Chapter 1276 Zombies

In the temporary command center of City A, Siegfried scratched his white hair in frustration. The news he'd just received indicated that Anti-Entropy had not only located the enemy in City B but had also successfully killed one and even rescued the trapped Dr. Tesla. In contrast, their side had made almost no progress, aside from confirming the existence and characteristics of the "Will-o'-the-Wisp."

"Tsk, those guys from Anti-Entropy beat us to it!" Siegfried muttered resentfully, his fingers unconsciously tapping the handle of the Heavenly Fire Judgment (fake).

Cecilia looked at her husband, who was acting like a child, and smiled helplessly. She reached out and gently patted his head: "Alright, Siegfried, there's no rushing this. We're facing an enemy on the level of consciousness. Apart from Miss Fu Hua, there's nothing we can do to help."

Mentioning Fu Hua, Siegfried's expression became even more complicated. The gray-haired girl from World Serpent was currently standing alone outside the command vehicle, eyes closed in deep thought, seemingly conducting an investigation in a way they couldn't comprehend.

"So... do we still have to rely on 'those people's' power?" Siegfried's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible frustration. As a warrior of the Kaslana family, he was used to solving problems with his dual pistols and his burning fighting spirit, and this sense of powerlessness made him very uncomfortable.

Cecilia squeezed his hand understandingly, saying gently but firmly, "This isn't about relying on others, it's about cooperation. To save the people of this city, we should embrace any force that is feasible. Miss Fu Hua is here to help us."

Just then, Fu Hua slowly opened her eyes outside the command vehicle. A faint red light seemed to flow in her eyes, and a phantom-like light, like a crimson feather, appeared and disappeared deep in her pupils, moving without wind.

She turned to Cecilia and Siegfried, her voice cool and certain: "Found it. Southeast, about 1.5 kilometers from the central square. There's a large amount of unusual mental fluctuations there, much stronger and more chaotic than a single 'consciousness aggregate'."

Without the slightest hesitation, the team immediately set off, quickly heading in the direction Fu Hua had indicated.

The closer they got to the central plaza, the more eerie the atmosphere became. The deathly silence didn't lessen; instead, it was replaced by a chilling sense of "crowding." When they finally reached the edge of the plaza, the sight before them made all the Valkyries gasp.

In the wide square, hundreds of people stood densely packed together! There were men and women, young and old, dressed in different clothes, but all of them moved as stiffly as puppets, their eyes were empty and their faces were expressionless. They just stood there quietly, like statues.

What's even more unsettling is that they weren't standing haphazardly, but rather subtly forming a circle, facing the center of the square.

"What...what's going on?" A young Valkyrie's voice trembled slightly.

Seemingly sensing the presence of strangers, the previously still "sculptures" all turned their empty gazes toward Cecilia's team with extremely unnatural, stiff movements.

The next second—

"Oh... uh..."

Deep, meaningless syllables, seemingly squeezed from the depths of throats, emanated simultaneously from hundreds of mouths. Then, these hundreds of controlled citizens, like zombies whose life force had been switched on, charged towards Cecilia and her companions with stiff yet swift steps!

"Be careful! Don't hurt them! They are ordinary citizens!" Cecilia shouted immediately, while gripping the Black Abyss White Flower tightly.

The Valkyries were forced to adopt a defensive posture, attempting to stop the frenzied crowd with non-lethal grappling or stun techniques. However, there were simply too many of them, and they felt no pain, relentlessly charging towards the defensive line, resulting in a stalemate and chaos.

Siegfried was furious, his Heavenly Fire Judgment (fake) humming in his hand, but he couldn't fire it at the innocent citizens.

Fu Hua stood slightly back, her eyes once again veiled in a faint red light. In her "vision," what rushed towards her were not flesh and blood bodies, but walking "consciousness cages." Deep within the brow of each citizen flickered a cluster of eerie blue flames—the very "consciousness aggregates"! Only these flames seemed to be connected in a peculiar way, controlling the host's body.

She tried to activate the power of Feather Dust, separating an extremely fine strand of spiritual energy, and carefully probed the ghostly blue flame between the eyebrows of one of the citizens, attempting to soothe or remove it.

However, the instant Yu Duchen's power touched that cluster of flames—

"boom!"

As if a spark had been thrown into an oil depot, the faint, eerie blue flame suddenly burst into flames! The fire instantly became more intense and violent! The citizen being controlled by it let out an even more shrill scream, and its attacks became more frenzied and reckless, even causing several other controlled citizens around it to become similarly agitated!

Fu Hua immediately cut off the contact, her brows furrowed.

“No,” she reported calmly, her voice tinged with seriousness. “The way these ‘consciousness aggregates’ connect with the host’s consciousness is very special and extremely unstable. Not only will the power of Feather Dust not soothe them, but it will also intensify their burning like kindling, further destroying the host’s already fragile self-awareness. Forcibly interfering may cause their consciousness to collapse completely.”

Her gaze turned grave as she watched the manipulated citizens surge towards her like a tidal wave. The enemy had clearly anticipated the potential mental interference and set a vicious trap. The difficulty of the rescue far exceeded her expectations.

The predicament in the square seemed to have reached an unsolvable deadlock for a time.

"What should we do?!" Siegfried shouted as a group of people pounced on him, pinned him to the ground, and then threw him away. He dared not exert any force.

Cecilia planted the Black Abyss White Flower into the ground, and countless vines danced, binding the citizens one by one. However, they still struggled desperately, their bones creaking and groaning.

Cecilia had no choice but to let them go.

“I tried to calm them down, but it was too short. We needed to take this opportunity to find the enemy’s true form.”

Fu Hua leaped into the air, her gaze sweeping rapidly downwards. The next moment, a large number of illusory feathers fell, slowly but precisely landing on the heads of each rioting citizen.

Instantly, everyone fell silent, their expressions growing increasingly ferocious.

Fu Hua probed into everyone's minds with her spiritual senses, searching rapidly. Siegfried and his group, on the other hand, could only use their naked eyes to search for the possible flame.