Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 164 Robbery

When Mu Xiang realized Zheng Zha had disappeared, he pushed up his glasses.

"I'm not sure about the specific methods yet... but whether it's from the perspective of increasing the difficulty or preventing the destruction of the plane, the main god will guide Zheng Zha." Mu Xiang muttered to himself, "It's impossible for him to slack off."

What worries him most now is the remaining team members who stayed at the hotel... Although the three protective gear items from the Beiyanzhou team have been distributed, they are not entirely safe.

If he wasn't mistaken, Zhang Jie would definitely unleash his power when things got really tough... But betting on him like this made Mu Xiang feel like he was scheming against Zhang Jie, like he was exploiting his surplus value, which made him unhappy.

Mu Xiang had long anticipated this situation. Given the sheer size of the previous abyss world, creating a low-dimensional erosion-like effect in this dimension would have been far too easy. Undoubtedly, the difficulty of "The Trembling Black Hole" had been raised to an extremely high level, leaving Mu Xiang somewhat helpless.

What level is the Central Continent Team at now? From the enhancements of each veteran member to the team composition and the distribution of protective items, they're practically rolling in money in the original story. However, in order to secure more rewards, Mu Xiang had to make the decision to split up the team.

With an A-level side quest and 15,000 reward points for everyone, it's worth the gamble!

However, it must be acknowledged that Mu Xiang's current decisions are also closely related to his weakened strength. In the battle of the Abyss World, Mu Xiang's survival was already a result of careful planning. Although he prevented an invasion and successfully pulled the battle line back to the Main God Space, the physical and mental cost was extremely high.

Mu Xiang's current combat strength is probably only slightly stronger than when he first acquired the A-grade Kryptonian bloodline. If he doesn't fight to the death, he's roughly on par with the envoy of the Polar Day Society. Considering he's immune to the corruption of the Old Ones, he should only be able to handle one Old One. The idea of ​​one-punch-killing kids or fighting the strongest Old One head-on is, for now, just a pipe dream.

If an Old One of the same caliber as the Cursed Xie Kun were to descend into reality, or if a group of Old Ones were to besiege him again... Mu Xiang could only fight and retreat, trying to complete the plane's redemption, or hold out until the very last moment before desperately fighting with the candle in hand.

Therefore, the strongest fighter in the Central Continent Team right now is obviously Zheng Zha... but Zheng Zha isn't good at things like redeeming the dimension. What, you're asking if Mu Xiang is good at it?

Mu Xiang may not have eaten pork, but he's at least seen pigs run!

Now that Zheng Zha has disappeared, Mu Xiang is actually a little relieved; things are still developing as he expected. The risk-reward ratio facing the Zhongzhou team is also within Mu Xiang's acceptable range.

Mu Xiang had already laid his cards on the table with his team members, explaining the relationship between risk and reward... Overall, Mu Xiang was about 70% to 80% confident.

He's not like Chu Xuan, who's betting 50/50. A 70-80% chance is enough for him and the Central Continent team to go for it.

Whether in the real world or the cycle of reincarnation, Mu Xiang most enjoys the feeling of having things under control. Although he always plans ahead and behind, leaving ample room for maneuver and backup plans, he avoids using them unless absolutely necessary. After all, one involves planning and pre-planning, while the other involves execution and adjustments. A good final result does not necessarily mean the plan itself was successful.

If possible, the most fulfilling thing is when the plan itself is successful...

"Let me see... how exactly did the Abyss World invade?" Mu Xiang muttered to himself. He was strolling through a city filled with distorted light and shadow and gray mist... Why "strolling"? One second he was in Times Square, the next he was out of Columbia Bookstore, how could it not be called a stroll?

Hmm, I also have a novel by Sutter Kane in my hand.

"Can you stop forcing me to buy this?" Mu Xiang cursed, throwing the novel he had only read once and never wanted to read again.

Mu Xiang's mind is almost completely fine... The previous erosion has been firmly suppressed deep within his mind by the third-tier gene lock and the super brain. Let alone what New York is like now, unless he sees that incredibly terrifying being in the sky above the Abyss World again, or enters the Abyss World again to be fed information, there's no possibility of the erosion erupting.

However, New York's bizarre nature has an impact on Mu Xiang and Zheng Zha, who has just disappeared... because the city itself is distorted, not because they are subjectively misled. While the situation in other cities is unknown, it's unlikely to be much better.

This world has come to an end... without a doubt. Mu Xiang wasn't surprised by this; what made him want to curse was the sluggishness of the principles of civilization. It was almost certain that the principles of civilization had been misled, which was why the Abyss World had been able to invade so easily.

Wait... Zheng Zha just disappeared?

Mu Xiang's heart skipped a beat; the incongruity of time and space made him glance at his watch.

He just walked out of the bookstore, and another three hours have passed.

"The rapid flow of time is definitely not the work of the Supreme God... but rather the Abyss World's way of wanting us to get out of here quickly." Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses. "But the Abyss World isn't strong enough to overpower the Supreme God. If they pull this little trick once, even if we don't resist, the Supreme God will have to help us resist. Otherwise, why would the Supreme God send the Reincarnation Team to create cause and effect and change the plane, only for the Reincarnation Team to make a shady deal with the villains? When it comes to matters of principle involving the redemption of the plane, the Supreme God wouldn't resort to some 'lowering the difficulty is wisdom and a manifestation of evolution' approach."

However, the problem now is that Mu Xiang doesn't know how to activate the principles of civilization... He can't simply draw an array to manifest the principles of civilization, so the situation is that the abyss world is frantically invading, while the principles of civilization are dormant, leaving only Mu Xiang and the main god staring at each other helplessly.

"God, God, please save me!" Helpless, Mu Xiang could only begin selectively killing monsters... Clearly, Cthulhu's appearance in the world was a move by the Abyss. This Cthulhu didn't completely follow the original setting that it could only function when the stars returned to their positions; instead, it had its own logic, or rather, a logic belonging to the Abyss. It was likely a hidden force buried in the real world long ago, only now manifesting itself through a fantasy that confuses reality.

Otherwise, Mu Xiang should have seen it in the Abyss World... oh no, he should have beaten it up.

The previous erosion, from the initial reader frenzy to the subsequent mental contagion and global anomaly, was essentially a blurring of human imagination and reality. A massive aggregation of infected individuals was necessary to create the terrifying anomaly, which then pulled out the weakest of the Great Old Ones.

If this horror film were simpler, this would likely be the Abyss's only means of survival. However, it's not that simple!

As the erosion spreads, the blurring of fantasy and reality is no longer limited to humanity. It's fair to say the entire real world is in a state of frenzy; this is true, complete confusion... While it may not yet be enough to form a ritual to bring forth a specific being, activating a hidden force already planted in the real world would be far too easy.

And now, Cthulhu is playing the role that Saigeya previously played... As an Old One, it is now the largest anchor point of the Abyss in the real world.

Mu Xiang had considered whether killing all the infected people at the beginning would have been better. Now it seemed almost pointless. This mode of transmission was far more efficient than respiratory transmission. If they were to completely eradicate them, New York would probably be the first city to de-urbanize before the infection was even eradicated in the United States.

He had already nipped the possibility of adapting "The Hole of Terror" into a movie in the bud; all these measures were merely to draw the battle lines in his favor. But was it fate, or the will of the divine?

Mu Xiang walked through the twisted and grotesque city, annihilating any monsters displaying characteristics of the Star Familiars and Deep Ones. While he couldn't slow the global collapse, these creatures were, after all, children of Cthulhu, and if they were to unleash a massive attack, things could easily go wrong.

It's not advisable to leave New York, a key location in the story, and he can't enter the Zhongzhou team's hotel right now... This is a free time, perfect for him to nip any unexpected events in the bud.

By the way, take a look at the buildings that are still available now... the Twin Towers.

As for the manifestation of the principles of civilization, Mu Xiang was willing to bet that the Supreme God was on his side; all he had to do was wait… Although he was somewhat anxious, he could only wait! He was certain that the Supreme God would help him to the final battle…

Otherwise, the actions of the main god in this horror movie, and the props that Mu Xiang obtained, would be completely illogical!
As Mu Xiang expected, on the thirtieth day, the long-awaited scene finally appeared... A towering pillar of light flashed in the distance, and when Mu Xiang took off running towards it, he unexpectedly missed a step...

Next, Mu Xiang stepped onto a different surface, which felt very comfortable underfoot.

【Um? 】

Mu Xiang discovered that the surrounding environment had completely changed... There was an endless, colorless void all around, and he could only feel the ground beneath his feet.

He seemed to be standing on the cover of a book, but he couldn't see how big the book was or what the title was... There were no buildings around, just Mu Xiang standing in the vast emptiness, and a pillar of light standing on the cover in the distance.

The next moment, the cold, rigid prompt from the main god rang urgently in Mu Xiang's ears: "Break the pillar of light within one hour, or all will be annihilated!"

[Finally!]

Before Mu Xiang could feel a surge of joy and nervousness, a chaotic and disordered mental fluctuation rushed into this void world... as if it were searching for something, or as if it had been driven there.

The moment he sensed this mental fluctuation, Mu Xiang smiled and said, "Zheng Zha, well done!"

Then, with a swift movement of his feet, he created a deafening sonic boom and charged straight toward the towering pillar of light in the distance.

The surge of spiritual energy that rushed in twisted visibly twice before coalescing into a cold cloud of mist that glowed with an indistinct blue, green, or yellow light. Something seemed to be hidden within this mist; after a surge, a spiritual energy, far sharper than before, pierced towards Mu Xiang.

"Get out of the way!" Mu Xiang roared, his muscles bulging as he rushed toward the pillar of light at top speed.

The icy mist, having failed in its first attack, immediately abandoned its offensive and turned to rush straight towards the pillar of light.

"As expected, a spy... Heh, to actually use this method to interfere with the principles of civilization." Mu Xiang sneered, his movements unwavering, determined to arrive before the icy mist.

There was no other reason than that he recognized the cold, misty clouds...

The Great Old Ones, Behemoth, the embodiment of Cthulhu's spiritual power... or rather, the incarnation of Cthulhu!
(End of this chapter)