Wen Wen urged the Yingying monster to keep rising. When the crowd below could no longer see him, he entered the containment facility.
The reason he left Tao Qingqing was that he sensed changes within the facility. Wang Zixuan and another non-forwarder, Zhao Fei, had undergone transformations.
Wen Wen needed to personally confirm these transformations to understand what had happened.
When Wen Wen appeared, Wang Zixuan and Zhao Fei were both writhing on the ground, with thick, black pus flowing from every orifice in their bodies.
The pus emitted a foul stench that involuntarily evoked disgust. It also evaporated very quickly, disappearing within tens of seconds of hitting the ground, transforming into streams of black smoke that congealed above the two men.
The black smoke gradually formed two distinct demonic phantoms. The one above Wang Zixuan resembled a giant insect, while the one above Zhao Fei was a dark demon of an unidentifiable species.
Both demons wore expressions of extreme terror, as if something had spiraled out of their control.
Wen Wen narrowed his eyes. These two masses of black smoke were likely the demonic powers that had been residing within the non-forwarders. Now, due to some unforeseen circumstances, these powers could no longer cling to their victims like a persistent rash.
The entire process lasted for about five minutes, after which Wang Zixuan and Zhao Fei ceased their struggles. The black aura was no longer present on their bodies.
As the two plumes of black energy continued to dissipate, Wen Wen transformed into his Disaster Prison Warden form and unleashed two streams of black energy to envelop them.
These things might prove useful in the future, and allowing them to simply vanish felt like a waste.
"It must have been a monster that destroyed something crucial. But who could it be..."
As he spoke, Wen Wen began to investigate the movements of each monster through the chain of connection.
Given that the Human Demon Puppets were highly valued by the Faceless Demon, Wen Wen had not been able to extract any significant information from Rodney at the time. The only information received was that a monster was assisting the Faceless Demon in creating the Human Demon Puppets.
After a brief investigation, he discovered Qin Shuang and the Gestating Demon engaged in a fierce battle.
Qin Shuang's strength had advanced at an unreasonable rate, as if he had consumed an incredibly powerful Vengeful Soul Bead. Furthermore, the aura emanating from him was not dissimilar to the black energy Wen Wen had sensed earlier.
This indicated that Qin Shuang was the key to the situation.
However, Wen Wen did not immediately rush over to eliminate the Gestating Demon. Instead, he observed the situation within the containment facility to see if anything else would change.
After all, being within the containment facility allowed him to appear by Qin Shuang's side at any moment.
...
Qin Shuang had already consumed four Human Demon Fetus. After fully digesting three of them, he had snatched another one from the Gestating Demon.
The power surging within his body was now extremely potent. He had only experienced such a satisfying surge of strength during his transition from Disaster Level to Catastrophe Level.
As the Human Demon Fetus were digested within him, Qin Shuang's strength continued to skyrocket. Initially, he could only desperately flee from the Gestating Demon's attacks. Now, he could hold his own in a back-and-forth exchange.
Chilling frost swirled everywhere, freezing everything in the vicinity. The more they fought, the more the Gestating Demon's heart grew cold.
It loathed Qin Shuang for devouring its Human Demon Puppets, yet it also feared him. Qin Shuang's strength was not only increasing, but he was also constantly eyeing its precious creations.
It was already struggling to cope with Qin Shuang's onslaught. Even though its strength had increased, the Gestating Demon had only improved its basic attributes, without awakening any particularly monstrous skills. Facing Qin Shuang, who manipulated cold, it was finding itself increasingly outmatched.
"Give me... give me to eat!"
Qin Shuang let out a screech characteristic of a ferocious spirit, instantly causing the Gestating Demon's mind to become hazy. Then, his hand reached for the box containing the Human Demon Puppets.
Just as Qin Shuang was about to acquire another Human Demon Puppet, a figure descended from the sky, grabbed Qin Shuang's hand, and flung him away.
Without even glancing at Qin Shuang, the newcomer casually hurled a dark purple energy sphere at him, sending Qin Shuang flying more than ten meters away, his fate uncertain.
Qin Shuang, whom the Gestating Demon had desperately tried and failed to defeat, was thus effortlessly subdued by the newcomer.
This individual was dressed in a pristine white suit, with a bald head devoid of any facial features, resembling a boiled egg from any angle. He was, of course, the Faceless Demon, Cruy.
"Lord Cruy, you've finally arrived. Without you, my precious babies would have..."
The Gestating Demon immediately fell to its knees before Cruy, weeping and lamenting.
Despite its boundless resentment and desire to forge its own path, it could not reveal any of this in front of the Faceless Demon, knowing full well how brutal he was.
The Human Demon Puppet project was entirely developed by the Faceless Demon. The number of demons and humans who had perished during its research was countless.
And it, the Gestating Demon, was merely recruited by the Faceless Demon to accelerate the production of Human Demon Fetus and improve their quality. While it was considered an important component, the Faceless Demon would not incur significant cost if it no longer required its services.
Cruy looked at the damaged box in the Gestating Demon's hand and said with displeasure, "You had better tell me that all ten Human Demon Puppets are intact!"
The Gestating Demon paused before responding nervously, "Lord Cruy, although that powerful ferocious spirit attempted to steal your Human Demon Puppets, I, the Gestating Demon, swore to protect them with my life. Therefore, there are still six Human Demon Puppets remaining..."
"Useless!"
Upon hearing that four Human Demon Puppets had been lost, Cruy's eyes turned ferocious, as if he intended to gnaw the Gestating Demon to pieces.
"My lord, I truly..."
"You don't need to explain."
A hint of killing intent flashed in Cruy's eyes. He took the box, examined the remaining six Human Demon Puppets within, and carefully secured them.
"Stand up. You are my subordinate, do not be so pathetic. Even when facing me, you must stand tall!"
"Yes, I'm sorry, I have disgraced you." The Gestating Demon quickly stood up and straightened its posture in front of Cruy, believing it had already received the Faceless Demon's forgiveness.
But in the next moment, Cruy brought his fingers together and, to the Gestating Demon's disbelief, plunged his arm into its chest.
"Stand tall. This way... you can die with more dignity."
Dark purple energy spread from Cruy's arm, rapidly corroding the Gestating Demon's body.
The Gestating Demon looked at Cruy in disbelief. It knew that Cruy might act against it before it reached a certain level of power, but it had never expected to face death while it had not yet reached the Catastrophe Level!
Cruy curled his lips and said, "Do you think I don't understand your thoughts? Do you think I don't know about the arrangements you've made in the next city? I had originally planned to let you live a while longer, but with this incident, I cannot keep you alive!"
As he withdrew his hand, the Gestating Demon's breath was completely extinguished.