Chao Feng’s vision sharpened until he clearly saw the newcomer. He said “Who are you” and used his force field to amplify the sound. The newcomer said “I’m Hayley and you are?”.

A vein bulged as Chao Feng said “The one you’ve been fucking with!” Hayley amplified her voice and said “Oh really! I’m going to destroy this city. I’ll kill every single person that doesn’t leave within 1 minute”.

Chao Feng smiled and said “Lovely. I don’t know why you’re doing this but flattening you will end all this drama”. Chao Feng wasn’t too unhappy about the population decrease and the threat Hayley made. He was willing to allow those who would betray him later for their own gain to go now. He would then focus his all on helping those that remained.

A large amount of people began to run away from the city. They had just witnessed what seemed like a mass desertion that was organized without their knowledge. Now that they knew they had a chance of dying they didn’t have any reason to wait anymore.

Although he hid it, Chao Feng was extremely surprised by the amount of people that left. Almost everyone of the about 100 million left had run, only about 8 thousand were left.

It made sense. The people initially gathered under the protection of Yu, a monster, because they had no choice. Yu who was a two year old wasn’t the best at leading too, and then Chao Feng came along.

He was human but he also wasn’t the best leader. He valued strong members and never tried to mask this quality. He didn’t differentiate between monster and humans and treated everyone equally.

If all or even most of the people he was leading were strong willed they would have never accepted the deal that took them out of Wangin. But if they were so strong willed they would have had the courage to put their life on the line and evolve to Mythical or at least Ancient grades. The people in Wangin were there because of the profits and safety, they had no real loyalty to the city.

Most people were just looking to resume their old lives, not improve or compete with monsters that had powers that they could only imagine. They stayed in Wangin because they saw ways to profit, not because they were loyal to it. Hayley had not done anything too complicated; she just gave them other options. She gave them the chance, the push, to leave Wangin without fearing Chao Feng or Yu’s anger.

The ones that had left for an hour surely would not come back after they saw the deserters: There were other settlements that assured protection; some even assured them easy power if they joined and did well. Compared to the other cities available Wangin was not a very attractive option. Hayley just broadened the people’s horizons.

The elves, although they weren’t soft hearted, were not returning to Wangin ever again; she wasn’t the one that poached them.

Yu sent Chao Feng a message saying ‘All the elves left with the first teleportation. I find this suspicious’. ‘I can help if you want, the other sponsors have left. Avatari is here though’ Satoshi sent to Chao Feng. Chao Feng smiled and sent ‘I would prefer it if you all left. This is the rebirth of Wangin, if we can’t handle these types of issues on our own then there’s no point in existing’.

Hearing this Satoshi and those he brought with him teleported out of Wangin. Avatari’s people left too and Eugene also left with Hilda. Chao Feng took a deep breath as he experienced the silence of the city.

He could sense the few people that remained. He said to Hayley “You have done your worst. You’ll have to leave the planet if you want me to stop hunting you. Or you can try to kill me… so what will it be?”

Hayley’s smiled widened as the seconds ticked away. Her consciousness entered a realm filled of threads of different colors everywhere one looked. She stretched out her hand and plucked one of the threads like a guitar string. ‘Celestial Magic: Comet!’

Chao Feng’s IP told him her details:

[Rank 27 Deviant: Clown] [Mythical]

[Warning: Equivocator: You are being deceived]. The warning threw Chao Feng off but he regained his focus.

He used his Predator’s Prey privilege to check her race details.

[The information is highly censored]

[Retrieving clear information…]

[Present State

Strength: ???

Agility: ???

Stamina: ???

Durability: ???

Intelligence: ???

Senses: ???

Energy: ???

Biomass: ???

Luck: ???]

Chao Feng’s eyes widened as he saw the barebones information left after uncensoring. ‘Damn censorship!’ he screamed in his mind. ‘She has a luck stat. A stat I’ve never seen before. This is going to be a headache; she’s the farthest thing from standard’.

Outside the planet

An asteroid that was predicted to miss the earth had changed course through a series of unusual events. A piece of it had broken off and was now heading toward the earth.

It just happened to arrive exactly when China, Wangin, was directly in its path. It made contact with the atmosphere and began to burn as it was forced to break through it due to earth’s gravity.

As a result, a rock covered in flames that reddened the sky appeared over the clouds of Wangin. Meixiu sent a message to Chao Feng asking ‘Should I make it disappear?’

Chao Feng said “I’ll handle it”. He pointed his index finger at the sky. He cleared his mind, eliminating all the noise and disturbances his emotions brought him and thought ‘One whose mind is entwined in sympathy. Sympathy for friends and companions. He neglects the true goal. Now that he sees the danger of intimacy.

‘Wonder alone, like a rhinoceros horn’

The comet broke through the clouds revealing its form, clothed in fire and armored in smoke. The temperature rose and the winds blew chaotically.

‘Like a spreading bamboo entwined is concerned for offspring and spouses. Like a bamboo sprout; entangling.

‘Wonder alone, like a rhinoceros horn’

The comet approached, leveling the buildings on its path. The concrete cracked, the glass shattered and the metal moaned as they yielded to the comet’s weight and heat. The comet was perfectly centered to hit Chao Feng.

‘Like the deer in the wild, unfettered, goes for forage wherever it wants. Valuing freedom a wise person must

The comet hit the tip of Chao Feng’s fingers, bringing its weight to bare as if it were boasting about how long it had traveled and endure to get here… Then it stopped.

The heat, the descent, the winds, the destruction, everything stopped.

‘Wonder alone, like a rhinoceros horn’