World version update

Chapter 277 Out-of-Control Sequence, Trial

Anna, who had been promoted to the ninth level of the Soul Order, opened her eyes, and the world presented itself in a completely new light to her.

Colors fade, replaced by a spectrum of emotions and the pulse of the soul; the walls are like a thin veil, and sounds ripple through the air like visible waves.

Emotions that are normally invisible to ordinary people are materialized in Anna's vision, and she can even feel that she can manipulate these emotions to a certain extent.

Anna's gaze pierced through the wall, trying to look into the distance, but that one glance froze her soul.

Outside the room, gray mist drifted everywhere on the street. When people gathered, the mist was thin, but it became thicker as people moved away from the crowd.

In the corners and shadows, a thick fog shrouded the entire world, and within the drifting shadows, unknown entities seemed to writhe and twist, exuding a chilling terror.

Anna immediately withdrew her gaze from the outside world and looked back into the room, where Josiah had just finished treating Anna's cut wound.

The knife was covered in rust, and if it wasn't treated soon, it could easily become infected. Although Joa was just an ignorant fool, he still had this much common sense.

After treating the wounds, Josiah bent down and dragged Anna's body.

During the movement, he accidentally touched the wound, causing beads of sweat to appear on Qiao Ya's forehead, and he couldn't help but start cursing.

His fear and panic appeared to Anna like a crimson mist surrounding him, while he remained completely oblivious to Anna wandering beside him.

"Damn peasant," Joa muttered through gritted teeth, increasing the pressure on his hand. "Trying to cause me trouble while sick? Who does he think he is!"

He dragged Anna's body toward the back door of the clinic, a look of relief on his face.

If Anna hadn't been seriously ill, he might have been caught off guard and struck a fatal blow. Thinking of this, Joa smiled coldly and said:

"After I've dealt with you, I'll find your damn family, squeeze every last shilling out of them, and then throw them into the factory's incinerator."

No one would care how many peasants like you die.

These words were like sparks, igniting a fury deep within Anna's soul.

She felt an unprecedented power surging within her, and instinct drove her forward.

Anna stretched out her translucent hands and reached into Joa's chest.

At that moment, she was surprised to find that she could touch something deeper than the physical body—Joya's soul.

Compared to the fully formed Sequence Nine Soul, Joa's soul was so fragile that it was like a faint, flickering light in Anna's hands.

Anna gripped the light tightly, gripping Joa's soul with a fierce determination.

Qiao Ya suddenly stopped moving, a strange chill spreading from the depths of his heart.

His breathing became rapid, and his legs began to tremble involuntarily. This feeling was unlike any illness or ordinary fear; it was as if someone had directly seized the very essence of his life.

"What's going on?" Joa's eyes widened, fear overwhelming him like a tidal wave.

The chill gradually turned into a bone-chilling cold, and Qiao Ya felt her consciousness being frozen little by little.

Through his blurred vision, he seemed to see a familiar yet unfamiliar face. Anna was looking down at him, her once haggard and handsome face now bearing a ferocious smile.

“No, it’s impossible.” Joa struggled, trying to shake off the illusion, but to no avail.

Anna felt a twisted pleasure rising within her as she sensed Joa's fear and despair.

A crimson aura began to emanate from her, and her face became increasingly distorted, like a demon from a midnight nightmare.

She could feel Joa's life slipping away in her hands, and with just a little more force, she could crush the soul of this despicable man.

At that moment, a calm yet authoritative voice resounded in the space.

"The ninth soul in the sequence is just the beginning; one must die before entering the Netherworld sequence."

Lu Yan had somehow appeared behind Anna, silently observing the scene before him without making any move, merely stating certain facts.

"After advancing to Sequence Nine, you will gain extraordinary abilities such as night travel and dream entry, and you may even be able to directly harm the souls of others."

"But any extraordinary path is accompanied by taboos and loss of control, and this is especially true of the Underworld Sequence, which involves the realm of the soul as early as Sequence Nine."

If one kills indiscriminately during the ninth stage of the Soul Sequence, a large amount of resentment will accumulate, causing the path to transcendence to spiral out of control.

Lu Yan continued, his voice like that of a scholar explaining the laws of nature.

"Ordinary extraordinary paths will fall into depravity after going out of control, but the source of the Underworld sequence comes from the Underworld Divine Court. That great divine court, which is famous throughout the heavens, anchors the source and transcends the mysteries of this world."

Even if one becomes supernatural and out of control, one will not fall into the mysteries of this world.

A wandering spirit that has accumulated a great deal of resentment will embark on another uncontrolled path of transcendence when advancing to Sequence Eight; its Sequence Eight title is "Vengeful Ghost."

Anna, engrossed in revenge, was awakened by Lu Yan's statement.

The crimson in her eyes gradually faded, and the hand that had been gripping Joa's soul tightly began to loosen.

Joa fell heavily to the ground, his trembling body coughing violently. He couldn't even comprehend what he had just experienced.

Lu Yan watched Anna's movements, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

The Underworld Sequence is a transcendent path that straddles life and death. When Lu Yan chose Anna, he explained that he would let her choose her own path in the future.

The guardians of order and the avengers of fear represent two different extraordinary paths within the Underworld sequence.

However, without a strong will, and simply indulging in the emotion of revenge, a superhuman who hovers on the edge of life and death will sooner or later fall into madness and depravity.

This is not the outcome Lu Yan wanted to see.

Although vengeful spirits are also a path of uncontrolled sequence, and can even reach extremely deep levels, the uncertainty of uncontrolled sequence makes it impossible for this path to become a pillar of the underworld sequence, nor can it support the entire divine court and underworld.

Anna's brief escape from the rage of revenge is naturally a good thing for Lu Yan.

However, before that, Lu Yan still had a small doubt in his mind.

"You could have killed him, so why did you give up on the idea?"

Anna, in a ghostly state, knelt before Lu Yan and said in a devout tone:
“I promised Your Majesty that I would pave a path for Your Majesty that no one has ever walked before, and naturally I should not break my promise at this time because of my own selfish desires.”

Standard answer!

Lu Yan neither confirmed nor denied the answer, but the next second, he heard Anna add:
“It wasn’t just Joa who killed my brother, but also his father, the factory owner George.”

Even in this era, there are still lower-class people like me and my brother who suffer persecution every moment.

Killing him out of resentment only relieved my emotions temporarily; it couldn't bring my brother back.

But if I can avoid losing control of my extraordinary abilities and continue to advance, gaining more power, I can save more people who have suffered the same fate!

A strange light flashed in Lu Yan's eyes.

"I witnessed the suffering of this city and felt the pain of millions of workers whose despair enveloped the entire city of Orank like a dark night."

Killing one Joa won't solve anything; a new Joa will be born in the industrial area tomorrow. But if I can utilize the power of the wandering spirits…

Her voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from a newfound passion.

“I can enter their dreams and tell them the truth. I can show the factory owners their cruelty to the workers who are still hesitating.”

I can be a voice in the darkness, telling them the importance of unity.

"Killing is not the goal; redemption is the meaning of my existence!" Lu Yan finally showed a look of emotion.

When deducing the sequence of the underworld, Lu Yan tried to find a candidate who could carry the sequence of the underworld.

At that time, he used his divine and underworld positions, combined with the principles of creation and probability, to deduce a time and place.

It was through this deduction that Lu Yan met Anna at this point in time, thus enabling Anna to advance to the ninth level of the Sequence Soul.

Previously, although Anna's performance was quite outstanding, it was far from reaching the level of divine court and underworld rank deduction.

But it wasn't until Anna said those words that Lu Yan finally realized why the Divine Court and the Underworld had chosen Anna.

No longer confined to personal interests, but looking at the general trend of the times.

Only such people can shoulder the heavy responsibility of pioneering extraordinary paths.

"The power of the Sequence Nine Wanderers originates from the peculiar balance between life and death. You can wander between reality and nothingness, sense the emotions of the living, and enter their dreams."

Lu Yan's cane swept through the air, leaving a faint trail of light. "But every ability comes with risks, especially direct intervention in the soul."

"Remember your thoughts at this moment. Only by maintaining this will can you withstand the great terror between life and death and resist the risk of losing control of the underworld pathway."

Anna lowered her head respectfully.

"I will follow your Majesty's orders."

Lu Yan nodded slightly, then his gaze fell on Qiao Ya, who was slumped on the ground.

Immediately, a slight smile appeared on Lu Yan's lips.

“Anna, you must remember one thing.”

"The fact that the spirits of Sequence Nine cannot kill is not telling you to abandon all emotions, but guiding you to develop the will to self-control."

There are actually many ways to kill someone.

For example, repeatedly entering his dreams to create nightmares could drive him to mental breakdown and make him wish he were dead, thus isolating him from the entire society.

Or perhaps he would appear in a dream to deliver evidence of his crimes to law enforcement officers, allowing them to conduct a procedural trial against him.

Lu Yan's voice was calm, and Anna listened attentively, memorizing every word.

"However, these methods are all necessary, and they must be used in the right places."

Dr. Joa, for example, has already made connections with the White family, and even if law enforcement officers appear in his dreams, they cannot bring him to trial.

At this point, so-called procedural justice is no longer important.

Lu Yan tapped the floor lightly with his palm, and the next moment, the wooden door outside the dark room was pushed open with a dull creak.

A tall man entered the room, the dim light of the kerosene lamp illuminating his rugged features and resolute face.

"Mr. Lu!" The tall man first bowed respectfully to Lu Yan, then looked at Anna beside Lu Yan with a puzzled expression. His gaze seemed to pass through her translucent body as if he saw something incredible.

"Who is this?"

“She will be your colleague from now on.” Lu Yan’s voice carried an undeniable air of authority.

Anna recognized the tall man immediately; he was none other than Sain, the former leader of the Black Gang.

Because Anna was seriously ill, she did not have the opportunity to keep up with the changes in the industrial area, and therefore was unaware that Sain was already the president of the union.

Sain stepped forward, grabbed the dazed Joa by the collar, his rough fingers sinking into the fabric, and dragged him out of the room.

Joa let out a weak groan, a look of pain appearing on her pale face.

Just as Qiao Ya was being dragged away and regaining consciousness, her head slammed directly into the stone steps in front of the door with a dull thud, and she fell unconscious again.

Blood flowed from his forehead, leaving a winding, dark red trail on the gray stone steps.

Time seemed to stretch and compress at that moment, and when Joa woke up again, the world had changed.

The night sky was covered by large patches of dark clouds, even the starlight was obscured, and Qiao Ya was shocked to find that his hands were tied behind his back, the rough hemp rope digging deeply into his flesh.

Hundreds of workers around were holding torches, creating a flickering sea of ​​fire.

The firelight dispelled the darkness of the streets, illuminating every angry yet determined face, making the industrial area exceptionally bright, as if it were daytime.

"I am Dr. Josiah, the vice president of the Future Industrial Zone Hospital, approved by the White family. What do you want?"

The workers did not respond; only the crackling of torches and low breathing echoed in the night.

The crowd suddenly surged, making way for several people who were also bound, who were pushed and shoved into the area.

When Joa looked closely, in the firelight, she saw her father, George, and several of his foremen. Their clothes were disheveled, and their faces were covered in dirt and fear.

George saw his son and cried out desperately, "Joya! They've gone mad! They..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a heavy punch.

Sain stood at the front of the crowd, his tall figure elongated by the firelight, projected onto the wall like a statue of judgment.

He held up the torch and shouted loudly, his voice booming and piercing the night sky:

"Factory manager George, along with his son Joa, sold counterfeit medicine made from flour and sugar to the workers, resulting in the deaths of 28 workers within three months. Four workers who went to demand an explanation were also beaten to death."

The firelight reflected in his pupils, like flames burning fiercely.

"On behalf of the workers, I hereby sentence George, Joa, and their five foremen who aided and abetted the evildoers to death by hanging!"

The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers that echoed across the industrial zone.

The torches held aloft by the workers created a sea of ​​fire, illuminating the night sky and their long-suppressed anger.

George and his son Joan were so frightened that they almost lost control of their bladders, leaving dark wet patches on the front of their trousers. They shouted loudly, their voices filled with fear and despair.

“You are not qualified! The White family will not let you get away with this!” George screamed, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

However, no one paid attention to their pleas; instead, they were met with more angry boos and curses.

There was no gallows, no formal trial, only the fury of hundreds of souls who had been exploited for too long.

The men were roughly dragged to the streetlight, the rope wrapped around their necks, and the other end was thrown over the streetlight's crossbar.

At the last moment, Joa looked up and seemed to see a blurry figure floating in the air.

His pupils contracted, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but it was too late.

The rope tightened, pulling him off the ground. In fear and suffocation, the father and his sons struggled, their legs kicking futilely in the air, before finally coming to a standstill and dying.

Above the crowd, Anna watched everything unfold before her, like a detached bystander.

Her ghostly body drifted gently in the night breeze, moonlight filtering through her translucent form.

As the trial concluded, the last trace of crimson aura clinging to her slowly dissipated, leaving only a pure, wandering soul.

(End of this chapter)