Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 596 Pulling into a Parallel World
Holding the cold metal license, Li Zhongren did not immediately walk towards the heavy door of the Hunter Association.

He forced himself to suppress the urge to go in and take on the mission immediately. Like other passersby, he walked past the association square without stopping and turned into a side street filled with various cheap shops and stalls.

He stopped at a stall selling various imitation military items, work safety supplies, and secondhand goods, and spent a small amount of money to buy a drab, hooded, coarse cloth cloak.

This type of cloak is one of the most common outfits worn by hunters and scavengers at the bottom of society. It is wide and durable, and can protect against wind, sand and harsh environments to a certain extent. More importantly, it can effectively conceal the body and face.

In this city where order and chaos intertwine, hiding oneself is often the first priority for survival.

Many people buy such a cloak, whether to borrow the tiger's power or to do something convenient, it's hard to tell the truth from the falsehood.

The stall owner didn't care about this small business at all, and didn't even glance at Li Zhongren.

Li Zhongren walked to a secluded corner, quickly put on his cloak, pulled down the hood, and covered most of his face.

The rough fabric rubs against the skin, bringing a strange sense of isolation and security.

"I was questioned by the Bureau of Investigation just yesterday, and today I'm a hunter. The coincidence is too obvious."

He calmly analyzed the situation in his mind.

"No one notices me now only because I am still insignificant. The association and the investigation bureau may share information, and if they investigate further, I will be the prime suspect."

"I must hurry and improve my strength as soon as possible before they realize what's happening. As long as my cheat is powerful enough to acquire more Twisted Crystals and even become a high-level hunter, this little doubt will be insignificant."

Hiding is for better growth.

Keeping a low profile is so that you won't have to be low-profile in the future.

After adjusting his cloak to ensure it wouldn't slip off easily, Li Zhongren took a deep breath, turned around, and walked back towards the tall pyramid tower.

This time, his steps were much steadyer. He mingled with several other figures, also dressed in cloaks and hurrying along, as he walked towards the heavy metal door.

Two guards, their bodies completely covered in dark armor, stood by the gate. Their visors had cold, electronic eyes that scanned every person entering.

Li Zhongren could sense a faint energy fluctuation emanating from the guard, as if it were detecting something.

He subtly flashed the hunter's license in his hand.

The electronic eye's light lingered on the metal card in his hand for a moment, flashing a faint green light, before moving away.

The heavy metal door made a soft "hiss" sound as it slid open a crack just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Li Zhongren stepped inside.

The view inside the door was suddenly bright and open, completely different from the oppressive atmosphere outside.

The association's interior space is extremely spacious and has an astonishingly high ceiling, extending almost through the upper middle part of the pyramid.

The light does not come from lamps, but from countless crystals that emit a soft white light, embedded in the surrounding walls and dome. These crystals are connected by complex metal energy-conducting circuits, forming a stable and bright light source.

The air was filled with a distorting force, but the energy here was restrained, guided, and became "docile" and "orderly".

A giant holographic screen floated in mid-air, scrolling through mission information, bounty notices, and early warnings for various districts of the city.

Hunters dressed in various colors and carrying all sorts of strange equipment came and went, talking in hushed tones, or operating terminals that shimmered with energy.

The sounds were loud but not chaotic; an efficient yet dangerous atmosphere permeated the entire hall.

The “distortion” here refers to the power that has been tamed and exploited by humans.

Li Zhongren pulled down his hood, his gaze quickly sweeping across the hall, and soon found the area marked "New Registration and Binding".

There were several enclosed metal booths resembling telephone booths lined up there.

He walked to an empty hatch, flashed his license again, and the hatch slid open.

The interior space is cramped, containing only a metal chair and a control panel that integrates complex instruments.

The control panel has a slot on the front and a recess on the side that is just big enough to fit an arm, and is filled with fine sensor needles.

Li Zhongren sat down, took a deep breath, and inserted the metal license in his hand into the card slot.

"Click."

Perfect fit.

The control panel screen lit up, displaying a line of cold text.

Please place your bound arm into the detection slot to permanently bind your identity information and energy characteristics.

[WARNING: This process is irreversible. Please ensure that you are performing this operation.]

Li Zhongren's heart raced slightly; the most crucial moment had arrived.

He is not a superhuman and does not possess any so-called "magical power".

What happens if no energy is detected, or if he is identified as an ordinary person? Exposure? Detention? Or even being treated as an anomaly?

But now that things have come to this, there is no turning back.

He gritted his teeth and inserted his right hand into the groove filled with needles.

A cool sensation came through.

Then, with a soft "hum", the metal walls on both sides of the groove gently closed, securing his wrist.

The tiny needle inside instantly pierced his skin!

A slight stinging sensation came over me.

Li Zhongren held his breath, his muscles tense, awaiting trial.

However, the expected "low energy" alarm did not sound.

On the contrary, he felt that the remaining one-third of the "energy" stored in his body by the external device was being drawn out slowly and bit by bit through the punctured blood vessels, as if attracted by something, and injected into the device.

A small amount of blood was also drawn away at the same time.

On the control panel screen, the progress bar began to move slowly.

[Blood samples are being analyzed]

[Energy signature being captured]

[Binding in progress 10% 30%]

Li Zhongren was stunned, and then a huge sense of astonishment and realization welled up in his heart.

His external energy was actually identified as some kind of special "distorted magic energy"?
Yes!

His cheat system itself is something that transcends the common sense of this world; it is an inexplicable "distortion"!
It devours the energy generated by the twisted crystals, and naturally possesses the characteristic of distortion!
Although the manifestations are completely different, in the judgment of this testing instrument, this is his personal and unique "magic power" characteristic!
"It turns out that my cheat itself was a kind of 'distortion'."

This realization struck him as somewhat absurd, yet also as enlightening.

The progress bar quickly reached 100%.

[Binding successful! Welcome, Hunter Li Zhongren.]

The needle retracts into the groove, and the metal wall loosens.

The control panel produced the metal license, which appeared unchanged, but Li Zhongren could sense a subtle connection between himself and it.

A false alarm.

No, it's an unexpected surprise!
He picked up his license, strode out of the binding pod, and left the Hunter Association without lingering in the lobby.

Back in his cramped, dilapidated apartment, Li Zhongren finally breathed a sigh of relief after locking the door.

He took off his cloak, sat in the only chair, and began to examine the hunter's license with the curiosity of someone fiddling with a new phone. With a slight thought, or rather, by simply concentrating his attention, a screen lit up on the surface of the license, projecting its image into the air.

The interface is simple yet feature-rich, including personal information, task list, bounty board, address book, database, map, and more.

He opened the task list directly and filtered for the "City Hunter" category.

A dense array of task items popped up, ranging from clearing mutated rat swarms in the sewers to investigating unusual crying sounds from an apartment building—a diverse array with varying difficulties.

His attention was quickly drawn to a task.

[Task ID]: C-117-11
[Task Name]: Cleanse "Midnight Bell," the twisted evil spirit attached to the television network.
[Danger Level]: Level A (High threat, proceed with caution)

[Mission Description]: A highly aggressive and twisted evil spirit that moves and manifests through the city’s cable television network. Its main area of ​​activity is District 11. It will lock onto its target when a phone call is received at midnight and will not stop until the target is dead. It has caused at least 17 confirmed deaths, all of which were caused by sudden death from shock.

[Task Difficulty]:
1. The evil spirit is extremely murderous and has a bizarre attack method. It can directly affect the spiritual body and has little effect on physical defense.

2. The evil spirit has multiple "anchor points" and can instantly travel between different TV screens, making it extremely difficult to locate its true form. It can only be effectively eliminated by trapping it within a single screen.

[Task Recommendation]: It is recommended that hunters with abilities such as mental protection, spatial locking, or electromagnetic interference accept this task. Hunters without these specializations should not attempt it lightly.

[Task Reward]: 100,000 credits, one A-level resource voucher from the association.

"That's it!"

A glint of light flashed in Li Zhongren's eyes.

A-level difficulty is practically suicide for a newbie, but for him, almost all the difficulties of this evil spirit are countered by his abilities!

Traversing television networks?

Pulling us into a parallel world.

The attack method is bizarre?

Pulling us into a parallel world.

Do you need to be confined to a single screen?

Pulling us into a parallel world.

"You have no right to be arrogant in my world."

Li Zhongren smirked. High risk means high reward. This generous reward and points will be his first pot of gold for rapid rise!

Without hesitation, he accepted the task.

Following the mission instructions, he took public transportation to District 11.

Upon entering this area, a distinct sense of difference immediately comes to mind.

Many windows of the apartment buildings lining the street were boarded up or nailed shut with metal plates.

Even more noticeable is that on the exterior walls of many buildings, where cables and signal lines were originally laid, they have been deliberately cut and removed, leaving only bare interfaces and mottled marks. Public telephone booths on the street have been smashed to pieces, and some shops even have signs hanging at their entrances that say "No TV or telephone in this shop" to attract customers.

People seemed more tense than in other areas, especially when they saw uniformed personnel, they would subconsciously avoid eye contact.

Undoubtedly, this is a method used by the people of Area 11 to fight against this evil spirit, although it is only a temporary solution.

However, in this distorted world where humans coexist, humans, no longer the kings of the world, must demonstrate corresponding adaptability. If a threat cannot be eradicated, they must find a way to coexist with it, demarcate its territory, become familiar with its rules, and then carefully live in the cracks of those rules.

After identifying the target area, Li Zhongren did not act rashly.

To deal with this bizarre entity that can travel through the internet, he needs a "trap," a "cage" that can lure it out and trap it.

He found a small room that was available for rent.

The landlord was a skinny man with shifty eyes who looked like he couldn't wait to move out of the 11th district. He hardly asked Li Zhongren, a tenant who had actually offered himself up, any questions. He only took a very small deposit and a week's rent before handing him the keys, as if afraid that Li Zhongren would change his mind.

The room was small and damp, with a musty and dusty smell. The only furniture was a rickety table and a hard bed.

But this was exactly what Li Zhongren wanted.

Next is "props".

He needs a television.

Walking the streets of District 11, he found it incredibly easy.

As fear spread, the television set became the most ominous and most desperately sought-after object.

Abandoned television sets can be seen at many garbage dumps downstairs in residential buildings, with broken screens and damaged casings everywhere.

He didn't even spend any money; in a corner filled with discarded appliances, he found an ultra-thin LCD TV that its owner had "disposed of."

The screen had a few minor scratches, but it was otherwise in good condition. He carried the TV back to his rented room as easily as picking up trash.

signal?

He doesn't need it at all.

According to the mission description, the existence of that evil spirit seems to be able to ignore physical signal transmission; all it needs is a "screen" as a carrier and anchor point.

This television, which can be powered on and turn on, is the best bait.

The television was placed on that broken table, with the screen facing the hard bed.

Then, he took out his phone and placed it next to the television.

Finally, there are the "execution" tools.

He went out again, this time to a nearby hardware store that also sold various tools.

The store was cluttered with all sorts of goods, from screwdrivers to crude energy batteries.

His gaze swept over a row of tools and finally settled on an old, gasoline-powered chainsaw.

"Boss, this."

After paying, he hoisted the heavy chainsaw onto his shoulder.

The cold metallic touch came through the clothes, and there was a faint, pungent smell of gasoline and rust mixed together.

As he walked, a strange thought suddenly popped into Li Zhongren's mind, causing his lips to twitch involuntarily.

"Tsk, my predecessor was just killed by a crazed chainsaw, and now I'm turning around and buying another chainsaw to deal with the evil spirit. What kind of nonsense is this? A chainsaw man's revenge story? Or a limited edition chainsaw fighting fire with fire?"

This bizarre cycle of cause and effect carries an indescribable dark humor.

It was as if fate had played a clumsy joke on him, and he was now holding the cold handle of that joke.

everything's ready.

Li Zhongren connected the TV power supply.

The screen lit up, but because there was no signal, there was only a blinding amount of static and a buzzing electrical noise, which sounded particularly noisy and eerie in the dim and quiet room.

He took a deep breath, lay down fully clothed on the hard bed, and stared intently at the constantly flickering static on the screen.

The only sound in the room was the noise from the television.

Outside the window, it was a somber, oppressive twilight in District 11.

Time ticked by, and as the clock struck midnight, Li Zhongren's phone rang.

(End of this chapter)