Failure

After reaching the area beneath the stone face of the Earth Mother, Peng Fei pulled a hand grenade from his vest.

Click!

He pulled the pin, counted down for a moment, and then suddenly hurled the grenade at the stone face of the Earth Mother, ten meters above him.

Boom!

The grenade exploded the instant it made contact with the stone face. A burst of flames and a shockwave washed over the stone, followed by a thick cloud of black smoke.

Standing below, Peng Fei watched silently. When the smoke finally cleared, there wasn't so much as a scratch on the stone face of the Earth Mother.

Staring at the unscathed stone face, Peng Fei’s expression turned grim. “No wonder they didn't leave anyone to guard this place. This thing must be incredibly hard.”

He gave a sudden, powerful leap, soaring four or five meters into the air. Just as he was about to fall...

He thrust one hand into the wall. The solid stone was like soft tofu before his claws, allowing him to sink them in with ease.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Using only one hand to pull himself up, Peng Fei climbed the wall by digging his claws into it until he reached the side of the stone face of the Earth Mother.

As he drew closer to the stone face, Peng Fei’s expression shifted slightly. His vision began to blur. ‘This thing can actually affect my mind!’

The more he realized its power, the more certain he became that it could not be allowed to remain. He raised his right hand and drove his claws toward the stone face.

Clang!

The moment his claws struck the stone face, a shower of sparks erupted, and Peng Fei’s right hand went numb from the impact.

He stared at the face, which remained perfectly intact, his expression darkening. “Damn it, how can this thing be so hard?!”

He grabbed the stone face with one hand and exerted all his strength, tearing it bodily from the wall.

If he couldn't destroy it, he would take it with him and throw it into the ocean!

Thud!

Gripping the stone face, Peng Fei threw it down to the floor and jumped down after it.

The stone face of the Earth Mother weighed nearly a ton, smashing a deep crater into the podium below.

He hoisted the stone face with both hands and sprinted toward the church exit.

Swoosh!

Just as he burst out, Peng Fei saw a yellow streak of light racing toward him. He jerked his head to the side, narrowly dodging the bullet.

“Oh? He actually dodged it. Is this guy really human?” a surprised voice called out from the main entrance.

Peng Fei turned his head and saw over twenty foreign faces standing at the gate, all armed with firearms.

The one who had fired was a scrawny white man wearing a green beret, holding a sniper rifle.

“Who are you people?!” Peng Fei instinctively tensed, assuming they were Zhao Jin's men.

However, after scanning the group, he noticed that none of them had red eyes or any other unusual characteristics.

“Enough talk! Kill him and take the stone face of the Earth Mother!” a loud shout came from the back of the crowd.

A white man with a braided ponytail stood there, barking orders.

Upon receiving the command, all the agents raised their weapons and opened fire on Peng Fei.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Peng Fei’s face darkened as he held the stone face of the Earth Mother in front of him like a shield.

The bullets struck the stone face and ricocheted off harmlessly in all directions.

Holding the massive stone face, Peng Fei began to advance toward the exit.

Behind the agents, the braided young man watched the bullets bounce off the stone face, his expression turning serious. “Use grenades! Toss them at his feet!”

Step.

At that moment, a faint sound of footsteps echoed behind him.

Then, an old voice, thick with suppressed rage, spoke: “Do you foreign pigs intend to raze my church to the ground?”

The braided young man’s pupils constricted as he whipped around. He saw a six-eyed old man wearing a Zhongshan suit.

Staring at the crimson eyes on the old man's face, he felt an immediate, overwhelming threat of death. “How is this possible? How did you sneak up on us?!”

He quickly looked toward the street in the distance where he had stationed a lookout team. How could someone have approached so silently?

One look was enough to make him stumble back. His men were lying on the ground, dead without having made a sound.

Snap!

Liu Wen’s left hand shot out, grabbing the braided man by the throat and snapping it instantly.

The other agents, who were about to throw their grenades, heard the commotion behind them and turned around. When they saw their leader being choked to death, their expressions shifted to terror.

“Damn it, he has six eyes! He's a monster!” someone screamed at the sight.

“Don't be afraid! Throw the grenades at him!” a Black man roared, tossing the grenade intended for Peng Fei at Liu Wen instead.

The other agents followed suit, and in an instant, over a dozen grenades were flying toward Liu Wen.

Hum!

When the grenades came within a meter of Liu Wen, they were frozen in mid-air by an invisible force.

A second later, they all detonated at once.

The explosion engulfed Liu Wen, and a massive plume of smoke and dust billowed upward.

“Did we get him?” the Black man asked, his expression tense as he stared into the smoke.

Hum!

Suddenly, the smoke was blown away by an invisible force, revealing an entirely unharmed Liu Wen.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Not even a scratch after all those grenades?!” a white woman cried out in horror, instinctively taking a step back.

The sight was enough to make every one of them want to retreat.

“Retreat!” someone shouted, and the twenty-plus agents immediately turned to flee.

Liu Wen watched the fleeing foreigners, a cruel sneer spreading across his face. “You think you can escape? Naive!”

Hum!

His six eyes glowed with a sinister red light, which instantly swept over the entire grounds of the Church of the Earth Mother.

Thump! Thump!

In a single instant, everyone except for Peng Fei, who was hiding behind the stone face of the Earth Mother, collapsed. Blood poured from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.

Behind the stone face, Peng Fei watched the scene with a heavy heart. ‘They died just from being touched by that red light? This is far too ridiculous!’

At the same time, he looked at the stone face in front of him. If this thing hadn't blocked the light, he had no idea what would have happened to him.

Outside on the street, Liu Wen looked at Peng Fei and suddenly began to laugh. “Peng Fei, I know all about your situation. Why would a Ghoul like you bother siding with these humans? I’ll give you a choice: put down the Earth Mother and follow me to witness her birth!”

“Hmph, you think everyone is as pathetic as you? Liu Wen, it’s impossible for me to surrender,” Peng Fei said. He hoisted the stone face with both arms and charged toward Liu Wen, intending to use it as a battering ram.

Seeing the stone face rushing toward him, a look of disdain appeared on Liu Wen’s face. “You are too childish. The world will change sooner or later. And did you really think a single stone face would be enough to deal with me?”

He extended one hand, and a massive amount of spiritual power manifested before him.

This was a force capable of twisting steel and blocking explosions; he didn't believe the other man could break through.

The moment the stone face slammed into the spiritual barrier, Peng Fei’s figure suddenly appeared on the left side.

His eyes were wide with determination as his right hand turned into a blur, lunging toward Liu Wen’s head.

‘A sneak attack? How laughable...’ Liu Wen stood his ground, a mocking expression on his face as he watched Peng Fei lunge.

Putch!

But in the next second, the spiritual barrier was pierced by Peng Fei’s claws. To Liu Wen’s utter shock, the claws sliced through his neck.

Splat!

His head tumbled off, while his body remained standing in place.

“The world won't change. As long as you’re dead, I can stop all of this!” Peng Fei stared at the severed head, his claws clenched tight.

With that, he turned back toward the stone face.

Squelch!

Suddenly, a dull sound rang out. Peng Fei’s footsteps halted. Trembling, he looked down at his chest.

A grey tentacle had pierced through his heart from behind, and black blood was trickling down its length.

Behind him, Liu Wen’s body was expanding, his clothes shredding as grey tentacles erupted from his flesh.

One of the tentacles coiled around the fallen head and lifted it up. The head was also changing—growing larger, with grey patches appearing on the skin.

The six eyes didn't even look at Peng Fei; instead, they were fixed on the stone face of the Earth Mother. “Times are changing. Any force or individual that stands in the way of the inevitable will be crushed!”

In a room some distance away, a man watched the scene at the church entrance through a pair of binoculars.

A look of utter despair washed over his face. “Even Director Peng failed? Is there anyone left who can stop these monsters?!”

His phone was still connected. On the other end...

Inside a hospital ward, Zhang Yi listened to the sounds coming through the phone, his expression sinking into a heavy silence.