When Liu Mingxi hurried back to Qianmen Street, the entire concrete ground was streaming with blood; it had truly become a sea of blood.
Amidst the sea of blood stood several dark red figures. Though completely immersed in red, their stances appeared exceptionally resolute.
"Ding dong!"
The notification sound of a WeChat message rang out abruptly in the empty, silent space. Noticing several gazes converging on her, Liu Mingxi, who had just stopped, stiffened.
Feigning that nothing at all was the matter, she quickly drew her phone from her pocket and checked the message.
It was from Ye Fan: "You might need to come and handle this. I have other matters to attend to."
Liu Mingxi raised her eyebrows in surprise and glanced around at the figures. Finding no familiar aura, she realized Ye Fan was not here; instead, there was a man whose presence was by no means inferior to his.
Such a massive incident had occurred at the very headquarters of the Night Watchers, yet Ye Fan, the Commander-in-Chief, hadn't even shown up? More importantly, he, the Human Ceiling, actually had something keeping him occupied?
A question mark hung over Liu Mingxi's face as she sensed something was amiss, but given the circumstances, she didn't dwell on it.
The man in the sea of blood whose presence matched Ye Fan's rushed toward Liu Mingxi.
"Liu Mingxi?"
He spoke calmly. Messy strands of hair obscured a cross-shaped scar on his forehead. Overall, he didn't look menacing at all; rather, he exuded a somewhat lazy ease.
Liu Mingxi's immediate thought upon seeing him was: *Can he handle this? Why did Ye Fan send him?* She harbored doubts regarding Ye Fan's ability to select personnel.
Weren't the Night Watchers soldiers? There ought to be quite a few rules, yet why did he feel so casual?
"Yes."
Liu Mingxi nodded, casually pulling a slightly smaller sketchbook and a paintbrush out of her travel backpack.
"Shao Pingge, captain of the Night Watchers' 006 Squad stationed in Shangjing City."
Her file hadn't been finalized yet, but the news of a newly emerged Human Ceiling had already spread throughout the headquarters, and the higher-ups all knew that Liu Mingxi would arrive at headquarters tomorrow to test her Forbidden Ruins.
"Then let me briefly explain. A newly emerged 'Klein'-grade Mystery—whether it's truly a Mystery remains unclear, and we currently can't track its whereabouts, but its strength matches the classification. In less than an hour, every single living thing in this entire area was reduced to blood!"
As he spoke, his voice trembled slightly, concealing his pain and anger. In an instant, all his previous laziness vanished; with bloodshot eyes, he turned his head and stared blankly at the boundless sea of blood.
Liu Mingxi's hand paused as she watched his trembling body with astonishment. The pungent smell of blood was carried to her by the wind, leaving a deep impression on her heart.
Seeing him looking so sorrowful, Liu Mingxi didn't know what to say. The moment she arrived here, she had sensed a very familiar feeling—one that closely resembled the aura of her own drawings, or rather, an equally illusory aura.
Yet seeing Shao Pingge's grief-stricken posture, she doubted whether it was just her imagination. Not daring to console him, she trailed off and clamped her mouth shut.
Shao Pingge had already calmed his emotions. He turned his head and gazed earnestly into Liu Mingxi's eyes, a hint of entreaty actually lingering in his gaze.
"I've heard you are the Human Ceiling—you must make that detestable murderer pay the price!"
His eyes seemed to burn with a raging fire of hatred, his chest heaving with fury as he roared through clenched teeth.
*Did I see wrong?* When Shao Pingge said this, the corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. Doubting reality itself, Liu Mingxi nodded. "Alright! Don't worry! I will slay it with my own hands!"
On the other side of this sea of blood, a patch of distorted air appeared without a sound, and a moment later, a dreamlike figure emerged, gradually solidifying.
Sensing the situation over there, Liu Mingxi and Shao Pingge turned simultaneously, their expressions solemn and their gazes sharp.
The newcomer wore a black tailcoat, possessed a head of flowing long hair that made Liu Mingxi envious, and sported a purple iris brooch pinned to his chest. His alluring face wore a calm smile as he walked toward the two of them with elegance.
He resembled a well-mannered aristocratic gentleman, every gesture reeking of noble grace.
His voice was very gentle: "Brawling and killing isn't elegant at all, especially with Miss Liu being a lady. Such a beautiful flower shouldn't be stuck in a pile of disgusting cow dung."
The moment his voice trailed off, Shao Pingge could no longer restrain himself. Veins bulged on his temples, his teeth gnashed audibly, his eyes widened in fury, and he let out a torrent of abuse:
"Yiyu! You motherfucker! Who are you calling cow dung? I see right through your hypocritical, sickeningly pretentious grace—calling yourself an aristocrat! Bah, what a piece of trash!"
Yiyu's calm smile was on the verge of cracking, and he narrowed his slender phoenix eyes at Shao Pingge.
*Holy crap, the older uncle's comeback packs quite a punch!* Inwardly, Liu Mingxi expressed admiration for Shao Pingge, along with deep agreement.
Struck by Shao Pingge's unrefined language, Yiyu didn't even look at him, shifting his gaze to Liu Mingxi with a smile.
"Miss Liu, I've heard you have the ability to bring drawings to life. Might I witness it?"
Yiyu's leisurely voice suddenly rang out right beside Liu Mingxi's ear, causing her pupils to contract in shock.
The next instant, a frenzy of wind currents shattered the voice, and countless wind blades rapidly swirled within dozens of meters around Liu Mingxi, wrapping around Shao Pingge and the other squad members as well.
"Your goal from the very beginning was me?" Liu Mingxi asked with a calm and composed sneer.
"Looking at this fake-as-hell blood, it doesn't even compare to my drawn creations. Your dreamscape is indeed quite realistic, but against me, you're still lacking!"
Beside her, Shao Pingge felt a subtle twinge of guilt. *She knows! Then his vivid, lifelike acting just now...*
Shao Pingge felt a slight burn on his face.
Yiyu's eyes remained smiling, completely unfazed by Liu Mingxi's provocation.
He raised his hand and gestured like an elegant conductor in a sea of blood, waving his fingers to direct a tens-of-meters-high, raging surge of blood crashing toward Liu Mingxi. A terrifying aura instantly struck downward, and the intense stench of blood rushed into their nostrils.
Standing on the ground beneath the sea of blood, Liu Mingxi showed no fear whatsoever in the face of the massive expanse of red. She calmly unfolded her sketchbook and grasped her paintbrush.
With unruffled composure, she uttered a single word: "Wind!"
Instantly, countless suspended wind blades swirling in mid-air poured forth en masse to engage the sea of blood. The formless, razor-sharp wind blades slashed through the crimson expanse, carving gaps of emptiness into the red tide.
Without rushing, Liu Mingxi began to draw. After a long moment, a red artist's hat appeared in her hand, and she promptly placed it on her head.
Shao Pingge and the others at the side all dropped their jaws in shock.
*Huh? A hat? Has the world gone mad?*
Across from her, Yiyu's expression had already turned dark.
Donning the red hat, Liu Mingxi seemed to awaken with a youthful vitality full of fighting spirit. With a cheerful grin, she quickly raised her brush and set it to paper.
Yiyu once again flicked his hand, conjuring a massive bloody giant several tens of meters tall. The giant's terrifying bloody mouth curled into a grin, its void-like eyes gazing down at Liu Mingxi as it raised a huge, bloody foot to stomp down on her diminutive figure.
Yet a formless wind shield protected Liu Mingxi thoroughly, blocking the gigantic bloody foot in mid-air right above her head.