Smash This Place

The next day, the people in the temporary containment area received a notification.

“Starting today, you will undergo batch interviews and psychological testing. Those who cooperate will have a higher probability of being granted long-term residency status.”

“And what about those who don't cooperate?” someone asked.

The messenger didn't answer, simply turning and leaving.

The interviews began shortly after breakfast.

Groups of ten were taken away at a time, and each session lasted for several hours.

The people who returned had varying expressions—some were dazed, some were terrified, and some remained remarkably calm.

When it was the Minister's turn, he was led to a stark white room.

There was only one table and two chairs in the center of the room. A researcher in a white lab coat sat opposite him, her name tag reading “Psychological Evaluator.”

“Please, have a seat,” the evaluator said in a gentle voice. “Don't be nervous; this is just a routine inquiry.”

The Minister sat down and observed her.

She appeared to be in her thirties and carried a gentle temperament.

“First, please tell me your name.”

“Qin Sansi,” the Minister replied calmly.

The evaluator recorded something on a tablet device.

“Now, please describe your identity, responsibilities, and significant experiences in your original world.”

The Minister began to speak. He recounted everything from joining the Investigation Bureau to his promotion, becoming the Minister, handling various crises, and finally leaving the book.

He spoke in great detail, without weaving in any lies.

At this moment, he was the fish on the chopping block; playing petty tricks was not a wise move.

The evaluator listened intently, occasionally asking for clarification on certain details.

Questions followed one after another—some seemed trivial, while others struck at the very core of his existence.

After two hours of questioning, the evaluator stopped recording and looked up.

“One last question. If you were given a choice, what kind of placement would you hope for in this world?”

The Minister was silent for a moment before saying slowly, “I wish to obtain freedom and live as an ordinary person.”

“Even if it means losing all your power and authority?”

“Those things never truly belonged to the real me anyway, did they?”

The evaluator nodded.

“The inquiry is over. You may return.”

The Minister rose and left. Upon returning to the temporary containment area, he noticed that some people who had been taken away for interviews never came back.

He also noted that Silent Silhouette had never been called for an interview. His presence was so low that even the Minister occasionally overlooked him.

Wooo! Wooo!

An alarm suddenly blared.

The Minister was startled. Before he could react, the thunderous sound of twisting metal and cracking concrete squeezed in from all directions.

Rumble!

The ground arched upward before collapsing. The Minister stumbled and fell to the floor.

The thought flashed through his mind. He was just an ordinary person now; he couldn't survive this kind of upheaval.

Outside the temporary containment area, the pale blue energy field flickered like a soap bubble, unstable and failing.

Everyone on the scene panicked, unsure of what was happening.

The Minister lay flat on the ground, struggling to steady himself amidst the jolting, a sense of despair rising in his heart.

However, before he could indulge in any sentimental final words, he suddenly felt a familiar sense of power within his body.

It was faint at first, then gradually became clear.

It was the power of Oblivion!

The power that had vanished without a trace upon arriving in this Main Reality was now reconverging.

“What's going on?”

The Minister was bewildered. But since he couldn't understand it, he simply stopped trying to think.

He skillfully mobilized his power and immediately felt the Authority of Oblivion responding as easily as his own limbs.

It was real, not an illusion!

The Minister's heart pounded wildly.

In this completely alien world, power was the only reliable thing he could lean on!

BOOM!!!

Another, even more violent impact shook the entire containment area.

The pale blue energy field flickered a few more times before dying out completely.

Almost the exact instant the energy field failed, various chaotic auras erupted simultaneously within the temporary containment area.

In a corner, a cluster of flames sprouted from someone's palm, illuminating their ecstatic face.

Silent Silhouette's body began to distort, once again becoming a shadow that could only exist on the edge of others' vision. At that moment, even he didn't know if he should be happy or not.

More and more transcendents were reclaiming their power.

As the chaos intensified, the Minister's gaze grew sharp.

Taking advantage of the confusion, he directly destroyed the door of the temporary containment area.

The door was violently breached, and a fierce wind smelling of scorched metal rushed in.

Outside, the corridor that had once been full of high-tech aesthetics was now a ruin.

The walls were twisted and cracked, and several alloy containment doors labeled with different numbers were severely deformed. Countless staff members lay in pools of blood, their fates unknown.

Many other staff members were slaughtering each other.

At the end of his vision, one side of the corridor's wall had been torn open entirely, exposing the sky outside.

In mid-air, a small sphere resembling a moon was suspended.

Embedded right in the center of that sphere was a human face.

The face was distorted and enlarged, appearing incredibly bizarre and filled with malice. Even with the warped proportions, the Minister would never mistake it.

Yue Shi.

The moon-face seemed to sense the Minister's gaze. Its eyeballs rolled, looking toward the shocked Minister.

The face broke into a terrifying grin.

“Yo, old-timer, you're still alive?”

The voice was familiar, carrying that same old scumbag attitude.

As soon as he spoke, the small moon embedded with Yue Shi's face began to tremble.

Darkness surged from the Far Side of the Moon, spreading in all directions.

The surrounding buildings were being smashed to pieces.

In the distance, a group of armed personnel were trying to assemble. Their leader only had time to raise a shield that appeared to be a containment object itself.

Before the shield could do anything, it was struck by the darkness.

The shield shattered instantly. The person behind it froze, his expression hardening as he died on the spot.

“Don't just stand there watching the show! Get over here and help kill everyone! Kill them all!” Yue Shi shouted to the group in the temporary containment area.

“That's probably not a good idea. This organization seems to be an official agency; I don't want to become a fugitive,” the Minister said.

Yue Shi's venomous tongue was already twitching as he began to lash out.

“You piece of trash, why are you acting like some innocent white lotus? You were about to be taken for vivisection and sliced into research specimens, and you're still putting on an act?”

“To them, you aren't even ‘human.’ They possess something called 「reality stability anchors」 that can nullify supernatural powers.”

“This is your only chance. If you don't want your power and prefer to be slaughtered at will, then feel free to cooperate with them and be a law-abiding citizen.”

“Reality stability anchors?” The Minister was startled.

Was that why his power had disappeared before?

The others, hearing Yue Shi's words, were already taking action.

Being mysteriously hooked away like fish, forced to accept the fact that they were just people in a book, and losing their power to be handled like ants—every bit of it had nearly driven them insane.

Whether it was fear or rage, they desperately needed an outlet.