Chapter 19 - Passage

Chapter 19: Chapter 24: PassageBlack grease seeped into Cai Zixuan's skin, merging with his blood, and penetrating deep into his marrow.

Crack!

The bandages wrapped around his hand suddenly snapped as his rapidly expanding muscles stretched the fabric, exposing them to the air.

The plaster on his leg suddenly exploded, and the foot that emerged from the fragments was larger than that of an adult.

The needle was forcibly pushed out of the blood vessel by the muscles, together with the Cationic Cleaner that had been injected into his body an hour ago.

By now, Cai Zixuan's body had swollen to 1.8 meters, still growing. His excessive weight made the sickbed beneath him creak.

In the depths of his mind, a certain instinct climbed to his consciousness. Cai Zixuan brought his palms together and forcefully clapped and twisted.

Boom—

An invisible force spread, and everything—the metallic sickbed, the cotton blanket, the concrete walls, the glass water cup—seemed to be covered with a thin shadow.

In the night sky, there was also a dark red fissure.

The Shadow Realm, opened.

A flood of vague knowledge surged into Cai Zixuan's mind, and he instantly understood the function of the Shadow Realm—all the destruction caused here would not affect the real world, thus preventing immediate detection by institutions like the Special Affairs Bureau.

Giving him ample time.

The only downside, perhaps, was that Transcendents within a certain area would also be drawn into the Shadow Realm.

"Why did the light go out..."

At the end of the corridor, Cai Yongyuan, who was fixated on the countdown on his phone, raised his head in confusion.

Everything around him was covered in a layer of shadow, not just the buildings, but also the doctors, nurses, and patients' families in the corridor—they acted as if they couldn't see or hear Cai Yongyuan, passing by him indifferently.

Even outside the window, visibility was greatly reduced, completely obscuring the scenery beyond the hospital premises.

Before he could figure out what was happening,

Bang!

The door of the single-person sickroom was violently kicked open from the inside and smashed against the corridor wall.

A giant, two meters tall with swollen muscles, walked out stooped from the sickroom.

His body was covered in tattered pieces of hospital gown, his veins protruding like earthworms, and his face was painted with a hideous, maniacal smile in black grease.

Behind him, the wooden door that had just shattered to pieces rapidly disintegrated, flying back to its frame as if time was reversing.

"Zi, Zi Xuan?"

Cai Yongyuan stared at the vaguely familiar facial features on the giant's face, his hand trembling as he dropped his phone to the ground.

"He—He—"

The giant did not answer but only hunched his back, panting heavily, and slowly walked toward him.

"Don't come any closer, stay away!"

Cai Yongyuan's voice was like that of a chicken being strangled. Just then, someone was about to take the elevator downstairs, and he immediately rushed into the car, cowering in the corner.

Thud thud thud.

The dull footsteps in the corridor got closer and louder. Under Cai Yongyuan's terrified gaze, the elevator door finally slowly closed, and the car descended.

Is it safe...now?

The towering giant paused outside the elevator door, stretched out his hands, and gripped the gap of the iron door, pulling forcefully.

In the deep, dark elevator shaft, only the sound of the steel cables could be heard.

The giant stepped forward and plummeted, crashing heavily onto the car.

The immense impact force created a dent in the ceiling of the Shadow Realm's car compartment, stirring up a large amount of dust. However, with the exception of Cai Yongyuan, everyone else acted as if nothing had happened, engrossed in their own conversations and smartphones.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Punch after punch, the Giant relentlessly hammered the car compartment, forcibly breaking open the metal ceiling. Through the cracks, one could clearly see the expression of horror and despair on Cai Yongyuan's face.

The Giant reached through the ceiling crack, grabbed the hem of the desperately struggling Cai Yongyuan's clothes, and forcefully pulled upwards.

Thud—

Cai Yongyuan's back slammed heavily against the ceiling, and his untrained muscles were easily pierced by metal shards, causing blood to spray instantly.

"Is the elevator leaking?"

One of the elevator passengers sensed something, looked up puzzledly, and touched his cheek, but found no trace of liquid.

It must be an illusion.

Ding-dong.

The elevator descended to the first floor, the passenger suppressed his doubts, and followed the others out of the compartment, into the hospital lobby.

Simultaneously, in the Shadow Realm, the clothes on Cai Yongyuan, due to the forceful pulling, had burst and torn.

He fell to the ground, unable to check his injuries, mustering all his strength to get up, limping with the support of the wall out of the lobby, and into the parking lot where he got into his Volkswagen.

The vehicle started, his bleeding thigh frantically pressing the accelerator, driving at full power toward the hospital entrance.

Boom!

Suddenly, a tall dark shadow darted out from the lobby and crashed into the side of the sedan. The enormous impact caused the 1.3-ton vehicle to drift sideways, rolling several times before crashing against a lamppost and coming to a stop, upside down.

Cai Yongyuan inside the driver's seat was battered senseless, his head down, face covered in blood, his blurred vision staring at his "son" who was much taller than him, approaching step by step.

"Zi, Zi Xuan,"

He stuttered, "Dad is sorry, Dad shouldn't have pushed you down from the building."

The Giant grabbed the vehicle's door frame, pulled with force, tore off the door, and dragged Cai Yongyuan out.

"It's all those loan sharks! They pressed too hard, I had no choice, I was desperate, that's why I thought of your accidental insurance money,"

Cai Yongyuan was lifted into the air, terrorized to tears, continuously repenting, "Forgive dad this once..."

The Giant did not respond. He just stared into the man's eyes, unknowable thoughts passing through—just like three days ago, when he was thrown down from the balcony of his own home by his biological father, falling towards the ground.

Left hand grasping the man's shoulders. Right hand grabbing the man's legs. Raised above his head, then twisted like wringing out a towel.

Accompanied by ghastly screams, the man's bones snapped, puncturing the skin. Blood gushed like a waterfall, organs shook and dropped into the open mouth of the Giant.

Chewing, swallowing.

The Giant was devouring the man's mutilated corpse, the black oil paint on his face not smeared by the fresh blood, but becoming even more vivid.

Still not enough. More blood, more deaths were needed.

The Giant casually tossed aside the remains, looking towards the hospital in front of him, brought his palms together, and forcefully slammed down.

Many people inside the building puzzledly raised their heads, looking at the lights beginning to flicker on and off. They were unaware that the entire hospital was being slowly pulled into the Shadow Realm.

Step.

A figure walked out from the building.

Li Cheng's gaze was icy, his body retaining many insect-like features, his arms covered in ant-like bristles, with Mantis Arm Bone Blades extending from below his forearms.

Crack—

Mantis Arm Bone Blade pierced into the concrete ground, drawing a line that separated him from the Giant.

This place, off-limits.