The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

The Lanhe City Investigation Bureau building.

In the monitoring room, more than a dozen screens were lit up simultaneously, displaying alarm interfaces filled with red.

All the dark energy detectors throughout the city were beeping, the sounds rising and falling like countless rapid second hands moving at the same time.

Wearing a black trench coat and silver half-rimmed glasses, Ye Yi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the upper floor of the building, her hands behind her back, her gaze passing through the glass as she looked at the black pillars of light rising from all directions outside the window.

He looked at it for a while, his tone calm, as if he were talking about something he had expected.

"They're trying to drag the entire Lanhe River into the Dark Realm."

He paused.

"So, it really is time for a sacrificial ceremony."

Beside him, Hu Lie, who had already changed into a black trench coat, nodded.

He also stood by the window, his broad shoulders and thick waist making his trench coat stretch taut. He gazed at the black beams of light with a calm expression.

"Now, the key points of their rituals are basically all out," he said. "We can close the net now."

Ye Yi nodded and pushed up his glasses: "These rats have been hiding for so long, they've finally decided to come out."

Then he sighed.

"After this is over, we'll have to do another large-scale memory overwrite."

Hu Lie nodded in agreement, his voice low: "There's no other way. If they don't actively activate those rituals, it will be very difficult for us to find them all."

He looked at the darkening sky and frowned slightly.

"Let's activate the protective force field first; the residents can't stand the aura emanating from the Dark Realm."

Ye Yi didn't say much, but simply raised her wrist and pressed a few times on the pure black watch.

next moment.

Silver beams of light rose from various parts of Lanhe City.

The surface of those silver pillars of light was covered with complex symbols, like some kind of ancient runes, or like a sophisticated circuit diagram.

They shot out from the ground all over the city, soaring straight into the air, and then spreading outwards at their highest point, connecting and merging with each other—

A huge, inverted bowl-shaped silver light membrane slowly took shape in the sky.

The light membrane was as thin as a layer of gauze, encompassing the entire city of Lanhe, like a giant bowl covering the city from below.

Almost simultaneously, the moment the light film formed, the dark sky was instantly shut out.

The black mist that was gradually swallowing up the light was also blocked outside the light membrane, like a tide crashing against a dam, surging and piling up, but unable to advance even an inch.

Wu You, who was on the roof of the stadium, also saw the rising silver beams of light.

Even the thickest one of them came from the direction of the Bureau of Investigation building.

He understood that this was the Bureau of Investigation taking appropriate measures.

At the same time, his phone started beeping repeatedly.

He took out his phone, and the screen showed the notification interface of the survey app.

"You have received a new mission notification. Mission code: Pursue Evil. Mission area: Lanhe City. Mission level: P0."

The Bureau of Investigation's task priorities are divided into five levels, from P0 to P4.

P0 is the highest priority—meaning there is a potential danger of wiping out the entire city, all torchbearers must unconditionally obey orders, and all casualties during this mission will be posthumously recognized as deaths in the line of duty.

The reminder above was clearly sent to all torchbearers in Lanhe City, while the following was the personal task assigned to Wu You.

My gaze shifted downwards.

"Dear Silver Insignia Torchbearer LH-36, you have been temporarily authorized as the combat team leader of Operation Zone 4 (comprising six areas from D-1 to D-7), responsible for coordinating all combat-related matters in Operation Zone 4. Please proceed to the designated location immediately to oversee the corresponding combat operations."

"The main combat mission of the combat team in Operation Zone 4 is to clear out all appearing zombies and destroy all ritual nodes (black beams of light) within the area. Specific combat tasks within the area will be deployed by the person in charge."

Below that was a map marking the location he needed to go to—a square in District D-1, not far from Lanxing Residential Area.

Wu You put down his phone and immediately disappeared from the spot.

The stadium was already in a bit of a mess.

Although the martial artists in the audience all knew about the Corpse Species, and some had even indirectly participated in the cleanup missions, this was the first time they had ever encountered such a large-scale event.

Some people stood up and looked around, some whispered to each other, and some had already reached into their robes to touch the weapons they carried.

"What's going on? The zombies have broken in?" a burly man with a thick beard asked in a deep voice.

"Damn it, I've wanted to kill the zombies for ages!" A tall, thin guy next to him slapped his thigh, his eyes gleaming.

"+1!"

"+1!"

On the judging panel, the three torchbearers, dressed in black trench coats, also received their respective notifications. They glanced down at their phones and then looked at each other.

"I've been assigned to the combat group in Operations Zone Two," one person said.

"I'm also in Operations Zone Two, but I'm in the logistics team," another person said.

"I am from the combat team of Operations Zone One."

The three looked at each other, then glanced at the empty seat in the main seat where Wu You had just been sitting.

"What should we do here? Should we wait for Lord You to return?"

One of them shook his head: "Lord You must have a more important mission. Besides, this is a P0-level mission, so it can't be delayed."

"Okay, let's split up then—"

Before he could finish speaking...

A gentle breeze swept by, and Wu You suddenly appeared on the judging panel. He stood next to the main seat, the hem of his black trench coat still swaying gently.

He looked at Chen Qingsong and spoke quickly, but every word was clear: "Here, Chairman Chen, you're in charge of maintaining order. Try to stay inside the stadium, don't run around, and don't go outside."

After saying this, he nodded to his three colleagues and then disappeared again.

The three nodded in response and then quickly ran out of the stadium.

Chen Qingsong stood still, took a deep breath, turned around, and picked up the microphone. His voice echoed through the stadium through the loudspeaker, carrying a steady strength: "Everyone, please be quiet. As instructed by the adults, everyone must remain inside the stadium and not go out. Please cooperate."

-

In all areas of Lanhe City, all devices connected to the public network—radio, television, outdoor screens, and live streaming screens in shopping malls—are simultaneously occupied by a single image or sound.

"Lanhe City Public Security Bureau Notice: A special disaster occurred in Lanhe City at 4 PM today. The entire city has entered a state of full alert. All residents of Lanhe City are requested to lock their doors and windows and stay indoors. Residents who are still outdoors, please seek shelter in the nearest indoor space as soon as possible!"

"To reiterate, this is a notification from the Lanhe City Public Security Bureau..."

The sound played on a loop, unhurried but conveying an undeniable seriousness.

At this moment, inside an office building.

Mr. and Mrs. Wu stood by the window, looking at the darkening sky and the black pillars of light outside. Their expressions were not good.

The sound from the company's loudspeaker echoed through the empty office area, over and over again.

They exchanged a glance, then picked up their phones and called Wu You and Wu Jing respectively.

Wu Jing's call was answered immediately: "Hello, Dad, where are you now? Are you indoors?"

"We're indoors, Xiaojing, are you hiding well?"

"We're all hiding in the classroom; the doors and windows are all locked."

"Okay, okay, just hide well."

Meanwhile, Wu's mother kept calling Wu You, but couldn't get through.

"Hello, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable."

I tried calling again, but the call still wouldn't go through.

And soon they found that their cell phone signal had become extremely weak.

A few seconds later, there was no signal at all.

Wu's mother's hand holding the phone trembled slightly. She looked up at Wu's father.

Mr. Wu also looked at his phone and shook his head.

Their eyes met in mid-air, both filled with undisguised worry.

"Xiaoyou went to tutor," Mr. Wu said, his voice slower than usual. "She's definitely indoors. Maybe her phone is just off."

Although he was very worried, this was all he could do to comfort Wu Ma.

-

Lanhe No.5 Middle School, Senior 3 (1) Class.

The atmosphere in the classroom was oppressive. Forty-odd students sat in their seats, some talking in hushed tones, some lost in thought, and some staring intently at the eerie sights outside the window.

The teacher on the podium was a middle-aged man in his forties. Although he was also a little at a loss, he still suppressed his nervousness and followed the instructions broadcast over the loudspeaker.

"Everyone, lock the doors and windows, then sit in your seats and don't wander around." As he spoke, he walked to the window, locked the last window that wasn't closed properly, and checked the locks again.

Hua Linlin sat by the window, looking at the black beams of light through the glass.

The setting sun had been completely obscured, and the sky had taken on an eerie gray-black hue, like a giant, closing mouth.

She remembered that night, that dark alley, that grotesque monster with distorted features, and of course, that figure carrying a sword.

Although the broadcast described it as a "special disaster event," combined with the bizarre and illogical scenes outside, she could vaguely guess that it must be related to those monsters.

She took out her phone to call her parents, but found that the screen displayed "No Service".

She tried sending another message, which spun twice before a red exclamation mark appeared.

Can't send it out.

She put down her phone, and that familiar face flashed through her mind.

Where is he right now? Is he safe?

Is he going to fight those monsters?

Is there any danger?

Hua Linlin gripped her phone tightly, her nails digging into her palms.

Please, please don't let anything happen to you.

-

Meanwhile, Wu You was rushing to the designated location.

As the person in charge of the combat zone, he had to get there as soon as possible and then issue the corresponding instructions.

Time waits for no one. Although the dark mist of the Dark Domain is temporarily blocked out, the black pillars of light continue to rise, and the sky outside the silver light shield is still darkening. No one knows what will happen in the next second.

He ran straight there.

With his current abilities, going full speed ahead is much faster than driving.

The wind whistled in their ears, and the buildings on both sides of the street rushed past. There were no pedestrians on the street, only some torchbearers in black trench coats carrying out their assigned tasks. But even they only saw a black shadow flash by.

A young man in a black trench coat scratched his head: "What's that?"

The older man in the black trench coat standing next to him said, "I don't even need to look to know that's some big shot from the bureau. Stop spacing out, this area hasn't been checked yet, let's continue."

Wu You walked through street after street, across intersection after intersection. The public address system on the roadside was still playing the police station's announcements on a loop. The sound came from a distance and was quickly left behind.

At that moment, his mind was free of distractions, fear, and hesitation.

There was only one thought in my mind—to go where I should go and do what I should do.

Of course, it would be even better if you could also collect some extra experience points.

Ahead, the plaza marked as the assembly point for combat teams in Operation Zone Four was already faintly visible.