Chapter 1 Time Stands Still

The elevator doors slowly opened, and time seemed to stand still. Everyone's eyes turned to the man stepping out of the elevator, including the beckoning ghost, who twisted her head to look behind her.

"Guruji."

Tang Qisheng noticed the clapping ghost's throat move, as if swallowing saliva. The next second, the beckoning ghost violently pushed aside those blocking her path and ran wildly into the distance.

As the presence in the hospital second only to the director, she could fully sense the overwhelming power of the newcomer. Just now, she could have killed everyone present, including Tang Qisheng, who possessed the director's eye, but she didn't. She feared incurring the newcomer's wrath and revenge. By not harming them, she reasoned, the newcomer would have no reason to fight her to the death. A mutual step back was a reasonable outcome.

However, she didn't notice that the figure in the elevator had vanished into a wisp of black smoke the moment she fled.

When he reappeared in everyone's sight, Wu held a blood-stained white coat in his hand. After shaking it in front of everyone, a pair of severed hands fell out. This scene made Zhu Jie's eyes twitch. She knew that even if this ghost wasn't dead, she would never have the chance to beckon or clap again.

"How are you? What about that monster?" A clapping ghost was insignificant. Jiang Cheng was concerned about the entrance inside the tank that connected to another world, and the terrifying monster behind the entrance, which should be the Zhusheng Niangniang (Child-Giving Mother) that Li Bai, Yao Shunyu, and others had mentioned.

Wiping the blood from the blade with the white coat, Wu returned the knife to its sheath. "I drove it back. The entrance closed shortly after you left."

The entrance was sealed, Li Bai and Yao Shunyu were rescued, and Tang Qisheng even possessed a bloody eye belonging to the director. More importantly, Wu had appeared. Everything was moving in a better direction.

"Li Bai! Li Bai!" Fatty turned to look at Li Bai behind him, who was leaning on his shoulder with his eyes closed.

After all the tossing and turning just now, Li Bai had also fainted. However, after Jiang Cheng's examination, his body was fine. Compared to the injuries on Yao Shunyu, Li Bai was almost unscathed.

Now that the danger had passed, Zhu Jie was embarrassed to continue clinging to Fatty's back. Tang Qisheng took the initiative to carry Yao Shunyu. If he previously thought that everyone's relationship was just that of grasshoppers on a rope, now they were brothers relying on each other.

The crisis in the hospital had been resolved, and everyone who had been scattered into three strange worlds had finally reunited. Now it was time to leave.

Returning to the door of the hospital, Tang Qisheng was filled with emotions. Not long ago, he had the choice to leave with Zhu Jie, but fortunately, he hadn't accepted. Otherwise, the following story wouldn't have happened.

Wu's figure was the first to disappear outside the door, followed by Jiang Cheng, Wang Fugui... As the light and shadows changed before their eyes, everyone's feet landed firmly on the ground. However, the next second, everyone was stunned by the scene before them. This was not outside the hospital at all, nor was there the bus stop that would appear after the mission.

They were standing on soft black soil, with a dense forest not far away and a wide river behind them, a broken bridge spanning the two banks.

With a "tzeng" sound, Wu drew his knife. He was very familiar with this place. This was the world where Li Bai and Yao Shunyu were located. Not long ago, he had repelled the Zhusheng Niangniang in this world. They...they had actually returned!

The air was filled with a thick smell of blood, and the ground under their feet seemed to have been ploughed. The soil and stones were broken, and large trees had been felled. This place had clearly experienced a fierce battle. Even more shocking was that there were long, fleshy tentacle-like things scattered on the ground, emitting a stench.

Tang Qisheng's only bloody eye slowly contracted. He never expected Wu's casual statement of repelling her to be such a tragic scene.

But the next second, Wu's words made everyone tense up, "I didn't do this. Someone else has been here."

The person who could fight Zhusheng Niangniang in a battle should not be underestimated. But Jiang Cheng couldn't figure out how another terrifying existence comparable to Zhusheng Niangniang could be born in the same world. It was a pity that Li Bai and Yao Shunyu were unconscious, otherwise he could ask them.

As if he had made a discovery, Wu walked towards a broken tree. Moving the fallen tree trunk, the scene before them shocked Jiang Cheng and the others. Half a corpse was pressed under the broken tree. It was the lower half of a person's body. Most importantly, the corpse was wearing a military camouflage pants.

"This...this person is a soldier?" Fatty looked at the hideous wound on the corpse's waist, with intestines and everything else torn out. The scene was very bloody.

Before Jiang Cheng could examine the corpse, suddenly, Wu turned around and slashed his knife into the forest, "Get out here!"

The blade diagonally split a giant tree that required several people to hug. In the chaos, a figure was revealed in the forest. The other party reacted quickly, and several people working together managed to take the blow.

"Don't attack! Is that Senior Wu?"

Someone shouted loudly in the forest. As the smoke and wood chips dissipated, four figures walked out. Three of the men were dressed in uniform, all wearing camouflage uniforms, carrying military backpacks behind their backs covered with camouflage nets. Only the old man in the lead was wearing outdoor clothing. He was the one who had shouted just now.

All four of them were injured, so the ones who had fought fiercely with Zhusheng Niangniang not long ago were these people.

After approaching, the old man cupped his fist at Wu. "Senior, we were entrusted by Commissioner Lin to come and meet you all."

"You say you were entrusted, but how do you prove it?" Fatty was afraid of being tricked, questioning while winking wildly at Wu, telling him to act according to circumstances.

Unexpectedly, the old man in the lead ignored him and went directly to Jiang Cheng. "This is little friend Jiang, I often hear Patriarch Luo mention you."

Also aware of the urgency of the situation, the old man reached into his arms, quickly took out a small cloth bag, and then stepped forward to hand the cloth bag to Jiang Cheng.

But before he could walk over, Wu stopped him, took the cloth bag, and threw it to Jiang Cheng. The cloth bag was already stained with blood. When opened, there was a folded handkerchief inside. A crudely embroidered plum blossom was on the handkerchief.

"The situation is urgent. Commissioner Lin said, you will know our identity when you see this." The old man shouted.

Indeed, as the old man said, Jiang Cheng recognized this thing, because he had embroidered this plum blossom himself. It was a birthday gift he had given to Lin Wan'er one year when he was very young. He didn't expect that she had kept it until now.

Putting away the handkerchief, Jiang Cheng's eyes softened a lot when he looked at the old man. "What's the situation outside now?"

"The remnants of the Night Watchers in the real world have been basically eliminated. Their hidden hands in the central areas of major cities have also been found and broken one by one. The leading families have given up resistance, and the remaining stubborn elements have been completely wiped out. The culprits have all been brought to justice." The old man called over a subordinate, who took out some of the carried data from his backpack. These would allow Jiang Cheng to understand the current situation more clearly.