F-class thief? Sorry, I can steal anything.

Chapter 366 Pollution Source No. 3

Chenlong wants to see me?

Upon hearing this name, Chen Yifan's heart skipped a beat.

The leader of the twelve zodiac guardians, the strongest in the Dragon Kingdom on the surface, and a terrifying being with the SSS-level talent [Causal Tracing].

This guy is currently my biggest nemesis.

Once he scans you with his talent, your disguised identity will be instantly exposed.

Moreover, even the lamplighter is captivated by such a person.

Needless to say!

This person must also be a heretic.

At that time, being in the Lamplighters' headquarters, I would be trapped like a turtle in a jar, unable to escape.

Damn it, I just changed to a high-class account, and now I'm facing a hellish start?

Countless thoughts flashed through Chen Yifan's mind in an instant, but on the surface, he maintained the cold and composed demeanor of a "star official," his voice remaining completely calm.

"Yes, Lord Rabbit."

He agreed readily and without the slightest hesitation, perfectly fitting the persona of Xing Guan as a "die-hard fan of the Dragon."

Let's stay calm and take it one step at a time.

There's always a way out. At worst, I'll just flip the table. With my current strength, even if I'm exposed, I can still rely on my unique ability as an unlocked individual.

If they wanted to fight their way out of Kyoto, or seize even the slightest opportunity, there might still be a chance to escape!

Just as he was preparing for the worst, Mao Tu's next words made his tense nerves relax slightly.

"Before you return to the team, finish up the remaining work on Qingquan Road. Remember, Lord Chenlong wants a complete report; no detail can be overlooked."

"clear."

Communication is interrupted.

Chen Yifan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, we didn't have to go see Chenlong immediately; there was still some time to prepare.

He turned around, looked at the chaotic battlefield behind him, and began to direct his subordinates to clear the area as a "star official".

"Team One, detect residual energy levels and mark all high-concentration areas."

"Second team, collect samples, focusing on the core tissue of that grayish-black fungal carpet."

"Team Three, inspect all building structures and assess the extent of damage."

The orders were issued in an orderly manner.

While giving instructions, he discreetly reviewed the star officials' memories, trying to figure out what exactly this so-called "source of pollution" was.

According to the star official's memory, these strange events began to appear sporadically in Kyoto three days ago.

At first, it was just some small-scale spatial distortions or bizarre mutations in small animals.

But in the past week, the situation has deteriorated sharply.

"Pollution sources" began to appear in clusters, and their intensity was increasing.

They are like cancer in a city; once they appear, they frantically erode everything around them, transforming matter, space, and even life into a gray-black, chaotic carpet of fungal growth.

The lamplighter named it "void mold".

Creatures contaminated by "Void Mold" will become mindless monsters that only know how to attack and spread the contamination, codenamed "Aberrant".

What they just cleaned up was a contaminated zone number three caused by a Class C aberration.

"Captain, we've made a new discovery!"

One of the team members responsible for collecting samples suddenly shouted into the communication channel.

Chen Yifan immediately led his men over.

Beneath the ruins of a collapsed office building, they discovered a huge "flesh cocoon" covered in a fungal carpet.

The fleshy cocoon was still throbbing slightly, its surface covered with vein-like patterns, and it emitted a nauseatingly sweet smell.

"What is this?" a young team member couldn't help but ask.

"It's the 'mother body'," Chen Yifan blurted out.

This is from the Star Official's memories.

Every contaminated area has a core "mother body," which is the source of the pollution. As long as it is destroyed, the pollution will stop spreading.

"Prepare high-energy explosives and destroy it directly," Chen Yifan calmly gave the order.

"Wait, Captain!" The team member who had spoken earlier stopped him. "Headquarters orders that if the 'Mother' is discovered, it should be captured alive and brought back for research."

Chen Yifan frowned.

Capture alive?

The star official does indeed have this command in his memory.

But he always felt something was off.

The aura emanating from this thing even made the purple-gold pagoda in his sea of ​​consciousness feel a sense of disgust.

This is definitely not a good thing.

"Execute the order." Chen Yifan ultimately chose the safer option. He was now a "Star Official" and couldn't act too strangely.

Several team members immediately stepped forward, took out a silver-white metal box, and prepared to deploy a specially made energy cage.

Just as the cage was about to be covered by the fleshy cocoon.

A sudden change has occurred!

"Pfft!"

The fleshy cocoon suddenly split open!

What spewed out from within was not some kind of viscous fluid, but a pure, twisted mental shock!

"what!"

The two team members who were closest to the victim didn't even have time to scream before their bodies were twisted and folded like clay being kneaded by an invisible hand, turning into two indescribable lumps of flesh and blood.

Psychological attack?!

Chen Yifan's pupils contracted, and almost instinctively, the purple-gold pagoda in his sea of ​​consciousness turned slightly.

The mental shock that could instantly cause a third-tier professional to suffer brain death crashed into his mental barrier without even causing a ripple. It was directly swallowed and purified by the faint light emitted by the Purple Gold Pagoda.

He was unharmed.

But the other team members weren't so lucky.

Apart from him and two other stronger third-tier elites who were further away, the rest of them all collapsed to the ground in agony, clutching their heads, bleeding from all seven orifices, their spirits severely damaged.

"Damn it! This thing can even use mental attacks!" one of the surviving team members cursed in shock and anger.

The "mother" struck successfully, and the entire fleshy cocoon exploded completely!

What crawled out wasn't a monster, but... a human?

It was a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old, wearing a tattered dress, barefoot, and with a face as pale as paper.

She stared blankly around, her eyes empty and unfocused.

But Chen Yifan sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from her that sent chills down his spine!

The source of that aura was not the little girl herself, but a chaotic and evil force that did not belong to this world and was parasitizing her body!

"It's her!"

The surviving team members recognized the little girl.

"She was one of the missing persons in this neighborhood, she disappeared a day ago, and unexpectedly... she was transformed into the 'Matrix'!"

"Fire! Kill her!" another team member roared, raising his energy gun.

"Stop!" Chen Yifan shouted sternly.

He wasn't a saint, but the Star Official's memories told him that those who were transformed into "mothers" still had the possibility of being purified in the early stages.

Once killed, there's no hope of recovery.

Besides!

Perhaps once his All Things Steal cooldown is over, he can find out the reason for the anomaly in Kyoto from the other party.

"Use sedatives! Take control of her!"

As Chen Yifan gave the order, he charged forward like a cheetah.

The little girl seemed to sense a threat; her empty eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and she opened her mouth, letting out a shriek that was not human!

Another powerful mental shock came hurtling toward Chen Yifan's face!

"A trivial skill."

Chen Yifan snorted coldly, neither dodging nor avoiding, letting the spiritual force crash into him.

At the same time, he activated the talent he had just acquired.

Intuitive Dodge!

The moment he got close to the little girl, a deadly sense of crisis rose from the bottom of his heart.

His body, almost defying the laws of physics, shifted half an inch to the left.

"laugh!"

A nearly transparent spike made of pure mental energy grazed his cheek, leaving a bottomless hole in the wall behind him.

so close!

If it weren't for [Intuitive Evasion], even if I could block it, it would probably have taken some effort.

He held back, lunged forward, and delivered a precise chop to the back of the little girl's neck.

This time, he controlled his strength, only knocking the opponent unconscious.

The little girl's body went limp, and she collapsed into his arms.

The evil and chaotic aura also subsided.

"Mission accomplished."

Chen Yifan, holding the little girl, calmly spoke into the communicator.

"Fall back to headquarters."