearing as Zheng Feng, swaggered towards the estate's entrance, emitting a subtle aura of its presence.
Moments later, the estate's grand gates swung open, and a servant ushered him inside.
Within the estate's grand hall, several individuals clad in white suits lounged about. Some were playing billiards, others were enjoying drinks, exuding an air of relaxed contentment.
"Baliel, you should have arrived much earlier. What took you so long?"
A shapely woman, swaying her hips, approached Baliel and handed him a pristine white suit.
"Heh heh, there was a slight complication," Baliel chuckled, not bothering to conceal his actions from the others as he began to change.
The woman leaned close to Baliel, her fingers lightly tracing his back. She whispered into his ear, her breath like a gentle breeze, "A complication? Why didn't you seek my help?"
Baliel pushed the woman away. "Seek your help? I'd prefer to live a little longer."
The woman's eyes turned pitch black, and she glared at Baliel. "Baliel, what do you mean by that?"
"Fight, fight!"
A young boy in a white suit, perched atop a table, clapped his hands and urged the two on.
"Silence."
Sitting at the edge of the hall was a man whose face remained indistinct. Before him lay a damaged mouse. These were the words he uttered.
Although his voice was soft, every white-suited figure who heard it immediately fell silent.
All the white-suited individuals in this hall were demons.
And that man, the highest-ranking among these demons, was Cruel, the Faceless Demon.
Baliel bowed and said, "Lord Cruel, for what purpose have you summoned us to this world?"
"Your mission is to guide lost humans, fulfill their wishes, and establish pacts with them. Upon their demise, their souls shall belong to my master."
"Mortal souls..." Baliel frowned and asked, "For His Majesty, the souls of weak humans would hold no significance, right? And wouldn't it be simpler to just kill for souls?"
"You are not qualified to question His Majesty," Cruel glanced at Baliel, causing him to tremble and dare not speak further.
"It is His Majesty's command. You merely need to fulfill it, and refrain from prying into unnecessary matters."
Suddenly, Cruel's expression shifted drastically.
He sensed something approaching, similar to what had happened at the top of Kowai Tower.
However, at the top of Kowai Tower, it was merely an aura. This time, it could be anything.
"Escape!" He managed to utter a single word before he frantically bolted towards the exit, abandoning all pretense.
The other demons also made prompt decisions and immediately fled.
Baliel attempted to escape as well, but to his surprise, he found himself unable to move.
Then, black radiance erupted from within him, engulfing everything around him. Two demons who failed to evade were instantly consumed by the black light, their bodies disintegrating into particles, annihilated beyond any hope of recovery.
A colossal black cross materialized above the estate, radiating a terrifying pressure.
Both this black cross and the oppressive aura were perceptible only to superpowered individuals. Ordinary people, without direct exposure to the energy, could not detect them at all.
"Damn it! Who are you? We have made concessions, why are you still attacking us!" Cruel roared, his eyes bloodshot, staring at the sky.
Last time, they had been hiding on the top floor of Kowai Tower when a cataclysmic aura suddenly arrived, forcing them to flee ignominiously from Kowai Tower and halt their activities for a period.
Now, having relocated to this secluded, almost rural estate, they were still under attack.
It was evident that this unknown entity was targeting them.
"Even if you are a powerful being like an Abyss Lord, you cannot humiliate us in such a manner. At the very least, you should inform us what offense we have committed to incur your wrath."
Cruel raged for a long time, but received no response.
His expression darkening, he addressed the other demons. "Let us depart. We cannot remain in this city. If this continues, we might all perish here."
"But, Lord Cruel, there are still transactions to be made..."
"Abandon those transactions!"