Chapter 146: Appearance of the Pale Face

A majestic, grotesque aura permeated every corner of the long, red-carpeted corridor. This familiar, oppressive might made both Qi Chen and Warm Man—whose mental fortitude far exceeded that of ordinary people—react instinctively. The hair on their bodies stood on end, and a chilling sense of dread instantly engulfed every fiber of their beings.

Whoosh!

A sudden impact tore through the air, yet the two anomaly walkers could not perceive the entity's actual form. They frantically bolted in the opposite direction!

Scarcely had they darted forward a few paces when a deafening explosion erupted right where they had been standing. The dark red carpet was torn into countless flying shreds under the immense shockwave.

The large crater blasted into the carpet revealed the ground underneath, which was not made of stone or similar materials, but rather a sticky, viscous mixture resembling churned flesh and blood.

Qi Chen glanced back, and another powerful shockwave followed closely behind!

"Overlord!"

Without a second thought, he summoned Overlord. The towering, fortress-like physique was enough to instill a profound sense of security. Its arms, boasting sharply defined muscle lines, crossed in front to form a solid shield. The howling impact smashed directly into Overlord's crossed arms the very next moment!

Boom!

The violent impact unleashed itself like a bomb against Overlord's defensive posture. Sharing a telepathic link with his anomaly, Qi Chen could feel just how vast that power was, inducing a momentary wave of dizziness.

"Roar!"

Yet Overlord refused to be outdone. Even when facing an enemy whose tracks were completely untraceable, it still displayed its peerless, haughty dominance. It opened its massive maw and let out a earth-shattering roar, pulling back its right fist to charge its strength. Then, twisting its waist and abdomen, it gathered all the might of its entire body into that sandbag-sized fist and unleashed it in one coordinated blow!

Grade A physical might demonstrated its true caliber at this moment. The force of the punch churned the air into a turbulent current, and the rapidly moving air acted like countless tiny blades, carrying extreme cutting power to pulverize everything in its path.

Within the narrow confines of the corridor, the shockwave from Overlord's punch surged unimpeded toward the opposite end.

Stretches of dark red carpet were shredded under the brutal gale, exposing even more sickening mixtures of flesh and blood.

"Holy shit..." The undeniable shock of the scene made Warm Man blurt out an exclamation. Looking at the battered and devastated landscape left in the wake of that single punch, he gained a brand-new appreciation for the sheer power Overlord could unleash.

Even the heavy, oppressive atmosphere lingering in the space seemed to have thinned considerably due to that all-out punch.

"Hah! Hah!" Qi Chen felt a strange sensation of his mind being momentarily drained. Compelling Overlord to execute such an attack placed a certain burden on his own psyche, though thankfully not enough to impair his thought processes or mobility.

***

Yet... what sort of tangible result had this punch actually achieved?

Without being able to see the entity, it was impossible to gauge the precise effect of the strike. Even if the grotesque aura in the air had thinned slightly, it was already showing distinct signs of regenerating.

He had already guessed that Overlord's previous attack had yielded no obvious results, and a flash of bitter reluctance crossed his eyes as he clenched his teeth.

As the unimaginable, grotesque pressure condensed once more within the space, the entity's assault descended yet again.

"Let's move!" Warm Man bellowed. The orange-red Heart of Passion materialized beside him, its hollowed-out chest housing a powerfully beating heart. In the next instant, it rushed to Qi Chen's side, grabbed him, and pulled him close utilizing its superior projection range.

"The two of us can't beat this thing! We'd better quickly find some clue on how to escape this mall!" Warm Man shouted, simultaneously sending Heart of Passion charging into a nearby compartment to haul out a table directly.

Before Qi Chen could figure out what Warm Man was planning, Heart of Passion slammed the table onto the floor with a loud crash, the tabletop facing squarely toward the two of them.

"Charge!" Warm Man slapped Qi Chen on the shoulder, darting toward the tabletop first. As he approached, he kicked off the ground and lashed out fiercely at the vertical tabletop.

Under the influence of Heart of Passion's ability, the table was no longer rigid; instead, it had become extremely elastic, just like a trampoline. When Warm Man's feet landed on it, the tabletop visibly caved inward before unleashing an extraordinary rebound force!

Swish!

In the blink of an eye, Warm Man was shot forward at blistering speed like a stone fired from a slingshot. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he altered the firmness of the red carpet to effortlessly neutralize all the impact.

With this single maneuver, he put dozens of meters of distance between himself and the terrifying anomaly behind them!

Realizing the brilliance of the tactic, Qi Chen quickly imitated Warm Man's movement, sprinting toward the table which now served as a trampoline. He leaped forward in a single bound, and propelled by the formidable elastic backlash, he rapidly widened the gap between himself and the oppressive presence behind him.

The two men successively broke away from the initial focal point of battle, but the entity gave relentless chase, enveloped in a terrifying, spine-chilling grotesque aura as it pursued Qi Chen and Warm Man relentlessly.

"Damn it! It's still chasing us!" Warm Man cursed angrily. The distance they had fought so hard to open up was closed again in the blink of an eye.

When it came to travel speed, there was clearly a massive gulf between mortal humans like him and Qi Chen on one side, and that terrifying monstrosity on the other.

The rapidly intensifying grotesque aura behind them made it painfully clear that the distance between them was closing at breakneck speed. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the two of them were caught once again!

Even purely physical anomalies were notoriously difficult to stall, let alone an entity that served as the dominant force among rule-based anomalies!

***

Warm Man, whose frontal combat capabilities were somewhat weaker, poured his heart and soul into escaping at maximum speed. Heart of Passion activated its ability repeatedly, rendering surrounding objects hyper-elastic to serve as boosters that accelerated their frantic sprint.

Who would have thought that the seemingly endless corridor would suddenly appear to shorten?

The far end was closing in on the two of them at a terrifying pace!

"This path is shrinking!" Qi Chen perceived this extremely ominous development. A look of fierce resolve flashed in his eyes as Overlord's hulking silhouette immediately merged into his body.

His clothes ripped apart instantly, his skin rapidly turning an ash-gray color as his body expanded abruptly!

Anomaly Integration!

Feeling the surging power within his body, Qi Chen let out a wild roar, charging desperately toward the dead-end wall that blocked their path right before them!

Boom!

A massive indentation instantly appeared in the wall, yet not even a breach was blasted open; instead, the entire hallway shook violently, bearing a striking resemblance to an earthquake.

"That thing is here!"

Warm Man's hoarse shout rang out abruptly, followed by a muffled thud. Under the tremendous impact, he was slammed straight into the wall, his body trembling violently before he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You brat... do you actually have a plan..."

Warm Man's voice grew fainter and fainter in his ear. Immersed in the state of Anomaly Integration, Qi Chen felt as though something had snapped inside his brain with a crisp crack.

A hazy, white mask vaguely materialized across his face.