Void Paradise

"Warning! An abnormal Ability User response has appeared in central East Xia. Estimated danger level: above high risk!"

"Warning! Energy fluctuations at the Philippine border have exceeded the limit. A Calamity-level event is imminent!"

"The World United Organization has attempted to intervene. Witnesses claim that the Calamity-level target Great Sun of Finality, the Calamity-level target Mercenary Tao, and several unidentified high-risk targets are still engaged in battle…"

Inside the underground military base in Yanjing, Zhong Tianming had yet to receive good news from Song Xian and the other two when he once again saw the entire base flashing red.

The ongoing reports on the Philippine incident were mixed with urgent intelligence from within East Xia.

Zhong Tianming was so short on manpower that he had even dispatched the duplicate he could not yet fully trust.

How could he not know that the duplicate intended to make use of them?

People were like that. No matter how clever or cunning someone was, once you knew their circumstances, many things went without saying.

A duplicate afraid that the original might take his life at any moment craved nothing more than time and resources.

And he happened to be one of the very few people in this world capable of meeting those conditions.

Zhong Tianming judged that, at least in the short term—before that fellow’s strength exceeded Song Xian and the others’ expectations—he would not betray them.

Going further, Zhong Tianming believed that he would not betray them until he had truly grown strong enough to surpass the original.

From that perspective, this kind of duplicate was a useful tool—perhaps even more useful than most of the soldiers they sent in!

The indifference in Zhong Tianming’s eyes at that moment was no less than that of the top Reincarnators.

"Elder Zhong, the identity of the newly emerged Ability User at Binhai University has been confirmed. He was indeed the mysterious Ability User responsible for several bloody incidents in Binhai City recently. He has already been killed by that impostor."

Yan Qiu was reporting on the mission’s progress when Zhong Tianming was about to respond, only to suddenly see the red lights throughout the space begin flashing wildly.

Yan Qiu lowered her head to check the tablet, but before she could make sense of it, an Ability User burst in.

"This is bad, Elder Zhong! Something terrible has happened!"

Yan Qiu hated all Ability Users, but she also knew that these people possessed convenient means of communication beyond her knowledge.

Seeing the pale-faced Ability User codenamed Old Ma open and close his mouth several times without making a sound, she frowned.

"What are you hesitating for? Just say it!"

Zhong Tianming raised a hand to stop Yan Qiu. He knew very well that these Ability Users, who had chosen to stand with the nation and government from an earlier time, were the people who loved this country and society most deeply.

It was already not easy for them to risk death to reveal intelligence. They could not be asked for too much.

"Calm down, Old Ma. Think first about how to phrase it so you won’t be punished."

Old Ma’s expression twisted. He had never shown such terror before. Finally, he spoke.

"Our world has been invaded!"

At that moment, Yan Qiu also saw the series of emergency distress messages that had popped up.

"Elder Zhong, the Yingtian branch has sent an urgent request for support. A… monster has appeared in the city!"

She swiped the tablet display toward the screen ahead, and soon, a giant monster several hundred meters tall appeared in the footage.

The monster resembled Godzilla from the movies and was rampaging through the city. The military had already launched scattered attacks, but the results were poor.

Ability Users who could fly and move through the earth also began appearing in the footage. They were trying to attack the monster as well, which eased Yan Qiu’s expression somewhat.

Boom!

With just a sweep of its tail, a skyscraper so tall that one had to crane their neck to see its full height came crashing down.

Amid the terrifying upheaval that seemed to shake heaven and earth, Li Dongjin’s pupils shrank to pinpoints. He finally snapped out of his overwhelming fear and shock.

He grabbed his sister and began fleeing toward the subway entrance behind them. The crowd had also reacted by then. Terrified screams and sobs rang endlessly, while car horns and collisions assaulted his eardrums.

Li Dongjin could no longer hear his sister’s cries. He only knew that he had to get her into that subway entrance. Somewhere deep down, he had a feeling that it was the only safe place nearby.

"Oh? I didn’t expect to run into such a high-value individual on a casual outing. Lucky!"

A light whistle seemed to overwhelm even the earth-shaking chaos. Li Dongjin abruptly turned around and saw a tall woman in Golden Armor, holding a Golden War Spear, watching him from within the crowd.

She seemed to exist in an entirely different world from everyone else. The terrified flow of people streamed past her like water, yet did not affect her movements in the slightest.

Then Li Dongjin saw the woman raise her war spear. Several passersby happened to run past her.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Li Dongjin clearly saw several young men and women who looked like students staring in terror as their necks were sliced open, blood spraying as they collapsed.

The smell of blood filled his nostrils. The image of that blond woman stopping him and asking whether he wanted to become an Ability User surfaced in Li Dongjin’s mind once more.

So this was the ending for choosing not to take that path…

Li Dongjin felt despondent. He realized that there was no way he could escape alive from someone like this.

Damn it… Li Dongjin did not want to become some so-called Ability User—or, more accurately, a Reincarnator. The only reason was that he wanted to live an ordinary life.

Looking at his sister, whose face was covered in tears and snot from crying, he gritted his teeth, picked her up, shoved aside the woman beside him, and ran toward the subway entrance.

"I won’t regret it. And… I’ll make sure my sister survives!"

Divine power flowed through the woman clad in Golden Armor. She looked up at the pet she had unleashed, which was still wreaking havoc, and narrowed her eyes into crescents.

The "abundance" of this world was enough to make anyone salivate. Its information density was terrifyingly high. It truly was a world inhabited by an Observer that was growing rapidly.

A place like this was meant to become Paradise’s new colony.

She walked step by step toward the human who carried the scent of a special fate. Her pace was neither hurried nor slow, yet each step instantly carried her dozens of meters.

No matter how desperately Li Dongjin ran, she only needed to take a light step. It was as if she were moving along another layer and timeline, rapidly closing in on him.

She extended her hand and lightly thrust out her war spear. That sharp edge instantly turned Li Dongjin’s face pale.

The woman’s eyes narrowed like crescent moons. Just as she was about to skewer her prey upon the war spear, she suddenly turned around.

Boom!

A figure struck the giant monster with a midair punch. As the monster howled and fell, that figure broke through several sonic booms in succession, appeared behind her, and grabbed the tail end of the war spear with one hand.

Warning! "Void Paradise" beacon detected! Coordinates: Yingtian, central East Xia

Warning! "Void Paradise" beacon detected! Coordinates: Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean

...

Warning! This world has been subjected to an infiltration deployment by Void Paradise

Emergency World Mission Issued: Paradise Purge

Mission Type: Mandatory, Unique

Mission Description: Purge all Contractors deployed by Void Paradise and eliminate the beacons

Mission Time Limit: 12 hours

Success Reward: Kill any Contractor to receive a minimum of 1 Level 3 Authority; eliminate a beacon to receive 1 group A-rank Anomaly Point

Skylark’s entire Cosmo blazed as he glared furiously at the woman before him. An intense divine power collided with his Cosmo, making the hand gripping the war spear feel as though it were being repeatedly stabbed by needles.

"You’re one of those Contractors from Void Paradise…"

—

Tan Zhishan and Sen Xia both froze in midair. Every Reincarnator stared at the scarlet notification before them in utter shock.

Void Paradise?

Contractors?

They had always been the ones sent into various Derivative Worlds and Secondary Worlds, yet now this was happening to their own world.

The immense Mental Shock extinguished the blazing battle.

Only the silver-gray-haired girl stood at the edge of the massive crater, extending a hand toward Mercenary Tao, who lay inside with his eyes closed.

"Wake up. End this boring game."

"We’ll work together and kill someone."