The Decaying World

’Technology has been crippled, leaving only the Endless Divine Race to fight the Nether Energy monsters. This whole script seems so familiar, just like the modus operandi of the Fusion Sect that Master Qimei told him about.’

Sitting in the car, Lin Hui naturally gazed out the window.

The vast city, a product of humanity’s technological civilization, exuded a unique sense of futurism that was on full display here.

Cylindrical skyscrapers rose one after another, their surfaces dotted with sparse, purplish-red lights.

A massive, gyroscope-shaped starship was docked mid-air in a corner of the city, casting a large, deep shadow below.

Among the pedestrians strolling along the roadside were many cyborgs who had replaced parts of their bodies with mechanical metal.

Occasionally, one could spot some beautiful humans, both male and female, whose movements were extremely precise, almost stiff. These were almost all robots.

"You know, people seem to be getting less and less human these days. In this world, the robots are the ones who act more human than we do," his older sister, Ding Luo, commented casually, noticing where Lin Hui was looking.

"Maybe one day, robots will completely replace us? Or maybe we came to be the same way?" Lin Hui said with a smile.

"Have you been reading philosophy lately? You should read less of that stuff. Let me tell you, read too many of those books and you’ll start to feel like life is completely meaningless..." Ding Luo said lightly. "When you have time, you should go out more, experience the vibrancy of life..."

Just as the car carrying Lin Hui and his sister Ding Luo was driving along a silvery-white riverside lane,

the emerald-green surface of the river suddenly erupted, and a black figure shot out.

The figure burst from the water, soared into the sky, and hovered in mid-air, wreathed in a thick black aura.

It was a tall, ugly humanoid covered in black pustules, with a long Scorpion Tail extending from its back.

The moment it appeared, it threw its head back and let out a furious roar.

SWOOSH!

Its figure suddenly vanished, rocketing at a terrifying speed toward the most densely populated area in the city center.

BOOM!!

Its high-speed flight created massive sonic booms that rippled through the air.

The next moment, it slammed into the city’s tallest cylindrical skyscraper, which broke in half with a tremendous crash.

Only then did the crowds below react, snapping out of their stunned stupor and scattering to find cover.

AHH!!

The hover car screeched to a halt, nearly hitting a young woman who had suddenly dashed in front of it.

The woman was one of the fleeing citizens. Screaming and running wildly, she had accidentally darted in front of Ding Luo and Lin Hui’s car.

Even inside the car, Lin Hui could hear her screams clearly.

Once the car stopped, it couldn’t move again. The road ahead was completely blocked by the frantic, scattering crowd.

Ding Luo’s expression was grave as she kept looking back at the monster in the sky.

"It’s a Nether Energy monster! I can’t believe one appeared now. It’s been years, and this is the first time one has shown up directly in the city proper. There’s no way the combat readiness zones could have prepared for this!" A note of anxiety crept into Ding Luo’s voice.

Turning her head, she saw Lin Hui sitting perfectly still in his seat, his expression serene.

"Are you scared?"

"I am. Any normal person would be. But mixed in with the fear, there’s also a trace of curiosity," Lin Hui admitted with a slight nod.

Until now, he had only ever seen Nether Energy monsters in documents, news reports, and documentaries. This was his first time seeing one up close.

Ding Luo was a bit surprised by how calm her little brother was, but this was no time to hesitate.

She bit her lower lip. While verbally reassuring her brother, she was also using the Divine Race insignia on her chest to contact other members of the Divine Race.

’Where’s Kong Yu, the one in charge of this sector? How did a monster get all the way into the core of the city? Why isn’t she here yet?!’

’Kong Yu’s probably still on her break. No idea how this thing bypassed the outer defense grid to get in here. But don’t worry, I’ve already woken her up. She’ll be there in about five minutes,’ a lazy male voice replied from the other side of the insignia.

’The Kongxiang Court on Red Pattern Star has annual performance reviews, you know. Does Kong Yu even want this job!? If not, then get lost and have someone else take over!’ Ding Luo’s tone was severe, showing no courtesy.

’It’s probably Dragon Court and Yanwu messing around with some new tech again. The surveillance systems around the territory will need another upgrade. It’s the same thing every few years,’ the lazy male voice continued.

’Then hurry up and deal with it!’ Ding Luo snapped.

’Sister Luo, it’s just a few ordinary people dying, no better than insects. Why are you in such a rush? They only live a few decades anyway; you take a nap and a whole generation of them is gone. What’s the difference how they die?’ a young, somewhat childish female voice chimed in through the insignia.

’That’s right. Our job is to maintain the fundamental stability of the surface world, not worry about minor gains or losses in one or two places,’ the lazy male voice agreed.

’Because it’s inconveniencing me!’ A murderous glint flashed in Ding Luo’s eyes. ’Three minutes. If you can’t solve this, as the city supervisor, I’ll immediately file a request with the Divine Army Command to have you transferred!’

The Endless Divine Race didn’t just pop out of a rock. The so-called "awakenings" among ordinary people were more accurately reincarnations—they were born into ordinary human bodies, which extended their lifespans infinitely.

As members of the Divine Race, they were natural mortal enemies with the Nether Energy monsters, their powers mutually antagonistic.

Their highest governing body was called the Divine Court. Within the Divine Court, eight great Divine Kings held absolute power, each leading their own Divine Army and occupying a portion of human territory.

Ding Luo was a city garrison officer under the command of the Red Lotus Divine Army, making her slightly stronger than an ordinary member of the Divine Race.

’The incident with Xia Weizhao just happened. Everyone be on high alert. Don’t go looking for trouble at a time like this.’

’Xia Weizhao... didn’t he have three children? What’s being done about them?’ The lazy male voice sounded a little more serious now.

’Three demigods. No movement from them for now. But their very existence violates the prohibitions of the Divine Race. This temporary stalemate doesn’t mean we won’t be obstructed in the future,’ Ding Luo said quickly.

’Anyway, I heard things are about to explode over on Xia Weizhao’s side.’

’Enough talk. Deal with this, and fast. Don’t force me to handle it myself,’ Ding Luo snapped.

She was very satisfied with her identity and family in this reincarnation, so she hoped this life would last as long as possible.

"Get out of the car." Snapping back to the present, Ding Luo looked at her little brother, Lin Hui, who was waiting behind her.

"Right!"

The two of them quickly opened the doors and got out.

After the short delay, the crowd around them had thinned out considerably. The two squeezed through a gap between a cluster of vehicles, then found an inconspicuous office building and ducked inside.

They didn’t choose the tallest or largest one, as those would have too many people, making them more dangerous.

Ding Luo led Lin Hui to an office inside the building, and they slipped in.

They huddled shoulder to shoulder, hiding under a large desk in the office.

"You’re surprisingly composed," Ding Luo said, a little astonished as she looked at her brother’s consistently calm expression.

"To be honest, I might look calm, but I’m actually terrified inside," Lin Hui said quickly.

"..." Ding Luo looked at her little brother, who had just claimed to be terrified in a perfectly placid tone, and for a moment she couldn’t tell if he was being serious.

She could sense his accelerated heartbeat, his quickened breathing, and all the other physiological changes that should accompany fear, yet...

The two of them hid under the table for about ten minutes.

Then, they heard a massive crash from outside.

BOOM!!

Something had exploded.

Lin Hui’s perception was extremely sharp, so he was naturally aware of the changes happening outside at all times.

Right now, without even needing to release his Heart and Spirit, he could reconstruct the subtle changes in the outside world.

His incredibly powerful sensory system, combined with his deductive abilities, allowed him to perfectly replicate the details of the situation outside.

High above the city, the black-aura monster that had been rampaging and destroying buildings was suddenly struck in mid-air by a beam of golden light.

The golden light and the black aura exploded on impact, creating an immense shockwave that shattered the glass of every building within a several-thousand-meter radius.

Within the golden light was a humanoid girl. She had black hair, fair skin, and a youthful face. Standing just over one and a half meters tall, she wore an ornate suit of golden battle armor. Behind her, a wheel formed of white, glowing runes floated and spun slowly.

But the moment her attack hit the target, the girl’s expression changed.

’This feel... something’s wrong. This isn’t some fucking grunt! It’s a Ring Level elite!’

Before she could react, a massive Scorpion Tail erupted from the mixture of golden light and black aura. It instantly traversed the space, teleporting to her side and slamming into her left flank.

KABOOM!!

The girl let out a pained cry and was sent flying, blood splattering onto the ground.

She was wounded in a single blow.

’How could a Ring Level monster possibly appear in a place like this!? There’s no food for them here!’ In mid-air, the girl quickly stabilized herself. Most of her golden armor had been smashed, but it was now rapidly self-repairing.

Her expression was grim as she watched the monster fly out from the black aura at extreme speed.

The monster no longer had just one Scorpion Tail, but a full ten of them, whipping behind it like long lashes at incredible speeds.

’This is bad... Is there anyone nearby who can help?’ The girl’s eyelid twitched violently as she urgently asked through the insignia.

’How did a Ring Level appear there? Aren’t all the Ring Level units concentrated in the major star sectors? Did it run off to the boonies to starve itself to death?’ The lazy male voice from before was now laced with urgency.

At that moment, Ding Luo, still in hiding, also had an extremely ugly expression on her face.

With her little brother beside her, it wasn’t convenient for her to leave, so she could only continue to pretend to be an ordinary person hiding under the table.

Hearing the description through the insignia, she immediately knew things had gone south.

Normally, the most numerous of the rampaging Nether Energy monsters were the so-called grunts.

This type of monster mostly acted on instinct. They were immortal and unkillable, feeding on the Power of Existence from living beings.

Their power level was generally comparable to that of an ordinary Divine Race member responsible for a city district, but on average, they were weaker than the Divine Race.

But Ring Level monsters were different. On average, only one Ring Level would evolve out of every ten thousand monsters. They possessed superhuman regenerative abilities; even if they were chopped into pieces as small as a strand of hair, they could perfectly regenerate and recover their full strength within seconds.

The most troublesome thing about these monsters was that unless you could completely vaporize their entire body in one go, all attacks were useless.

’Ah! I can’t do it! I can’t hold on! This thing’s normal speed is around a hundred times the speed of sound! Somebody help!!’ Kong Yu was still wailing through the insignia.

In just a few seconds, she and the Scorpion Tail monster had already clashed dozens of times in the sky above the city. Each time, she was the one left battered and bruised, and her divine armor was starting to recover more and more slowly.

The massive shockwaves caused many of the buildings below, where people were hiding, to collapse one after another.

And this was all happening even with the city’s inherent field suppressing the primal power of the Divine Race.

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